#maybe him being overly flirty is also kind of a shield for him at times like this

[gifti3]

asmo arranged marriage so true at first he’s a little mean to mc (like in the game ig) and says he won’t stop his lifestyle just because of a political marriage and they agree that’s fine but then as time goes on and he’s falling more and more in love and going out less and less mc just isn’t receptive to his advances bc even though they’re in love too they think it’s bc his dad told him to stop messing around for his image and he just needs to blow off steam and they don’t want that

eXACTLY. i love dynamics like this, where over time the couple starts to fall for each other but they dont realize the other person likes them so they re just PINING until one of them finally cant keep it in anymore and confesses

THE BUILD UP!!

and i feel like its gonna be the mc first because asmo keeps flirting and theyre like please stop i cant take this....i know ur just messing with me cause ur bored, but i have feelings for u OKAY ╯︿╰

[internalsealpanic]

Do It Yourself Hauntings

Summary: You and Terry get extremely bored while on a group date as you walk through a haunted house. Terry has a brilliant idea that’s sure to chase away your boredom. 

masterlist

a/n: Guess who is flagrantly avoiding homework to write a fic? So this is Cat!Reader x Terry McGinnis. Reader is still as gender neutral as I can make them so I went with the name ‘Stray’. A tid bit I could not write in organically is that reader is painfully shy in their civilian identity but has little to no inhibitions when in their night time persona. Another clarification is that this is the outfit I had in mind. It was legit the thing I had my heart set on when my lizard brain said Catwoman character.   

Warnings: Adult language, clowns, clownery, and this maybe a tinsy bit spicy at one point (I tried) (kind of? Look, I just don’t want anyone going all mother superior on me. Just in case. ).

You were incredibly, stupidly, magnificently bored.

You shifted on your heels, letting them click and echo trying to distract yourself from the thrum of excess energy surging through your body.

It-It didn’t work.

The clicking only made you more anxious, plucking at your taut nerves like well-tuned guitar strings.

It probably didn’t help that you just came back from a dazzling night of heists and getting shot at. Adrenaline still flowing through your veins like molten ichor. Heart still floundering in your chest as if- at any moment- the cops would come rushing in and you would have to make your daring, if not dramatic, escape.

Between this and the sorry attempt at jump scares the poor underpaid actors subjected you to, your head started aching and your mood plummeted into something vile. Thankfully, your group was none-the-wiser unless all of them spontaneously decided to master micro-expressions then you were the picture of an apprehensive young adult trekking through a cheap haunted house.

Why did you agree to this again?

Pulse still pounding loudly in your ears and content with letting the others have their fun, you silently fall into the back of the group. There was a higher chance that you would encounter the cringe-inducing scares but you weren’t too concerned. Nope. You were more worried about the very real possibility that you might deck Nelson or Chelsea or Blade or whoever the fuck decided that girls need to play scared to make guys feel cool. Ok, yeah, the last one.

When Chelsea did another ill-timed flinch, scrabbling for Nelson’s arm, and Nelson ate it up, you swore your eyes would roll their way out of their sockets. Whoever popularized this needed to be shot. Twice.

There was always a possibility that they weren’t faking it, that they were genuinely terrified but you highly doubted it considering if anything actually scary happened, Nelson would be the first one to run.

Neck deep in your musings, you hadn’t noticed as Terry slowed to keep pace with you. He leaned down close enough to brush his lips against your skin and blew a light gust into your ear.  You jumped clutching your ear feeling the heat spread through your body. You twitched away. The memory of his lips against your ear making your stomach dance. Your skin prickled with curiosity-

 You glowered at him. You prayed that the embarrassment plain on your body language did not dampen the venom in your eyes.

“Told ya I could be scary,”

He winked.

You sighed.

Of course, he hadn’t let that go.

You rolled your head to the side and shrank into your puffy leather jacket trying to hide the bright flush of your cheeks. From the absolutely smarmy grin he gave you, he was enjoying this. Was this payback? It was probably payback. Payback for all the slag you said over the comms, the flirty little touches, or all the little kisses you dealt him every time you encountered him in the field.

Here’s a novel concept! Maybe don’t dish out what you can’t take.

“Compared to this place? Yeah,”

“Ouch, what’s got you in a mood?”

You leveled him a look. Terry leveled you with his own. You tilted your head ever so slightly to show the bruise blooming on your collar bone. He winced. His jaw clenched.  You instantly regretted showing him when his brows were carved with guilt. Normally, you liked looking at Terry. Easy on the eyes kind of handsome. He only looked punchable in the Batsuit. But you could never stand the guilt and worry on his face, especially when you were the cause. It wasn’t even his fault. You took the blow knowing your armor wasn’t quite as enforced. That was on you.

You sucked in a breath and rolled your shoulders contorting yourself away from the ever-present need to apologize. Instead, you waved your hand vaguely at the cheaply constructed haunted house. “Admit it, this place is-” 

“isn’t that-” He looked around rubbing the back of his neck. “-bad?”

“Terry, the scariest thing about this place is how many credits I wasted,” you deadpanned looking down at your, now, lighter wallet. It wasn’t physically lighter but you were a drama queen and you had a point to make.

Terry chuckled at your antics and rolled his eyes. “It’s got its charms,” You raised your brow and crossed your arms. His shoulders slumped then straightened, a teasing quirk to his lip curling.   “Still better than doing that family studies paper,”

Ok, that you could agree on.

The rest of the walk was marginally bearable with you and Terry providing quiet commentary on each scare. It was hard to hold back laughter. Your body shook, nearly falling into a giggle fit several times. You got dirty looks from the others several times for the transgression of ‘ruining’ the mood.  You were a little impressed that they had managed to make a mood for you to ruin. After all, what’s more romantic than zombie clowns and warehouses?

 Your sides ached. You really wanted to just let out a laugh, a real full belly laugh but you hated your laugh. Terry, you thought, was aware of your broken plate laugh. Why did he keep trying to draw it out?

Your group made it into a large clearing. Your anxiety immediately ratcheted up with the wide-open space but relaxed after scanning the room. There was nowhere to put

Creaking and scraping of old rusty metals resonated in every corner.

Terry nudged you and pointed upward, directing your attention to the silhouette moving around in the rafters.

Your heart stopped momentarily but picked back up again as soon as you saw the graceless way the figure moved around.

A clown covered in gore and shards of metal jumped down from the rafters landing in the middle of your ragtag group. You scattered. You heard a few gasps. You even saw Nelson flinch. You took some petty satisfaction in being right.

You yawned less concerned with the crazy act he was putting on and more with how the hell he hasn’t landed on a single patron. You made your boredom plain. You’ve seen crazy.  Your sides throbbed in protest of the reminder.

You looked down to distract yourself only to be met with the sight of floppy red clown shoes. Genuine, floppy, red clown shoes. You pinched the bridge of your nose and bit your lip. Your body trembled from trying to contain the laughter roiling in your stomach.

The man continued to spout something about keeping you all here for his entertainment. Blah. Blah. You crossed your ankles and leaned ever so  slightly into Terry’s space, cocking your head to the opposite side.  You yawned into your hand muffling the sound as best you could in an attempt to be polite. Terry had other ideas.

Terry leaned down into your ear making an exaggerated snoring sound.  An ugly snort tore its way out of your nostrils loud enough to be heard over the clown’s overly dramatic soliloquy. You felt everyone’s eyes on you. You clamped your hand over your mouth to stifle the onslaught of snorts rising up from your chest. You narrowed your eyes at Terry who, at the moment, was also fighting his own fit of laughter. You couldn’t keep the smile off your face as you, in solidarity, tried not to laugh too hard at the expense of the wannabe Shakespeare actor.

You kind of felt bad.

Maybe.

Ok, you did. But not nearly enough to actually stop laughing. In your defense, Ace had more acting chops than this guy. But kudos, he was really into the bit.

He lunged at the two of you, fuming with smoke coming out of his ears. Terry grabbed you pressing you to his side and wrapping a protective arm around you. You let out an embarrassing little squeak. You witnessed as he cataloged it into the ‘stuff y/n is never gonna live down’ part of his brain. ‘Cute’ he mouthed silently. You cursed yourself. You turned to cuss at Terry-

The clown lunged at you again, murderous intent plain as day on his face. He snarled as you two dodged him easily with a quick sidestep. In the corner of your eyes, you could see the other actors look on in bewilderment.  One of them shook her head clearly exasperated. Ok, so you unintentionally pissed off one of the actors. Great. Now, what?

The man lunged for you again. Dodging gracefully, you two turned on your heels and bolted leading him away from the group. You could hear the group collectively cheering him on behind you as you made your escape.

Technically, you could just knock him out and maybe go back to the group. One of you was the goddamn Batman while the other was Stray, thief extraordinaire, after all. But between the gasp of laughter and the playful grin stretching across Terry’s face like hell that was happening.

You two ducked into a corner tired and panting. You press yourself against the cool metal of the wall with Terry shielding you from view.

“You ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,”  You whisper, shrinking into your leather jacket feeling keenly aware of your lack of undershirt as the heat radiating from his skin pressed against yours. He leaned against you, closing the gap between the two of you.  His panting breaths fanning against your skin, lips brushing against the bare skin of your collar.  You bit out a curse as the color on your cheeks darkened. You swallowed a lump, heart floundering again. You felt him smile against your skin.

You like to say it was anger that flared up in you. You really would but the heat suffusing in your body said otherwise. You pushed at him weakly. “We have to get back,”

Terry stepped back giving you space. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding in.

“You sure you want to? Bozo is still looking for us. That and you’ll probably still be bored,”

You tapped your foot and tilted your head considering it. You looked into his face searching for something. You sigh inwardly. “Yeah, no. I really don’t wanna go back. The scariest thing is still the amount of money we wasted and I have yet to be scared shitless,”

He smiled at you victoriously. “I have an idea,”

You blinked at him.“Ok, great job! Now, I’m pissing myself with fear,” You teased. You weren’t a fan of Terry’s ideas half the time but hell if they weren’t entertaining.

Terry rolled his eyes at you holding out his hand. “You brought your goggles, right?”

“McGinnis, I didn’t exactly have time to go home and-” You stilled, feeling his eyes trail down your chest before darting back up. Normally, when you were in costume, you left the zipper of your jacket open showing tantalizing glimpses of your soft flesh. Terry was absolutely not opposed to your costume choice unless you were in danger which was rare (thank you very much). This was what led to your current blushing predicament not that the other aspects of your costume were any less complementary. You sighed inwardly before stammering out “Yeah, I have my goggles,”  Fishing them out of an inner pocket of your jacket, you waved them around half-heartedly. 

“Schway! Come on follow me,” He said grabbing your wrist before you could see the flush creeping up his neck.

You rounded a couple of corners before stopping at a beam. He looked from left to right brow furrowed. He tapped his foot twice then somehow decided to go left. How the hell Terry managed to find his way around in the dark was a complete mystery to you. Your first guess is echolocation but the second, more logical guess, was that Bruce was a paranoid old man. Like a normal human, you were entirely dependent on the night vision mode of your goggles. 

You stopped when Terry stretched his arm out in front of you. You squinted seeing another group of bored-looking patrons. You turn to Terry who was looking at them and seemingly analyzing the group and it clicked.

“Oh,” you whispered quietly as you understood what he was planning. He threw you a playful smirk knowing you wouldn’t be able to resist this golden opportunity to fuck around.

“I would like to go on record and say this is a terrible idea,”

“And yet you’re going along with it,”

You were about to protest but couldn’t really think of a good defense.

“You know, if you really wanted to scare them you could have just dressed up as old Brucie,” 

You huffed and put your goggles on before crouching low. He followed suit bending low.

“Weeell, sorry. Your gremlin mug was the best I could do on short notice,”

You made a face of mock hurt which made him chuckle. “Am not,”

As it turns out, two vigilantes well-trained in sneaking around are actually pretty good at scaring people. In the last 5 minutes, you’ve scared four different groups of patrons all with varying reactions but all equally hilarious.

“Yanno we could probably scare Nelson,” Terry hummed innocently trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. You answered him with a vicious smile. “You just want payback for the prank he pulled yesterday,”

“And you want to see him  piss himself,”

This was true.

“Ok, fine. What’s the game plan?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Terry chuckled knowing he’s got you hook, line, and sinker. You scoffed but let him lean closer to you to whisper his maniacal scheme.

“If this works I am going to cry-” You crowed ducking behind another row of boxes as you quietly trailed your group.  “-Hand me your jacket,”

Completely avoiding your outstretched hands, he draped his jacket over you like a strange leather veil before giving your head a quick pat. “Hope you brought tissues then,”

“Like slag, this is gonna work,” You said quirking your brow and tilting your head to make the doubt plain on your face. Even with your vision impaired by your new headpiece, you could still admire how nice he looked in his shirt. Not that you let it show. You hoped.

“Just watch and learn nonbeliever,”

“Oh god he thinks he can pull off miracles now,” You sneered climbing on to his broad shoulders.

“Shhhhhhhh”

You pouted down at him crossing your arms. He shrugged his shoulders, the movement drawing a surprised yelp from you in turn making him snicker. You were about to open your mouth when your smoke trap was triggered.

Ok, this was a blatant abuse of your equipment but who was gonna tell you off? Bruce? Probably but the man was allergic to fun so being at a Halloween fair was, likely,  safe.

Thick waterfalls of white smoke cascaded down from the rafters, blanketing the floor with a thick mist of curling smoke. The group stopped almost mystified by how well-timed the eerie effect was. You had to hold back a derisive snort when they all turned to each other confused.

Because, yes, this is what your hours of booby trap training have been leading up to.

Truly, a magnum opus of spite.

You could already see Nelson readying himself to bolt even as Blade and Chelsea hung off his arms. Petty satisfaction bloomed in you.

Ok, you may be a gremlin.

You threw your voice in a shrill cackle letting it echo and bounce in the room over the too slow circus music playing in the background. It was a chilling sound, the kind that rattled in bones and traveled up the spine. One that you’ve only ever used for pranks during long nights at the lab. You even felt Terry freeze up beneath you. His grip on your thighs getting tighter. How on earth you didn’t yelp or squeak or make any other little noise at that was the true miracle.

“Wha- what’s going on?“  Blade squeaked, pressing into the group.

"Didn’t we just pass the last attraction?!”

“Are you sure it was the last?”

“I don’t know man!”

The group shrank in on itself as the conversation grew more panicked. You felt Terry shaking from holding in laughter. You nudge him softly with your heel. He took a breath and nodded to tell you he was fine.

“Oh children, there’s no need to fuss,” You coo sickeningly sweet. You see them swallow taking in your presence heavy as it was.

“The fun’s only just beginning!” You shriek flicking on the orange lights of your goggles. Your shrill, shrieking voice transmuting over the speakers filling the room.

They screamed, scrambled, and scattered. Your nearly 10-foot silhouette hovering over them. They tripped over each other. Some of them pulling at each other. Some stepping over feet in their haste to get away. Pure terror etched themselves on their faces.

You let them all sprint to exit, watching their forms all disappear before bursting out into laughter.

“Did- Did you see their faces?!”

“Please tell me you were recording,“

“wait-” You choked grabbing for your goggles. You made a show of checking and letting your shoulders fall in disappointment.

Terry looked crushed. A vicious grin carved across your face. “Relax, I was,”

Terry’s slumped against the crate as he leaned back. He ran his hand through his black hair and began to laugh again.

You put your goggles back to your jacket pocket. You clutched at his jacket letting your ugly laugh tumble out of your lips. Terry planted a kiss on your nose making your breath hitch. 

"What was that for?!” Your hands flying to your nose. Your fingers traced the small patch of skin he touched.

“You were just too cute,” He laughed ruffling your hair.

How do you respond to that? How could he say things like that so casually? Does he not know how many heart attacks it gives you?

“Jerk”

“PFFFFT”

“Don’t ‘pfffft’ me!” You bit out, throwing his jacket at him.

“Pfffft”

He stuck his tongue out at you.

“I-”

“Ahem!”

You both looked up to see a security guard and Bozo glowering down at you. You gave them both what passed for a sheepish, but not exactly, apologetic look.

The burly guard picked you both up by the scruff of your necks and hauled you out of the building. He tossed you out back as Bozo yelled “stay out” from the comfort of the guards back. 

“Kick us out yourself, coward!” Terry yelled, shaking his fist like an old man. You slapped your forehead in an effort not to encourage him. Bozo glowered at him from behind his meat shield. Terry snarled. You grabbed his arm to stop him from doing anything stupid.

“I knew it was you two,” Max sighed, hand on her hip.

“How’d you guess?”

“Circus music,”

You looked at her uncomprehendingly before remembering your well-documented discomfort with circuses. You slapped your hand against your forehead. Terry, helpful as usual, snickered at you.

 But before you could throw hands, Max spoke cleared her throat.

“You dumbasses are lucky they don’t press charges,” Max aggravated pinching the bridge of her nose. You had the decency to look a little sheepish at the accusation but Terry looked pleased which earned him a chastising look.

“Sorry, ma’am” You both grumbled as she pulled you both up. 

All three of you walked in tandem.  Max let up the responsible act.

“Not the worst group date you’ve been on, right?” Terry nudged.

 “No, guess not,” You scoffed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Stiiiiill not as bad as that time you got us caught by the Joker Gang~”

“That wasn’t even my fault,”

————————————–

Thanks for reading! Also please do not do this in real life. They will get mad at you even if their haunted house does stink.

taglist:  @batarellabatarella (YOU BITCH I GOT ANOTHER BATBOY FOR YOU), @anothertimdrakestan, @lucy-roo, @multifandomgirl-us, @idkmanicantenglish,@birdy-bat-writes,  @boosyboo9206, @americasmarauders (I wanna drag you into Terry hell), @l-horizon11

[garregmachmatchups]

Hi! Can I get a FE3H matchup, please? I am 20, a woman and very bi. I am currently an international affairs student interested in diplomacy and human rights protections, who also happens to be trilingual. I love reading fiction, historical accounts and mythology. My hobbies include writing, crocheting, cooking and playing videogames. I am an introvert but I am also extremely friendly, if a bit oblivious at times. I like helping others and make people smile. I am also very physically affectionate

Hello! Happy Holidays, hope you enjoyed them well! Thank you for patiently waiting for your matchup and sorry for taking so long! I’ve been playing Pokemon Shield and it literally took over my life lmao. I had a lot of trouble pairing you with someone tbh, as I had two characters in mind, but after much thought, your match is…

Sylvain Jose Gautier!!!

You two are very similar but very different all the same. As we know, Sylvain greatly dislikes crests and how they’ve come to negatively affect people, as people born without them are greatly disadvantaged in comparison to those who do have one. Most people only seek to reap the benefits from it, as demonstrated by those looking to marry into families with crests. For this reason, Sylvain would certainly appreciate a partner who has an interest in human rights, someone who recognizes these types of injustices and looks to do something about them. He is also, much like your INTJ personality, quite analytical and inquisitive. Intellectually, I’d say you two are quite compatible, as you are both quite contemplative and critical, shown by his problems with crests as well as his thoughts on the tragedy of Duscur. Sylvain is very gregarious and outgoing, and acts as a sort of big brother figure to his friends, therefore he’d be of great help at times when it comes to your introversion. At first, he might be a bit suspicious of your overly friendly nature, as most women who are like that with him have a hidden agenda (much like his own friendliness and flirtiness with women can be a result of his ulterior motives), but he quickly realizes it’s just how you are. This along with the fact that you like helping others and making others smile leads him to greatly value you for your genuine kindness that many others don’t have. Speaking of which, I think your unadulterated drive to help others and make them happy would ultimately coerce Sylvain to really open up to you and be honest. For how outgoing Sylvain might seem to be, he is a very closeted and distrustful person who only shows his true feelings around those he trusts. So despite you being oblivious at times (which I actually think would only highlight the sincerity in your other actions), Sylvain would come to trust as he knows you have no ill intentions and only want to see others happy. In your own ways, you are both very private people, who although enjoy being social, are really only themselves with certain people. In reference to your obliviousness, Sylvain could definitely help you with that as he is very socially aware. Another thing worth mentioning is that Sylvain is very lax and easy-going, which I think would greatly balance your ambitiousness. He like you is also good at pretending things that he is not, so I’m sure he’d be able to perceive when you are actually stressed or not. While Sylvain could teach you how to relax once in a while and not be too harsh on yourself, you could help Sylvain commit himself to his work, training, and possibly relationships as well.

Headcannons:

When you two first met, people thought you two would never get along. You seemed so driven and focused while Sylvain…well wasn’t. Boy did you surprise just about everyone though, probably yourselves as well.

You bet that when he learned you were trilingual he totally used that to his advantage, saying stuff like “How do you say ‘you’re gorgeous’ in x language?”. If you happen to answer he’s just going to repeat it to you

You spend a lot of your time together reading with each other, trading books and discussing them.

When he’s with you he often engages in conversations related to history, politics, literature, etc. His friends swear they’ve never heard him seem so intelligent before.

He totally wants to read what you write, of course, offering to be sort of an “editor” for you. He always seems to read what you write with a small smile on his face.

He’s always asking for you to join you in your hobbies like crocheting and cooking. Sometimes you can tell he really wants to learn but sometimes he just uses it as an excuse to get closer to you. “You think you could help me roll out the dough” he says as he gets behind you and grabs your hands, “Hey how am I gonna learn without some hands-on experience?” (literally).

He frequently tries to convince you to go out sometimes with him and a group of people, but you know that when he really really wants to spend time with you he wants it to be just the two of you (I just realized that sounds kinda dirty but I don’t mean it that way lol….maybe?).

He acts cheerful all the time, but it’s one time that he’s talking with you that you realize what his real smile actually looks like. Afterwards you make it your mission to only see that smile from now on.

You two are quite into PDA, Sylvain is always with his arm across you in public or grabbing you by the waist.

When he is really feeling affectionate though, he gives you very soft and lingering touches that although not as strong as his other ones, definitely convey much more.

He is always looking out for you, making sure you are taking care of yourself and not focusing too much on work, checking you’re not stressed, and if so asking how he can help you (”Maybe a massage”), jk, but he really does try to be as helpful as he can.

He’s very blunt with you too, if he notices you are pushing yourself too hard or in general just has something to tell you he’ll just straight up tell you without sugar-coating it, which you appreciate as you can be oblivious at times.

Though it may seem harsh of him, it’s those times you realize he really cares, as he normally hides behind jokes and false smiles.

Other matches: Dedue Molinaro, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

Hope you enjoyed the matchup! If you feel like you weren’t portrayed correctly/I misinterpreted your information let me know and I’ll make the corrections!

[brightengale]

send me five times kissed for a drabble about five times our muses kissed - you pick which muse/s get the kisses x

@deadpoolxandxfriends

Such a long time coming. Warning the first one mentions some smutty things at the very end. The rest are all sfw and pretty cute if I do say so myself. Also these are barely proofed but hope they make sense. Love you babe!

Kiss # 1

The first time they kiss is unexpected, hard, needy, feverish even. Open mouthed with teeth bumping and more tongue than necessary. Grunts, whimpers, cries and moans bubbling up from throats, mingling in harmony with all other sounds of passionate fucking. An explosion of sexual tension built up over the past few hours, which is exactly how long they’ve known one another. Alison had heard stories about Bucky. Steve was a long time colleague, sometimes adversary, and they had grown closer in recent years, especially since she’d taken on her new role at S.H.I.E.L.D. Still, no matter his stories, the recountings from others or the things she’s read about in Bucky’s file, nothing quite prepares her for actually meeting him for the first time.

Her schedule had been all over the place that day. After finally slaying multiple mountains of paperwork Ali had changed into spare gym clothes and moseyed down to Avengers Tower’s state of the art exercise facility, fancying a workout before heading home to crash. It was sometime after midnight and she hadn’t expected to find anyone there. Harsh fluorescent lights glinting off silver metal had been a dead giveaway to his identity. For a few moments Alison found herself captivated by the way the muscles of his arms rippled beneath not only flesh but seemingly the metal as well as Bucky remained absorbed in pummeling a poor punching bag. Luckily for that bag it wasn’t facing Steve in a crabby mood. She’d heard Tony lament about buying stock with how often Steve destroyed them. Bucky appeared less intent on annihilating the bag than he was on tiring himself out.

Ali wasn’t sure how long she stood transfixed before finally clearing her throat but it would probably be an embarrassing number of minutes. If there had been more people around she may have just gotten on with her workout without interrupting but she’d been cooped up in her office for the past few hours and was craving some kind of personal interaction. Plus, somehow she’d yet to be introduced to the man, the myth, the legend.

“Wasn’t expecting anyone up this late.” Ali strode toward him confidently, hand extending outward when she was a few feet away and a beaming, friendly smile stretched across her face. “I’m Alison Blaire, SHIELD’s Mutant Liaison and friend of Steve’s. You must be Bucky. I’ve heard a bunch about you. Nice to finally meet you in person.” She was being overly chatty but couldn’t reign it back.

Apparently Steve had mentioned her to Bucky as well so things weren’t completely awkward. He’d shaken her hand and then they’d spent the following couple hours working out alongside one another. Alison didn’t make a habit of doing such elongated gym sessions but if she was being honest much of the time was spent ogling. Yeah it was probably a creeper thing to do and she wasn’t being shy or bashful about it. It lessened her guilt the few times she caught Bucky’s eyes lingering on her form. Attention she happily returned with a flirty smile. It had been months since she’d had a one night stand. Not a lot of time and no one who’d held her attention. Bucky was definitely holding her attention and after the second hour and fifth captured glance she’d stopped her jogging to approach him across the gym.

“It’s been a while so if I’m reading this wrong totally ignore me and let’s pretend what I’m about to say never happened, but I’m gonna hit the showers. You can join if you want. No strings, no awkwardness after, your call.” A few minutes later she’d found herself pressed up against the lockers with her fingers fisted in Bucky’s dark chestnut hair, legs around his waist, his hands cupping her ass, while his cock drove into her over and over. Cries of pleasure tumbling and lost between them by way of those feverish opened mouth kisses.

Kiss # 2

They’ve got this friends with benefits thing down. They get along great outside the bedroom and even better within it. Things are good. Which is exactly why anxiety is gnawing away at Alison. She’s waiting for the crash. There’s alway a crash. Months have passed and as they tick by they’re spending time more closely together. She’s turned down a night on the town with friends when she knew he’d be returning from a mission. Knowing he’ll call her when the debrief is over. It’s only been the once but she knows she’d do it again. Not like she hasn’t pulled him away from a party or two before. Alison knows this is dangerous and yet she lets it continue. The crash is going to be so so bad.

Cuddling after sex was a recent development. As was having sex in her apartment. In her bed. Red flag after red flag but Alison couldn’t help herself. There was more privacy here. And no reason to pay for a hotel room when she had a perfectly good apartment she was already paying for. It was logical. Lies she told herself to ignore how her heart rate spiked before something heavy settled in her gut each time he pulled away to dress and leave. Every time she scooted into the warm space he left and pulled the blankets closer beneath her chin while nuzzling the pillow he’d rested upon. She watched him dress in silence. Heaviness growing more and more pronounced in her belly with each passing second. Multiple times Alison bit her tongue to keep from speaking. There was no reason to ruin the great thing they had going.

Tonight was similar to all other nights before. Her heart rate spiked and that dense dread knotted in her stomach as Bucky pulled away. Alison’s arms around his torso tightened minutely. “Stay.” The word was barely a whisper and she immediately regretted it. Her breath caught as Bucky stilled.

“Sure?”

Breath still captive in her lungs Ali responded by nodding her head against his shoulder. Bucky reached to pull the comforter up over their bodies and relaxed back into the bed without more comment. Blanket settled in place both of his arms wrapped back around her. He kissed the top of her head and all the crushing anxiety within her released on a sigh. Alison’s head lifted, face pressing against the crook of his neck as she brushed a soft kiss there. Within moments sleep settled on them both.

Kiss # 3

“I did not!” Alison exclaimed, voice high with bashful indignance as she playfully pushed Bucky’s left shoulder. She was tucked between his side and one end of the couch, legs draped over his lap while Steve flanked his other side and Wade perched on the armrest behind her. Scrapper was curled up in Steve’s lap, head resting between Alison’s feet. Sam and Betsy were across from them on the love seat. Ororo, Thor, Natasha  and Wanda were also gathered around while other friends milled about, attention uncaptured by Bucky’s story.

“I swear you did. Didn’t think you’d ever let my hand go.” They were sharing memories and Bucky was lying-or maybe not lying-about how Alison had held onto his hand longer than appropriate during their first handshake.

“Lies! I held on the proper amount of time.” After lightly pushing his shoulder moments earlier Ali’s arm was draped behind him again.  “Maybe you were so awestruck by me time just stood still.” Her fingers idly toyed with his hair as she stared him down, daring him to rebuttal even as giggles tumbled between her grinning lips.

“Nah. You were the one awestruck, doll.” Her breath hitched and butterflies took flight in her belly as Bucky flashed her the grin that rarely failed to short circuit her brain and get him his way. Ali rolled her eyes to cover up just how devastatingly effective that smile was.

“Whatever, Barnes.” The words were a concession and he knew it, making that heart stopping grin widen. Shaking her head Alison leaned in hoping to kiss the look off his stupidly handsome face. No luck. With another eye roll Alison swept her gaze over the rest of the group. “Ok, next person!”

Kiss # 4

Alison’s hands massaged the conditioner into Bucky’s dark chestnut mane. It was becoming impossibly long but she enjoyed playing with it. A small groan floated from Bucky’s lips and he began to relax further, leaning back until he’d pressed Alison flush against the marble wall. Even with the warmth of the shower the wall remained cool, causing Ali to yelp when her bare body contacted it.

“Hey!” A giggle peeled from her lips as soapy fingers moved to his back muscles, pushing on him halfheartedly. “Stand up right. You’re heavy.” He was leaning back with some pressure but not admittedly not slumping his full weight against her.

“Can’t. Sleepy.”

“Tough titty, Barnes. I’m not carrying you to bed.” No matter that she technically could. Far easier than she could Steve or Wade at any rate. Their taller frames making the maneuver more difficult.

Bucky released a childish groan, body remaining where it was. Alison let out another delighted laugh as her hands slid down to playfully smack his butt. “Come on. Let’s rinse the conditioner then you can sit while I blow dry your hair.” She loathed anyone climbing into bed wet. There were few exceptions. Slowly, he stood properly, turning to wrap his arms around Alison before stepping backward beneath the spray. Each movement was punctuated by a zombie-esque groan as his eyes remained closed. Alison was beside herself with laughter at his antics.

“Boo-hoo you. How hard it is to stand and let your girlfriend wash tame your hair. However do you survive?” Ali lifted her arms to begin washing the lather from his locks.

“Kisses help.” Both corners of his mouth lifted in a smug smile.

“You’re awful.” Still Alison found herself leaning up to press a kiss to his nose. “That’s all you get.”

Bucky’s arms tightened around her waist. “For now.”

“I thought you were sleepy.”

“Maybe I’ll catch my second wind.” One of his eyes peeked to catch Ali rolling her eyes which prompted his smile to bloom larger. “I love you.”

“Yeah yeah.” Alison muttered while checking that his hair was thoroughly rid of all conditioner. “Love you too.”

Kiss # 5

Schedules were tight but the weather was too perfect to let slip by unappreciated. With no pressing missions on the docket she’d planned a vaycay for the five of them this weekend. Scrapper busied herself chasing the waves. Yipping as they receded from the shore before racing forward to pounce into them as they sloshed back. Her black and white fur was caked with saltwater and sand but she was having a blast. Almost as fun as Ali was having annihilating this game of volleyball. She and Steve were paired against Wade and Bucky and had beasted the past three sets.

“You’re cheating!”

“Hah! You wish Barnes.” Ali scoffed, catching her breath after the latest point had been earned. “It’s called skills, baby.” She beamed at him from across the net, hands on her hips.

“Yeah. Cheating skills.” Bucky tossed back. The sun was beating down hard by now and they’d been going hard for close to ninety minutes. Even he was winded.

Steve scooped up the wayward volleyball, shaking his head at their bickering and calling out for Scrapper who immediately abandoned the water to race to his side. There was no telling how long they’d stand there squabbling so he was headed back to their cabana.

“Don’t be a spoilsport, Duckaroo. It’s not cute.”

“Ooooh. Sparkles is throwing out Duckaroo. It’s about to get wild folks.” Wade interjected, thoroughly enjoying the banter. Bucky tossed him a withering glare while Ali burst into laughter. The glare did nothing to damper Wade’s own mirth. “Don’t be such a sourpuss, Duckaroo.”  Wade stole a quick kiss from Buck before grabbing one from Alison who’d rounded the net mere moments before. “It was a good game, so you two make up. I’m going to catch up with Captain Hottie and see if I can reapply his sunscreen. Oh Captain, my Captain!”

Alison continued to giggle as Wade jogged to catch up with Steve then linked their fingers to walk hand in hand toward the cabana while whispering in his ear. She glanced up at Buck who’s dour expression had melted into a fond smile watching the scene unfold too. “See, that’s cute.”

“Yeah.”

“I meant that dopey grin on your face.” Alison looped her arms around his right arm as he protested.

“It’s not dopey.”

“From where I’m standing it was. Wish I’d had my phone.”

Bucky scoffed and began walking after their other two lovers, previous argument forgotten.

“Wait.” Ali stopped, keeping Bucky close as she reached out to turn his head toward her. Her lips brushed against his, feather light before pressing more firmly. Her fingers slid along his scruffy jaw into damp hair which she gently tugged encouraging him to tilt his head and deepen the kiss. Her tongue darted against his tongue, coaxing his lips open to slip inside his mouth. After teasing a deep moan from him Alison pulled back just enough to press her forehead against his. The hand not in his hair had moved from around his arm to rest against his hip. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Bucky replied, that fond smile returning to his face.

“Even though we kicked your ass at volleyball fair and square?” Ali teased with a wicked grin.

Now it was Bucky’s turn to roll his eyes as he slung his right arm across Alison’s shoulders and began walking again. “You’re a punk.”

“Still love me.”

“Always.”

[bonnissance]

ur opinion on robbie (as a character, as a plot device in serena being a big ole gaymo, as a... whatever you want)

as a character I haven’t got a lot to say about him w/o going back and rewatching him from the beginning bc i only caught the end half of his arc w Serena but he just seems like a dude who does things and *shrugs*

as a plot device, Robbie is there to a) drag Serena’s confidence down and make her feel like a terrible person who neglects her family and needs to do more than she already is, b) remind the audience she’s Straight™ pre-Bernie, and c) confirm that she is bisexual post-Bernie. 

(this is under the cut bc it ended up w a y longer than I’d anticipated and CW: physical abuse re mentions of Adrienne’s dementia storyline) 

I absolutely think Robbie was—possibly introduced to be, but at the very least—used to ram home Serena’s apparently failings in a family unit. Everything from the beginning of s18 is about how bad Serena is at balancing her family and how she’s wrong (and has been for a long time) to neglect her family the way she apparently does.

This is a woman who willingly groomed herself to endure months (but could just as easily been years) of physical abuse from her mother, while simultaneously shielding her daughter from any filial obligation that would put her in harms way. The same woman who would bend over backwards to spend time with her daughter when she actually has the time, only she hasn’t got a lot of time bc of work.

But when she hasn’t got the time to spend w her family when they want it she’s apparently neglecting them (which is absolute rubbish she doesn’t neglect her family at all, she just shows her appreciation in the way the rest of her family knows how to receive it, just as they don’t show it in a way that Serena knows how to receive it. They all have Emotional Deprivation life traps and need to go to therapy).

But apparently being a woman with a career and a family means she has to chose one or the other and when she “choses” the career bc it’s what she was supposed to be doing in the first place and that’s hers and she’s worked hard for it and it’s hers, she is The Worst™, no matter about the fact that it doesn’t really matter what Serena choses, bc no matter what Serena does or who she tries to become, it’ll never enough for anyone else. 

Robbie is used to sets Serena apparent “wrongness” regarding her priorities, which builds the foundation for Jason’s introduction. Jason and Serena’s initial storyline is banging us over the head about Serena being sorry for her existence, and that she should be sorry about who she is and they way she is. That storyline—her initial inability to accommodate her new family’s needs—is depicted to be another marker of her failing as a human and a women, rather than just someone who’s a bit out of their depths and needs more support until they can figure out how to handle things.

And Robbie is absolutely instrumental in that. Not once (in any scene that I can remember) does he ever say, “Serena, ur gr8 as u r and ur doing the best u can and ur right for the choices uve made u’ve just gotta stick it out a little more”. It’s always “think about these other things (like me) that will take up time and energy” and “let me do things for u that you’ve not asked me to do nor is it even remotely implied that you might want them, bc wouldn’t that make me seem like such a nice dude.” 

Not once does he ever attempt to validate Serena’s choices, or support her as she tries to sort out things, and instead constantly niggles and nags at her about shifting her focus away from the things she wants to do (medicine and her job at first, and then later Jason) to include him in her life plans, rather than supporting her enough to be able to expand her focus to include him. 

so on that note, Robbie can go suck a million fucks.

(On a side note, Serena has literally never once had anyone point out the fact that she shouldn’t have to chose and it wasn’t until Bernie came along that anyone pointed out she’s not wrong for the choices she has made. Bernie sees that Serena is struggling w all the things she wants to do and suggests it might w worth reevaluating which ones are within her grasp of achieving, bc there’s nothing wrong w taking a step back to focus on things that make you happy, and it’s literally the first time anyone has ever validated the choices Serena has made w her life. 

Meanwhile, Ric Griffin swans in to the ward one day, postures like a jerk, stomps all over Bernie and her current life predicament, and then stares broodishly out a window having a life crisis until Bernie validates that he’s not wrong for the choices he’s made. Why the fuck does Ric get that kind of support every other day and Serena gets put through the fucking ringer?!?!?!? me @ holby writers: fight me)

Also, Robbie is also absolutely a plot device used to codify Serena as Straight™ so that the revelation w Bernie is actually a Revelation™. bc w/o having a recent boyfriend, Serena goes back to being a overly flirty character (who’s always had queer potential) who’s been single for ages who then makes this new best friend, and then the falling in love part would is just, “well whoops guess that happened isn’t it grand” *heart eyes*. Robbie is used to confirm her sexuality at the time. 

Interestingly, he’s also used to clarify Serena’s bisexuality as well. Bc even after she has a sapphic awakening about being madly in love w Bernie, she still cares about him, enough to consider getting back together. Hence why, in process of explaining her sexuality to Jason in an offscreen conversation (which probs began w Jason asking what the dealieo is w her dating Bernie now but being w Robbie when she was away), she literally said “it’s more complicated than [being a lesbian now]” rather than “I’m a lesbian w a mixed dating history” or “I’m just in love w Bernie and the rest doesn’t matter”, bc the rest does matter bc it’s still relevant to now.  

And bc Jason is in all likelihood quoting Serena when he says “it’s complicated” later on and he’s more likely to start pulling information from the beginning of that conversation than at any other point, it means that Serena begin explaining her sexuality as “it’s complicated” before going into a bit more detail about the spectrum and then ended the conversation by saying “I’m bisexual.” (like, maybe she doesn’t align w any signifier, but I reckon Serena is chill af w being bi and is happy to scream it at ppl when needs be)

In short, Robbie as a plot device is there to a) drag Serena’s confidence down and make her feel like a terrible person who neglects her family and needs to do more than she already is and b) clarify Serena’s sexuality at multiple points in the narrative.

On the one hand, suck some fucks, on the other hand, important aspect in codifying the spectrum of female same-sex sexuality representation present Holby City.