#like man a lot of the rest of this stuff i could like . deal with. like Yeah not being seen or heard sucks but at least theres

[copperbadge]

Lately, it's felt like every time I've started to work on writing, I'll just be getting into the rhythm of it when I get interrupted, either by work or the cats or because the time I'd booked in the library study room is up (you can only do two hours at a time, and only four hours a week total). It was getting to the point where I kept re-reading the same chapter or so of previous work but never managing to add to it.

So I tried an experiment this past weekend -- I found a really cheap rate on a local hotel room, and on Friday I took an overnight bag and a very old laptop with limited processing power and checked into a room about a mile from home for a quasi "staycation". I unpacked and had a quiet night on Friday, as prelude to working Saturday-Sunday. The idea was to write uninterrupted by other people, pets, the presence of all my Stuff around me at home, et cetera.

I had snacks but I also bought meals out, which was nice; I don't often order in or buy out when I'm at home. The way I set up was that I would do fifty minutes of writing with do-not-disturb engaged on my phone and then ten minutes of checking email, texts, etc. since often what pulls me out of writing is a text or an email that needs answering, or the anxiety that I'm missing one that would. If I set it so that every hour I check, well, nobody's going to die if something doesn't get answered in an hour, so the anxiety isn't there, and neither is the distraction. (I found a nice app for this, review later depending on how functional it continues to be for me, but it's a like $4 app called Forest.)

It worked pretty well -- writing for an uninterrupted hour, as long as I know what I'm working on, is very functional for me. I average about two thousand words, that way, though there is a limit to the number of hours I can put in. I ended up doing two hours in the morning and one hour in the afternoon, then switched from fiction writing to clearing out my tumblr drafts and some correspondence for the fourth hour. So it went something like

Go out and get breakfast, bring back and eat in room

Change into lounging clothes and do two one-hour sessions

Go out and get lunch, eat lunch out

Bit of a rest break back in the room

Two one-hour sessions, one of writing; when tired, switch to something that requires less creativity

Go out and get dinner, bring back and eat in room

And then in the evening the plan was to watch movies or catch up on reading, but I ended up being mentally weary, so instead I did some simple tarot reading. It was less divination or even meditation than just messing around, keeping the creativity stimulated; I did a couple of Creative Writing spreads, some very brief divination spreads (I nicked a nice three-card spread here that I mentally call He To Hecuba, and just used it in general rather than for a specific question) and then invented a spread when I was starting to get irritated that the same like, five cards kept coming up, more on this in its own post.

Sunday I did one more writing session but it was less successful, I think partly because what I was writing required a lot of research and partly because the previous day I'd dumped eight thousand words into the file. (Research took longer because I brought the most garbage laptop known to man, and the browsers crash if you try to open Google Maps, but in other ways it was ideal since there wasn't much I could do on it other than write.) But I had a good breakfast, got some rest, packed up easily enough, and headed home just ahead of the rain storm.

I don't think it's something I'll be able to do in that format especially often, since the deal I got on the hotel was an anomaly and Chicago lodging, even just AirBNB stuff, is stupid expensive. But in addition to helping get some work done it was a nice break, so I'm going to look into ways I could swing it on a perhaps monthly basis, or some other way to cheaply spend an entire day alone with decent access to a bathroom/snacks and a way to come and go easily. I've looked into coworking spaces before but they tend to be prohibitively expensive and don't really have the setup I'd prefer; there's a hostel on the north side with private rooms that I might try out but it doesn't seem significantly cheaper than a hotel. I might just have to pick one weekend a month and watch last-minute hotel price cuts where they simply want to fill a room for a day or two.

Anyway, functionally I wrote almost a fifth of a novel this weekend, and one that I wasn't feeling super on fire about; I'm feeling much better about it now that I've got some established plot going and I feel like I "know" the newer characters a bit better. (Also I'm enjoying writing Simon as someone who is absolutely entranced by his love interest and clueless that what he's feeling isn't mild antipathy because they met while fighting over ricotta.) So it was a big help, although if I were to put a budget line item in the Extribulum Press ledger for "writing staycation" it would wipe out my royalties surplus very quickly.

[turtle-seance]

... the other good thing about my family not following this blog is i can also uh. say things that are not terrible jokes

[arthur-r]

back from dinner it was mostly good

[our-inspire-verse]

Oh oh ohhhh loardy i think the emotions are crashing around in me like 2 plastic easter eggs filled with mung beans(tiktok hoes will unnasand) like they bouncin AROUND in here. I'm fucking fighting for my life rn

[dutybcrne]

v; i keep my ideals alive ( .bnha verse; kaeya. )

         Kaeya was born in the nation of Khaenri'ah, an island off the coast of Sumeru, possessing an Ice Quirk he inherited from his mother’s family. With Khaenri’ah being a nation without official Pro-heroes, the law enforcement was mostly taken care of by volunteers, Quirkless and Quirked, known as the Black Serpents. The crime rate was minimal if at all and all was peaceful, until a group of people amid those who helped govern the nation became seduced by AFO's promises of power in the world he would rule. This group would become the Abyss Order and their dealings with AFO through the years as well as their actions in his name after he was arrested by All Might would eventually bring the attention of the Teyvat Union as a whole and thus the Seven would be dispatched to dispose of them. Due to miscommunication, the Seven would end up combating the Black Serpents and allow the Abyss Order more time to complete their devices, but in the end, the ensuing battle would destroy them anyway, along with horrifically devastating the nation in the process as each of the highly volatile energy cores ruptured.

         Kaeya and his father were lucky enough to flee before the worst of the calamity occurred, and journeyed across the nations of the Teyvat Union, ultimately coming to rest in Mondstadt, far from their home. Because his father had been a prominent leading member in Khaenri’ah, the man decided that Kaeya was to be left on his own in Mond, to grant him the opportunity at a better life in being taken in by one of the families there. The man’s parting words to his on were a plea to never let himself forget his identity as Khaenri’ahn and where he came from, though Kaeya would come to misinterpret and tie it to the Abyss Order, considering many of the leadership–and many of Kaeya’s other family members–happened to be aligned to the Abyss Order’s dealings, as well as rumors circulating the nation he ended up internalizing. 

          Was he meant to be their spy? Here, in his new home? Was that his true purpose? This would remain a constant thought looming in Kaeya’s mind, even living an otherwise idyllic life in Mondstadt.

         Being taken in by the Ragnvindrs and raised alongside the prominent, promising young lad who aspired to be the nation’s top hero, Kaeya let himself be molded into the boy’s support. He would take every lesson and training seriously, enough to catch up and be admitted to the same academy as Diluc. To take each rigorous class right alongside him and excel, using his Ice Quirk to ensure the boy’s fire never burned out or too far. Always being Diluc’s second, his right hand, the other half to the dynamic team they would form and aspire to maintain into their official careers. And Kaeya so desperately wanted that future. So desperately wanted to keep this home and life he had made here.

          But how could he rest easy, with the ever-lurking shadow of his supposed purpose warring with his growing attachment for the people and nation he came to love? The answer came sooner than later, as his inner turmoil ultimately came to a head at Crepus’s death due to a deadly support device manufactured by the Fatui organization. Betrayed that even the ever-righteous man he looked up and begun to consider like a father to would have stooped so low and be swayed by such sinister powers, Kaeya would admit his family ties to the Abyss Order to Diluc. To force him to make the choice for him, staying in Mondstadt or going home and rejoin his family, ideally cutting the strongest attachment he had at the very least, as he himself would never have the will nor strength to do so personally. 

         The rest is history.

         Kaeya’s purpose within the Favonian Hero Organization does involve to typical PR and heroism, but he also took it upon himself to have an additional purpose–to be the sort of hero unafraid of dirtying and bloodying their hands in the name of the people’s safety. All behind the Organization’s back ( though some do suspect what he gets up to ), and well-hidden from the eyes of the media, of course.

         Due to his Khaenri’ahn upbringing and hearing his father’s say through his most impressionable years, he’d long since held ill regard for heroes and the Commissions running them, only indulging Diluc’s admiration for them without mockery nor disdain out of attachment to the boy. Their rules and regulations were always far too restricting, much too inefficient to do their beloved nation any good. Always letting villains slip through the cracks in their defenses and hurt people many heroes wouldn’t even care to give a second glance. Now that Kaeya was freer of and his purpose wrenched asunder by his confrontation with Diluc, he would give himself the indispensable role of personally seeing to getting rid of villains, vigilantes, and even those of the Favonian Commission he noted were corrupt. Anyone deemed a threat to Mondstadt’s safety would fall at his hand, dealt with swiftly and quietly, with no loose ends to spare. He cares not what he has to do to ensure Mond’s safety, never worried of what consequences he would face if caught. Not that he ever worried he would be, but that is a bridge he’ll cross when he comes to it. Never one to give anything but his all, he fully intends to protect the place he’s called home.

          Even if certain fears still linger in mind. Still, he can hope his dedication would be enough to tide him through them all. It’s always been one of his strongest, most defining traits, after all.

[steddiewithachance]

I'm Here on Business

Wayne is a regular at the bookstore Steve works at and badgers Steve into going on a blind date with his kid.

For @extocancer Happy New Years!!! I hope you enjoy your presents ◡̈

***

It's a quiet night in the little bookstore on the corner of Brinks and Williams. Steve is sitting behind the check-out counter flicking the leaf of a potted pothos placed next to the register. Soft music plays from the radio behind him.

Steve likes taking the evening shifts at the shop just to see the place warmly lit up by all of the eclectic and ornate lamps that Amber, the owner, has collected. The store doesn't give him migraines from obnoxious fluorescent light, which has been an issue at previous jobs.

Ever since Robin moved out of their apartment for Grad school, it's been upsetting to be at home alone at night. Without her company, the couch feels longer. And without her unhinged apartment decor, the walls feel taller and colder. Consequently, Steve has taken on more work hours instead of being home.

Plus, he has kind of fallen in love with reading. It came as a shock to him that he could enjoy it as much as he does. It started when his all-female team of coworkers began ranting to each other about these romance novels they were all into. He felt a little left out and decided to give one of them a try. It turns out that reading was actually a really great coping mechanism for dealing with his temporary loss of Robin.

The nicest, and most surprising thing to come out of this job though, is probably Wayne. A one-time customer turned regular, turned tentative friend for Steve. He's got a caring, parental energy that Steve's own parents never had.

The guy looks like he'd have a gruff or standoffish personality. His face naturally rests in a frown and he's got receding grey hair. He wears a flannel every day without fail; he's got a million different colors of them and Steve has even made a game of predicting which one he'll be wearing when he comes in.

"Did ya guess right today, boy?" Wayne will ask.

"No," Steve often admits glumly. "The universe told me you'd be wearing your green and blue one."

So anyway, Wayne comes around a lot to make small talk. He often mentions how he misses his son, Eddie. He's so stiff with personal information about his kid, but one time he let it slip that Eddie was on tour with his band. Steve had a field day afterward colluding with Google to find out exactly who Wayne's son was.

Eddie Munson, lead singer and guitarist of rock group Corroded Coffin.

Steve hadn't heard of ‘em but they certainly have a following. He listened to some of their stuff, to give himself some context for the next time Wayne brought up Eddie's music. It was nice enough, the guy has a good voice.

Steve's been waiting for Wayne to come in tonight. He's later than usual and it would be ridiculous for Steve to worry about a man who probably just thinks of Steve as that one kid who works at the bookstore. He may not come in at all tonight, and that would be fine too. Steve's still holding out on him pulling up in his... yellow flannel.

Steve's about to cave and start the next book in the current series he's reading when the door jingles. Wayne pushes inside in his mother fucking yellow flannel.

"Yellow Flannel!" Steve exclaims. Wayne chuckles and drops a book on the counter followed by a receipt.

"You got me right today?" Wayne asks fondly.

"Yup. It's been a while. I was aching for a win." Steve starts returning Wayne's book for him without giving him slack this time. Wayne treats the store like a library and Steve doesn't have the heart to tell him it's not allowed.

"Was this book any good?" Steve throws Wayne's receipt back at him and starts moving around the counter to put it back on the shelf for some other historical fiction lover to purchase.

"It was just alright." Wayne follows behind him languidly, eyeing the rows of colorful book spines for something that catches his eye. "But actually I'm here on business tonight."

Steve leans on the shelf and waits impatiently for Wayne to tell him what sort of business he's on.

"I think you ought to go on a date with Eddie. I think you two'd compliment each other."

Well, that's... not what Steve was expecting to hear.

"That's business to you? You came here to set me up on a blind date with your famous kid? I think he's gonna be a tad underwhelmed by a bookstore employee, Wayne." Steve's not gonna lie, he's a little intrigued by the prospect of dating a musician. He read a romance novel about one, not that long ago. Concerts, greenroom intimacy, targeted lyrics: Steve could be into it, in theory.

And ultimately, Steve did see photos of Eddie on Google and he's attractive. He looks good holding a guitar.

"He's gonna be home for a while so I figured now's a good time. Just go on one date. He's a big softie, you'll like him." Wayne pulls a book off the shelf and squints to try and read the title. He holds it further from his eyes before giving up and pushing it back into its slot.

"What happens if he doesn't like me? Will you still come around?" Steve runs a nervous hand through his hair. It wouldn't be the end of the world if Wayne stopped showing up, but it would probably hurt a little. It might fan the flame of his fear of abandonment.

"Of course, unless you break his heart. I know where you work, young man." Wayne pats his shoulder good-naturedly.

"Okay old man, you need my number to hand off?"

***

A day later, when Steve feels his phone buzz against his thigh, his instincts already know who it is. His heart gives that anticipatory squeeze he often gets before a first date with someone he finds attractive.

The text reads:

Hi Steve, this is eddie. Wayne swears we're soulmates. Wanna get dinner on friday?

It's a funny text to receive out of nowhere. Steve doubts Wayne actually used that word, but he imagines that Eddie is probably getting more of an earful than Steve got about this whole blind date. He also wonders what kind of person calls their dad by their first name.

Hi Eddie. I'd love to get dinner on Fri and discuss our soulmate status. I'm pretty sure he expects us to be married by the end of the night. Should I bring my tux? Also do you have a time and place in mind?

The master of puppets (Wayne) suggested we go to Maggiano's, are you okay with Italian? 8 maybe??? Tux optional but I think I will not be wearing one.

Haha. That sounds good Eddie, it's nice to hear from you. I'll see you soon.

***

Steve has to ask Amber to change his shift for Friday to work in the morning instead of the evening.

"Steve has somewhere other than work to be on a Friday night? Unheard of!" She slaps her palms down on the book display she was laying out.

"I know. I'm surprised too." Steve fiddles with his lanyard and gives her a 'please say yes' smile. She sighs.

"Yeah, I'll cover you. You can take my morning slot."

"Thank you! I owe you, boss."

***

When Friday arrives, Steve has the nervous jitters. It's been about a year since his last date, it didn't go very well. He's flattered that Wayne thinks highly enough of him to set him up with his kid.

Steve picks up a few small gifts for Eddie on his way home from work. He always brings his first dates a little something. He likes to see the way their faces light up. He thinks maybe he should get Eddie something music-related. So he walks into a little music store he's never been in and asks for small gift ideas for guitarists. He walks out wearing a smile, and hoping Eddie digs what he bought him.

And he's all smiles and confidence until he pulls up to the restaurant at eight and realizes he didn't send a confirmation text this morning. That's like, a rule, right? What if Eddie doesn't show up?

Steve steps out of the car and is equally anxious and relieved to find him leaning artfully against the restaurant near the front door with his hands in his pockets.

His curls are haloed by the warm light spilling out of the restaurant window. He's wearing a dark button-down with the sleeves rolled up to reveal tattoos on his forearms. And yeah, okay, he's hot.

The fact that Steve's going on a date with someone sort of famous hasn't fully sunk in. He's not sure he needs the added nerves though. He approaches as casually as possible and smiles when Eddie looks over.

The man does a double-take when he sees Steve. His eyebrows shoot up and he pushes off against the wall to stand straighter.

"Hi, Eddie?" Steve steps up onto the curb with a little wave. Eddie gives him a thorough once over.

"Oh, damn. Hi." He pulls a hand out of his pocket to shake Steve's.

Eddie is pretty up close. He's got long eyelashes and a bridge of little freckles across his nose. Steve notices all the little details that the on-stage photos didn't capture. He wonders if Wayne described what he looked like to Eddie who was at an informational disadvantage.

"I don't know what I was expecting you to look like, but my uncle didn't mention you were model pretty." Eddie tucks one of his big curls behind his ear and then steps forward to open the door. Steve's face gets warm at being called "model pretty", but he's terrible at taking compliments. He tries to redirect the conversation.

"Your uncle?" Steve asks.

"Wayne? My uncle?" Eddie motions towards the open door and follows after Steve once he's inside.

"Oh. You know he tells people that you're his son?"

Eddie's face softens and he scratches at his cheek. "Oh. Yeah well, I basically am. Maybe I should start calling him dad, I don't know."

"We don't take walk-ins." The hostess of the restaurant announces, breaking up their small talk. Steve looks over to see a tall woman with a slicked-back ponytail mad-dogging them. She has a cold demeanor, she kills the mood with one look between them. Steve knows the look, he's sure Eddie does too.

"Good to know! I have a reservation, though." Eddie responds.

"What's the name?" The woman pulls her iPad closer to herself like a shield.

"Munson." Eddie glances at Steve nervously.

"Hm. I don't see it." She pretends, tapping around meaninglessly. Eddie is getting agitated and maybe embarrassed too. He's scratching at his arm, unsure of how to proceed. First dates are already so awkward, especially blind ones. And if there's one thing about Steve, it's that he's gonna try to lighten the mood.

"Don't you know who he is?" Steve asks offendedly. Eddie whips around to look at Steve with wide, panic-filled eyes. The hostess raises an eyebrow and looks more closely at Eddie. It makes Steve chuckle. "I'm just kidding, let's go get burgers or something." He grabs Eddie's hand and pulls him back out the door.

"Holy shit, you scared me. I didn't know you knew who I was." Eddie has a hand on his chest and a wild grin. "She definitely didn't."

"I was just messing around. She did not want to seat our gay date." Steve sticks his hands in his pockets and then remembers Eddie's gift. "Oh but hey! I got you something."

Steve pulls out a nice bar of chocolate and a little tin of black pearly guitar picks. He offers them to Eddie with an open palm.

"Oh, what? You didn't have to do that." Eddie grabs them eagerly and slides open the tin. "This is so nice! How'd you know I've been needing picks? Now I feel doubly bad about dinner falling through."

"Hey, if I'm honest, sit-down dinner dates kind of give me anxiety. Too much pressure to keep the conversation going." Steve pulls out his keys, "You like burgers?"

Eddie huffs dramatically. "My palette is far too sophisticated for greasy burgers, Steve. I'm a chicken nugget man, obviously."

"That makes sense. You look like one." Steve teases. Eddie pouts.

"I'm taking that as a compliment."

"If you want nuggets we can just walk down the street. Unless you want me to drive?" Steve points in the direction of the row of fast-food restaurants.

"Yeah, let's walk."

Steve slowly turns and starts walking, glancing invitingly over his shoulder.

"So you know me." Eddie rattles the tin of guitar picks and looks a little worried by the prospect that Steve is some sort of fan.

"Only through your uncle, really. And maybe a short Google search. Sue me." Steve holds up his hands guiltily.

"Oh yeah, Wayne's my marketing manager. I send him out to spread the good word."

"Well I don't know who you've been instructing him to market to, but he's spending all his time in my store making me read book summaries to him because he conveniently forgets his glasses every time he comes in." Steve deadpans. Eddie chuckles and shakes his head knowingly.

"Yeah, It's this new long-con form of marketing. We decided to go all in for just one new fan." Eddie's got these sweet little dimples on either cheek when he smiles.

"Kinda worked, I dunno. I'm charmed by the Munsons." Steve and Eddie are veering towards each other as they walk. They're set to collide like two little asteroids. When they do end up bumping shoulders, it's soft. They stay close after that.

Steve hears a truly horrible sound coming from a bar a few meters ahead of them.

"Oh shit! Karaoke bar!" Eddie exclaims and speeds over. Eddie stands in front of the fenced-off patio and looks in while someone butchers Guns N' Roses. He looks absolutely delighted.

"What, you want to go show off in front of these poor, tone-deaf drunkards?" Steve rests his arms on the little fence and leans forward. Eddie vehemently disagrees.

"God no, I just like hearing all the very talented Midwestern voices." Eddie wiggles his eyebrows to express his sarcasm. "In other words, I enjoy making fun of bad music. I'm only human."

They sit there and give each other pained looks at the bad voices for a few minutes until someone starts trying to drunkenly stumble over the verse to a Nicki Minaj song and then Eddie drags Steve away in anguish.

"Can't take it anymore, Steve. Spare me."

***

The two of them have a good rapport, Steve thinks as they sit on a curb and share a big box of chicken nuggets. Maybe Wayne was right. It's playful. He can see how Eddie and Wayne share a handful of mannerisms and a sense of humor.

"Let's intertwine our arms like newlyweds do when they drink champagne," Steve says with a ketchup-covered chicken nugget in his hand. He wraps an arm around Eddie's and then takes a bite. Eddie follows his lead and giggles.

"I didn't know they did that. I've never been to a wedding." Eddie swallows and reaches for his soda.

"What? Never?"

Eddie shakes his head and looks up at the night sky. It's too cloudy to see any stars, unfortunately.

"My tux is in the car, by the way, should things pan out tonight." Steve jokes.

"I think they're panning." Eddie winks and leans in slightly.

"Oh yeah? Have I lived up to Wayne's description of me?" Steve bats his eyelashes and gives Eddie a sweet little smile.

"You've exceeded it, sweetheart." Eddie picks up Steve's hand and presses a chaste kiss to the inside of his wrist. Steve's heart jumps. When Eddie pulls back, he doesn't pull back far.

"Do you ever kiss on a first date?" Eddie whispers and squeezes Steve's hand. He glances at Steve's lips.

"Mmm, I could be persuaded." Steve feels a heady rush at the fact that he has somehow won the interest of a successful musician who probably meets loads of people every day. Steve reaches forward and tugs at one of Eddie's loose curls. He twists it around his finger and looks up with big doe eyes.

The tension is cut from Eddie's body when Steve looks at him like that. The move has a pretty good success rate at this point. And it doesn't fail him tonight. Eddie rests a hand on the base of Steve's neck. He strokes his thumb back and forth against the hollow of Steve's collarbone and leans in slowly.

Eddie's warm lips press against his own gently, experimentally. Their lips make a sweet sound when the suction is broken and Eddie's immediately reseal against Steve like he's irresistible. It's been forever since Steve kissed anyone, especially anyone worth kissing. He forgot how sweet and floaty it feels.

The hand on Steve's collar slides up so it's lightly holding his neck, it feels quietly possessive. It makes Steve's face heat up. Eddie's free arm wraps around Steve's waist pulling him closer. He lets himself be pulled.

Eddie starts getting more confident and hums softly when Steve weaves a hand into his long hair.

Steve could keep this up for hours, he wants to. But as dark as it is, he doesn't love the idea of continuing this so out in the open. He pulls back with regret.

"Damn, how are you not already taken?" Eddie wipes at Steve's shiny lips with his thumb.

"How are you not already taken? You're the accomplished one." Steve counters, squeezing one of Eddie's knees.

Eddie gathers their trash around them and stuffs it into the paper bag. "Well, I'll be home for a while if you'd want to do this again sometime. I can take you to a nice restaurant next time, I promise." He stands to throw away the trash. "Damn, I don't want the night to be over..."

"It doesn't have to be, you're welcome at mine." Steve leans back on one of his hands and bats his eyelashes up at Eddie.

"My New Year's resolution was to not do first date hookups, though."

"We don't have to, just come hang out." Steve holds an arm out to be pulled up to his feet from where he’s still sitting on the curb.

"Oh, yeah okay. You want me to?" Eddie pulls him to his feet with more force than necessary. It sends them both stumbling and giggling.

"Obviously I want you to."

***

The walk back to the restaurant is much faster than it was at the start of the night. They regretfully have to split at the parking lot, each having their own ride.

"Wait, call me so we can still talk on the way there." Eddie requests before jogging off to Wayne's truck. There really isn't much need to talk on the phone since Steve lives so close, but it's kind of cute that he wants to. Steve hits the call button on Eddie's contact.

"Hello, to whom am I speaking?" Eddie asks in a formal, over-the-top voice.

"This is Steve Harrington. I'm contacting you regarding your car's extended warranty." Steve backs out of his spot and waits for Eddie to do the same before driving out of the parking lot.

"Oh wow, what a coincidence. I was just wondering if my car had an extended warranty." Eddie always plays along, he digs into all of Steve's jokes and finds his own spot to grow there.

Steve drives slower than he normally would so that he doesn't get separated from his date. Eddie doesn't appreciate the sentiment.

"You drive like a grandpa. Has anyone ever told you that?" Eddie laughs and honks his horn. Steve hears it both over the phone and from his window.

"I'm only driving slow so we don't get separated, asshole."

"There's barely anyone on the road tonight to separate us, but it's fine, Steve. I value your safety. Drive at your comfortable geriatric pace."

When they pull up to a red light, Eddie instructs Steve to roll down his window so they can stick their hands out and play Rock Paper Scissors. Steve is so distracted watching Eddie's hand through his side mirror that he misses when the light turns.

"It's green, honey," Eddie alerts him softly through the phone, and Steve apologizes.

He's smiling real big the whole way there and when Steve eventually gets out of the car, Eddie comes up and grabs him from behind.

Eddie plants a few eager kisses on the side of Steve's neck. "You're fun, Steve."

"I'll show you real fun some other time." He jokes and pulls Eddie towards his place.

As soon as Steve opens the door to his apartment, he feels self-conscious about how dull it looks inside. Eddie looks around quietly. His eye catches on a picture of Steve and Robin.

"That's my best friend, Robin." Steve clarifies, just in case Eddie reads it wrong like dates have in the past.

Eddie smiles and pulls Steve back against his chest. "She looks nice."

"Looks can be deceiving." Steve laments which has Eddie chuckling into his shoulder. Eddie rubs at Steve's tummy.

What Steve really wants, what he's been desperate for, for months and months is human touch. He just wants to cuddle so badly. And Eddie doesn't seem the type to cuddle, but looks can be deceiving, so Steve's gonna ask anyway.

"Wanna cuddle and watch trash reality TV?" Steve's shoulders rise to his ears, it's a defensive gesture and he's expecting to be rejected. Eddie looks slightly amused by his offer, but he nods.

***

"So you liked him alright?" Wayne asks smugly patting the counter. Steve nervously watches the back of the store where Amber is reorganizing. Steve shouldn't be having a conversation like this at work while she's around.

"Yes, Wayne." Steve rolls his eyes. "Your nephew is lovely."

"I told him he should come here with me next time. Maybe we'll both visit ya." Wayne looks happy. The corners of his default frown have been pulled upwards by the return of his nephew. He's a good man. Steve thinks if his kid was only home a few weeks he'd want to hoard all of his attention, surely not set him up on dates.

And that's the thing about Wayne, it seems like he puts the people he cares about first. Steve wonders if Wayne is all that lonely when Eddie's gone, or if he just comes into the store so often because he knows Steve is.

"I'd love that." Steve hopes things work out with the Munsons.

[morosis-haze]

Bakugou slowly moving you into his apartment

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Katsuki Bakugou x fem!black reader

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: a curse word I believe that’s it

❒ Bakugou who doesn’t really want to admit it, but he’s been getting used to your presence on those days you come over to the point he wants you to stay the night

❒ Bakugou who was asking or coming up with excuses on why you shouldn’t leave “There’s a few more episodes til we finish the season” You might as well stay on the couch cuddled up with him only a few more episodes until you could leave, right?

❒ It was all a plan leading to the “It’s late you should stay over tonight” He says it like he didn’t have you stay at his place until it was pitch black. How could you argue it was normal to not want your girlfriend out late there were a bunch of dangerous things that lurked the night, even if you’re also a pro hero who could defend yourself fine until you get home

❒ Bakugou who heard you talk about how multiple mornings and nights he is ruining your routine so he gets stuff you need

❒ It started small with him buying another toothbrush paired with a cover on it, it stood next to his in the cup. If you ask about it he’ll only say “So? You’re over here so damn much complaining about not having a toothbrush.” He acts as if you’re the one inviting yourself over

❒ “Maybe I’ll come over less.. y’know actually sleep in my apartment” You see his gaze flicker for a second before he grunts out “Well that’s not needed anymore” he moves onto a different topic ignoring the teasing smile on your face

❒ Bakugou kept slowly trying to move you in never mentioning it to you. He’d rather not deal with you being smug. That wasn’t gonna help though.

❒ Next time you come over to Bakugou's apartment you smell the scent of your favorite candle that said man had previously complained about when he was at your place “I thought you hated this scent” he looks at you as if he doesn’t know what you’re talking about “What scent?” You point to the recently burned-out candle “It grew on me” he rolls his eyes seeing you smile about it, but you can see the slight pull of one on his face

❒ You were both coming from a party a class 1a reunion if you will though there seems to be plenty of those as the students all got close over the years. Bakugou was the one who picked you up and was gonna drop you off home though he had different plans.

❒ You were busy about to post pictures of Mina and you along with the rest of the girls when you finally look up onto the road “Isn’t this the way to your apartment?” You glance at him as he continues “ ’m too tired to notice… you wanna just sleepover?”

❒ Maybe he really was tired and used to all the times of you staying over it was becoming an instinct. You were able to see the weary expression on his face and you didn’t wanna make him turn back around to drop you home so you’ll stay over…again

❒ Used to all the nights over here you go into one of his drawers planning on wearing something of his own but you notice everything in it is different it’s not a lot, but there were now a few clothes in your size and there were three bonnets in different colors and patterns

❒ “Katsuki are you changing your style?” He goes into his room raising an eyebrow at your question “You know I didn’t really take you for the bonnet kinda guy, especially one of this color but you do.” You picked up a patterned one a smug look on your face

❒ He huffs electing to ignore your comment too tired to be bothered he mutters “It’s for you” before he goes back into the bathroom letting you change in his room

❒ You get done changing and head to the bathroom knocking on the door before being allowed in you brush your teeth alongside him as you both finish up he nods to something on the counter you didn’t notice it was your favorite cleanser

❒ You both continue with your routines before heading to bed he seems to have a small smile on his face maybe because you aren’t complaining or seeing you look even slightly happier from his actions improved his mood

❒ The weeks continue you stay a little longer in the morning and you’re not as reluctant on staying the night. Bakugou gets more things for you, anything to make you more comfortable so maybe you could stay longer than last time

❒ Your favorite snacks were in his pantry, a duplicate of your lotion next to his so you no longer use up your travel-sized bottle from your purse, but what you weren’t expecting is the new silk pillowcases

❒ Bakugou may have overheard Mina talking about her new pillowcases and how they’re so amazing, as he listened it sounded like it could benefit you so he looked into it

❒ Sure he could’ve just given them to you for your own bedroom, but he used them in his even though the purpose of them being here is for you

❒ “I can’t tell if you’re getting bougie or if you genuinely wanted silk pillowcases..” you joked looking at the man as he climbed into his bed with you “They’re good for your hair and shit” “Good for my hair… you got silk pillowcases because of me?” He doesn’t look at you as he answers “There are other benefits it’s not just cause of you...”

❒ There goes a smug expression returning back to your face “Careful I might just stay here forever, Katsuki” You give him his goodnight kiss before laying down as he turns off the lights you hear him say “Maybe that’s what I want”

𝐀/𝐍: Back from the hiatus I’ll be redoing my taglist so if you want to join it fill out this form

[stararch4ngelqueen]

grocery shopping with jason, beyond obsessed with doing domestic things with this big strong sometimes broody guy

Idk why the idea of Jason being the only sane person if the BatFam went to Costco or Sam’s club is funny to me.

Grocery shopping at night only. Jason is your scary dog privilege. I didn’t mean for this to be so short, I’ll probably do a target run at some point 😅

—

“Smell this one.” You hold up two various body washes for Jason to smell. One is a creamy, soft vanilla, the other is a fragrant, artificial strawberry with lilac leaves printed on the bottle.

“They both smell fine,” he insists after smelling them. “Why’re you asking me?”

“Cause I know you use it sometimes.”

He says nothing at this quiet truth. Maybe sometimes he’d reach for your bottle during his exhausted showers. Maybe he didn’t care if the smell clung to him for a good while. He didn’t mind one bit.

“That one.” He points towards the scent he preferred.

Essentials first. That was the quiet deal before getting produce. You loved asking for his opinions on a lot of stuff, since you practically ‘lived in the same bed.’

Jason didn’t particularly mind when he’d tread along with you when you wanted a new soap or lotion. Sometimes it was kind of amusing the array of options their turned out to be. You had a good nose, picking out scents he adored smelling on you every time he held you close, invading his hoodies every time you wore them.

“Do we have popcorn at home?” Came your first question after his arms settled snugly around your waist, holding you content to his chest.

“Half a box yeah, why?” You try to tilt your head up, but fail when Jason purposely rests his chin ontop.

“Just wondering,” he answers. “You ‘bout done here?”

“Yeah. Why? Too many single girls making eye contact?”

“More like a ton of single mothers.” He chuckles, breaking into a laugh when you lightly slap the back of his hand.

Checking for produce was a team effort. Sometimes you can’t remember if you have enough of this or that, but Jason’s good memory usually came in hand.

“You had one of these before?” You question whilst holding up a spiky, untrustworthy vegetable after grabbing some cheery looking bell peppers.

“Uh, no? Don’t think so. Don’t know how you would eat those.”

“We could ask Alfred,” you reply while slightly rocking the cart back and forth. “Anything else?”

“I’m thinking.” Jason keeps still, tilting his head back in thought. “I’m thinking got everything. Anything else you want, babe?”

You would say yes, but you don’t really know what you’re particularly in the mood for after filling up your shopping list, having extra money to spend.

This led to the both of you wandering around the store, slightly vacant due to most people settling at home, eating their meals or spending time with their families.

You peer along the freezer windows as you stroll by, nearly coming to a stop after examining some interesting coffee ice cream.

Bump.

The sudden soft prod of the cart frame against your behind made you scoff, turning over your shoulder to peer at a smirking Jason.

“Oops.”

“Rude!”

“Sorry. You walk too slow.”

Scoffing, you grab a bag of frozen blueberries and turn around, witnessing Jason quickly and carelessly toss a bag of frozen avocado into the cart.

“Hey, theirs a system Todd!” You step closer, quickly rearranging the produce and snacks back into their ‘original’ spots.

“Says the woman playing Tetris with our food.”

“The avocados crushing the bread!” You gesture towards the produce. You click your tongue and scoff again to Jason’s delight as you left the bread untouched.

Good thing too. You almost saw the ice cream he had hidden underneath it.

—

Going grocery shopping with the mans 🧍🏽‍♀️

[hopelesslyromanticshark]

would you consider writing headcanons for percy and a mortal reader? like maybe someone he can’t help but fall for even though he’s afraid of putting them in danger given the differences in their worlds? i love your writing by the way!

⋆⭒˚.⋆ percy jackson x mortal! reader hcs

content: percy jackson x mortal! reader hcs warning: language, mentions of death and blood and all that gross stuff author's note: i thought this one was gonna be a pain in my but to write but it was actually so cutesy???? also the last line is brutal i know but i couldn't help myself. so good, love love love. hope you guys like it too!!

you guys met in school, obvi

percy was struggling to read the board and you could tell, silently sliding your notes over to him and pretending not to, just to save him the embarrassment

"thank you for...ya know," percy muttered once the teacher turned her back.

"of course. my eyes bug out sometimes too. we gotta look out for each other," the girl mused back, a soft smile on her face as she playfully winked at him.

his stomach instantly became an olympic athlete, doing flips and twists like nobody’s business

he knew it wouldn't work out though

she was, probably, just another mortal and he wasn't willing to put her life in danger

even if she was super cute

and sweet

and caring

did i mention cute? okay, just checking.

but, he indulged a little bit, allowing side conversations during class and sharing of lunches

but no more, he promised himself

and then he kissed her

yeah, that promise didn't last long

it was fine and he lied...a lot.

"oh, cute necklace! is that from like a summer camp or something?"

"something like that, yeah."

"you've got so many scars, percy. you must be like super clumsy."

"sooooo clumsy. ha..."

"you mind if i borrow this pen real quick? i just need to-"

"NO NOT THAT PEN- sorry, sorry, here’s another one. that ones, er, special."

he didn't want to lie, really, but he also didn't want to hurt her.

to know is to put her in danger

and he couldn't have that

she’d met his mom, obviously she was the most important thing in his life

not just anybody meets mrs. sally jackson

and then, while riding the subway on the way to the aquarium for a date, it happened.

becuase of course it did.

percy was holding onto the pole, his free hand firmly resting on her waist and holding her close and away from the creeps of the new york undergrounds

"percy...why's that guy staring at you like that?" the girl whispered up to him.

percy's eyes instantly darting in the direction she nodded to, ready to scare off anyone who dared to look at his girlfriend in the wrong way

but then he faltered, his shoulder's sinking and his brain working double time to figure out how to get her out of here safety and deal with the monster.

"peresus jackson. i think this is your stop," the man hissed, standing up from his seat and shoving aside new yorkers as he approached.

percy pushed y/n behind him, taking a protective stand as he dug riptide out of his pocket

"nope. we're going all the way madison today. nice try," percy replied, uncapping riptide.

"percy?! is that a sword?" y/n asked in her panic, causing percy to turn to her with a furrowed brow.

"you can see this?" he holds riptide up for emphasis

"yes! obviously!"

"hold that thought," he said before swinging at the monster.

all the other new yorkers quickly scrambled to one side of the train, whipping their phones out and recording.

y/n slapped these phones down with a glare, shaking her head at them. 

she wasn’t entirely sure what was going on but she wasn’t just gonna let them record percy with a sword. That would surely land him in juvie.

percy, once done with the monster, quickly grabbed hold of y/n wrist and pulled her out of the subway just as the doors slammed shut behind them.

he dragged her with him, running all the way until he found a secluded ally to duck into, his eyes rapidly looking around for more danger.

"percy, what's going on?! where did you get a sword?! why do you even carry that on you and why did that man want to kill you and-"

"are you okay?" percy whispered through her worried rant and she stopped, nodding up at him.

"y-yeah, i'm okay. are you?"

"i've fought worse."

"percy...what do you mean? be honest with me...please," she all but begged and percy hung his head, hoping to avoid this moment for his whole life.

"it's gonna sound crazy."

"tell me anyway."

so he did.

he told her everything, correcting every lie he told her, every half-truth.

she listened, nodding along and asking the occasional question, but mainly listening

"so, yeah, that's everything."

"what i'm hearing is my boyfriend is a total badass."

"that's what you got out of that?!?! not the whole 'half-god' thing?!?!?"

"i kinda already figured that. i mean, look at you-"

"shut up."

a few weeks later, while they were hanging out in percy's room and sally was making cookies for them, is when the reality of it all hit y/n.

"percy?" she whispered, causing the boy to pull his eyes from the movie that was on and look down at her.

"yeah?"

"am i...am i gonna be in, like, danger? with you?"

"honestly? yes. every second you spend with me is probably another year you lose from your life."

there was pause, percy swallowing thickly before opening his mouth to give her permission to leave, he'd understand. hades, he'd do the same.

"okay," she replied with a shrug, cuddling closer.

"you sure?" he pushed, thought he really didn't want her to change her mind.

"thirty seconds spent with you is worth thirty years without you to me. easily."

[unreliablesnake]

Jealous Konig and Jealous Ghost fic respectively.

That’s all I ask for 🧎‍♀️

Note: I hope you'll like it. I love the idea of jealous Ghost. / If you want to know when I post new stuff, follow @unreliablesnakefics and hit the get notifications button. I don't have a taglist.

*******

GHOST

When Ghost was jealous, it showed.

While the two of you were out for a drink with a few friends, someone who tagged alone–a guy he had never seen before–tried to get a little too close to you. All he did was go to the bar for another beer, and when he returned, he noticed you being deep in a conversation with another man. He wasn't afraid you would end up being unfaithful, but he sure as hell wanted everyone to know you were spoken for.

So he stepped next to you, an arm wrapping around your waist and pulling you against his body as he flashed a casual smile at the guy. He didn’t say anything. He knew he didn’t have to. With his height, muscular build, and military training he could be intimidating enough to make them run away after apologizing for making a move on you.

But this guy didn’t bulge. He returned the smile and raised his drink a little before turning his attention back to you. The audacity of this asshole!

Ghost leaned down a little to rest his chin on top of your head, making it even more obvious that you were here with your boyfriend, not some random guy. “Let’s go home,” he told you, even though the guy was talking to you.

You looked up, meeting his gaze when he moved a little to see your eyes, but you only gave him a confused look. “It’s only eight,” you pointed out.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the guy smirking. It took every ounce of willpower to keep himself from punching him in the face. But he would never do something like this when you were around, so he just kissed your temple and said, “I’m bored.”

“What, you have something better to do at home?” you asked innocently.

Ghost flashed a wide smile at you, glad the opportunity came in his way. “I have a few ideas,” he replied before kissing you gently. “We don’t even have to leave the bedroom for that,” he added, deliberately loud enough so that the guy could hear him.

You giggled as you wrapped your arms around his neck and stood on your toes to kiss him. When Ghost asked you if you would rather stay with your new friend, you asked, “What friend?”

This worked. That fucker let out a groan and left the two of you alone finally. With a victorious smile he picked you up and kissed you again, smiling to himself because apparently he was still the most important person in your life. He loved this. He loved knowing that he could always count on you.

KÖNIG

On the battlefield, König was extremely good at keeping his cool. He learned a lot there, things he could use in his personal life later on. But jealousy? That was the worst, something he couldn’t really handle.

It was clear that he was lucky to have you; a woman as beautiful as you would probably not deal with his hectic work schedule and the long missions he was sent on. Others might just get bored of waiting around and pursue a new relationship with someone who’s always available.

But you waited for him every single time. While he was gone, he always received spicy photos or videos, you were more than happy to help him get his release with phone sex, and sometimes you just sent him sweet messages that he cherished more than the adult contents.

This is why he felt like he’d been stabbed in the back when he found an unfamiliar man standing in your living room on the day he returned from a two months long mission. He saw your car outside, he knew you were home, so he assumed he was your… guest. He kept his cool for now, and he hoped his face only gave away his surprise and nothing more.

“You must be König,” the man suddenly said as he stood up from the couch and walked over to him to offer his hand.

The soldier shook it, his eyes watching the man curiously, trying to figure out what his intention was. “And you are?” he asked after some silence.

“Oh, good, you got to know each other,” you chirped when you entered the room.

The stranger returned to the couch, while you closed the gap between the two of you and gave him a hug. A hug. Where was the way you always kissed him after being apart for this long? He loved to keep you close, feeling your delicate hands on his arms or hips as you tried to keep your balance while tiptoeing to kiss him.

He gave you a questioning look, expecting an explanation that was long due in this situation. “He’s Frank. We work together,” you answered the question he never asked.

“And he’s here because?” he asked quietly, making sure the guy didn’t hear him.

You rolled your eyes, already knowing what this was all about. “I bought you a present and he helped me with it,” you explained. “Nothing happened, babe.”

König nodded. He didn’t want to talk about his insecurities in front of total strangers, so for now he decided to play along. He sat in the armchair next to the couch and started a conversation with Frank, asking him questions that made it feel like an interrogation. Do you have a significant other? Do you meet my girlfriend outside of work often?

And Frank gave him the answers he wanted. He didn’t have anyone at the moment, and yes, he did meet you outside of work when the team went out for a drink every once in a while. “Especially when you’re away for long and she gets lonely,” he added, twisting the knife he probably didn’t even know he was holding.

After a painfully long half an hour Frank suddenly realized he was in the way. Sure, he said he had something to take care of, but König knew the truth. Ever since he had first seen him, Frank had been intimidated by him. It wasn’t hard to be intimidating when he was a 6'10” tall and muscular soldier. Sometimes his size came in handy.

Once he left, you sat in his lap in the armchair and wrapped your arms around his neck. “He’s just a friend,” you assured him again.

His hands moved up your thighs, his thumb rubbing your skin as we watched you. It was enough for him, he believed you. At least that’s what he was trying to tell himself. In reality his mind was in overdrive for the rest of the day as he tried to figure out what you were doing every time he was away.

What if you had someone?

[walpu]

Aventurine and Ratio hcs of their s/o performing a lap dance to them...👀 (separately)

oh 👀👀👀👀

sorry it's a bit short I'm writing this in between flights 😭a really hope I didn't mess up with Ratio's characterization since it's my first time writing for him

performing a lap dance to them

characters - Aventurine, dr. Ratio notes - gn!reader, a bit suggestive, no beta

Aventurine

Ngl he would adore it.

Having you so close to him, giving him your undivided attention while performing something just for him? Yeah.

He's greedy for your attention in general so of course he would like you doing something so intimate for him.

He's a patient man so he would not jump into actions, allowing you to tease him while his eyes linger on your partly exposed body.

May try to seek your touch, hugging your waist or unbuttoning your shirt for you. It's up for you to decide if he's allowed to touch you during the prosses tho 🤭

If you tell him that he's allowed only to watch then he'll do just that.

"My, so strict~ Will I at least be rewarded for my patience? It's no fun if there is no reward~"

He's bluffing, seeing you like that is already a reward.

He's seen you naked before so it shouldn't be a big deal anyway just some fun but damn. You, on hid lap, slooooowly removing your clothes while grinding against his hips?

Okay maybe he's not so patient actually.

He'll let you finish but as soon as you're done with the dance he's all over you, kissing you as if he's been starving for it for months, his hands caressing your body anywhere he can reach.

Don't try to play hard to get with him or he'll turn into a needy and whining mess I'm so serious. You promised him the reward for his patience after all.

dr. Ratio

lmao this man

I know a lot of people see him as a repressed virgin but I really don't think that's the case. MAYBE he's a virgin. But I he's not repulsed/embarrassed when it comes to the topic of sex or kinky stuff.

He is, however, a man with priorities. And right now his priority is to rate his students' homework.

So can you stop distracting him? You can't.

He scolds you and rolls his eyes when you laugh, trying to focus on the papers and not on the way your shirt slides down your shoulders. And differently not on the way you keep grinding against his hips. And surely not on the way you put your arms around his neck, whispering god knows what into his ear.

He could easily try to push you away if he wanted to. Don't point this out to him, he's aware.

It's so embarrassing to him because he knows he should focus but he just can't, not when you're doing this. And he needs to be fully focused if he wants to cure his students from "the persistent disease named ignorance". So dramatic and for what

Maybe if you remind him that body and mind need rest to function properly he'll relax just a bit.

Eventually his focus fully shifts to you, his hands, while not persistent, find their way to your hips, pulling you closer.

May or may not give come remarks about your technic.

Ask him to grade your performance and he actually will lol

"Zero points for your behavior" "Aw :(" "...but seven points for the technic and emotional involvement".

Now why the fuck it's only seven.

Now you just have to do it again. You know, to show your improvement.

[vrisrezis]

Atsv characters taking care of s/o in pain

Fun fact I deal with physical pain a lot bcuz my health is shit. I have been in so much pain I couldn’t even sleep for the last 2 days. Was especially bad today so here’s smth kinda self indulgent.

(Hc portion)

Gwen is insistent on having miguel or jessica check you out to see if they could possibly ease your pain. Miguel is from the future technically, there has to be something. She hates the idea of you being in so much pain you can’t even lie down comfortably, you can’t sit still, you can’t sleep, or even worse if you start crying? She feels awful. She has heating packs to help you ease your pain if it helps, and she keeps you on a strict schedule with taking medication so that your pain is as limited as possible. She does everything she can for you, especially given the lack of knowledge she has on this typa thing.

(Small fic portion)

“I hate seeing you like this” she sighs, kissing you on the forehead, pressing the big heating pack to your stomach. There is instant relief, even if that relief is short lived and your once again reminded of your pain, she still feels you relax. Even if only slightly. “I’m sorry I can’t do more for you.” she frowns, feeling guilt.

“Nonsense” you say, giving her a weak smile, putting a hand on her cheek. She puts her hand on yours, holding it in place on her cheek. “You being here is enough for me. You did everything you could. This is just… how it is, yknow?”

She sighs, taking your hand off her cheek so she can kiss your knuckles. “But it shouldn’t be. You shouldn’t have to deal with this. I wish I could just take this pain away from you.” she presses her forehead against yours, and for a moment, even if it was brief, you feel peace.

(Hc portion)

Miles is so unsure how he can help you but damn if he isn’t determined as fuck to help ease your pain even if only slightly. He is extremely sympathetic towards you. He genuinely cannot imagine how it must be to constantly go through pain to the point you can’t even get proper rest. He will try to get you to relax your muscles, which can be difficult granted the pain you’re in, but he knows if he’s able to succeed with that you can at least get some sleep. Back massages or even massaging the places that hurt, he’s all on it. Always has medicine with him, might even ask his mom to watch over you for him while he’s gone doing Spiderman stuff, even if just to check on you.

(Short fic portion)

“You didn’t have to do this miles,” you say, chugging down your third dose of ibuprofen today. “Thank you though.” you say, before lying back down.

“Of course I had to do this for you babe!” he says with a roll of his eyes, annoyed you’d even suggest he didn’t have to help you out. “If I can’t be here for you in your time of need, what’s the point in being your boyfriend, your best friend for that matter.” he continues to speak as he lies down next to you. “Roll over.” he commands, which you aren’t quite used to him doing. He’s been acting rather motherly towards you lately, but you can’t exactly blame him with the state you’ve been in.

You follow his orders and do so, and he begins to message your back, and you audibly sigh without meaning to. He laughs as a result, making you laugh too. “Shut up.” you roll your eyes, and he can’t help but laugh even more. “Hey I’m glad you’re just finally relaxing.” he says before kissing the back of your neck.

Somehow you’re boyfriend always knows how to make your agonizing pain a bit more bearable.

(Hc portion)

My man hobie somehow manages to get his hands on morphine. You will not be dealing with this pain on his watch, he will find a way. High key hates the fact you’re going through this and does everything he can to ease it or prevent it. Might talk to you about random shit, about his day or about other people or crazy shit that happened, anything as a means to distract you. Though this can prove to be difficult, hobie has a relaxing voice and he’s able to soothe you no matter how bad your pain is. Might sing ya to sleep with his lovely voice.

(Small fic portion)

Your quiet as you listen to hobie hum. While his music tastes consisted of punk (obviously) he was a bit of a metal head as well, and it’s not that you didn’t like that genre of music but it was far from relaxing. So you had calmly asked hobie if he could please sing something that wasn’t so intense.

Soft shit was not his thing but if it eased your pain, who is he to complain?

He had his arms around you, your head on his chest and you felt it rumble as he quietly sang to you.

“Cariño, eres un amor”

“Something about you babe.”

“Something about you babe”

he finally finishes, and you smile for the first time today.

“Thank you, hobie.” you whisper, and he kisses the crown of your head. “Anytime hun”

(Hc portion)

Pavitr feels terrible omg bless this boy he does everything he can. Buys you a lot of fattening foods as tribute. He knows he shouldn’t make it a habit especially if you’re pain is like constant and happens a lot but he cannot help himself. His baby should not be in pain! Sometimes kisses the spots your in pain and likes to rub the spots in an attempt to soothe you and your pain. Buys a lot of medicine and pain relief creams. May try to distract you with watching movies and stuff, but also will straight up ask you if there’s any other way he can help you. Definitely makes you peppermint tea to help ease your pain.

(Small fic portion)

You drink the last of your tea, placing the empty cup on your end table and lay all the way back next to your boyfriend. He offers to put the cup in your sink and clean it, but you shake your head. “It’s fine I can do it tomorrow.” you say, before resting your cheek on his shoulder, “besides I want you here with me.” you admit, and he smiles at your little confession before wrapping is arms around you in an embrace. “Aww babe!” he says, before smooching you on the cheek with an annoyingly loud, “mwah!”

you laugh as he attempts to kiss you more all over your face, putting your hand on his face and pushing him in an attempt to get him to stop smothering you. “Baby cut it out!” you laugh, “why? I just wanna love youuuu!” he whines, and you giggle, “because I’m trying to watch the movie!”

Your boyfriend sighs before conceding. “Fine.” he says, and you finally turn back to watch the movie.

“Just kidding!” he says quickly, attacking your neck with little kisses this time, making you laugh even harder than before. “Oh babe Cmon!”

He’s just glad he succeeded in distracting you from your pain, for a little while.

[amxrany]

!! CHAPTER 7 / DIASOMNIA ARC SPOILERS !!

Damn we are eating a lot (Part 2):

During the battle, Baul is shooked on how Silver and Sebek are good at dealing with horses to which Sebek replies that they're part fo the equestrian club so it's a natural thing for them

Yuu and Grim were about to get attacked by an Iron Man but Lilia comes in to defend them. BUT THEN LILIA PROCEEDS TO SMACK SILVER AND SEBEK BEING ALL "This is why I hate children 😒" 😭😭😭

After the battle we reach the castle (which is the castle in the Sleeping Beauty movie) AND THEN WE SEE THE KNIGHT OF DAWN

Anyways going back to the topic, we also get Henric, who is pretty much going "Meleanor if you don't get out of that castle right now we'll invade the castle together with the Knight of Dawn" AND JESUS FUCK HIS SPRITE 💀

Yucks

It turns out the Knight of Dawn doesn't want any part of this either, cuz Henric wants Meleanor's magic orb and dragon egg (aka Malleus) since they're really precious things

Idk what's up with this chapter and their thing for turning characters into orphans cuz the Knight of Dawn is also an orphan adopted by the king 🧍‍♀️, and Henric tells him that if he can steal the orb maybe it could save the king and Leah

We then see Meleanor, WHO IS A FUCKING BADDIE SO DAMN REAL TWST YKNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOUR WOMEN 😍😍😍

WE ALSO SEE EGG MALLEUS AWWWW

Meleanor tells them that she was planning to take a nap with the egg but useless people interrupted that, and she refers to the egg as Malleus already 🥹. Lilia is just confused and asks how is she sure that the egg is a boy, in which Meleanor replies that a mother is always sure and knows that Malleus will grow up to be beautiful like his father, Leverne

But then she sees Sebek and Silver and makes them get down on their knees (MAAM I'LL ALSO GET DOWN ON MY KNEES FOR YOU 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️), she then goes on about how humans are weak and stuff. Lilia tries to defend them but Baul tells us about Meleanor's hatred for humans and that we might as well stay quiet

But then Lilia loses his shit as well and tries to tell Meleanor about the danger that's just waiting outside but Meleanor refuses, saying that she wants to fight because she's a mother who wants to protect egg Malleus (I swear I can't this update is making me cry 😭). So she tells everyone to escape with the egg while she fights the Knight of Dawn and we get this scene of Lilia holding on to egg Malleus

Meleanor tells them to leave but Lilia refuses. So out of anger, she zaps him which causes everyone to panic cuz he has the egg and Silver tries to stop it but Meleanor gets even more mad that she zaps him too like jesus this woman and her anger issues. Silver tries to plead with them to stop fighting because people who love each other don't fight

Meleanor replies that even if she doesn't make it, Malleus is still there. But Lilia tells her that Malleus can't hatch without the true love of a parent. BUT THEN WE GET THIS REVEAL THAT LILIA PROPOSED TO MELEANOR 200 YEARS AGO AND HE ALSO LOVED LEVERNE LIKE LILIA MELEANOR LEVERNE POLY RELATIONSHIP IS FUCKING REAL. Meleanor reassures Lilia that he will find a way to love Malleus since he also loved her and Leverne 🥹

She then summons thorns that drags Lilia and the rest away from the castle, saying her final goodbye to both Lilia and Malleus (I'm crying rn guys). Lilia tries to find a way back in to save Meleanor but Baul yells at him to calm down cuz he was still holding egg Malleus, and that Meleanor trusted them to protect the egg

Meleanor makes her appearance to the Knight of Dawn and Silver Owls, which starts another battle....

Next: Part 3

Previous: Part 1

[theeoriginals]

Idea: Reader is part of the scooby gang (an adult doing them a favour or something - pls not a teenager it makes me cringe) and Klaus catches her staring (because obviously) and is cocky and flirty and likes riling her up

i just like you | klaus mikaelson

author's note; this was so fun omfg i love him sm

warnings: honestly sort of grumpyxsunshine but somehow klaus is the sunshine here ? teasing, taunting, klaus is a flirty menace, reader is super in denial, implied that reader is a vampire hunter but it's not really important, also this exists in some sort of strange canon universe so don't read into it too much, fluff, making out, a steamy-ish scene at the end, but it doesn't get too graphic so don't worry! no use of y/n!

She doesn’t like owing people favors. She doesn’t like when other people owe her favors, either, but people seem to think that trading things off is the best way to live, and she’s hardly got the power to change something so universally accepted. 

She doesn’t like owing people favors, but in this case, it’s not something she can renegotiate. Alaric saved her life, and the least she could do is help him out with something. 

Her view on that changes very quickly when he looks at her and tells her they want her to make a deal with the devil. In fact, she’d rather Alaric had just let her die than ask her to do anything with or for Klaus Mikaelson. 

“I would quite literally rather die than do that, Ric,” She deadpans, givin him a completely unamused look that makes him grimace. 

“No, I know, I know,” He holds his hands up, a desperation to his pleading tone. “It’s a lot to ask of you, but no one else can deal with him like you do. They’d end up dead, or something,” 

“Why do you think I can deal with him any differently than you, or Damon, or something? I hate him just as much!” 

“Oh, well, that’s just not very nice of you, darling,” The man in question drawls, smirk audible in his voice as they look over to where he’s sitting on Alaric’s couch, looking like he practically lives there. She supposes he technically did, for a minute. “Hate is such a strong word.” 

She gives him a saccharine smile, tilting her head. “I’m so sorry, Klaus, did I hurt your feelings? I didn’t know that evil hybrids who kill anyone who breathes wrong could have feelings.” 

Klaus’s smirk only widens at her visible ire, and he props his chin up on his hand as he looks at her. “I have every feeling for you, sweetheart,” 

Her eyes momentarily widen to the size of dinner plates, and then she quickly schools her expression back into a flat glare, snapping her gaze away from him as she huffs unhappily. “You want me to deal with that all day, Alaric? By myself? I thought we were friends,” 

“We are friends,” He stresses, shooting Klaus a warning look that the Original dutifully ignores. “That’s why I’m asking you to do this. All you have to do is make the drive up to Whitmore and get the rest of Isobel’s stuff– we need to see if she has any information on the cure, or anything like that.” 

“Doesn’t Bonnie have that professor guy that was telling her a bunch of stuff? Can’t we just go to him?” 

“Damon doesn’t trust that guy,” Alaric says. “And before you ask, no, you can’t make Damon go. He and Klaus will kill each other if they’re in the same vehicle for that long.” 

“He’s right about that,” Klaus says, still happily in his place on the couch. “Damon’s got such a temper these days. Can’t even handle a joke anymore.” 

She scrunches her face up, giving him an incredulous look. “The only jokes you make are about the time you tried to kill Elena,” 

“How would we cope if we couldn’t make jokes about these sorts of things?” 

Her incredulity only deepens and she drags her gaze back to Alaric pointedly, earning an exhausted sigh from the teacher. “Klaus,” He starts, that same desperation still in his voice. “Can we all just play nice? For once we have something to be united about– could you possibly not jeopardize everyone’s lives again?” 

Klaus heaves a sigh, standing from the couch in a swift movement and crossing the short distance to where they stand. “Certainly. I’m nothing if not professional, you know this.” 

“Uh huh,” Alaric deadpans. “Can you be… professional enough to not provoke her into leaving you stranded somewhere, or something?” 

“I’m sure we can work something out,” The hybrid drops his gaze to hers, bright eyes alight with mischief. “So long as she stops pouting.” 

She huffs, dutifully not pouting. Narrowing her eyes, she offers a hand out to him, ignoring the amusement that sparks in his eyes at her formalness. “It’s for the greater good of all of us, right? I’m sure I can suffer through anything for that.” 

Klaus shakes her hand firmly, and she ignores the way it feels like he’s laughing at her. “I’m sure you can.” 

────── 

“I take it all back, I’m going to murder him, and then myself.” 

“Hello to you, too. I take it it’s going well?” Alaric’s voice comes through the speaker of her phone as she walks beside Klaus, ignoring the crowds of college students they’re pushing their way past to head to Isobel’s old office. 

“Oh, it’s going so well, besides the fact that our vehicle just broke down as soon as we got to Whitmore.” 

She can practically hear Alaric’s wince of sympathy through the phone. “Can’t Klaus just compel you another vehicle?” 

“You would think so, but I already tried that, and he said it wouldn’t be very cooperative of him to take advantage of people. He’s apparently all for the teamwork these days,” She shoots him a glare, face twisting into one of disdain when all he does is give her a wide smirk. “Alaric, I cannot be stranded here with him. It was one thing if it was a few hours, but I cannot survive any longer than that.” 

Alaric breathes out her name on an exasperated sigh, and she tries to ignore the slight pin prick of guilt that stabs at her because of it. “Have you called a mechanic or anything?” 

She bites the tip of her tongue roughly. “Yeah. They’re coming to tow it, and they said it’ll be like, tomorrow morning at the earliest before it’s done.” 

“Can you survive the night? For real? Or do you want me to drive up there and get you?” 

She nearly blurts out that she won’t survive, that he needs to come get her as soon as he leaves work, but she stops herself, eyes drifting to Klaus, who seems to be awaiting her answer as well. Sighing tiredly, she shakes her head, even though Alaric can’t see her. “I’ll be fine, I’m just being dramatic. Don’t worry about me, alright? I– Klaus and I will handle this. It’s no big deal, I promise.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“I’m positive,” She reassures, stopping at the steps that lead to Isobel’s office building. “I’ll text you later tonight after we’ve had some time to go through some of the stuff, okay?” 

“Okay. Thank you,” He sounds infinitely less stressed at her reassurances, and the guilt she’d been feeling dissipates easily. “I’ll talk to you later.” 

She echoes the goodbye and quickly pockets her phone again, immediately turning to Klaus to give him a glare that she can’t even really call a glare because of the complete and utter lack of any real heat behind it. Gesturing widely to the building before them, she sighs. “Let’s get this over with.” 

The office is devoid of any lingering students, and she wonders if it was done on purpose. The only person there besides her and Klaus is the girl at the desk, and she racks her brain for the girl’s name, because Alaric had told her earlier before they left. 

“Hi,” She starts, stepping in front of Klaus slightly as they approach the desk. “Alaric called earlier and said we’d be coming up to get some of Isobel’s research, I think?” 

The girl stands, a small smile on her face as she nods. “Of course. I’m Vanessa, I was Isobel’s intern.” 

Vanessa, she internally scolds herself for not remembering, before giving her name back in return. “And this is Klaus.” 

The Original offered a charming smile, and she saw some degree of recognition flutter in Vanessa’s eyes as her smile grew wider, equally charmed and awed. “Lovely to meet you, Vanessa,” 

“You’re Klaus Mikaelson, aren’t you?” She breathes out, shaking her head in disbelief as she leads them to Isobel’s private office. “Isobel was fascinated  with the story of the Originals, but there wasn’t ever enough information to figure out what was true and what wasn’t.” 

Klaus hums, practically preening under the attention. “Such are the consequences of living as long as I have. I can hardly remember what’s real and what’s not,” 

Vanessa’s face lights up with an idea, and she steps towards Klaus excitedly. “Would you mind if I asked you some questions? It would do our research a lot of good to have something new,” 

“Oh, well–” 

“We have a lot to do,” She quickly cuts in over their voices, offering a sharp smile to Vanessa. “But if we have time later, I’m sure he’d love to give you a tell-all interview.” 

Vanessa’s smile dims slightly but she nods, gesturing for them to go into the open office. “It’s all in there. Let me know if you need my help with anything.” 

“We will definitely do that,” She says, ignoring the twitch in her fingers as pushes Klaus into the office ahead of her. “Thank you so much!” 

She shuts the door firmly behind her and lets out a sharp sigh, her eyes fluttering open where she hadn’t even realized they’d shut. She finds Klaus staring at her, and immediately looks away, ducking past him to head for one of the packed boxes in the office, collecting dust. “What?” 

Klaus makes an amused little hum in the back of his throat. “Oh, nothing,”

“There’s clearly something,” 

“There is, but I don’t think you’d enjoy hearing it from me,” 

She halts her movements, hands falling limp on the file folders sorted neatly inside one box. Turning to look at him over her shoulder, she raises a brow. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m curious as to what Vanessa did to earn your disdain,” He says, shrugging lightly, keeping his voice purposefully aloof. 

She rolls her eyes, returning to pilfering through the box, skimming the labels on the file. “She was distracting you. We came here to do something, and we need to do it. That’s all.” 

He makes that irritating noise again, and she pauses once more, this time turning to face him fully. “What? What is so funny about that? Might I remind you, we need to learn about this cure for you just as much as anyone else.” 

He smirks, picking up a box from the floor and putting it on the table in front of him. “Of course. But only if you admit you were jealous,”

She feels the blood in her veins freeze as she stares at him, and she knows there’s a dawning look of horror growing on her face. “Excuse me?” 

“Just admit that you were jealous of that poor girl in there, and I will do as much research as you want me to. It’s very simple.” 

“Jealous,” She echoes, her voice faint the longer she looks at him. “You think that I was jealous because some college kid was treating you like you were the lead singer in her favorite boy band?” 

“Maybe not her favorite boy band, but certainly her favorite Original,” He corrects, grinning deviously. 

“I wasn’t jealous!” She yells somewhat hysterically, face twisting as her pulse races. “I– I have no reason to be jealous, I would never be jealous, I’m not– I’m not jealous! Just– shut up!” 

She waves a hand in his direction, ignoring the warmth in her chest that stings like embarrassment. “Just– shut up, and– and leave me alone! Do what we came here to do,” 

Klaus holds his hands up in surrender, still smiling like the cat that got the cream. “Whatever you say,” 

────── 

They’ve booked a hotel for the night, despite the fact that she’d sooner sleep on the street than stay in a hotel with Klaus Mikaelson. But he graciously offered to pay for it, and she was determined to pretend like their conversation earlier had never happened and that meant acting like absolutely nothing was wrong. 

It meant letting him order them room service, and sitting quietly while they ate. It meant letting him tease and taunt her like he normally did, and working overtime to give him the normal reactions she would have– a glare here and there, a not-so-nice name everywhere else. 

Except now it felt like it was all wrong. It felt like she was being even more obvious than before. All because he called her out. Because he was right. 

Just out of sheer principle, she couldn’t ever tell him that. The last thing he needed was that particular ego boost, from her of all people. 

Their relationship has always been antagonistic, but Klaus has never been nearly as harsh as she has. And now that she’s spent the last six hours thinking about every single interaction they’ve ever had, she feels somewhat stupid for not even letting herself contemplate the idea that she could one day be jealous over Klaus Mikaelson. 

But even in that same vein, she understands why it never crossed her mind until he pointed it out. It was non-negotiable, having any sort of relationship like that with Klaus. She’d been friends with Alaric since he first met Isobel, she couldn’t just go and sleep with the guy who killed his girlfriend, let alone have feelings for him. 

The thought alone made her stomach swirl with guilt, but she was determined to not let Klaus in on any of her inner turmoil, considering he’d get some insane satisfaction out of the fact that it’s all his fault. 

By the time they make their way to the private bedroom in the ridiculously grand hotel room Klaus had gotten them for the night, it doesn’t really register in her mind that they not only don’t have any sort of pajamas due to the fact that this wasn’t supposed to be an overnight trip, but the only bedroom in the suite has one bed. 

It doesn’t register in her mind until she’s already in bed, resigned to the fact that she’ll be sleeping in her t-shirt and underwear, and Klaus makes his way over to the bed like it’s no big deal. 

“Hey, hey, what the hell are you doing?” 

He raises a brow at her, gesturing to the bed. “Going to bed. We’ve got an early morning ahead of us if you have any chance of making it back to Mystic Falls alive.” 

She rolls her eyes at his taunting recollection of her complaints, and she holds up a hand, keeping the blankets tucked carefully around her hips as she sits up. “Why wouldn’t you get a room with two beds?” 

“Because it’s one night, darling,” He drawls, signature smirk twitching on his lips. “But if you have some particular feeling that would make sharing a bed with me uncomfortable, then I–”

“No!” She cuts him off, feeling like she was just backed into a corner. “No issue. Just– keep your hands to yourself.” 

He winks at her, and she ignores the way it makes her heart race. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” 

She shuffles back down into the bed and turns onto her side away from him, suddenly too conscious of the fact that she doesn’t have any pants on, and that if someone had told her this morning she’d be pantsless, in bed with Klaus Mikaelson, she probably would’ve punched them and then spent the rest of her life dreaming about it. 

It’s only slightly humiliating. 

Once Klaus is settled in the bed, presumably undressed to the same degree she is if the shuffling she’d heard a minute ago was anything to go by, he turns the lamp off, encasing them in darkness. 

After too long, her hip starts to ache the longer she lays on her side, and she knows there’s no chance she’ll fall asleep with it throbbing like it is, so she resigns herself to the fact that she’s going to have to move. 

Careful of her spacial awareness, she turns onto her back, and then onto her other side, unable to stop her eyes from landing on the shadows of Klaus’s profile. 

She lets out a small breath, shakier than normal, and clutches her hand against the pillow beneath her head. 

“You’re staring,” 

She groans quietly. “I am not,” 

“You know, I don’t know if I should be honored or not that you don’t act like this with anyone else.” 

She squeezes the pillow again, brows furrowing on her forehead. Her curiosity piqued, despite her best interests. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, you’re horrifically antagonistic on a good day, and downright murderous on a bad one. But you don’t ever lose your temper with anyone else like you do with me,” He observes, voice unintentionally quiet in the privacy of the darkness. If she didn’t know any better, she’d even say it was laced with fondness. 

Pressing her face into her pillow briefly to try and collect herself, she lets her eyes trace the curve of his nose, and his prominent cupid’s bow, backlit by the moon shining in the window. She wonders what he looks like beneath a full moon. She wonders if his eyes shine that burning yellow-gold color the entire night. 

“You do it on purpose,” She mutters, trying to keep her tone from sounding as childish as it does in her head. “I’m not stupid, Klaus. You like riling me up.” 

She hears more than sees his head turn towards her, but she feels the burn of his eyes on her face like the summer sun. 

“Did you ever consider that I just like when you talk to me?” He asks, sounding entirely more vulnerable than she ever thought he was capable of being. 

Her breath stutters on an exhale, and she knows he can hear the way his words make her entire body trip up. Despite being unable to truly meet his eyes in the dark, she searches for them anyway, seeking out the truth that may lie in them. 

He murmurs her name, soft and sweet between the sheets wrapped around them, and she can’t stop herself from pushing forward into his space, draping herself across his chest as she presses their lips together. 

She’s instantly satisfied to hear the shocked noise that spills from his lips, but it’s the last coherent thought she can form once he mirrors her utter desperation. 

He steals the breath from her lungs, barely letting her gasp between his greedy kisses, his hands pulling her further into him, leaving her practically on top of him. 

His hands slide up the fabric of her shirt, grabbing at the bare skin there, groaning at the feel of her moving beneath his touch. 

“Klaus,” She gasps out, panting at the spit-slick sounds of their lips together in the quiet of the hotel room. “Klaus, I have to–” 

She forcibly pulls herself away from him, unable to even blame him for the way she let herself get so caught up as she catches her breath, looking down from where she’s propped above him. 

They fall silent, matching each other’s frantic but slowing breaths as their spilled-over tension finally seems to simmer out. 

A huff of a laugh comes from beneath her and she frowns slightly, looking at him. “What?” 

His hands clench where they’re still gripping her waist, and she visibly shivers at the rough touch. “You were jealous, weren’t you?” 

She instinctively slaps a hand against his bare shoulder, wondering how she hadn’t noticed he’d taken his shirt off when he got into bed. “You are such a dick,” She shakes her head, but she’s already leaning back in to kiss him again despite herself. 

Klaus is quick to meet her halfway, craning his neck up to kiss her again, and she lets out a sudden yelp as he flips them around, pressing her into the mattress beneath him. “Let me make it up to you,” 

She’s nodding before he even finishes speaking, and she thinks, tells herself, that she can’t be faulted for how quickly she forgives him after that.

[salemoleander]

BigB brings a pickaxe down against the soft limestone. It's not dirt, or loam, or even sand, but it makes him think of a burrow. Something safe to hide in.

He knows he's acting strangely, knows the others didn't all beeline to complete their tasks. But the second he opened that letter anxiety wound up his spine, like seaweed ready to pull him under. So, y'know. Might as well deal with it now? He keeps digging.

Digging and saying hi to Scar and being mean to Scar so he leaves and digging and digging. The prickling fear under his skin only abates once he's well underground, in the coolness. Not 'all the way down' yet, but the tension in chest eases.

Finally, some measure of peace. BigB supposes the 'and quiet' has been there the whole time, and he laughs quietly at his own joke. Leans against the wall at the bottom of the pit to rest. He's tired and achy and a tiny bit mad. Of course his task would make him miss out on the chance for allies. Well, maybe if he keeps–

A ghostly hand swats past his head, nails sharp and flesh see-through.

BigB whips to the side, looks around, again, again, and sees nothing. Just faint dust motes and occasional grains of sand falling from above.

It's not even cold? Or whatever ghosts are supposed to make happen, he's not sure.

Sighing, BigB says, "If you're here to kill me, can you at least make it entertaining, man? This task sucks."

His voice bounces and echoes strangely off the stone around him. Nothing responds.

He gives a forced laugh, lowers his head, and keeps digging.

His peace is interrupted not too many minutes later, after he's clambered back to the top to gather more wood for picks. BigB hears footsteps, and then Grian slides the last few blocks down an incline of sand into the cave.

Grian grins at him. BigB smiles back, slow and easy. Last game they'd ended allies, and that has helped a lot to loosen tensions. Still not interested in a day 1 alliance, though. Doubt submerged in friendliness, he greets Grian and asks what he's up to.

"Just bouncing around! Day 1, you know how it is." Grian seems energized, a bit furtive– normal Grian stuff. He looks past BigB, and an indent appears between his eyebrows. "Uh, what's with the hole, B?"

He has a defensive answer lined up, something circuitous and confusing about Jimmy and broken mineshaft generation and new stripmining techniques. Can't let anyone know your secret, after all; even if Grian's sly smile indicates he's probably just going to joke a bit and let it go.

Instead, BigB opens his mouth, and the words that crawl out are, "I don't know, G, where do the tasks come from?"

It's not a question that makes sense, not really. The tasks don't have to come from anywhere! BigB may just be overthinking it, or underthinking it, or something. And he shouldn't have even said that, because it might be giving away his task. Why did he say that?

There's a fire behind the words, anger that scrapes and burns on its way out. He's not sure why that's there either.

Color high on his cheeks, Grian says, "I'm not sure, er– not sure, yeah."

BigB knows he's lying. To be fair, he thinks most people could tell Grian was lying– he's not very good at doing it on the spot.

The smells of acrid smoke and dirt and sea-salt are there and then gone. His hand tremors; he tucks it through a belt loop.

Tasks don't have to come from anywhere, except these aren't just tasks: they're secrets. This game would be called Task Life, or Goal Life, or something, if that was the important thing. He knows how careful Grian is with his words (words like safe and soulmate and mine, all used to very particular definitions).

BigB is familiar with what being one of Grian's secrets feels like. The letter in his pocket feels like a friend. He decides not to ask any more questions, because he's not sure what will come out.

"Okay, just gonna cook some fish, and then I'll be out of your hair." Grian steps past him and hunkers down in front of the furnace. BigB feels a bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck. He looks away.

When he looks back, he startles. Scar is right next to Grian, looming by his side.

Except this isn't Scar as he'd seen him earlier, standing around in a circle. BigB locks eyes with this other Scar, his eyes beady-bright crimson and set into a face wrapped in bandages. His hooded cloak is purple and embroidered, threads hanging ragged at the edges. The fabric around his neck is dark.

Slowly, movements jerky, Scar holds up a single bony finger in front of his mouth.

BigB's eyes flick down to Grian's back- does he not notice, in his periphery? Is he just ignoring this? Should he say something?

When he looks back up, the spectre is gone.

Standing in uncharacteristic silence, he awkwardly waits for Grian to collect the rest of his fish. Grian, happy to cause problems on purpose but allergic to tension he isn't the cause of, quickly folds and grabs the remaining fish with an "I'll get out of your hair, then."

They shuffle together to the entrance of the cave; he really needs to get some doors going in here.

Grian turns and fixes a stare just to his side, for a moment. BigB ignores it, and finally manages to shoo Grian off. He doesn't want to know who's haunting him.

Sighing, he shifts a pick into his hand and gets back to work. BigB finishes the task quickly after that, because when he pays attention the fear guides him. This task isn't about digging deep - it's about being hunted, about burrowing, tunneling.

He finishes it and turns in the quest book, receives his rewards. Resolutely, he does not look at the spectres trailing after his friends. It's fine if he just doesn't look, right? Yeah.

The rest of the session passes in a blur. At the end, trying to hang back and keep his eyes on the middle of the statue rather than any ghosts that may or may not exist, he hears Grian share his task.

Jokes no one would laugh at. Of course.

He idly considers a task based on his experiences in the last series. Something furtive and spy-based would be fun. Maybe something frog themed?

He does not think about what secrets his lives in the other games would want to share. Those seem like a late-game thing, anyways.

[sanjifucker42069]

Good Boy

It was a warm day on the Going Merry. It was mid-afternoon and you were alone on the ship, busying yourself by swabbing the deck. The rest of the crew was out on their own journeys, Nami and Usopp shopping, Sanji gathering supplies, and who honestly knew what Zoro and Luffy were up to. You hadn't felt like travelling, you were docked here for a few days, and you really wanted to just rest. But that was this morning, and now you were bored. You sighed, perhaps you should've planned something too.

"(Name)!" You spun around at the sound, seeing Luffy waving both arms at you. Beside him, Sanji carried boxes of supplies. Your eyes softened. Moving to the gangplank you wave back at the boys.

"Ahoy Captain!" You joked, eyes shifting to Sanji and winking. "And ahoy handsome chef. What brings you to my ship?"

Sanji softly smiled at your antics, whilst Luffy boarded the ship excited. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Luffy grinned, grabbing your shoulders. You laughed. 

"So no hat?" You joked. Luffy shook his head. 

"Where is everyone?"

"You two are the first ones back." You shrugged, turning to Sanji. "Can I help ease your burden there, Sanji? That's a lot of stuff."

The man huffed humorously, jostling the boxes in his hands to be more comfortable as his long legs boarded the ship. He shot you a lopsided grin. "And subject a pretty lady to manual labour? I don't think so." 

You giggled. Damn that man and his charisma. Luffy buzzed with excitement next to you. "You all good there? Did you eat a hive of bees before you got here?"

Luffy ignored you, instead badgering Sanji. "Can we give it to her now, Sanji? Please?" 

Give you what? You cocked your head, confused at your fellow pirates' attitude. You shot a look at the chef, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged.

"I suppose so." 

"Yeah!" Luffy pulled something from his best, handing it to you. "(Name), we got you something. Look, look! Isn't it cool?"

You gasped. A book. It was a modest size, covered in a gorgeous (colour) cover. You ran your fingers over the cover, feeling its coarseness. Eagerly you untied the side tie. The paper inside was gorgeous, a creamy ivory paper with a thickness that made you excited at its possibility. It was lightly textured, perfect for any kind of medium. Truly a beautiful sketchbook. You fawned over it. How did they know? You'd tried to not let it show that you were almost through your current sketchbook. You forced your eyes to acknowledge the two, happiness swelling in your chest.

"Ah Luffy it's perfect! You're such a good boy!" You praised, cradling the book to your chest. You quickly drew the captain into a bear hug. Luffy laughed, scratching the back of his neck. Beside him, Sanji pouted.

"It's no big deal (name), we can't fulfil your dream if we don't have something to draw in!"

"I helped too love." You heard Sanji flirt. He was just joking, well, half-joking. Well, no, if he was honest he really wanted a hug. But he couldn't just outright ask for a hug that wouldn't look cool. So he tried to hint lightheartedly. It didn't bother him too much when he noticed you roll your eyes, chuckling.

It did, however, bother him when he saw you turn your body to him. He didn't really think you'd acknowledge his flirtations, so when you outstretched your arms and pulled the tall man into a surprisingly strong hug, he blanked.

Oh.

The hug was warm, firm, and he could feel all of you against him. You smelt so good, smiling of sea air, soap, and something uniquely you.

"Well thank you too." You laughed, squeezing him for emphasis. "You're also a very good boy."

Oh! 

Good boy. Sanji really didn't want to admit how much he liked that. Neither did he really want to unpack all that. He didn't want you to catch on to just how much he liked that, so he quickly squeezed you back before pulling you back to arms length. You stared up at him confused. You heard him clear his throat. Sensing his discomfort you let go, patting his shoulder.  Any hurt you may have felt you covered up with a bright smile, clutching the sketchbook to your chest.

"I'm gonna start sketching immediately!"  Before Sanji could respond, you were retreating back to the girls' room, keen to get to work.

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

It was a cool night. Sanji was lying in his hammock, sleep evading him. The thin cotton blanket resting over his chest. Beside him, he heard Zoro's annoying snoring, Luffy to his right muttering something about meat between snores. The nose symphony slowly chipping away at his sanity. At least Usopp was quiet, he supposed. He wondered if the girls' had to put up with this. His mind wandered, what were you up to? Were you sleeping away without a care, or were you possibly scribbling away in that little book? Sanji sighed. He wondered what you drew, you always seemed so at peace. Sanji considered getting you another one, even if it was mainly to hear your praises. Gods, he'd do anything if he could please you.

"Good boy." Sanji breathed. You were going to be the death of him. He felt his heart flutter. Yeah, he guessed he probably was whipped for you. He let his mind wander. What if he fully hugged back? Would you reciprocate? Would you kiss his cheek? He felt himself flush. He could imagine how soft your lips would be, how you'd pull back with that sweet smile. If he was lucky maybe he could-

SNOOOOOOOOOOORE!

Sanji felt a growl bubble in his throat. He couldn't thrive in these conditions. Savages, having no respect for romance. Swinging his legs over the roped edge, he jumped out of the hammock, stalking his way out of the guys' quarters.

Instantly, he was hit with the cool night air. If he wasn't awake before, he was now. He lazily wandered along the deck, supposing he should probably rearrange the pantry for the ninth time if he was awake. Bare feet padding along the hard wood, he inhaled deeply, the salty sting of the sea invading his nostrils. Nearing the galley he saw it. A light at the front of the boat? Confused and intrigued he crept closer. Who the hell would be up at the hour? And then he saw it. 

You wrapped up in a blanket, scribbling away in your old sketchbook. Sanji felt a soft smile creep up. You looked so cute, periodically looking up to study the scene in front of you. He felt like swooning, the way the moonlight kissed your hair, the way you seemed to sparkle, a gem in the cold night. 

"What are you doing up sweetheart?" He mused, secretly relishing in how you jumped. You clutched the book to your chest, exhaling deeply as a grin formed. You whipped your head to meet the handsome chef.

"Sanji, you scared me! I'm drawing the moon. It's so pretty tonight." Your grin made him flustered. "Why are you up?"

"My bunkmates are bad for my beauty sleep." He feigned annoyance. You laughed. 

"Yeah sure, like you need beauty sleep." He felt his stomach do somersaults. You opened the blanket, tapping the wood next to you. "Got a seat right here. Surely you must be cold?"

Sanji wasn't. It was a pleasant night. However, he'd be an idiot to pass up such an opportunity. He settled down next to you. You drew him in, settling the blanket around his shoulders, dragging him further against you, giggling as you went. 

"Comfy?" You asked once he stopped squirming. Sanji was hyper aware of your thighs touching, you leaning into his side. 

"Yeah." He breathed out. He felt his nerves buzzing, watching as you all but snuggled into him. He needed to calm down. "You like the sketchbook?"

"Love it." You beamed up at him, turning back to scribble marks down. Sanji felt his heart swell. "It's got such nice quality paper. Where did you even find such a thing?"

"Markets. Looked like it had your name on it. Luffy wanted to get you this one that was huge, but you like thicker pages, so this one just seemed like a good fit. 'Sides, I'm sure you've finished your last one."

Sanji's breath hitched as you leant your head on his shoulder, arm gripping his. "You remembered that? Gods you're good to me."

"Only you love." He managed to choke out without sounding too flustered, adding a wink to further sell the facade. You giggled. "What have you got in there anyway?"  

"Oh! You wanna see?" You sounded shy, looking up at him. Sanji nodded. You offered him the older sketchbook, apprehension clear on your face. Sanji began thumbing through the paper. "I know its not brilliant but-"

"Darlin' these are stunning." He praised, tracing an intricate sketch of Merry with his fingers. You beamed next to him when you couldn't detect a lie, a blush forming on your chubby cheeks. Sanji stared at the pages, in awe at your skill.

There were sketches of the others, one of Usopp holding a mop, a detailed one of Zoro napping. His eyes caught a particularly beautiful portrait of Nami against the tangerines. He gasped. You'd captured her beauty expertly. He turned the page, there was a spread of sketches of his crewmates, of Luffy and Usopp playing on the deck, sketches of Nami plotting her maps at the galley table, even a few of Zoro exercising. He felt a frown form. There were none of him. He didn't mean to feel so selfish, but you'd captured the crew with such liveliness and love. He certainly didn't realise you had been studying his face intently. 

"What's wrong?"

Sanji sighed, realising he'd been caught. He figured he'd broach the subject with humour. Plastering a fake smirk on his face he turned his attention to you. "These are incredible (Name), they look great, but am I not model material?"

You extricated yourself from your hold against him, getting to your feet. Sanji immediately felt disappointed by the loss of touch. "Wait here." Your voice was shaky. 

Sanji sighed sadly, he shouldn't have said that. Instead he did as he was told, waiting patiently for your return. You must have been gone five minutes, five aching minutes for him to consider his mistake. When you returned you were holding something behind your back, looking visibly uncomfortable. Sanji raised a brow.

"Love I didn't mean you had to paint a portrait of me now." He laughed softly. You thrust a book in his face, eyes scrunched shut. He delicately tried to take the book but you didn't budge.

"Promise you won't laugh?" You asked shyly, peeking open one eye. Sanji frowned. He'd never laugh at you. He nodded. You relaxed your shoulders, agreeingly giving him the book. He was going to open the book but he took in the way you fidgeted in front of him.

"You not gonna sit back down?" You shook your head, not trusting your voice. He sighed. With no hesitation this time he opened the book. 

Oh.

The first used page he came across were small sketches of him working in the kitchen. There must have been four or five small, quick drawings, but that was unmistakably him. In awe, he turned the page, greeted once again by drawings of him, bigger this time. You'd sketched his face while he was cooking, clearly oblivious to your staring. He felt himself freeze. That was him. It was clear there was a lot of time put into this. Just how long were you staring at him? He thought you were drawing the food, not him! He felt himself blush, embarrassed by the revelation. Keen to see more he continued through the book, seeing sketches of only him. You'd sketched his hands, his eyes, so many little drawings of his face. There were even sketches from his sparring sessions on the deck. These. These were all him? He felt a bit lightheaded. When he made it to the last used page he stopped. There was a rather intricate drawing of him smoking, leaning over the Merry's bannister. It left him breathless. There was so much detail.

"Uh." Was all he managed to force out.

You blanched. "Oh! I'm sorry, I've weirded you out. I..." He saw you reach out to take the book back, his grip tightening. 

"I like drawing you, wanna make sure I get your features right." You muttered. Sanji tore his face away from the page when he heard you take a shaky breath in. He looked up and jolted at the tears in your eyes. 

"(Name), I-"

"I'm sorry. It's really creepy right? I'll stop, I promise."

"These are all me?" He managed dumbly. You cringed. He felt his heart thumping loudly. 

"Yeah...That's your book."

"Do the others?"

You shook your head, tears starting to fall. "Just you. It's weird, I know-"

"I love it." He breathed out.

"What?"

Sanji stared up at you, closing the book with care, and setting it to the side. He grabbed your trembling hands, trying to coax you down to his level. You followed, dropping to your knees. 

"It's beautiful love. You've made me look beautiful."

"You are beautiful." You muttered. 

Sanji couldn't take it anymore, he pulled you flush against him. You squeaked, falling into his chest. His arms came up to hug you tightly. 

"I'm the luckiest man in all the seas." He smiled. That managed a laugh out of you. You peeked up at him, eyes wide and cheeks tear-stained. "I was really jealous when I saw you drew everyone else. Don't know how I never caught you drawing me."

"I'm sneaky." You joked, earning a laugh. You snuggled against him. 

"Can I kiss you?"

Your eyes shot back up to him, choking on your own spit, all you could manage was a a strangled, "What?"

"Wanna reward my little artist. So can I kiss you?" Sanji spoke as if he was talking about the weather. You nodded dumbly.

Wasting absolutely no time, Sanji caressed your face, softly. He started softly, before crushing his lips to yours. You squeaked happily, moving to try and get closer. Your lips moved in tandem, sharing kiss after kiss. You felt electricity shudder down your spine, sweet sighs escaping. Sanji felt like he was on cloud nine, committing all of you to memory, tracing your lips as if he needed to map it to mind.

Unfortunately you needed to breathe, and you pulled back, eyes sparkling. You panted lightly, trying desperately to catch your breath. Sanji took in how flushed you look, lips swollen from his attack. You were grinning wildly at him.

"Wow." You breathed. Sanji laughed. "You're really good."

Sanji mulled over your words for a second, before throwing caution to the wind. Fuck it, he got to kiss you, he supposed anything else right now was a bonus. "Am I your good boy?"

What Sanji didn't take into account is how his flirty demeanour can come across as purely teasing. You groaned beneath him. Sanji got his hopes up at the sound. but you pointedly looked away.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, it seemed funny at the time."

Sanji's heart fell out of his ass. Ow. But you had kissed him? 

"I'm not?"

"What?" You looked at him inquisitively, taking in how hard he tried to hide his dejection behind that smile. You brightened, the puzzle clicking together. "Wait. You like that?"

"No!" Sanji lied. He didn't like the cheeky grin you were now sporting, it always spelt bad news for him.

"Oho I think you do. That's why you were being weird! You were jealous that I called Luffy a good boy?! I thought it was because I hugged you. You like me, that's so cute."

"You literally have a sketchbook dedicated to me."

You giggled. "No, we're past that. You like being called a good boy?"

"I like being called your good boy." He muttered. You giggled, causing him to further frown. Soon, he felt your soft hands on his cheeks. 

"Ah, you really are so cute. My heart. Kiss me again good boy?"

"Stop teasing me." Sanji pouted, cheeks red. You laughed.

"Nuh-uh! You tease me constantly, I finally have some ammunition of my own! Wait until you have to put up with me calling you pretty boy."

You peppered his face with kisses before finally planting a smooch on his lips. Sanji grinned into the kiss, pulling you further into his lap. You nipped at his lower lip. He obliged, parting his lips for you to attack. Sanji sighed as you thrust your tongue into his mouth. Gods, he could die now and be happy. 

You were in absolute heaven. If you'd known Sanji would be this receptive, you would have kissed him months ago. And his blush? Gods, you could grow addicted to flustering him. Pulling back with a wet smack, you stared down at him, taking in how beautiful he looked under you. With a delicate hand you lightly cradled his chin.

"Would you be a good boy and model for me someday?"

Sanji cocked an eyebrow. "We that far ahead are we?" 

You laughed at his hidden meaning. "I meant just letting me draw you properly, but I wouldn't say no to staring at your naked body."

Sanji blushed, his ears burning and mind racing. He covered it up with a cough. "Are you going to be like that from now on? What happened to my cute little artist?"

Your grin was more of a smirk, Sanji mused. He liked when your mischievous side came out. The idea that this would be a regular occurrence made him dizzy. You kissed his cheek. "Now that I know you like me I have no need to be shy. You're stuck with me."

"And what a shame that is." Sanji smiled, resting his head on your shoulder. You laughed. 

You really could get used to this.