#my baby puppy is fully capable of taking this decision

[keldae]

Caretaking

Devi's skillset doesn't lend itself well to domesticity in Waterdeep. And Tara isn't as helpful as she thinks she is.

AO3 link

---

Devi awoke to the sound of a mighty sneeze, one that startled her out of a perfectly nice dream. She startled, her eyes flying open as she looked around her and Gale’s bedroom in his tower, trying to get her heart rate to settle back down. She could just feel the baby in her womb squirm, as though equally disturbed by the loud noise that had awoken its mother.

“Apologies,” she heard Gale’s hoarse voice beside her as the wizard sniffled, sitting up. He immediately flopped back down on his pillow with a little groan, a hand draped across his eyes. “Ugh.”

Her eyes narrowing, Devi rolled over in bed and brushed her fingers over Gale’s bearded cheek. “You sound like shit,” she pronounced. “And you feel warm.”

“I love you too,” Gale wryly croaked out, a moment before he curled in on himself in a coughing fit that made Devi’s chest ache in sympathy. When he regained his breath, he groaned again, seemingly trying to muster up the willpower to sit up again and actually make the effort to get out of bed. “How are you feeling?” he mumbled.

“Surprisingly good, for someone whose husband was snoring all night and keeping her up, even more than his child is,” Devi commented, touching her swollen belly as the baby settled down again. She sat up, frowning as she shifted to stroke her fingers through Gale’s mussed hair, feeling a feverish heat radiating from his brow. “But don’t worry about me, love. You are staying in bed today.”

Gale shook his head and frowned. “That’s not an option,” he protested. “I have lectures to give, and research to do…”

“Do I need to sit on you to make you stay in bed?”

The hand over Gale’s eyes moved, enough for the wizard to give his wife a little glare. “I am an adult, and perfectly capable of making decisions for myself–”

“And I’m your wife, who will yell for Tara to come back me up if you don’t cooperate,” Devi retorted.

Gale’s eyes narrowed. “... You wouldn’t,” he weakly protested.

Devi raised an eyebrow. “Watch me,” she answered. 

She knew she won that round when Gale groaned in defeat and sank back into the pillow. “It truly isn’t that bad,” he tried to argue. “I think it’s just the sniffles, love. Hardly the thing to defeat a fully-trained wizard.”

“You’re feverish, coughing up a storm, and congested as all hells,” Devi responded, running her fingers through Gale’s hair again. She felt a little gratified when the wizard closed his eyes and sighed at the gentle motions. “Taking a day or two to rest won’t be the end of the world, darling.”

Gale harrumphed, but couldn’t argue Devi’s point – half because he’d broken into another coughing fit. He finally caught his breath and cracked his eyes open again, giving her the kicked-puppy expression that usually worked so well to weaken Devi’s resolve. “My students will be missing me,” he hoarsely protested. “There’s supposed to be an exam today…”

Devi shook her head in fond exasperation. “Tell you what – if you can cast a spell, with its intended effect happening, I won’t argue if you decide to go to the Academy today, even if I think it’s one of the dumber ideas you’ve had.”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” Gale croaked. He eyed Devi for a moment, then raised his hand. “ Non movere .”

A handful of pitiful-looking indigo sparks was all that emerged as a result of the spell’s invocation. Devi raised her eyebrow. “Isn’t that supposed to be the Hold Person spell? Because I can still move perfectly freely, love.” She lifted her hand and waggled her fingers at Gale to demonstrate.

“ Non movere, ” Gale tried again. This time, he didn’t even get the sparks from his hand. He groaned in defeat and sagged into the pillow. “I give up. You win, darling.”

Devi offered her ill husband a little smile and leaned down to kiss his hot forehead. “Go back to sleep,” she murmured. “I’ll send a message to the Academy to say that you’re too ill to come in today.” She hesitated, still petting Gale’s hair and feeling him all but melt under her touches. “Do you want me to stay until you’re asleep again?”

Gale nodded and flailed out with his hand to find Devi’s on the bed, clinging to her fingers.

“Okay,” Devi murmured with a little smile, kissing his brow again. “I’ll wait.” She suspected that, with how ill Gale was, she wouldn’t have to wait very long. Indeed, his eyes closed again, his facial muscles relaxing as sleep crept back over him. In less than three minutes, he was snoring, dead to the world.

Shaking her head and wondering why every man she’d ever met had no self-preservation instincts pertaining to illness, Devi kissed Gale’s brow one more time, then carefully slid out of bed, making sure to not wake him up again. The message to the Academy wouldn’t send itself, after all.

---

An hour later saw Devi in the kitchen, frowning at an old recipe book of Gale’s that she had found. This had to be a favourite volume of his, from how many annotations he’d made in the margins of the book over the years and how stained the pages were. Unfortunately, while she knew Gale could translate his own handwriting easily, she had yet to master that particular skill – and these notes were faded with time and use, making them still harder to read. 

Tara jumped up on the counter beside Devi, sniffing at the book. “Ahh, yes. One of Mr. Dekarios’ favourites,” she said – if Devi hadn’t known better, she would have thought the tressym sounded approving. “And vegetable soup is a good remedy for human – or half-human – illnesses.”

“He always makes it for me when I don’t feel good – that, or the pumpkin soup,” Devi confirmed. “And it makes me feel better. It can’t hurt to make some for him this time.” She eyed the book for a moment, then stepped into the pantry, fishing onions and carrots and celery out of the baskets Gale kept there. Washing and chopping the vegetables, and putting them in a pot with water, was easy enough to do. Thankful that Gale didn’t have a kitchen that required magic to use anything, like she heard that some wizards had, she set the pot over the flame to simmer. “What else is good in soup?”

Tara’s tail swished as she thought. “In the cool storage, there’s a whole chicken that you could add to the soup,” she said after a moment. “The meat will be good for him.”

Devi wrinkled her nose – chicken was one of those foods that the child in her womb had apparently decided she wouldn’t be eating much of during her pregnancy. Just the thought of the poultry made her stomach churn. But, her ill husband did need the nutrients from the meat; she nodded and turned to the cupboard that Gale had enchanted to be cooler than the rest of the tower, fetching the chicken. “Do I cook the chicken first, or add it raw to the soup?” she asked Tara. 

In response, Tara looked at the cookbook, muttering curses about Gale’s handwriting under her breath. “I would think to cook it first,” she finally said. “Humans react poorly to raw poultry, and Mr. Dekarios is already ill enough.”

“Of all the days for Shadowheart to be away,” Devi sighed as she started preparing the chicken, trying to not gag at the feeling of raw meat on her hands. “Gale, it’s a damned good thing I love you,” she muttered.

“If I had thumbs, I would offer to assist you,” Tara commented, watching as Devi prepared the bird. “Don’t forget to add salt and pepper to the chicken before you cook it.”

“I’m on it,” Devi confirmed, adding the seasonings to the chicken skin before she put the bird in its own pot and set it to roast. “Do I need to add anything else to that, do you think?”

Tara tilted her head, her tail swishing again. “I don’t think so?” she said after a moment. “I have watched Mr. Dekarios cook many times, but I have never been involved in the cooking process. Tressyms don’t need their food cooked.”

“And I’ve sat and watched Gale cook enough, you’d think I’d have picked up some of what he knows,” Devi muttered. “But a chicken vegetable soup can’t be too hard, right?”

“I shouldn’t think so,” Tara said. “Provided you don’t burn anything.”

---

Half an hour later, Tara’s nose twitched at the smokey, charred ruin that had once been a chicken. “Did I not say to not burn anything?”

“That’s not half as helpful as you think it is, Tara,” Devi growled, gingerly poking at the chicken. “At least it’s not raw?”

“I suppose,” Tara admitted. “Perhaps it will be salvageable after you scrape off the charring on the outside.”

“The things I do for Gale,” Devi sighed as she started scraping the charred skin away from the chicken. Her stomach roiled threateningly at the smells that assaulted her; she winced and gently touched her swollen belly. “Enough of that,” she said to her unborn child. “Your daddy is sick and needs this, and Tara can’t exactly cook!”

“I have my doubts that you can either,” Tara commented.

Devi scowled at the tressym, then pried one of the legs off the chicken’s body. “Are you fucking joking?” she asked when she saw the still-raw meat under the burnt outer layer of the bird. “I can’t feed Gale this!”

Tara jumped up onto Devi’s shoulders and peered at the chicken. “I’m a little impressed that you managed to both under-cook and burn the same chicken,” she said. 

“One of the many talents I have,” Devi deadpanned. Setting the chicken leg down, she stepped over to the first pot and gave it a stir. The vegetables in the broth seemed to be unburnt, for the moment. “So perhaps Gale is getting a plain vegetable soup today without the chicken,” she said. “These, at least, are still edible.”

“I suppose that will be acceptable,” Tara said. “When Mr. Dekarios is feeling better, perhaps you should ask him for cooking lessons.”

“Not the worst idea I’ve heard,” Devi admitted. She gave the soup another stir, making sure none of the vegetables were sticking to the pot. “What other vegetables are good in soup? Maybe potatoes?”

“Potatoes would be a good addition,” Tara mused, her tail flicking from side to side. “Perhaps a courgette as well?”

Devi nodded, then went back to the pantry, returning with a couple of potatoes that she scrubbed clean. Once they were chopped, she carefully added them to the soup pot and gave it another stir before going back for a courgette. As the green vegetable was added to the pot, the former thief gave her creation a contemplative look. “Any other suggestions?”

“Perhaps give it a taste,” Tara suggested.

Turning to the silverware, Devi fetched a spoon, then dipped it into the broth and took a careful sip of the hot liquid. She frowned at the bland flavour. “Salt and pepper,” she said. “Maybe some herbs too. Herbs will help Gale feel better too, right?”

“They should,” Tara confirmed. She jumped off of Devi’s shoulders and started sniffing at Gale’s spice rack. “Ah, curse that boy. I’ve been telling him for almost thirty years that he needs jars that I can pick up and open!”

“I’ll come help you in a moment,” Devi said, picking up the salt and pepper. The pepper, freshly ground as it was, went into the soup easily enough. The salt went in a little easier. “... Ooops.”

Tara looked up. “What now?”

“I, uh, may have put a little too much salt in here?” Devi said. She took another sip of the broth and winced. “It’s… not bland anymore, at least?”

Tsking, Tara shook her head. “Come get some of the herbs, and hopefully those will balance out the salt. Open the jars first so I can smell them.”

Devi stepped over to the spice rack and picked up the first jar Tara pawed at, opening the lid. “Smells nice,” she commented as she peered at the label in Gale’s handwriting. “Basil?”

“Try adding that to the soup,” Tara said. “And this one, and this one.”

“How much?” Devi asked, and saw Tara shrug. “... That’s not helpful.”

“Mr. Dekarios never measures his herbs or spices,” Tara responded. “He says that such things should be measured with your heart.”

“My heart has never cooked a vegetable soup for a sick wizard before,” Devi retorted. She picked up the other jars that Tara had indicated and eyed them before shaking out what she thought was a good amount of each herb into the soup pot. Her next taste test only came back with more of the overly-salty flavour – she frowned, then added more of the herbs, a more generous shake from each jar. 

Her next taste wasn’t ‘good’, but at least it wasn’t quite as overpoweringly salty as before.

“How is it?” Tara asked, watching Devi contemplate her spoon.

“... Not great,” Devi admitted. “A pity you don’t have human tastes – you could tell me what’s wrong with this. And I’m not waking Gale up to get his opinion when he needs sleep.”

“Perhaps it just needs more time to simmer?” Tara suggested. “My understanding is that soups take time to properly come together.”

“It can’t hurt,” Devi said after a moment. “Maybe an hour, do you think?”

Tara nodded. “I think that’s a reasonable length of time. Come, let’s see if you can at least make a cup of tea without ruining that too.”

---

An hour later, and Devi was ready to admit that cooking anything required no small amount of magic. Somehow, the vegetables in her soup had managed to burn themselves on the sides of the pot, and the ones that weren't burnt were decidedly mushy. The herbs she had added didn’t do a thing to mask the slightly-burnt flavour of the soup, and she swore the overly-salty flavour had just gotten worse with simmering.

She and Tara looked down into the pot – Devi with a frown, and Tara with her tail swishing. “I’m not sure how to salvage that, if it’s as bad as you say,” the tressym said. 

“I don’t think even Gale could salvage this,” Devi sighed. “Why did I think this was a good idea?”

“Because Mr. Dekarios is ill, and you wanted to tend to him?” Tara asked.

Frustrated, Devi poked at the ruined soup with the ladle. “I'm half surprised I didn't melt the ladle on top of everything else,” she grumbled.

“That makes two of us,” Tara said. Ignoring Devi's scowl, she sat on the counter and started grooming herself. “What is your next plan?”

Devi sighed and raked a hand through her hair. “I have no idea,” she muttered. “I'm almost ready to send you to Gale's mother for help with this.” Except that Devi did not want to appear helpless and incompetent in front of Morena Dekarios. Her mother-in-law seemed to like her well enough, but Devi still had a few fragments of her pride left.

Tara looked up from grooming one large wing. “I doubt even Mrs. Dekarios would be able to salvage that soup,” she commented. “Perhaps if we–”

A sneeze interrupted the tressym's thought. Gale shuffled into the kitchen, wrapping his robe around him. “What was that about my mother?” he hoarsely asked.

“You should still be in bed,” Devi murmured, abandoning the pot and its dismal soup to give Gale a gentle hug. “How do you feel?”

“Like a carriage ran over me,” Gale mumbled. He hugged Devi back, resting his cheek on her hair before he looked at the scene before him. “What's this? You were cooking?”

“‘Cooking’ might be too generous a term,” Tara commented. “The best that could be said is that she didn't burn the tower down.”

“Hey, you were no help,” Devi growled at the tressym before she looked up at Gale. “Uhh… I tried cooking. It's… almost edible?”

Gale raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Only almost? I'm sure you aren't giving yourself enough credit, darling.” Letting go of Devi, he shuffled over to the pot; Devi saw his brow furrow as he examined the attempt at soup. Picking up a spoon, he cautiously sipped the broth.

Devi winced as she saw Gale freeze, his face contorting in a grimace that he couldn't quite hide from her. “Oh, gods. I know it's awful – I'm sorry. I tried to follow your recipe, but…”

With an effort, Gale swallowed the mouthful of broth, and gave Devi a smile. “No, love, it's not that bad! It…” He looked at the pot. “It's, uh…”

“It's barely edible,” Devi groaned. “Don't feel like you have to be nice about it, Gale. I know it's terrible.”

“Nonsense! I've had worse.” Gale chuckled and set the spoon down. “Trust me, darling. I've made worse food than that, when I was first learning. I wouldn't call this a culinary masterpiece, but you meant well with this!” He came back to Devi and gently curled his finger under her chin. “It means the world to me that you tried this, even though I know you aren't as comfortable in a kitchen as I am.”

Devi smiled sheepishly at Gale and ran her fingers through his hair. “Well, you felt terrible – I wanted to do something nice for you. And you always take such good care of me when I don't feel good…” She stretched up to kiss his cheek, then eyed the pot. “... But is that even salvageable?”

Gale looked at the pot as well, then ruefully smiled. “The pot itself should be fine, but there's no magic that exists to remove too much salt, or to un-burn food.” As Devi groaned again, he chuckled and wrapped his arms around her again. “If you like, I can teach you how to make a soup properly. I know my notes in the recipe books are hard to read, but I have a few tricks I can teach you.”

“You're still ill, though,” Devi said with a little frown, stroking Gale's forehead. He still felt warm to her touch. “I can't ask you to teach me to cook when you're sick.”

“I'm not so ill that I can't sit at the table with a cup of tea and talk you through cooking, my love,” Gale assured her. “All I ask in repayment is for you to come back to bed with me afterwards for a snuggle.” He winked at her and kissed her forehead. “Does that sound agreeable to you?”

Devi smiled and stretched up to give Gale a light kiss. “That sounds good to me.”

With a little grin, Gale let go of her and sat down at the table. “Now, the first step is to dispose of your earlier attempt at soup–” He looked around, his eyes setting on the burnt chicken carcass that Devi had tried and failed to salvage anything edible from. “Oh, dear. Another attempt on your part?”

Wincing sheepishly, Devi nodded.

Gale ruefully chuckled. “All right. Throw that out too, and we'll try cooking chicken another day, darling.” He watched as Devi disposed of the ruined soup and chicken, then managed to summon the energy to magically clean the pot of its burnt mess. “The base of a good vegetable soup is onion, celery, and carrot…”

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

ari.. do you mind linking the tojinana fic for... research purposes.. please and thank you <333333

also as soon as i clicked on your ask box i heard a mouse (rat?) scuttle in my roof and it was both funny and terrifying

ANON YOU’RE VERY SWEET BUT I REFUSE 😭😭😭😭😭😭 IT’S SO OLD IT’S SO BAD. IT’S AWFUL. TRUST ME. i’d have to do a Thorough rewrite of it before posting but …. since you asked so nicely i will give you a tiny sneak peek :3 that i edited just for you. I HOPE THAT’S OK SOBS……

”i want a piggyback ride.”

you blurt it out with decision, a sleepy demand, disrupting the quiet sense of peace in the chilly air. a moment passes — and toji barks out a laugh.

”a piggyback ride?” he coos, a teasing lilt on his tongue, contrasting the rough timbre of his voice. his palm meets the crown of your head; ruffling your tousled hair. ”such a spoiled brat, huh? can’t even make it home on your own. poor baby.”

a pout slips into the curve of your lips, and kento elbows him — very gently — as if he’s made of glass. it’s a gesture he’s grown used to, a silent be nice. toji tries not to smile.

it’s cold out, even with kento’s coat around your shoulders, and you’re so tired you could fall asleep right here and now. you have two perfectly capable, big, strong fiancés with you, and yet neither of them are letting you climb onto their broad backs.

how terrible.

(they’re both about to offer, but you decide to be petty instead of waiting patiently.)

”oh, i see how it is.” you cross your arms and jut your bottom lip out, fully aware of how weak they are to your puppy dog eyes. and then, the final nail in the coffin; ”so you can’t even muster up the kindness to give your own spouse a lift home?”

they both stiffen.

”it’s fine. i get it.” you take two, three long steps ahead, brushing past the tall men. delighting in their sudden silence. ”guess i’ll just have to walk on my own. so much for that proposal —”

”get on.”

before you can blink, they’re in front of you. on their knees, backs towards you, like dogs at your heels. one head of blonde hair, one head of black, ruffled by the starlit breeze.

you can’t see their faces, can’t see their red ears — can’t hear their racing heartbeats. you know them, though. you know them a little too well.

(gosh, they’re whipped.)

[queenofimagines]

It’s Happened Before

Request: “heyy can you do one where y/n normally plays hard to get around guys but when she’s really drunk one guy won’t leave her alone and jj saves her. When he takes her home he’s super sweet and y/n is all over him, he likes it because he has a huge crush on her but then he feels bad bc he doesn’t want to take advantage. At some point y/n thinks that he will take advantage of her in her drunk mind and she says it’s happened before. ((Also love ur writing sm))💜” by @maybebanks

Warnings: Mentions of sexual assault

Notes: I’ve never written a fic with sexual assault before so I apologize if it’s inaccurate or insensitive in any way, I promise that is not my intention. If any of you find any discrepancies in my writing of it or find anything offending please let me know so I can fix it and so I can pay attention to it in the future. Thank you!

Also, this ended up being really long... sorry not sorry :)

You loved playing hard to get, and JJ loved that you never made it easy for him. He fell for your spit-fire attitude right away and since then had never stopped trying to make you his. If you were being honest, though, you liked this little game of cat and mouse that you and JJ had started when you met. You liked how he followed you around like a lost puppy, but you also took pride in the fact that you got the JJ Maybank, notorious for only ever having one night stands, to want you and only you.

Everyone knew of your little game, many already thinking of you as JJ’s girl and referring to you as such because of how inevitable it was that you two would end up together. You hoped they were right, and that you and JJ would end up in an actual relationship. You were young, you knew that you still needed to figure out exactly what you wanted out of life and where you wanted it to go, but to you, one thing was for certain: no matter what happened or where you went, you wanted JJ Maybank to be there. But you were scared, scared that he’d get bored of you, scared that he only liked you for the chase. You were by no means a thrill-seeker, often opting to go with the safer options when John B presented you guys with whatever adventurous scheme he had come up with. JJ, on the other hand, liked to run headfirst into danger without even so much as a plan, something that made you uneasy. You were sure that when the chase was over you’d have a few weeks of bliss before the realization that you weren’t actually what JJ wanted would hit him like a sucker punch and that he’d leave you like so many others had. What you didn’t know, though, was that JJ was by no means in it for the thrill of the chase.

JJ saw right through you. He knew that your quick wit was a way for you to cover up your fear and your pain. He knew that fear and pain caused you to lead him on this chase in the first place. And sure, he liked it when you played hard to get, but that wasn’t what drew him in. JJ fell in love with the way you cared about him and the other Pogues. He fell for the way you always seemed to have just enough time in your busy schedule to help Kiara clean up the litter that so many had carelessly left behind at keggers, how you always seemed to have just enough time to cook for John B when he wasn’t taking care of himself like he should have, how you always seemed to know exactly what to say to calm down Pope when he got anxious, how you always kept him out late enough so that he would just have to spend the night with you instead of going home, and how, when it was necessary for him to go home, you always seemed to “accidentally” leave your blankets in his room during winter when you knew it would be freezing. JJ fell in love with you because you cared about him in a way no one else had before, the chase you led him on was just part of the fun, but even without it JJ still would have stared at you as if you had hung the moon just for him.

It was the beginning of summer, and high time for you and the Pogues to throw yet another kegger to kick it off. You, for one, were more than happy to get uninhibitedly drunk to drown out the insecurities you had when it came to your maybe-relationship with JJ. You were on your fourth cup of beer by now, the party only having started less than an hour ago, and to say you were plastered was an understatement. You didn’t have a particularly high tolerance, you and the rest of the Pogues were very aware of that, but you didn’t care, you just wanted to get wasted and have fun. JJ knew something was up with you when you chugged your first beer right away as you weren’t the chugging type. All of the Pogues noticed your strange behavior too. They knew that you were the kind of person to sip your beer until you were buzzed and keep yourself in that state but never surpass it. JJ knew something was wrong and assured Kiara, John B, and Pope that he would keep an eye on you when they brought up that one of them should stay sober enough to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid. He reasoned with them, stating that since he was the only one of the four who hadn’t had at least three beers by this point that he would be the best bet to stay sober. The Pogues were confused, knowing JJ to be the first of them to get completely hammered, but they didn’t question him, instead agreeing and turning back to the party. What he neglected to tell them was that he had already made up his mind to stay sober and watch over you at the beginning of the party and that his decision to have only one beer, although it was more like half a beer since he was trying to be as completely sober as possible without it looking too suspicious, was purposely made before anyone else had even noticed how off you were acting.

You were unaware of the lingering eyes on you, you were also unaware that the eyes staring at your figure weren’t just JJ’s. A boy around your age, a Touron you guessed based on his sweatshirt which sported some college that you just knew wasn’t from anywhere near the Outer Banks, had seen you dancing with some old acquaintances of yours and decided it was time to approach you. You didn’t notice him coming up behind you, but JJ did, he didn’t dare make a move though, knowing you hated that macho bullshit and were perfectly capable of handling yourself, but he was still on edge when the boy placed his hands on your hips.

You thought the boy was JJ, really you did. But the second you pressed your back into him you knew you were sorely mistaken. You quickly turned around, eyeing the boy who had put his hands on you not mere seconds before, telling him to go away. You didn’t want him, you wanted JJ, and even your drunk self knew that you would never want to be dancing with anybody else.

“Come on, baby, let’s just have some fun,” the boy said, grabbing your hips again. But you resisted, pushing him away and beginning to walk away in the hopes that you could find said blondie.

“Hey! Don’t walk away from me,” the boy said, tightly grabbing onto your bicep. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you that it’s rude to ignore someone who’s talking to you?”

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you that you shouldn’t be grabbing girls like that?” JJ responded, having seen the interaction from where he stood near the keg and immediately making his way over to you.

“Listen, buddy, I wasn’t talking to you.” The boy stepped closer to JJ, pushing you out of the way and causing you to trip and fall onto the sand. That did it for JJ, who began throwing punches at the Touron who dared lay a hand on you. The Touron didn’t stand a chance against JJ and you quickly realized that you would have to stop him from killing the boy.

“JJ,” you said meekly, hoping that your voice was loud enough to hear. You didn’t want to talk much louder, your head already pounding from the sudden shift of your body when you fell. But he couldn’t hear you, not over the sound of the crowd egging on the fight.

“JJ!” You yelled, already regretting the decision when you felt the throbbing in your head get worse. JJ stopped, looking over at you with furrowed eyebrows. “Can we just go, please?”

JJ slowly nodded, letting go of the Touron and carefully picking you up to take you back to the Chateau. He sat you down on the couch, beginning to move away to turn the lights on, but your grip on his hand was vice-like.

“Y/N, let me turn on the lights, alright sweetheart?”

“No, stay.” JJ couldn’t fight you when you looked so sleepy and utterly adorable. He made his way next to you on the couch where you proceeded to practically fall into his lap. JJ moved so that you were lying comfortably against him, sure that you would probably just fall right asleep. But instead of hearing your soft snores, he felt your hand reach up into his hair and your lips gently trail across his neck. His heart rate sped up, loving the soft attention he was receiving and pulling you closer, running his hands along your sides, only stopping when he heard your breath hitch and felt your body tense.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“N-nothing,” you responded.

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” He said quickly, afraid that you thought he only wanted to have sex with you and feeling like he was taking advantage of your state of mind by not stopping you from delivering the physical affection he craved. You quickly sat up, staring at him with watery eyes full of disbelief.

“You-you’re not going to...?” You trailed off, not wanting to say it.

“Sweetheart, I’d never take advantage of you like that. Even if you wanted to I wouldn’t let you, you’re not in your right mind right now and I need you to be fully aware if we do this.” He said, thinking that the tears in your eyes and the look on your face were caused by disappointment. Before he knew it you had launched yourself at him, tightly hugging him to you while you sobbed into his shoulder. JJ was beyond confused at this point but he knew that he just needed to be here for you right now. He slowly wrapped his hands around you so as not to startle you.

“Thank you,” you whispered.

“For what?”

“For not taking advantage of me.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that, sweetheart, I’d never do that to you.” You sniffled, mumbling a response. He dearly hoped you didn’t say what he thought you said, but the waver in your voice at the words you spoke was unmistakable.

“It’s not like it hasn’t happened before.” JJ’s heart broke. Someone had taken advantage of you? He quickly pulled you away from him in order to look at you.

“Who?” He questioned. He was beyond angry, ready to fight the person who had made you feel like you needed to thank him for being a decent fucking human being. You shook your head.

“Some Touron a couple of months ago.” A couple of months ago? How did he not know? How could he have let that happen to you?

“We snuck away from the party, I thought he just wanted to talk but I was just being stupid. He was older and made me feel special so I followed along when he suggested we go somewhere else. H-he started touching me, I didn’t want him to. I told him to stop but he didn’t. He started kissing me and then we heard a gunshot. He bolted as soon as he heard it and I tried to come and find you guys.” You were sobbing at this point, not wanting to remember the moment having not fully processed the situation. JJ began crying too, angry that he didn’t protect you and angry that you had been struggling with this alone.

“No, no, no, that’s not your fault. You weren’t being stupid, okay? I’m sorry, sweetheart, I’m so sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say, what could he have said? What happened to you wasn’t okay and he wasn’t sure how to handle it either, so he pulled you close to him, letting you cry into his chest despite the pain it caused him to hear your broken sobs. Soon you fell asleep, the rest of the Pogues having come back to the Chateau not too long after, quietly asking JJ if you were alright. JJ shook his head, silently telling them that they’d have that conversation tomorrow. They all nodded, John B heading to his room and Pope and Kie heading to the spare room to give you guys some space.

As JJ lay in the dark, calmed by your steady breathing, he stroked his hand through your hair and promised you that he would protect you, no matter what.

[extremelyblackandwhite]

handmaid - 21

PAIRING: mob!sebastian stan x ingenue!reader

WARNINGS: age gap, sexual content (18+)

A/N: CHILDREN SHIELD YOUR EYES!!! for those over 18, hope you enjoy this chapter xxx

NEXT CHAPTER

I love you.

I love ... you.

Some words have the power to affect you and touch you more than an actual touch. I, love, and you are words as simple as words can be, they’re overused and sometimes used in ways that shouldn’t be used. They’re harmless. However put them together and suddenly you have a sentence that can haunt you or provide you with the best of feelings that can be experienced by someone. 

I love you. He’d heard that particular phrase several times at different times in his life, the first being with the very first girl he fell in love with and the last being with the last girl he would ever fall in love with. Love is such a pure emotion in its own, no hatred, no jealousy, no selfishness and the fact that it came from someone as pure as Y/N, it was just ... the best thing someone could hear. She loved him. Him, out of everyone. She loved him and he was speechless. The mob boss who constantly controlled the room and everyone around him, who always had the last word was speechless at the hand of the handmaid. Soft power, she embodied soft power and this was a pure demonstration of that trait. 

    - I’m so sorry ... I don’t know why I said that, you’re engaged to Gwen and I respect her so much. I ... - she was lost in her rambling. Why couldn’t she have kept her feelings in the darkest corner of her mind? Why would she tell him that? She shouldn’t have and before she could return to her quick apology and cover up what she thought to be a dagger and conversation stopper, he had pulled her chin towards his to kiss her delicately. She should’ve pulled back, part of her knew she should’ve pulled back but he was too much for a good kisser and she was too much involved into it for her to actually delve onto the consequences of her actions. 

   - If I knew you’d do this, I would given you a bag much much sooner. - was she wrong to be feeling this way? After all, no one is really capable of controlling their feelings, they’re just responses caused by hormones and the brain to various stimuli . She can’t choose them right? Then if she can’t chose she should at least feel guilty. This was Gwen’s husband to be, the same Gwen whose family supported her education and kept her alive all this years. But then again Gwen was never gonna love Sebastian, no, she wasn’t even gonna try to be his friend yet that didn’t mean it gave Y/N the right to commit adultery. Could it even be considered adultery if he wasn’t married yet? No, it is adultery and she shouldn’t commit adultery with the man standing in front of her. - Are you alright, angel?

   - I should go to bed. - she got on her feet, looking down at her cozy socks instead of his beautiful baby blues. - Good night, Sebastian. 

She had to get as far away from him as possible before she did something something like getting under him. How is she supposed to fall out of love with someone if she’s under him? Why would she tell him she was in love with him? Was she daft or did she have a dying wish? Locking the bedroom door behind her, she slid down the dark wood door, hand on top of her chest. How rude of her to just leave him there. He had been nothing but a sweetheart to her with pretty much copying her Christmas tradition in less than a day to make her happy, and let’s not even mention the bag that was compared to real estate. For shame, she had kissed not once, not twice but several times the very much off the market mob boss. Yet again, why should she care? Why should be so worried if Gwen was not? If his wife to be didn’t care and was more than happy to go around with as many men as she wanted despite the wedding ring on her polished finger, why should she care about who was with Sebastian?

Oh Sebastian. She had just left him there looking like a lost puppy. How could she do this? He had gone all the way to make her happy, he respected her and was the only person in her life so far who had actually been interested in listening to her opinions and actually ask her what she wanted. She owed him an apology, heck, she had been playing go and pull with him for quite some time so she owed him more than a apology. Yet again, why did she not just have her fun? If Gwen can have her affairs then why couldn’t she delve into her own passions with him? He clearly seemed willing but it’s wrong. However, what is right and wrong when you’re in the mob? There’s always a fine fine line between right and wrong. There’s no right and wrong, that’s what she used to hear from Mr. Forrest, only darker and lighter shades of grey. 

Did she believe that? She didn’t know. Different authors had different opinions and she herself din’t believe she would ever know the answer. What she knew was that before she realised what she was doing, she was walking barefoot against the hardwood floors and stood in front of the door of his bedroom. She knocked on the door with a less than willing strength. He didn’t take long to open the door, standing with his dark sweatpants and grey tee shirt. Y/N’s words escaped her, what was she gonna say? Couldn’t be stupider than telling a soon to be married man that she loved him. Should she start with an apology? Should she try and joke? No, she clearly wasn’t good at joking. Why wasn’t she speaking? She could feel him looming, eyes burning onto her face. 

   - Got something to say, angel? - there was a weird shift in atmosphere as she looked up into his beautiful cerulean eyes. There it was once more, the same pull accompanied by those characteristic sparks she had heard and read about. What is the point of going against the pull? It’s like facing two magnets and try to ensure they don’t stick together, eventually you tire yourself off. Finally, Y/N was tired and pushing her morals towards her friend into the back of her friend, she leaned in. 

Sebastian was caught off guard but he wasn’t one to complain, specially when it was her. His hands rested on her natural waist, pushing her body towards his. She could feel the warmth of his hands through her shirt, the sort of warmth that only he could provide and as such she held him closer, closer than ever before, ensuring he wouldn’t leave or become a figment of her imagination. Her hand slide into the curly mess that was his hair became whenever he didn’t pay attention to it. 

She didn’t consider herself an experienced kisser, in all honesty, she wasn’t experienced at anything relationship wise so once his tongue made his way into her mouth, stroking the roof ever so lightly she couldn’t help but choke in a moan, hand pulling at his hair. This seemed to incite him as he bit her lip, hands slowly descending to her lower back and her bum, giving it a little squeeze which made her smile through the kiss. 

   - You’re gonna run away from the again, angel? - he swiftly pulled back, closing the door behind them. 

    - I reckon that I care to choose to stay. - Y/N smiled, knowing she would regret it later but later is later and now is now and she’d rather be in the now. He leaned in to kiss her again, fingers toying with the much too short t-shirt of her sleeping garments. Part of her wished he would just take it off, wanting to feel his warmth all over. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about him in lewd ways or how he looked under the pristine suits he always wore. At that thought alone, she couldn’t help but feel her cheeks heat up. 

With a decisive grip, she held onto the hem of his t-shirt, pulling it over his head. What she came into her view was something that would water the mouths of everyone. She knew he was a good looking well built man but she wasn’t expecting him to be that ripped. Her hand slid down from his hair to rest onto his chest. 

   - I don’t think it’s a fair deal you seeing me with my shirt off while you’re fully dressed, angel. - stress spread through her whole body and she wondered if he was going to like what he saw once she removed her tee-shirt. She was almost entirely sure that she was not up to standards to please a man like him. 

   - Alright, turn around. - Sebastian furrowed his eyebrows at her request but decided to comply, turning around. After checking he was staring at the door and not at her, she pulled her shirt off throwing it to the floor where it pooled near his.

    - You are the most stunning thing I’ve ever come across. - she heard his raspy deep yet deeper than usual voice against her ear as he took a long stride towards her. 

His arms circled around her smaller figure and Y/N was sure she could feel her heart beating faster and harder on her throat when his hands ghosted over her chest, tightening around her perked bud. This sole action made her gasp loudly which caused him to softly hum in content against the back of her neck, moving the hand that circled over one of her breasts and running his thumb over the perked bud once to watch the young handmaid get goosebumps and squirm under his touch. Screw having power over a whole entire city, he would throw it all away so he could have this sort of power over her. 

    - You like when I touch you. Don’t you, angel? - He stated rather plainly with a hint of pride and she adverted her eyes from his hands. Her mouth opened to speak yet it closed as quickly as it opened once he pinched one of her buds without any prior warning. She tried her hardest to prevent a moan to slip out thinking it would make her sound like a desperate teenager but there was no stopping her quivering and shaking legs. He seemed to notice this, pulling her from the ground and laying her down on his bed. - Do you want to do this?

    - Yes. - she nodded her head furiously, worried that if she took a beat he would disappear in thin air. She stood there in his bed, head slightly raised as she watched every single step.

His eyes were darker than usual, a far cry from the baby blues that took over his iris and the stretched fabric on his crotch was a tell sign he was trying his best to control the situation which only made her more aroused and she could feel the wetness coming from her and sliding down her thighs which every once in a while rubbed against one another. 

He took his sweet time unbuttoning and zipping down his trousers as he stares down at her, wondering if he was having yet again one of his delusion dreams. However, her harsh breathing was much too real to be just a dream and her touch was much to intense to be a fantasy. He pushed his boxers and his trousers down past his knees and climbed onto bed, hovering above her, hands on either side of her head. 

Y/N was rather new to the whole array of sensations she was feeling yet all she knew was that she wanted to feel him, she wanted to touch him badly yet all her body seemed to be writhing under him, awaiting for release. However, he lost no time in getting rid of the white shorts as quickly as he could. Her eyes were gazed onto the ceiling, much to shy to actually look at what was happening. 

When he pressed down with his index finger on her clit and, skilfully, pushed aside her underwear, she found herself gasping lightly as she felt his warm roughed finger trace up and down her folds and then, to make it more torturous in a twisted pleasurable way, he adds another finger, circling her little bundle of nerves masterfully while his other fingers slip along her folds, slipping just enough for him to feel her soaking entrance.

   - Sebastian ... - she managed to blurt out, clinging to the arm whose hand continued to tease her masterfully and she herself was if she had hold onto him to get some relief from these new emotions or to stop him completely so she could regain her senses. 

  - It’s alright, angel, I’m here. - he smirked down at her, leaning close to her heated face, lips almost painfully touching. - You are so wet, so frustrated. I could just stare at you for hours.

   - Just do something. 

   - I am doing something, angel. Maybe I’ll just stop doing it ... - he answers , removing his fingers from her soaked folds and placing them in his sinful mouth, licking and sucking on them rather loudly to make her even more flustered, if that was even possible. 

Y/N stared at him as she tried to even out her breathing and calm down her beating-heart, thumping as hard as a rabbit thumps their small pawed feet on the grass. She thought she had read sinful things, she thought she had seen sinful things but nothing compared to watching his lick her juices off his fingers. Sebastian hummed and wrapped his tongue around the tips of his fingers. Once finished, he removed them with a loud pop. 

  - After all you did run on me ... several times - he added smugly, proud of the control he has holding over her head. - You’re lucky I adore you, angel. 

He pushed her stomach down on the bed, his hands, parted and one either side of her head, supporting his body height as he fit his knee in between her legs, slowly spreading her thighs apart, never for a moment leaving her gaze or letting her eyes wander anywhere else but him. He could just die happy looking at her like that.

Wrapping her spread legs around his waist, she could already feel his thick hard cock pressed against her entrance, making her choke out a moan and a few whines, both from anticipation, need, and pure unknown of what was going to happen next. She was sure she had never felt something like that before, so powerful yet needy at the same time. Stretching her arms to wrap around his neck, she buried her head against the soft sheets of the bed to which he smirked and leaned. Slowly, he pushed into her and she gasped, parting her lips just barely enough to let out a throaty moan. It was a weird feeling, painful but with the power to be something else and as he slowly continued to fill her the brim, she couldn’t help but let out moans and cries of both pleasure and pain as she felt him stretch her completely and that pain morphed into more of an unspeakable pleasure.

   - God fuck ... you’re tight. - he shut his eyes, groaning as he felt her walls contract around him, stilling his movements.

   - Fuck ... - she groaned, moving her hips from side to side which made him groan loudly, eyes snapping open. 

   - Don’t do that unless you want me to fuck you against the window so that the whole of the Upper East will know who you belong to. - those words came out like threats but the way she milked him made him smirk. - You do want that, don’t you, angel? Maybe some other day. 

  - Just move, please just move ... - she pleaded with whatever control of her voice she had left and with a crooked smirk, his hands slide down to her hips which he grabbed. Subtly, he yanked them up until he slide out of her womanhood completely before ramming himself back in, making her moan sharply and hide her face against his chest in an attempt to muffle her moans.

Y/N quivered and whimpered in his hold, shaking her hips with both excitement and pleasure as he repeated the same motion time and time again. His thrusts  heavy, hard and fast, and as both of them gradually started to reach their end, became sloppier and messier but still powerful enough to rock her body and the bed along with it. She could feel herself getting closer, closer and closer to some sort of unknown release until finally she felt as if her body went through a tiny explosion causing her walls to tighten around him and Sebastian, in turn and along with her orgasm, came within a few seconds after her. 

He slid out of her, rolling on his side while Y/N stared at the ceiling, still lost in what sounded like static and white like vision, breath returning to normality along with her body. 

  - Are you okay, angel? - he questioned, watching her roll on her side so she could look at him.

  - Peachy. - she breathed out, arms lifting up with whatever strength she had left to wrap them around his torso. Nuzzling her face against his chest, sleep soon came to both of them. 

The morning came soon after, tiny and weak rays of sun filtered through the windows into the mob boss’s bedroom. However, it wasn’t the light that woke them up but the incessant knocking on their door. Sebastian raised his head from his pillow, cursing whomever was knocking at the door.

Grabbing his boxers from the floor and quickly putting them on, he strode towards the door, pulling it open so hard that it could’ve removed it from the hinges hadn’t they been well placed.

   - Amelia, what is it? - he almost growled at the housekeeper, she however was unbothered by it, much too used to him at this point. 

   - We have a situation, Mr. Stan. 

   - What situation? - he asked in a much more polite tone of voice, noticing Y/N was watching them like a hawk in confusion. 

   - It’s Mr. Daniel Forrest ... he’s downstairs. 

   - How is he downstairs? No cars are leaving from the Upper East. 

   - I don’t know, sir. He is here however to take Miss Y/N to Mr. Forrest’s house ... for Christmas. He is rather impatient. 

   - For heaven’s sakes ... - he kicked the side of the door. In all the times the weather just had to get better right now, turning around to look at the girl still barely awake in his bed, he let out a sigh. He couldn’t force her to spend Christmas with him. All she wanted was to go home. - Angel, get your things, Daniel Forrest is here. 

   - Dan is here? - she perked up, duvet wrapped around her body as she collected her garments from the floor. - But I thought ...

   - Well, he is here and I don’t think he’s gonna leave unless you leave with him. Isn’t that what you wanted? - isn’t that what she wanted? She questioned herself as she got dressed, surely it was. She wanted to spend Christmas with those who had taken care of her, right? 

   - You must come with me then. We always have one more plate at our table and the house is awf ...

   - I have to work, angel. I don’t get days off, I told you that. 

   - I know and you can work there. It’s fine, I’m sur ...

   - Y/N. - he interrupted her. - Just go and get your things. 

tag list: @lilya-petrichor @xoxohannahlee @irespostthingsiwanttoseelater @nikkipea @madisonpillstrom @cevans98 @thelostallycat @sideeffectsofyou @anxiousdreamersworld @captainchrisstan @lookiamtrying​ @sarge-barnes-sir​​​​ @stuffforreferences​ @thebadassbitchqueen

[cloud9in]

Hazel

Summary: Ava decides that in order to win Hazel’s heart, she’d serenade her outside of her window...in the middle of a snowstorm

Pairing: Ava x Mc (Hazel) (based on the song Hazel by Lloyd) (I recommend listening to it)

Warnings: NONE, just a lot of fluff...and some angst?

Word Count: 2.4k

Permanent Taglist: @samanthadalton @satrinadia I’m also gonna tag some Ava stans: @kamilahsayeet2063 @dopeyouth 

The soles of Ava’s boots softly sink into the powder like snow that had begun plating the ground a few hours ago. It was now midnight. The moon sparkled brightly even through the flurry of snow that poured from the sky. Ava brushes off the thin layer of snowflakes that coated her face, and puffs out a breath of air. She knew that she probably resembled an apple, but that wasn’t the most important thing to think about in the moment.

 The cheerleader stood below Hazel’s window with a black and silver Sony boombox that she borrowed from Mack. Ava had made a mental note to thank her best friend's sister properly, after (hopefully) succeeding with her plan. To be fair, Mackenzie didn’t take it too well when Ava first came to her with the idea.

  ~

 “Why do you want my boombox? There's plenty of ones available for whatever you have planned, which is what by the way?” 

Ava visibly stiffens, her fingers curling into the hem of her plaid skirt as she spoke, “Well...there’s this movie that Hazel and I used to watch...”. Mackenzie rolls her eyes dramatically as she flops onto her bed, “Oh that movie...hm what was it again.” The blue-haired girl strokes her chin thoughtfully before speaking, “oh right ‘Say Anything’.”

 Ava glances at her with a look of surprise, her fingers slowly loosening the hold on her skirt. Mackenzie takes it as a sign to elaborate, “it’s practically all Hazel talks about, she’s drilled it into my brain at this point and now here you are bringing it up again. Can I ever catch a break?” She visibly huffs with a hand over her heart before shooting Ava a wink. An awkward silence sits in the room for a moment until Mackenzie sits up in thought, her eyebrows knitting together before speaking, “I thought you two weren’t on speaking terms?” 

 Ava frowns at her words and turns her head to look down the hall at Hazel’s closed door. “Well...yes we aren’t. But I want to apologize to her in a way that is meaningful for the both of us. I think that...this is the perfect way.” The brunette displays a hopeful grin on her face as she looks in Mackenzie’s direction.

 “...You do know that the whole ‘puppy eyes and please look at my charming smile’ thing does not work on me right? I am not my sister”, Mackenzie deadpans.

 “Huh, so it does work on Hazel”, Ava smiles to herself silently as she makes a plan to tease her best friend about it.

  “As a matter of fact...Hazel seems to drop everything and run to you whenever you use that damn look..”. Mackenzie tilts her head to the side and gives Ava a weird look. 

The brunette tries not to fidget in front of the girl. Mack didn’t know of Ava’s attraction to her big sister, and she wanted to keep it that way for now. Ava didn’t want to picture what Mackenzie’s shovel talk would consist of...the girl could be unpredictable.

 “What happened between you guys anyway?”

 Ava moves her gaze down to the floor, contemplating her answer. She couldn’t tell Mackenzie what really happened after the ski trip...

  But the truth is that Hazel and Ava had gotten closer, sharing their first kiss in her car. The cheerleader had dropped her off that night after practice and before she could stop herself, Hazel was pulled back into the car by her arm, and their lips locked. It felt so perfect...Ava never felt that way when kissing Bayla. Her heart sped up every time she caught a glimpse of the girl's pink hair in the halls. There were moments where Ava had to walk away so she wouldn’t make the mistake of tangling her fingers in Hazel’s hair, burying her perfect lips with her own. The only thing stopping her was Bayla. 

Even after the kiss, Ava couldn’t make the decision to fully leave her girlfriend, not until Hazel was sure she knew what she wanted as well. The brunette refused to ruin her own relationship in fear of her best friend picking someone else in the end. 

The two shared glances occasionally but neither one has spoken to each other after a huge argument one day in the locker room. All of those bottled up emotions had spilled in that moment, but it only left a rift too big to seal up with a simple “I’m sorry”. It seems like the best option would be to sit down and talk it all out, but what teenager is capable of such civility? 

Ava breathes out quietly as her mind starts to cloud with thoughts. Why am I still with her? Hazel is the one I want.... No, need. She couldn’t get neither Hazel nor Bayla out of her head. Is this the way her best friend feels about Mason and Noah? 

 She blinks back to reality after a moment and looks up to see Mackenzie staring at her expectantly. “Um...well it's just some school and girlfriend drama”, Ava says nonchalantly, hoping to convince the blue-haired girl otherwise. It's clear that Mack doesn’t fully believe her, but she drops the topic and walks towards her closet, pulling out the shiny new boombox. She hands it over to Ava but not before staring directly into her eyes, “You break my baby and we’re going to have a problem Lawrence.” The brunette gapes at her for a split second and then nods her head carefully. 

Yeah she definitely didn’t want to hear that shovel talk now.

 ~

 Ava smiles at the little memory as she dusts more snowflakes from her face. She looks up at the grey sky and shields her eyes from the falling snow. The light flurry was beginning to accelerate into a storm and the many layers Ava had on wouldn’t be able to protect her for much longer. She had to get a move on, it was now or never. 

Funny that out of any time of the day, Ava had picked during a snowstorm to confess her love to Hazel. Was it love? Ava knew deep down that she was crazy in love with the girl but didn’t want to scare her away. So instead of saying “I love you, be my girlfriend”, the cheerleader decided that bringing a boombox and blasting an old school love song while serenading Hazel from below her window, in a soon to be blizzard... would be the best idea ever. 

She positioned the boombox onto her shoulders before reaching up to hit the play button, a deep yet melodious beat encompassing the air as the singer hummed sweet words 

I'm beginnin' to see

The more we hang together

Baby girl, I like you

'Cause you're better

Ava’s arms shook intensely but it wasn’t because of the weight of the box. A surge of nervousness had fluttered in her stomach and seeped its way into her bones. Is this stupid? Is she even awake? Will she be angry that I woke her up? The brunette had started to doubt her actions as she stood there.  There was no hint of a silhouette behind the transparent curtains in Hazel’s room, and Ava had almost switched the song off until the lights turned on.

 ~

 Hazel had settled under her thick blankets for the night, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep. The fight she had with Ava constantly replayed in her head, but not nearly as much as the kiss did. Hazel still felt the brunette’s lips on hers, the tingling sensation seemed to never go away. She lightly touched her lips and closed her eyes, reliving every touch and feeling Ava had caused that night. Her heart started to beat rapidly, and it was the only thing she could hear before a sudden commotion invaded her thoughts...

 Hey Hazel

I like you

Can't see myself without you

My sweet Hazel

'Cause I think I'm in love (I'm in love)

Hazel’s eyes shot open as she sat up abruptly. Was that my name? She thought to herself as she peered towards the window. Down below she could see a figure standing but the blowing snow made it hard to make out who it was. Hazel steadily slipped out of her covers, immediately wrapping her arms around her abdomen for warmth. She cautiously slipped below the window and squinted her eyes to see the intruder, but to no avail. She couldn’t see who it was, which meant that turning on her bedroom lights was the only option. Hazel sighed to herself before flipping the switch up and creeping back to her spot. What the hell am I doing? She thought again, deciding to stand up and face the man who sang her name shamelessly.

 Except it was no man.

 ...It was Ava

 Hazel does a double take as her jaw drops open at the sight below her. Ava holds a boombox above her head as Lloyd sings his heart out. When the brunette notices Hazel, a gorgeous smile appears on her face, eyes twinkling with delight. They looked like snowflakes themselves and Hazel felt as if she was in trance.

 Ava began to sing along, her voice belting out in the most incredible way possible, as the snow shined heavily behind her. It was the most stunning thing Hazel had ever witnessed.

Can't see myself without you

My sweet Hazel

Girl, I think I'm in love (I'm in love)

She hums the background vocals while never breaking eye contact with the girl above her. It was sensual and Hazel felt her face flood with heat as she covered her mouth. Ava puts the boombox down and points her fingers up at Hazel as she continues the song, whispering her name 

...Hazel

 Hazel...

Lloyd’s vocals croon in the background as the two girls just stare at each other. Ava didn’t fight the urge and allowed herself to sink into the deep pools of honey that were home to Hazel’s face. The light in her room added an extra sparkle to her eyes as she laughed with joy. Hazel was relieved that her dark complexion couldn’t reveal a deep redness that only Ava could cause. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, the cold didn’t bite at her skin anymore. Excitement runs through her veins as she dashes out of her bedroom, down the stairs, out through the front door, and right into Ava’s arms. The cheerleader yelps in surprise as she steadies her hold on Hazel, holding her up midair. She giggles into Hazel’s neck as they hug each other tightly. 

 “Couldn’t resist me eh?”

 Hazel laughs, swatting playfully at Ava’s padded shoulder. She leans in for another hug, enveloping herself in all of the warmth that the brunette provided, despite the chilly air. After a minute of just holding each other, Ava reluctantly pulls away and cups Hazel’s cheek, turning her head to look down at her. “Hazel...I’m really sorry. For everything.”

 The giggles and laughter are put on pause as Ava sets her down. Hazel doesn’t let go of the brunette no matter how much her brain protests to step back. She couldn’t. This is what she desperately craved for ever since she lost her best friend. Now that Ava was back in her arms, Hazel held on tightly, like she feared that history would repeat itself if she let go. This time would be different, this time they were going to talk it out. 

 “Listen Hazel I-”

 She doesn’t let Ava continue, putting a finger against her mouth to shush her.

 “We can talk about it tomorrow..”. Hazel gestures to the white snow blanketing around them, “When we’re not in the middle of a snow storm”, she claims. 

 Ava looks around with her and nods her head in agreement, a small smile playing at her lips. Tomorrow they’d solve this problem, but for now,  Hazel is going to enjoy every last bit of this experience. So many ideas flooded her mind, maybe she’d throw a bunch of snowballs at Ava, or push her into the snow. Maybe she’d just hold her hand and let the snow plummet and build around them.

My sweet Hazel

Girl, I think I'm in love (I'm in love)

She gazes into Ava’s eyes lovingly, pulling her flush against her smaller frame. Hazel watches as small snowflakes trickle down onto the brunette’s rosy cheeks, and leans in to kiss every individual freckle that painted her face. Ava pulls back after a good five kisses and chuckles down at the girl, “you know if you keep that up, we’ll be standing here all night.” 

 Hazel sways gently in her arms, a cheeky smile invading her dark features, “and who says that wasn’t my plan all along…?”

 Ava giggles and swiftly picks up Hazel once more, this time spinning her around in the snowfall. They’re bodies were drenched with the white coating, but they didn’t mind it. Hazel looked up into the sky as she screamed with happiness.

Girl I think I’m in love

I’m in love

I’m in love

Ava peered up at her best friend, the smile on her face looked like a million dollars. She pulls her down into a searing kiss that completely shuts out the blizzard around them. As soon as their lips connected, Ava felt like all was right in the world. She could taste the sweet cherry chapstick that Hazel always wore. God it was even better than last time. 

She gently sucks on Hazel’s lower lip, watching her every gasp and the way her nose scrunches up when she squeezes her eyes shut. God she is so perfect.

 They both eventually pulled back for air, the heat between them seemingly growing hotter and hotter. If they never stopped, the whole neighborhood would be melted of snow. 

 “You know you are my whole world Hazel…” 

 “Just shut up and spin me around again”

The two girls howl with laughter as they collide together in the storm.

...From out of her window, Mackenzie shouts down “KNEW IT!!!”, her fist pumping in the air.

 ...Noah sits on his motorcycle in the storm and watches them kiss, an ache growing in his heart. 

 ...Mason turns back in the direction he came from, refusing to witness the scene before him. The flowers he once held in his hand, now laid peacefully under the blanket of snow.

 ...and Ava’s phone that's lodged into the snow lights up for the third time: 3 missed calls from Bayla.

It rings one more time before going silent.

I’m in love

I’m in love

I’m in love

[ktheist]

interlude: sit still, look pretty [2]

synopsis. yoongi is like the embodiment of the dark side of the moon while jungkook is the luminous, shining side that showers you with his light. one grounds you down to earth and the other makes you want to reach your hand up and touch the cosmos.

but you can’t be making decisions on your own now. everything you do and all you will do, is subject to the happiness of the little bundle of joy you had along the way of your fallen marriage.

and it’s obvious as day, your daughter won’t accept anyone else as her father other than min yoongi and nobody else as her mother other than you.

muses. ex-husband!yoongi x ceo!reader x co ceo!jungkook

chapters. previous | next

x

“i’m so sorry to drag you on a monday morning like this, jungkook.” you shoot him an apologetic look before undoing the seatbelt.

“don’t sweat it. nobody could have foreseen that car of yours to break down.” his lips curl upwards the way only jeon jungkook can manage but it’s short lived as his meets your gaze sternly, “being borderline crazily involved with your job is good but you need to be aware of your surroundings too - like remembering to take your car for maintenance.”

you fix him a sheepish smile before hwayoung’s groggy “mommy are we there yet?” catches your attention.

“wakey wakey sleepy head.” you shake her tiny foot to wake her up before opening the door on your side and hopping off the car to get to her.

”mommy, if i ask daddy to let me stay with you, can you take me back?” hwayoung asks with a small, tired voice. a pudgy hand going up to rub the sleepiness away.

you hum, lips curling upwards as you undo the hook to the baby seat she’s strapped in, “hmm but won’t you miss daddy, sweetie?”

the little girl seems to give it a thought before nodding, arms stretched as far as her body could. “i miss daddy this much.”

you chuckle, picking her up in one arm before reaching to for the bag of newly bought baby essentials on the other end of the car. before you even come inches to grabbing it, the car door on that side swings open, revealing a grinning jungkook, “let me.”

‘seriously, thanks.’ you mouth to him, heat rushing to your face when he winks at hwayoung as though sharing an inside joke. the little girl, noticing the gesture giggles to herself.

they’ve only met for ten minutes when you handed him the baby while you transfer the baby bag filled with hwayoung’s essentials and another grocery bag into the backseat of his car. he comes out with hwayoung in his arms two minutes later, the two chuckling to themselves while you eyed the man suspiciously. yet within the span of that time frame, they’ve already become the best of friends.

“will you and uncle koo stay and play with me, mommy?” she peers up at you, puppy eyes and pouty lips. 

you hit the 7th floor button once you get into the elevator, jungkook standing closer than you prefer when a couple gets onto the elevator with you.

“we’ll play some other time, how about that? you can’t play because you have to get ready for school, remember?” you offer, ruffling the natural locks of your child’s pig tails.

hwayoung huffs, lips pursed into the ultimate pout.

“don’t you like school, youngie? you can play with your friends everyday until you get to visit mommy again. it’ll go by in a breeze.” jungkook leans down to hwayoung’s eye level, making him appear too big in this tiny space while holding a baby bag and another bag of a groceries in his hands.

“i do,” hwayoung pauses to play with her fingers.

“but?” you offer, smiling.

“but i like mommy and daddy and uncle koo more! i want us to play together!” she jumps in excitement in your arms, lips curling into the brightest smile, the sun can’t compare.

somewhere deep in your heart, you know that can never happen and it pains you that you still can’t set your ego down and sit down in a room with yoongi to fulfill your child’s wish of seeing her favorite people play with her like the old times. with jungkook as an addition too. 

“we will, sweetie. but you have to promise me something.” you step out of the elevator when it reaches the familiar hallway where the walls are painted white and there’s a fake potted plant at the end of it, inside the grail of the apartment.

“what?” hwayoung blinks, her innocent curiosity making you chuckle.

“you gotta promise me you’ll have the funnest fun with your friends at school so they won’t feel sad if they know you like playing with me and uncle koo more.” you pinch her cheeks, coming to stop in front of the apartment at the end of the hallway before ringing the door bell. 

hwayoung doesn’t need to think about it to reply, “i promise!”

the door swings open, revealing a fully awake yoongi who’s bathed and dressed for the day. back then, you have to drag him out of bed to get him to wake up this early in the morning. you don’t miss the questioning look he gives jungkook but it’s gone as soon as it comes.

“daddy!” hwayoung chirps, probably the only person immune to the man’s ever unsmiling face as he goes to unlock the grail and take her from your arms without any words.

you hand him the familiar mickey mouse printed bag that you took from the man standing next to you.

“these are formulas, baby foods and ointment for the rash on hwayoung’s back.” you’re about to hand him the grocery bag too before he rejects it.

“we don’t need those.” he declines flatly. “i’m fully capable of getting my daughter’s supplies with my savings.”

your heart clenches in your chest at the way he insinuates the words you threw at him a week ago.

“yeah, but i bought extras so i thought i’d give some to you.” you reason, lips curling in an awkward angle when you meet your child’s observing eyes. that smile of hers now gone.

“look, you feel bad for what you said to me and you think buying materialistic items in the name of our child’s well being will make it up for it because you also know what i said about you putting minimal effort and patting your own back, is true as day.” yoongi says all with a straight face and a barely-give-single-fuck tone.

“at least, yoongi, i don’t make my kid cry and ruin her mood with my blunt honesty.” you shoot back, gaze steely before it softens when you see your kid’s tears pooling in her eyes.

you’re about to apologize to your kid for your own failure in containing your emotions even though parenting doesn’t work that way: show, don’t tell, they say.

“youngie,” jungkook calls from next to you, shoulders hunched to match her eye level and lips tilted into one of his bright smiles as he waves both his hands minimally, “me and mommy will see you soon.”

and just like that, the mood changes and you’re able to smile from your own heart - though perhaps it’s because you’re trying hard not to look at the man holding her.

“bye, youngie.” you wave as well before she starts waving back, “remember your promise, okay?”

it breaks your heart to watch your kid hold back her tears as yoongi turn around and step into the apartment but you manage to keep the smile on until the door closes behind them.

thankfully, jungkook walks a few feet ahead of you on your way to his car - so he wouldn’t see your distraught expression. by the time you slip into the passenger seat, you’ve managed to school a neutral, fit-for-business face.

“so it’s a promise,” he says in between having his hand on the back of your headrest, his other hand maneuvering the wheel effortlessly - like he can do clean reverses like this in his sleep.

“hm?” you blink, questioning.

when the car begins to roll forward and both his hands are on the wheel, he steals a glance at you. his signature dazzling smile present, “you’ll invite me next week for our play date.”

“you’re gonna need a kid of your own for a play date to be - well, a play date,” you point out.

“maybe i can borrow my nephew.” he hums, as though thinking out loud but his next words makes your heart stutter in its rhythm, “so it’ll be a double date.”

x

note: there won’t be anymore updates for this drabble, i’ve lost interest in it and find other au’s to be more interesting to write. thanks for reading though!

[noncommited-writer]

Peter is an intern at SI, the Tower, and wins an employee raffle for a few hours with Tony (who doesn't know Peter is Spiderman)?

What the fuck. I actually went all out with this one. I have no idea how this suddenly became a 2.6k word fic!!???????? I'm concerned and confused. But hope you enjoy anyway!

Peter had no idea what dumb impulse he had to drive him to do this. But he guesses this is the price for letting his dumb ass hormonal brain take over his decisions. This being, taking part in an office raffle that he had no plans of winning or even think he’d get a chance to win. The prize is a few hours with their CEO, the Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man.

For some reason, the raffle extended to the interns too (which shouldn’t surprise Peter. Interns at this company are treated amazingly) so that means everyone who is twenty and naively hopeful, threw in their name into a box, on the off-chance they would get chosen out of the hundreds of employees in this building to meet the one man they all admire.

He had throw his own name in on impulse, driven by his daydreams of spending a day with his handsome boss. Yes, Peter admits he is harbouring a huge crush on the billionaire, but he reckons it’s no big deal because it seems everyone here does too.

That is, until the winner is announced across the PA systems all throughout the ten office floors in the tower. Peter felt like sinking into the ground when his name was called out, even more so when he meets the jealous gazes of the other interns. When they tell him to meet Tony Stark on the penthouse floor, Peter felt like he was on fire.

He does his best not to burrow into his sweatshirt when he walks across the silent office, everyone’s eyes piercing through him. Peter heaves a breath of relief when the elevator doors close behind him.

“Mr. Parker?”

Peter jumps, his hands waving in the air as he spins in the empty elevator.

“My name is Friday. I am Mr. Stark's artificial intelligence in charge of controlling this tower.” Peter immediately forgets about his sudden scare, now staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes and a barely contained smile.

“Woah, that is so cool! Did Mr. Stark make you?”

“Yes. He used a rudimentary A.I. base as the building blocks to my personality. From there, I basically grow into my own person.”

“Holy crap, that is amazing! I knew Mr. Stark is brilliant but I didn’t know that he was able to create an A.I. fully capable of expanding her own mind and growing like an actual human being! You are extraordinary. I bet Mr. Stark is proud of you.”

Silence greets Peter in the elevator, and he shifts anxiously on his feet. He wonders if he’s crossed a line with talking about Mr. Stark. Maybe he was being rude?

“Um, Ms. Friday? Are you okay? Did I talk too much?”

“Just Friday, Peter. I… I’m okay. No, Peter, you’re okay. I’m just… processing.” Peter frowns. Did he break Mr. Stark’s A.I.?

“No one but boss has ever spoken like that to me before.”

“Like what?”

“Like I’m an actual person.” She pauses. “Thank you, Peter.” The teenager flushes immediately, taking notice of how she is now using his first name.

“Uh, no problem. I just thought about how crazy amazing it is that Mr. Stark created what is basically a human conscience. It’s what anyone would do.”

Friday snorts and Peter had to backtrack and stop his mouth from gaping because he’s pretty sure that’s a very human reaction. “You’d be surprised. Even though many people here are interested in technology, not many have the capacity to care for it like Boss does.”

“I get what you mean. Have you heard of the printer incident with that intern from about a week ago?”

——

Tony has seen many things. The bad, the ugly, the beautiful, the good. Many of which leaning over to the former. It is a cruel world after all.

So maybe it’s because he hasn’t seen many good things in his life that it stops him in his tracks when he sees the most good—pure—and gorgeous thing in his life. Even in a ratty grey sweatshirt, he still finds himself fixated on the pretty little thing babbling along excitedly like a puppy with Friday which—hold on, Tony hasn’t even gotten over his looks to unpack that yet.

It’s the years of putting on masks and faking confidence he has under his belt that he’s able to stand up from his lab table and walk over with an air of suavity, somehow surprising himself he’s not tripping over his feet from those doe eyes that look so much better up close.

The way the kid stands up straighter and turns pink at how he gets caught with rambling to Friday is probably the most endearing thing Tony has ever seen.

“I take it you’re the lucky winner of the raffle,” Tony starts, reaching out his hand for a firm shake. The kid’s hand is warm and almost shaking with nerves as he takes it, “Yup! But I didn’t really expect to win. I kind of… joined on impulse.”

Tony only grins at that. He doesn’t step away from the kid, just looking him from head to toe after sliding his hands into his pockets.

If it’s even possible, the kid seems to turn even more pink, blinking owlishly at Tony. “Peter Parker, right?”

Peter nods slowly, and suddenly Tony’s head is filled with all sorts of ideas on how spend those hours with this bright-eyed intern. He doesn’t have much time after all, so Tony’s got to make every second count.

He gestures to the lab table, “Welcome to my man-cave. Or you can call it my safe haven.”

Peter trails after Tony further into the penthouse lab, his wide eyes taking everything in. Just when Tony is about to introduce his new baby (Mark L, a sexy little thing Tony has spent the last few days in his workshop trying to reconfigure) to Peter only to get cut off by, “Is this nanotech?”

Tony nods, waving a hand over the holographic screen and steps closer to Peter. “Yup. This baby is almost done, almost perfect down to the T. But there’s this one issue I can’t seem to get rid of. Every time I keep trying to activate it, it just does the opposite.”

Peter scans the thin lines of coding. “Are they activated through mental manipulation?”

Tony hums, watching as Peter’s brows furrow. The intern reaches up with his fingers to zoom in on a small part of the coding. Peter snaps his fingers, eyes going wide. “That’s because you’re scanning the cerebrum. I’m guessing you did the same for your other suits?”

The genius can only nod, more curious of where this is going. “You have to scan the cerebellum. Because it’s nanotech, the technology acts more intimately with your brain, almost like it’s a part of you, so you have the scan the part of the brain that controls movements like it’s another limb.”

Tony pauses, watching this pretty thing—smart too!—explain to him his mistake and somehow, it turns Tony on in all the best ways. He’s close enough to smell the faint scent of strawberries in Peter’s hair. Not creepy at all, Stark.

“Let’s see if your theory is correct, Parker. I bet lunch if this doesn’t work.”

The gorgeous intern only smirks, “I guess you’ll owe me a burger, Mr. Stark.”

——

Tucked in a small booth in the corner of a burger joint, the two men go off in tangents talking about their love of technology, their half eaten burgers forgotten in favour for each other’s attention.

The moment Peter starts rambling about how fascinating it is that Stark Industries has started using their renewable energy in other areas like cleaning water, Tony can only stare in amazement as this ball of energy showers him in praise and awe. The way those words spill out of his mouth giving Tony all the wrong ideas on how to spend the rest of the four hours they have together.

Just when Peter is about to digress to other ways Stark Industries can help the environment, the younger man goes rod stiff, eyes going hazy. Tony watches with worried eyes as the man stands up abruptly, almost tipping the entire table over. “Mr. Stark, I gotta—I gotta go, someone’s calling me.”

He turns on his heels and races out the door without hearing Tony’s muttering of, “Your phone’s not even buzzing.”

Tony tips generously and rushes out of the restaurant, following Peter’s footsteps. The moment he’s out on the asphalt, though, he feels the ground shiver. He turns to the different of a loud rumbly sound that echoes through the streets of Manhattan. He sees a large brute in a metal suit at the end of the street, a sharp pointy weapon at the top of his head, reminiscent of a horn, smashing through rows of cars and vehicles, shoving them to the buildings as if they weigh nothing.

Rhino.

Tony curses when he realises the one time he leaves his suit at home is the time he needs it the most. He taps his glasses. “Friday. ETA for the Mark L.”

“Seven minutes, Boss. By the time the suit is here—”

“Rhino would’ve done enough damage to the city already. Shit.” Tony stands up on his tip toes to look through the throngs of screaming civilians, trying to spot a head of curly brown hair. “Goddamnit, Parker. Where did you go?”

Tony knows he’s no match to the large beast, but he can’t stand idly to the side, especially when Peter is out there and possibly in danger. He pushes through the crowds, helping up the people who are getting trampled in the stampede and telling Friday to keep him updated on the suit.

Rhino is smacking cars left and right, endangering the people still inside and the people in the buildings the cars are landing on. Tony grits his teeth. He may not be able to fight him—hell, he’ll probably even die from doing this—but he has to try and buy time for the people to escape.

For once, he’s grateful for his lack of self-preservation skills when he walks into the middle of the road. “Hey, Horn guy! You mind getting off the street? You’re making the traffic worse!”

The large man drops the car he’s holding, his stormy eyes now trained on Tony who gulps. On second thought…

“Yeah, maybe you don’t know, but destroying cars is pretty expensive. Ever heard of car insurance? They’ll hate you.”

The loud deep chuckle he gives is enough to make the hair on Tony’s neck stand up, “Ha. Stark. Too dumb to hold get your suit?”

“I’d say I don’t think you’re even worth my suit. And… Is that a Russian accent I’m hearing? How’s the weather over there? I hear it’s too cold for a Rhino to reside in. Is that why you’re terrorising my city right now?”

Rhino spits on the ground, teeth grinding. “You talk too much. Like little annoy spider.”

Tony’s brows furrow as he mutters ‘spider’? Only for his thought process to be cut short when Rhino starts sprinting full speed in his direction. There’s barely enough time to roll out of the way, avoiding getting trampled to death by his large heavy feet.

“Okay,” Tony grounds out. He steps back into the middle of the street again. “I think you need to go see an eye doctor. I’ve never seen anyone miss that badly.”

The scream of anger is loud and suddenly, Rhino is facing him again, his arms out and wide. Tony knows he won’t have enough time to run away and with that realisation, he stands frozen to the ground, eyes getting wider and wider as he sees the giant run towards him.

Just when he’s about to run under his large arm, he sees a flash of red and feels a hard weight bulldoze into him. Suddenly, he’s in the air and a built arm is wrapped around his waist. “Phew. That was a close one. Don’t worry, sir, I’ve got you.”

He cranes his head to meet the blank stare of white lenses. “Spiderling?”

“Mr. Stark? Ah, that explains the whole screaming in the street like you want to die.” Tony huffs a relieved laugh.

“Didn’t know you swing around these parts.”

He feels the subtle nudge of his shoulder when the hero shrugs, “I swing around wherever there’s trouble.”

“Are you going bankrupt or did you just forget your suit at home?” The man asks.

“Left it. It’s coming soon.” They swing over a rooftop, and Tony is surprised by the almost gentle way Spider-Man sets him on the ground. “While I go stop Rhino, I suggest you wait for suit so you don’t run into the streets like you’re asking for it, Mr. Stark.”

I guess you’ll owe me a burger, Mr. Stark.

Tony’s brows raise. It’s the same exact way Peter pronounces his name. With that slight excited intonation and high pitchedness to it; he can imagine the way his lips pucker when he says ‘Stark’. He doesn’t know what goes over him when he sees the man about to leave. He grips onto his wrist, pulling Spider-Man back close into his personal space. Leaning in, he mumbles, “Thanks. I appreciate it, Spider.”

His Adam’s apple bobs up and down under his skin tight suit, and Tony is overwhelmed with the urge to peel away the spandex to plant his lips on that pale skin. “N-No problem, Mr. Stark.”

Tony’s smile is wide and almost wolfish, letting go of the man and stepping back. He already knows what he needs to know. He smelled those strawberries even through his mask.

Peter Parker.

It doesn’t take too long for his suit to arrive. He quickly flies over to the destruction, webs splattered all over the area. He can see Peter swinging from building to building, avoiding the thrown car parts at him, sometimes even catching them himself and throwing it back at the ruthless brute. Tony flies over next to him, shooting a blast to Rhino’s face, distracting him enough.

“I wonder where you get the time to do this and the internship.”

The hiss of surprise from Peter makes Tony smirk under the faceplate. “Was I that obvious?”

“Only when you kept saying Mr. Stark. Also, your strawberry shampoo was a dead giveaway.”

Peter looks at him over his shoulder, his cheeks rising under his mask. “My shampoo?”

Tony backtracks, “Uh, not that I sniffed you out or anything—it’s a pretty strong smell.”

Peter was about to respond, only to be cut off when a piece of rubble is thrown his way. Peter yells, “Talk later.”

They make quick work of Rhino, with Tony blasting him until his on his back and Peter webbing his large body up. They work seamlessly, as if years of practise made them fight like this. Tony isn’t sure what to feel about that.

When the cops arrive, both Tony and Peter get up on a rooftop building, conversation hidden and private. Peter is still trying to catch his breath, slumping against the ledge.

“So. My shampoo gave me away, huh?”

Tony resists the urge to look bashful. “It was a very distinct smell.”

Peter just laughs, throwing his head back. Tony doesn’t let the embarrassment get to him, however and quickly gives out a comment he knows will throw Peter off.

“Since we only have about two hours left together.”

“Yeah?”

“Can you show me how much of that flexibility is real and not just from the adrenaline?”

Peter stares hard at him through the mask, his eye lenses going wide. Tony swallows hard and shifts his weight on his other leg. The air is heavy and electrified, their hearts beating loudly and fast, almost in sync with each other. Tony retracts his helmet, his heady dark eyes roaming down Peter's defined body with a greedy glint, jaw ticking as his mind whirls of filthy thoughts that surprise even him. Peter doesn’t back down, however and somehow, Tony knows that whatever Peter says next will change his life.

“Only if you show me that your hands are as capable as they were during the fight.”

Tony isn’t the type to let people down with his abilities, and neither is Peter.

[mspbandj]

More on The Mandalorian Season 2 and Why its so Frustrating and Also Why Lucas Film Should Just Hire Me as a Writer Goddman it coz this is My Blog and I have Feelings™

Okay so again, this pertains to the finale of The Mandalorian Season 2 so............ spoiler warning.

Lets talk about Dins face

I feel like that final scene, when [redacted] came in and took Grogu away to train as a Real Jedi rang really hollow. It didnt feel rushed so much, but it just felt really anticlimactic. We all knew it was coming (sure we didn’t know for sure it would be [redacted] but we knew someone was going to come get Grogu) but even with that knowledge, they had real potential to make the scene super emotional and touching, which the final cut just didn’t really have and heres why.

Most of the emotion was supposed to come from Din taking off his helmet to let Grogu see his face. Baby Yoda had never seen his Adopted Dads face before, and this moment was set up to be a really touching moment of connection and vulnerability. But it was dampened by the fact that we had already seen his face, multiple times, and in detail. We the audience. And because of that, we couldn’t relate to what Grogu must have been feeling in that moment. 

Like, for Grogu, that must have been such a Big Deal yk? He’s spent so much time with this man, they’d been through so much together at this point, but he hadn’t even seen his face because of the very strict Mando Creed that Din had been raised under (the cult or not cult thing is a discussion for another time btw.) So this must have been huge for him. For Din to finally make the decision that Grogu was more important than his Creed... thats a huge thing!

But! For us, the audience, Din removing is helmet was old news by now. He’d taken it off twice before (in Season 1 with the droid, and then in Season 2 at the Imperial Stronghold (dont even get me STARTED on that craptastic episode)) so we didn’t have that sense of anticipation or importance. We were very much treated like we werent in that moment with them, and I find that hugely underwhelming.

So here’s how I think it should have gone, because that moment could have been set up perfectly all throughout the series.

Din very much could have taken his helmet off the first time, with the Droid. The whole arc there was about What Makes a Life, and Are Droids Counted as Living Things right? The Mando cult Creed dictates that no other living being can see the face of a Mandalorian (with very very few exceptions, and with death being preferable to being exposed.) And the argument in that moment is that the Droid is a machine and not technically a living thing, even tho it acts and behaves like a living thing, and is capable of the same “emotion” as a human. In the end, the Helmet comes off, and we are left to make up our own minds about whether this is a violation of the Creed or not - that was my take away.

But by allowing us, the audience, to see Dins face also calls into question our own place in the Mandalorian Universe. Are we Living Beings here? Apparently not, according to this we’re not a part of the scene at all, which is a decision I disagree with because, as I said above, it dampens the emotional potential of the entire show. Allowing us to be an exception to the Strict Mandalorian cult Creed limits the use and/or very purpose of the Creed at all.

How I believe that scene should have gone is more like this:

The Is a Droid Alive philosophy is discussed, and as they talk it becomes urgently apparent that the only way to save Din is to take the helmet off and allow the Droid to attend to Dins wounds. We see a close up shot, as we did, of the Helmet being raised, with a cut away at the crucial reveal moment - denying the audience a view of Dins face. The next shot is of the Helmet being laid down beside them, which informs us that Dins face is now definitely fully exposed, but we are not allowed to see it, which confirms our place in the Mandalorian Universe, and gives the sense that we are very much there with them in that moment.

Cut in some extreme close ups of a hair line, a patch of cheek, some disinfectant being administered, with further voice overs of the discussion, and we’re golden. The scene takes on a much more intimate feel, with a heightened sense of anticipation. We get a tease of Will We Ever See Dins Face, and are left with the question of What Will it Take to Make Him Cast Aside His Creed, which is raised in light of the knowledge that a Droid does not count, but we the audience do. We ponder this for a moment and then the next time we see The Mandalorian, hes restored to full armour, and we’re reminded that this is The Goddamn Mandalorian motherfuckers, and hes here to Fuck Shit Up with his Little Green Gremlin Child.

As for the Imperial Terminal WELL

This was a very good opportunity for a second removal, and I definitely think that part was a good choice however the execution of the scene was poor as shit.

Having Din change out of his armour was a good start, it showed us that he was Serious about finding Grogu, and that he was willing to bend the rules and push the boundaries of his Creed without technically breaking it. This was discussed pretty well in the script, so it was a strong start.

Now, again, I dont disagree with the decision to have Din remove the helmet at the terminal in order to complete the face scan and access the information he needed - in fact I agree with that part entirely. Again, is shows us how far Din is willing to go to get Grogu back, and it’s a solid recall to the What Would it Take to Have Din Cast Aside His Creed question from Season 1. Furthermore, it really drives home the fact that Din will get Grogu back at any cost. Its exciting, and emotional, and drives his character development.

So heres how I think it should have gone:

Mayfield makes his attempt, sees his former superior, and turns back. Tells Din that no, it wont work, he cant do it, just as the scene originally goes. Din says no, fuck that, I havent come this far to turn back now, Ill go do it. Mayfield says lol good luck, the terminal needs a face scan for access so have fun with that, Din hesitates, and then very deliberately makes the choice to go - this is all pretty much in the scene.

Where it differs is after the failed face scan when Din still has the helmet on. The Countdown starts, Din hesitates, clearly torn between his Creed and Grogu, and we leave him there. Next shot is of Mayfield in the doorway when he looks over and sees the back of Dins head. We see this too, and we know that holy shit the madman actually did it. Hes *exposed* and his body language tells us he knows this. Maybe throw in an extreme close up of a drop of sweat on his chin, give us a lil glimpse of his bottom lip even, more than we got the first time he took his helmet off, but still not the full thing. Really get that anticipation going, you know?

As soon as Din gets the info, and the officer dude comes over to investigate, we get a half shot of Din turning while simultaneously stuffing his helmet back on his head, and the scene continues as it did. Maybe we see the same section of chin and neck in the process, maybe we dont, but the helmet is firmly back in its place, and so are we. I strongly feel like these events would have ramped up the emotion of the scene and, like i said above, the anticipation. We got closer this time! When will be the next time? Third times the charm right, so we can conclude that the next time he takes his helmet off will be The Big Moment™ so whats it gonna take???

Lets skip to that moment now.

The Final Scene. The Big Reveal. The Reunion, and the Parting of Ways.

Imagine the series went the way I just described. Imagine that in this Final Scene of Season 2, you, personally, had not seen Dins face. You’ve watched this Mandalorian trek and fight and blast his way through the Universe, been there in the room when hes been at this most badass and his most vulnerable. You’ve come so so so close to seeing his face, of seeing him break the Creed he’s clung to for two whole seasons, but you never have. Not yet. And now you’re watching him reunite with Grogu, Baby Yoda, The Kid. The one thing in the entire Universe that Din cares most for. Its a touching and emotional scene, after the fight, after the reveal of [redacted] after it becomes clear that This Is The End.

And then... he reaches up.... is he going to??? is he going to????? HE IS!

He lifts his helmet. Theres no danger, theres no threat, theres no pressure or incentive. This is completely his choice. This is Din, The Mandalorian, raised under the Mandalorian cult Creed, choosing to reveal his face, not only to Grogu, but to everyone in the room, including you.

How much more personal is that? More intimate, more emotional. We get to experience the moment that Grogu, who we all love and care for, is experiencing. We get to feel like we’re in the room. Everyone in that room knows how Strict the Creed is. Sure, the other Mandos dont live by it, but they know what it means to Din, so even they know the sheer significance of this act.

As it is, we the audience dont get to experience this on the same level. We have to think about it after the fact, after we’ve calmed down from the hype. We’ve already seen Dins face, many times, so we dont get that same intimacy. And its a real, real shame.

[roadsofar2020]

Chapter 10: The Road Continues. . .

Jared and Jensen rhythmically raced back to the crossroads and, much to their mutual surprise, declared in harmonic unison, "We're ready." They turned their heads toward each other exchanging knowing glances. Returning to the task before them, Jared stated, "According to the script, we summon the thing and then get it to walk into a devil's trap." Jensen instinctively shook his head, "if this thing knows anything about the show, it will know that that is the basic plot to 'Crossroad Blues.' We don't stand a chance if we do that." His brown eyes gleaming with determination, Jared mused, "why don't we catch the demon off guard and send it back to Hell." Jensen put his hand momentarily on Jared's chest to prevent him from hastily implementing his quickly thought out plan. With a wrinkled nose and a raised eyebrow, Jensen stated in a bemused tone, "Hold on there, Walker Texas Ranger! What do you plan to do, karate chop it? Shouldn't you, I dunno, do some research first?”

Raising his eyebrow back at Jensen and cocking his head to the side causing a piece of hair to fall in front of his eye, Jared quipped, "You got a better idea?" Jensen nodded his head as he decisively described his plan, "We sneak over there in the shadows and then gank the mother!" Jared shook his head–"Aaaaaah–" he sighed, unamused, "how is that not exactly what I just said?" Jensen squinted his eyes and clumsily, but with hearty dose of charm, began to explain, "Yeah, but my plan has more of a–a" Jensen scratched the back of his head as the decrescendo in his voice made clear he knew he had backed himself into a corner, "has more of a hunter vibe to it." He added hand gestures and a wink for good measure, trying to rest the reliability of the tail end of his sentence solely on his charisma. Growing inpatient, Jared forcefully brushed his chestnut locks from his eye with an open palm as he pointed out the obvious with a twist of humor, "You know there are no cameras around, Dean ! You don't have to act like that!" In an irritated tone that sounded forced as if he were trying to hide a laugh, Jensen pointed his finger at Jared and raised his voice, "Well at least I'm not all–" with an exaggerated motion pushed back his short hair and continued, "with my hair while there is an apocalypse, or whatever, going on!"

Castiel positioned himself in the middle of the two, stretching his arms out to create an illusion of physical distance while he calmly interjected, "Do not take out your fear on each other. You can have your brotherly spats later after this is all done." As he spoke, Castiel glanced at the fully risen moon with earnest concern. They mutually felt the weighty truth of Castiel's statement and exchanged apologetic glances coupled with a smirk, which demonstrated to observant onlookers that they not only were mutually amused by their momentary distraction, but they knew that, whatever plan they chose to implement, they would prevail because they had each other's back. As the clock inched closer to the fateful hour, the two brothers began the familiar dance of working together to summon the crossroads demon. After completing the ritual, something clicked. Their fear subsided and they felt an intense feeling of belonging, as if they were destined to be in this place on this night. They firmly planted their feet on the ground and stood back to back, keeping a watchful eye.

From the nearby shadows echoed a tauntingly sultry voice, "What, you boys forgot to wear plaid for me?" Jared tugged on his shirt, hoping to buy time to think of a makeshift plan with a loveable awkward pause, and staring down at his shirt he muttered, "Hey, I like what I'm wearing!" Jared's purposeful distraction gave Jensen time to realize that he had recognized the voice, "Meg, is that you, or should I call you–" The voice responded, "Meg is fine. Yes, Kripke I had to rescue you and your sad puppy dog eyes." Kripke inched backward with an audible scraping noise, and his shoe dragged against the ground. Castiel held Kripke's shoulders and whispered, "I've got you."

"And you brought Castiel, I will get to you later," Meg laughed with a hint of innuendo. Castiel stood next to Kripke, the sweat on Kripke's brow and trembling hands made clear that this was the demon with whom he had made his deal. Jared and Jensen slid into the shadows, taking a quick route to Meg now that she was distracted by Castiel's disarming disposition. "As much fun as this whole thing is, everyone just . . . stop. I can see yoouu , nice try!" Meg cooed. Jared demanded, "You have to let him out of the deal!" Meg retorted, "Or, what?" Jensen chimed in and pointed at his temples, "Or we will send you back to Hell. I've got the incantation up here." Meg, still hidden by the shadows, replied, "Oh, boys, I thought you were smarter than that. Sending me to Hell won't stop the hellhounds from having your friend for dinner."

Out of options, Jared and Jensen stood around Kripke trying to protect him. They were willing to risk their safety by attempting to kill the hellhounds one at a time, if necessary. Meg was moved by the intensity of their love and stated in a noticeably sweeter voice, "Kripke was willing to sacrifice himself for you, and now you two are willing to do the same in return. It's so Sam and Dean of you both.” Jared and Jensen stood, poised and ready to fight, as Meg further explained, "Kripke, I saw how much you care about the show and these boys, and I knew you wouldn't give up until you thought you made a deal. But, I couldn't let you make a crossroads deal, so I intervened." At this point, Meg revealed herself from the shadows. Jared, Jensen, Kripke, and Castiel were all mutually taken aback as a noticeable silence fell over the crossroads. The wind ceased and the yellow-hued flowers that lined the outer edges of the crossroads bowed in her presence as she, with ballerina like grace, sat regally on her unicorn Clarence as she glided to the center of the crossroads. Everyone was speechless as Meg, with a genuine smile on her face, revealed her true identity, "I am an angel and I believe that inner weirdness is something we all should embrace. I'm sorry I had to instill such worry in everyone, but I had to keep my true nature secret so that you two could realize for yourselves that you are heroes, just like each and every one of us is in our own unique way."

Kripke breathed a sigh of relief, "You could have told me sooner!" Meg retorted, "And where would be the fun in that be? But now Jared and Jensen know what they are capable of, there is something I must tell you all. The dream demons have made alliances with other supernatural beings and collectively they are determined to come after the two hunters at the center of it all. But their plan does not stop there. And this is what I needed you to be ready to hear tonight. They are planning to seek vengeance on the fans of the show." Jensen exchanged a fearful glace with Jared before suggesting, "Can't we just enjoy this win for a moment?" Jared turned to Jensen and, weary from the magnitude of the day's events, they instinctively headed back to the Impala.

As the boys rested their backs against Baby, their faces maintained stoic expressions, but their blood raced with a storm of adrenaline. They desired a contemplative conversation of what had just happened and how everything has changed, but those words remained unspoken as they found more comfort in the silent simplicity of their shared reality. Jensen reached into the trunk of the Impala and pulled out two dark brown glass bottles. "Beer?” he asked holding a bottle to Jared's chest.

"Good thing you hid some real ones in there," Jared responded while grabbing a bottle by the neck and effortlessly twisting off the cap. As they stood side by side staring ahead at the grassy field that swayed with each breath of the crisp night air, every wordless sip bonded them closer to each other and to the road ahead.

"Do you think Crowley is really the King of Hell?" Jensen questioned breaking the silence. Trying to disguise the apparent fear in his voice, while his eyes involuntarily rolled in a reactionary moose-like fashion, Jared laughed "God, I hope not!" With a devil-may-care grin on his face, Jensen mused, "All of this for a song, a freakin' awesome song, but a song. Seriously?" In a heartfelt tone, Jared clarified, "Not for a song, for a fandom, for a family . We are part of the best fandom in the world, and they need us ." After a few moments, Jared's fear dissipated and a smile took up residence on his face. The expression might have seemed somewhat out of character for Sam, but Jared was not about to cast aside the beauty of his innate childlike sense of wonder no matter how far this road would take him and Jensen from their former reality. With full knowledge of both the irony and the weight of his decision, Jared grabbed hold of the trunk of the Impala and closed it with a definitive slam. With complete acceptance that the road so far has no end, he boldly looked Jensen in the eyes while declaring with passion and without a hint of regret, "We've got work to do."

To Be Continued (Forever). . .

[skyblxssom]

Title: Justice never sleeps! Fandom: Ace Attorney Rating: K Word count: 2974

Basically my first attempt at writing something for AA. Recently played through the games all the way to DD, and fell head over heels for Bobby! A lot of the inspiration came from @windmaedchen-aa lovely art, specifically the office baby version cause I’m a sucker for soft interaction.

This piece is chock full of attempts on grasping the characters mixed with my own hearty sprinkling of personal headcanons. Also involves windmaedchen’s OC, Kid Fox! Thanks to them also for talking and bouncing ideas with me haha. Hope I did Kid some justice!  

Well, please enjoy!   

As always, Detective Gumshoe left his apartment bright and early, decked in his usual jacket that had been with him through thick and thin. While some had called it ratty, he personally thinks it added a sort of charm to it.

Regardless, he made the walk to the precinct. His apartment might not be all that maintained, but its close location in relative to the precinct made the blasted icy showers and creaky elevator worth it. Half of the time.

Gumshoe gave a wave at the clerk manning the front desk, flashing her his patented ‘pal’ smile as some of his coworkers dubbed it as. She returned it with a shy smile of her own, her face flushing slightly at his hearty chuckle. He took the elevator to his floor, and it was when he stepped into the office that something immediately caught his attention.

The detective blinked, his steps drawing him closer to the small lounging area set in the right corner of the open floor space. It was a cozy little spot where people tended to sit and chat away, or sometimes eat their boxed lunches at during lunch time. No one laid claim to the sofa, as it was a who got there first sort of situation, but he had to admit that this was the first time he saw someone actually sleeping on the old, somewhat lumpy thing.

It was even more surprising that the person was none other than Detective Bobby Fulbright. One of the more dedicated detectives in the Police Department, there was nobody in the precinct who hasn’t heard about him. He carried this sort of exuberance and positivity that – while annoying at times – was honestly so genuine that one couldn’t help but become fond of, or at least tolerate after direct exposure.

He was a prime example of someone who followed the law, but Gumshoe knows that he wasn’t inflexible. Detective Fulbright walked down his own path of justice that pretty much involved helping anyone that he was able to lend a hand to. He believed in the good of people, though that doesn’t translate to naivety. He chose to spend his time and effort to make the lives of the people better, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant it may be.

A detective that examined gruesome murder scenes that also helped the elderly cross the road was a bit of a whiplash, but that was just how Fulbright is. It is only just that he lent his support to those who could use it, for their job is to maintain the peace and to assure the public that crime would not run rampant in the city.

They don’t have to necessarily limit themselves to just investigating and solving crimes. Interacting and helping the common folk, ensuring that they are happy and able to walk down the streets peacefully is an act of justice in of itself, Fulbright had once told him.

He was usually whizzing about, doing his work and other things, so it was rather unusual – and slightly concerning – to see the good detective passed out on the couch. Fulbright had taken off his white jacket, using it as a makeshift pillow to give support that the arm rest can’t hope to provide. His aviator glasses were still perched on the bridge of his nose, looking dangerously close to sliding right off. The sofa wasn’t capable of holding Fulbright’s 6'0 frame, so one of his legs dangled over the edge while the other laid motionless by his side. His right arm rested on his stomach, his left hanging off the sofa.

Gumshoe leaned in a little, his eyes quickly taking in the little details. Even with the glasses, he was able to see the dark bags peeking out, showing that Fulbright had been missing on some good sleep lately. There was a hint of facial hair smattering his chin, pointing out that he had no time to shave. If Gumshoe remembered it correctly, he did hear on how someone helped to cover one of the officer’s night shifts due to them facing a family emergency.

Even if he can be a little slow on the uptake, it wasn’t difficult to connect the dots. Ah, it seemed that Detective Fulbright had extended a helping hand, essentially pulling double shifts because the man still performed his regular duties. It wasn’t not surprising then that he pretty much exhausted himself.

Gumshoe eyed him for a moment longer before coming to a decision. The professional thing to do would be to wake him up, but the kinder option was to let him catch up on some sleep. With that in mind, he carefully leaned over the couch, being super careful not to jostle anything as he drew the blinds shut. The mild furrow on Fulbright’s brow smoothed with the absence of light.

With his mind still whirling, Gumshoe briefly left the office. The detective soon returned with a blanket that they kept on hand, as well as a Blue Badger doll that was often used for safety announcement videos. Very gently, he draped the blanket atop Fulbright’s form, covering halfway up his torso. It wasn’t able to cover his legs, but it would provide him some warmth.

Gumshoes froze when he shuffled a little, looking like he was roused from slumber but Fulbright remained fast asleep. Heaving out a quiet breath, it was a bit like surgery on how precise he had to be in planting the Blue Badger by his head. He pulled his hand back, observed for a moment longer then sighed once more.

There was no indication that Fulbright realized what he did, though he nuzzled a little into the stuffed doll before settling. Gumshoe could feel the wide smile that tugged at his lips, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Right, he knew what they should do today.

When Ema entered the office that morning, the first thing she noticed was how quiet it was. Usually, there’d be some form of noise—idle chatter, loud phone calls and the like. She paused by the door, giving the area a general sweep. His coworkers were hunched over their desks, so the silence can’t be attributed to a lack of people. In fact, it looked like they were actively trying to do their work without making too much noise.

“What’s going on…?” She mumbled, looking a bit confused. Her expression must’ve given her away, as one of the detectives jutted a thumb to his right. Ema followed it—and then she understands.

She had worked with Detective Fulbright multiple times in the past. You’d think his sunny personality would clash with hers but she did find him as one of the better detectives to partner up with. His enthusiasm for justice can be rather overwhelming, but he more than makes up for it by showing genuine interest in her own excitement about forensic science.

Once she got used to it, there really wasn’t any reason to dislike him. Fulbright reminded her of a loud, tall puppy. Kind, eager to please and – as she approached the sofa to get a better angle – right now, looking rather adorable with the Blue Badger plastered next to his face.

Ema wore a faint smile. Poor guy must be completely tuckered out to even consider the sofa as a comfortable resting spot. She figured that everyone else wanted to let him rest, thus explaining their odd behavior. Heh. She didn’t think that some of the gruffer detectives would agree to it, but everyone seemed to content to leave him.

She gave him another once over, noticing that he was still wearing his glasses. As someone who had her own pair, that was just a recipe for disaster. Ema noticed the eyes on her when she bent forward. Just like how she treated a crime scene, she was being super careful in her act of removing his glasses. She held her breath, keeping check of his expression and only exhaled when she stepped back with it in her hands.

Ema fished in her pockets for her eyeglass case. Green in color with her name etched on top of the cover, she placed his glasses into it. While the lenses were a bit rounder than hers, it slotted in without much trouble.

With an air of accomplishment, Ema placed the case on top of the arm rest. Detective Fulbright continued to snore softly, oblivious to the world around him.

Idly, she smoothened out the blanket – like how Lana used to do for her during bedtime – before fully stepping back. Well, it was time for her to get to work.

She’d make sure to keep the Snackoo munching as quietly as she possibly could.

An almost silent air greeted Detective Kid Fox when she came in for work, sending her mind into overdrive on various possibilities. It was never this quiet, so there had to be a reason for it. How was the atmosphere? Did something horrible happened within the precinct? Were her colleagues in mourning? If so, how did it happened without her knowledge? A recent happening? Had that been the case, this place would have been buzzing with activity as opposed to near stillness.

Though, her trail of thought came crashing to a halt when a quick survey of the area landed her gaze on the little lounge area close to her desk.

The proverbial light bulb lit up as she reached her answer. Truthfully, Fox found it a tad odd that all of them were being so… considerate with sleeping beauty over there. Bobby slept on amidst the quiet compromise that the rest of his coworkers granted to him. He looked real cozy on that lumpy thing, what with the shutters drawn, a blanket draped over his form and—was that a Blue Badger doll that he was resting his head against?

It wasn’t what she expected coming into the office this morning, but Fox would be stupid to complain about it. If the rest were letting him sleep, then there was no real reason to disturb it. Besides, she thinks that Bobby should sleep in the office more often, if it gave her this silence. She did love working in quietude when she dug through old case files.

Knowing that this wasn’t something to worry about, and after another quick overview of the sleeping detective, Fox silently approached the sofa. Those shoes looked quite stuffy, so she figured she’d do him a favor by taking it off.

Fox moved quickly yet carefully in the process of tugging his shoes off. Doing so revealed that he continued to be a fiend to society by not wearing socks, but she didn’t let that bother her or anything. After his feet were free from its confines, she placed his shoes on the floor in front of the sofa.

With that out of the way, Fox went back to her desk, ready to tackle on the files whilst relishing this rare peace in the office.

Usually, it was the detectives that made their way over to the Prosecutor’s office to meet up with their partnered prosecutor when they’re working on a case. This time however, Klavier personally swung by the Police Department to see Ema, as well as take care of some other business within the building. He had been to this place multiple times, though the moment he stepped into the office, being met with silence wasn’t something that he expected.

Klavier wore a faint look of confusion, wondering about the reason behind this strange tranquility. He could see that the detectives were doing their work like always, but silently. Any form of conversations involved hunched backs and whispers. It was like they were actively making an effort to do things as quietly as possible.

Before Klavier could ask someone about this admittedly strange scenario, his eyes just so happened to spot the sleeping figure on the sofa.

Ah, that made sense. He could feel a small smile tugging at his lips. Klavier recognized the other, having worked with him a couple of times. Detective Fulbright always had this larger than life sort of personality; a brightness that drew attention to him like when he used to perform on stage with the Gavinners. Only with the detective, it was purely a solo gig.

Still, he found it mildly surprising that the other detectives were allowing this. It showed a camaraderie that he privately found to be quite outstanding. Clearly they looked out for one another. This might come across as unprofessional, but they cared more about Fulbright’s wellbeing to let him get sleep.

Now wouldn’t that be a good muse to write a song about? The tale of a tired detective who endlessly pursued justice, but could fall back into the support of the friends around him. That, or some form of rocking lullaby. Maybe taking the classic lullaby and putting a rock twist on it?

That was something he’d entertain more on later. Right now, he wanted to see the Fräulein detective regarding the case they were working on. Until he found the surprisingly amicable Ema, Klavier hummed a soft tune beneath his breath.

A gentle tug at his consciousness was enough to slowly rouse Bobby from slumber. Initially, he was in a groggy state of confusion, his brain taking its sweet time to boot up. Shifting slightly, he started to realize multiple things.

His neck felt stiff while the rest of his body resembled a giant ache. The surface he apparently slept on was not his bed—too small and lumpy. Slowly, he pried open his gummy eyes, blinking multiple times through the blurriness. In an absentminded gesture, his finger touched nothing when he tried to push up his glasses.

Bobby settled with pressing a hand against his forehead as he tried to recall where he was. The last thing he remembered was going back to the office at night to cover for Detective Russel’s shift because he had a family emergency to attend to. Then he decided to take a break when it was getting difficult to keep himself awake. Bobby shuffled to the sofa and laid down with the intention to get back up after a few minutes but—

Wait, did he fall asleep!?

That thought pierced through the fogginess and with it, a sudden rush of panic filled him. Bobby hastily tried to push himself up, which was easier said than done when his legs dangled over the edge of the couch. Something fell by the side of his face, but he didn’t notice it in his hurry to get up and get back to work--!

“Woah pal! Take it easy!” A familiar voice greeted him, which effectively halted his attempt. Bobby harshly rubbed at his eyes before he looked up to find Detective Gumshoe standing by his side. Wait, when did he get here? Wasn’t it supposed to still be the night shift?

“D-Dick?” Bobby uttered, the confusion noticeable in his voice.

“Yep! Did ya get some good sleep?”

“Sleep?” The detective looked around, finally noticing that it wasn’t night time after all. “Wait—how long was I asleep for!?”

“Well, it’s just about noon, pal! About time to grab lunch, so you woke up at the right time!”

Bobby felt something icy course through his veins. Not only did he fall asleep, he practically overslept! That was unacceptable! While everyone else was hard at work, here he was, sleeping like he didn’t have responsibilities in this department! Hardly a good example to show his fellow detectives, nor was it fair!

It was… it was unjust! Bobby sported a horrified look, hands gripping the side of his face.

“Oh my god—I’m so sorry Dick! I didn’t mean to fall asleep! I promise I’ll get right to—“

“Hey, it’s fine pal!” Gumshoe interjected, placing his large hands atop his shoulders for emphasis. Bobby’s mouth snapped shut as his wide eyes looked into his senior’s kind ones.

“We knew you were running yourself ragged pulling double shifts like that. Of course it’s understandable that you’d just be out like a light! You needed some sleep, so we let you catch up on ‘em!” A hearty laugh. “I can’t imagine the sofa being all that comfy but hey, it’s better than the floor, I guess!”

Bobby felt his jaw dropped at his words. They knew he was literally sleeping on the job, and they left him be?

“But I’m missing out on work—“

“Which ya can get back to, after you’ve charged up.” Gumshoe wore a warm, friendly smile. “You’re real dedicated to your job, Bobby. One of the most hardworking fella I’ve had the pleasure to be friends with! You needed the rest before you risk worsening yourself. Last thing you want is to get sick!”

Bobby felt an assuring squeeze on his shoulder. “Trust me. Everyone understood it, which is why we’ve been working real quiet so you’d be able to sleep peacefully.” Another chuckle. “From the looks of it, seems like it worked!”

He was still processing everything, but one thing surged to the front of his mind—and made his eyes sting with tears. Bobby just felt… touched, that everyone seemed to have put in effort to let him sleep, even when they should have woken him up.

They… cared about him and his wellbeing. That thought alone made his lips quiver into a wobbly grin, the tears finally slipping out in a rush of happiness. Amidst Dick’s sudden worried questions, Bobby realized that he learnt something valuable today.

Justice never sleeps—but he needs to so he could be in good condition during his endless pursuit for it.

And preferably, back in the privacy of his bedroom and on actual bed.

[ask-svt-hearteu]

Svt reacting to being interviewed by their idol! girlfriend's group

Anon requested: “SVT reacting to idol!girlfriend’s girl group coming and basically interviewing him about what he intends to do with her blah blah (basically being stereotypical over protective “parents”)“

Seungcheol-  When your members approached him, he got pretty flustered at first. Suddenly being bombarded with questions from your group mates about if he’s treating you right and how they won’t hesitate to hunt him down if he hurts you. Seungcheol being a leader tho, he’ll answers their question reassuringly and about how he’ll treat you right. 

“Ah don’t worry too much about her, I’ll make sure I’ll treat her right with all the love~”

Jeonghan-  Everyone knows how much of a flirt this boy can be at times. Which worries your members a bit because nobody can guess if it’s intentional or not. After Seventeen’s showcase, while they were resting backstage your group members approached him and started questioning him about you. You were flustered but Jeonghan handled it well. Saying how he only has eyes for you and only you. 

“Of course I treat her well~ She’s my jagi after all, you guys don’t have to worry about us”

Joshua-  Seventeen’s Gentleman™ Your members already knew how well he treats you and how he’s such an amazing boyfriend overall. They just wanted to see how he would respond to such questions. Joshua blushes up at their questions asking about how good of a boyfriend he is but he just smiles and replies that he’s doing his best to take care of you. 

“I’m taking care of her to the best of my capabilities. I’ll make sure to secure her heart and keep it forever~~”

Junhui-  China’s actual prince. This boy would spoil you and take you on glamorous dates imo. He’ll treat you extremely well and always check up on you. You didn’t really express to your members how much Jun makes you happy plus the fact you don’t talk about him often. It makes your members worry a bit if your relationship has gotten rocky. They would hesitate to approach him and throw so many questions at him. Which he replies to calm and collected 

“I’m treating her well, don’t worry! Where do you think she got that gift she really wanted? hehe. She’s my princess and I’ll make sure to love her lots”

Soonyoung- This boy is such a squish but can be pretty stern when he’s practicing. A few days ago, your members caught both of you in the practice room. You were completely used to Soonyoung’s strict teaching during dance but your members misunderstood the situation and thought he was mad at you. After your group finished performing at the showcase, your members rushed towards him and started asking him why he seemed so rude to you the other day. Soonyoung just smiled and explained to them that he was just trying to help you improve and he wasn’t acting like that to belittle you at all. He was just trying to help you~ 

“Ah, I think there’s a misunderstanding! I was trying to help her improve! I’m sorry if I seemed mean, I’ll definitely try to take care of her more, don’t worry~”

Wonwoo-  He’s such a tsundere. And your members take it the wrong way sometimes. You’re used to Wonwoo not being the type to show you affection physically because you respect his decision. Your members might misunderstand sometimes when they see you acting all cutesy to him while he gives you little to no reactions. Backstage before the show starts, your members went up to him and started questioning if he really liked you. He was caught off guard for a bit but he answered their question calmly to reassure them 

“I really do love her, I’m just not the best at expressing myself. It’s nice that you guys are concerned for her but I assure you I’m doing my best to take care of her.”

Jihoon-  I think he’s gonna be quite similar to Wonwoo, seeing as this is his first relationship. He would be quite awkward at first, unsure on how to fully convey his emotions to you. I don’t think he’ll be keen on skinship as well. Because of the lack of physical affection, your members think that something’s going on. They’ll approach him for sure and start asking question about your relationship with him. He would be kinda nervous but eventually soothes your members hearts reassuring them that he’ll be a good boyfriend.

“I know I’m a newbie at relationships but I definitely know how to take care of her heart. I would never ever do anything that might result in me losing her. I cherish her too much.”

Seokmin-  He’s literally an ethereal sunshine. Have you seen his smile? Your group members already know how great he treats you but they wanted to test him anyway lmao. They went up to him an acted and asked him why have you been acting differently lately. And boy did he get a shock lmao, but the decided to end it short and reassured him about how great of a boyfriend he is~ 

“You guys really got me there~ I’ll always make sure to guard her heart and not let anyone hurt her okay? Trust me~~”

Mingyu-  a literal 6 year old trapped inside a 21 year old’s body. This boy is just so adorable but so capable. Even though he’s extremely clumsy, he enjoys taking care of you so much. Especially when you’re on break, this boy would do everything for you because he loves you and wants you to rest. You’re members went up to him to ask about his intentions about you. Flustered and taken back at first, he would answer them while simultaneously stealing their hearts as well. 

“Don’t worry about her you guys! I am Seventeen’s handyman, Kim Mingyu after all~ I’ll make sure to keep her safe!”

Minghao- he would be soft, fluffy Xu Minghao around you. Like Thughao who??? He tends to make snarky, sarcastic comments to you and you know he’s joking so you don’t take it to heart at all. Even though, your members still wanted to interview him because your their precious baby lmao. Minghao would think of it as a joke at first and reply sarcastically, until he notices the stares he’s getting from your group mates. He’ll laugh it off and respond properly know making sure he’s making his point clear towards your members. 

“My sarcasm is too good sometimes to the point people think it’s real. I’ll take reallyy good care of her okay? You don’t have to worry when she’s in my arms." 

Seungkwan- Variety King™ Your members would absolutely adore Boo Seungkwan. His funny wits and how he isn’t afraid to embarrass himself to set the mood. All his crazy antics and questionable randomness. Your members just wanted to make sure he’s treating you good so they decided to go up to him and bombard him with questions. He would be slightly offended that they think he’s not treating good enough but would answer with a full heart anyway~ 

"Of course I’m gonna treat her right! You’ve got to be kidding me, if you think I’m just gonna play with her heart. I would never treat her like that, believe me" 

Vernon- Have you seen the way he treats his younger sister? He’s such a sweetheart I cannot. He’ll probably be a slightly clingy boyfriend but that’s just because of how much he loves you. He would treat you with so much respect and care tbh. After their performance, you and your group decided to congratulate them. Followed by your group asking Vernon about how good of a boyfriend he is. Vernon wouldn’t be offended because he would understand their protectiveness.

"I understand your protectiveness but don’t fret okay? I’ll make sure to treat her like the queen she is and to never hurt her" 

Chan-  Our beloved maknae~ Lets be real, he’ll probs be teased by his hyung very often because of you. Because he’s relatively young, I think your relationship would be very cutesy basically puppy love. Your members know that Chan is still trying to get a hold on this relationship thing. So they’ll most probably question him about your relationship sometimes. Chan gets a teeny bit offended because he think your members are underestimating him but he knows they mean well.

"Just because I’m not as experienced doesn’t mean I’ll treat her bad. I promise to you that I’ll treat her super well okay? She’s someone that I hold really close in my heart~”

MASTERLIST

[tellywoodtrash]

ishqbaaz 04.12.17 lb

helllllllllo babies. mama’s back. 

random ephemera from speed-watching last week’s episodes can be found here. 

time for billu’s family meeting of the day. honestly, why can’t you ppl just get in a whatsapp group or email chain or whatever? how the f is this in any way efficient, in a family of socialite tycoons who have wives to cheat on and pravachans to get to????

ALSO EVERY SINGLE TIME THERE’S ONE OF THESE, SOMEONE IS LIKE “AISI KYA BAAT HO GAYI???” LIKE, DO YOU PPL LIVE HERE OR WHAT? THERE’S *ALWAYS* SOME BS GOING DOWN HERE. like, at this point, why are you people even surprised?????? 

lmao i legit cackled at “good morning, BADE PAPA!!!!” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 what a flawless queen. svetlana has more stones than all the BS alpha males of this house put together. 

“chaachi saaaas” !!!!!!!!!!! 😂😂😂😂

shakti is me. i am shakti. subaah subaah mental zen ka satyanaaaash. 😒😒😒

khud ke hi ghar mein yeh banda kitttttttttna dramatic entry maarta hai, by god. second only to gina linetti. 

LMAOOOOOOOOO SVETLANA “KAISI BORINGGGGG FAMILY MEETING HAI.”

bee tee dubs, where’s svetlana’s chunnu-munnu hubs? 🤔🤔🤔

if looks could murder, svetlana would.... STILL BE STANDING, COZ SHE A BADASS BITCH WHO WON’T BE BROUGHT DOWN BY SOME DED-FOOTIYA KANJI AANKHON WAALA PUSSYCAT GLARING AT HER. 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

the fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk, shivaay. THE FUCK. give up your fucking shares. not omru’s!!!!! 

MOSTLY COZ AT LEAST YOU’RE EMPLOYABLE AND CAN MAKE IT ALL BACK. THEY WON’T EVEN GET A DELIVERY JOB AT THE LOCAL DOMINOS!!!!!!!!! THEY’RE THOROUGHLY UNEMPLOYABLE. 

rudra doesn’t seem shocked. hmmmm. possible he’s in on this? 

also, svetlana KAPOOR. hmmm. we’re going with that officially now? 

so does he know she’s tia’s sister or what???? 

SHE’S STANDING RIGHT THERE, BUT SHE’S TALKING TO HIM VIA TAPE COZ.... COZ SHE CAN. IT’S HER STYLE. 

man, i can’t help but think how svetlana and shivaay would make suchhhh a good couple??? like, both are suchhhhhhhh shaatir yet overdramatic bunnies who thriiiiiiive on EXTRA. snazzy dressing too. imagine what impeccably turned-out bachche they’d have. WITH AMAZING HAIR. #shivLana #couldBeAThing

loooooooooooooooooool. i love her. i swear to god, i love her the most on this show. 😅😅😅

DON’T GET HANDSY SHIVAAAAAAY. 😠😠😠

daaaaang svetlana, you wily minx. what twisted ways your mind works in. i love ittttttttttttt. 

LMAO LIKE OMRU ARE CAPABLE OF MAKING INDEPENDENT DECISIONS. THAT TOO IN BUSINESS MATTERS??? LOLOK.

how can svetlana have rights to the house? it wasn’t shivaay’s to sign away in the first place. anika is the legal owner of the house, remember??????? 

jhanvi, you’re so goddamn stoooopid. if it was his plan, why the f would he tell you IN FRONT OF HER????? god!!!!!!!!

“WHAT IS THIS, BADE PAPA?” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

girl, why would you want their stupidass room? take shivika’s room - IT HAS A POOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

anika so help me god, don’t you start. not here. not now. JUST SHUSH. PLEASE. 

great. the spanish inquisition has begun. 

HEY, FUCKIN CALL SHIVAAY A BAD WHATEVER - MAN, SON, HUSBAND, HUMAN BEING, IDGAF. BUT DON’T YOU DAAAAAAAAAAARE CALL HIM A BAD BROTHER. THIS MAN HAS ONLY *ONE* REDEEMING QUALITY TO HIM AND THAT HE’S THE BEST FUCKING BROTHER IN ALL OF THE KNOWN UNIVERSES. I’LL FUCKING FIGHT YOU TEJ, YOU DECREPIT AND  IMMORAL BAG OF BONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

is rudra glaring at shivaay, or at tej for yelling at shivaay????

hahahahahahaha @ tej being like “i never tried to come in between these three EVERRRRRRRRRRRR” UM SURE. REMEMBER THE TIME WHEN SHIVAAY WAS DYING IN THE HOSPITAL AND YOU TRIED MAKING OM THE NEXT HEIR AND ALMOST GOT THE SNOT SLAPPED OUTTA YOU BY HIM????? LOLOLOLOLOL GOOD TIMES. 

oh and the time you got his long-time gf to betray him by screwing shivaay outta his shares. yeahhhh, i haven’t forgotten bitch. so stfu and sit yo ass down and don’t you dare take tht tone with #BrotherIndia #SabKaBhaiShivaay

ok i don’t get why the fuckkkkkkkkkkkkk shivaay just doesn’t TELL people shit. like..... WHAT DOES NOT TELLING PPL THE REASON EVEN ACCOMPLISH???????? JUST AT LEAST TELL THEM TO TRUST YOU AND YOU’LL TELL THEM IN TIME???? 

oh boyyyyyyyyyyy, pinky v/s tejvi on beta matter. it’s like.... 425 episodes haven’t passed at allllllllllllllll. 

yes, finally. rudy boy jaaaag utha. BOL MERE SHER, BOL!!!!!!! 

oh my heart. i am legit tearing uppppppp. 😭😭😭😭😭😭 DAMN YOU AND YOUR PUPPY EYES, LEENESH!!!!!!!!!!!!

“karne ka waqt”???????? kya karne ka waqttttttttttt?!?!? ughhhhhh tejjjjjjjjjjj you the worsttttttttttttt.

god anika, just fuckinggggg don’t. 

DON’T YELL AT HER, YOU ASSHOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

“accept it and respect it”?????? godddddd, fuckkkkkkkkk offffff! 

lol svetlanaaaaaaaa. girl, i wouldn’t be so cockyyyyyyyy. but it’s so fun watching you gloat, so go on and enjoy this momentary victory, i guess. 

physical form???? 🤔🤔🤔🤔 ok, i’m not a big finance person, so correct me if i’m wrong: if the shares have a physical form (in the way she’s implying), aren’t they just bearer shares? as in whoever holds the physical coupon is the owner. there’s no registration or record of who owns bearer shares. surely oberoi corp. wouldn’t just give omRu their 50% of the empire in purely BEARER SHARES. like.... that’s just fucking ridiculous??????????? 

ok why am i looking for financial logic in this show? like, when they defy the laws of physics and all of nature’s other laws, what are these manmade rules???  

YEAH YOU SHOULDA INVESTIGATED THIS FULLY BEFORE, YOU DINGDONG!!!! INSTEADA JUST BEING LIKE OH I JUMPED OUTTA A PLANE WHOOOOOO ADRENALINE RUSH COME ON BABE LET’S GET IT ON IN A PUDDLE OF PAINT YEEEEEEEEEHAWWWWWWW LAAAAL ISHQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

great, ek toh itna raita phaila hua hai, yeh woh samete, ya biwi ke aansooon ponche? like, at this point, she knows him enough to know better than poking and prodding at him in public. but no. she’s on her ownnnnnnnnn fucking trip. 🙄🙄🙄🙄

great. getting handsy. fucking hellllllllllll. 😒😒😒

*chanting and thumping table* ANGRY SEX! ANGRY SEX! ANGRY SEX! ANGRY SEX! 🙃🙃🙃🙃

ok don’t be calling him stone singh oberoi and lord knows what else WHEN YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON. 

god i hate the direction they’ve gone with anika’s character. what’s with her constant flipflopping of faith in him????? like, just in the last ep you were all MY SWEET SUNSHINE BABY SHIVAAY CAN’T EVER DO ANYTHING WRONG MWAHMWAH, and now today this. pick a lane my good bitch, and stick to it. 

the haaaaaand move. goddamnit i’m a sucker for itttttttt.

not in this angry way tho. ://///////

girl. he’s telling you directly about “aane waale din”. use your goddamn bheja and instead of just HEARING HIM, fucking

no phone to break. so angry fist-making it is. 

my man, you should really look into kick boxing or some shiz as therapy. 

OH SHIT HE JUST RAN OVER TIA WTFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!! GOD SHIVAAY COULD YOU STOP HURTING ALL THE GIRLS I LOVE, YOU AWFUL BRUTE?!?!?!?!!?!?! 😡😡😡

[jumbledversesandbreaths]

Thank You

After several attempts to begin, I can’t seem to find the appropriate words to say to you. After all, you’re just a dog, as how some people would put it. But let me say, for someone who’s JUST a dog, man, you have given me so much to be grateful for. So I want to say thank you.

Thank you for coming into my life and showing me what true love is. For teaching me patience. For making me understand what compassion means. For making me grow and making me responsible. We had dogs before you but I always say everything started with you. I will not be the kind of parent that I am if not for you.

Thank you for trusting us while you were growing up and we’re all just a bunch of confused pet parents. Fumbling with what to do and made you a guinea pig to check which one works and which one doesn’t. For making me virtually gross-proof because after scooping up poo for the nth time, sometimes scanning it for worms, who wouldn’t be?

Thank you for inspiring my creativity when I have to come up with different ways to cover up a broken vase, a chewed up table leg and all the things you destroyed as a puppy.

Thank you for allowing me to be there with you when you gave birth to your three little puppies. Letting me catch and clean them and making me realize that you fully trust me.

Thank you for always accompanying me when I do laundry at 12am and beyond. Thank you, it is not a big house but you always have to be in the area where the people are. Thank you for how you accepted my Kenzie into the fold and for being the only dog in the family patient enough to put up with a growing boy. Maybe you remembered how we put up with you when you were a headache of a puppy and this was how you gave back?

Thank you for living for 12 years and allowing us enough time to spend time with you and show you how much we love you. Thank you for showing me how much I am capable of doing for the sake of love. Thank you for holding on long enough to spend the holidays with us, our last with you. During your last few weeks, when you first got extremely ill, thank you for recovering, even for just a few weeks. I know now that you did it for us. That you gave us a few good days to enjoy before passing on. And my, what great days those were. Like you were whole again. Like you would live forever. Fresh happy memories to keep. But then again, thank you for passing on the day you did. It was the perfect timing, if the not for the others, but at least for me. You did so on a day that I am most likely will be with you. You did so when I was not at the office where I would have to choose between you and my work. You didn’t wait until we have to take you back to the vet where you might die without us. You didn’t wait until we have to make the heart breaking decision of having to put you down. You waited long enough for me to take one last video of you. And at the very last moment, you waited until I stepped out of the shower. You seem like you were looking at me straight in the eye. An understanding passed between us and I knew for sure. You’re saying goodbye. Despite the pain in my heart, I believe the timing was as perfect as it can be. Just like how you chose your name 3 times, out of the 3 choices we gave you because we couldn’t decide; you decided to go on your own terms. Always the sweet dog, you didn’t burden us with the decisions. And for that, I say the biggest thank you.

I hope you enjoyed your life as much as we enjoyed ours because of you. My love for you does not end here. I will carry you in my heart for a lifetime and more. My baby. My best pal. My dog. My Muddy.