#or at least do it in 15 minutes… she told me to sprint

[jmflowers]

climbing the CN Tower in like 12 hours

place your bets now for how long it’ll take me

[girlgenius1111]

i can take care of myself

barca femeni x reader hiding an injury

got a little stuck on the next part of pop back up, so enjoy this and tell me what you want to see in that :)

If you were to find a positive in the situation, it would be that there was too much noise from the crowd for anyone to hear the crack your ribs made as they broke. You'd been trying to block a shot, but your opponent hadn't seemed too worried about taking a high kick, and had slammed her foot, full force, into your abdomen.

You'd crumpled almost immediately, but the ball wasn't cleared well, so you staggered back to your feet, breathing hard. The pain felt like it was splitting you in half, every inhale agony, and you wrapped one arm around your stomach, trying not to double over. You were having a hard time concentrating, but suddenly the ball was back at your feet, and without taking the time to consider that you might be doing more damage, you lept forward, sprinting down the field. Adrenaline had taken over, and the pain in your side dulled briefly.

You were fast, passing several defenders who were caught off guard by the change of possession. There were still a few left, though, and you knew you needed to pass. You found Ona on the overlap, and cut in towards the box. She hit a perfect cross, and you launched yourself into the air, just barely getting your head on it. It was enough, though, and it sailed just passed the opposing goalkeeper, into the back of the net.

When your feet hit the ground again, your ribs erupted in pain, the temporary relief gone.

"Fuck," you groaned, collapsing to your knees. Your teammates were running to your side to celebrate, but were startled at your collapse.

"What is it? What hurts?" Ona questioned, the first to reach you. You reached out, grasping onto her forearm, and taking a throbbing deep breath.

"Ribs, just a bit. I'm fine," you gasped, rising to your feet just in time to catch an uncertain look on Ona's face, before your teammates were tackling you with hugs. You gritted your teeth as every touch to you sent a jolt through your body; you couldn't go off. There was no doubt in your mind that at least one of your ribs was broken, but the team was out of subs. You needed to win this game, and trying to beat another champions league team with only 10 players left for 15 minutes didn't seem so doable.

"Vamos chica!" Aitana shouted in your ear, as she jumped on your back. You bit back a groan, and mustered up a smile as Pina and Patri appeared at your side. Alexia and Irene were there too, but they were both looking at you much more sharply, eyes clocking your every movement.

As you and the girls let go and began to jog back to your positions, your captains stopped you.

"Are you okay? That was a hard hit," Alexia said, looking down at you.

"You look like something hurts," Irene continued.

You knew that if you told the truth, they'd make you go off. If you lied, and they found out, they'd be furious. You're only choice was to lie, and make sure they didn't find out, not even after the game.

"All good!" You said, shooting them both smiles before pushing past them to return to your position. They must have believed you, because they let you go, and you were able to finish the remaining 15 minutes.

It was agonizing, and you were close to tears by the end of the game, but you held it together until the final whistle. Instead of staying on the pitch after the game like you normally did, you were the first in the locker room, showering fast and changing before any of your teammates made it back.

Everyone was celebrating the win, talking and joking loudly, so they didn't notice when you slipped out, heading to your car. All you had to do was get back to your apartment, throw some ice on your ribs, and rest.

In the back of your mind, you knew everyone would find out eventually; there was no way to hide this for the entirety of the healing process. You weren't really thinking clearly though, brain muddled with pain

You took off your shirt when you got inside your apartment, allowing yourself to look at your abdomen closely for the first time. The left side was already bruising, a purple tint to the skin clearly visible. You experimentally pressed a finger to the area, letting out a hiss of pain, and immediately pulling your hand away. Definitely broken.

You got some ice, and laid on the couch, placing it as gently as you could over the contusion. You weren't really sure what to do now. It wasn't feeling any better; if anything, it was getting worse, every inhale, every small twist was uncomfortable.

As the discomfort grew, your resolve to keep this a secret weakened. Really, you just wanted someone to come and take care of you, not that you’d ever admit to that, or ask for it. It was lonely in your apartment, all alone, and the pain wasn't helping. You fought back tears, knowing that crying would only make it hurt worse.

In an attempt to distract yourself, you pulled your phone out of your pants pocket, intending to scroll through tiktok until you could move better. Instead, you unlocked your phone to several missed calls from about half your team. You were fucked.

Ignoring them further would only prompt them to come over, so you bit the bullet, and called Alexia back.

"Pequeña, where did you go?" She questioned upon answering, completely forgoing a greeting. She sounded mad.

"I went home," you replied.

"Why did you leave so fast?"

"I was tired. Long day," you said lamely.

"No, something is going on. What's wrong?" Alexia insisted. Her ability to read you was infuriating.

"Nothing is wrong, Ale, I promise," you told her.

"Then you won't mind if I come over to make sure?" She asked, frustration clear in her tone.

"I really want to go to bed, Capi," you started, but she interrupted.

"I'll be there in 5 minutes," she said, before hanging up the phone. 5 minutes. She must have already been on her way before you'd even called her back.

There wasn't much you could do. Alexia had a key, you knew she wasn't afraid to use it, and you also weren't sure if you could get up off the couch. So, you awaited your captain, knowing that she would figure out that you were hurt the minute she laid eyes on you. All the fight had gone out of you, and you had no energy left to convincingly hide your injury.

When Alexia knocked on the door, you sighed, before calling out to her.

"Use your key," you instructed. You heard her fumble with her keys as she responded.

"Why can't you let me in?" She questioned.

"I can't really get up," you told her. She cursed quietly in response, before the door swung open. She was wearing her Barca sweats, and she looked furious. She walked in, pausing to shut the door and take her shoes off, before making her way to the couch.

Stopping in her tracks, her jaw dropped at the state of your ribs.

"Dios mío, eres estúpido? Why didn't you tell anyone about this?" Alexia questioned, dropping to her knees next to the couch. You looked at her pathetically, shrinking under her hardened gaze.

"I didn't want you guys to have to play 15 minutes with only 10 players, we were out of subs," you argued, shutting your mouth when your words only seemed to aggravate her more.

"This happened then? Before your goal? And you played the rest of the game?" She asked incredulously, reaching out to run her fingers over your rib, her gentle touch starkly different than her tone. Still, you shied away from her hand, whimpering in pain at the movement.

"Stop moving," she told you, resting a hand on your shoulder. "I don't even know what to say. How could you put yourself in danger like this? You could have gotten hurt even worse. You don't even know what is wrong, you need scans and a doctor," she ranted, closely examining the fast forming bruise.

"Ale,"

"No. You complain all the time about us treating you like a child, yet you do something so reckless, make such an immature decision, I don't know what you expect."

You'd never really seen Alexia this mad, not at you. She had a soft spot for you, as most of the girls did, and normally you only saw her anger directed at people who'd been too rough with you. You knew that everything she was saying was true, but her words still stung, and you blinked back tears, staring hard at the ceiling.

She wasn't paying attention though, pulling out her phone and typing quickly. It rang in her hands, and she answered. You could hear Lucy on the other end, and you cringed, knowing that if Alexia was this mad, Lucy wouldn't be very much fun either. Alexia spoke quietly to Lucy, telling her that she needed help getting you to the hospital for scans, and that Irene and Mapi were already on their way. At this, you groaned, and Alexia shot you a look. She hung up, then, and you avoided her gaze.

"The girls will be here soon, and they'll help me get you to the hospital. I don't want to hear a single complaint, pequeña, not even one," she informed you. Her tone was still so upset, and you hated it. "How much does it hurt?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at you as if daring you to lie to her.

"A lot," you said, trying to keep your voice steady.

"Well, you probably have several broken ribs, so I'm not surprised. What were you thinking, y/n, honestly?" Now, she sounded disappointed, which was worse than angry, worse than upset. Your lower lip trembled, and you squeezed your eyes shut, willing yourself not to cry.

"I'm sorry. I know you're mad but can you yell at me later?" you asked, voice cracking. When you opened your eyes to look at Alexia, her expression had softened completely.

"I'm sorry, pequeña, you're right, I can absolutely yell at you later," she said, and you huffed out a laugh before crying out as your diaphragm jumped, jostling your injury.

"No no, don't move, don't laugh... don't cry, pequeña" she said, panicking slightly as you began to cry; it was a nasty cycle, crying because it hurt, and it hurting because you were crying.

Alexia stood, sliding onto the couch as gently as she could, pulling your head into your lap.

"Hurts, Ale," you whined at the movement.

"I know, I know, just try to relax your upper body, take slow breaths," she instructed, hand running through your wet hair. She was amazed at how fast her anger with you had disappeared; the minute you'd started to cry, it had evaporated, and all she wanted to do was wrap you in a hug. Unfortunately, that would probably only make you hurt worse, so she settled for laying a hand on your forehead, thumb moving back and forth rhythmically.

"I'm sorry," you cried, overcome with emotion at your own stupidity.

"Alright, y/n, it's okay, focus on breathing. I'm not mad anymore, okay?" she assured you, and you blinked up at her, not sure if you believed her words.

"Idiota, y/n," a voice called, as your front door swung open once again. You didn't have to look to recognize Mapi's voice, and as you heard multiple pairs of footsteps entering the room, you figured the other girls had arrived as well.

"Cállate María," Alexia snapped, glaring at Mapi before her attention refocused on you. Mapi grumbled, but listened. The faces of Irene, Lucy, and Mapi appeared above you, looking down with varying levels of anger and concern.

"Everyone be nice, she's in pain," Alexia scolded, seeing how you cowered under the glares of your teammates.

"Count on Alexia to let y/n off the hook," Mapi said under her breath, rolling her eyes, but softening her expression. You were only half paying attention as Irene and Lucy inspected your ribs, their faces pinched with worry.

"She's not off the hook, but yelling at her now isn't going to do anything," Alexia defended.

"She needs to go to the hospital," Irene said quietly, and Lucy nodded in agreement. You didn't appreciate being spoken about like you weren't there.

"Do I get any say in this?" you tried, but when everyone turned to stare at you in disbelief, you folded quickly. "Hospital sounds good," you revised.

"That's what I thought," Lucy replied harshly. You glared at the wall behind her, not quite brave enough to glare right at her.

"Pequeña," Alexia called, drawing your attention back to her worried green eyes. "Can you walk?"

You hesitated. You were sure you could, but it would hurt. You didn't really feel like giving anyone anymore reason to be mad at you, though, so you nodded your head.

"Yeah, just help me get up," you responded. It took all 4 girls to get you standing, trying to move your upper body as little as possible. By the time you were on your feet, you were sweating, and your jaw was clenched.

"Y/n," Irene started, exchanging looks with the other girls.

"I'm fine, let's just get this over with," you cut her off. She nodded uneasily, and her and Mapi began to walk you towards the door.

"I wouldn't want to rush this too much, y/n, the sooner you get home, the sooner Alexia goes back to being mad at you," Mapi teased.

You winced, knowing she was completely correct.

-----

2 uncomfortable car rides, several scans, and a multitude of scoldings from different doctors, later, you arrived back at your apartment. You were feeling much better now, the drugs the hospital had given you working wonders.

You'd settled on your bed, propped up against the pillows, eyes drifting open and closed. Irene and Lucy made sure you were settled before leaving. Alexia still didn't let them yell at you, claiming you were "too high to really appreciate it," but you knew she just felt guilty for being too harsh earlier.

"You can go too, guys, I'm fine," you tried to tell Mapi and Alexia. Mapi was perched on the edge of your bed, watching amusedly as Alexia hovered over you.

"Oh, you're fine. Did you hear that, Ale? She's fine," Mapi mocked, and you groaned.

"I don't want to hear that phrase leave your mouth again for a while pequeña, because you clearly aren't," Alexia responded, not finding Mapi's comment as funny as Mapi herself did.

"This is exactly what I didn't want," you cried, shifting uncomfortably.

"What is?" Mapi questioned, suddenly more serious than she was a few minutes ago.

"This, you guys," you mumbled, clearly feeling the effects of the pain relief. "You shouldn't need to take care of me, I can take care of myself,"

"Si, because not seeking medical attention for multilpe broken bones definitely fills us with confidence in your ability to take care of yourself," Mapi replied, rolling her eyes.

"Is that why you hid it? You didn't want us to take care of you?" Alexia asked quietly, eyes searching yours.

"Didn't want to be a bother," you replied, seeming suddenly more alert than you had been a few seconds ago.

"Estúpida," Mapi stated, very matter of factly.

"María!" Alexia scolded again, but Mapi cut her off.

"You couldn't be a bother. You're just a kid," she said, and your lips pursed unhappily at that. "Si, you are, you are only 19. Asking for help doesn't make you a bother."

"Mapi's right, we're here because we want to be, we want to help you, y/n. You don't need to do everything yourself." Alexia insisted, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. You didn't look very persuaded. "Just try to let us help, please?"

At this, you nodded hesitantly. Somewhat satisfied, Alexia carefully tucked you in.

"Sleep. We'll wake you up in a couple hours for more medicine." Your eyes widened.

"You're staying?" You asked, voice unmistakably vulnerable. Both girls smiled reassuringly at you.

"Of course we are," Mapi said, tone leaving no room for doubt or argument.

"Okay," you stated, body relaxing against the pillows, eyes already sliding shut.

Alexia and Mapi exchanged triumphant looks. It was a step for you, clearly. They weren't even sure they'd still need to yell at you tomorrow.

-----

:)

[angelsanarchy]

Glass Houses: Jack Thurlow x Y/N One-Shot Series PRT 33

Tagging: @roryculkinluvr@thatsthewrongwallcraig@icarus-star @cc-luvr @madamemaximoff06@shady-the-simp @quicksilversg1rl @s-0lar @kristennero-wallacewellsver@ophelialaufey @mayathepsychic1999 @x-prettyboy-x @rorylover71 @auggiethecreator @tempt-ress @blacksoul-27

Jack walked carefully into the house and sat down trying to catch his breath. He never thought he would get Cleo's forgiveness but she had actually forgiven him. He looks through the box she left and kicks it to the side of the steps before pulling out his phone. He wasn't sure if he should call Y/n or Dr. Carty. He promised her that he would call her if he started feeling like a meltdown was coming and he didn't want to go back on his word.

He pushed the button to call her and waited, leaving the phone on speaker because of how terrible his hands were shaking.

"Hey! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Jack could hear her smile through the phone.

"H-hey...um.." Jack hadn't thought about what he was going to say but Y/n could tell something was wrong.

"Jack? Are you okay?" She asked concerned.

"I'm...I'm kinda on the verge of a panic attack...and I'm...scared." Jack's voice cracked. He could hear heavy breathing on the phone.

"Carrie...CARRIE! I've got to go. Let them know I've got an emergency." Y/n wasn't talking to Jack. She was talking about someone she worked with as she sprinted to her car.

"Just keep talking to me okay? I'm on the way." Y/n's car door slammed. He knew it would take her at least 15 minutes to get here so he tried to ground himself.

"What are you feeling baby? Is your chest tight?" Y/n asked keeping her tone soft.

"It's getting there. It's hard to catch my breath...I'm shaking. I can't stop shaking." Jack shook his hands out trying to calm himself.

"It's okay, just keep breathing and try to breathe through your nose okay?" Jack did as he was told and started taking deep breaths.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry I'm like this." Jack apologized.

"Hey it's okay. I'm so happy you called me. You promised you would and you did." She said with a relieved smile. Jack felt at ease as she spoke. He heard the tires screech outside and she ran through the front door, tossing her phone on the counter and dropping to the floor next to him. She didn't want to be obvious but she looked him over for wounds.

"I didn't..." He started to say and she shook her head.

"Okay okay that's good baby. I'm so proud of you." Y/n pushed his hair off his sweaty face just as a huge roll of thunder hit and knocked the power out.

"Y-your mom-" Jack realized the power had gone out from the storm coming and she shook her head.

"Ms. Linda is with her tonight. She will be fine." Y/n helped him to his feet and led him into the living room to sit on the couch. Once she sat him down, she ran to the kitchen, returned with water and an armful of candles. Jack sipped the water as she lit the candles and turned towards him on the couch.

"Tell me what you need Jack. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Let's figure out how to get through this one together." She rubbed his hand between her own and he looked down at her hands holding his.

"You're making a huge mistake with me...you're...you're too good for me, Y/n." Jack shook his head and Y/n chuckled.

"Hey, only I get to decide that. I'm exactly where I want to be okay?" Y/n kissed his forehead.

"You're going to spend your whole life taking care of me and all my fucking issues. That's not a life." Jack was frustrated. He hated how weak he felt in this moment.

"That's actually my whole life babe. It's what I like to do, take care of people is quite literally my profession." She pointed to the scrubs she was wearing.

"It shouldn't be that way when you come home to someone you love. You should be able to live your life without worrying I'm going to jump off the roof over something stupid." Jack wiped at his face and Y/n listened to him.

"What was so stupid that triggered-" He snorted out at the mention of the word triggered'. He hated that term. It was like saying someone flipped a switch and his bat shit crazy was activated.

"What's making you feel anxious? I imagine you weren't just sitting around working on the house and suddenly couldn't catch your breath...if that's the case, we need medical intervention." She gave a reassuring smile making Jack shake his head.

"Cleo came by...she heard me starting my recordings on the porch. We had a talk and she...she actually accepted my apology, Y/n. She forgave me for everything I put her through...I just...I never thought." Jack buried his face in his hands and Y/n put her arms around him.

"That's so great Jack. I know how much you needed that forgiveness. I'm sure that weight is what threw you into a loop. This is a good reaction, I swear." She kissed the top of his head as she held him.

"She didn't just forgive me...she actually apologized to me like she did something wrong. I should have told her it wasn't her fault." Jack pulled back and let Y/n wipe his face.

"She knows its not her fault Jack. Sometimes people who care about you apologize because it's what you deserve. She knows it wasn't her that caused that pain but she can still feel empathetic that you got hurt." She explained.

Jack was always someone who hated people who apologized for shit they didn't do but Y/n made a decent point. Him and Cleo had a life before all of this. They cared about one another. If the roles were reversed, he would feel the same way that he wasn't able to heal those wounds or protect her from the past.

"Taking care of people is how I express my love. Feeling sorry that someone hurt people you care about is love. I know that you've got a skewed history with being loved but you also have a handful of really amazing loves. You have a best friend who would literally kill for you. Cleo clearly wanted a family with you. I love every minute we get to spend together because it makes me happy. You make me happy." Jack looked at her and gave a weak smile.

"Life isn't easy, neither is love but you find people that make getting through it worth it. I promise you, if I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be." She stroked his cheek and he leaned his forehead against hers. She hadn't said the words exactly but she had expressed to him in that moment that she might actually love him.

"Thank you for coming." Jack said in a whisper. She gave him a quick kiss before pulling his body towards her and laying back on the couch, cradling him against herself. She rocked slightly and hummed into his hair, almost motherly in her motions but Jack kept his ear to her chest, listening to her heartbeat. He felt himself relax against her as she hummed.

He felt safe. He felt protected. He felt loved.

[verfound]

FIC: "It's a Good Day" (MLB; Lukanette; LBSC Lukanette Month 2024)

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers is doing a Lukanette Month for September 2024, and we all just kinda tossed some prompts in the disco to compile a list?  We ended up with 71 prompts, so I decided I’d roll some dice to pick a prompt, do a twenty minute (ish, bc we all know sometimes they run away from me) sprint, and try to get some short fics out this month?

Note: Whump Ahoy! Mind the tags!

Read on Ao3

03 September 2024

Prompt 15: Music

“Good morning, M. Couffaine!  You’re in early today!” the girl sitting at the desk said.

“Morning, Tanya,” Luka said as he signed his name on the guest log.  He adjusted the guitar on his back before handing his bag over to the man who had approached, nodding politely at him.  “M. Jolie.”

“M. Couffaine,” the older man said gruffly as he checked the bag.  He looked up when he found the small container of meringue kisses, something Luka had kept in his bag longer than he could remember, and Luka rolled his eyes before nodding.  M. Jolie – Paul, when Tanya wasn’t listening – almost smiled at him as he nabbed one.

They weren’t as good as…but he had gotten better.  At least they weren’t gummy this time.

“I wasn’t sure we’d see you today,” Tanya said as Paul handed his bag back.  Luka shrugged.  He hadn’t been sure, either.  The morning had been…difficult.  Getting Harmony off to daycare.  She’d been less than thrilled to see him leave.  “I was hoping we would, though.  Guess what?”

“What?” he asked, smiling as Paul rolled his eyes and trudged back over to his desk.  Tanya leaned forward, grinning at him.

“I think Miguel’s gonna propose,” she said, winking at him.  “It’s not for sure yet.  He hasn’t actually asked, but Elise – my bestie, I’ve told you about her? – saw him coming out of a ritzy jeweler’s.  That’s gotta mean something, right?”

“That’s what ruined my proposal,” he chuckled, slinging his bag back over his shoulder.  “Well-meaning friends who couldn’t keep their mouths shut.”

It had worked out, in the end.  If Rose and Dingo hadn’t blabbed, he might’ve actually gotten the dumb ring before Marinette had surprised him with the one she had made (and a proposal of her own).

“It’s probably earrings,” Paul griped.  Luka glanced over at him to see his head was bent with his visor pulled down over his eyes, his chin resting on his chest.  “Kid ain’t seen Leap Year.  I’m telling you: it’s earrings.”

“Oh, shush!  M. Couffaine knows I’m right – he gets me!  He’s a romantic,” Tanya said, sticking her tongue out at the old guard.  She turned back to Luka with a grin.  “Aren’t you, M. Couffaine?”

“…I suppose I must be,” he said, smiling sadly.

He wouldn’t be there if he wasn’t.

Tanya’s expression softened at the look in his eyes, her smile slipping.

“She’s having a good day today,” she said gently.  His grip tightened on the strap of his bag, and he nodded before moving away from the desk – taking his hand away from the guest log before Tanya could do something like try and comfort him.  She was a sweet kid, but he didn’t want her comfort.  “I think she’s in the multipurpose room.”

“Thank you, Tanya,” he said, nodding before he headed into the building.  He could hear Paul scolding her as he left them, but their familiar argument was too low to be anything more than an annoying buzz on his periphery.  He’d heard it all before, anyway.  It was the same argument Juleka and Rose had any time he dropped Harmony off for a Couffaine Girl Fun Day, or the one Dingo and Brielle had when he ignored their calls, or…

…he hated coming here any more.

But where else would he go?

He passed her room on his way in, and sure enough it was empty.  He paused once he reached the door to the large room they called the ‘multipurpose room’, which currently looked like it was being split between group sessions and free time.  His swallowed thickly when he saw her sitting by the window, the sun dancing in her hair as she bent her head over the table.  She was focused on her task – writing something, it seemed.  Maybe drawing.  His throat felt too dry, seeing her.

He hated coming here any more.

…there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

He had promised her for better or worse.

He just hadn’t thought their better would already be behind them.

“Morning, beautiful,”  he said, laying a hand on her shoulder and squeezing.  He paused to drop a kiss to her head before sitting in the chair beside her.  He had slipped his guitar and his bag off before sitting, and he laid them next to the chair.  She kept her focus on the paper – on the blue crayon gliding over it.  He couldn’t tell what she was drawing, what with how close she was leaning over the paper.  “What are you making today?”

She didn’t answer.

She rarely did, these days.

“Harmony’s starting to draw now,” he said, turning to reach into his bag.  He pulled out a picture Harmony had drawn with Rose the other day and laid it on the table, sliding it over to her.  “She wanted you to have it.”

Her eyes darted to the picture.  It was simple enough: stick figures, a man with blue spikes on his head that he was pretty sure was supposed to be hair holding the hand of a girl with too many fingers and big blue eyes.  There was a smudge that was supposed to be a dog next to her – a not-so-subtle hint he was doing his best not to cave on.  Juleka would give him so much shit if he did.

…he could barely take care of them most days.  She’d kill him if he brought a dog into the mix, no matter how much Harmony wanted one.

“Don’t worry,” he chuckled, smiling at her.  It didn’t feel forced, like it had at the front.  It never did, with her.  “I haven’t gotten the dog.  Yet.”

She grunted and slapped at the paper, shoving it away from her.  He pursed his lips and pulled it back before she could damage it.

Tanya had said she was having a good day.  It was hard to tell what were good days anymore.

“Marinette…” he tried, but she kept her focus on her paper.  He sat back in his chair and looked out the window, his mouth a hard, thin line.

He had agreed to this.

He had hated it, but he had agreed to it.

“You can’t take care of her, Luka,” Juleka had said.  “Not with the baby.  It’s too much.  It’s not safe.”

“She’s my wife, Juleka.  The mother of my child,” he had argued.

“She’s insane, Luka,” Juleka had bit, not unkindly, but he had hated it all the same.  There had been no malice behind the words – how could there be?  Juleka knew why, as well as he did, and how could they ever blame her for…?  “She’s a danger to your child.  To you.  To herself.”

…that had been what had decided it, in the end.  Because he could no longer give her the care she needed – not with…not when…

He pushed out a breath and reached for his guitar, settling it onto his lap and plucking at a few strings.  The frustrated notes quickly turned into a song, one of happier times.  Before she had made her choice.  Back when they were just young and in love and so very, very stupid.  Before they had known…he closed his eyes, remembering her smiling face the day he had proposed.  The last time he had kissed her, the night she…

“…Luka,” she croaked, her voice soft and raspy.  He swallowed as he looked up, continuing to play as she stared at her paper with glassy eyes.  It was the only time she came close to remembering him.  Them.  When he played for her.

The music brought her back to him, if only just.

…she was the only one he played for any more.

“Morning, beautiful,” he said softly, and she looked up with wide, watery eyes that stared at him like…and then she was laying her head down, resting her cheek against the mess of blue squiggles she had been drawing over and over and over again on that paper.

“Luka,” she whispered, her fingers twitching before the crayon dropped from them, rolling away across the table.

Tikki had warned them, the night she’d had to…there would be a cost.  A price to pay.  There always was, with things like that.  But it had been getting too dangerous, for all of them, and Marinette hadn’t seen any other way.

She’d had to destroy the Miracle Box.  All the kwamis inside.  There had been no other way to keep Paris – to keep the world – safe.  But the Universe had demanded a price, something in return for sacrificing so much raw power.  If they had known…if he had known…

He never would have let her make that call.

He would have let the entire world burn, if it had meant saving his own.

What he wouldn’t give for a Second Chance – one last trip back, to stop her.  To find another way.  To warn her of the price they would pay – of the life they hadn’t known had been growing inside of her, the little girl who would never know…

Tanya had said she was having a good day.

Marinette Couffaine didn’t have a lot of good days anymore.

[finkinthisfrew]

Anything (Pt.45)

cw: loved one in the hospital

The second the seatbelt sign turned off I bolted out of my seat and sprinted up to the front of the plane. I didn't care if I was that arsehole who shoved his way to the front. All I cared about was Anna.

The flight had been excruciatingly long. The pain in my heart, searing and agonizingly deep, felt like it couldn't get any worse. I was wrong though, when I realized halfway through the flight that this must have been how Anna felt when she flew across the world to help me- stuck on a 12-hour long flight, unable to help or do anything outside of worry and cry. I already knew how much stress I'd put her through, but to live through it myself made knowing the pain I caused her unbearable.

After the flight attendants finally opened the doors (which I had been seconds away from wrenching open myself) I sprinted down the jetway, through the airport, past baggage claim and out the doors where threw myself into the first taxi I could find.

The cab ride went by agonizingly slow, and the fact that Juliette wasn't answering her phone didn't help. She'd texted me while I was on my flight telling me she was heading home to sleep for a few hours since the doctors didn't think Anna would be awake for quite a while- apparently, the levels of Rohypnol they found in her were quite high. I gave up on Juliette and sent a text to George to let him know I landed safely and thanked him once again for the ticket. I knew I wasn't capable of expressing just how grateful I truly was for him right now, but I tried anyway and promised myself I'd call him later to thank him properly.

Right after I hit send on the text, my phone began to ring. I looked at the number, recognizing it immediately as my manager's South American number. I sighed as I looked outside the cab at the motorway, knowing I was still at least 15 minutes away from the hospital, so I hit answer and grumbled a hello as I gazed out the window at the passing cars.

"Hey Matty, how was the flight? Are you doing alright? Is she doing alright?" he asked kindly.

"Long. Not good. Not sure. Just in a cab heading to the hospital now," I answered flatly. I didn't have any emotional energy left for manners.

"Well, I know you have a lot on your plate right now but, err, unfortunately... I'm not sure how to tell you this, but I have to be the bearer of more bad news," he said nervously.

I felt too numb to care, so I didn't respond. Nothing could be worse than what was happening to Anna right now. Nothing else mattered.

After several moments of silence, my manager could tell I wasn't planning on responding, so he continued.

"... I'm afraid... well, I'm afraid there's been another article written about you and Anna," he admitted. "And it's just as unkind as the last one. Honestly, it may be worse."

I winced as I let my face fall into the palm of my hand. I tried to massage the stress out of my forehead to no avail.

"Summarize it for me," I replied as I rubbed my temples.

"They took a lot of photos of you two while she was visiting, Matty- kissing in public in the city and alleyways and in the ocean. They have closeups- admittedly, grainy- of lovebites on Anna's neck. There's also a photo of your chest all scratched up on stage at the concert which they've quoted you from, saying that you pay Anna to kiss you and that you've confirmed it yourself that Anna is a call-girl... They're calling her all sorts of names, as well as you... I won't lie, Matty. It's unrelentingly vulgar and critical. It's bad."

My blood boiled, and if I had any energy left at all, I would be slamming my fist into the seat in front of me and yelling curses out the window. All I could muster was a clenched fist and a muttered 'fuck' as I tried to suppress the angry tears that threatened to fall.

"I'm sorry Matty, but you needed to know. The boys told me to wait to tell you, but I thought you'd rather know so you can prep Anna before she can find out in whatever state she may be in..."

"No, thank you, I appreciate that. Thank you for telling me," I responded, sincerity lacing my angry tone. "I'll call you later today."

"Hopefully with better news, right mate?"

I sighed.

"Hopefully... Talk soon," I said. I hung up and immediately pushed the conversation aside in my mind. I was dreading telling Anna, but that was much lower on my list of worries. All that mattered now was seeing Anna and making sure she was okay.

Once the car finally rolled to a stop outside the doors of the hospital, I threw open the door and ran in and up to the front desk. After trying and only half-failing to sound calm when speaking to the receptionist, I was relieved when someone showed up merely a couple of minutes later to usher me up to the sixth floor. I was so anxious to see Anna that I was barely paying attention to the nurse who led the way out of the elevator.

"... and she's been steady ever since we took her off the ventilator. She was in decent spirits earlier, so she's just resting now," said the nurse as my ears finally perked up.

"Huh? She was awake?" I asked, caught off guard.

"Yes," the nurse offered a kind smile. "Only for a bit. She's quite exhausted, her body went through a lot. But she's handling it well."

The nurse politely pointed out the last door on the left, and I couldn't get down the hallway fast enough. I only stopped once I reached the doorway, freezing right in my tracks as I finally saw her.

She looked angelic, laying there in the early morning sun which streamed in through the hospital blinds onto her peaceful face. Even in her current state, she was breathtaking.

Slowly, I approached the bed. I dragged the armchair up to the edge and sat down before carefully taking Anna's hand in mine. She didn't move as I grazed my thumb against the back of her hand.

It broke my heart to see her like this, she looked so small and so frail in the hospital bed, her skin pale against the grey of the sheets. And yet, I could see her body was fighting. I sniffed quietly as I scanned her face, taking in the rosiness that stained her cheeks and the soft pink of her lips. That was what I loved so much about her- that no matter what was thrown at her, she pushed through. She was too small for this pain, too fragile. And yet every time the world threw something at her, she stayed strong. She was resilient.

I couldn't help the tears as they welled in my eyes, overwhelmed by my love for her. I clamped my other hand over my mouth to hold back a sob. We'd been through so much together, and apart, and I never thought ever in my life I could be as happy as I was when I was with Anna. She was so perfect, and as undeserving as I felt, I knew in this moment that I'd never let her go. No matter what. We were for each other, and there was nothing I wouldn't do for her. Nothing.

I reached out to gently brush a strand of hair from her perfect face, tucking it behind her ear as I caressed her cheek, savouring the warmth of her skin under my hand. Her eyelashes fluttered in response to my touch.

"Anna," I whispered softly with hope.

Her eyes opened, her hazy beautiful green gaze turned towards me, and my heart stopped.

[outcast-thingz]

Chapter 2:

Tell Me It's Just A Dream ...Fuck

Despite being told you have a choice it didn't feel like it. The creature was right; no one would believe you. You have no idea what they'll do to you or where they'll take you. You figured you should let -someone- know you won't be back for a while. Pulling yourself to your feet proved quite painful, but nothing was broken as far as you could tell. After getting turned around once or twice and nearly tripping, you return to camp. You'd left your phone behind. Once you find it, you hold your breath as you press the power button hoping it'll turn on.

"Fifteen percent, thank god… just one call" The ringtone barely has time to buzz the other side of the line when he answers.

"Y/N! Are you okay!?" Hearing a friendly put you at ease. Much to Jason's dismay, you just sat there soaking in his sound. He rambles off a bunch of apologies for not being able to prevent you from ending up where you were. "Y/n? Please answer… anything. So I know it's you actually there."

"Hi," you sniffle, "I'm here, Jason."

"Thank you. Jerk, I thought you were dead." You could hear a faint chuckle. You smile and wipe a tear from your eye.

"Yeah," you return the half-hearted laugh, "I thought so too." You clear your throat, "Hey, um.. They already gave me a new place to go. Don't need a medic if the bodies almost never come back… but it's top secret, so I can't tell you where-"

"Do you know for how long?"

"Ummm.. n-no. I don't. I promise I'll try to send at least a letter, okay?" It took everything not to give in to the tears. Your throat hurt from straining to sound calm, "Jason?"

"Yes, Y/n?"

"Tell my family I love them."

"I will. I love you, Y/n."

"You're the bestest friend I could have ever asked for… I love you," you end the call. Shortly after, your phone dies. You spent the next hour or two crying yourself to sleep.

"Figured you didn't have that many places to run to, but here" the creature shrugs.

As promised, a gentle hand grabs your shoulder at midnight to wake you.

"How'd you find me?" Mumbles slip from your lips as you sit up.

"Mmm…" you hum, unamused

"So, made your decision?"

"Yeah… I guess I'll go with you. No point in causing more trouble than necessary," you sigh. To your surprise, the man approaches and scoops you up. "Wait, Wait, I can-" You feel yourself lifted higher but not further from the man. "I don't understand wha-" beneath you the man and beneath him… the creature? She seemed so small, yet here she was, lifting two people like they were paperweights.

"It's like you said, 'no point in causing more trouble than necessary.' I'm gonna carry y'all to the truck."

"How?!"

"Well, by putting one foot in front of the other, duh. Is there any other way?"

"But you're so sm-"

"I'd choose your next words very carefully, angel." She threatens as she starts to make her way through the woods. You cross your arms and protest,

"Fairly sure that's a reasonable question. You're like 5-foot? How the fuck are you carrying us both?" The entire time the man shook his head aggressively, a pleading look painting his face. A sly smile creeps onto the creature's face.

"You haven't figured it out yet?" She chuckles. The man sighs. You feel his arms wrap tight around you, so tight it almost hurts.

"Now, why'd you have to go do a thing like that?" He finally speaks. Although irritated, his voice seemed refined and soft, strangely soothing.

Before you can retort, the three of you zoom through the forest. A gasp escapes your lips, silenced by the wind blowing past your face. What would have been a 15 min walk for her turned into a 6-minute sprint.

"I think you're getting slower," the man teases once the two of you are on the ground again.

"I was carrying two people!!!" The creature hisses. The man rolls his eyes and shrugs. "Ugh, whatever. You could at least show some manners and thank me. I did you a favor."

"Im not saying anything. I didn't ask you to do that. Nor did y- they" He started to say your name but backed out.

"Hah! All these lives, and you're still so shy when you meet them." A smug smile plasters itself on her face. "So what's your answer? I mean, I just showed off. I think that deserves at least a guess," you assume she asked you, but her eyes never left the man's. His face was scrunched up into a scowl.

"Strength like something I've ever seen before, impossibly fast, pale as fuck.. and a seeming fondness for chaos, carnage, and blood. I know what you are.." As terrifying as everything has been, you couldn't help but make a joke; maybe if you make fun of this and treat it like a dream, it'll go away. "You're.. you're a vampire." You pause between most of your words not just because you want to put mocking, dramatic spaces of silence but also because that run put your body through higher speeds, and you're use to outside of a vehicle.

"Im gonna puke. You sound like that fucking book series" She covers her mouth and looks away. You can hear her fake gag, "Please never describe me like that again. Next thing we know, you'll be having to choose between me and some fucking w- huhp.." she pauses to try to avoid actually throwing up. Being dramatic had its drawback in this case. "Wolf boy."

"Am I right, though?" You tilt your head.

"Yeah. Just never do that again."

"What reference tw-"

"Finish its name, and I'll give you a complimentary nap with the power of knocking you the fuck out." She finally composes herself. Then looks around, "where did-"

"He got in the truck while I was guessing," You shrug. "Was that complimentary nap just a threat or a promise?" Despite hoping being knocked out would wake you from this, the vampire just chuckles and hops into the passenger seat of their truck. You sigh and get in the back. A thought occurs to you, "y'know, I don't know either of your names.. but you know mine."

"Oh! Right, I'm Mediya! And this big boy-" the creature pats the man's shoulder, "is Adrisil." He huffs at the remark. Mediya smiles at him and giggles her words, "You love me."

"Doesn't mean I can't be mad at you," he glares

"OhKhAy," she rolls her eyes.

It was a long drive, but it wasn't like you'd notice since you were asleep for most of it. You sit up as the ~notorious~feeling of pulling into a driveway hits you.

"Oh, you're up." Mediya looks back. "I wonder if it's like thing where we just -know- when we're home, ya know?" You shrug, not being awake enough to really think about it, let alone know what 'we' she was talking about. "Are you... ya know, okay? You've been taking all of this like- really well. Well.. good for your circumstances this time."

"Mm now you ask.. mm'just gonna treat it like a dream till tomorrow. If I wake up 'nd m'still here I'll deal with it then. Future me problem."

"Oh- um alright I guess." She wasn't sure how to react to that. The three of you scramble out of the truck and into the house. You follow their directions to your room and proceed to pass out again.

The morning nearly passes you by as you dream about your family and Jason. Eventually, your eyes blink awake to stare at a brown wall painted with ivy and little Venus fly traps. You rub your eyes and pinch yourself to ensure it's all real. Yep.. it's real.

"Great.. so I guess that means vampires do exist. Wonder what else exists, hope they don't use the internet or fiction sites…" You say aloud to yourself, 'If there's a unicorn, I'm finding it and keeping it.' It's dark in the room, so you pull the sheets off and shuffle your way over to the window. "FUCK!" You yell after getting a face full of sun. You rub your eyes until you feel like you're ready to brave the light again. Through squinted eyes, you can see a green field with a few trees around it. Just beyond the side of the window, part of an animal pen can be seen.

A gentle knock came at the door, pulling your attention away from the window.

"You okay?" You recognized it as the man's voice.

'What was it.. adin, adele, adr- ADRISIL. Adrisil? What the fuck.. what kind of name is- you know what doesn't matter.' You give up and open the door. "Yeah.. sorry, I opened the curtains and didn't expect it to be so bright." You answer and then ask, "What time is it?"

"About twenty till noon. I have lunch made if you're ready for it." You certainly weren't going to deny food. Your eyes wander as the two of you make your way to the table. Most of the house had a rustic look, moss green walls, the occasional accent stone walls and staircases, wooden beams decorating the ceiling, and furniture you were sure had been around since your grandparents.

"Wasn't sure what you'd be allergic to, so I just went with bacon and egg burritos." He pulls you from your space out.

"Oh.. thank you." At the table were only two plates, "Where's umm."

"Mediya? Sleeping. You'll get a chance to talk to her again tonight."

"…mm"

It was an awkwardly quiet breakfast. Adrisil breaks the silence after leaving the table to grab something,

"We have something you can change into. We didn't know what size you were, so we just guessed. Mediya spent a while picking the outfit out. Let me know if anything doesn't fit right." He slides over a small stack of clothing. "There's a bathroom two doors down from your room. After you shower and change, we can head into town and get you something you actually want to wear." With that, he starts cleaning up the dishes he used to cook breakfast with. You pick up the clothing and head to the bathroom.

You stood with your head leaning against the wall and the water running down your back, letting everything sink in. Tears roll down your cheeks as you clench your fists against the wall. Years of war, not a life caught in the crossfire spared until you. Why? Why you? Will it all stop if you stay with them? Gods.. the friends you've lost, and all the people before your time serving. You're sure you'll never get to see your family again. This will probably be the last and only time they let you walk "freely."

Before you knew it, you were dried and changed. You catch your reflection in the mirror. It was creepy how to actuate the outfit to your preferred style. You'd think Mediya stole it from your closet if you didn't know any better. Your fingertips graze over the clothing; some of it was a tad big, but that was better than it squeezing the life out of you. Pretty damn good for just 'guessing' sizes. You shudder. After shaking your head and thoughts away, you leave the bathroom. Time to go out shopping with a man you've known your whole life as a nation-slaughtering monster. What else we're you going to do? Run?

Tagging: @yeet-man @bisexual-confusion (if you want to be added to the tag list send me message or an ask 🥰)

[blueboyluca]

My friend told me that she wouldn’t make the same mistakes with her next dog. I cheerfully told her that she would get to make brand new mistakes. The joy of having more than one dog is getting to know a whole new individual with their own quirks and traits. It’s also interesting to compare and contrast them to reflect on their needs and the approaches to caring for them.

I’ve been thinking about the differences between Luca and Marceline both physically and emotionally. They are so different, sometimes they feel almost opposite each other on all spectrums. They’ve each been challenging to me in different ways.

I’ve broken down my thoughts into five areas. With Luca (7 years), our relationship is very solid and my focus is to maintain it by regularly providing him opportunities to do the things he loves. With Marceline (3 years), our relationship is still being built so my focus is to continue to show her I am trustworthy and fun.

Fitness

Luca does best with 6 walks per week, half of them off-leash. He needs at least one solo walk per week. He does best if his walks are in the 1 hour range. He enjoys access to water, but rarely swims. Luca has excellent endurance and can maintain pace. He does short bursts of running, but does better at a trot. He has good spatial awareness for environmental hazards and good balance.

Marceline needs 5–6 walks per week, half of them off leash. She needs at least one solo walk per week. She cannot walk more than about 1.5 hours at a time and does best with 30 minutes. She loves to have short swims if possible. She has low endurance, but is a great sprinter and relishes the opportunity to run. She is very agile and has good balance. She is a good jumper, but not as confident at heights. She benefits from at least one agility session each week of about 10–15 minute duration.

Resilience

Luca has an incredibly strong ability to bounce back. He is very good at coming down, resting and re-energising. He is not usually shaken by traumatic events and doesn’t show much environmental sensitivity. He becomes much less resilient when he cannot keep moving through an area; he becomes defensive if he feels the need to stake a claim somewhere. His dog manners are generally  rude, but he can redirect from most dog–dog interactions. However, he will make a situation worse if the other dog is equally rude as himself. Luca chooses fight before flight or freeze.

Marceline is very slow to bounce back and can be environmentally sensitive. She is good at resting and re-energising, but takes longer to come down from a stressful experience. She can become shaken and put off to certain dogs, people or environments. With reassurance, she can overcome most of her sensitivity. She is very good-natured with other dogs and people, but is very aware of her size and generally avoids large dogs or looming humans. She is not afraid of asserting herself at home, but relies on me to provide safety and security away from home. Marceline chooses flight over fight or freeze.

Training

Luca is motivated by food, but its high value sometimes makes it difficult for him to concentrate. His early training provided him a strong base for picking up new skills and offering new behaviours. He picks up things quickly. I’ve never been able to teach him good body awareness, but his base fitness gets him through. He flings himself around a lot in training. He is very brave and will try most things for reinforcement. When hesitant, he can overcome it with encouragement and increasing the rate of reinforcement. Rate of reinforcement is more important to him than value of reinforcement. He will generally keep working for food, unless the expected behaviours become too physically intensive, such as jumping or sprinting.

Marceline is food and toy motivated, depending on the circumstances. The value of reinforcement is as important for her as the rate of reinforcement. She has some body awareness but lacks confidence on unfamiliar surfaces and at heights. She requires lots of encouragement when asked to perform new behaviours and lots of repetitions before understanding a concept. She values moving reinforcement over static reinforcement, both with food and toys. She has a time and appetite limit for training and will tap out early if she feels pressured, full, tired or bored.

Play

Luca likes physical play in micro bouts, but does not enjoy toy play. His preferred play is physical play with other dogs, which I will sometimes facilitate before being ignored. Luca never initiates play with me (I had to teach him to play with me), but is very receptive and willing to play with his dog friends.

Play is extremely important to Marceline. She enjoys multiple bouts in a row. With me, she prefers to use toys for both fetch and tug. She sometimes engages in physical play if she is feeling overly aroused, but generally defaults to toy play. She also loves physical play with other dogs and also likes me to facilitate bouts. Marceline solicits play often, both with me and with her dog friends.

Companionship

Luca likes to know where I am at all times at home, except when he is patrolling the yard. He maintains a natural radius around me outside the home. He loves to have short petting sessions, but is not a cuddler and prefers to rest on his own on the cool floor. Both training and exercise are major components of our bond, which makes these activities highly valuable to him. Luca has a lot of trust that I will provide him good experiences and is therefore open to engaging with me in almost any scenario.

Marceline is a velcro dog when I am home, but prefers to be independent outside the home (unless an environment is considered unsafe). At home, she wants to be touching me or at least nearby, and requires regular sessions of physical attention either through petting or play. Play is more important to her than exercise or training. She trusts that I will keep her safe, but she does not fully trust that I will always provide a fun experience.

[himbos-hotline]

7. Do you prefer to read short fics or long fics? 14. Do you have a personal word minimum that you hold yourself too? Why or why not? 30. Post a snippet from your current WIP without context - no more than 300 words.

7. I dont mind. I like long fics because it shows the amount of thought and dedication goes into writing. But short fics have so much emotion. Its really honestly whatever takes my fancy!

14. I at least try to do one 15 minute sprint a day even if I don't publish that I do. It at least gets me to put something down on paper and I can continue it whenever I want or whenever the inspiration strikes.

30. I am here to spread my trans fem adam cole agenda because nobody can stop me. also im trans and she told me so herself

“Everything would look good on you, you're such a pretty girl.” Jay watches her preen under the words, pressing her lips against her partner's steady pulse. “Do you wanna keep watching the shopping channel?” Jay asks, reaching over Cole’s hip to steal the remote when she shakes her head. The movement presses the curve of her forehead deeper into Jay's jaw and there's a few moments where Adam looks up at him with mischief swirling through the blue of her eyes. She tilts her head up, pressing her lips against the curve of Jay’s neck, grinning against their skin when a soft breath shudders past his lips. “Princess”

also look at me writing potential smut [its not gonna be smut cuz hanger accidentally cockblocks] but yknow look at me go! starting with smut and ending with fluff in this fic. Also no I will not stop writing Jay and the polycule, why? because theyre adorable and in love and sometimes they fuck and they stupid adn i love them.

_____________

WC: 965 FIC: fictober rewrites this ask prompted me to write 965 new words

[glitched-shadow]

《Gone And Never To Return》

⚠️Angnst⚠️

Ellie Williams x Gender neutral reader

MENTIONS, cursing, blood, dying reader (turning), probably not correct timing-, sad Ellie and death

Angst, no happy ending

Erm- this is my first fanfic writing and I chose angsty stuff. All I ask, if this does get seen, Please don't judge. I'm just tying this out honestly.

You and Ellie were sent out on a patrol, checking out places that have been showing more activity. Though there wasn't much going on, so you hadn't been paying as much attention as you should have been.

Instead you were making small talk with your girlfriend, talking about funny and dumb stories of life before the outbreak.

"Very quiet around here. Why did they send us out again?" You ask, doing a quick sweep around the snow covered forest. The powder covering the ground was bright, almost blinding if it wasn't for your eyes already being adjusted to it.

"Well.. Tommy was saying it was getting active around this area. But I'll admit, it's nice just being able to talk and ride out here" Ellie looked back at you, you smiled in return. She's not wrong, you two haven't been able to just talk in a few weeks now. Joel and Tommy have been sending Ellie on patrols left and right. While you don't have anything assigned to you, so you spend your free time helping around town. Both of you exhausted by the time you see each other again. So your guy's alone time has been very limited.

The wind around you guys started picking up, looking around you could clearly tell a snow storm was on its way. Seemingly quick too.

"Hey Ellie how far is a check point?" You slightly yelled because of the winds picking up quickly. You hear Ellie say something but it was muffled out with how far she was from you "Ellie! Wait for me!" You yell, speeding up to try and keep up. But you lost her and her horse tracks aren't staying very long.

After a few minutes of following tracks, till they disappeared completely because of the heavy snowfall. "Ellie! Where the hell are you!?" You yell turning you horse to go a different direction, you started moving forward when something had moved in the near bushes. You horse now spooked with how close and sudden it was, kicked back.

Your horse's sudden action caught you of guard and it flung you off, landing in the soft powdered snow. "Aw, fuck you!" You yelled flipping the horse off. It turned and started running off, "Wait no! Come back!" You yelled, regretting your choices. "Fuck.. ok, just try finding shelter." You told yourself as you started moving blindly though the storm.

As you moved through the snow and storm, you started to slow. You were shivering so much, it felt like your body was a moter.. without the heat. You heard slight clicking and groaning ahead so you grabed out your gun, incase infected decided to charge at you.

Focusing more on the sounds infront of you, you failed to noticed the two stalkers running straight for you. One had latched itself to your arm, clawing a trying to bite at you. While the other had slipped in the snow and still crawled towards you. Startled you shot at the one on your arm and stomped at the one on the ground, unfortunately you weren't thinking of the horde ahead you as you kept shooting at the one attached to you.

After killing the stalker you look up to see at least a dozen of runners, sprinting at you. Your neck started to sting, you ignored it as you shot at any runner getting to close for comfort. You shot over and over till your gun stopped, your ice cold fingers struggling to change the clip. A runner had grabbed onto you, whipping your knife out. You sliced its neck, blood splattered onto your face and clothes. More and more infected came at you, clearly outnumbered, but you weren't going down with out a fight.

Multiple gunshots whipped by you head, runners dropping like flies. Ellie had found you and immediately helped take care of the situation, 10- 15 minutes later, Ellie cleared out the rest of them. Bodies littered the ground, deep red blood dyed the snow around them and the clothes Ellie and you were wearing.

The stinging in your neck got worse, turning into a burn. You dropped to your knees, covering you neak that was leaking blood. When Ellie noticed the amount of blood on your arm and neck she rushed over, kneeling next to you. "Hey Y/N, its gonna be ok.. here let me see." she slowly moving your hand away. She nearly broke down, maybe even threw up right then and there. Your neck, covered in blood, was torn apart. A very large bite shown across your neck.

Ellie's eyes started to water, you grabbed onto her as it burned more and more "Ellie it hurts!" You yelled, sobing in pain and holding onto her for dear life

"I know baby.. I know, i-it's gonna be ok." Her voice cracking up as she hugged you, your blood spreading onto her clothing, she wanted to comfort you as much as she could.

"I don't want to go! I want to stay with you!" You cried out, sobing and shaking. She hated seeing you in pain, the thought of loosing you. She only tightened her grip when your body started jerking left and right, knowing you weren't going to be you. Knowing what she had to do to you soon, not wanting to let go.

You started to grab at her, but not like you would do when you wanted cuddles or kisses. Not like how you would when she had to leave early and you wanted her stay. You grabbed and clawed at her, now trying to bite her. Only then did she push you off, pulling her gun out and making sure it was loaded.

You got up and went at her again, but your body went limp this time as a loud gunshot went off. Your body landed in the snow, red slowly spreading to the snow surrounding you. It was Ellie's turn to drop to her kneels, sobbing, she just lost one of the people she cared for the most. SHE shot her own partner, yes you were infected. But it still hurt like hell. She stared at your lifeless body, hoping it would rise and hug her, comfort her again.

She covered you with snow, sitting next to the mound for a couple minutes as the storm calmed it's self. Shimmer slowly walking towards Ellie, she looks up and decides it's time to leave. She said her final goodbyes, final "I love you" she said as tears covered the dried ones. Mounting Shimmer she took off to Jackson

She dreaded having to tell everyone, retelling the scene to Dina and Jesse. Telling Joel and Tommy that you were gone. Telling your sibling and parents she couldn't protect their child, that Ellie now wears the blood of.

She had to tell everyone

you were gone and never

to return.

I hope you liked it, sorry if there are any mistakes in there or if it made you sad but it was kinda ment to- I may do more idk tho-

[hexalianrebel-blackfeathers]

Shadow Tag

Panda’s Notes: It’s Done!! This is a commission from the wonderful @flames-tstuff. She wanted a short story with Kuroiro as the focus. >w< It’s a little longer than planned, but I hope everyone likes it.

[Kofi] || [Ao3]

All it took was a dark maze. Three heroes facing off against one villain.

Or, well, trying to find him, at least.

All they were given at the start were phone-like devices. They acted as communicators, had small maps of the maze on their screens, and had buttons to control the dinky little flashlights built into them. Bare minimum, at best.

Tsukuyomi flinched as his communicator pinged with a reminder. 15 minutes left. They were in Sudden Death. If the villain caught them at any point between now and the end, they’d be considered dead. He growled and pressed a button.

“Mudman, give me a status update. Has anyone seen him?” He asked, glancing around and keeping his voice low.

The other hero’s voice could be heard scoffing. “Seen is kinda relative, but we’ve seen him plenty. The trouble is catching the bastard. These flashlights aren’t enough.”

“Fair enough. Did you see where he was headed last time you got tagged?”

That seemed like a pretty good springboard. The villain sneered, his knuckles cracking silently as he lunged out of the wall behind the Jet-Black Hero. His foot barely hit the ground before he was tackling the hero from behind, his hands immediately finding purchase on his sides and clawing.

“Gah! H-Hey! Ack—You cheater!” Tsukuyomi cried out, his voice quickly dissolving into laughter before his communicator cut out.

Even his Quirk couldn’t help him; this villain would just slip right through it.

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

“Shit.” Mudman hissed. “Alright, you little shit; where are you?”

“Are you talking about me?” The last hero asked faintly, a snicker in her voice.

“I should be! Where the hell are you?”

“Shush! I’m definitely not going to tell you if you’re going to shout like that.”

“Ugh, look, okay? Tsukuyomi is dead. We’re supposed to be working as a team here.”

“Aizawa told us that the only objective is subduing the villain. I told you I have a plan.”

“You didn’t tell us what the plan was!” Mudman glanced around before pressing his palm to the wall beside him and softening it until it collapsed enough for him to slip past.

“Well, you’re a strategist; I thought you’d understand.” There was a smile on her voice, and Mudman’s face fell as he stopped dead in his tracks.

“Wait… Wait, don’t you dare tell me.”

“…Okay, I won’t.”

“Your plan was to sacrifice us?!” Mudman barked over the communicator, and his remaining partner tried not to laugh.

“You told me not to say it!”

“I can’t believe you!”

“Oi, Juzo.” A new voice suddenly appeared over his shoulder, and Mudman spun around to find nothing. He started to back away from the wall, only for a hand to grab his arm from the wall behind him.

“You sneaky bastard.” He growled over his shoulder, smiling defeatedly.

“Sneaky?” The villain feigned offense, eyes practically shining against the dark. “Don’t flatter yourself. It’s not sneaking if you’re not paying attention. And you do talk too loud, by the way.”

Mudman’s armor made attacking him more difficult, but he still had a weak spot very exposed. When the villain’s hands lashed out to crawl around his neck, the hero shrieked like he was being torn apart.

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

The remaining hero chuckled to herself again as her communicator finally went silent. No choice now but to wait. She lost if she didn’t subdue him, but she knew he wouldn’t take a win by technicality.

At the very beginning, she’d studied the map of the maze. There was a large chamber in the middle. Right at the start of the clock, she’d removed her shoes and took off at a sprint. Their prey would start out avoiding them like a scared bunny, especially before the lights went out, so she knew he’d stay away from her. By the time he went on the offensive, she’d be still, making no noise that could give away her position.

She smiled as she stood up, holding her communicator up and flashing the light up to the ceiling. He’d be here soon, and she’d be ready; she placed the communicator in her pocket, angling it at the floor as she walked to make a circle of safe footing. She only paused when she heard the start of a slow clap, turning to face the source of the voice that followed.

“Here you are!” The villain laughed as he walked toward her in the darkness. “Quite a show you’ve put on; waiting until time was nearly up.”

“Like you’re any better, Mr. Tickle Monster.”

“What’s the fun if we don’t laugh a little, right?” The villain smirked even though she probably couldn’t see it. “Well, Yaoyorozu. We’ve got about five minutes. What’s it gonna be?”

Yaoyorozu grinned, her hand finding the object she’d placed. “I’d answer, but it’d be too predictable.” She taunted, throwing down a lever.

In an instant, there was a cone of bright, white light. Kuroiro yelped as he was blinded for a moment, and he was unable to slip away as the light removed the purple walls and floor from the cover of darkness. By the time he could get his eyes open, Yaoyorozu had already gotten ahold of his ribs.

“Wait, wait, wait! Cheater!!” The villain squealed, his arms flailing before his voice was gone in raucous cackles.

“Oh, it’s not cheating when you do it, huh?!” Yaoyorozu laughed, shoving her hands under his arms as she pushed him to the floor. “You know you’re gonna give in, Vanta~”

“I-I was just messing—Not there!” Kuroiro kicked when her fingers found his knees and crawled down his legs. She snatched at his ankles, lashing the training cuffs they’d been given around them before moving back to tickle his knees.

The lights went up seconds later, and Kuroiro was still laughing helplessly as Aizawa looked over the camera feed. He shook his head and chuckled. Well, at least it was a win for the heroes.

[study-coffee-chicago]

Seasons of Med: Season 1: Glad I Didn’t Make it that Far (A Halstead brothers + Halstead sister! imagine)

Trigger warning: Talk of eating disorders

As always, I do not own any quotes from Chicago Med 1x04 that show up here!

Your age: 14

Jay's age: 28

Will's age: 30

"We should go to a movie," your best friend Emma suggested when you were sitting on the playground of Central Chicago's elementary school one summer day.

You had been coming here since it was pretty close to your house to be able to read without worrying that your dad would show up drunk. He wasn't violent, he was just rude, asking why there was no food and when you explained it was because he wasn't going shopping, he'd scoff and tell you to get a job if you wanted to eat. It wasn't your fault; you'd tried to get a job, but no one would hire you because you were only fourteen. Most places required that you be at least sixteen and the occasional place would let you start at fifteen, but only with very limited hours. And, the places that let you start at fifteen were too far away for you to walk to. You'd have to take the El...and that would turn out badly if Will and Jay found out, even though your dad wouldn't care in the slightest.

"Em, I don't have any money. I'm literally rationing out my feminine products at this point."

"Hey, just tell me if you need any. Me or my mom can get you some. Oh, and some neighbors of mine run a little kettle corn company. They're looking for some extra help on the weekends and they'll pay you under the table. I can give you their number if you want."

"Really?" Emma smiled and nodded. "Yes, please! And, you're the best."

But, what you didn't tell her was that you hadn't eaten since yesterday since there was barely anything in your house and that your cramps were killing you and because of all this, you were feeling nauseous.

"Let's go to the movies. My treat."

"I can't let you pay for me."

"Yes, you can. Best friends help each other out. Now c'mon, let's go." You sighed and closed your eyes as you stood up. "You good?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just dizzy."

"You wanna go home?"

"No, no I'm fine. Just seasonal allergies from all the pollen," you lied.

"Okay, let's go."

You started to slow down as you got closer to the movie theater. "I'm so excited to see The Longest Ride!" Emma squealed. "Scott Eastwood is just mwah!"

"Yeah, but he's- he's a lot-- I gotta, I gotta sit down," you stuttered, starting to feel more lightheaded and seeing your vision become blurry at the edges.

"Okay, let's get to the front where you can sit on the curb."

You slowly started to make your way there, but it was too late. "Em- Emma," you slurred as you tried to reach for her as your legs gave out underneath you, and then everything went black.

"Y/N!" Emma yelled as she squatted down next to you and pulled out her phone.

Just then, everyone started running out of the theater shouting something about a shooting.

***

Will's pager went off as he was eating with Natalie and the rest of the team from a taco truck outside of Chicago Med. And, everyone else's pagers were going off, too, making it sound like alarm clocks that were all set for the same time. Then, Maggie ran outside.

"Shooting in a movie theater! Mass casualties! It's about to get crazy!" she yelled to the doctors and other nurses. "EMTs are four minutes out!"

Not even a second after she finished her sentence, an ambulance pulled up with lights flashing and sirens blaring.

"Check that!" Will yelled as he threw his food in the trash can. "They're here!"

Then, all of them sprinted into the hospital, their main focus now being saving as many lives as possible.

"Another maniac gone crazy in a theater," Will said as he put something over his scrubs to keep them from getting blood all over them. "Is this the world we live in?"

***

You slowly opened your eyes to be met with the white ceiling and an IV in your arm. You groaned. "Where am I?" you asked as you rolled over to see Emma sitting on a bench. "Are we in an ambulance?"

"You don't remember?" Emma asked.

"You passed out, sweetie," a female paramedic told you as she put a blood pressure cuff around your arm. "Luckily for you, we came pretty quick after hearing about the shooting."

"The shooting? There was a shooting?"

"In the movie theater," the paramedic answered you. "You were lucky you didn't go in."

"Guess so."

Your eyes widened as you realized they were probably taking you to Chicago Med. You couldn't let your brother know that the most likely reason for you passing out was that you hadn't eaten since yesterday. They'd freak out.

"Am I good to go when we get to the hospital? I feel fine." You were still nauseous, but that was better than being passed out.

"You passed out, we need to get you checked out at the hospital."

"But I feel fine," you protested.

"I understand that, sweetie. But you need to get checked out anyway to make sure that there wasn't something that made you pass out other than the heat."

"She's right, Y/N," Emma said. "You need to get checked out."

You huffed. "Fine." Maybe Will would be too busy to even notice you were there. And, you figured your dad wouldn't pick up his phone, so you could just sneak out undetected when the doctors and nurses weren't watching.

When you got in, you were met by Natalie. "Y/N?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"It's nothing. I just passed out. I'm fine, really."

"Shoot," Emma said. "My mom's here to pick me up. Said she doesn't want me here because of all the press since I'm not hurt. I'm sorry."

You waved your hand. "It's fine. Hopefully, I'll be getting out here soon, too. See you later."

"Bye, Y/N."

"If you passed out, you're not fine, Y/N," Natalie said.

As you were wheeled past a trauma room, you saw your brother. Luckily for you, he was too focused on his patient that he didn't notice.

"Want me to get Will?" Natalie asked when she saw you glance in there.

"No! I mean, he looks really busy and I'm not dying. They should be the first priority."

"Okay, well I'll have Maggie call your dad because after all the standard tests, if I need to do more, I'm going to need your dad's permission since you're still a minor."

"Okay."

"Hey, Maggie," Natalie called, "Do me a favor and call Y/N's dad for me. I just might need permission to run some additional tests."

"You got it."

You got on the bed in the treatment room and allowed Natalie to listen to your heart and lungs. "Were you part of the crush?" she asked. "Did you get the wind knocked out of you? Is that why you passed out?"

"No, I got dizzy before we could get inside. I felt nauseous, too, but I think that was just from period cramps."

"The paramedics said you were dehydrated and that they had to administer an IV. Have you been eating and drinking properly? I know it's hot and that can cause you to pass out. Other than that factor, have you been eating and drinking normally?"

"Yes," you lied.

"Okay, I'm just going to need to get your height and weight and other vitals before we continue."

You nodded and followed her to where she took your height and weight. She wrote it down and you started to walk out, but she stopped you. "Uh, Y/N, come with me."

You followed her to the doctor's lounge where she handed you her sweatshirt. "Why are you giving me this?"

"You bled through your shorts. There's free pads and tampons in the bathroom if you don't have any on you."

You nodded. "Thank you."

"Meet me back here once you're finished."

"Okay."

When you got into the bathroom, you took all the pads and tampons you could fit in your shorts pockets after you had finished changing your dirty one.

Now, it was time for your great escape. No one would see you; they were all too busy treating other patients and worrying about the press.

You were almost out into the waiting room, but then a voice stopped you.

"Y/N?"

Shit. Jay.

You stopped in your tracks but then continued walking.

"Y/N, I know you heard me. Come back."

You sighed and turned around, hoping you wouldn't have to spill all the secrets about what's been happening at home.

***

"Poor guy," Erin said as she and Jay exited Sharon Goodwin's office. "He thought what he was going was right."

"I probably would've done the same thing if I were in his shoes," Jay agreed. "I mean, if I thought I saw a guy with an AR-15 in a movie theater and then thought the shots from the movie were coming from the gun, I sure as hell would've acted. Not that my service weapon can shoot bullets off as much as my sniper, but I'd try. Try and save civilians."

"Jay." Erin placed a hand on his arm. "You're not in Afghanistan anymore."

"I know. There's just some sick and twisted people in this world. Why would someone go into a theater with a leaf blower anyway? With all the mass shootings that have happened, that's probably the stupidest idea I've heard."

"I agree with you. But he's just a kid. He didn't ask to get shot. But, if I were in that teacher's shoes, I'd probably do the same thing and draw my gun."

Jay furrowed his eyebrows as he saw someone walking towards the exit of the ED and towards the waiting room. She had shorts and a t-shirt on with a burgundy sweatshirt tied around her waist. Jay wouldn't have given it a second thought, but he knew you had the same gray beat-up Converse because he had gotten them for you for a birthday present two years ago and you always wore the same polka dot scrunchie when you needed your hair to be in a bun and needed it to be tight.

"Is that?..." Erin trailed off.

"I think so," Jay answered, quickening his pace to catch up with you before you got out of the ED and he lost sight of you due to the number of people in the waiting room. "Y/N!" he yelled.

The girl he thought was you froze for a split second and then continued walking, this time at a faster pace. That was all the confirmation he needed. "Y/N, I know you heard me. Come back."

You sighed and turned around.

"I was going to tell you," you mumbled once you were in front of him.

He scoffed and crossed his arms across his chest. "Yeah? And when were you planning on calling Dad? You know you're a minor so a parent needs to be notified."

"Y/N!" Natalie yelled. "I thought you left, I was so close to getting security to look for you. We couldn't get a hold of your dad and were going to call Jay since he's your secondary emergency contact, but he's here now, so if both of you could follow me then that'd be great."

"You got it from here, Erin?" Jay asked.

"Yeah, text me if you need me to pick you up and bring you back to the district."

"Will do. Don't let Voight bust my balls because I skipped out."

"I'll tell him Y/N had a medical emergency. He'll understand."

"Thanks."

You, Natalie, and Jay walked back into the treatment room where Natalie had been previously treating you.

"First of all, let me just say it was not a medical emergency," you told your brother.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you here?" he asked.

"I was feeling nauseous."

"And you came to the ED just because of some nausea?" He raised an eyebrow. He so knew you were lying.

Meanwhile, Will was walking out of a trauma room after Rhodes brought a victim up to surgery.

"Hey. You hear?" Reese asked as she walked up to the doctor. "The kid at the theater, the one who got shot, he didn't have a gun, he had a leaf blower."

"What?" Will asked, stunned. He had worked on that kid and knew that it wasn't good.

"Yeah, turns out it was some kind of prank." She was about to turn around to leave, but then stopped. "Oh, and your sister's here. Treatment one."

"What? Why?"

"I think she passed out or something. Dr. Manning's in there with her right now."

"Thanks, Reese."

Will barged into your treatment room. "So, she comes into the ED and nobody has the common decency to even notify me?" he asked rhetorically.

"You were busy treating other patients, Will. I was going to get around to it eventually," Natalie said.

"Natalie, please just finish explaining what happened. Or just start from the beginning because Will's here now," Jay suggested, not wanting to have to break up an argument between the two doctors.

Now it was Will who was the one who crossed his arms over his chest.

"So, Will, what happened was that Y/N passed out. She was almost inside the movie theater, but she passed out, so she didn't go in."

"The movie theater where the shooting happened?" Jay asked. You nodded. "Jesus, kid, if you would've gotten inside, you would've given both me and Will heart attacks."

"Sorry. But, I'm glad I didn't get that far."

"Yeah, us too," Will agreed. "So, why'd she pass out?"

"Can I talk to you two for a minute? Outside?"

They nodded. "Be right back," Jay told you.

"So, what's going on?" Jay asked once the three were safely outside of the room and out of earshot from you.

"Have you noticed anything strange with her eating habits lately? Any skipping meals? Going to the bathroom right after meals? Not wanting to eat?" Natalie asked the two brothers.

"No, nothing," Jay answered. "Granted, we don't eat with her a lot because she lives with our dad and we both live on our own."

"Okay, because since her physical check-up a month and a half ago, Y/N's lost fifteen pounds."

"Fifteen?" Will asked, flabbergasted.

"I thought she looked smaller, but I just thought I was hallucinating from lack of sleep because of all the crazy cases we've had," Jay said.

"No, she's lost fifteen pounds since her last check-up," Dr. Manning reiterated.

"So, what are you saying?" Will asked. "Our sister's anorexic? Bulimic?"

"I'm not saying any of those yet. But, I talked to Dr. Charles while Y/N was in the bathroom and she said to try and have her eat something, like the greasiest thing you can find in the cafeteria, and see what she does. We'll even leave the room after to chat and I'll have Maggie keep an eye on the bathrooms to see if she goes in there. If she refuses to eat or freaks out over it, then we might be dealing with anorexia. If she goes into the bathroom after, we might be dealing with bulimia. Or, it could be a combination of the two or just possibly her trying to lose weight. Has she ever mentioned wanting to lose weight to either of you?"

"No, not all," Jay answered. "Even when we went out after her last day of school, which I think was about two weeks after she had that physical, she ate a ton and she didn't go to the bathroom right after."

"But you did go home right after," Will pointed out.

"Yeah."

"But, with some bulimics, if they know that the food has already been digested, they won't try to purge. And, it sounds like the food had time to digest."

"Alright, I'll go grab her a bacon cheeseburger."

"And a side of mac n cheese," Jay suggested. "She loves that stuff." Will started to walk out, but Jay stopped him once more. "Can you pick me up a bacon cheeseburger, too? I'm hungry."

Will rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but just so you know, you're paying me back."

"I know," Jay said and then went back inside the treatment room.

"Where's Will?" you asked.

"He's getting you some food. How does a bacon cheeseburger and mac n cheese sound?"

God, your mouth watered just at the thought of the bacon cheeseburger alone. The juicy patty, melty cheese, and crispy bacon, yum. And, you hadn't had a burger in who knows how long.

"That sounds amazing honestly," you answered.

"Okay, good because that's what Will's getting you." He paused. "Is everything okay with Dad? Everything good at home?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," you lied.

"Did someone tell you that you were fat at all?"

Shit, he knew I'd lost weight. "No," you answered. "I guess I'm not just mindlessly snacking when I'm doing homework anymore. It's not like I'm trying to lose weight."

No way were you going to tell him that there was rarely any food in the house, not here anyway.

"Okay, good," Jay answered. Then, he looked out of the room to see Will talking with Natalie. But, they were close enough that you could hear them, so you turned your attention to the two as well.

"Hey, Nat," Will said, carrying a bag with three cheeseburgers and a side of mac n cheese.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I'm thinking, I only live a mile from you. So, when you go into labor, call me. I'll drive you here."

"Thanks, but...you know it could be three in the morning, right?"

"Sleep's overrated anyway."

Then, Will made his way back into your treatment room. "I wanna take you to the hospital," Jay mocked. "Very smooth, Will, very smooth."

"Will's got a crush, Will's got a crush," you said in a sing-song voice.

"Would you two knuckleheads keep it down? And no, I do not have a crush, I was just trying to be helpful."

Jay scoffed. "Yeah right. You totally have a crush on her, man. Now, give us the food and we won't say anything."

***

"Everything seem normal?" Natalie asked Will as Jay was still sitting with you after the three of you had finished your food.

"Yeah, she ate a little faster than normal, but we waited an hour and she didn't even get up to go to the bathroom, so I don't think that's the issue. She told Jay she wasn't trying to lose weight. She said she just wasn't mindlessly eating anymore when she was doing homework. But, I don't think that could make her lose fifteen pounds. Do you?"

"No. But unfortunately, given her height and age, she still has a normal BMI, so we can't do anything."

"Yeah, I get it. Me and Jay will keep an eye on her. It was around this time when our dad just kind of checked out on parenting us."

"What do you mean?"

"He wouldn't cook or really help us with anything. But, it was okay because our Mom was still around, so she'd cook and help us with things. He just thought we were old enough to deal with stuff on our own."

"Things that a teenager without another parent still needs help with."

"Exactly."

Jay poked his head out of the room. "Everything good? Y/N's asking when she can leave."

Will rolled his eyes. "Wonder where she gets that from."

"Shut up."

"I'll grab you the discharge papers," Natalie said and then walked to a nurse's station.

Just then, Will's pager went off. "I gotta go." He fished into the pocket of his scrubs. "You can take my car home and then just come pick me up from work and we can drive back to the district to get your truck. That way you don't have to bug Erin."

"Thanks, man. Go save some lives."

Natalie came back and handed him the discharge papers.

"Thanks, Nat. Me and Will will be sure to keep an eye on her, maybe have her over for dinner once or twice a week to monitor her eating habits."

"That's a good idea. Good luck with all this. Will told me that this was around the time that your dad clocked out on you, so maybe pay him a visit when Y/N's not there and check? I don't know if that's something you'd want to do or not."

Jay nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

"No problem."

Jay signed the discharge papers and then walked back into the room. "Good news."

"We can leave?" you asked excitedly as you sat up.

"We can leave," he confirmed.

***

You got out of the car and stood on the stoop of your house, Jay right next to you. "Jay," you started, "I have to tell you something."

"Okay, what is it? You can tell me anything."

You opened your mouth to tell him that there was barely any food in the house and that your dad refused to buy you feminine hygiene products because, by his logic, if he had another son, he wouldn't need to buy them, so you should buy them yourself.

But then, the door opened, revealing your dad.

"I was just going to say thanks for staying with me at the hospital. I would've left if you didn't stop me."

"You're welcome."

"Care to tell me where you've been?" your dad asked.

You knew he was just putting on a show because Jay was there.

"I was at the park and then me and Emma were going to see a movie and then--" your phone buzzed, alerting you that you had a text message.

"I've got it from here, Y/N. Dad, can I come inside?"

Pat Halstead nodded and you walked inside followed by your brother. "I'm gonna go upstairs and change," you said.

As you walked past the kitchen, you noticed a bunch of grocery bags, all of them full. He must've gone grocery shopping. At least you didn't have to worry about food for the next few days. But, you didn't know if he just did that because he finally listened to his voice mails and heard that you were in the hospital and were worried that they were going to find out that he was an unfit parent or because he finally came to his senses and realized that he was still responsible for you because you were a minor, which meant he needed to have food in the house.

As you walked upstairs, you checked your phone. It was Emma's neighbor asking if you could start helping her with kettle corn this Saturday. You responded with a yes because now, if your dad went back to not buying groceries, at least you'd be able to buy some for yourself.

A/N: Sorry this one was so short! It's kind of just to foreshadow the next installment of this. And, in the next installment, I will probably combine Seasons of PD: Season 4 and Seasons of Med: Season 2 because the storylines kind of go together. Anyway, thank you for reading! Please reblog/like and comment and tell me what you think! As always, if you want to be added to the taglist, just tell me and I’ll be happy to add you!

taglist: @theambracer88 @virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07 @thexplosivegirl @dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @onechicago18 @iamasimpingh0e 

[lunmelia]

Listen I know that Jack had to “grow up fast” because the world is a “dangerous place” or whatever but if he was born a baby?? I would’ve watched the hell out of that show. Just two dudes, their mum and an angel raising the devil’s baby. Because I say that they kicked Lucifer’s ass to the alternate world and everyone lives (except Kelly. Sorry.). Could you imagine? 

You have Mary; the woman who has experience in raising two babies, even if one was only for six months.

You have Dean; the man who basically raised Sam and has vague memories of helping out when his brother was a baby. Helped Lisa with her son and baby niece. Took care of a shapeshifter baby for a day. Also had a daughter for a couple of days but didn’t interact with her much. 

You have Sam; not much experience. Also took care of a shapeshifter baby for a day. Strong in research, might manage to find them at least a paragraph of how to raise a nephilim. Killed his niece. Not a great sign but he promises he won’t do that this time. 

You have Castiel; the angel expert. Is a literal angel. Has no experience with babies apart from that one night he babysat for his co-worker. Kind-of-sort-of-not-really a dad to a teenage girl. Only times he’s had to interact with a nephilim is when he’s been ordered to kill one, so, not a good sign but he promises he won’t do that this time. 

Together, they make do. But holy shit is raising Jack tough. 

He may not have a true form like Castiel but he does have wings and a true voice. Which he can’t control. So the tantrums. The tantrums. When he was born he made their ears bleed from the crying, and the lights exploded. Cas was miraculously able to calm him down before further damage was done, but the humans always make sure to have earplugs on them from then on. They also had to buy a large supply of lightbulbs to replace the ones in the bunker every time he cries. 

They had to baby proof the bunker. And I mean baby proof the hell out of the bunker. You think a normal house can be dangerous for a baby? The bunker is huge. And full of knives, guns, spellbooks, ancient artifacts, and just about a thousand other things that are not. good. to have around a baby. The baby proofing took a week. Two days of exploring the bunker and recording everything that needed to be baby-proofed, two shopping trips in a day to buy the things needed, and another three days of installing everything. Cas had to stay with Jack in his room while Mary, Sam and Dean did all the baby proofing. 

(also yes this is an AU in which Dean and Cas get their shit together, confess their feelings, build a house and raise Jack as his dads. the build a house part comes in when Jack is like 3)

The absolute freakout Dean had when Jack flew the first time. It happened when he was five months old, and Dean was changing his diaper. He turned around for a second to throw out the wipes. Heard the flap of wings, turned back around with a greeting for Cas on his lips, and Jack was gone. It went like this: Dean, staring at the empty table: ... Jack? Jack- *realisation* Cas! Cas, the baby’s gone! Cas! The baby can fly! Baby’s flying- Cas, appearing in front of him with a giggling Jack in his arms: yes, I am well aware Dean: oh my god- Jack: *disappears again* Dean: *yelps in alarm* Cas: *simply reaches up and just. plucks Jack out of thin air. one moment there’s empty air and the next Jack is just in Cas’ hands* Cas: this may become... difficult Dean, leaning over with his hands on his knees: I’m gonna have a heart attack

Turns out, baby Jack can heal! Which is what Mary discovered when once she had held Jack after coming back from a hunt with a few scrapes, they miraculously disappeared. 

You know when toddlers will get into the flour and leave a mess that you have to clean up for the next two hours? Yeah, well Jack got into a box of spellbooks and opened one which released monsters from fables. So that was a very panic-filled 6 hours that included Sam, Dean and Mary researching how to put them back / kill them while Cas held Jack close to make sure he didn’t fly away. Turns out, baby-proofing a bunker is pretty useless when said baby can fly through walls.

Apart from the many mishaps thathappened during raising Jack from infancy to toddlerhood, he’s just a weird kid. And kids are usually weird, but Jack is weird. 

Sam basically sprinted back to the car with a five-year-old Jack in his arms after Jack had held a woman’s hand in his at a playground and gently told her, “the events that lead to your father’s death were never your fault. He is in his Heaven now and although he is at peace, he begs that you make room in your heart for forgiveness of his wrong doings.” Yeah, they were very close to moving town when that happened. 

One day when he was 6, he walked outside into the back yard and just sat down in a random spot and stared at the ground. After a couple of minutes of glancing out the window to check on him, Dean walked up to him. Dean: whatchu up to, kid? Jack: there is a daisy that is going to grow and bloom here in 15 days. I’ve never seen a flower grow. I would like to watch it, if that’s okay? Dean: you want to sit here, in this exact spot, for 15 days so you can watch a flower grow? Jack, still not taking his eyes off the spot: yes Dean, who’s honestly used to this behaviour after witnessing it for the past two years: ... alright, sure. I’ll bring you dinner in a couple of hours, that sound good? Jack, finally looking up with a beaming smile: yes, thank you! (Cas and Dean did not let him sit in the same spot for 15 days. They did sit next to him for like two hours when the daisy did bloom, though. And despite the creak and buzzing ache in his knees and back, Dean can’t find it in himself to regret it.) 

he had a phase when he was 7 where he would say hi to everyone he came across. Everyone. Dean and Cas cannot make one shopping trip with him without everyone in that store knowing Jack’s name. He says bye when they leave too. 100% every time they get at least 5 people saying bye back. 

On the year he turned 8 they decided to enrol him in school. After weeks of telling him not be “weird” and teaching him to be as normal of a kid as he could be. When the 4 of them are confidant that he won’t go around using his powers, they enrol him. They did not anticipate the school calling him the first day, telling them that Jack had explained to the other kids that Santa isn’t real and they should “learn to not set themselves up for disappointment or believe what their parents say” which caused the entire class to burst out into tears. It was another “maybe we should move town” moment.

Another kid: my dad broke his leg. he has to walk with crutches now. sometimes he lets me use them! Jack: both my dads have died. one of them was torn to shreds by hellhounds who then dragged his soul down to hell where he was tortured for 40 years, but then father rescued him, that was how they met. but then father was blown to bits by my biological father. but then my grandfather resurrected him! they’re fine now.  Their teacher: uh, wow... Jack. sure sounds like you have some very vivid dreams Jack, remembering he’s not supposed to talk about this kind of stuff: ah, yes, of course... dreams. I woke up... crying. a lot. the dreams... scared me. 

I have... so many other little moments in my head, but this post is already so long so let me know if anyone wants more. 

[jean-does-not-have-a-horseface]

Hot Chocolate (Birthday/Christmas Special)

Summary: Levi is bound to spend this birthday on his own, seeing that you're halfway across the globe as an exchange uni student. What he doesn't know though is that you have planned a huge surprise for him. NSFW 18+

Notes: sorry for any mistake you guyss please enjoy this

Pairing: Levi/ Reader 

Tags: f l uff, nsfw

Warnings: nsfw, the sexies

Disclaimer: I do not own the gif, I simply found it on Pinterest.

White heavy cream fell fluidly out of the carton it was stored, squeezed by Levi's calloused hand and into the small metallic pot that he rested his other hand onto. The mixture, an aromatic, dark brown hot chocolate, lightened in color upon a few stirs of his tool. Slowly with his hand he disposed of the empty carton in the recycling bin, making sure to wipe any stray droplet of white on the counter.

He blinked as his mind went blank, forgetting the next step of the recipe but only momentarily. His thoughts once again traveled to what troubled him, but he continued with his stirring in fear of burning the beverage he was set on making. With his teeth sinking dangerously at the tip of his tongue what he needed clicked in his head. Corn flour. A quorter of a cup.

He didn't bother tasting the mixture as he lowered the fire of the stove to the minimum, he simply marched to the corner built in cupboard, hands searching furiously for the porcelain vase that held this oh so precious corn flour that would act as the stabilizing factor to his hot chocolate beverage.

Seconds later he brought the fire to an halt absurdly, never ceasing with his stirring careful as to not have the mixture stick to the pot. He didn't like his chocolate adorned with burnt flakes or the taste they brought to his mouth neither did he like cleaning the burnt pot before having to pop it in the washing machine. As his hands reached for the cups he had set beside the stove beforehand to his alchemy, he helped the thick mixture in with a spoon.

The cups were immediately transfered inside the over; an attempt to keep them from any predatory fly that could have entered the apartment before Levi had a chance to realise and in addition keeping them sheltered as they reached a drinkable temperature. Levi threw the pot into the sink next, sighing to himself as he grabbed his thick latex gloves and out them on his hands. With a twist of his hand at the handle the watered started running on his gloves hands pot making him grab his steel wool.

His hand came to his forehead, wiping some sweat as he sighed again, hanging his head low as he gritted his teeth in frustration. His eyes squinted in anger, his hands dug into the inox of his sink and his heart sink dangerously low as he felt the room run cold due to the sun quickly setting behind the horizon.

Why had he made that chocolate, it beat him. The two of you hadn't spoken in at least two days and he liked -or rather chose- to blame it on your busy studying schedule, rather than the fight the two of you had over that call two nights ago. He had been to angry to admit he was acting like a brat to you, he had been too proud to simply say that he wanted your attention, instead he had resolved his anger into grumpiness, causing your overworked mind to snap.

You were gone as an exchange student in Japan for too long and both your busy schedules and the enormous time difference had dug their ways into Levi's life very negatively. Before you he had never lonely when he was alone, but now, now that he had gotten a taste of what it was to be with you, now that you had been ripped away from him from so long, he definitely felt lonely. And angry. And it killed him that he was almost on time for your arranged video chat, when you didn't even show any sign of being in existence still.

It made his boil though, by now, it must have been the 26th in Japan and you had spent your day ignoring him, not even bothering to open his message. Had he been so cruel to you while admitting he wanted you here with him? Was it that you didn't have enough decency to let him you know you were alright? That was what he simply wanted to know, in the end.

Sighing again he ripped the gloves off his hands and grabbed his phone. His fingertip touching the button provided him immediate access to his homescreen and he quickly entered Instagram dragging the homepage down a couple of times to let it load any new activity. Internally he knew, he would have been glad if he was to see a story or a post by you, any sign that you were alright would do for him.

Of course, as if on cue to shake him of his miserable thoughts his phone rang, buzzing in his palm. His eyes fell on the small window the revealed the caller id to him. It was Erwin, naturally, as he always used to shower him with phone calls on his birthday even up until the moment he was at his front door. Levi didn't missed out on those signs of affection, it's was quite the opposite really. He cherished them deeply. Seeing how much of an impact he had on his friends' lives moved him whether he showed it or not.

And so, while holding back his saddened sigh he picked up the phone, greeting his friend through greeted teeth.

"Hey Levi, uhm, I kind of need you at the moment, am I interrupting anything?"

"No," Levi spoke, biting painfully on the inside of his cheek in an attempt to hold himself back from sprinting out on his frustration. Of course Erwin could try and hide behind his finger, Levi knew that much. The blond was aware he wasn't interrupting anything, but he was still kind enough to ask; he always was sappily kind when it came to such sensitive subjects.

"Great look, I'm on route twenty two, fifth exit, I'm out of gas can you please come to my rescue and bring me some?" Erwin paused for a moment and then proceeded to mumble through an overly amused breath "I'm sorry I'm doing this to you tonight."

"Did you take your father's run down car again?" Levi questioned.

"No... yes. I'm sorry Levi I felt like I wanted to drive his car tonight. I shouldn't have to drag you here too, I'm sorry."

"No it's fine," Levi bit back, hissing at Erwin's unhealthy habit of wanting to drive his father's antique due to its sentimental worth. But then again, he reminded himself he wasn't in a place to judge. "Give me 15 and I'll be there."

Fidgeting his fingers on the counter without throwing a second look he came in contact with his car keys. The familiar jiggling sound gritted through the air proudly as Levi pierced his finger inside the key loop, finally pressing the keys steady to his palm. With another grunt, he hang up the phone, bringing the device to the palm of his hand once again.

His mind begged him to open his texts with you again -his initial goal ever since the moment he opened his phone- just to stare at the screen or at his unopened text, his insides begged to boil with concern at the process but he figured had all night to do so, prolonging his misery could definitely wait now that Erwin was in need. And thus he simply marched to the hanger behind his front door, eager much to quickly get a hold of his warmest jacket before having to step out in the cold apartment corridor and consequentially outside in the cold December weather.

___

You forced Hange to suppress her giggles as you slipped the metallic key inside the lock to your shared apartment with Levi. With an exaggerated jump though Hange let out another scream fill the air, ignoring yet another playful rasped gaze you consequentially threw her. Laughter bubbled from the both of you as you kept on locking eyes, amused by the upcoming execution of your plan.

The plan was simple really. You had Erwin call Levi for any emergency he could come up with and only when he left the house you and Hange would sneak in, light up the aromatic candles you spent weeks picking. You would make some hot buttered rum and light the fireplace to warm up the house. Then, Hange would leave right when Erwin would call you to announce that Levi was on his way back and you'd wait for him with the biggest smile on your face.

"Okay now let's see how much time we have." You said and rubbed your hands together to warm them up. Leaning with one hand over the wall you moved the heel of your left foot on top of your right one, pressing down enough so you could wiggle your foot out of the shoe. Doing the same for your other foot, you removed your jacket and hung it behind the door.

"Erwin said it will take Levi about twenty minutes to get to him, they shall spend about ten to fifteen minutes fueling his car, but he promised he'd try his best to delay Levi if we need to. And then add another ten minutes for him to get back." Hange spoke, fixing her glasses onto her nose.

"You think I have enough time to take a bath?"

Making sure to slip her shoes off after you, Hange nodded in your direction and proceeded to set her heavy backpack on the couch. One by one she took the candles and a lighter out, eventually smirking to herself as she tried to come up with a plan on how to neatly set them around the living room.

"Hange!" Can you put those in the bedroom?" You spoke, ripping your shirt off of you before your finger came to graze the side of your mouth as your mind sunk in your thoughts.

"Ha!" Hange huffed "as if you're even going to make it to the bedroom!"

Your cheeks burned as she spoke, eyes widening slightly at how your mind told you she was completely right. Of course you and Levi wouldn't make it to the bedroom at least until later tonight. It had been months since you had last seen him and it was his birthday, you wouldn't even be able to rip yourself off of his arms. Thus you simply threw a mellow smile at Hange as you sprint to the kitchen checking to see if you had all the ingredients you'd need to make your choice of drink.

Coincidentally, you opened the oven and your eyes immediately fell on what was inside. Your expression softened as two grey toned cups shone in your orbs, the smell they emitted deliciously filling your nostrils. You smiled to your self as you thought about how your lover didn't miss out on making your traditional Christmas drink.

It was unbelievable how kind hearted Levi was, in contrary to what people thought of him, you thought. Most of the times -and simply because he didn't allow otherwise- the only thing people who weren't close to him saw was a cold demeanor, a sharp tongue and a foul mouth. It all would be too ironic if they knew how Levi was behind closed doors. Taking notice of small everyday details, sticking to his beloved routine, cherishing moments with his loved ones, remembering everything most people would ignore about others and showing his love in the sweetest yet most Levi way were only a few of his virtues.

Of course he wouldn't miss on making your favorite strawberry scented thick hot chocolate, even if you had spent the last few days not speaking to him, even if as of now he remained ignorant as to why. You assumed he believe it was about that ridiculous fight and you could admit you purposefully riled him just enough for him not to expect to see you. You were sure, seeing he had shown a previous liking in surprises like this, that his jaw would hit the floor when he'd see you.

Guilt rushed through you at the thought of you making him feel miserable even in the slightest, but Hange couldn't just have you standing there, sulking in your anxiety over how things had led up to this moment. If you wanted to make it in time for when Levi came home you'd have to rush. Hange insisted on shooing you out of the kitchen and into the bathroom, urging you to act fast, before Levi came. Sensing she was right, you settled for running to retrieve a new pair of underwear and a clean towel before jumping in the shower.

Stretching your arms to close the curtain behind you as you stepped on the white marble tiles you twisted the faucet handle to the right, letting a deep sigh escape from the depths of your chest as the hot water started running.

___

The sound of keys jiggling together filled what should have been an empty apartment, making Levi's arrival known only to you who stood inside the kitchen. He stepped inside a few seconds later, ripping his shoes off of his feet before slipping into his fuzzy slippers.

His hands immediately reached for the wipes and rubbing alcohol he kept on a stand right next to the door, silently grabbing a wipe and coating it in the strong smelling disinfectant before bringing it to his phone and keys. He spent a good minute cleaning the items meticulously only stopping when he felt satisfied to set them on the stand. He took a step to turn around with his goal to walk to the kitchen and heat up his got chocolate. Judging by the time he could still try to reach out to you before the day ended.

With a quick glance around the room, though he found himself freezing in his spot.

"Great, now I'm so shit mad I'm seeing fucking things." Levi announced -seemingly only to his own self- the moment he laid his gray orbs upon you.

"No Levi, you're not seeing things baby."

Standing up for your seat on the kitchen table you shot him an adorning look; your eyes squinted and your cheeks puffed up, coated in a sheer scarlett color. You silently watched as his eyes grew impossibly wide, flickering between you and each lit candle that showered the room in plenty of romantic golden light.

His legs were slightly trembling, his knees going weak at the sudden need to intake all of what was unraveling before him, but with his heart hammering in his whole body he only managed to part his lips before even beginning to thing if what to utter.

"Merry Christmas and happy birthday my Vee." You smiled again, mouthing the tooth rotting sweet nickname as you walked to him with open arms and a longing look on your face.

He wasted no time, even if his head was starting to buzz in confusion and uncertainty, he bucked in his stand before sprinting towards you. His hands quickly wrapped under your bum, lifting you up on him while prompting you to wrap your legs around his waist. With painfully squinted eyes his nose nuzzled up between your neck and your chest, inhaling your magnetising aura sharply as he span you around. You wrapped your arms around him tightly, embracing his head in a loving manner as you couldn't supress your bubbling giggles.

His strong grip on you wasn't ceasing, not even for a moment as he began mouthing his questions; he didn't even care that his voice was muffled by your own form.

"How- I mean when?" He spoke and only hugged you tigher onto him.

"Well, you thought I'd ever miss this day?" You placed a kiss on the top of his hairline. "I was supposed to be here days ago but my flight got delayed, so Erwin and and Hange came up with this surprise plan."

Levi's hands loosened their grip on you slowly was you tried to slide down his body carefully; this breathtaking moment could only ever last for so long, Levi figured as he set you down. Kissing you was the next task he assigned to himself, but it could only happen after he got a good look at your face.

God, he had missed you so much.

So many months had passed since the last time he had been graced with seeing you this close to him and in the moment what he was witnessing almost felt too unreal. Your tender eyes looked into his with adoration and warmth, your chest dwelled with tainted breaths as your hands slowly came to cup his sharp face.

"I'm sorry I wasn't responding at all, I really had to leave to go to the airport after that silly fight we had, I couldn't just tell you I was coming." You said and placed a kiss on the tip of his nose. "Although I was really temped to."

Levi wrapped his arms around you again and hugged you to his chest- this time he missed on levitating you if the ground, even more fiercely than he had done before. He simply huffed in amusement in the crook of your neck, mouthing a sole 'thank you' against you.

The next kiss you shared was maniac and passionate in nature. His lips didn't just graze over yours, the engulfed them. He sucked onto your tender flesh as if his life depended on it and you couldn't get enough. You found yourself grabbing his shirt, then running your hands through the short spiky hair of his undercut.

His slick hands cupped your own face as he pulled back only to catch his breath for a moment.

"I've missed you much I can't even be patient to talk with you."

"Me too" you announced, a hazed look masking your face.

You took a few leading steps to the couch, careful not to disturb the candles in the corners of the coffee table that before it, much afraid of setting everything on fire in your despairate state to have him. Your mouth launched feverishly onto his as you threw him onto the gray sofa.

Levi didn't fight it, not even for a moment. His tongue shoved inside your mouth, rolling around yours, slurping and cherishing each corner of your mouth as he took small intakes of breath through his nose from time to time. His tender hands loosened their grip on the sides of your face, the action eliciting a small whine from your occupied mouth but to was quickly gulped down by the movement of his lips that came to suck on your tongue.

You felt his fingertips travel down your clothed body, skillfully sinking underneath your shirt before restlessly traveling back up taking the cloth away with them. You only broke away from each other for a singular moment, breaths hitching and tinting the air around you, so much that you could almost ignore the way your heart sped it's throbbing in your ears. His hips bucked longingly int you from underneath, the friction already driving you crazy.

As his hands shoved longingly inside your pants you let another moan slip from the depths of your throat, though it was guickly muffled by your lover's mouth attaching on yours , making you melt into him. You felt his fingers graze ever so slightly over your still clothed crotch, painfully flicking their way through your flesh.

Roughly, he pulled back, detaching his want body away from yours while fixing his gray eyes into you. He didn't bother speaking as he tagged at the sides of his shirt, ripping the article of clothing away from him in such quick movements, as if it was the only thing getting in his way from getting close to you.

With hanger widening his eyes he stared at you again, prompting you to put your hands into him, to feel him all the while he run his hands into your form. He failed in exploring your body as he had wished though, with a shagged breath he only managed to bring you close, in a proximity that didn't even allow a kiss to be exchanged. You simply nuzzled into the crook of his bare neck, rubbing the tip of your nose in calm circles against him as you breathed hot huffs of air onto his skin.

His back was still so muscular and ripped despite his skin being so overly smooth under your tender touch, the more small trails you rubbed over him the more he sighed in greed and over exaggerated longing. Licking his lips with a constipated look on his face, he placed a tender kiss on your collarbone before traveling back up, just to teasingly rub his bottom lip over yours.

Breaking the kiss you grabbed his hand, bringing his palm close you your face. You teasingly picked his pointer finger, making sure to scratch the inside of his hand with your nails as you brought the digit to your mouth. His mouth, running ahead of his own desire to stay quiet, blurted lewd moans at your soft suckling and with all blood boiling in his body he was unable to even think about chocking down on his sounds.

He was on his back before he even knew it. It seemed like squirming was the way to go now, right underneath you as you placed kisses all over his chest and torso. With slow hands you reached for his pants, fidgeting with his zipper and buttons before wiggling your arms inside the dark denim.

Quickly, any remaining article of clothing was discharged thrown anywhere on the floor; you could worry about that later but right now you couldn't seem to be able to pay attention on anything else than each other. You had missed him, he had missed you, there was only so much that the two of you could process momentarily.

It was the high of the moment mixed with your scent that pulled him even even more as you craddled him to your chest while never ceasing the bobbing of your hips. The kisses that he sucked in you, sped up the beating of your heart against his as soft skin mingled with your own. Even that was painful to him, the extend to which he had missed you didn't leave any space for him to pull just an inch away from you, as if he wouldn't ever be able to get enough.

"My Levi, I've missed you so much." You spoke with hitched breaths, lips grazing his earlobe ever so slightly.

Levi allowed him self to eventually grunt in response letting harsh huffs of air through his nostrils while trying to guide your hips to an alt.

"Keep talking like that and I'm not going to last." He spoke, his fingering digging into your thighs to put an halt to your movements.

It didn't work -he should have known it wouldn't work- because you only slid down on him longingly and fast, sending his mind in the familiar pre orgasmic haze he so wished to momentarily be freed from.

"Who said," you paused only for another tainted moan to slip outside your lips "I want you to last?" You placed a kiss on the skin behind his ear, careful not to suck and create any loud noise that close to his eardrum.

Levi only threw his head back, his hips starting to work onto a hard, quick rhythm against you. He trembled under your words and every deep thrust, every feel of your insides on his throbbing length was only contributing to the build up in his abdomen.

He hair, sweaty as it was, stuck on his forehead as it dripped, but you paid no mind in his salty taste as you kissed your way all over his forehead and cheeks, nose and jawline, trailing your tongue on any sharp edge of him.

Your legs were shaking now and much to your best wishes you struggled with your thrusting onto him. You only managed to gyrate your hips, earning another moan of him as you ceased your movements, sweat dripping off of your own forehead as if mimicking his antics.

His hands nearly slipped from your thighs as wet as they were but he managed to get the message you were trying to convey; with jaded breaths he started thrusting maniacally from underneath you, damaging through you as pleasure dueled in both your bodies.

Yearning splashed all over his face and his grunts only got louder. Your foreheads collided as you cupped his face, noses nuzzling up, eyes staring deep into eachother.

Gentle. His ultimate indulge into you was gentle and earth shattering at the same time. His veins popped in white hot pleasure and his chest boiled with numerous erotic moans as his abdomen screamed throughout him, leaving him with barely enough time to mechanically reach just to pull out. His head hung low onto your collarbone while his head throbbed, unable to come down from his high just yet. He couldn't even move his eyes to see you, although he knew by listening to your panted breaths that you were in the same position as him.

Pushing him back to lay down on the couch, you kissed all over his face for the thousandth time tonight.

"I'd never ever miss this important day, you know." You smiled, pressing your lips to the tip of his nose.

"It's not that special, brat" he spoke shyly as he cooed into your face rubbing his upper lip to your cheek. You recognised the action; it was a habit of his to coo in such way, any overly soft thing grazing his top lip indulged him in endless calmness and you hummed to yourself in amusement to the feeling.

"I missed you."

"I know. You said that." He huffed, his lips puckering to hide the playful demeanor behind his next words. "But I don't think I heard it right, mind repeating it?" His fingers trapped your nose between them and swayed your head from side to side before moving to your naked back to press you closer to him him once again.

"You're such a tease. I love you Levi."

"I love you too," He blurred with eyes that burned into yours and proceeded to place a sweet kiss onto your sweat drenched hair "so much, you brat."

Taglist go off: @ackermans-freedom-inc @hawkssnugget @berrijam @levisbrat25 @nobody-knows-anymore @callmepromise

[starshine583]

New Girl on the Block (16)

(Hey, guys! Here’s the next update of “New Girl on the Block”! I hope you all enjoy it, and as always, feel free to check out the mini series connected to this called Journal Entries. <3)

Ch. 1 / Ch. 15 / Ch. 17 (Ao3)

Chapter 16: Hear Me Out

Adrien rocked back and forth on his heels, quietly scrolling through his phone as he waited in front of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. After two weeks of strict scheduling and a light grounding sentence due to missing classes, he’d finally gotten a reprieve, and he didn’t hesitate to use that rare free time to seek out Marinette. Her bakery was usually opened in the early hours, so he figured that he would get to waltz right in and talk with her. However, that didn’t seem to be the case, because when he arrived, he wasn’t met with the vanilla scents and warm smiles that he’d come to love. Instead, a small piece of paper stopped him at the front door. 

Temporarily closed. Will re-open at an undetermined time today.

It was a frustrating set-back, since he’d spent all this time trying to get there, but Adrien simply shrugged and leaned against one of the larger windows to wait. They were probably out running errands, which shouldn’t take long. Maybe half an hour to an hour tops? Either way, he wasn’t going to leave now. If he could sit in the same positions for hours on end for a photoshoot, he could stand on the street for a prolonged amount of time for a friend. Besides, the weather was surprisingly warm that morning, and he rather enjoyed the breath of fresh air that came with it.

..Of course, that mentality was much easier to keep up at the beginning. After waiting for a little over an hour, though, Adrien already felt his patience starting to slip. The subtle chill in the air that he hadn’t noticed before was seeping into his clothes, and his fingers were slowly growing numb as he distracted himself with apps on his phone. His thoughts were tipping on the irritated side, like how the Dupain-Chengs should have been home already. Errands don’t take this long. Where were they? Won’t they lose customers if they leave the bakery unattended like this?

Despite the growing annoyance, Adrien forced himself to stay put and relax. He’d come over unannounced, after all. He couldn’t blame them for making him wait if they didn’t know he was there. And, again, this was Marinette. She was his wonderful friend and completely worth waiting for. If it meant getting her to come back to school and hang out with him again, he could let himself freeze on the sidewalk. Even if it took hours or days or weeks for him to see her. Nothing on earth was going to-

Adrien’s stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn’t had breakfast yet, and on that note, neither had Gorilla. He’d been in such a hurry to leave that he hadn’t thought about food. (Well, that’s not entirely true. He’d sort of hoped that he could eat breakfast with Marinette once they talked things out.)

So much for that idea. He thought, leaning his head against the window. Maybe he should go ahead and get breakfast real quick. That way Gorilla could eat too, and it would get him out of the cold for a minute. What if the Dupain-Chengs came back while he was gone, though? He didn’t want to miss them..

Actually, why should he have to leave it all? He could just send Gorilla to get the food and bring it back here! Genius!

Adrien straightened with a smile and slipped his phone back into his pocket, but before he could take a step forward, something caught his eye.

A black car rolled up to the curb, parking right in front of the bakery. It almost looked like it was waiting for something, but no one got out of the car and no one came to get in, which was.. Strange. Why would a car park at the random spot in Paris? Were they lost? Or simply waiting for something? What would they be waiting for?

Just as Adrien was about to blow off the unusual sight, the front door of the bakery burst open, and someone came barreling outside shouting “Coming! I’m coming!”. 

Adrien jumped- understandably so. Wasn’t the bakery supposed to be empty? -and whirled around to see the very person he’d been waiting for sprinting towards the car. His arms moved before his mind could fully comprehend the situation, but as he grabbed her arm, more than a few questions were spinning in his head. For example, why was she at the bakery? Had she been there the whole time? Who was waiting for her inside the car?

“Marinette! I’ve been waiting for you.” He said, flashing a smile despite his confusion. They were talking now. That was all that mattered. 

Marinette stiffened, her gaze snapping to his. The look of pure terror that crossed her features didn’t sit well with Adrien, but he tried to push that discomfort aside. She was probably just surprised that someone had grabbed. They were friends, after all. She wouldn’t be horrified seeing her friend!

“Y-You.. How long have you been waiting here?” She stuttered out, panic clear in her tone.

“Ah..” Adrien let his hand drop from her arm and rubbed the back of his neck. Should he tell her that he's been waiting for almost two hours? That’s not weird, right?

“That’s not important.” He decided to reply. “Do you have a minute? I haven’t seen you in forever!”

Marinette threw a glance over her shoulder at the car. “Y-you know, I really don’t actually. I have to go meet someone, and-”

So she was meeting someone? That meant this car was sent to get her. Was she meeting one of the Rosemary students? It was probably that blond-haired guy again..

“It’ll only take two seconds!” He  promised, moving to block her door. He couldn’t let her run away again when he was so close.

“Adrien, please, I really need to go-”

“Come on! I just need-”

“They’re all waiting as we speak-”

“I just need to apologize!”

Marinette froze, her fighting spirit seeming to stall at the remark, and Adrien paused too. He wanted his words to sink in before he continued. Hopefully, that would get her to listen to him.

She met his eyes again, definitely hesitant but not indignant. He took that as a good sign, a step in the right direction. 

“You.. wanted to apologize?”

Adrien gave an eager nod. “Yes! I’ve been trying to for the past month, but our schedules never lined up, and any time I would finally get out, you weren’t at home, and.. Well.. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you to take the high ground like that or ignore the fact that Lila was hurting you. That’s not what friends do. I should have been there for you when you needed me. I’m so sorry that I was blind to everything.”

Marinette stared at him, dumbfounded, and he held his breath. She was going to forgive him, right? She’s not the type to leave someone hanging, though he probably couldn’t blame her if she did.. 

She cast her gaze to the ground. “I.. I appreciate the apology, but I really do need to get going. They’ll start to worry if I’m late.”

Adrien faltered. That.. wasn’t exactly the reaction he’d been hoping for. It wasn’t bad or anything, just.. When he pictured this moment, it always came with a hug or an “Of course I’ll forgive you!”, but Marinette, however, only seemed to be interested in meeting her friend. (Friends if you consider how often she said “they”.)

“Can we get together later then?” He asked, throwing those thoughts aside. Reality was never like fantasy anyway. “There’s still so much I want to talk with you about.”

Again, Marinette hesitated. “..Can I think about it?”

Adrien offered a smile, though he was admittedly disappointed. Had their friendship truly stooped so low that she had to think about spending time with him?

Nevertheless, he would take what he could get. Therefore, he gave a nod with the smile and said, “That’s all I ask.”

The tension in Marinette’s shoulders loosened, but only slightly, and she thanked him as she slipped into the black car that was still waiting. Adrien waved her off, and although he didn’t get to talk with her nearly as much as he’d wanted to, he still found himself more optimistic than anything. She said that she would think about getting together again, and if Marinette was the person he knew she was, he would be getting a text soon about a time and place. They would talk, and he would convince her to come back to Dupont, and everything would be fine.

All he had to do now was wait.

~~~~~~

Normally, folding slips of paper and stapling them together to create a heart would be a simple task for someone as crafty as Marinette. Today, though, her thoughts were elsewhere, and that seemed to seep into her productivity rate. She’d been working on the same stream of hearts for a good hour or so and still hadn’t finished it, despite only taking twenty minutes maximum for each stream when she made them last time. 

Her slow pace was aggravating to say the least, but not nearly as aggravating as the thoughts that kept invading her mind in the first place. All she could think about was Adrien Agreste and the way he showed up on her doorstep that morning, spewing apologies and begging for more time to hang out with her. After two weeks of silence from the blonde, she had hoped that he was giving up on talking with her. Apparently, that wasn’t the case.

Don’t get her wrong, she was happy that he apologized. Or, at least, she knew she was supposed to be happy. This was something that she’d been waiting for for the past five months, after all. It’s just that.. Why now? Why now did he decide to come apologize to her? Why not come before she left the school? Why not come before she officially moved on from her old life and started over? 

Then again, it never would be before, would it? People don’t appreciate you until you’re gone. That’s just how it was, and it’s what made her leaving Dupont hard in the first place. All of her childhood friends had been there, and she knew- or possibly hoped at the time -that some of them would try to stop her. Granted, only one has tried so far, but one was enough to send Marinette into a flurry of anxious thoughts.

In all honesty, she wanted to tell Adrien no, to say that she wouldn’t be joining him for another hangout. He was simply too much of a risk. What if he told the others about their meet-up? What if they followed him and found her again to do who knows what? What if Lila found her again to do who knows what? Then, there were her new, lovely friends right in front of her. What if they got caught up in drama that Adrien might bring along? She didn’t want them being a part of that. In fact, she didn’t want them talking to Adrien or her other old classmates at all. (Thank goodness no one had come with Allegra’s driver to pick her up earlier, else she would have had a lot of things to explain that she didn’t want to.) Transferring schools was meant to keep Marinette away from her past, not create a new environment to infect it with. 

As reluctant as she was to meet up with Adrien, though, she also felt guilty for thinking that way. He’d come and apologized to her for the things he’d done and appeared to be extremely sincere while doing so. It didn’t sit right with her to reject him without giving him a chance to make up for his mistakes. Maybe she should have a little lunch with him? 

Ugh, but the very idea made her sick to her stomach-

“-inette~? Marinette!”

Marinette jumped, her gaze snapping upwards to see Allegra, Claude, and Allan all looking at her. 

“O-Oh!” A blush swept across her cheeks, and she pushed her decorations into her lap. How long had they been calling her name? “I’m sorry, did you need something?”

“No, not really.” Allegra smiled. “You’ve just been really spaced out today. What’s on your mind?”

Marinette smiled back, though a twinge of panic laced through her mind. Was her discomfort that obvious? She was hoping no one would notice..

“I bet she’s just thinking about who she’ll take to the party.” Claude thankfully joked before she could respond. “Who’s it gonna be, Mari? Someone from our school? Or is it that Luka guy you mentioned last week?”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “Oh, I- no. I hadn’t thought about who to bring.. Were we supposed to bring dates?”

Gosh, she hoped not. Luka was a wonderful person- as were the other boys at Rosemary.. probably -but she honestly didn’t feel like trying to find a date for the Valentine’s party or anything else, especially when her old crush had just come out of the woodworks to find her. Marinette didn’t harbor anymore feelings for him by any means, but that didn’t stop his presence from sucker punching her in the stomach with the memories of her heart ache. She’d prefer not to go through that again, at least not anytime soon.

“Not if you don’t want to.” Allegra assured. “We normally all go as a group anyway.”

“But most people probably will.” Claude said, before putting a hand to his chest with a smirk. “I’d offer to take you, but Allegra and I are already going together.”

“As friends.” Allegra hastily added.

Marinette chuckled. “I’ll try not to be too disappointed.”

The group shared a laugh towards her sarcasm, and Claude dramatically ran a hand through his hair.

“I know, I know, it’s such a heartache not being able to go with me.” He sighed. “Don’t worry, though. I’m sure there are plenty of guys who will be falling all over you at the party. Right, Fe?”

Felix, who’d been quietly working on his assigned decorations, glanced up at the group with a raised eyebrow. Marinette held back a laugh- that was such a Felix reaction -but Claude raised his eyebrows at the blond, as if pressing him for a response. Was that supposed to be a serious question?

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“Don’t you think the boys will be falling all over her?”

Felix’s gaze shifted to Marinette, and she felt a bit of heat rush to her cheeks. He was actually thinking of an answer, wasn’t he?

“F-Felix, you don’t have to answer that-” She started to say, even though a part of her strangely wanted to know his answer.

Felix, however, spoke before she could finish.

“Yes, I’m sure they would,” He said, casually looking back down at his work, “especially if she wears that dress she mentioned the other day. Those boys will drop to their knees for anything remotely pretty.”

Marinette blinked, her heart effectively lodging itself in her throat. Did he just..?

“Did you just call her pretty?” Claude asked with a bewildered grin, taking the words right out of her mouth.

Felix’s gaze flicked towards the brunette, a look of mild irritation crossing his features from being bothered again. “Is she not?”

A blush exploded across Marinette’s features then, and she bit her lip to avoid squeaking. She never assumed that the group saw her as ugly, but to hear Felix outright call her pretty was.. Well, it was rather flattering if she were being honest, especially since Felix was quite a dashing person himself. And being the blunt, straight-forward type that he is, she knew he wasn’t lying or sugar-coating anything to spare her feelings.

“No, no, she is.” Allegra smiled, a strange glint coming to her eyes. “We just didn’t expect you to say it out loud.”

A slight scowl tugged at Felix’s lips. “You asked. I answered. Would you prefer I just ignore you?”

Claude snorted. “No, but since you think she’s so pretty, why don’t you take her to the Valentine’s party?”

Felix shot him a flat look. “We’re already going together as a group.”

“I know. I meant why don’t you take her as a date to the party?”

Had Marinette not been sitting down, she probably would have tripped over herself at the suggestion. Her and Felix? Going on a date? Surely not. Aside from not being interested in dating herself, Marinette was certain that Felix wasn’t interested in her. Not in the romantic sense, anyway. He needed a calm and collected partner, someone that would help his life be as quiet and peaceful as he liked, someone that wasn’t her.

Felix furrowed his eyebrows, further proving her point about not being interested. “Wha-”

“Not like a date date.” Claude said, rolling his eyes as though they were the ones jumping to crazy conclusions. “A date as friends, like Allegra and I are doing.”

Marinette frowned. A date as friends? “So, like, a fake date?”

Claude smiled at her. “Yeah! It’s a lot of fun.”

Marinette hummed as she stapled another heart together. A fake date with Felix didn’t sound nearly as strange, but how would that even go? Would they go through all of the motions of a real date or would they just arrive together and say they were each other’s plus one? Would he be bringing her flowers and picking her up for the party? Would he even do that on a real date? 

“But what’s the point?” Felix asked, thankfully dragging her back to the conversation. How he would date someone probably wasn’t something she should dwell on anyway.  

“Well,” Claude shrugged, “I guess there isn’t much of one, but you get to have a dance partner and do all that stuff without any pressure. It’s really like an honorary hangout?”

“I don’t see why that would be necessary. We can do that during a normal get together, and a fake date would only give people the wrong idea.”

“Alright, fine, it was just a suggestio-”

“Ow!” Marinette unintentionally hissed, yanking her hand away from her decoration and sticking her finger in her mouth. Dang paper cuts. You’d think she would learn how to avoid them by now.

The group straightened at her outburst.

“Are you okay?”

“What happened?”

“What’d you do?”

“Ah.” Marinette pulled her finger out of her mouth, watching the blood reform. How did she manage to cut it so deeply? “I’m fine. I just got a paper cut.”

“Oh,” Claude grimaced, “paper cuts. Those are the worst.”

“Do you need a band aid?” Felix inquired. “Or disinfectant?”

“That looks pretty bad.” Allan said, scrunching up his nose in a wince.

Marinette nodded. “Yeah.. disinfectant would probably be nice.”

Felix set his decorations aside and stood to go fetch her the supplies, and Allegra began pushing her decorations aside as well.

“Do you remember where the first aid kit is?” She asked, about to stand herself.

“Yes, I remember.” Felix answered, waving for her to stay seated. “Marinette, come with me.”

Marinette moved to follow him as she was told, and he led her to a bathroom that was across from the family room. There, he had her sit on the toilet while he opened the mirror cabinet hanging over the sink.

“How bad is it?” He asked, pulling the first aid kit out and setting it on the counter.

“I mean, I’ve done worse, but.. it’s definitely not pleasant.”

Felix sighed as he popped the kit open. “Yes, you always seem to be getting hurt somehow, don’t you? Let me see the cut.”

Marinette held out her hand, and Felix gently took it to examine her finger. Then, he shook his head and reached for the disinfectant. 

“How did you even manage this?” He asked, his voice a bit lighter than she expected. Was he laughing at her?

“If I knew, I wouldn’t have done it.” She replied.

Felix hummed and dabbed the disinfectant on her cut, briefly apologizing when she winced.

“You know, I don’t understand how you can create an entire line of clothes without a problem yet struggle with making a single stream of hearts.” He commented, letting a small smile ghost across his lips.

“Hey!” Marinette gasped. He was laughing at her! “I’ll have you know those hearts look great.” 

“You’re right.” He said, shooting her a smirk now. “Forgive me for assuming. You’ve probably pricked yourself with a needle a million times while perfecting your designs too. Who says pain can’t be a part of the process?”

Marinette pressed her lips into a thin line, if only to avoid smiling, and narrowed her eyes at him. Since when did he become so smug?

“Alright, smart guy, are you telling me you’ve never gotten a paper cut from all those books you read?”

“Maybe when I was five.”

A playful scoff escaped her lips, and Marinette rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m going to remember this the next time you get a paper cut.”

“If I get a paper cut.”

“When.”

Felix smiled, like he knew he was right, like she knew he was right, because even though he might have gotten a paper cut or two before when he wasn’t paying attention, they both knew he wouldn’t be getting one now, not when he wanted to prove a point. 

Still, Marinette allowed a smile to spread across her lips when Felix turned to grab the bandages. Although she disliked being proven wrong, she loved that he was teasing her about it. He’d shown himself to be witty and humorous before, but ever since the sleepover, he seemed to have started joking around with her more often. It was usually quiet, during times when the group was distracted and he could murmur in her direction or times when they were alone like right now, but she found it exciting nonetheless. Marinette had assumed that talking together like they had done that night at the sleepover would be a one time thing, since everyone opens up a little at night, so seeing him continue to speak with her in such a relaxed manner made her want to squeal with joy. 

Needless to say, she liked the new shift in their friendship. She liked it a lot.

“So, what’s been occupying your mind today? If you don’t mind me asking.” Felix said, bringing her from her thoughts.

“Hm?”

He let go of her hand to unwrap the bandage that he’d grabbed. “Allegra mentioned you weren’t all that present, and I noticed it as well. Have you started on another clothing design?”

“Oh..” Marinette glanced away to hide her disappointed. She’d almost forgotten about Adrien for a minute there. She wished she could forget about him again. “Not quite.”

Felix’s gaze flicked across her features, no doubt seeing everything she was trying to conceal. He was able to read her expressions like another one of his books from day one. Sometimes she felt like he knew her better than she knew herself, but that could also be due to the fact that she had a bad habit of wearing her heart on her sleeve. 

“Did something happen?” He asked, just like she knew he would. Felix never hesitated to lend a patient ear or a helping hand towards her troubles, which only made it harder for her to hold her tongue about talking with Adrien. 

“Sort of, but..” Marinette chewed on her bottom lip. “I’d kind of prefer not to talk about it.. If that’s okay?”

“Of course.” Felix’s reply was immediate and soft, and it filled her with a wonderful sense of relief. She should have known he wouldn’t get offended by her request for privacy. “Just know that I’m here if you ever want to talk. Allegra, Claude, and Allan will be happy to help as well.”

Marinette felt another smile tug at her lips. “Thank you.”

“Hey, are you guys done yet?” Claude called from the other room, cutting into their conversation. “These decorations aren’t going to make themselves!”

Felix’s eyes flicked upwards in a brief eyeroll, and he stood up to put the first aid kit away. “Yes, yes, we’re coming now.”

Marinette chuckled and stood up too. She hadn’t realized that he’d finished wrapping up her finger already. 

“Thanks for getting me a bandaid.” 

Felix closed the cabinet door with a nod. “I should probably get you a pair of rubber gloves too. We have a lot of heart streamers to make, and I don’t believe Allegra has enough bandaids for you.”

Marinette huffed and gave him a playful slap on the shoulder. “I take back that thanks. You get no appreciation from me.”

Felix chuckled. “How ungrateful. I’m only trying to be hospitable.”

“I’m sure.”

Her troubles with Adrien were far from resolved, but she found the decorations much easier to complete after that.

-

A sigh flitted from Marinette’s lips as she plopped onto her chaise later that evening. She’d spent the entire day stapling those hearts together, and now her hands ached because of it. The sting of her paper cut lingered on her finger as well, but she soothed the pain with the memory of getting to rub the fact that she only got one paper cut throughout the day in Felix’s face. He’d given her a look of feigned admiration, which probably should have irked her more than it did, and told her, “Congratulations on your achievement.” (That definitely irked her, though a smile betrayed her lips in the moment.)

“Are you okay, Marinette?” Tikki, her wonderful kwami, asked as she floated above her head.

Marinette smiled. “Fine, Tikki. Just tired.”

And she’ll have to do it all again tomorrow. Well, she won’t have to remake the decorations, but she’ll have to string them up at the Mandarin Oriental. They need to have everything ready by Thursday.

Tikki nodded understandingly. “You guys worked on those decorations for a long time, but they turned out beautifully.”

“Thanks. I can’t wait to see what they look like when we hang them up. What about you? Did you have fun at Allegra’s?”

Tikki flew a bit higher into the air out of habit, her grin brightening as she replied, “Absolutely! Her house reminds me of the castles I used to visit, so wide and open!”

Marinette chuckled. Since the mansion is a big place with a small number of people, Tikki can fly around the premises as much as she wants without worrying about getting caught. It gives her time to get out of the purse for once, and although Marinette was concerned about the idea at first, she was glad to see it working out. Tikki deserved a break from constantly being cooped up in small places. 

“Have you explored the entire mansion yet?”

“Almost! I have about two or three rooms I still need to look through, but I keep getting stuck in the music room. The instruments are so much fun to play!”

Marinette giggled. “Just make sure no one hears you.”

“Of course.” Tikki replied dutifully. Then her tone softened as she asked, “So.. what are you going to do about Adrien?”

Marinette groaned at the reminder and twisted on the chaise to bury her face in one of her throw pillows. Now that was the question of day, wasn’t it? What was she going to do about Adrien? She still hadn’t texted him, though she knew she was going to. It was in her nature. He’d apologized and begged for forgiveness, and the sweet side of her would never let that action go unrewarded. 

“What do you think I should do, Tikki?” She asked anyway, holding a vain hope that the kwami’s advice would dissuade her decision.

Tikki gave a thoughtful hum. “I don’t think I can answer that for you, Marinette. Everyone deserves a second chance, but you also deserve to be happy. If you think Adrien’s going to ruin that happiness, then you have every right to not meet up with him.”

A heavy sigh tumbled from Marinette’s lips. That was the very thing she struggled with. Everyone deserves a second chance, and she didn’t know what Adrien was going to do. She doubted he was planning on ruining her life, but no one ever does. (Er- most people never do.) So what course of action should she take? Should she tell him no because of the extremely likely chance that he’ll drag drama into her life once again? Or should she give him a well-deserved second chance for the sake of keeping at least one of her old friends and sedating her screaming conscience?

“Maybe..” Marinette paused to chew on her bottom lip. “Maybe I can invite him to lunch? Just one? To see how it goes?”

That would give her a middle ground for the time being, a way to test the waters and satisfy her urge to bring out the best in others. She could meet up with Adrien like he asked, then use the small amount of time to let him talk and let her assess the situation.

“That sounds like a great start.” Tikki said encouragingly.

A frown tugged at Marinette’s lips despite it, and she turned to look at her phone.

I’ve made the decision. Now all I have to do is text him..

A beat of silence passed in the room. Then, Marinette pushed herself off of the chaise and walked over to her mannequin, where her dress for the party was placed. She plucked a needle from her cushion and reached for a piece of string to tie through it.

“Marinette?” Tikki called, curious and concerned.

“I’m fine.” She assured, more to herself than Tikki. “I just want to finish the final touches on this dress.”

Marinette would text him. She would.

Just.. tomorrow.

Tag List:  @artbyknigit @athena452 @nickristus-dreamer @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @arsaem @abrx2002 @neakco @pawsitivelymiraculous @too0bsessedformyowngood @nathleigh @lusicing @officiallydarkgeek @all-mights-asscheeks @tbehartoo @woe-is-me0 @raeuberprinzessin @lazuli-11 @miss-chaos27 @trippingovermyfeet @sadpotatoondrugs @ladybug-182 @jaggedheart11 @marinahrasauce @i-need-blog-ideas @thewheezingbubbledragon @crazylittlemunchkin @unabashedbookworm @moonystars14 @sunflowers-and-mooncakes @2confused-2doanything @magnificentcrapposts @moonnette @nickristus-dreamer @vixen-uchiha @casual-darkness @luxmorningstarr @jjmjjktth @kaithehero @itsme1598 @theymakeupfairies @xjaccyx @miraculous-ninja @miraculouspenta @swiftie-miraculer13 @justafanwarrior @all-mights-asscheeks @ira-sairain @lookatthestars1 @dahjokester @blissful-passing @solangelo252 @canivialemonsquints07  @derbygracie  @pleaseignorejustheretoread

[nerdypanda3126]

Paper Anniversary

Happy anniversary to the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Sprint Fic Challenge!

The rules are three 15-minute sprints with 24 hours for light editing, including adding more writing to smooth transitions. On this one I took 4 sprints and kinda freehanded from there to get to the ending.

And the prompt I used was: Anniversary

Read on Ao3

Marinette woke up only slightly disappointed that Luka wasn’t there next to her. 

Well, maybe more than slightly. It was their first anniversary, after all, and part of her had hoped he’d pull some crazy stunt to get home in time but—

It was fine. Really. There’d be plenty of other anniversaries when he wasn’t out there making a name for himself. 

She sighed as she rolled over to grab his pillow, intending to snuggle it and hoping that his scent was still lingering on it, but something crinkled under her hand and she was instantly more awake. When she sat up and looked she was holding a slightly crumpled paper crane with what looked like Luka’s handwriting on the wings. But how…?

 Her head snapped up to swivel around the room. It was definitely still empty, and when she wandered through the apartment it was still empty, too. A smile started to creep across her face as she gently pried the crane open to reveal his note. 

Good morning, gorgeous. Happy anniversary. Did you know the first wedding anniversary is traditionally the paper anniversary? There’s plenty more surprises in store today, so get up and get ready and you’ll find the next one waiting for you in the closet. All my love, Luka

The closet? But there wasn’t anything there last night… 

In a daze, she walked back to their closet and opened it to find a delicately folded flower on top of a neatly folded pink dress. Scarcely believing it, she picked up the lotus flower and admired the skill it was made with before she unfolded it. 

Couldn’t wait, huh? The note read. She could almost hear his self-satisfied smirk within the words. I’m glad you’re excited but I know you’ll want to look your best today. Get ready and get dressed, love, your next clue is on the way. Love, Luka

Next clue? 

How on earth had he managed to set this up? He was halfway across the world by now touring with Jagged and he’d apologized to her—repeatedly—that he couldn’t make it back. She’d assured him it was fine and she understood, which she did. She really did. But then how were these notes appearing like this? Maybe—

Maybe she shouldn’t think about how a Couffaine was accomplishing something like this and do as his note read. 

So she did. And she had just slipped on the dress he’d apparently picked out for her and hadn’t even had time to admire the black flowers embroidered around the waist of the gauzy pink fabric before her doorbell rang.

When she opened the door she found a delivery person from her favorite café holding a to-go cup of coffee and a bag. Breakfast. Luka had gotten her breakfast. She could only gape at the poor man trying to transfer everything into her hands. 

“Oh, and this,” he said then, drawing an origami box out of his apron pocket that was unmistakably another of Luka’s notes. He smiled and waved before he turned and left her alone to open it. 

Somehow she managed to sit at their table before opening the paper box. Inside was a plastic-wrapped chocolate truffle, but no note. At least there wasn’t until she checked the inside of the lid she was still holding. 

I have to admit I cheated on this one a bit. But I wanted to make sure you had your favorite breakfast today, plus a little something sweet. When you’ve finished eating (and please eat, my beautiful melody) go to your parents’ house and tell them ‘hi’ from me. Love, Luka 

Her smile was going to be permanently stuck on her face after this, she could feel it. As she ate and sipped her coffee, barely registering what it tasted like although it was definitely all of her favorites, she felt almost like he was sitting across from her. He’d be sipping his own coffee and glancing up at her now and then, smiling like he always did when she was eating something she enjoyed. Apparently she had a happy dance, although she’d never noticed doing it. He always did, though. 

That was probably the point of this, she realized as she reached across to touch his empty spot. He couldn’t be here, but he wanted to make sure she knew he was thinking of her, wherever he was. 

When she’d finished and made her way to the bakery, her dad nearly broke the door bursting through it to greet her with a bear hug. Her mom came out a moment later smiling and holding a bouquet and a note folded into a heart. Marinette barely registered the sweet smelling flowers before she was tearing into the note. 

Remember our wedding day? You had plum blossoms in your bouquet for your mom and roses for your dad. And baby’s breath for the future, but we’ll get there eventually, love. There’s one more stop today and then I want you to enjoy the day however makes you happiest. You remember where I proposed? All my love, Luka

She looked up at her parents and they were both grinning. Although her dad was barely holding back happy tears. It reminded her so strongly of the day he walked her down the aisle that she stretched up to press a quick kiss to his cheek before she hugged them both and turned to run for the bridge, her heart pounding, scarcely daring to hope that maybe the last stop, the last surprise, would be her husband waiting for her to wrap her arms around him. 

But when she got there, out of breath from the run, the flowers on her arm shaken within an inch of their life, no one was there. The water lapped gently against the embankments and reflected off the underside of the bridge. It was so quiet, and that’s why Luka liked it there. It was his favorite place and when he’d proposed, he’d told her that he’d found a new favorite place by her side. That he wanted to be next to her for the rest of his life if she’d let him. 

He said where he’d proposed. There couldn’t possibly be anywhere else—

She gasped when she realized what he meant. Not his official proposal, but the first time he’d told her he’d be happy spending his life with her. A grin stretched across her face before she could stop it. With everything but a ring he’d offered everything he had and she’d kissed him until she couldn’t breathe anymore. 

She made her way—slower this time—towards the tree they’d sat under that day. As she did, it all came back to her. How calm and beautiful it had been that day, with a bright blue sky and big fluffy clouds floating by on the breeze. How they’d been lying side by side on their blanket with her head on his shoulder as they pointed out shapes to each other. And how, out of nowhere, he’d turned those eyes on her, as blue as the sky above, so serious, so soft, and told her he wanted this. Just this. With her. For the rest of his life. 

As she neared the tree, she didn’t know what to expect and she didn’t want to get her hopes up. But there was a blanket laid out under the tree and a picnic basket. And leaning against the tree was a familiar tall figure. A figure that shrugged off the tree and stood at attention as soon as she came into view. An unmistakable figure with a shock of blue hair stuck up in all the familiar ways. 

She was running again before she knew it. The flowers were dropped on the blanket as she flew into Luka’s waiting arms. He was laughing as he hugged her back just as tightly and pressed a kiss to her hair. 

“Surprise,” he said quietly, although his voice still rumbled through his chest. She pulled away to look at him, only to bury her face in his shoulder again. He smelled like the stale air of an airplane and hotel soap. But underneath that was his smell. Something she would never be able to describe but would be able to identify in a heartbeat. 

When she had finally convinced herself he was real, she pulled away again and swatted his shoulder. “You jerk! I thought you weren’t coming!” 

“I wasn’t,” he admitted, still laughing as he pretended to cringe away from her hands. “I had it all set up to take care of you while I was gone, and then Penny pulled some strings and, well, long story short, we have a few hours to kill before I have to get back on another plane.” 

He gestured to his set up, and for the first time she noticed a branch of plum blossoms laid on top of the picnic basket. Out of all his origami designs she’d seen that day, this was by far the most elaborate. She bent down to pick it up and examine it more closely, taking his hand as she did and imagining his long fingers making the delicate folds. 

"Show me," she said, pushing it into his hands. He seemed stunned for a moment and let out a disbelieving laugh. 

"We only have a few hours together on our anniversary and you want me to teach you origami?" 

"You're the one who got me all dressed up and brought me somewhere public," she teased him back, stretching to press a kiss to his cheek. She stayed there and tugged him down to whisper in his ear. "And I've been thinking about your hands all day." As she pulled away, she raised her eyebrows suggestively and took an expectant seat next to the picnic basket. 

"Please show me?" 

He relaxed as understanding dawned on him and he smiled as he took a seat close to her, already unfolding the paper so he could show her how it worked. And as she curled her hand around his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder, listening to his voice and watching his movements, she couldn't help but sigh in absolute contentment.

Just like he’d said that day. All she wanted was this, with him, for the rest of her life, too. And as she looked down at the rings glinting on both of their hands, she couldn’t be happier that this was the first of what she hoped were many anniversaries to come.

[thedragonnerd]

Ficlet: Forgiveness (Namaari)

(tw: lil bit of violence. Finally managed to finish this!)

The Council of Kumandra has finally arrived at an agreement on article 7, clause 15 of a mutually beneficial trade agreement, when Benja raises his hand, and calls for a break in proceedings.

‘Now is a time for feasting,’ he says, ushering the Council members away from the chamber, and Raya could almost weep in relief. Her boredom had been so intense during the last thirty minutes of the meeting, it took all she had not to fall asleep right in the middle of negotiations.

She pulls herself out of her chair slowly, aiming to be the last to leave the room as she allows the visiting dignitaries to file out ahead of her - sometimes, playing the role of a good host can be exhausting. Her stomach is beginning to rumble loudly, but she’s torn between going to hunt for a plate of food first, or going to search for Namaari, who had been helping to represent Fang’s interests at this meeting, and hence had to sit with their party rather than next to Raya, where they can usually whisper back and forth on all sorts of ridiculous topics.

Although she hides it well, Raya has noticed Namaari struggles sometimes with attending meetings in other lands, especially in Heart where there are curious looks, or sometime downright hostile glares towards her and the rest of the Fang delegation.

It’s with this thought in mind that Raya stumbles out of the room and towards the distant hum of people already congregating for dinner. She bypasses the array of mouth-watering dishes however, nodding at her Ba as he catches her eye. He’s deep in conversation with Chief Virana, so she decides to avoid disturbing them, and focuses on scanning the room with a singular purpose in mind. She cannot see Namaari anywhere, but before she can venture forth to search other parts of the palace, Sisu bumps her shoulder gently.

‘Raya, my girl!’ she says, body curling around Raya slightly, and nose poking against Raya’s cheek. ‘What’s making you so distracted? Was it that long boring meeting? Cos I have to say, I totally dozed off for most of it, so I sure hope Pranee spoke up for us…’

Raya tunes her out slightly as she resumes her searching of the crowd, hoping to see Namaari’s broad shoulders somewhere in the room, until a soft ‘thwack’ of a paw lands on her arm, Sisu’s claws tapping gently on her skin.

‘Raya?’

‘Sisu, have you seen Namaari anywhere?’ Raya asks. ‘I haven’t been able to find her.’

‘Oh, she went outside a few minutes ago,’ Sisu proclaims, flicking her tail in the general direction of the door that leads to the gardens. ‘She said she wanted some fresh air or something.’

‘Thanks, Sisu!’ Raya calls absently over her shoulder, already heading for the exit. The negotiations had gone on for so long that dusk is beginning to fall, and a light breeze sweeps through her hair as the summer heat fades away. Lanterns flicker on as she hurries down the pathway that she assumes Namaari’s taken. Usually if everything gets too much, and Namaari feels overwhelmed, she tends to hide with her serlot for a while. There’s no reason she shouldn’t be there, perfectly fine and safe, but for some reason there is an anxious knot in Raya’s chest…a feeling that she needs to find Namaari now, just to be sure.

As she rounds a corner, she hears raised voices in the distance, and squinting her eyes, she spies a group up ahead. There are five young men – warriors, dressed in the clothes of Heart, Talon and Tail – and they are talking loudly and angrily at a sixth person, their hands already grasping their swords. Raya knows it is Namaari before she even sees the figure dressed in white, boxed in by the men with a large rock wall at her back.

‘’Maari!’ she calls, hastening her steps, but the people before her are too engrossed in their showdown to hear. From the direction of her approach, the men’s backs are turned to her anyway, and whilst she can see Namaari’s face, the other woman has all her focus trained on the threat.

She doesn’t want to spark a fuse by racing in unannounced if Namaari has it under control, but as she hurries along the path towards them, she sees one of the men take a step forwards, waving his sword around dangerously as he continues to shout. Five against one is not exactly fair odds, but Raya knows Namaari can handle herself well in a fight – indeed, has been on the receiving end of some of those punches both in battle and on the training grounds. If something is about to go down, she’s confident that Namaari will be able to hold them off long enough for her to arrive and join the fight.

She’s almost upon the group when it happens. Namaari grasps her two swords, pulling them out with casual ease, and then…she throws them down by her feet, her chin raised proudly. Raya’s blood runs cold as she watches the ringleader lash out, kicking Namaari down to the ground.

‘’Maari, get up!’ she cries out, sprinting the last few steps.

Everything seems to occur simultaneously. Namaari’s eyes widen as she sees Raya for the first time, her hand reaching out as if to stop her from coming closer, whilst several of the group begin to turn around at the sound of Raya’s voice. But Raya only has her sight set on the leader, as his arm raises and she sees a flash of metal swinging down towards Namaari. She desperately launches her own sword towards him, hoping Namaari won’t be caught in the crossfire, and its extended blade wraps around his, pulling his arm back abruptly.

Raya slides across the ground, foot kicking out at the two nearest opponents, and she can see them tumble down out the corner of her eye as she spins around, flinging her into the fight. She’s a skilled combatant herself, with years of being out on the road and having to watch her own back, and she manages to draw blood in the first few seconds of facing down a now rather surprised looking ringleader. But as soon as one goes down, there are two more circling around her. The men are all trained warriors themselves, and she realizes with a jolt that she recognizes several of them, especially those from Heart, making her reluctant to take a kill strike.

One moment of distraction by someone managing to slice her left arm means she is vulnerable, and in the next moment she lands heavily on her back, the breath knocked out of her. The Talon man peers down at her with an ugly twist to his smile, and there is a flash of a weapon coming towards her face before twin blades thrust into view, blocking his attack.

Namaari grasps her wrist, pulling her up with one hand, and then they are fighting back-to-back, a team of flashing swords and bloodied knuckles. Their opponents have no chance, and the five men lie on the ground with various wounds before Raya can even take a deep breath.

‘What were you binturis thinking?’ Raya feels the rage burning inside her as she looks at their prone forms. The ringleader – a warrior from Heart, she is shocked to see – spits blood onto the dirt, and then snarls up at her with red-stained teeth.

‘She’s the one that destroyed the world,’ he croaks, gesturing towards Namaari. ‘And yet now you welcome her here to our lands with open arms? After everything she’s done? We demand blood for blood.’

Six years of surviving alone during the reign of the Druun has made Raya observant and fast with her reflexes; as he pulls out his crossbow and begins to raise it towards Namaari, she has already lifted her foot, stamping down hard enough to feel the satisfying *crack* of his fingers under her heel.

‘No, you almost destroyed the world right now,’ she hisses, a white-hot rage sweeping through her mind. ‘You almost destroyed Kumandra and the peace we’ve sought for so long, with your inability to let go of the past and refusal to remember she also helped save this land.’

Her hand clenches in a fist, and she moves to lunge down for another punch to his face. A muscled arm curls around her waist instead, hauling her upright.

‘It’s alright, Raya,’ Namaari says softly, pulling Raya’s back against herself. ‘He’s not worth it.’

Raya is about to say exactly how worth it she thinks it would be, when they are suddenly surrounded by Ba, Virana, Sisu and other concerned guests, who have followed the sounds of the commotion.

--

Later, they are sat on Raya’s bed in silence.

‘Let me at least deal with that,’ Namaari breaks the stand-off, nodding her chin towards Raya’s arm, where the thin scratch still bleeds sluggishly.

‘I’m still angry at you,’ Raya says grumpily, but shuffles sideways slightly so that Namaari can have easier access to the wound. Namaari says nothing in response, leaving instead to collect up some bandages and a damp cloth, and when she returns, she focuses on cleaning the cut with precise focus.

‘It won’t need stitches,’ she murmurs as she wraps the clean bandage around Raya’s arms, her fingers gentle but firm in their actions. ‘I’m sorry you got hurt for me.’

‘Namaari, do you know why I’m angry?’ Raya interrupts the moment, ducking her head so that their eyes meet for the first time since dealing with the aftermath of the attack. Namaari holds her gaze for a moment, before her eyes slide away to fix on a point somewhere over Raya’s shoulder.

‘That man from Talon…Raya, his wife died in a Druun attack. Not turned to stone, but was actually killed in the chaos. Same for one of your own citizens – he told me his brother had drowned trying to swim away from the Druun in the initial attack. How do you expect me to hear that, and not…’

‘Not what, Namaari? Not hand yourself over for execution, or whatever they wanted to do?’ Raya is unimpressed. ‘Not everything is your fault, you stubborn binturi. And I refuse to let you become some sort of martyr due to some misguided quest for forgiveness.’

Her voice is raised slightly by the end, but one look at Namaari’s troubled face has her sighing deeply. She reaches out instead to wrap her arms around Namaari’s shoulders, pulling her into an embrace despite the stiff muscles she feels under her hands.

‘I wish sometimes that you’d simply forgive yourself,’ she confesses softly, the words coming easily. ‘But until then, I guess I’ll just keep reminding you instead.’

She feels arms tentatively rise up and wrap around her waist, and in response, she tucks her face in against the crook of Namaari’s neck. They sit embracing in silence for a long time.