#or laying in bed at night trying to fall asleep (and failing horribly)

[scoutswritingcorner]

Too Late

PLATONIC Father!Alastor x Child!GN!Reader

TW:DEATH– Mentions of murder and Alastor’s killings.

A/N: Prompt goes to Anon and amazing drawing by @aboyscriminalrecord!

You were always a sick child especially when you were a baby, you cried constantly and Alastor always hated it. It got on his nerves but you were his child. Those nights he stayed up to make sure you had gone to bed easily, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead when you had finally tired yourself out and went to bed. That’s when he went out to deal with his “problems”. Pesky people who decided to dig a little too deep or ask one too many questions, he didn’t take too long. He never did, he was quick and efficient with his killings.

Then he would rush home to you, make sure you were okay and not coughing up a storm. Then as you grew up the sickness disappeared for a little while, allowing you to run around the front yard and play in the dirt whilst he was finishing up his own business. His Mama adored you, teaching you all the little things he had trouble expressing. A gentler hand to guide you around, but you adored your Papa. He promised to be better for you and never lay a hand on you much like his own did.

Then the sickness came back with a fiery passion. It had started with a call to his work from the school nurse, first his Mama just passed and now he’s got word of that disease coming back to plague his child? He was at a loss for words, he was scared. He had rushed you to the doctors that day with the promise of your favorite treat when you both got home.  He couldn’t lose you after losing his Mama- your grandmother.

The next few days you were on bed rest, too sick to properly get out of bed and play. He threw himself more into his “work” once you passed out from exhaustion, your favorite teddy bear tucked in your arms as your breathing became labored. He was running out of time. He became sloppier in each kill, where he would easily kill them in one swing it became two..then three. Every kill was for you, every swing of the axe he pleaded with god to give you more life to take away that cursed sickness that plagued your life. Everytime he would come home without fail to see you bundled up in your bed.

But on this night, it felt different. As he stepped into the silent house his stomach and heart dropped, something was wrong. He rushed to your bedroom, taking off the leather gloves that were soaked in dark red blood as his footsteps roared up the too silent hallway. Hands shakily opening your bedroom door to see you on the floor wheezing horribly with every breath you took. Teddy bear clutched to your chest, blood dripping from your lips as you cried out for him. For your papa. He fell to his knees and pulled you into his chest.

Soft whispers fell from his lips as he tried to calm your tears as another loud wheezing cough ripped through your small frame, his much larger hand holding your head to his chest as he tried to look around. There had to be something that could help, but your body felt too light. Much like a feather. Your tiny hand clutched his shirt as tears dripped down his face, he was trying to force a smile on his lips he couldn’t let you see how upset he was. But you only pushed the Teddy bear into his arms asking if he could watch over him while you took a nap.

How could he say no to you? He moved the bear into his arm as he sat back, pulling your smaller frame fully onto his lap as he sang your favorite song. The one he always sang to get you asleep when you were such a fussy baby. He watched your body tremble into his hold as your eyes slowly closed, breathing coming to a slow stop. Before the inevitable happened and you let out your last breath, your smaller hand falling from his shirt. He stayed there for an hour or more, he didn’t want to move.

Yet he knew he had to do so, he had to give you a proper burial. He looked at your teddy bear one last time and frowned. He didn’t realize how much it had resembled him. No wonder why you loved it so much.

A/N: I cried so much. Good luck Pookie <33 ALSO I WONT BE ABLE TO REPLY FOR A BIT SO ENJOY THE ANGST

[amoraffairs]

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬, 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

summary: comfort fluff with James. Late nights

You rub your hands together in attempt to get warm, as you sit on the cold bleachers. You’re watching Jame’s practice. It was one of your favorite the things to do.

James was finishing packing up his gear, when his teammate called him, pointing to the empty bleachers. “She’s back.”

James looks to the bleaches, to find you sitting there. You’ve come to watch his practices before. Always claiming you had nothing else to do. It never failed to make his heart swell.

His smile drops as he sees you shaking. It was freezing outside & all you had one was a long sleeve shirt.

He says goodbye to his teammates & makes his way to you.

Your eyes light up at the sight of James making his way toward you. Once he reaches you, he engulfs you in a big hug. One that you hope never ends.

James helps you get off the bleachers. His hand on your waist as you jump of. Which he gently scolds you for, claiming you could going to trip.

He takes your hand in his. His warm hand melting yours. James was warm blooded,& was always keeping you warm.

“Your hands are freezing sweetheart.” You simply shrug in response.

“Not that I don’t love that you’re here but why are you here.It’s cold outside. To cold to watch me practice.”

“My roommate called our room for a while. It’s her & her boyfriends anniversary. So I had some free time again.” James withholds an eye roll. He didn’t like your roommate. He never said as she was your close friend & all but you could tell.

“Why didn’t you go to my dorm. You didn’t loose your key sweetheart.” James gave you a key a couple of weeks ago. He didn’t think it was a big deal, but it was to you. This was a big step, it meant he trust you, that he wasn’t going to break up with anyone soon.

“Sirius & Remus could’ve been there. Didn’t want to show up annoyance & disturb them” James wraps his arm around your shoulders & pulls you closer to him.

“Moons & Pads love you.” James assures you. James knew you didn’t believe it, but it was true. You were the boy’s favorite out of all the girls he’s ever dated. They enjoyed your company, sometimes even more than James.

You let a sound like a groan in annoyance which means ‘I don’t believe you James’. James knew it well.

“It’s true. You always laugh at Sirius horrible, horrible jokes & you’re the only one who can hold a conversation with Remus when he rants about his books.”

“Okay, Okay. I get it. But still didn’t want to show up unannounced.” You tell him, who only smiles in response.

It was late by the time the two of you came to Jame’s dorm . As soon as you two entered James crashes on the couch of their mini lounge area. You were jealous of the boy’s room.

Before you can even process, James pulls you down to laugh almost on top of him.

“James” You scold him, trying to get up off of him.

“Stop moving.” James says, his voice laced with tiredness. You give up & lay next to James.James lays a kiss on your shoulder before relaxing once again.

You unsurprisingly were not tired. You could always stay up for hours, while James has a tendency to fall asleep early. Always claiming to stay up with you every time but always crashes not even an hour later.

You watch whatever movie , you assume Sirius left on the Tv. Content of the feeling of Jame’s chest rising up and down as he sleeps.Your hand running through his hair.

You lean forward trying to read the time on the clock.

“No, No. Stay.” James voice startles you. His hand wraps tightly around you waist, trying to pull you back to lay down.

“I thought you were asleep.”

“Stay the night. Don’t leave.” He says ignoring your question.

It’s happened before. You & James have stayed up before, both too sleepy to move but you always went home. Scared he was just being nice.

“Ok” You say letting up & giving him a sleepy smile. “Perfect” He says sitting up & lifting you up with him. He lifts you off the couch carrying to his bed.

“James let me go” You complain. He kisses cutting off your complaints.

“I win” He cheekily says, leaving your anger vanishing instantly.

[ronn-uuu]

Stay up for me?

I made a part 2 for y’all bitches!! 😁 I hope you y’all enjoy!! 🫶🏾

|Part 1|

Summary: It’s been 4 weeks since the music incident with Steven. You’ve been trying to talk to your neighbor(s) to befriend ‘him’ but he’s never there. One day you hear him through the walls one night and decide this is your chance.

Pairing: Marc x Reader (heavily), Steven x reader and Jake x reader.

You were laying on your bed with your phone in hand reading some random stuff (like you are now.) trying to cure some sort of boredom or need inside of your chest. Your mind wondered onto the neighbor, the one you met about a month ago, you kinda wanted to see him again. Your attempts to talk to him always failed. He was never home and when he was you were out. One time you passed him without realizing it, he was leaving and you were heading to your Flat. You walked right past him no words at all. You didn’t realize he might be your neighbor until you were trying to fall asleep.

You huffed in embarrassment, you really missed your chance and you don’t know when—

Muffled speaking cut your self loathing. You looked at the wall next your bed, waiting to see if you were just hearing things.

“We need to talk to Khonshu about these hell of hours, yeah?” Muffled through the thin wall. It took you 5 seconds to hop off your bed put some pants on, slip your fluffy boots on, and clean yourself up in the mirror. It was embarrassing how quickly you changed emotions, your looks and self esteem just for a guy who knocked on your door a month ago. Though you didn’t care, you wanted to finally speak to him. The very pretty Steven Grant was home and you just had to shoot your horrible shot.

You closed your front door and walked next door. Your heart was going so fast and I you were literally beaming, like a kid who just got praised for something. You knocked softly after fixing your hair one last time.

Marc was currently in control, he got them home and cleaned them up. The month after meeting you was full of them running around meeting up with Layla, protecting people, artifacts, and people. Their sleep schedule was totally fucked, once steven finally fell asleep and in the same minute Jake woke up and went out to go fight crime. They had an altar meeting after waking in a dark alley bloody, bruised and still in the suit.

Marc sighs as he feeds Gus 2.0 since Steven will never let Marc get away will killing the original Gus. Just when he was beginning to start his horrendous sulking he heard a knock.

“Who could be awake at this hour?” Steven questioned.

“Who knows,” Jake replied. Marc walked towards the door and opened it. None of them would have thought it would be the pretty neighbor from next door, Marc should have given the body to Steven but Marc didn’t give him an ounce of control. His eyes racked over your frame. You looked so snug in that fluffy faux fur jacket and those fluffy boots, he couldn’t help but think you looked cute.

“Hey Steven!” You exclaimed. You were excited to meet him again but hearing a name that wasn’t his but his altar’s made him jealous.

“Hey, it’s been awhile,” Marc says. You notice his accent was American, his features were more rougher, and he stood more confident than when you last saw him. Maybe it’s because last time you saw him, he was tired. But he changes accents when he’s tired…?? You shoved the thought of it down. Maybe he’ll tell you one day.

“Yes it has. I’ve been trying reach you for a while,” you admitted. Marc smiled, you we’re trying to reach them and it won't be the first and definitely not last time he cursed khonshu. He could have been spending his time with you but he knew deep down that lives would have lost so he kept the cures to a minimum.

“Really?” Marc smuggly asked. Steven was partying in their mind., their neighbor literally sought for them after the music incident. This was the close he got for someone showing interest in him. Jake praised him for it too.

“Yes, steven,” you said as you playfully roll your eyes. Marc would be lying if he didn’t say ant to tell you everything… First with his DiD. That he was Marc Spector and not Steven, but one thing held him back. Rejection. If you reject him even the slightest about his identity he’ll never feel alive again. His mind is already ‘broken’ enough.

"I should have asked this when I knocked on your door. What's your name, sweetheart?" Marc asked looking down at you. You smiled and told him your name before he parriot it back to you with such softness, like it was a delicate flower. Your eyes soften towards him, if he keeps saying your name like that you'll never let him go. Their mind was filled with steven and Jake repeating it.

“Hey I’m thinking of getting a late night snack… want to come?” You ask and ‘steven’ nods. You smiled widely that would have your cheek bones hurting for a bit.

[ador3him]

hello! can you do “i’d never turn down a kiss from you.” with dream??

pairing: Dream x gn!reader

warnings: alcohol usage/abuse (not that noticeable but can be interpreted that way) swearing

requested? yes by anon

word count: 630

a/n: WOOOO NO.4 OUT OF 10 its offical guys I am only doing 10 of these quick writes for the event. SO, REQUEST QUICK!!!!! (many bc i j found out i am moving this weekend so i dont exactly have time to be writing a billion) any request that are out of the 10 i will still do! just not is the 24hr time period (it will still be a part of the 150 event though!) I got this request at 6:31am AEST (16 hrs agoish)

Dreams’ eyes widen at the sight before him. A messy, drunken y/n. Their hair knotty- almost matted, their eyes droopy and their smile lopsided. The straps of their top falling down without notice as their arms wrap around Dreams’ neck bringing his for a hug, y/n basically hanging from his neck from the height difference.

“Hello D-Dream,” y/n slurs stumbling into the foyer of his house, they felt tiny inside the high roofed mansion he lived in. Dream looks stunned, y/n barely if ever drinks this much. Sure, they drink every week, but not so much that they are rocking up at their best friends’ house stumbling and slurring words. “y/n, why are you drunk and at my house,” he pinches the bridge of his nose sighing at the scene: y/n on the couch trying yanking off a pair of shoes failing miserably. y/n just shrugs unsure of why they are actually here. Dream had just gotten home after being at LA for TwitchCon for a good week and a half. After TwitchCon Dream and George went to a café with Addison Rae, the stunning Addison Rae, jealously immediately boiled within y/n and they haven’t stopped drinking in the 2 days since the photo has been posted.

“C’mere give me your foot,” Dream motions for y/ns’ foot. “Why of course my royal slave, get me out of my shackles,” y/n retorts in a fake as ever British accent which was utterly horrible but he just chuckles. He gently unties their shoelaces and shimmies the shoe off of each foot being careful and slow not wanting to yank their foot like they were to themselves before.

“Look you are drunk and incoherent, lets get you to bed and we can talk about this tomorrow. Hm?” Dream offers a hand and pulls up y/n, they latch onto his arm and trudge slowly to his room- well toward his room. They were extremely slow so Dream lifts y/n up and carries them to his bed effortlessly. He lays them down and hands them a pair of his sweatpants and his hoodie, walking out the room. “Where are you going?” y/n soft voice startles him, not expecting them to be so soft-spoken after before. “I am going to sleep on the couch,” he answers as if it’s the most obvious thing ever. “Nuh-uh,” they walk over to the door- tripping a bit- and pull on his arm. He follows them to the bed thinking he would sneak out when they fall asleep.

“Can I kiss you Dreamy?” y/n breaks the silence that fell between them for 2 minutes. A couple more seconds and Dream would’ve assumed that they were asleep. “I’d never turn down a kiss from you, y/n but you’re drunk, and I am not taking advantage of you like that, have a good sleep,” Dream moves out from under them and kisses their forehead goodnight.

He sleeps on the couch that night- well more like lays there until the sun is fully up a couple hours later as y/n came to his house pretty early in the morning. He walks to y/n his room with water and some Panadol, planning on placing it on the bed side table and leave but y/n is wide awake groaning softly. “Rough night?” Dream jokes handing them the hangover supplies. “Fuck up,” they mumble taking the water and Panadol. He lifts his arms in surrender and goes to leave the room- maybe to make breakfast for them both and his 2 other roommates. “I remember what I asked you last night, I am sorry,” y/n blurts out. “I stand by what I said I’d never turn down a kiss from you.” He says and walks out of his room.

Just fucking walks away leaving y/n stunned.

[emilyssky]

Chapter 9: Burning Bridges

PAIRING: Lee Know! X fem!reader

GENRE(S): college au, smut, angst

WARNINGS: Mentions of violence and abuse, depression, self-harm, eating disorders etc.. mentions of blood, swearing, smoking, smut [ dirty talk, oral; giving and receiving, choking, spanking, praising, degradation, pet names, sometimes Minho is a dick :)

SUMMARY: "Do you remember what you told me the first time we met?"

  "What?"

"You said; Always leave people a little better than you found them" he looked at the floor with a small smile for a few seconds and then his eyes found mine.

 "You really annoyed me when we first met. I envied your optimism and excitement for life. But each time I saw you, I felt a certain thrill. You made me angry, you made me laugh., you made me feel everything. Something about you made me feel a little more alive each time. I know I fucked up and I know I'm an asshole but I'm also brutally in love with you."  

"Get up!" Emma tries to pull the blanket away from my body but I grip it tighter.

"No."

She narrows her eyes, her lips turning into a thin line. She looks adorable. "Get up or I'm calling Chan."

Now it's my turn to narrow my eyes at her. "Low of you to threaten me like that."

"Low of you to stay locked in your room moping over his black cat wannabe best friend rejecting you." She fires back with a smirk on her lips, knowing that her words will get a rise out of me.

I throw the blanket away. "First of all, he didn't reject me, I just realized that nothing is going to happen because I keep going after emotionally unavailable and mentally damaged men." I cross my arms. "And second, don't bring Chan into this, he's not my dad. Now please, let me mourn my failed situationship in peace."

"No." She scoffs. "I will not let you be sad about a guy, let alone a guy that you had nothing with. Get yourself together."

I sigh, pressing my fingers to my temples. For the past 4 days, I haven't left my apartment at all. I get up with a horrible headache, I clean my room, I study, I drink my coffee, I watch Netflix, I take a shower and then I lay in my bed and read until I fall asleep, which rarely happens. So every night I stay up until 5 am, thinking and analyzing everything that's happening in my life right now. Things I could have done differently or how easier my life would be if I just give up on everything and move across the world, maybe to Paris or London. I could open a small cafe, pet friendly, and live the rest of my life peacefully.

"Look babe," She takes my hand in hers and gives me a soft, comforting look. "He feels something for you, he is interested in you but I really don't think that this is something that you wanna get involved in right now." I can tell that she's trying to be really careful with her words.

I frown. "What do you mean? Do you know something I don't?"

"No, no" She shakes her head. "It's just that-" she sighs. "Look I like Minho, I have nothing against him but there are a lot of red flags, and considering your last relationship I just don't wanna see you get involved in something that I can tell it's not gonna end well and it's gonna hurt you."

My heart tightens and for a moment, just for a second, I wanna tell her everything. I wanna let her know all of the secrets I've been keeping about myself and show her the real me. But that moment is gone as fast as it came, just like every time. I completely understand where she's coming from and she's right. I need to heal and I need people in my life that know what they want and don't play games with me.

I nod my head, lifting the sleeves of my hoodie to rub my face. "I know, you're right."

She scoots next to me, wrapping her arms around my body. "Just let it be and whatever happens, happens, but you and your emotions come first alright?" She nuzzles her small face in the crook of my neck.

I nod again, silently grateful for her. I honestly don't know what I would I've done without her by my side, every fucking day.  "I love you." I whisper to her and mean it.

                                                  *:･ﾟ✧ ⋆ ࣪.* ࣪

"You know, I really like Seungmin and I'm happy that you finally have a boyfriend but I've missed spreading time with you." I flip that pancake once more before stacking it on top of the rest. Emma cancelled her breakfast date with Seungmin to stay and spend the day with me, so I decided to make her breakfast. She loves pancakes. I used to love them too.

"They smell so good, oh my god." She groans above my shoulder, her face twitching with pleasure just from the scent that has now filled our small apartment.

"They're ready." I giggle, taking the plate in my hands. We make our short way to the living room and settle on the couch. While I was making the pancakes Emma made 2 coffees for both of us and cut up some fruit to go with the pancakes. She takes a seat beside me on the couch and immediately begins to assemble her plate. She spreads some Nutella before putting a few strawberries on top. I try not to look too much but I can feel my stomach growling at the sight. It has been ages since I've eaten pancakes and as I look at Emma, absolutely devouring her plate without any guilt whatsoever, the familiar feeling of jealousy starts to spread. Emma's a musical theater dancer and a really talented one. In the past year, she has also taken an interest in filmmaking but she is still a dancer nevertheless. She's a bit shorter than me, only about a few inches, and blessed with a naturally perfect body. She has never been told or needs really to go on any sort of diet, nor has she ever restricted her food choices. She, of course, tries to eat healthy just like all of us but in reality, she can eat anything she wants and not gain a single pound.

I drop my eyes. "I wish I could eat like you."

"You can." She sends me a glare.

Emma has been so supportive of me with my eating disorder and my mental health in general, but while living with another person can be helpful, it can also be really triggering at times. Seeing her have such a healthy relationship with food makes me envious but also motivates me to get through this and reach that point myself. It's just hard.

"Easier said than done."

"You're not going to be able to keep up with this much longer." She says with her mouth full.   "This isn't a joke, it's what we've been working on for so long. You need to take care of your body."

"Yeah I know, I'm trying." Is all I can say once again. She holds her gaze on me a little longer, letting me know that she's tired of hearing me say that. "Let's change the subject." I clear my throat.

She swallows her last bite and puts her plate on the coffee table before she crosses her arms across her chest with a knowing smile. "Fine, let's talk about Minho."

I roll my eyes. "Pass."

"You like him?"

"Not answering that." I take a sip of my coffee, to avoid eye contact.

"You like him." She repeats, this time as a statement.

"I don't." I feel myself getting defensive for some reason. "He just seemed...interesting."

Her smile grows. "You know that, that's the same thing right?"

My phone starts ringing from the kitchen counter and I let a breath out, thankful for whoever is calling. Hyunjin's name flashes across the screen.

"Hey. " I answer, returning to the couch.

"Hello, sunshine." He greets back.

Emma touches my arm. "Who is it?"

'Hyunjin' I mouth.

"How are you?" I ask him.

"Better? I guess..." He hesitantly says. "But I'm getting there. Thanks for coming yesterday, it meant a lot."

"It was nothing, you're one of my best friends." Hyunjin was really there for me last year so the least I can do is try to be there for him just as much. "And when you feel better, we can go and beat her ass and his together. " I joke, but low-key I would have no problem doing it.  Especially after finding out that it was one of Jackson's friends.

"We can do that after New Year's." He reminds me.

"Ah, yes." I bring my hand to my forehead. "I forgot about that."

"What?" Emma pulls my sleeve, trying to listen to our conversation. I hold my hand up in front of her, quietly telling her to wait at which she pouts.

"I'm gonna have to talk to him." He sighs.

"What?" My tone rises. "You?"

"Who else is gonna do it Y/n? Chan will beat the shit out of him, Felix won't even talk about it, and there's no way I'm asking Em." He sounds frustrated.

"We could just not go to that club you know," I state the obvious. "There are plenty of other clubs that we could go to."

"Yeah, but there are going to be live performances there Y/n." He whines.

Personally, I don't give a shit about the performances but everyone else wants to go and all the other clubs are going to be packed for sure, so it's gonna be hard for all 9 of us to get in.

"I could  talk to him." I offer. I would actually rather not see his face ever again but I know that the only way that we could get in is if I'm the one to talk to him.

"Absolutely no." He cuts me off sharply.

"Hyunjin-"

"No," He raises his tone. "There's no way I would let you voluntarily speak to that piece of shit after everything that happened plus you know that if Chan finds out he gonna kill you and then he's gonna kill me."

It pisses me off that everyone thinks that they have to protect my feelings so badly, I appreciate it but I've been through more than they know with him. "Do you want to get in the club or not?"

He stays silent for a few seconds. "I'll figure it out. Don't do anything stupid. I'll see you at the party." He says and hangs up.

"What party?" I question out loud.

"The farewell party Y/n, focus." She laughs, already making her 3rd pancake.

"It's happening at their frat this year?" The farewell party happens every 23rd of December for the students that are leaving for the holidays and it's also a way great way to celebrate the end of the semester. Both of the times I've experienced it are incredibly memorable.

"Yep. All of the guys are super excited."

I had totally forgotten about it. "Is Seungmin coming?" I hesitantly ask but she sees right through me.

"Yes, and the rest of the boys too."

Great.

.

.

.

.

.

I groan, turning to my right side for what feels like the 100th time. It's all I've been doing for the past hour, twisting and turning around my bed, unable to sleep. My conversation with Hyunjin keeps playing over and over in my mind, and can not seem to shake the feeling that something is gonna go wrong. I understand why Hyunjin doesn't think that I should be the one to talk to Jackson and I appreciate that he tries to protect me but I know Jackson. He's sneaky and revengeful and I'm not comfortable with any of my friends talking to him, especially asking for favors. Who knows what he'll say or ask in return? I know that I have to be the one to talk to him and If anyone can get him to let us in the club, it's gonna be me. It has to.

I push the covers away, leaving the comfort of my bed. I pull a pair of sweats over my bare legs and a black hoodie before stopping at my full-length mirror across my bed to quickly check myself a bit. I rub my hands over my eyes, trying to get them to look a bit more awake and less tired and I run a hand throw my tangled hair attempting to somewhat fix it but it's useless. I open my bedroom door as quietly as I can and tiptoe across the hall. There's no light coming  from Emma's door so she's probably sleeping. I put my shoes on, grab my jacket and walk out of the door trying not to make any noise.

The walk to his apartment is painfully familiar and a mix of feelings rushes through me as I make my way down the streets that a year we would walk together or I would run to get to his place as fast as I could, full of excitement to see him. I was a whole different person back then and the more I think about it the more I'm convinced that If I could speak to my past self I would definitely slap me. I'm ashamed and embarrassed by how I let myself be treated and stayed with him regardless, but the pain that he caused me changed me and looking back, I never wanna be that person again. I wanna bury the past and never have to think of it ever again, yet the memories haunt me still and the idea of what happened coming out scares me. That's why I'm now standing outside his door at 11: 46 p.m. I don't wanna be scared anymore, I want to let go of that part of myself. Minho was right, I was being weak and hiding not only from everyone else but from myself as well. I wanted to pretend that it never happened, hoping that by ignoring it, everything will go away. But everything stayed with me and ate me alive for a whole year. I need this to stop. I knock at his door twice and take a step back. The nail of my index finger scratches repeatedly the side of my thumb and my leg bunches up and down as I try to control my nerves. I haven't faced him in so long, not like this at least. I have occasionally seen him around campus, or at parties where he would approach me, but it would never be for long, someone would appear or I would leave. Now I'm the one that's coming to him.  I hear noises behind the door and I take a deep breath, preparing myself.

He freezes, and his eyes widen slightly, only for a few seconds. He leans against the doorway and crosses his arms. I tighten the muscles in my jaw, not wanting my face or eyes to give out any emotion.

"I have to admit; I missed the sight of you standing in my doorway." He speaks softly. He looks like he was about to go to bed, with loose gray sweatpants hanging low on his hips and nothing to cover his well-toned upper body.

I keep my eyes on his face. "I wanna talk."

He lifts an eyebrow. "Now you wanna talk? I've been up your ass for a year." I cross my own arms as he lets his eyes travel down my body. "What do you want Y/n?"

"Can I come in?" I ask, ignoring his question.

His eyes spark and he pushes his bottom lip outwards, shrugging. He steps to the side, allowing me access to his living room that I know too well. I take a few steps into the room and study the place with my eyes. Everything looks the same, exactly as I left them. I remember the last night I was here, it was about a week before I went over to the frat house where most of his friends were staying, and ironically enough it was also where we first met back in my first year of college. We started casually hooking up until it became an everyday thing. Until he started staying the night, until we started talking after sex, until the pet names started and the dates off campus. Everyone knew we were hooking up but none knew what our actual relationship was. I never truly understood his need to keep us a secret but every fight about it would never end up changing the situation whatsoever. I don't know when the sweet moments turned into yelling, fighting, and crying. It was small things at first that my mind would not think much about, the small pushes, the slamming into walls, and breaking things near me out of anger. He was a lot, an extremely emotional person that never learned to deal with his emotions. A lot of times it felt like he just needed a person by his side to unleash all of the things that he grew up burying and most of the time I was that person. Half of our fight started from him, and my constant desire to understand him and be closer to him. But then again one thing I do best is romanticizing things. People, feelings, situations in general, everything. The moment that the realization of our situation finally sunk in was after a little more than half a year into the relationship after yet another party. I could feel his fingers on my neck for days after, his alcohol-filled breath fanning my face, and the sharp pain of the brick wall at the back of my head from the force that he pushed me to it, and everything went downhill from then and the next 2 months things started to change. He would beg and he would promise and things would be good until something would happen again.  One night I had enough, I loved him but I couldn't take it anymore, so I went over to the frat knowing that that was where he was, and left with my heart ripped out of my chest. A bet. A joke. A girl he pretended to not give a shit about in public but promised the world in private. I was broken.

"Do you want anything to drink?" I hear him offering, as he closes the door.

I shake my head, keeping my arms crossed as I make my way to his couch and sit down. He follows me taking a seat next to me, leaving some space between us. He stares at my face, studying me as if he hasn't seen me in ages and honestly, I let myself do the same. As much as I hate to admit it, he looks as handsome as ever.

"You wanted to talk." He breaks the silence, stating.

My mind snaps back, trying to focus on all of the things I wanted to say to him, but I say nothing, my mind goes blank.

"You wanted to talk about us?" He presses, in a tone that makes me think that he's hoping I say yes but I shake my head.

"I wanted to ask you about something." I keep my voice steady.

He breaks into a silent laugh, throwing his head back. "I've been begging you to let me explain for months and now you show up at my door to ask me a favor?"

My eyes leave his face, his words shaking my confidence, and I feel myself regretting my decision of coming here tonight.

"Save it, " He continues, waving me off with his head. "I know what you want, one of your dogs already asked me."

My eyebrows come together."What?"

He rolls his eyes, getting impatient. "Hyunjin." He clarifies. "He asked me this afternoon."

Damn him and his stubborn ass.

"Jackson-"

"Are you with someone?" His question catches me off guard. "Have you moved on?"

"Yes." I lie, loud and clear even though I haven't touched a single soul after him. Only flirted with people out of desperation to forget him and boredom but nothing more. His shoulders drop a little like he wasn't expecting my answer, and confidence sparks inside me. I'm not used to having the upper hand with him.

"I can't." He says.

A bitter laugh escapes me. "Bullshit. Not that I care anymore but I know for a fact that you fucked your way through campus ever since we broke up."

"I'm trying." His hands come up to his face and slide down his hair. "I've been trying but none feels like you." He moves closer in a sudden, swift movement, and my body jerks back out of instinct.

"Don't come near me." My hand lifts in front of my face, my heart begins to raise and my mask starts to crumble yet he seems unfazed. He grabs my hand, lowering it and pulling me by it closer to him.

"Y/n, you know me, please." His eyes beg. "I know I hurt you, I know and I'm so fucking sorry." His face starts to shift and emotion takes over his expression. "But baby, I miss you. I need you back. I fucked this up but you were my rock and I want you back. Sometimes my anger takes over me and I'm working on it, I really am, but I need you to know that I never wanted to hurt." He lifts his other hand to the side of my face, his thumb creasing over my cheekbone.

I stay still, keeping my eyes as emotionless as I possibly can even though my heart is aching at his words. And maybe if this had happened a few months ago, I would have given in to him in a second but I'm not the scared, easily manipulated little girl he knew anymore.

"No." I shake my head. "I wasn't your rock, I was your punching bag." I spit, moving away from his grip. "You abused me." My heart tightens as the words leave my mouth. "You wanted someone to be there for you and accept all your shit. That's not love."

His face absolutely drops at my words. "No, no." He shakes his head repeatedly. "It wasn't like that."

I silently curse myself as I feel the familiar sting in my chest. "It's over." My words make him freeze. "That's why I came here. I've been torturing myself with this for so long and I wanna let it go. " I inhale through my nose. "I was naive and I mistook what we had for love, You abused me in every way possible. You don't manipulate or hit or fuck over the people you love Jackson." My eyes fall hard on his face, wanting to make sure that my words hurt him as much as possible but the pain only reaches his eyes. The rest of his face stays still like a statue.

"You're not thinking straight right now." His eyes narrow. "It's that fucker from the party, right? He got in your head. Does he know about us?"

"None knows." I immediately answer, realizing that he's talking about Minho. "I promised you that none will find out. And I kept that promise."

"Who is he?" His focus stays on Minho.

"None important." I lie for the second time. I know Jackson, he's an incredibly jealous person and he can go to great lengths when he wants something. I don't want Minho getting involved in this.

I can tell by his expression that he doesn't believe me. "Look, I just wanted to say this so that I can finally close this chapter. None knows and I don't want anyone to ever find out either." I remind him. He knows damn well what kind of damage something like that will do to his reputation and most importantly to his career if it comes out. I think that's the only reason why he agreed to not say anything as well.

"Baby-" His hand touches my knee and I put my own hand over his to stop it.

"I don't forgive you." I softly say. "I can't. I have to respect myself and move on. I understand you, and I wanted to help you but I'm done." I pull his hand away.

"I will not stop and you know it. I'll do everything to get you back." He gets up, his body towering over me in my seated position. "You'll come back, you'll see. You always do." He kneels slightly, his face coming right in front of mine. I hold my breath, steeling my muscles and tightening my jaw. His fingers brush my cheek lightly as they make their way down to my neck, griping it before I have the chance to pull away. My hands turn into fists on my knees.

He presses his lips to my temple. "And I'll make sure he knows that." He whispers. He plants one last soft kiss on my forehead and lets me go. He turns around and walks towards the hall while I stay frozen in my seat.

He stops near the door. "You can tell your little friend group that they can come to the club under one condition." He doesn't wait for me to ask before clarifying, looking at me over his shoulder. "You stick with me. You stay at my table the whole night. Under my arm. Your friends and your boy toy can watch you from afar." He lifts both of his eyebrows, in a challenging way keeping the muscles of his jaw tight. "See yourself out." He says and disappears down the hall.

.

.

.

.

.

It's been 2 days since I talked to Jackson and 3 days until Christmas. I haven't seen or talked to anyone since that night. Emma has been trying her best to brighten my mood in any way possible but in all honestly I just need some space, I need to be alone. Alone to think and put everything in order in my head. I thought I was strong enough to deal with this, ready to face it, to face him, but I was wrong. It was too much, more than I could handle emotionally, and definitely not a good idea. God, I should have listened to Hyunjin and kept myself out of this. Now not only did I fucked up our chances of going to that stupid club but I also targeted Minho for him. I haven't seen him since he dropped me off almost a week ago but I'll be lying if I said that I haven't been thinking about him, cause I have. Every day since then. More than I should. The sure thing is that he doesn't want anything to do with me and as much as it bothers me the last thing I wanna do is get him involved in my personal problems. Again. Emma is out on a date with Seungmin, she wanted to cancel and stay home with me but there's no chance in hell that I would let her do that. She's already done so much in the past few days that she owns it to herself to have fun with her boyfriend. On the other hand, I am sinking further on the couch with a half-empty glass of red wine, watching the second season of The Vampire Diaries for probably the 20th time. I snuggle under my blanket, feeling so comfortable that I could stay like this forever. But sadly, that's not the case cause the sound of the doorbell followed by a loud banging on the door makes me groan so loud that I hope the person outside the door thinks I'm a dog and leaves. The banging continues, getting louder by the second. Who could be banging at my door so aggressively at 11 p.m. on a Thursday night? I lift myself off the couch but my legs start to slow down as the possibility of Jackson being the person standing on the other side of my door runs through my mind and my hand stops at the door nob. Another loud bang makes me flinch backwards and snaps me back to reality. I shake the thought off my head and open the door.

My eyes lock with his and a small gasp leaves my lips at how close he's standing, leaning in with both hands resting on the doorway. He keeps his head low, his dark eyes full of anger shooting up as we come face to face. A few seconds of silence pass as neither of us speaks. I don't even dare to breathe properly.

"As I was walking here I was trying to decide whether is it that you have a death wish or that you're simply stupid."

I blankly stare at him, my mind not working, unable to process what I'm seeing. He was definitely the last person I was expecting to see right now. He moves his head, kinda like he's nodding impatiently, expecting me to say something and I realize that my mouth has fallen slightly open.

"Like," Minho lets out a sharp, breathy laugh. "You're really fucking testing me right now."

I silently take him in, and a weird feeling rushes through me. Weird but in a good way, kinda like my eyes have missed the sight of him. It seems like my silence begins to annoy him cause his grip on the doorway visibly tightens. I notice the redness that covers his nose and cheeks and his slightly damp hair. Is it raining? Did he walk all the way here?

"What are you doing here?" I finally find my voice, stuttering a little. "What are you talking about?"

He doesn't answer, instead, he pushes past me, knocking me with his shoulder and entering the living room, not expecting any kind of permission.

"Sure, come in. " I mumble closing the door.

His thick boots make a squeaky sound as he paces around the living room, just like he did the first time I saw him, and that time I found him practicing at the studio. From the little experience I have with him, I know it means that he's possibly upset. "Well?"

He stops to face me. "I was at the frat, I went to see Chan." His voice is low and steady and his eyes are so focused on mine as if he's waiting to catch any reaction to his words. But even though my nerves are growing by the second, I tighten the muscles on my face, keeping it still.

"And?" I cross my arms.

"We were casually chatting until a very, very disturbing call interrupted us." He continues, slowly building his story. My stomach tightens, having an idea where this is going and silently praying that I'm wrong.

"Hyunjin told you to stay out of it." He spits through his teeth and I feel like a huge weight has fallen on me out of nowhere, forcing my shoulders to slouch. Shortly after I left Jackson's apartment I realized just how unhelpful what I had done was, it only provoked him more, and now he's gonna make it everybody's problem.

"Look I just-"

"How-" He raises his voice, shutting me up immediately but stops and pinches the bridge of his nose instead, giving himself a few seconds. "How, in your mind, did it make sense for you to go and talk to him?" He says in a lower tone.

"What did he say to Hyunjin? Does Chan know?" I ask instead.

"That's what you care about?" He clenches his teeth.

This is the last thing that I expected to happen. Minho finding out and showing up at my door wasn't one of the possible ways this could've gone and my stomach actually turns to the idea that Jackson said anything to Hyunjin or Chan. Then again neither of them has called or texted me about it, which is odd if they actually do know anything.

"Actually yeah. " I'm careful with my words and tone. "I can take care of myself, I don't need any of you to worry about me or take care of me. And let's be honest, I was the only one that could convince him to let us in that club."

"Oh, 'cause he cares about you so much right?" His laugh is dripping with irony. "Cause if you were the one to him he would do as you pleased 'cause you're so fucking special to him right?" His cruel words shake me. "Oh my god, get over yourself Y/n. He fucking abused you for months. He doesn't give a shit about you." His laugh is gone and he lets his anger take over. "And you think it's okay for you to go to him, to his fucking place alone to talk about a stupid club?" He throws his hands in the air.

My hands turn into fists and I take a step towards him. "And what was I supposed to do huh?" I yell back. "Let Hyunjin or Chan go talk to him and risk Jackson saying anything to them?"

"Why it's so important to keep it a secret?" His eyes search mine.

"Cause I want to! " My vision begins to get blurry as the words rip through my throat. "I don't want anyone to know."

He takes a step as well, getting into my face. " Well, I do. I know." His chest rises and falls intensely as he tries to calm himself. "And don't expect me to sit here and let you go anywhere near that piece of shit." His face is hard and his eyes completely dark, looking down at me. "No fucking way." He shakes his head.

I feel shivers dancing down my spine from his words, and I bite my lip instinctively. His eyes drop to my mouth for a second.  "I'm not your responsibility." I find my voice again. Even though his protectiveness makes my stomach tighten in the best way possible, I'm tired of relying on other people. I wanna be strong enough to support myself. "And you shouldn't care what I do or don't do."

His lips form a thin line. "You're not going to the club with him and you're not going near him ever again."

Is that what he said to Hyunjin on the phone? That we're only allowed to come if I go with him?

"Is that what you care about? You want to make sure that I won't crawl back to him?" I straighten my back. Does he actually think I'm so weak that I'll run back to him?

"Wil you?" He fires back in a second and my heart actually tightens. For some reason, I truly thought that he would be the one to understand. His past is so similar to mine that I thought that he would actually see me and not think of me like everyone would if they knew the truth. Clearly, I was wrong.

I can feel my face falling, all my muscles loosen, my body and mind somehow defeated by the way he's looking at me right now. "Do you care about me?" I ask the question that has been burning inside my mind for days and hold his questioning gaze, hoping to see any sort of shift or emotion in it. Something to confirm that, there is something. Anything. That it's not just me that feels this way toward him. I need a sign cause I know that there's no way he's actually gonna tell me the truth.

"Do you?" I ask again cause he says nothing. "Cause if you don't then, get out." I point out the door. "You made it pretty clear that you don't want anything from me, so why are you showing up at my door acting like this?" He stays silent, frozen almost with his jaw locked and his eyebrows frowned, only his eyes moving and following my fanatic movements as my anger builds. "You're just like every other dude, you want the validation of me running behind you." I move right into his face. "You don't care, you just wanna play with me. And I won't give you the satisfaction."

His jaw clenches and his eyes twitch with anger. He leans in, dangerously close but I hold my ground. I keep my eyes on his clouded ones, my chin facing upwards, suppressing how intimidated I actually am by how sharply he exhales through his nose and how his fingers clench and unclench into fists. His nose almost touches mine and I try to stop my eyes from flickering to his lips. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about." He says through his teeth, almost growling.

"Then prove me wrong." I challenge him. I wanna push him. I want him to tell me that he cares.

He makes a harsh sound and his hand comes to wrap around my neck. His grip is loose yet strong enough to make my heartbeat rise. "Why are you doing this?"

"Cause you're full of shit." I keep my tone strong and steady. "And you think you have a saying to what I can and can't do. You're nothing to me." My lips begin to form a small smirk.

"I'm nothing to you?" His grip tightens slightly, and I look at him through my lashes. His tongue comes out to wet his lips, drawing my attention.

"Yes." I breathe out.

He chuckles lightly and backs me out until my back hits the door. His free hand comes up next to my head to rest on the door.

God, please kiss me.

"Let me make myself really, really clear here okay angel?" Each word comes out breathy on my lips, light and smooth but powerful enough to make my thighs come together. "I don't wanna hear, or see or know that you came in contact with him in any way humanly possible unless it involves the domestic violence department of the police and I want him as far away from you as possible. This is not me being possessive about something that's not mine, this is me being protective about something I want safe."

Tell me you care. Say it.

His eyes search mine as if he's trying to see if his response is enough.

"I'm trying to keep my distance but it's really hard to do that when you're pulling shit like this." His thumb comes up to my chin while his other fingers stay wrapped around my neck.

"Why?" I whisper. Why is he holding back?

He shakes his head. "Cause I can't. I can't." He closes his eyes for a second, collecting himself. "I don't want to. "

"Talk to me." My voice comes out almost like a whine. "I don't understand you."

He takes a breath, his lips brushing mine, and my body freezes. He toys around a bit, brushing our noses together until his lips fall to mine lightly, almost like a peck. Like a ghost of a kiss, a light brush of softness. He pulls away to look at me and I can see the hesitation in his eyes, so I lean in, silently telling him to continue but he doesn't. He doesn't cause my phone begins to ring and it's almost like it snaps him back to reality. His hand drops from my neck and his gaze falls to the ground. His other hand stays next to my head, that I lightly bang against the door, annoyed. I pull my phone out of my pocket, seeing Jackson's name across the screen. I look at Minho. His eyebrows frown, and a questioning expression paints his face as he leans in to look at my screen. His expression hardens immediately and he reaches to grab the phone from my hand.

I pull away. "No."

"Give me the phone, I'll talk to him." He demands.

"No," I say again and hang up. "I don't wanna provoke him."

"What will he do?" He narrows his eyes.

"You don't know him." I shake my head.

He throws his head back, groaning. "Here we go again. Running in fucking circles."

"Minho, this is not your problem." I sternly say. It's not Chan's or Hyunjin's or anyone's. And I hate it whenever anyone else gets involved. I have to do this for myself.  " I'll deal with this on my own."

"I want-"

"I know." I groan, cutting him off. "But you don't have to. And you don't have to feel the need to just because of your past. I'm not you mo-" I stop myself, my eyes slightly widening realizing what I was about to say. He stiffens completely and his expression goes dark. Absolutely dark, to the point that a hint of fear sparks inside me at the sight and I wanna take back everything I said to erase it from his face. He removes his hand from the door and opens it, pushing me to the side as he does, in silence.

"Minho." I try to touch his hand but he pulls away. He doesn't spare me a single glance as he exits the apartment. I don't follow him, I let him leave.

[skzbinniebang]

Different B.C

pairing: Chan x fem! reader

feeling like i kinda dragged this one on too long???

word count: 662

You were so excited. You had plans with your wonderful boyfriend Chris, the two of you were planning to have a date night, going out for dinner, taking a walk down the river, and then whatever else the night had planned for the two of you.

You had done your full skincare this evening, took a nice warm bath, and took time to find just the right outfit before sitting at your vanity, beginning the process of your makeup.

Halfway through, your phone pinged, you put down your things, grabbing your phone you check the message with a smile, only for it to drop from your face, Chris has to stay in the studio and won’t make it home for the much awaited and planned date night. Even if your excitement was crushed, you text him an ‘it’s okay” along with an I love you and a heart emoji.

Setting your phone down with a small sigh you walk into the shared bathroom, you grab your makeup removing balm, gently rub the makeup you just put on, off, and wash your face clean before changing into shorts and one of Chris’ t-shirts. After some time, you grow hungry and make yourself ramen. After eating and cleaning the dirty dishes, you sit in your bed watching a movie, falling asleep sometime during it.

Feeling the bed shifting next to you, you crack open your eyes, seeing your boyfriend slowly laying down, trying his best to not wake you. Although he fails at keeping you asleep, you can’t help but smile at the sight of him.

Oh, how you love that man. You scoot closer to him, resting your head against his chest and draping an arm across his torso. Immediately Chris turns to his side, snaking both arms around your frame, inhaling deeply as he presses a kiss to the top of your head. “I’m sorry for waking you…”  he whispers, his voice sounding quite drained of energy. “It’s okay, what time is it?” A soft hum comes out of you as he tells you it’s a little after three in the morning.

“y/n?” He says almost hesitantly, wondering if you’ve fallen back to sleep, only you haven’t, nuzzling your nose against his neck you hum once again, “I’m sorry I missed another date night, I feel horrible about it.” You frown to yourself, hearing his voice crack with emotions, his breath sounding slightly shaky as well. Pressing a chaste kiss to his neck, you rub his back to supply some comfort. “I know you are baby, we can always plan another one yeah? Don’t beat yourself up over this.” You reassure him without a second thought, you knew how important you are to Chris, and you also know how important his job is to him, you’d never make him choose.

Hearing how supportive you are every time he has to cancel on your guys’ plan, causes a pain to his chest each time, from the feeling of his own selfishness and the love he has for you. “y/n…?’ Chris speaks timidly, seeming almost scared to speak out loud. “Yes love?”

“Do you wish I was different? Do you wish I didn’t have this job, or I was another person?” he asks you in a whisper, upon hearing him, your head snaps up and you stare at him with worry in your eyes.

“Of course not, Chris. No to all of those questions, I have never wished for any of those, and I never will. I hope you never wish for any of those things, because you’re already so amazing, love. You’re so hard-working, intelligent, kind, considerate, funny, and so many other things, I’d be damned if I wished you were different. I think this job made you the person you are, so I’m nothing but thankful for it. You’re the only person I want, now and always. Okay?” you tell him firmly, wanting him to know just how serious your words are.

[aspenmissing]

𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝙰𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚁𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍 (𝙿𝚝 𝟷)

Hunk is asleep in bed, snoring. He's wearing yellow pajamas and is covered by a blue blanket. Suddenly, an alarm blares and Hunk screams, falling out of bed and landing on his stomach. He groans and tries to stand up, but his legs get tangles in the blanker and he falls asleep again as the door automatically again. Shiro, in full Paladin outfit, does push-ups in his room.

"Everybody up!" Allura shouts over the loudspeaker. Shiro looks to his left and begins to stand up "Zarkon's attacking!" Shiro runs out of the room as the doors automatically open and close behind him. Lance lays on his bed in a pale blue pajamas and covered by a navy blue blanket. His face is covered with a green facial mask and his eyes hidden by a black sleep mask. Headphones over his ears, which blocks out the alarm. Y/N, who is also in full Paladin uniform, is sat on the floor of her room, cross legged. Her eyes are closed and she meditates. Soul is sat in front of her, doing the same "The ship's coming closer!" Y/N opens one eye before standing up, picking Soul up and runs out of her room. Keith is sat upright in bed as he examines his knife "The Castle's about to be destroyed!" Keith gasps and throws off his blanket, jumping out of bed and grabbing his jacket - running out. Pidge was sleeping in the room with the healing pods, rover hovering beside him. Until Allura started shouting over the loudspeaker again. Pidge jumps awake, Rover besides him. "Go, go, go! We need Voltron now!" Pidge jumps up and rushes out of the healing room, Rover by his side

==

"Hurry! We can't survive much longer!"

" You've got to sell it a little bit more" Coran takes the speaker from Allura; clearing his throat "Oh, no! Allura is dead! Aw, it's horrible! Her head fell off! Wait! What? Her severed head is trying to speak to me! What is it, Allura's head? What are your final words?"

"Coran"

"Oh, yes, Princess, I'm listening"

"It's over" Allura says sweat dropping. Coran turns around, still on his hands and knees.

"Oh, I know! If only Voltron had been formed" He continues. He looks over noticing the Paladins, excepted Lance. He jumps up "Oh! Time!"

"I guess this isn't an actual attack." Shiro says. Pidge rubs his eyes.

"And it's a good thing it wasn't because it took you... Coran?" Allura says, looking at him.

"Seventy-five degrees. Oh" He says as the "Timer" dings "Sorry. No, this is a meat thermometer"

"However long it was, it was too long. You must always be ready to do battle with Zarkon. Look at you! Only Shiro and Y/N are in uniform. But Y/N doesn't have her helmet. Keith, Pidge, Hunk, where are you bayard? And where is Lance?"

"Keith, Pidge, Hunk, where are your bayards? And where is Lance?" Allura said. The door behind the group and Lance enters wearing a Blue and Yellow dressing gown, Blue Lion slippers and a mug in hand. He yawns.

"Good morning, everybody. What's going on?" Lance said, and his face sparkled. He walks over to them.

"Coran and I have been up for hours getting the Castle back in order. We had to run a test on the alarms, and we decided to test you as well. Guess which one failed." Allura said.

"Hey!" Hunk yawns "You got to sleep for 10,000 years, man. Monday night, I was on Earth. Now, I've flown through space, fought some evil alien named Zarkon, eaten goo in some weird castle." Hunk counts "That's a lot to process in, uh... I-I don't know. What day is today?" Hunk continued.

"It's the third quintant of the Spicolian movement. Hump day!" Coran answers.

"It's a lot to process." Hunk says.

"You must understand the stakes of our mission" Allura brings up a map of the universe from the Castleship's computer and displays the amount of distress beacons "Over the last 10,000 years, the Castle picked up distress beacons from the following locations." Allura says."So, we have to assume that Zarkon has conquered almost the entire known universe" Allura moves the map to the Milky Way where is appears barely out of Zarkon's reach "Earth is here. An attack on your planet is inevitable"

"Oh, no..." Hunk said.

"Exactly. Our mission is to free all those planets. Coran and I are getting the Castle ready to leave Arus. During that time, you have to learn to form Voltron, so we can begin fighting Zarkon." Allura said.

"The Princess is right. Let's get to our lions and start training." Shiro said. Pidge turns to look at him.

"Wait. But I want to talk to the prisoners we rescued from the Galra ship." She said. Coran puts his hands as the size of Pidge.

"Ah, negative, Number Six! I have you ranked by height, okay? The prisoners need to remain in the cryo-replenishers until tomorrow"

"That's right. Now get to your Lions. The Paladins head to their Lions, donning their armour before traveling by zip-line. Hunk's zip line stops.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on? What's going...?" Hunk falls from his own weight and the zip-line continues without him. Hunk slides down the shaft slowly "Aw, come on. You've got to be kidding me" The Paladins jump through a hole, landing on their speeders that take them to their Lions. Hunk is late to arrive and drop from the zip-line hole, so his speeder takes off without him. He groans in frustration.

==

Outside the Castle of Lions, the other Paladins wait for Hunk.

"...Should someone go in after him?" Lance asks.

"Let's, uh, let's give him a moment" The Yellow Lion finally arrives.

"Hey, sorry, everybody. Seriously, though, can't they park these things, like, a little closer to the bridge?" He said. "

All right, guys. Let's just fly in tight formation until we're totally in sync" Shiro says over the comm. Allura appears on Shiro's screen.

"Feel the bond with your lions and your fellow pilots until five become one unit and you form Voltron!" The Lions take off, flying in sync.

"Yeah...!" They all shout "Yeah...!" They do the formation again "Yeah...!" The Paladins become less enthusiastic "...Yay..."

"Whoo. Am I the only one who's still pretending to be excited?" Hunk said. Everyone has a tired look.

"Clearly, this isn't working. Let's set down for a little bit." Shiro says.

"Maybe we should be building Voltron from the ground up." Keith said.

"What do you mean?" Shiro asked.

"I mean, let's try literally building Voltron, like, stacking on top of each other." Keith answered.

"Like a cheerleader pyramid?" Lance says.

"You got a better idea?" Y/N says.

"It's worth a try"

==

The Paladins stack their lions on top of each other. The Blue and Green Lion on the bottom with the Red and Purple Lion on top of them, facing the side. The Black Lion stands on top of them and the Yellow Lion is at the top.

"Hunk, what are you doing?" Shiro sweatdrops

"What do you mean?" Hunk asks

"You're supposed to be the leg over there" Y/N says.

"What? No. No, no, no. I'm pretty sure that when we did it last time, I was the head. Right?" Hunk said.

"You yelled, 'I'm a leg!'" Lance says.

"Yeah, I was yelling a lot of things." Hunk says/

"Shiro's the head." Keith says.

"All the time?" Hunk said.

"Let's just try it my way for now." Shiro said.

"Okay, but next time I call head." Hunk said. The Paladins stack the Lions properly. The Blue and Yellow on the floor, the Red, Purple and Green Lion on top of them, all facing the same way.

"Okay. Arms and legs... and I'll form the head" Shiro carefully hovers the Black Lion above the others until it stands on top of Pidge, Y/N and Keith's lion's "Feel the bonds with your Lions. Now, channel your energy into forming Voltron. Focus...Focus" Everyone has their eyes closed. Nothing happens "Is everyone bonding and focusing?" Shiro asked.

"Why was this so much easier before?" Lance asks. Shiro sighs.

"Let's take a break" Allura appears on everyone's screen from the Cammand Room.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I may be able to help. Yesterday, you weren't able to form Voltron until you were in the heat of battle." She said.

"Yeah" Pidge says.

"I'm listening." Lance says.

"You're right." Shiro says.

"You've got a point" Y/n says.

"Yeah, I guess" Keith says.

"Perfect. Because I need to run a diagnostic test on all of the Castle's defences. This should help!" Allura said. The Castle of Lions fire blasts as the Paladins.

"This can't be good" Y/N says. The Paladins are then bombarded with fire blasts and they scream and flee.

"Okay, go, go!" Lance shouts.

"Allura, what are you doing?" Allura smiles at Keith from his screen while he's running from explosions.

"Running a diagnostic test on the Castle defences and inspiring you! I believe in you, Paladins! Let fear be your guide! Form Voltron!" She said excitedly.

"Oh, forget this! I'm heading back to the Castle!" Lance says. He pilots the Blue Lion towards the Castleship, dodging the attacks, but is thrown back by the particle barrier. Hunk dodges the bombardment.

"Please stop! Please! Have mercy on us!" Hunk cried. Allura appears on Hunk's screen.

"You think Zarkon is going to have mercy on you? He's probably on his way right now to destroy us all!" Allura says.

"Auto-lock-on engaged"

"Uh oh" Y/N says. The Castle of Lions auto-fires at the panicking Paladins.

==

The Paladins, except Shiro, lay exhausted on the couches of the Castle Lounge. Allura and Coran enter.

"Are we at full power on condenser number five yet?" Allura asks, looking down at a device.

"No, still just 84 percent." Coran answers. Allura looks up and sees the Paladins.

"You did it! You formed Voltron!" Allura says. Lance is laying down, taking up a whole seat. Hunk has his arms up on the back of the couch. Y/N is layed across the couch, her back bending with the shape of the couches, faced down, feet in Keith's lap. Soul rubbing her bruised head. Pidge and Keith are sat upright, Keith having his arms crossed.

"No. The shooting stopped and the particle barrier shut down, so we just flew in." Keith says.

What?" Allura asks. Coran looks at her, wide eyed.

"Oh, right. Uh, sorry, Princess. I had to turn off the Castle defences to test the fire suppressors." Coran says. Y/N lifts her head, looking to Coran.

"Thank you Coran. Thank you" She says, placing her head back down on it's side. Shiro enters and they all look at him.

"What are you guys doing in here? We're not taking a break." He says.

"Shiro's right. You should be training." Allura said.

"We've been training. When are we going back to Earth? " Hunk sasks.

"I'm not going back until I find my family." Pidge says, leaning forward.

"Guys, there won't be an Earth if we don't figure out how to fight Zarkon." Shiro said. Lance sits up.

"How are we going to fight? We can't even figure out how to form Voltron." He said.

"Well, I'm not surprised. You know, the original paladins fought hundreds of battles together, side-by-side. They were like a pack of yalmors linked at the ears." Coran said.

"Wow. Yeah, that's definitely not us." Lance said, and laid back down, putting his foot on the back of the couch.

"During the last attack, your survival instincts forced you to work as a team, but that will only get you so far. You'll have to become a real team to have any chance of forming Voltron and then beating Zarkon next time" Everyone looks to Coran "You should try working out on the training deck." Coran said. Y/N lifts her head, pushing herself up with her arms.

"There's a training deck?" Y/N says.

==

The Training Deck illuminates; Coran clears his throat to check his microphone as the Paladins are standing on the training deck in a circle.

"Two, two, one, two. Okay, listen up guys. The Paladins code demands that you put your team members' safety above your own. A swarm of drones is about to attack. It's up to each of you to do everything you can to protect the other members of your team" Altean drones appear; Keith, Pidge and Y/N form shields.

"Wait, wait, wait. What's going on?" Hunk says as his shield forms "Whoa. Did you guys get one of these?" He said. Lance and Shiro form shields.

"Get ready" The Altean drones fire lasers. Hunk dodges and Pidge is struck, dropping into a hole that opens up underfoot.

"Hunk your supposed to protect, not duck" Y/N shouts, putting her shield in front of her face as a fire laser shoots at her.

"Protect your teammates or no one will be there to protect you!" Coran said. Hunk then went down. Y/N, Lance, Shiro and Keith huddle back-to-back to defend themselves "Time to increase intensity" The drone fire becomes rapid.

"You keeping up over there, Keith?" Lance said.

Just concentrate on keeping me safe" Keith said.

"Me? I own this drill. You're the one who needs to concentrate" Lance says. The drones fire at their heads. Shiro, Y/N and Keith dodge, but Lance is distracted and does not. He lifts his foot to avoid being shot, and Keith is shot instead, disappearing into the floor. Y/N takes Keith's place.

"Really Lance!" She shouts. Lance tried to defend Y/N and Shiro but it struck himself, leaving Y/N and Shiro who stand back-to back.

"You good shiro" Y/N says.

"Yeah, you" He replies.

"Good" Shiro doesn't notice the drone to his left so Y/N shields him, leaving her back open. She gets shot and the floor beneath her opens and she falls. Shiro, being the last one left, has no way of protecting himself and shortly ends up struck. He falls through the hole in the floor. Coran facepalms but continues to the next test: an invisible maze. Lance stands inside the maze.

"To form Voltron, you must trust each other. This ancient Paladin maze will teach you that trust. Your teammate can see the walls, but you cannot. So, listen carefully. If yo touch the walls, you'll get a slight shock" Lance puts on his helmet.

"Wait. Who's guiding me through?"

"Take two steps forward" Keith says through Lance's helmet using a microphone.

"Oh, no. Not Keith. Why does he get to be the man on the mic?"

"Now, just sit tight. You'll get your turn"

"Like I said, take two steps forward, turn right, and take three steps that direction" Lance only turns right and hits a wall, getting shocked.

"You did that on purpose!" Lance says, looking up at Keith.

"You're not listening"

"You said, 'Turns right'"

"But, before that, I said, 'Take two steps forward"

"Two steps--" Lance steps in the wrong direction and gets shocked again "We're switching places right now!" Later, it was Y/N and Pidge's go. Y/N was in the maze, while Pidge was guiding her.

"Turn left, three steps forward. Stop!" Y/N does so "Back 1" Y/N moves back "Turn left then 2 steps forwards then make a left turn then 3 steps forward" Pidge says. Y/N follows the guide.

"Nice teamwork you two, no wonder the Green and Purple lion have such a good bond, they trust in each other" Coran said with a smile. Y/N looks up at Pidge, smiling.

"I guess we do, huh"

==

The team are flying their Lions through the sky for the next test. Coran speaks to them from the Castleship's Bridge.

"You'll never be able to form Voltron unless each of you has a strong bond with your Lion" Coran said.

"No problem. Me and Blue are best buds for life, for real." Lance said.

"Perfect! Then you won't have any issues with this exercise. Everyone, put your lions into a nosedive!" Coran said. All the lions growled and went into a nosedive.

"This is an expert-level drill that you really shouldn't attempt until you've been flying for years, but uh, we're in a bit of a rush, so here we go. Activating training helmets!" Coran said. Dark visors appear over each Paladin's helmet. Lance screams.

"Coran, what's happening? I can't see!"

"You must learn to see through your lions' eyes. The goal is to pull up right before you crash into the ground. Feel what the lion feels!" Coran explained.

"Mine feels scared!" Hunk panic and pulls out of the dive right away.

"You still going, Keith?" Lance asks.

"You know it. You?"

"Going? I'm speeding up!" Lance shouts, speeding up his dive.

"Oh, yeah?" Keith said.

"Must be getting close." Lance said.

"Must be." Keith said.

"You getting scared?" Lance taunted.

"I'M NOT SCARED" Keith shouted. Keith loses his temper and speeds ahead; both crash into the ground with their Lions half-buried. The Blue Lion rolls away.

"Ow..." Keith groans.

"...I win" Shiro, Y/N and Pidge are still in a nose-dive.

"What was that noise? Did they crash?" Pidge panics and pulls out of the dive, but hits a cliff. Shiro and Y/N remain in a dive.

"You still there, sis?" Shiro asks.

"Yea, I trust my Lion no matter what" They continue to nose-dive. Y/N begins muttering to herself "Come on lion, show me what you see" Shiro and Y/N closes their eyes and are able to connect with the Black and Purple Lion seeing what they see. They pull out of the dive last-second and the two flies through several rocky areas without using their own eyes.

"I think I'm getting this." He said.

"Me to"

"Excellent, Shiro! Y/N!" Coran praises over the comm.

==

The Paladins sit in a circle in the Training Deck with special headsets. Coran speaks to them over the intercom.

"Now the most important part of paladin training is being able to meld your minds and focus on one thing: Voltron. Everything else has to fade away. This technique will be essential every time you form Voltron" Coran said. A screen depicting the thoughts of the Paladins appears before each one. Y/N thinks of the photo that Hunk found of her and Shiro. Keith thinks of the desert shack. Lance thinks of his family. Hunk thinks of food. Pidge things of the photograph Hunk found of "Pidge" and a girlfriend, but the image is obscure. Shiro thinks of the Kerberos Mission launch "So, relax and open your mind. No walls, no secrets between paladins. Come on, everyone, clear everything. Now, focus on forming your lion" The Paladins, minus Pidge, form their image into their respective Lions and move them to form Voltron. "Bring your lions together and - and form Voltron." Coran says "Keep your minds open, work together. Good! Keep focusing! Only one to go!" Coran said. The Green Lion has not appeared. Pidge's mental image remains static-filled; Keith notices.

"Pidge, stop thinking of your girlfriend!" Pidge's mental image disappears.

"I wasn't! Hunk was rooting around in my head!" Pidge said. I opened my eyes, and the hologram of the lions coming together to form Voltron is gone.

"I-I thought we were open. You can look in my head hole." Hunk said.

"Everyone has to be able to look in everyone's head holes! Clear your minds!" Coran shouted from high up. The Paladins try again. This time, Pidge is able to manifest the Green Lion. The mental Lions move together. "Good! Almost there" The mental Lions begin forming Voltron "Now, form Voltron. Yes!" Coran shouts. The Green Lion attaches to the mental Voltron, but becomes the same static-filled image as before.

"Pidge!" Lance shouts. Pidge snaps in frustration and throws the headset off.

"I'm done with this! Look, I don't like everyone grubbing around in my head!" Pidge shouts.

"Oh, come on, Pidge, we're starting to get the hang of this." Shiro said.

"I'm just... I'm just tired, okay?" Pidge says.

"Okay. Let's take a break" Shiro says,

==

Coran hands all the Paladins packs of fluid to drink as they sit and relax.

"You have been working hard. Maybe it's time to relax a little" Coran says. Allura stomps over, the mice on her shoulders. Soul, who was besides her, runs over to Y/N. She sniffs the pack of fluid and takes a sip.

"What are you doing lying around? You're supposed to be training!" Allura says

"Just resting a bit. You know, you can't push too hard"

"What do you mean, 'can't push too hard'? Get up, you lazy lumps! It's time you faced the Gladiator!" Later, The Paladins stand with their Bayards formed in the Training Deck.

"In order to defeat the Gladiator, six paladins must fight as one" Coran says over the speakers. The Gladiator robot drops from the ceiling wielding a polearm staff.

"Hmm? Whoa!" Hunk panics and shoots, hitting Keith's shield. The Gladiator knocks Hunk of his feet and onto the ground, shocking him. Pidge fights the Gladiator robot but is also knocked away, falling over Hunk. Y/N swings at the Gladiator but it deflects her hit, knocking her scythe out of her hands and zaps her before pushing her away with its staff. Lance starts shooting at the Gladiator, before his gun is also throws out of his reach. The Gladiator hits Lance on his head before turning around to deflect Keith's sword, hitting Lance on the head again before picking Lance up with its staff and tossing him into Keith who both fall onto Y/N, who was nearly stood up. They groan in pain, Y/N mostly since she's under the two.

"Ow..." She groans. The Gladiator rushes Shiro, triggering a memory. Shiro freezes. Keith launches himself from the floor to black the Gladiator's attack on Shiro.

"Shiro, are you okay?" Keith grunted. Shiro does not respond. The Gladiator knocks Keith into Shiro, sending them both to the floor. The Gladiator then turns, blocking Y/N's attack. Y/N smiles sheepishly.

"Uh...hehe. It's not what is looks like?" The Gladiator slams its staff into her stomach, electrocuting her. She flies back and lands back on Lance and the two groan in pain.

"Oww"

[silentmoths]

When will I see you again? (In your dreams)

Writing fairy chose violence today, I don't usually write a lot of angsty stuff so idk if im actually any good at it but here you go kids.

Now I wish i knew what it was called, but this is actually based off an old animation i remember, likely a college final thesis work so I cant claim all the spain for it but I hope yall like it.

Zhongli x Afab Reader

Hurt/very little comfort, angst, modern setting

Your parents were fighting...again.

It was never anything new, the status quo always seemed to dictate that every time you trudged through the door after a long day of college classes, they'd be at eachothers throats, yelling about something.

Money, the car, house maintenence, affairs.

You just...wished they'd hurry up and get divorced...only a couple more months and you could finally move out, leave all of this behind.

but until then, you slink past their screaming mach in the kitchen and up the stairs to your room; your safe haven, and you immediately crawl into bed for a nap.

As soon as you descend into sleep, a hand brushes your cheek and you immediately feel at home.

"How was class?" The familiar, warm, deep voice beside you asks as you simply lay in the grass, content to let him pet your cheek and your hair.

"Long..."

"Are they fighting again?"

"when aren't they, Zhongli?" You sigh, finally fluttering open your eyes to look up at him.

Of all the things that were a constant in your life, Zhongli was definitely the prettiest.

He'd been here, in your dreams, since you were a child. When you'd begun to make your own world to retreat to when your parents raised their voices. A calm, comforting presence that loved you and wanted you.

No one cared to hear about Teyvat, and all it's whimsical glory, all the interesting characters and magic; they all said you were crazy, it was just make-believe and you would grow out of it.

Yet here you are, nearly twenty-two, and still escaping to this world whenever you could.

Zhongli smiles softly, and leans down to press a kiss to your nose, laying to settle beside you so you could shuffle into the warm familiarity of his chest, hear his heartbeat and feel his breath.

"Soon, darling...you are still planning on moving next semester, no?"

"yeah...my friends are organizing a place..." you confirm "and then I'll be outta here..."

Zhongli hums and nods, long fingers playing with your hair. "I do hope you'll continue to visit me."

You snort, looking up at him "Of course I would, every time I fall asleep."

---

A month to go.

Just one more month of dealing with three-am screaming matches.

Between studying for your exams, assignments, and your parents godawful screaming, sleep had been hard to come by.

You tell the doctor as much, leaving out your parents fighting. She taps away at her keyboard, eyeing you up and down as you fidget nervously in your chair, the bags beneath your eyes dark and prominent, the anxious energy overflowing; you can tell she's trying to figure out if you're just bluffing for drugs, but eventually she nods and hits print.

"One of these a night, fifteen minutes before bed, do not take more than one a day, I know its nearing the end of the semester so I'll give you a single repeat, and then if it's still a promblem, come back and see me." The doctor sighs, handing the prescription for sleeping pills to you. you take the sheet gratefully and scuttle away.

Zhongli is waiting when the pill kicks in that night, pulling you into his arms and simply swaying with you a while.

"I thought you were avoiding this place." He sighs, nose contently buried in your hair. "Avoiding me..."

"never." You croon, content at being held and loved, burying your own face into the crook of his neck "I was trying so hard to come back..."

"Is it getting bad?" he asks, you nod. He does not question any more, arms shifting to scoop you into his arms.

"Soon, my darling." He reassures, you nod, praying he's right.

---

You'd failed the exam.

You stare despondently down at the mark, it's horrible, it's so bad that your professor has even scribbled a comment in red marker.

'I expected better of you'

that stings.

you'd have to go see him later, ask if there was a makeup exam or some extra credit you could do, something, anything, to imrpove your mark; but for now you needed to meet up with your friends, to sort out moving dates.

--

"do you really want her moving in?"

"Pshh no! I said it to be nice I didnt actually expect her to take the offer! hell I'd prefer you moved in instead! She's a freak! always talking about her stupid make believe world. It was cool when we were kids but now? Now it's just sad. she needs to get laid or something..."

Your 'friends' dont see you, pressed against the wall, dont see the tears spilling over your cheeks, hand pressed to your mouth to muffle your sobs. When you do finally make yourself known to them, they just...look at you.

Theres no remorse in their eyes or in their words, apologies halfhearted and shrugged off with a 'but it's kinda true though'.

you turn and leave the campus.

--

Your mom finds your grades.

She's screaming, at you now.

And when your dad gets home? well, for once they agree with something, they scream, but not at each other; at you.

"If you think we're going to pay for failing grades, you have another thing coming!" your dad shouts, they do not pay your tuition, you do.

"Pull your head out of your ass before we pull you out of school!" your mother adds, they cannot pull you out of school they do not pay your tuition.

when they're finally done yelling at you, they once again turn back to echother, blaming one another for their failing daughter, as you trudge up the stairs, fingers rubbing the red hand-shaped mark on your cheek as you drop your bag and shut the door.

what were you meant to do now?

You feel your resolve crumbling away.

---

Your little world seems to be...crumbling a little when you finally open your eyes.

Zhongli looks over his shoulder before rushing to you and helping you up, pulling you close.

"Darling, what's going on?" He asks, frantic as you smile softly up at him.

"Oh Zhongli...everything's wrong..nothing is alright..." you whisper as Zhongli looks around, frantically as buildings and scenery crumble around him.

"What did you do? what's happening?"

"I took them. all of them"

"Took what, darling?"

"The pills."

You watch as Zhongli's eyes grow wide with horror.

"The Sleeping pills!? Darling why? why would you do that!?" His voice shakes as he sits you down, prying your mouth open and jamming two fingers right to the back of your throat, but this is nothing but a dream, there was no gag reflex to found.

"So I could stay here, with you...forever." you whisper, smiling up at him, reaching shakily for his face to wipe away a single, golden tear "Dont cry, Li...we can..be together now...just like we were meant to."

"Darling-" He chokes out, pulling you close as the very fabric of this reality begins to collapse around them "You're dying! you have to wake up! if you dont..."

You shake your head, leaning your face into his chest as he curls around you "I dont...I dont ever want to leave...never again..please...stay with me?"

His tears are warm as they splash across your cheeks, but he takes a deep breath, swallowing down the lump in his throat before settling beside you, holding you in his arms as he manages a small, sincere smile and presses a gentle kiss to your lips.

"Every time I fall asleep."

taglist: @stygianoir @meimeimeirin @ainescribe @rjssierjrie want to be added to the list? shoot me an ask!

[aarafox]

One Last Night

Fandom: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Pairing: Link/Zelda

Rating: Explicit

Words: 7,737

Chapters: 1/1

Summary: The evening before their doomed journey to Mt. Lanayru, Zelda summons Link to her room.

Notes: Happy Tears of the Kingdom release day!!! I posted this on Ao3 yesterday so I’m sharing the link here as well. Check it out if you’re interested! Excerpt below ❤️

~

It was 11:00 PM, and Zelda was wide awake. She lay on top of her red velvet blanket, hands folded on her stomach, staring at the roof of her canopy bed unable to close her eyes. That pressing feeling that something terrible was about to happen just wouldn’t leave her, and thus her body refused to sign to her brain that it was safe enough to fall asleep.

Tomorrow was her last chance… If she failed to awaken her sealing power in the ancient Spring of Wisdom, what options did she have left? It felt like there was something vital missing, something she should’ve seen already… She’d already prayed at the Spring of Courage and Spring of Power, but since nothing happened there, why would the third one be any different?

She sighed and sat up straight, rubbing her forehead. Everything was quiet around her; the other castle residents had all gone to sleep as well. Though, for some reason, she suspected that a certain appointed knight was still out and about, practicing his combat skills for whatever might lay ahead.

Link… The thought of him made her sigh. Not with a particularly positive or negative emotion—he just made her sigh. They’d definitely gotten closer over the past few weeks, with Zelda carefully confiding in him and prompting him to open up to her in return. She’d started to feel much more comfortable around him, and knew from his behavior that that was mutual. He was actually really caring and considerate, with the way he ignored his own feelings for the sake of her safety and that of the kingdom. Though she’d love to know him on an even deeper level; what he would be like if he wasn’t carrying the duties currently pressing down on him, if he hadn’t been the one chosen by the sword that seals the darkness, if he could live in freedom, which she desired to do more than anything. Perhaps they could’ve been friends, or…

She quickly shook her head, incredulous that her mind had had the audacity to swerve in that particular direction again. If there was one thing she refused to think about, it was about Link and her, tied in romance.

Of-of course it wasn’t that she disliked him! If anything, she liked him a great deal! But even mentally exploring this possibility made her feel like a hole was being carved in the bottom of her heart. Why that was, she didn’t know… Perhaps because being involved with Link that way felt like something she’d only be allowed to do in a different lifetime, in a world where she wasn’t the princess doomed to fail the kingdom, and he wasn’t her knight obligated to silence his own feelings for the sake of the mission.

Oh, to live with him in a quiet town and not care about all the horrible things that were likely to happen in the following month… Wouldn’t that just be the greatest thing?

She groaned softly and closed her eyes. Now she’d allowed her brain to wander to impossibilities after all… All Link-related. Perhaps it was that discomforting feeling telling her that everything was about to go awry, or perhaps it was because she didn’t have anything else to really focus on tonight—but suddenly she wished that he was beside her. She bet his presence would soothe her soul and calm her down, which was funny considering that seeing him used to bring about the exact opposite feeling in the past.

But if her hunch was correct, and he was still out and about… Her eyes trailed to her bedroom door, which she knew was being guarded on the outside by a different knight. It was Link’s duty to stay with her during the day, but he was allowed to at least go to bed at a decent time. There would be no harm in trying…right?

~

Read it here!

[em0tionl0rd]

Dear friends,

For anyone who has been a long-time follower or hasn't heard from me in a long time, years even, or has ever wondered/worried about me, this is for you:

The past few years have folded over like an accordion for me. A lot of horrible/terrible things have happened. And my memory is no longer what it used to be. My mind seems to naturally cope with trauma and any negative interactions by locking them away deep within it's confines. Despite this, I always try to stay positive, because I know nobody likes to hear about bad things because it only makes them feel bad. Worse, they feel bad for me, and I don't need need people's sympathy. I just need time to heal, and that's what I have been doing; Taking my time. Previous post on the matter.

It was just One thing after Another, for Years, and my mind's trauma response was to simply cope and continue to endure helplessly instead of push myself away from the situation I was in. You can really see this with my lack of activity on here through my Archive. (not including my art side-blog since I tend to just mass dump whatever art and doodles I've accumulated over there). I was active on Twitter for a bit during Tumblrs downturn, but then Twitter changed. I nuked my art account over there. It's empty. All the posts I made to nobody about my characters and headworld, gone. All because I didn't want my art and ideas stolen and used for Al training.

My main Twitter remains active. I just use it to reblog art now and casually tweet about stuff. Initially I used Twitter to follow content creators, but as my timeline got cluttered, I made alts to follow specific topics. I started using my main to follow news and current issues, and my art account to follow artists and content creators, which I still do, but I retweet to my main only. Then all my art likes stay on my art account and don't comingle with political issues.

I was going to work, and while I would work, I just kept thinking, non-stop. Thinking about all the bad things. Failing to distract myself with my own characters and my story universe. Unintentionally over-sharing with coworkers because at some point in my life I learned how to cope with my anxiety by talking, and talking, and talking.. Unintentionally forming bonds with people I should have never associated with because I felt so desperate for real human interaction other than what I imagined in my head. Something other than my daemons, my conscience, my delusions. The swirling thoughts, the nightmares, the dreams that haunted me just as much as my reality.

Every week, for years, I was experiencing these nightmares. Something would manifest in my room. I could sense it was there. I couldn't escape it. Even if I went to bed and tried my best not to think about it, it would get me. It enjoyed tormenting me.

I started to stay up later and later, fearing laying bed and being prone to this unseen entity. Hoping that depriving myself of sleep would help me fall asleep faster and whisk me away to the sanctity of dreams, but even then, I wasn't safe. If I ever overslept, or didn't do enough to make myself tired before bed, it would find me. If it was merely psychosis, I couldn't tell, because it felt so real.

Eventually, after everything I went through with my ex, things changed for the better, when it came to sleep at least. There was no longer a shadowy presence standing there, grinning at me feet from my bed, or watching me at my desk, waiting for me to go to bed. Instead, there were actual hallucinations. Sleep depravation had taken it's toll on me. My ex had kept me awake many, many nights during my workweek, and forced me to drink with him, or made noise that kept me awake because he would stay up all night.

I distinctly remember watching these long brown withered fingers reaching out of the utility closet in the bedroom while we were both sleeping, and shaking the door violently as if it were trying to get out/in. My eyes were open just enough while I was asleep for this to fully wake me up and scare me. I remember turning over to my ex whimpering and he didn't even care..

Then when he was finally gone (for good), I continued to hallucinate. I had gotten into such a habit of staying up, on top of my uncomfortable sleeping situation due to work related physical pain (among other things), that I started seeing full-body characters dancing in my doorframe. This was completely new to me because before, it was less of a visual hallucination and more like THERE IS A GHOST RIGHT THERE, and now it was more like my eyes were legit not working properly. I just remember staring at my door and seeing all the Digimon characters, full color and everything, dancing and moving around like my eyes were projecting a perfect recreation of them.

I noticed in the past that if I binged a certain amount of content, my eyes would start generating new versions of what I was looking at whenever I closed my eyes. Like my brain could take all this information and create something completely unique and original, which amazed me. For example, whenever I would browse Deviantart and look at character designs or dragons or something, I would close my eyes and every time I closed my eyes I would see a completely new and unique fleshed out design in full color. The downside was that they were usually too detailed for me to do justice in drawing.

I also just see ever-changing generic psychedelic patterns and colorful concentric waves at the edges of my vision. The only time I ever see these properly with my eyes fully open is if I'm staring at the ceiling or the grass or if I press my arm against my eyes. Then there was the one time I was flying out of LA and had taken a 1g thc tab while sleep deprived and noticed a little blob of rainbows in the plane window after take-off. (my ex pushed alcohol and weed on me really hard despite me not wanting anything to do with it bc i don't need it)

So anyway, I had binge watched Digimon Adventure and was now seeing all of the characters in my bedroom door. That was a new one for me. Before I would just stare at the cottage cheese patterned ceiling and try to make out characters in the bumps. I did this my whole life as I had the same ceiling as a kid at my childhood home.

I went back and watched Digimon because I never really got to watch it as a kid and had vague memories of it being overly-dramatic (I was like maybe 4-5) and My Gosh that show goes hard for a kids show. Completely unrelated to my rambling but I wish more kids shows were comfortable tackling such hard-hitting issues, my gosh. Modern media is too soft and probably sets a bad example of reality. (my dad let me watch gory horror movies, rated r flicks, and explicit 90s anime as a kid so who am i to talk)

Before my ex and around the time the nightmares started, I started having surreal auditory hallucinations while half awake. I remember waking up to a small black geometric object floating above my face with blue lines running across it's surface. I was in the thralls of sleep paralysis and felt like it was just floating there above my face watching me. Another time, while my niece was over, I remember hearing something at the top of my stairs, clawing at the carpet and growling at me. For context, I was living in my mom's attic. It was relatively small, with low ceiling, and carpeted.

This thing that was growling at me and snarling genuinely worried me because my niece started developing very strange behavioral issues around this time, but I won't get into that here. I don't think people want to hear my supernatural/paranormal psychology ramblings. I'm just happy that after talking to my mom about it my niece is getting some much needed help. I was so worried that I remember breaking down and crying over it at work.

I felt like something was attached to my niece, and that thing was sort of a manifestation of that that only I could hear while I was half awake. Before it climbed the stairs and started growling, I distictly remember hearing it mimicking my nieces laughter (she was just a baby). And the way it dug it's claws into the carpet and growled, this guttural snarl, I couldn't tell what it was. It felt inhuman.

Around this time, because I was so isolated, and generally miserable, all the research I had been doing into various paranormal and metaphysical phenomena had taken a detrimental toll on my mental health. As you can clearly tell from all of this rambling about things unseen. I started believing that lizard people were real and lived on Saturn. Yes, because I read it on someone's blog. And because of that, I started to be attacked in my sleep by what I can only describe as something reptilian in nature. It somehow had the ability to appear before me and put me into sleep paralysis, pick me up, and send me to the shadow realm (or at least that's what it felt like) where it would claw and bite and do unspeakable things to me while I was unable to move or fight back or even scream.

These experiences carried over after my mom kicked me out. They followed me to my apartment, and they stuck with me for a majority of the time I was with my ex. Part of me really hoped that living with a real living breathing human being would help me out of my psychosis, but that was kind of hard given that he was an actual sociopath and psycho himself. I had no grounding in reality other than work. Work started feeling like an escape. And talking with coworkers even more-so.

For context, my mom did nothing to help. Both of my parents have mental health issues, and I don't want to talk about it. I'm saving that for my biography. My mom kicked me out because the internship program she forced me into in 2018-2019 didn't get me employed right away, so I ended up living with a social worker for a short while who was also a pet foster. It was a bit chaotic with all the animals but I was able to get a job and my own place and get away from my mom which was good. Also my mom was drinking when she decided to come upstairs and lecture me (again) for 2+ hours about how useless I was.

As you can tell, there was already plenty of fuel on the fire for my mental health issues to spiral out of control. I started to neglect my art, my characters, my story, my wellbeing. Yet I somehow managed to keep it together, for the most part. Enough to be employable and push myself to socialize more at work and be personable and friendly. It helps to be overly self-conscious of how I come off to people due to being bullied throughout HS for being "weird"..

I felt like I peaked in 2014-2015 while I was still in Highschool and spent most of my time outside of school hanging out with friends in Minecraft servers. I was having so much fun despite my circumstances, but then the balance shifted in a really bad direction. At one point I was even living with my grandma in an even worse situation back in 2017 just because I was that desperate to get away from my mom.

While in my internship program I realized how freeing it was to be out in the city during the day while taking the bus to work. I was far away from home back in that small farm town and got to spend time at the mall every day which was cool. I got to see the city in fall and winter and it translated well into living on my own bc I had already familiarized myself with the bus routes enough to continue using them when I got another job. I also used them when I was with my ex to get out. Other than that I biked to work. More on that later.

And during my downtime in this program I spent so much time drawing. It was like being back in class in Highschool and sitting at my desk and doodling while the teacher was talking. (it was literally the same) Other than that, I spent most of my time on my laptop doing whatever I could to distract myself from my current situation out of habit. I'd draw digitally, but I struggled to motivate myself to do anything useful with it.

For a long time I relied on Youtube and social media as an escape and a distraction from my problems. Frequently venting to friends online. Paragraph after paragraph. Driving them crazy. Even driving people away. I just didn't know what to do because I felt so helpless. I even became active in the local metaphysical community. I took classes and became a certified psychic (not kidding). I met and attended classes with a paranormal psychologist. And I hung out with a wizard. (RIP)

Needless to say, I think metaphysics and spirituality are bunk at this point. I only see value in maybe paranormal psychology, because at the end of the day, it is literally all in our heads, even if our heads are literally a window into another world sometimes (even if said other world is just dreams and imagination). Taking a huge step back from my interest in the paranormal genuinely helped me heal and become better about handling myself, where I was no longer letting illusory entities harass me in my sleep.

I remember sitting in bed that fateful night and just saying in my head to myself, "This is all in my head and I am the one in control". Then I never got attacked again. Something I didn't mention throughout this whole spiel was that I had an imaginary friend and I frequently imagined myself doing the dirty with said imaginary friend (who is also a character of mine). The "attacks" were simply an escalation of all the kinky shit in my head and all the bullshit alien conspiracies I had been immersing myself in. I had let myself get to a point where I genuinely believed that something else was controlling me outside of myself. Very not mentally healthy if you ask me.

Near the end I remember having to make sure my bedroom door and closet doors were closed, and to cover my eyes and ears with something just to prevent them from playing tricks on me while I slept.

Anyways, lucid dreams, daydreams, OBEs, and sleep paralysis had become normalized to me at a young age. I frequently dreamed about flying and imagining characters in my head. It genuinely became an escape and coping mechanism for me, especially with the creation of an imaginary friend as a teenager because I struggled to make real meaningful friends. Changing schools several times didn't help that of course. I still experience these things and still enjoy them but don't take them as seriously anymore, but they're still fun, even addicting at times. I feel like the human mind is an endlessly deep pool that continues to amaze me at times.

As for my ex boyfriend, god.. It was like dating Murdoc irl, but somehow worse, and sadder. I wanted that Stockholm Syndrome abusive boyfriend relationship sooo badly. Like I felt I needed to be punished for being such an outcast. He Almost killed me. Aside from the few bicycle accidents on the way to work, I think what he did will leave me limping and struggling to walk for the rest of my life.

Also fuck the creep I met at my last job. Holy shit, now that guy was Literally insane. I genuinely hope his kid will be okay. (why the fuck does he have a child holy shit)

Lastly, I am doing better. At least I think I am. It's hard to tell. I'm just happy to be drawing again and enjoying it. After all the BS I went through over the past few years, I actually got pretty rusty so a lot of what I'm drawing might get dumped on my art blog, but in the meantime, I'm just happy I'm posting art and people are enjoying it as much as I do. I haven't felt this stable about my art in a long time. Getting out of that apartment and away from the city and all of those negative memories weighing me down was a huge step in the right direction.

If you read all of this for whatever reason, good for you. Have a gold star. Lemme know if you would read my biography. I have plenty more fucked up stories where these came from, and this is just incoherent rambling that skips most of the awful details.

[a-rat-who-writes]

Fogged in

(Written by Rat #1)

I couldn't concentrate on an essay for a class I was failing. My brain wouldn't give me ideas. So i decided to take a break, my therapist said it was good to take breaks and do things that calm me down. She also said to not overwork myself. I got up from my chair by my desk and grabbed my computer and set it on my bed. I went to my mini fridge and grabbed a drink and closed the door. I waked over to my bed and flopped down onto it. As soon as my head hit the bed I was engulfed in comfort. I set my drink on my nightstand and propped myself up against the pillows that were arranged on my bed. I grabbed my computer and set it on my lap. The first thing I opened was Youtube, scary games always brought me comfort, yea they scare you till you pee but it helped me when I was younger with calming down. After a few videos I felt my eyes close more frequently. I turned on music then shut my computer screen and laid down. I closed my eyes trying to fall asleep, It took me so long to find the rhythm of sleep. I fell asleep after what felt like days. I woke up in my room? No I couldn't even see around me, but it felt wrong,  I could hear the song, everything felt numb. Was I okay?

I should call my therapist. No, I need to call my therapist. She will know what is happening. Last night was weird. I should also tell her of the things I think of. My brain makes me think of horrible and disgusting scenarios. That would definitely be a reason to need help. No… I shouldn't call, my problems are not as bad as her other patients?  Yea no I shouldn't, that would be rude and selfish to other people. I went to class even though a part of my body was telling me no and to stay in bed. I had to improve my grade. I had to get up for classes. Every class I went to, it felt as if everyone knew what I thought , they were all looking at me. A few days later the same feeling came up when I had to get ready for school. No, I can't. What would be the point? My grades aren't getting better? My heart hurts every time I breathe, or think one single thought. It hurts. Maybe I should just lay in bed. Yea the bed is safe. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. I woke up in the same dead place I fell asleep in. It felt the same as before, bad. All the feelings of dread, terror, pain, sadness. It felt like that's all my room was. The thoughts were worse, louder than before, more frequent. My body hurt, not like a broken bone, more like my body was ready to shut down and my lungs are going to collapse if I take another breath.

I can't call her, she will be busy, she won't answer, she won't care, she will be pissed at me. 

I can't, I just can't, I can't call her, I can't get up, I can't deal with the state of my room. I've been in here for days on end, barely being able to get up for the bathroom, or to eat and drink water. Cant get up to brush my teeth or shower, It's just so comfortable in my bed, so warm, so calming. I'm so tired. I'm going to take another nap. Again my room looks worse and worse than when I went to bed. Moldy food on the floor, Three day old water, Dirt and grime on my bed and clothes. I had gotten used to the aroma, i couldn't tell where it came from at first but i never had enough energy to get it out, since i gotten used to the smell i couldn't tell how bad it had gotten  

I haven't slept in so long, I don't want it to get worse. The things are terrible, gross, moldy, my hair is matted, My teeth are yellow, I feel like crying all the time. I'm tired every waking second of the day even if I just woke up.  Trash has piled up in my room, I don't have the energy to clean it. Every day I hear people outside. People living their life. Not staying inside a trash pit for their last waking hours. Nobody came to check in on me. Was I really that unlikable? Was I that annoying? Nobody came for me.

 Nobody, Nobody, Nobody, Nobody, Nobody, Nobody, Nobody, Nobody, Nobody, Nobody, Nobody,

I couldn't tell what time of day it was anymore, time didn't exist. I couldn't tell if i was dead and ended up in purgatory or in my room still, that's how bad it has gotten. I know it's bad, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything about it. My mind was numb and tired. My limbs were there but they wouldn't move, it was like they were paralyzed. My eyes started to well with tears. They gathered at the inner corner of my eyes and just sat there letting the tears get bigger and bigger. My mind was usually so slow, almost brain dead. Why was it overthinking everything now? Why not before the mess started piling up? Why not before the smell started? Why not before the mold started? The words in my mind got louder and bigger, more intense, More demeaning. I used to be clean, nice, eager to get good grades. My therapist! Where did she go? Did she also get tired of me like all my other friends? My body started twitching because of how hard I started to cry. The thought of it hurt so bad. Losing myself? That's how bad things were. I lost my personality. After crying for what felt like days. I stopped, I was so tired. My body hurt from crying, My eyes slowly shut and I fell into a calming state of sleep. I don't know how long it’s been since I've seen a person, or taken a shower. I'm fucking pathetic. I can’t even take a shower, I can’t even exercise. I probably look like a whale. I would get ridiculed and mocked. There is no point any way, Nobody cares. Nobody cares about me or my life. What a basic thought. My life is not as bad as some people’s. Others have it way worse than me. Why am I saying that nobody cares. My problems are never going to be as bad as some peoples for me to need help.

If your having these thoughts just remember you are loved and cared for, it may not feel like it but you are and you have to remember that

[pyro-thon]

Here’s some story I wrote while literally falling asleep as I’m writing this header part.

While nothing interesting had been happening around in Pyro or Snipers life these past few months, other then the usual. Everyone’s life had been so fought up in planing or fighting, that all of the team had been growing distant with each other. 

Any relationships that were there had been put on hold, other then everyone just thought about how when the night was over, they would hang out. But no one had any time to hang out anymore, by the time night came around, everyone just ate what little food they had laying around and headed right to bed. 

Tonight everyone was determined to hang out with one another. When everyone got back from their long day, covered in blood and dust, they all grabbed something to drink. 

Then they separated into little groups of twos or threes. Sniper went with Scout, Soldier, and Engie to do something, Heavy and Medic went somewhere else, and Spy and Demo went to go taste wine or some shit. 

Pyro was left alone in the empty living room of their house slash bunk. He had his mask under his arm, holding a cup of apple juice, and looking a little sad. He placed his mask on a chair, and went to find the others to see if he could hang out. 

Finding Engineer and the others wasn’t to hard, they were out in his workshop. He walked up to them and tried asking Engie something.

“Ex-excuse me? Engie?” He asked, trying not to interrupt their conversation too much. “Can I ask you something?”

“S-sure son, just a sec,” Engineer replied, busy talking to the others. 

Pyro sat down on a chair in the far back of the room to wait for Engie to reply, watching them talk.

He sat there for almost an hour, a silent watcher of conversations. When everyone had forgotten he was there, he slipped away quietly and back into the building. 

Pyro wandered over to try and visit Spy and Demo, but they weren’t in the room they had been in before. He considered going to try and hang out with Medic and Heavy, but he knew they never let anyone be with them when they were together. 

So he slinked off to bed early, listening to the laughs and shouts of the others in the garage. Lonely and rejected, he closed his eyes tightly and trying to block out the other sounds, Pyro curled into a ball and cried himself to sleep. 

A horrible nightmare was taking shape in the mind of Pyro. Terrifying, twisted, constantly shifting faces of his friends loomed in and out, laughing at him as they circled him rapidly. He felt a crushing loneliness and fear, trying to take deep breaths but failing. He grabbed his head and sunk to his knees, sobbing and mumbling quickly. 

Then the floor opened, sucking him down, down, down, into an infinite abyss of nothingness. His arms flailed for something to grab, but nothing was there. A pale blue light shone upon him from afar as he fell, setting him in the center of the stage. 

Flashes of his life ran by as he plummeted, so many things. Him as a child, playing with his mother, getting in trouble at school, the.. OTHER things he didn’t want to see. He covered his eyes to try and forget, but the memories wiggled under his eyelids and forced him to remember. 

Suddenly he was in a crowded area in the street, dozens of people surrounded him, but yet they didn’t notice him there. He walked right through them, and flouted up a little to see what was happening, although he already knew where he was and what would go down. 

There he was, a younger version of himself, having a loud and heated argument with someone in front of a bar. 

“I didn’t do that! You know damn well I didn’t, you motherfucker!” The 17 year old him yelled. His argumentee just frowned and punched him in the face, sending him stumbling backwards. 

Pyro wiped blood of his chin, before standing still and seething with rage. He looked as if he was trying with every muscle in his body not to go and throttle the guy who punched him. 

“What, you just gonna stand there and let me hit you?” His attacker taunted. They came a little closer to him. “Pffft. Look at this guy.” They told the crowd, snickering along with them. 

Pyro watched himself frown even more, eyes and hands twitching. His glare was so intense, so fiery with rage, even dream him was a little startled by his own intensity. 

The man came even closer to his face, sneering, when he launched himself at them. Pyro crashed himself shoulder first into them, knocked them to the ground. He grabbed their neck pushing it closer and deeper into the ground, watching as the jerk’s eyes began to pop out of his head slowly.

Pyro watched in horror, he hated how violent he was not that many years ago. That was only seven years ago, he had changed so much. But he as also proud of himself, he had taken care of himself. He didn’t need anyone, he needed no attention, no supervision, no care. 

Some people screamed in the crowd, and a few police officers came to check out the problem. The man on the cement was almost fully purple now, his eyes rolling back in his head. 

The officers came over and immediately yanked Pyro off the man, trying to handcuff him. He was not having any of that, and swung his leg up and around, smashing the back of the officers head into a metal lamp post. With one hand cuffed, he punched the other policeman in the stomach, making them bend over in pain. A quick smash over the head with his elbow, and the man was on the ground, out cold.

Pyro fled, pushing and shoving through the crowd, running frantically. As more police were alerted, and the chase began, the memory faded, leaving him falling in the vast space again. Another memory commenced, this time him in a cold, wet jail cell. He had deep bags under his eyes, and he had his upper half of his Orange jumpsuit tied like a jacket around his waist. 

A large bandage covered the left side of his cheek as he hung his head. Bright green eyes glowed like brilliant embers in the shadows of the cell, and you could feel the disgust and anger radiating off him. 

The cell bars slid open, and someone grabbed him roughly by the shirt, and the memory faded again. 

Pyro awoke to a dark room, his pillow soaked in tears and his mouth full of his pillow. He sat up and rocked back and forth, clutching the pillow close to his chest. The noise from beneath him had stopped, and all the lights from before had been long sense turned off. He checked the time on the clock next to his bed, 3:29 am. He rubbed his eyes. 

There was no way he was going back to sleep. Not after a nightmare that hellish. 

He slipped out of bed, put his shoes on, and walked out of his room. Creeping past the doors of his fellow teammates, and hearing their snores, he open the door to the outside. Outside it was cold and foggy, but that was fine with him. Whatever just numbed him was absolutely perfect right about now. 

Taking a slow walk in the mist with his lighter as a torch, he wandered the now desolate map, weaving around the payload tracks, and kicking stones around. Pyro eventually picked up a fairly thick stick, and made a torch out of it. He put his lighter away, and continued on his lonely walk. 

Eventually, he would up back very close to the base again, next to Sniper’s van. He heard the faint hum of a heater inside of it. He wished he had remembered to put on an extra sweater, the cold damp latex of his suit was a bit freezing. He considered knocking, but then he remembered how Mick and the others had completely blocked him out. He lowered his hand, and decided to go back the the base. 

As he walked back towards the building, he heard the van door open. Sniper must have gotten up to do something. Pyro turned around afraid, but Sniper didn’t notice him. Huh. As per usual lately though. 

“Hey,” Pyro said, holding the torch in his hand.

“Agh! Bloody hell, mate!” Sniper jumped, startled. “The the hell are you doing out here, mate?”

“I should ask the same about you.”

“…just…. Had the use the bathroom is all,” Sniper admitted. 

Pyro tilted his head. His eye sockets were hollow again, tired and burning with rage and curiosity. 

“What are you doing out here though?” Mick asked.

“Going for a walk.” Pyro Said simply. 

“At this hour?

He nodded. “I Couldn’t sleep well. So I took a walk. Do have a heater going in your truck?” He asked off subject.

“Y-yeah…. Why?” He asked suspiciously.

“I’m cold. Can I come in?” 

Sniper sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Sure, mate,” Sniper said a little bitterly. 

“Thanks.”

Pyro extinguished his torch, and walked into Sniper’s truck. It was so warm in there! He breathed in deeply, feeling the heat soak deep into his bones. He hadn’t been this comfortable in a while. He slouched onto the couch on the far side of the camper, and felt his eye dropping already. 

“Do you mind if I stay here for the rest of the night..?” He asked between yawns, already half asleep.

“Well, I can’t exactly kick you out now,” Sniper grumbled.

“Hmfg? What was that?” Pyro asked tiredly, rolling over to face him. 

“Nothing mate. Go to sleep.” Mick replied, climbing up the ladder to his bed. “Here, take this.” He tossed Pyro a spare blanket he had, and laid down.

Pyro took the blanket and wrapped himself up in it, taken one of the couch pillows and cuddling it tightly to his chest. Drifting off to sleep, he hoped he wouldn’t have any more nightmares. 

The next morning, Sniper shook Pyro awake.

“Hey. Wake up. Gotta get going soon.” Sniper said, leaning close to their face. He held two cups of coffee in his hands, ready to give Pyro one. 

He sat up sleepily, taking the coffee and drinking it on big gulps. He rubbed his eyes and crawled up. He stechend and touched his toes before walking out of the camper. 

“Hey.. thanks for,letting me stay. Last night.” He said, meaning it. 

“Nah. Don’t mention it.” Sniper said, leaning on the doorway of the camper. He sipped some of his coffee. “Now w go get the rest of your gear. We’re gonna be late if you don’t get ready.”

Pyro smiled, and walked off to the base. He felt a little better now, knowing he had hopefully begun a new friendship. Maybe he would try and talk to them again later tonight if he wasn’t busy.

[fueledbyapplepi]

I love your writing it's so good!!! Could I have reader having a crush on the boys and giving them a kiss while they think the boys are asleep and confessing their love to them with mikey, chifuyu and the haitani brothers? Im just so soft for those boys!!!

Sleep Tight | Mikey, Chifuyu, Ran, and Rindou

- Confessing to the boys while they're (not really) asleep

genre: 🌸 fluff 🌸

warnings: minor cussing

A/N: Thank you, anon! I really got into writing this one ( ◜‿◝ )♡ Also, I honestly think I need to come up with better titles because it sounds like a word vomit to me LMAO Anyway, I hope you enjoy this!

Mikey (Sano Manjiro)

Life would be nice if you had someone by your side who felt the same way about you.

You already have Mikey by your side, making every day much easier to get by. But does he feel the same way with you?

You practically grew up together with Mikey. Being neighbors with the man, you often come by to play with them as kids- leading to a blooming friendship. Although more often, it was you watching Mikey train in his grandfather’s dojo, where he never fails to amaze you with his tricks. Sometimes, you’ll have sleepovers together with Emma and Mikey where you’ll watch movies with them. Only for Mikey to be sound asleep halfway through the movie.

Growing up, nothing has changed that much with that routine. The only thing that has changed is your growing feelings for Mikey.

You saw the ups and downs in his life. From the time he established Toman to losing Shinichiro, you were there to witness how he would build a castle from the rocks of his downfalls.

So it was no surprise that you find your heart beating much faster when he’s around.

Childish as he is, you can’t deny the fact that Mikey is charismatic, beautiful, and kind. But, you never had the chance to tell him what you feel. Because what if he never saw you the same way?

You looked at Mikey, who’s currently sitting by your side almost half asleep. His head swings from side to side as he struggles on whether he should watch the movie or not.

“Mikey, you always never get to finish our movie nights. You’re no fun.” Emma pouted at his brother as she turned off the television.

“Mhmm, not sleepy.” Mikey turned to look at you then at Emma before leaning on your shoulder. “Just a little.”

Your heart flutters from close contact. “Maybe he’s tired from one of Toman’s meetings.” You turned to look at Emma with a sorry face

Sighing, Emma stepped out of the room as she looked at you, “I’ll get us a blanket, wait here Y/N.”

Your face felt hot as you realized that you were left alone in the room with Mikey. Well, this isn’t unusual for you two but with the strong feelings you have for him, you just can’t help but blush.

You looked at Mikey, his eyelashes seemed a bit longer, making his eyes more beautiful. His lips, although chapped, pouted with the way he’s comfy with you.

“Mikey, can you stop being so pretty? It makes me want to kiss you,” you whispered, thinking that Mikey’s probably dozing off to dreamland.

Mikey opened out one of his eyes to take a peek at you. All the sleepiness vanishing from his body. Did he just hear you right? “Then kiss me, Y/N.”

“Heh? Mikey, you’re awake?” you felt embarrassment creeping into you. “Mikey...I...look, sorry. I-”

Your blabbering mouth was silenced with a peck on the lips. Mikey kissing all your worries away.

“I like you too, Y/N.” He smiled as he leaned closer to you. Your foreheads touching and nose brush against each other.

You felt like you’re on cloud nine. Is this real? Mikey likes you too?

Before you could say anything, the door opened with Emma looking at the two of you weirdly. “Hehhh, am I interrupting something?”

You and Mikey looked at Emma. An embarrassed look on both of your faces as if you were caught red-handed.

Now, there’s a lot of explaining to do.

Chifuyu Matsuno

No matter how many times you try, you always seem to lose.

But who won’t?

With Chifuyu’s angelic smile and kind eyes, your determination to admit your feelings for him always seems to waver. It’s just that your thoughts always fly out the window and anxiousness gets the best of you.

You’ve known Chifuyu for quite some time now. Baji, who’s your cousin, introduced him to you as Toman’s 1st Division Vice-Captain and most trusted partner. Of course, it was only natural for you to be wary of him. Baji might trust him, but he could be some sort of drug dealer or serial killer. Who knows?

You’re wrong though. The more time you spend with Chifuyu, the more you appreciate his presence. How can you not? He always lends you a helping hand whenever you need it. As cliche as it sounds, Chifuyu is like the knight and shining armor in your life.

And now here he is. Once again saving you from another horrible situation.

Chifuyu offered you a ride when he found you drenched from the rain in Shinagawa. Apparently, the weather wouldn’t be pleasant today but you forgot to read the weather forecast. Currently, he brought you to his home for the meantime as the rain wouldn’t be stopping until tomorrow.

“I’ll just text and let Baji-san know that you’ll be staying here.” Chifuyu handed you a blanket as he laid on his futon.

“Thank you, Chifuyu. But I swear it’s okay for me to sleep there. This is your bed anyway.” You said embarrassed.

Chifuyu yawned. Tiredness dropping from his eyes. “It’s alright, Y/N. I can’t let Baji-san’s pretty cousin sleep on the floor.” He smiled at you with a faint blush on his cheeks.

You laid on the bed silently. Blushing from his compliment. Did he just call you beautiful?

You looked at the ceiling for about a good minute before turning to Chifuyu. “Chifuyu-san, I-”

A soft sleeping figure cut you off. The light from the lamp outside reflected on his beautiful features.

You padded off your feet on the floor and sat right next to Chifuyu. Observing him, you notice that he looks prettier when he’s peaceful like this.

You hesitatingly brushed your fingers on his hair. While massaging it, you can’t help but feel overwhelmed by your emotions. “I like you, Chifuyu-san.” You smiled proudly at yourself as you finally got to admit your feelings even though he’s asleep.

However, you noticed that the sleeping figure in front of you stiffened and reddened from your statement. Eyes wide, you held a hand in your mouth.

“Chifuyu-san, are you awake?” You hoped that he wasn’t.

But apparently, he is. “I guess you caught me.” Chifuyu sat up and scratched his head as he smiled at you sheepishly. “That felt nice though.”

“I’m sorry!” You bowed your head, hair hiding your flustered state.

“I like it!” Chifuyu panicked. “I mean, no. I like it. But, I like you too, Y/N-san.”

You laughed. At the same time, feeling extremely happy from what you just had heard.

“I guess we have some explaining to do with Baji-san.” you teased him

“Mhmm. But,” he held your hand and put it into his hair. “Would you continue that?” Chifuyu smiled.

“Of course.” You smiled at him, continuing your hair massages.

Looks like you won this time.

Ran Haitani

You’re no medical expert. The only knowledge you got was based on textbooks and first aid knowledge.

Yet somehow, Ran would always come knocking on your door whenever he has cuts or injuries. Sometimes, even without one, he would come by at your place and complain that his body is painful.

And it’s one of those nights again as you hear a soft knock on the door.

Moving to Roppongi, you were warned about the Haitani brothers. How you must stay away from them because they’re just no good. However, you somehow managed to come across the elder Haitani while you were shopping at a local store when he asked you what hair dye he should use.

This little interaction moved from one way to the other and now, ever since Ran found out where you live, he always comes by to let you heal his “injuries”.

You’re not complaining though. Despite the rumors and warnings, Ran was much more different from what other people say. He may be cocky and teasing, but the beautiful man sure is nice when it comes to you.

Causing you to develop a little crush on him.

You opened the door as you welcomed Ran. “Now, what do we have for tonight?”

Ran stepped in as he walked towards the couch. Laying as if he lives around here. “I got a bump on my forehead.” He pointed out as he pouted at you.

“You have Rindou! And you call yourself notorious but you come here whining like a baby.” you rolled your eyes as you got in the kitchen getting an ice pack for the man.

“Here.” You handed out the ice pack as you stood up in front of him.

“No.” Ran rolled his eyes. “Kiss it, Y/N.” he pouted once again.

“You’re not a baby, Ran. Tch.” you sighed as you sat across him. “Take a nap here and I’ll cook for you when you wake up.”

“Now, wifey material aren’t we.” Ran teased as he closed his eyes. Holding the ice packet against his forehead.

About a good 10 minutes have passed and you never heard another bicker from Ran. As you look at him, the man seems to be sleeping like a log.

You crouched down near him. Observing his features. You must say, he’s quite beautiful and more attractive when less chaotic.

“You’re such a big baby.” Thinking that he’s asleep, you kissed the small bump on his forehead.

As you got up to prepare his late dinner, a hand clutched yours.

You felt your body freeze for a moment as you turned around and saw a bastard smiling cockily.

“Do it again, Y/N.” Ran grinned at you as he held on tighter on your hand. “I’m a big baby but your baby.”

“Let me go!.” your face was beat red as you tried to yank off your hands. Only failing as Ran grabbed your arms causing you to fall on top of him.

“I like you, Y/N” Ran hugged you tightly while you were a blushing mess on top of him. “So let's just stay like this for a while.”

And you did.

Being with Ran isn’t so bad after all.

Rindou Haitani

If there’s one thing you’re proud of, it’s the skill you have for coloring people’s hair.

You like dyeing your hair, your friend’s hair, your cousins, and to just anyone who asks for your help. So it was no surprise when Rindou asked you to help him in doing his highlights.

Of course you can’t say no. Not because he is a Haitani but because you actually like his presence. When you’re around him, everything seems more calm and peaceful.

Despite being a menace around Roppongi, you and Rindou are actually good friends. You’ve known each other when he saved your ass around a group of guys who tried to harass you. And although he was stoic to you at first, he was able to ease up to you because of your caring nature.

After all, you recognized him as Rindou Haitani and not “Ran’s younger brother”. And he appreciated you for it.

So now here you are in their living room. Currently finished in dyeing Rindou’s hair.

“And there you have it. We just have to wait for an hour or so before washing it.” You tidied all the mess up as Ran sat and observed you. “By the way, why won’t you let me dye Ran’s hair?”

He raised an eyebrow upon your question. “Because he can’t have you.” Your eyes widened from his statement. Rindou, realizing what he just said, covered it up with an excuse. “I mean, I want him to dye his own hair and let it look shit. If he wants someone to dye his hair properly, he can go to the salon.”

You laughed at his statement. Well, he can actually crack up jokes once in a while if he loosens up his strict facade. “Oh Rindou, we also need to buy an extra conditioner.”

You looked up and saw the man with closed eyes. Deciding that you don’t want to disturb his sleep, you sat quietly beside him and observed him.

Rindou is already handsome with his glasses. But you realized that he looks much cuter without one.

He just looks good in anything.

You traced the bridge of his nose as you admired his features. “You know what? I actually might have feelings for you.” you muttered softly as you smiled.

“Let’s go out on a date then.” Rindou opened his eyes as he looked at you. Your lips a few inches away from his.

“Rindou!!!” You sat up straight. “I thought you were-”

“Asleep? Well I’m not.” he smiled at you as reached out for your hand. “But I meant it Y/N. I like you, and I want us to go on a date.” Rindou looked at you, hoping for an immediate response.

He does like you. After all, you were the only person who he was able to open up to other than Ran.

“Okay.” You smiled as you brushed your thumb at the top of his hand.

Rindou caressed your cheeks. Leaning in and going for a kiss.

“Ohh. Can I join?” a teasing voice butted in. Causing you two to look at the tall man who’s leaning in the doorframe. “I mean can I join Y/N’s dye party? Just continue that later.”

“Ran, get out!” Rindou shouted as he pointed at the door to his brother.

Well, things quickly escalated with the brothers.

As well as your relationship with Rindou.

[heaven-with-mark]

[1:52am]

a creak from the kitchen nearly made your heart stop. your head whipped around to stare through the doorway, hearing soft footsteps pad on false hardwood. the kitchen light flicked on, and you saw mark filling a cup at the sink.

it took him awfully long to realize the downstairs tv was playing, looking up to see why. instead he saw you.

there was a long moment of awkward, held eye contact. then he turned to check the clock on the stove. then looked back to you.

“it is literally three in the morning.” he sighed, voice gravelly and rough from sleep.

“yes, but— i—” you were fumbling over your own words, “uh— couldn't sleep— i couldn't sleep so i came to watch a show— watch tv.”

he shut the sink off and padded over, standing in the archway. mark sipped on the water, staring at whatever bogus show you had decided on.

“buzzfeed unsolved? really?” mark questioned, reaching his free hand up to scratch at his extremely horrible case of bedhead.

you gasped, feigning hurt, “the true crime one is amazing!”

he gave you a, 'yeah okay' kind of look before ungracefully dropping himself onto the couch beside you.

“you're not going back to bed?” you asked.

he shook his head, adding a soft 'not yet.'

there was a long stretch or silence, only the tv humming on.

mark set his cup down on the coffee table and looked to you, “why couldn't you sleep?”

“oh, uh, i don't know. i haven't slept more than a couple hours the past few nights.” you were flustered, but unsure why.

mark gave a slow nod, glancing at his cup then to you. he adjusted on the couch, propping his feet on the cushions and stretching himself out. he pat his stomach, then waved his hands in a 'come here' motion.

you spluttered, shaking your head and leaning back while trying —and failing— to explain you were fine. and mark was very much having none of it.

his face absolutely screamed, 'i'm not putting up with your shit'. eyes half lidded, mouth drawn into a slight drown, eyebrows pinched. he looked, tired.

you dejectedly gave in, awkwardly situating yourself to lay over him, legs tangled and your head tucked nearly under mark's chin. his arms came up to hug you close, and you both quickly became engrossed in the show again.

quickly you noticed, like a switch had been flipped, that you were going to fall asleep extremely soon. you were suddenly so, so tired. but, mark still fell asleep before you. he snored softly, arms lose around you but still keeping you close.

you allowed yourself to nod off little by little, content on sleeping where you were.

[obeymematches]

sleeping with your om! bf for the first time (not nsfw!) GN MC

by sleeping i literally mean you sleep

nobody asked for this but i been thinking <3

Lucifer: It starts out perfectly, his bed is big enough for you to get comfy! He lays on his side, facing you and lets you position yourself however you wish. If you struggle to fall sleep he talks/cuddles you to dreamland easily. Doesn't snore in this position and doesn't move around too much, the next day you feel well-rested.

Mammon: You two sleep in your room as at this point he spends more time there than in his own. Can be a little uncomfortable especially when he starts to toss and turn in the middle of the night. This means at some point he'll start to snore - if you try to wake him, he gives you a peck then goes back to sleeping and snoring. Doesn't remember any of this the next day. In the morning you feel tired but can't be mad.

Leviathan: This can go two ways. Either you sleep on top of him in his bathtub and get horrible sores in the morning, or you water-proof your bed. He is very nervous the entire night and doesn't get much sleep either way though. Please cuddle him before you go to sleep and distance yourself. (which you should do if you don't want to get wet)

Satan: Might be a better idea to sleep in your bed instead of his if you want to be slightly more comfy. He lays on his stomach as you cuddle up to him as he rests his arm on your back. Doesn't snore but shifts positions rather often. Doesn't go to sleep until ~2.30AM though so the next day early birds are going to get a sense of sleeping in, while night owls feel just right.

Asmodeus: You have more space in his bed but no matter how big of a bed you sleep in, he is going to cuddle you the entire night so it doesn't actually matter. Doesn't snore and doesn't move around, but cuddling unconsciously the entire night causes some bad sores in your limbs/neck by morning.

Beelzebub: You might want to sleep in your bed if you don't want to share a room with his twin. He sleeps on his back and lets you cuddle up to him, making you feel protected! Both of you slip into unconsciousness easily. However, he does wake up several times to get some food or use the toilet - if you are a light sleeper be wary.

Belphegor: Doesn't matter where you sleep because you are going to get the best experience regardless. You are out in a couple of minutes even if you have a tendency of struggling before sleep. You have whatever you yearn for come true in your dreams. No matter what happens you are not able to wake up until you can feel energetic the next morning.

Diavolo: Obviously you spend the night at the castle in his bed, as comfy as can be. You can't fall asleep without seeing him smiling at you with stars in his eyes as he lays next to you. Wants to cuddle and you can't refuse, the best you can do is a compromise to stop it before you actually fall asleep in order to avoid sores. He murmurs soft I love yous in his sleep throughout the night. Gets embarassed if you tell him about it. But you get a pretty decent sleep!

Barbatos: i fail to see a bed in his room so ig it happens in your bed or idk

The only time you can get him to cuddle you is before going to sleep. He sleeps through the night, no snores and he barely moves. A light sleeper. Overall a nice experience, you wake up rested.

Solomon: again not sure about his room but i assume he has a decent bed

He craves deep talk and cuddles (not specifying any positions since there are going to be many) before falling asleep so be prepared. Doesn't snore but depending on how rough his day was he might toss and turn. A light sleeper also. You have a decent amount and quality of sleep.

Simeon: Obviously you get more privacy if you sleep in his dorm. Would read you to sleep. Can cuddle but won't last long, even if he might struggle to fall asleep. Prefers to talk about random topics until sleep takes you both away - he is turned towards you this time, but when it's really time to sleep he turns away. Lightly snores but doesn't move around a lot. You might feel a little tired the next day.

[nothoughtsonlynat]

Cold Vodka, Warm Hands (N.R.)

Words: 1.6k

The icy wind whipped across my face as I peered through the scope. The frigid metal of the Barrett M82A1 felt comforting in my hands. The cold never bothered me, of course. Due to my pyrokinesis, I had complete control over my own body temperature.

There wasn’t a sound for miles and, somehow, it was both peaceful and unnerving. The snow crunched with any and all movement, so we were staying unbearably still. I slowly scanned the abandoned factory for our target; a Russian arms dealer who was planning on stealing some alien tech and selling it for profit. We were about 1,500 yards from the factory. There’s not much cover out here, so our choice of positions was very limited. The shot would be a difficult one, with the distance and the crosswinds, but this is my specialty. Well, it used to be, before I discovered my ability to manipulate heat and fire. I’m one of SHIELD’s best sharpshooters.

As I checked once more for the target, a chattering noise distracted me from my task. I pulled my face away from my rifle to look at my partner, who was laying next to me, prepared to range the target and gauge the wind. Her lips were turning a shade of purple, and her teeth were chattering from the cold.

“Are you okay, Agent Romanoff?”

“Mhm.”

“Sure. Aren’t you Russian?” She leveled me with a hard glare and I slightly raised my hands in the air and went back to my task.

I noticed some movement through the scope. “Target, 11 o’clock.” 

“Oblique wind from the left, 8 miles per hour,” she called out.

I adjusted the scope accordingly and took the shot. Clean kill. No witnesses. Objective complete. I quickly unloaded the rifle and slung it over my shoulder as Agent Romanoff packed up. To say I was relieved the mission was over would be an understatement; this woman is practically a walking gay panic, and the mission had done nothing to help with my not-so-small crush on her. I risked a glance at her as we walked side by side. She looked freezing. Her right hand was in her pocket, but her left was exposed since one of her holsters blocked the left pocket.

“Is there any particular reason you’re staring at me, Agent y/l/n?” Shit.

“Oh, I- uh, I- um, can I hold your hand?” Her head snapped around to look at me as I realized what I said. “I just mean that, um, you look really cold and I can, you know, warm up your hand, at the very least. With my p-powers.” She didn’t say anything as she blankly stared at me, and I was worried that I had crossed a line until she abruptly stuck out her hand. I stared at the appendage for a second before realizing what she meant. I grabbed her hand in mine and focused on my powers, being careful to not let my hand get too hot.

We walked hand-in-hand the whole way to the safehouse. I could hear her sniffle every once in a while, but I didn’t say anything out of fear of getting punched. As we entered the safehouse, I realized it was more of a shack than anything. The walls were plywood and the whole thing was only one room. The kitchen area had a couple of cabinets and a small gas stove, and there was only one fairly small bed, as well as a small fireplace.

“Huh. This is…”

“Horrible. This is really horrible,” she finished for me. I couldn’t help but notice how nasally her voice sounded. 

I slid the bags off her shoulders and set them down next to mine. She sent me a questioning look as I walked her to the edge of the bed and sat her down. I said nothing as I grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Sit here. Don’t move. Please.”

I walked around the room, lighting the oil lanterns. I grabbed some firewood from the pile and stacked it in the fireplace, using my powers to light a fire. I went into the ‘kitchen’ and rummaged through the cupboards. I heated a can of soup in my hands and poured it into a bowl. I found some teabags and heated some water the same way, since it was faster.

I brought the tea and soup over to Natasha, placing them on the stand next to the bed. She made no move to grab either item, too busy looking at me with a bewildered expression.

“What? You need to warm up. You’re already getting sick.”

“Why are you taking care of me?” She asked as I helped her move up against the headboard and under the covers.

I handed her the soup and said, “Well, you’re my partner— on the mission, I mean. It’s my job to protect you...on the mission.”

She hummed and I left to hang up our clothes to dry. I grabbed the second bowl of soup and sat in the bed next to her, as far away as physically possible.

“I don’t bite, you know. You can sit closer. You’re gonna fall off the bed,” she said amusedly.

“Right, sorry. Just didn’t wanna make you uncomfortable or anything.”

“I’m perfectly comfortable, minus the fact that it’s still freezing in here.”

After we finished our soup, we went to bed since there was nothing else for us to do. I was woken up in the middle of the night by Natasha’s fit of sneezing and coughing. I sat up and patted her back as she coughed. That sounded painful. I got out of bed and brought her a roll of toilet paper since there were no tissues. I made her another cup of tea before getting back in bed. I could see her shivering as she sipped the hot beverage, and I had an internal debate with myself. Before I could chicken out, I slid closer to her and wrapped my arms around her, focusing on my powers.

“What are you doing?” She asked through her chattering teeth.

“Warming you up,” I replied simply.

“You’re gonna get sick.”

“I’m not gonna get sick, you baby. Just let me hold you.” She stopped protesting after that and continued drinking her tea. Once she was done, she set it on the stand. She snuggled further into my arms and we moved to lay down. I felt her breathing even out as her muscles relaxed. I fought off the exhaustion; if I fell asleep, my body would return to its normal temperature. I tried not to freak out at the feeling of having in her arms, knowing that after this mission, we’d go back to being just teammates.

Morning rolled around and I watched the sky lighten through the only window in the safe house. I hadn’t left the bed all night, aside from the two times I added wood to the fire. As the sun peaked over the horizon, Natasha stirred in my arms.

“Morning,” she rasped out. Oh my god, her morning voice is gonna be the death of me.

“Uh, morning,” I replied, clearing my throat. She sat up and looked over my face, suddenly making me very self-conscious.

“Did you sleep at all last night?”

“Uh, no, not really. I stayed awake to keep my body warm for you.”

“You didn’t have to do that, y/n.”

“No, it’s— I didn’t mind. Do you feel any better?”

“Well, I don’t feel like I’m dying anymore. It’s still cold as hell, though. You know what I really need?”

“What?”

“Some nice, cold vodka,” she said with a small, genuine smile.

“Oh! I have some of that!”

“You brought vodka on a mission?” She raised an eyebrow as her lips curved into a smirk.

“Yes— no, well, kind of. I bought it on the way here. Nothing like Russian vodka, right?”

I walked over to my duffel bag and pulled out the bottle of vodka. I grabbed two mugs from the kitchen, as well as a package of crackers. I slid back into the bed and she raised an eyebrow at the crackers.

“What? I’m not letting you drink vodka on an empty stomach. I don’t wanna get puked on,” I said with a joking grimace, although I really didn’t want to get puked on. 

She laughed as she poured some vodka into the mugs. I opened the crackers and set the package on the bed, and she handed me one of the mugs.

“It’s five o’clock somewhere, right?” I said, then we clinked the mugs together and I grimaced at the burn.

“Ugh, why does it have to be so cold? Can we just stay in bed?” That is definitely the closest Natasha Romanoff has ever gotten to whining, and it was adorable.

“Well, our extraction isn’t until this afternoon, so yeah, for a while.” She pushed herself back into my body, and I wrapped my arms around her after recovering from the brief shock.

Three hours later, we were packing up and getting ready to hike to the extraction point. I put out all of the lanterns before leaving the safe house. Natasha stuck out her hand and I wrapped it in mine without hesitation. It wasn’t all that cold out anymore, but I didn’t say anything about it. We made it to the extraction point in about thirty minutes, her hand never dropping mine. The SHIELD jet came into view and landed in the clearing in front of us. I couldn’t stop the twinge of sadness at the fact that we were leaving. It was selfish, but I loved taking care of Natasha these past two days.

As the gate of the jet dropped, Natasha spoke in a sultry voice, “Thank you, Y/N, for keeping me warm.” She kissed my crimson cheek before sauntering onto the jet. I snapped out of my daze and followed her, trying and failing to keep my composure.