#parallel countertops

[varshasaini]

What is a galley kitchen layout?

A galley kitchen layout is a type of kitchen design characterized by two parallel countertops or cabinets that form a central walkway. This layout is typically found in smaller homes or apartments where space is limited. The name "galley" is derived from the narrow kitchens found on ships, resembling the layout of a galley on a boat.

In a galley kitchen, appliances, cabinets, and countertops are arranged along the two walls, maximizing efficiency by creating a compact workspace. This layout allows for easy movement between the two sides of the kitchen, making it convenient for cooking tasks. However, due to its narrow configuration, storage and counter space may be limited compared to other kitchen layouts.

Despite its space-saving design, galley kitchens can be stylish and functional with the right organization and utilization of space-saving solutions. Many homeowners appreciate the streamlined and efficient layout of galley kitchens, especially in urban areas or smaller residences where maximizing space is crucial.

In summary, a galley kitchen layout features two parallel countertops or cabinets that create a central walkway, making it an efficient option for smaller homes or apartments with limited space.

[daughter-lilith]

❅In Every Life❅

Halsin x Fem!Reader | Modern AU, Parallel Universes Part 2 | Read Part 1 here.

Summary: Another day on modern Earth as you finally wind down for the late night in your quiet home. All is as it should be. All is normal as you prepare for bed. That is, until a tall, hulking man with pointed ears shows up at your doorstep claiming to be your lost love from another time and realm. But he’s a stranger. A stranger who forever changes everything you thought you knew about your life.

Explicit 18+ (In future Parts)

CW (For whole story): Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Tension, Oral, P in V, Shifting, Pain, Love, Halsin is Emotional!

Word Count: 6.66k😈

*Reminder, this is part 2.

Halsin’s gaze roamed over your face, your hair, and you unconsciously hugged your robe a bit tighter. You weren’t typically a shy person, but something about his visual inspection made your cheeks flush and you had to fight the urge not to swipe a piece of hair behind your ears. Instead, you held his gaze, as best as you could anyway.

“Your hair is styled differently,” he proceeded, “and the top of your ears no longer have their tips. And yet… you are as beautiful now as you were then. Clearly, nature still works its wonders, even in this foreign place.”

You nearly gasped at his words as a wave of flutters tickled your belly. And his smile only further enhanced the prickling goosebumps racing across your skin. Speechless, a torrent of silence stretched between you and the man with the pointed ears. In mere moments, the air felt thick with tension, unspoken words, confusion, questions, and so much more. You were starting to get lost in his intense eyes again, the way he looked at you with such fondness. And you knew at that moment your heart was correct. He wouldn’t hurt you. He was safe. But there was still so much you didn’t know.

As if detecting your thoughts, he cleared his throat and expanded his chest a little, like he was bracing himself. “I get ahead of myself. Now, as I promised you, I will explain all. Shall we sit?”

You glanced at the counter next to you where tall chairs lined up together, and shook your head. Your legs would’ve been a shaking mess if you were forced to remain in a seated position, anxiously awaiting his words. Somehow you felt steadier on two feet, with one hip leaning slightly against the side of the island.

“Standing is fine.”

Halsin nodded. “Very well.”

He took two, calm strides forward, closer to the other side of the countertop, directly across from you. He closed his eyes, his large chest rising and falling. A gold emblem of a leaf on his chest gleamed beneath the warm light, but when he opened his eyes again, he had your complete attention.

“The place I mentioned earlier, Faerûn, where I hail from, is a realm far from here. It can only be accessed by opening a very particular and powerful portal. It is how I arrived in this world myself, through the Astral Plane, and then here I—"

You lifted a hand, stopping him. “Sorry- portal? Astral Plane? Next thing you’ll say is you’ve once seen dragons breathe down fire from the sky, or you have pointed ears because you’re an—

“An elf,” he interjected, smiling. “Both of which you mention are true. Though I’ve been told I’m rather large for one.” A gentle chuckle sounded from his throat, it would’ve been comforting were your face not contorted in complete bafflement.

“You’re an elf?” You half laughed, incredulous. But at your reaction, the trace of humor that marked his face waned.

“Yes,” he simply responded, calm. “The Oak Father warned me that there would be many changes in this world. Your world. I now presume the mention of portals and dragons will be among the many number of differences for all I have to say.”

You exhaled, absentmindedly shaking your head. The longer you looked at him, the more you could tell he meant what he was saying, or at least he believed it enough. Too wrapped up in your thoughts, you couldn’t even conjure up the question of who the hell the Oak Father was. And you got the sense that Halsin, in whatever tale he was about to unravel, was just scratching the surface.

“You’re being serious.” You weren’t really asking, more so stating.

“I am.”

“You’re an elf? How is that even…” you trailed off, speechless. How was that what? Possible? How was anything he was saying possible? As a writer, you were a believer in ‘anything is possible’ but when that anything was a six-and-a-half foot, maybe more, henched elf…

“Are there no elves in this world?” One of his brows was slightly raised.

“No. No elves, no dragons. Just an overpopulated amount of humans.”

“Ah, I see,” he said. “That would explain the change in your ears, though I suppose you could’ve become any race on any plane.”

You gasped, blinking rapidly. He was starting to lose you, speaking to you like he knew you, like there was some other version of you.

Halsin must’ve sensed the havoc firing in your brain because he stepped forward, and you heard the sound of the chair scraping the floor as he bumped into it. You raised a hand to halt him, even though the entire island still separated you.

Without actually saying it, he was basically calling you an elf. There was a sudden twitch along the rim of your right ear at the mere thought. There was more to this tale, just hear him through. Closing your eyes for a few seconds, you breathed deeply and silently vowed that you wouldn’t interrupt again, or at least you would try not to. You opened your eyes. “Alright then… continue.”

He nodded, releasing a heavy breath of his own. He took a moment to analyze you before proceeding. “Faerûn is where I met you. You and your companions had saved me from the cruel shackles of a brutish goblin camp.” His mouth twisted in disgust, before smoothing out again. “Then you helped to save my grove, a druid’s sanctuary under my govern- from slaughter and being cut off from the world. I knew then… that you would become most important to me.” A warm smile melted into his cheeks and that fondness in his gaze returned. Yes, you were indeed safe with him.

“So I joined you,” he carried on, “on a journey of high adventure where you and your companions welcomed me with open arms. You became my friends, and soon after, my family.”

He went on to explain the depths of your adventures together and how you faced all sorts of formidable foes and challenges. He spoke of the times you cleansed curses, cut down hags, slayed devils, ended a vampire lord, and destroyed would-be gods. It was all so much, and yet the way Halsin delivered this tale, how he articulated each word so careful and precise in his language, was exceptionally poetic. He connected words in ways you wouldn’t think of, as though he came from a time long past.

And even though he was telling you tales of the sort of things you’d usually read about or see in movies, which made it even more unbelievable, you were extremely immersed. He made it easy to follow along to imagine the landscapes, the campsites, and your companions. No, your friends, apparently.

An interesting group from the way he described them. There were some strange words you caught here and there like githyanki or tiefling, but also very familiar ones like vampire and wizard. He described one who had red skin and two horns, one cut halfway- she was among your first closest friends, he said. After forming your group, before you met him, she had been the one you connected with swiftly, more of an open book than the other women. But in time, they too became like your sisters.

And the vampire was another close friend of yours, a sincere bond that blossomed from such a fragile heart. You once shared a brief romantic relationship with this white-haired elf, but came to realize your bond thrived better in the waters of friendship. You wished you could’ve seen all Halsin was describing, what he was imagining from his faraway look while he recounted this intriguing world. You knew that your own mental images weren’t doing it justice.

“…and our bond only grew stronger, rooted in the depths of the earth.” The more Halsin spoke, the more the leaves decorating his shoulders lowered as he relaxed. Sometimes he spoke faster than he seemed to intend, eager to share all he could with you. “And in battle, you were magnificent as always, the way the crackle of lightning simmered over your fingers, or how your longsword was blazed in fire, smiting your foes with no mercy. I knew to never stray on your bad side.” Halsin chuckled at this, a deep rumble from his throat.

You wished you could return the sentiment, but you could only half smile in return, a dull ache in your gut. It all sounded too incredible, fascinating really. But to your disappointment, none of it meant anything to you. You found yourself genuinely wanting to connect with his story, the world he painted for you.

And the way he spoke about you, there was something so incredibly deep there, raw, pure, powerful. You could feel that he cared for you in ways that went far beyond just friends or casual lovers. He cared for you possibly more than anyone you’ve ever known, or at least cared for whoever this version of you was. Someone fierce, powerful, a leader…and could wield magic?

“You’ve talked about magic a lot,” your voice filled the room, taking the chance to speak while Halsin paused his story, “that all of your—our- friends had it, because of access to the Weave?” You narrowed your brows, glancing at Halsin for some silent reassurance. When he nodded, you continued. “And some were closer to magic than others or accessed it in different ways… so are you telling me that you have this magic even now?”

Halsin grinned. “I do. And I presume that is but another change in your world.”

You hummed. “There is magic, in a way… rituals, spells, but definitely not how you’ve described it. It all sounds like the sorts of things I read and write about.”

Halsin stood straighter, his chest expanding as that proud grin still painted his face. “May I demonstrate?”

Your stomach flipped. “Demonstrate? Right- right here?”

“If you wish?” Halsin raised one hand, letting it hover off to the side as he stared at you, silently waiting for your permission.

You looked up at him, shifting between both of his eyes before settling on his waiting hand. There was no way this was about to happen. Magic? Fresh nerves stormed in your belly, but it was mostly fueled by a wave of excitement, just the tiniest hint of fear lingered in its depths. You had no idea what to expect; maybe a magic trick? Some sort of illusion? You swallowed, meeting his eyes again. With a deep breath, you nodded. “Okay, go ahead.”

Halsin, still smiling, turned his attention to his hand. You watched him close his eyes, almost lost in the wave of peace that washed over him, finding it easier to inspect his features without his eyes trained on you. He truly was a beautiful man. You watched his lips that seemed to mumble a bit, and random twitches in his eyes like he was searching behind closed lids. He looked at peace, and damn if peace didn’t look wonderful on him.

The scars across his brows did nothing to diminish his appearance, and you couldn’t help but imagine what caused such a wound. Halsin hadn’t mentioned that in his story, at least not yet. You clenched your teeth a bit, suddenly feeling upset that something would dare harm this man in such a way. He was still a stranger, and it even surprised you to feel this strange sense of…protection over him? Whatever caused the scar, you just knew Halsin didn’t deserve it.

Your expression softened, and you felt like you could stare at him forever, fixing his image in your mind. But forever was short-lived as something else caught your eye. From the palm of Halsin’s hand, a tendril of soft, golden light flowed upward, accompanied by two more. You gasped, frozen, completely entranced at the sight before you. You half noticed Halsin open his eyes, but you couldn’t take yours away from the cloudy mist of golden light that streamed and danced in slow, intertwining patterns. The room suddenly felt warmer, comforting, like it was suddenly the safest place on the planet.

“Magic,” you heard Halsin murmur, and you finally looked at him once more, nearly gasping again.

The light reflected against his eyes, causing a warm glow as he stared at you carefully, gauging your reaction. The golden-yellow light danced across his face, shadowing and lighting certain features as it moved. You weren’t sure what to focus on- Halsin, or the orb of energy he seemed to conjure just from his hand. As though sensing your thoughts again, Halsin made it easier to choose. He extended his hand over the counter, directly to you. The tendrils of light slithered away from his hand, reaching for you, lazily flowing towards your hand.

Surprisingly, you didn’t flinch but remained so still, the only thing racing was your heart as a tickle fluttered over your hand on first contact. You watched the golden glow travel up your hand, passing over your cheek and simultaneously spreading across your chest. It was warm, like a soft blanket of protection. It was a strange energy that seemed to be attracted to you, both exploring and revering you as it encompassed you entirely. You released a sudden gasp, overwhelmed by the tingles that crept up your spine and expanded across your chest. A near-weightlessness feeling washed over you. Another sigh as the magic finally dissipated, leaving you with a deep sense of peace as a gift. A gift of…magic.

“Magic thrives where it belongs.” The sound of Halsin’s deep timbre shook you out of your sudden stupor. “It always knows its way home.”

Breathing a bit harder now, you placed both hands firmly on the counter, losing the stillness from before. Your robe loosened slightly but still managed to cover yourself mostly. “That was…amazing.”

Halsin’s smile was just as warm as the magic he recently conjured. “As are you.”

Your breath caught in your throat, and you were immediately lost in the beautiful warmth of Halsin’s gaze. His hands were also leaning on the counter, with the one he used for his spectacle being placed closer to you.

A million and one thoughts danced in your brain: affection, wonder, intrigue, confusion. The impossible becoming possible before your very eyes. An invisible thread formed between the two of you; a bond that ached to reel you into each other, a magnetic force awakening after finally finding the right field to pull itself into.

Halsin muttered your name, so sweetly from his lips, his head tilting slightly. A chill swarmed up your back at his voice. You decided then that you liked the way he said your name, almost breathy. He sounded so close. You would’ve sworn he whispered it into your ear except you were very much staring at him across the kitchen island.

“Halsin?” you managed to mutter, sensing the faint shakiness in your breath.

“Yes?” He was intensely focused on you, eager for whatever you were about to request. If you could read his mind, you’d assume he was ready to march around the counter to get closer to you the second you allowed it.

“What happened with… us? Why did you come here?” You nearly regretted it the moment you asked as his face fell and his shoulders slumped. But you had to know.

He hadn’t finished all he had to say, and you still had too many questions. From everything he said, it sounded like you had an amazing life together, all things considered, so what went wrong? Why was this man -elf- standing in the middle of your kitchen, in the middle of the night, from a land far, far from home?

Halsin’s hand slipped back, and he glanced away, frowning. Your stomach felt uneasy at his change in tone, in demeanor. But you patiently waited.

Still looking away from you, Halsin breathed deeply. “After we defeated the Absolute, and helped repair the city, we all went our own ways, for the most part.” He spoke so softly, quiet. “You and I returned to what once was Reithwin, where we lifted the curse. We built a wonderful life together. We spent two decades there, in blissful peace, occasionally leaving to visit our friends, sometimes taking us away from home a few months at a time, with your encouragement. Other times they’d come to us, staying for days or weeks at a time. It was a fulfilling life.” He finally met your eyes again, smiling gently but it did not quite reach his eyes.

“We were so happy,” he expressed, a faint lightness in his tone. “There were many moments I feared I would wake, and you would have moved on, ending the dream…. But you were always there, wrapped around me as the rising sun illuminated our room. And you never failed to reassure me how happy you were, with our life, with me.”

There was a sadness laced in Halsin’s calm voice and each moment a flicker of dread occupied his eyes as he stared at you while he spoke. You rubbed your lips together, trying but failing to suppress your fleet of nerves. Tonight had to be a record for how often your heart rate rose and calmed.

“One day,” he exhaled a deep breath, trembling. “We received urgent word from Lae’zel, calling for us all to meet her in the Astral Plane. She and her people were finally so close to defeating Vlaakith once and for all but needed the help of old friends to ensure victory. I was a bit hesitant to take on another such venture after a time of peace… but she was our family. To deny her our aid was out of the question.”

The gravity in his voice expressed to you how serious this choice was. You still had no recognition of who Lae’zel was, only from the brief stories he told. But here on Earth, you did have friends of your own who you would go to hell and back for, and they’d do the same for you. So you admired Halsin’s decision to aid this Lae’zel.

“So we prepared as best we could,” Halsin continued, “calling upon old allies who would be able to lend a hand and once again fight alongside the Saviors of Baldur’s Gate.” He made a gesture with his hands like he was about to introduce someone to a stage. “And before we knew it, we were back in the Astral Plane. It was chaos, magic against magic, dragons against dragons.”

He closed his eyes, his nose scrunched up in disgust as though reliving the memory all over again. It made your heart quicken the more he uncovered about this battle in a space where time did not exist. He told you that Vlaakith may very well have been a god, or was exceptionally close to godhood than ever before.

Halsin exhaled, shaking his head slightly. “We’ve faced formidable foes, as I mentioned, and she earned her place among them.” He looked away again, half turning his body. “We were waning. Vlaakith had great losses, but we were tiring ourselves just the same. Every blade, every cut, every flicker of magic was followed by a strange exhaustion. Perhaps the Astral Plane had unpredictable effects. It seemed to make us stronger but for a limited time and when that effect wore off…”

“She started winning,” you muttered. Not so much to him, but to yourself. You could almost picture it: fighting in a space of endless time, amongst stars, floating rock, and deceased titan-like gods. You emerged from your inner thoughts as Halsin began to speak again.

“But we have been broken before, and we never gave in to defeat. So we fought, and fought, using all the strength our bodies would allow, all the magic our energy could conjure…And we had done it. We defeated the tyrant, together, as we’ve always done, this time Lae’zel delivered the final strike. But—”

A rough breath left Halsin’s mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut, fist clenching. You absentmindedly moved towards the side of the island, not completely coming to Halsin’s side, but noticeably closer than before.

Your heart was hammering, anxious for him to continue. But you had no words at the moment, only allowing Halsin to gather himself until he was ready to proceed. A few seconds, then more, and he opened his eyes, obliviously staring at the now empty space you occupied moments before.

“But Vlaakith still drew breath,” he gritted his teeth, a sudden ire dripping from his tone.

It almost frightened you, to sense the simmering rage that crept up his throat. This man who had been so calm, so gentle towards you, and still was, now seemingly fighting back an old vengeance. It was like the room suddenly felt heavier, brought down by a foreign anger that had nowhere to go.

You already missed the occasional smiles that graced his face a short time ago, the warmth of nature in his eyes as he gazed at you. Another breath left the large man’s lips, his broad chest rising and settling into a gentle rhythm. When he spoke again, there was still a taste of an underlying anger in his voice, more hidden now that he was no longer clenching his teeth.

“Vlaakith would not let death capture her without another,” he said, still not meeting your eyes. “With her last strength, she aimed a fatal blow at Lae’zel only to miss…” He finally turned to look at you, sorrow dragging down his face. “She missed because you leapt in front of her instead.”

Even under the dim lighting, you could’ve sworn the color left his tanned face. Your stomach tightened and a sudden wave of nausea lingered in the depths of your belly. You suddenly felt panicked, shocked, and tired all at once; like you were experiencing someone else’s emotions, someone else’s pain. You rested your elbows on the counter, leaning your weight onto it.

“So Vlaakith,” you swallowed, taking a breath. “Killed her instead? Killed…me?”

“Yes,” Halsin answered quickly, as if desperate to move past that truth. He started shaking his head, overcome by emotions. “It all happened too quickly. I couldn’t get to you fast enough. And by the time you fell in my arms, the Astral Plane was already beginning to claim you. You looked at me and…you said, in the most angelic voice I know…in every life.”

A wave of dread washed over you, sneaking into your pores and threatening to drown out your soul. You weren’t remembering anything, you weren’t visualizing this fatal moment and yet it felt like your lungs had the air violently sucked out of it. You clenched your teeth, trying to calm yourself and also feign that you were okay, not wanting to watch Halsin’s face contort to anymore worry. Grasping the edge of the counter, you were acutely aware of Halsin still speaking.

“So I spent the next 11 years without you, until one night, a dream. You came to me.” Halsin’s words pulled your attention back to him, your ears honing in on this new information. “It was unlike any other I’ve had of you before. It was…urgent. Real. You were repeatedly telling me to find you, your voice blending in and out of earshot. And just before I woke, your voice came beside my ear, I could feel your breath tickle my skin, you said but one word…‘Earth’.”

“I…I said that?” you stammered a bit, throat dry, trying to quell the strange reactions undertaking your body.

Halsin nodded, terse. “You did. I did not understand it at the time, for the only earth I knew was the grass and dirt beneath my feet.” He bowed, placing a fist across his chest. “But with the wisdom of Silvanus, and the aid of the greatest wizard I’ve ever met, I learned that Earth was a place. A world. Your new world.” Halsin turned, taking a step along the counter, then another, towards you. But he stopped when he caught your expression, and you silently thanked him for it.

You sensed he wanted to be comforting, to tell you this news as gently as possible, but it was becoming all too overwhelming again. You almost wanted to ask if he could conjure up some more magic so you could get enveloped in its sweet, soothing embrace again. So it could untwist the knots in your stomach and calm the rate of your heart with its golden light.

Halsin lowered his head, sullen, occasionally shifting his eyes from you to the empty space at your side. “It took another year to figure out how to open the right portal and the right amount of magic it demanded.” His voice was softer, lower, like he was losing confidence the more he continued to speak. “I was warned that it may be difficult to return or that you may not remember me. But I had to try… so Gale, Shadowheart, and myself, with the guidance of Silvanus, Mystra, and Selûne at our backs, entered the astral plane once again. There, a portal for me already awaited…”

He stared at you, softly searching your eyes, daring another tentative step closer. “And then I came here, to you… to the greatest love my heart has ever known.”

“Halsin…” you breathed, but he raised his hands, halting you.

“This may not be Faerûn, and elven blood may no longer flow through your veins. But your face, your eyes, your very soul is just the same. I can feel it.”

Another fleet of nerves sliced through you, your heart pumping fiercely in your ears, the beat of your pulse so intense within your wrists. Halsin was almost standing directly before you now, the heat radiating off his large frame reached for you, as eager as the golden tendrils of magic.

But he stopped before closing the distance entirely, not crossing the small threshold of space still between you. You avoided his gaze, but could still feel him watching you, and could hear the quick pacing of his breath, like he was trying his damnedest to calm himself.

Your name left his lips, a gentle plea to guide your attention back to him. An involuntary flutter decorated your cheeks when he said your name that way, the gentleness of it, fueled with decades of love. But even that was not enough to quell your pounding heart. You were stuck trying to understand everything Halsin was telling you, this man, this elf. This elf who was apparently 350 years old when you embarked on this wild adventure together, with friends who weren’t all human, and who could do great and magical things. You could do great and magical things. It was all so incredible, but also, it was too much…

Halsin’s deep timbre filled your ears, you could almost feel the vibration in his voice. “What are you thinking, my heart?”

“Please,” you muttered, startled by his tender words of affection. “You shouldn’t say that…” You dared a look at him, noting the strict narrowing in his brows and confusion in his expression.

So he said your name again, as a question this time, fear accompanying his voice. You sighed, suddenly feeling more overwhelmed with each passing second. His presence was so much, the closeness, his warmth, his words of affection for a love once lost. A love he believed to be you. So, you took two steps back, needing to reclaim the distance between you two, needing to find room to breathe and to think.

Your throat felt dry and you promptly found yourself reaching for a nearby water bottle, hastily swallowing as much of the water as you could. Breathing rapidly, you put the bottle aside and steadied yourself with both hands on the counter.

“Halsin, I…I don’t know…”

He remained still, careful not to further overwhelm you by standing too close. “You are having trouble believing me?”

You half-laughed, bringing your hands to your head, and dug your fingers into your hair. “Quite the opposite. In fact, this would be so much easier if I didn’t believe you.” You started pulling at your scalp, just a little before releasing your grip.

You started moving around the island but remained mindful not to get too close to Halsin, a million thoughts racing in your head. “If I didn’t believe you then I could just assume you were crazy, and that I was crazy for letting you in my house and I’d just ask you to leave and probably call the cops. It would be one hell of a story to tell my friends but—” You stopped pacing, finding the courage to look at him again. His expression was a mixture of emotions, but the worry in his eyes overtook them all.

“I believe you, Halsin.”

He smiled, warm, the expression so beautiful on his face. And it nearly broke your heart.

“I believe that you come from a place of what people here would deem impossible, and you had these amazing friends, and a life with…” you closed your eyes, breathing deeply. “But I’m not her, Halsin…”

You opened your eyes to find his smile falling, the sight nearly ripping you in two. You ignored the incessant nerves that ravaged your stomach, the loud beat of your heart that just could not rest. “I believe that you cared for that part of me... but that isn’t who I am, Halsin. I have no memory of anything you speak of. I have an entire life here.”

Halsin said nothing, silence seizing him. You rushed on, question after question, whatever thought you could pull out of your head from the sea of endless thoughts. “What am I supposed to do with this, Halsin? What was your plan after finding me?”

You waved your arms aimlessly, unable to control the issues spilling out of your mouth. “Am I supposed to go to your world, now? Do you stay in mine? Do you just sleep on my couch and we talk about it in the morning?”

“Perhaps, if you wish to wait for the morning sun, I—"

“No, Halsin. I don’t wish for that.  I—I don’t know what to do. But I do know this…”

You regarded him, taking a moment to gather yourself. He stood patiently, so quiet, and yet his eyes said so much. A budding fear was digging its claws into this large elf, right before your eyes. “I’m afraid, Halsin.”

He frowned, taking a step back and you quickly moved forward, throwing your hands up. “No, no!” you exclaimed, halting him. “Not afraid of you, I know I’m safe with you. I just…I think I’m afraid of all of this. I don’t know how to handle it. Maybe I need time or maybe I need…ugh.” You groaned in frustration, unable to find the words, unable to process.

Halsin lowered his head, a deep breath, then another. A twang of guilt poked against your chest, though you knew you had nothing to feel guilty for. He seemed like he was an incredible man. He was gorgeous, calm, a fantastic talker, and above all he managed to make you feel entirely safe despite his foreboding stature.

“I’m so, so sorry you lost her, Halsin,” you were half-whispering, careful with your words. “I have no doubt you were so loved. I can tell you are an amazing man and maybe if you and I met in other circumstances, and we were from the same world… who knows…” You tried to sound as comforting as possible but even you felt a twinge of sadness at your words.

And in that moment, you realized you wanted to be that person that Halsin crossed realms for. To be that person who was so deeply loved, and to feel the same in return. But you found it nearly impossible to mentally handle this. It was all so wonderful, phenomenal, unbelievable, and yet you believed it all, down to the very last word. And it terrified you that it was possible.

“I’m just a normal gal, who loves to write and watch movies, play games, and take walks. I’m not that remarkable, powerful sorceress who wielded a sword as skillful as a fighter. I’m not who you loved. I’m just me.” A long breath left your lips, and your shoulders slumped in exhaustion, defeated.

“I understand,” Halsin said, finally gracing you with his voice again. You needed to hear it right now, more than ever. You needed to know he would be okay. “Forgive me…in my haste to find you, to see you again, I failed to consider what that may mean for you.”

You smiled, meekly. “No, you longed to find your love again. If I was in your place, I would’ve rushed at the chance myself. I wish I could’ve given you the reaction you imagined.” Your head slumped, suddenly feeling heavy, and a sea of guilt swam harshly within you.

Halsin sighed, calm. “No, don’t say that. This was a lot to process, a lot to bear.” He walked towards you slowly, watching your expression closely so as to make sure not to overstep. When you didn’t protest or step backward, he proceeded. “And if it means anything, even if you’re just a normal gal, I know in my heart you are extraordinary.”

A burning sensation simmered in your eyes, and you swallowed, trying not to let your emotions completely consume you. Already too overwhelmed by what to even feel. Tilting your head upward, the closer Halsin came, tears almost threatened to spill when you got a deeper look into his eyes. Maybe you just needed time, time to figure out what this meant for you, what it meant for both of you. But how much time that was, you couldn’t predict. But Halsin’s warmth was hovering near you again as his eyes looked all over your face, smiling sadly.

“Thank you,” he murmured., deep “Thank you for opening the door, for allowing me into your home, for letting me gaze upon your beautiful eyes after a decade of only seeing them in my dreams.”

Your lips parted, but no words sounded from them. Only a gasp of uncertainty. An exhale of emotions you couldn’t define. He was leaving, and the thought made your stomach lurch. But what else were he to do? You had no idea yourself, torn between telling him to give you time and just accepting that you weren’t who he sought.

“I will return to Faerûn.” He shut his eyes, breathing deeply, then reopened them. “But it will bring me great peace to leave knowing that you are safe, that I was blessed with such a chance to be in your presence again, whether you recall the memories or not.”

You almost muttered another ‘I’m sorry’ but decided against it. You sensed Halsin wouldn’t want that, he wouldn’t want you to feel guilty for having done nothing wrong.

You took in his face, the small scar on his bottom lip, the red tattoo, the tiny strands of hair above his head that didn’t seem long enough to reach his bun. Halsin stepped closer, almost completely blocking the view behind him. You watched his eyes bore into yours; scanning your face, your cheeks, your lips, like he was reaffirming his image of you.

“I would only request one thing before I leave you,” he spoke deeply, a heaviness in his tone. Then he met your eyes again. “I would very much like to hug you, if you allow it.”

You smiled softly, nodding your head ‘yes’ despite the blood rushing through your veins. “Sure.”

You inhaled quickly and quietly, turning to face him as he moved towards you, never breaking eye contact. In one full stride, you were consumed by his warm, inviting, woodsy aroma with a touch of sweet sandalwood. And as his large arms curled around your frame, you could’ve guessed there was the faintest hint of…vanilla?

Your heart skipped as you turned your face to the side, tentatively resting your cheek against his firm chest. You heard him release a heavy sigh, feeling the strength of his chest as air filled and left his lungs. Halsin’s heart thumped rapidly against your ears, outpacing your own. You frowned slightly, spreading your arms further around his waist, as best as you could reach, and squeezed gently. Halsin responded to this, his thick muscles tightening around you, pulling you closer until you were almost cocooned in his protective and endearing embrace.

Halsin’s warmth was so consuming, steadily relaxing the rushing blood in your veins. His heart also seemed to calm, though still at a higher rate than what you presumed to be normal. Without thinking, you let your eyes close, feeling the bottom of his chin rest gently near your head.

You began imagining sitting around a warm campfire, under a star-lit sky. You were enjoying the company of faces you couldn’t make out, positive that you wouldn’t get their image right anyway. But you could almost feel the bond, the stories to tell for decades shared between you all. And beside you, a comforting presence. You saw yourself smiling, resting your head on a familiar shoulder as Halsin hummed a soft tune, his vibrations sending enticing chills down your spine. You smiled, both in this imagination, and while you stood wrapped up in Halsin’s arms.

You felt Halsin’s lower half move away from you a little, already missing the warmth he provided, but his arms remained securely around you. The sound of a distant rumble in his throat, almost something of a groan hit your ears, but you couldn’t be too sure if he was just taking another breath. Whatever it was, it made a spark tickle in your abdomen, and you had to clench your teeth to try and quell the sudden pleasurable feeling.

You weren’t sure how much longer you spent in each other’s embrace, or who made the first move to end this moment of peace. But you were both pulling away from one another, still connected by your hands holding each other’s forearms. You paused, staring up at the pools of genuine care in his mesmerizing eyes.

“Will you be okay?” you inquired, when what you really wanted to ask was ‘maybe you can stay?’ But a lingering fear wouldn’t allow you to, despite it gradually waning by the second.

“As long as you are, then yes.” He rubbed his thumb along your forearm, still hanging onto you. “Finding you at all is more than I could’ve ever dreamed of. And I will spend the rest of time being thankful, until my flesh finally yields to nature.”

Your lips parted, eyes darting between his. He left you speechless again, the sincerity in his words, the strength in his tone despite the sadness that made its home there. He stared deeply at you, perhaps waiting for you to completely sever the connection for he lacked the strength to do so himself. You glanced at his lips, how soft they looked, pressed together uneasily as Halsin watched you.

A flutter dashed inside your stomach, your speeding heart anticipating your next move as your gaze lingered on his lips. You exhaled softly, glancing at the scar on his chin, your finger itching to trace it but not wanting to let go of Halsin’s arms. Your gaze rested on his tattoo, where it passed down his cheek. So you leaned upward, pressing some of your weight on your toes. Halsin lowered a bit, assisting you, and slightly tilted his head, exposing more of his tattoo.

And when your soft lips pressed against his warm skin, a fierce electric spark jolted you backward. Your knees buckled and you nearly fell were it not for strong hands already catching you.

Part three!

[moog-rt]

ɪɴ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀꜱᴇ [ch.1]

[Shigaraki Tomura x Fem!Reader]

Previous: Prologue

➨ Chapter One

Next: Chapter Two

Premise:

The multiverse theory is the idea that there is not only one universe but, instead, an infinite number of universes, parallel to one another.

You and Tenko were heroes in your universe. The war came and went, and that left only you. When you are thrown into a universe parallel to yours, you find out the hard way just how similar and different it is from your own.

A/N: I know this is technically the first chapter BUT, there is a prologue for this story. So if you haven't checked that out yet, it's linked above, and I highly recommend reading that first.

If you'd prefer to read on Ao3, here is the link:

Otherwise, enjoy!

♡ ♡ ♡

CHAPTER ONE

The rain grew heavier, encouraging you to turn away from your departing friend in favor of heading home. Combined with the cool early-spring air, you were sure you’d get a chill. It was a little surreal, being a top-charted hero who helped save the world from villainous destruction and taking transit like you were a typical commuter. No one batted an eye. They probably didn’t even recognize you regardless of whether or not you were dressed for work.

That’s how the world was.

They cared for the first few weeks following the end of the war, but that dwindled as weeks stretched into months. Once the roads were rebuilt and everyone resumed their daily lives, there wasn’t much to remind them of what had happened.

And after the upheaval of hero-dominated society, the raving over who was Number One and which debuts showed the most promise declined to almost nothing.

Heroes were becoming a thing of the past.

Your apartment was reminiscent of that fact. For nearly your entire life, you were chasing after some dream of becoming a hero and making the world a better and safer place. Yet there was barely anything decorating your walls or countertops to suggest such a thing. You had been living there for roughly two years, just after the end of the war, but there were countless boxes shoved aside still waiting to be unpacked. You’d peered inside them a handful of times, but you decided it was better that their contents stayed tucked away.

After entering your apartment, you wasted no time in peeling off your soaked clothing. The various articles landed on the linoleum flooring with a wet slap. You kicked your pants to the side and shuffled over to one of the stools at your kitchen counter. You grabbed a throw blanket that was draped over the back of one of them and wrapped it around your shivering body.

A pitiful groan emanated from your stomach just before it cramped up uncomfortably. With a slight wince, you huffed and checked your fridge for any remaining left overs or easy meals.

What a sad sight that was. The light inside of the fridge illuminated your face as you stared at mostly empty shelves.

Whatever.

You could always order take out.

Swiping away missed calls and unread messages, you began a search for anything that sounded appealing.

Maybe if you’d gotten a text from Toga or Iguchi, you would have cared. But Toga was obviously busy with her big move, and you couldn’t remember the last time Iguchi had reached out to you. For a while, you two would try to make time to grab lunch or play games like you used to, but you both knew it was hardly the same anymore. You saw each other less and less, until your meetups stopped altogether.

Nowadays, your dreams were filled with memories rather than hopes for the future. Your heart and soul longed for the experiences and the people in your past, and the only way you could indulge was in your sleep. Waking up afterwards was like pulling teeth as you tried your utmost to return to whatever memory had been playing out in your mind.

The doorbell rang.

Your food was left outside your door, and after bringing it in, you ate maybe half of it before banishing the leftovers to the fridge of doom. The light filtering into your apartment gradually turned cool and dim, meaning it was just late enough for you to justify turning in for the night. You didn’t bother putting on a dry set of clothes, instead opting to crawl into bed wearing your mildly soggy undergarments.

Every day was the same. You’d work, go home, eat, and sleep. You never went out anymore, and you were certain that if you picked up your TV remote, it would leave a silhouette behind contrasting the dusty surface.

The only bits of ‘décor’ you had were photographs strewn about your TV stand. None of them were framed. They just lay there for you to peruse whenever you wanted to inflict even more emotional damage upon yourself. The old photos of your friends from work and school before the war best served for collecting dust.

There was one that stood out from the rest. It lay on your nightstand, still sheen from its frequent handling.

Delicately, you picked it up, just as you did most nights, and peered down at it.

–

It was the day Tenko Shimura officially started as a pro-hero at the AFO Hero Agency.

He spent the past few years with them as an internship and a work study, but everyone felt that starting there as a graduate was something to be celebrated. So you all made a day of it.

Everyone was there, and the conference room had been decorated and rearranged to better fit the occasion. Several platters of food lined the tables, filling the room with a heavenly aroma that complimented the chatter quite well.

Tenko wasn’t typically one for parties or huge get-togethers, especially when he was the focus, but he was kept from standing idly as people took turns congratulating him. You could tell he was beginning to grow tired of all the socializing.

You chuckled as you stepped up to his side, walking him away from his dying conversation. You watched as he relaxed his tense shoulders and dipped his head back with an airy groan.

“How does it feel being the life of the party?” you snickered.

He glowered at you through his messy, black bangs before placing a gloved hand on your shoulder and giving you a strong shove that sent you stumbling. You cursed as you regained your balance, ready to retaliate but he was already walking away from you.

“Hey!” You trotted back up to him.

“You’re next, you know,” he said, looking at you from the corner of his eye.

You tilted your head to the side, “To be the focus of a party?”

“To join the agency,” he corrected. “When you graduate, you’d better.”

“Oh, of course.” You grinned at him before narrowing your eyes slightly. “But only if you promise to stick around until then.”

“I’m planning on it,” he chuckled, “Unless you piss me off.”

It was your turn to jab at him, but, unlike you, he kept his balance, barely even stepping to the side.

The two of you found a secluded place to sit and chat idly but it was mostly filled with a comfortable silence as you scrolled on your phones. You were only granted a few minutes of social reprieve before Magne came looking for you.

“Are you two aware that the party isn’t out here?” she said, crossing her arms like a disappointed mother.

You and Tenko exchanged a glance, but neither of you said a word.

“Get your asses in there!” She scolded, shepherding the two of you back to the celebration. “We’re taking a group picture.”

Everyone crowded together. You were pushed up against Tenko’s side, and the two of you felt Iguchi drop his arms onto your shoulders. He stood behind you, still clearly visible between your heads, and Toga latched herself onto your free arm. Touya lurked on the very edge of the group while Compress took on a dramatic pose to ensure his theatrics would be captured for all of eternity.

One of Jin’s doubles positioned himself in front of everyone, partially crouched down and shuffling this way and that in order to get the perfect angle.

He didn’t have to tell you to say ‘cheese’ to get you to grin from ear-to-ear.

You felt Tenko’s gloved hand press against the small of your back as the camera flashed, immortalizing the occasion.

–

Seeing everybody grinning back at you in the photo four years later made your heart ache in many ways. You were happy that you possessed that memory as well as a picture to always remind you of it. But you were also tormented by the fact that it would never be recreated.

Unfortunately, plans didn’t always come to fruition.

When you started as a pro-hero at the agency, the world was in too much chaos to celebrate. And even if you held a celebration once everything settled down, Tenko wouldn’t be there to congratulate you.

In spirit, maybe.

When you really thought about it, almost everyone would be missing.

Magne had passed many years ago, when your team was assigned to the Overhaul-Eri case. The war took away Jin, Touya, Sensei, and, of course, Tenko. Iguchi would have stuck around long enough, but Atsuhiro was forced into retirement when the war first started.

In a way, the villains got what they wanted. Countless heroes were decommissioned, and those who remained were no longer viewed in the same positive light as they once were. Criticism was high if a hero couldn’t carry out a job flawlessly and without any casualties. Even then, you were always at risk of being deemed a ‘fame-chaser’ or that you were only in it for the money.

The only heroes that remained were the honest and the resilient.

You liked to think you were both, but as time went on, you grew more unsure. In the beginning, you were more than eager to make a positive impact on people’s lives, regardless of whether or not you were credited or paid for it. Eventually, you met everyone at your agency, and hero work changed your life for the better. Even if you failed a job, you had people by your side to pick you back up and keep you pushing forward.

But now?

Now, you were tired.

You no longer had your support system keeping you motivated and in good spirits. While you still felt pleased with every life you protected, that feeling of fulfillment would be gone by the time your head touched your pillow.

That’s where you were at currently.

With a deep sigh, you let go of the photograph, letting it fall back onto the nightstand, and rolled onto your back to stare at the ceiling. You shut your eyes, but you knew it would be hours before you actually fell asleep. You would either sleep the day away or you’d barely sleep at all. Rarely could you find a balance between the two.

Usually, you would stay up thinking about how everything ended up the way it did, and whether there was anything you could have done to prevent it all from happening. What could you possibly have done so that your team would still be at your side?

If you were split up differently during the Overhaul raid so that you were in Magne’s group, you could have pushed her out of the way of Chisaki’s fatal touch. If you had stuck by Jin’s side instead of letting him go into the Paranormal Liberation Front’s headquarters alone, you could have fought off Hawks before he landed his deadly blow.

And Tenko…

You’d probably have to end the war all on your own in order to save him. He was at the forefront of every battle, leading the charge. He had no regard for his own safety. He gave up his own body so that Mr. Shigaraki could transfer his quirk and conscience to it. You’re pretty sure that was the point of no return.

After that, you don’t think anything that came out of Tenko’s mouth was truly him.

Whether or not he could even hear you scream and cry for him in the final moments of the war would remain a mystery.

The heels of your hands pressed deeply against your eyes as if you could physically push the thoughts out of your head. You couldn’t do this tonight. You needed to do something, anything, other than lay there and dwell on things of the past.

How could you have known what was to come?

Throwing off your covers, you ripped the last garments from your person and got up to change into something clean and dry. You had to get out of your sad and dingy little apartment. You wiggled your way into a spare hero suit after deciding that lending a helping hand for the night was your best chance at clearing your head.

You made your way back to your agency as quickly as you could through the frigid rain. It wouldn’t be so bad if it were summer time, since the warmth would typically counteract it, but you still had a few months of spring to get through. By the time you arrived, you were a bit damp, but you found it hard to care. Pulling your keycard out of your wallet, you tapped into the system so you could get in.

Even though it was late, there were still a few people around in case of emergency, and none of them were surprised to see you stroll in. Two of them were people you had graduated with, though they did their work studies elsewhere.

“Hiya,” Minji, a pink-haired and bubbly girl, sang to you in greeting. She was sitting alert at her desk, ready for whatever report came her way.

“Hi,” you nodded, walking over to her.

Another girl you attended school with was lounging in the space adjacent to hers, leaning back as far as her chair would allow, both feet propped up on the desk. Her head turned over in your direction before she acknowledged you, “Need something to do?”

“If you have anything,” you said with a shrug.

“I think Sakiko got a call-in just a few minutes ago requesting a hero to accompany the transport of a villain,” Minji chimed with a soft smile, eyes darting over to her companion.

“Uh, yeah. Let me get the details on that,” Sakiko mumbled as she kicked her feet off of the desk and scooted closer to search through her computer. “Yeah, so the police want to transport a villain to a higher security prison… His name is Dai Uchuu. He was involved with Overhaul during the raid, but he was able to escape, and there’ve been no updates on his activity since. We also don’t have any official documentation but his quirk is believed to be a teleportation-type triggered by his hands making contact with each other.”

“Sure, that works. Send me the address, and let them know I’ll be there.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The station wasn’t too far from the agency. You walked for maybe ten minutes before you could see its lit-up sign at the end of the block. There was a brief flicker but it recovered almost immediately. However, the lights within the station began to spasm on and off, which was slightly more concerning.

The police relied mainly on quirk-nullifying restraints and cells to prevent breakouts. If they were having issues with the power, then the nullification effects would likely be down, and that would be quite the problem.

You quickened your pace and rushed into the building. The first thing you noticed was the plethora of odd objects that had been thrown about the lobby. There was a bicycle on top of the desk, a canoe sticking out from one of the doorways, and a large tub of paint that was actively rolling across the floor, leaving a trail of blue behind it. You could see a large splatter on the wall where you assumed it had made contact.

The second thing you noticed was the silence. Despite the apparent chaos, not a single cop was in sight. You couldn’t even hear any voices emanating from adjacent rooms. There was no one.

You briefly reported the situation to your agency through the communicator strapped to your forearm and cautiously proceeded onto the other rooms. The holding area and the locker rooms were empty and in similar condition to the lobby. You were about to say the same for the offices, but you noticed a quiet murmur coming from behind one of the far desks.

In a slight crouch and with light feet, you slinked in that direction. As you peered around one of the desks, you saw the villain, Uchuu, still dressed in his medieval garb. His colorful back was turned to you as he rummaged through a filing cabinet. The quirk-nullifying restraints dangled from one of his wrists. One of the officers must have gotten that on him after he had a go at most of the building.

But then why hadn’t you run into him?

You silently reached forward and cast your quirk, causing his clothes to freeze him in place. As you walked forward, he began to snicker. You faltered a step at his odd behavior.

“Of course you would be the one to show up,” he spoke with a strange accent.

“I guess?” You positioned yourself in front of him. You wouldn’t be able to attach the restraint he had on to his other wrist due to it being frozen along with him, so you pulled out one of the few that you carried. “What happened to everyone?”

You reached forward to attach the new set of cuffs, but as you did, you caught sight of the file he was holding.

Was that your name?

The cabinet he was going through was supposed to contain criminal profiles. Just as you were about to question how and why he had one that was addressed to you, you felt a sharp pain on the back of your hand.

“Ow! What the fuck?!” You jerked away and were about the curse the man out for fucking pinching you, before processing the fact that he was standing up. Your surprise had caused you to release your quirk, freeing him.

“What a fortunate turn of events this has been,” he drawled with a wicked grin. You narrowed your eyes and raised your arm to use your quirk again, but before you could, his hands clapped together.

You felt your entire body lurch forward, and for a moment, everything was black.

You figured you must have blinked because it was only a second before you could see clearly again. A wave of nausea began crawling its way up your belly, but you did your best to ignore the feeling while you frantically looked around.

It took you a moment to realize that Dai Uchuu was no longer in front of you. The filing cabinet was closed and no more papers were littering the floor. He must have gotten what he was looking for and bolted… Were you seeing black for longer than you realized?

If he clapped his hands, he must have tried using his quirk but he still had a restraint around one of his wrists. That should have been enough to still subdue his quirk, so he had to be around somewhere.

You quickly made to leave, almost bumping into an officer who was standing up from his desk. He shouted after you, and you gave a clipped apology but kept on your pursuit. As you entered the lobby, you almost ran head first into another officer and had to pause to move out of her way. She didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry though.

“Do you know which way he went?” you quickly asked her as you began walking backwards towards the exit of the building.

She looked perplexed, doing a double take of you. “Who? What were you doing in that area?”

He must not have gone that way otherwise, given his outlandish appearance, she surely would have remembered. That meant he would still be in the building.

“That’s where I found Dai Uchuu. He was going through some of the criminal records but he managed to get away,” you explained, slowly walking back towards her. “I’m not sure what he was looking for, but I’m guessing—”

“Who are you?”

What?

“I’m the hero assigned to your case,” you said matter-of-factly. “You guys sent in a request for help, so I came.”

She jerked her head back, scrutinizing you. “We didn’t—”

“Listen, if you didn’t see him come this way, he must still be in the building. You guys should look for him here, and I’ll check outside in case he found some other way out,” you said as you began a quick pace into the lobby.

They made quick work of cleaning up, because all of the foreign objects that were thrown about when you’d arrived were nowhere to be seen. You noticed even the giant paint splatter was gone. Actually, the entire place looked spotless of even normal dirt and wear-and-tear. Maybe you should’ve hired them to clean up your apartment for you.

The room erupted in clamor as you booked it outside. It was a lot clearer out without the rain, but you still couldn't see any sign of the villain. Leaving it up to intuition, you started sprinting down the road to your left as you updated your agency through your communicator with a request for more heroes to help search.

You were barely running for a minute before you began feeling overheated. There was no way you were that tired already, you didn’t go through all that training for nothing. Then, you realized it wasn’t your body that was too warm, it was the air around you. Not even ten minutes ago, you were freezing your ass off as you trudged to the station in the rain. Now, it felt like the temperature outside was pushing 70 degrees.

Someone had to be controlling the weather. Quirks like that were rare, but not unheard of. Either way, that was somebody else’s problem. You were a little preoccupied at the moment.

You were growing irritated that you hadn’t heard anything from your colleagues. Minji was usually super responsive. She must have stepped away and left Sakiko in charge, which would explain the lack of urgency on their end.

Your pace began to slow as your energy grew more and more depleted.

Your end of the search was proving to be pointless. You passed a run-down convenience store when you decided it would be best to head back to the station to see if the police were fruitful. You heard the chime of the shop’s bell too late, turning on your heel to retrace your steps and crashing into someone as they were exiting.

You jostled back.

There were two people, and your collision caused them to drop their bags, scattering the contents. You crouched down to help them pick up whatever had fallen, hoping they didn’t have any paper products for the rain-soaked ground to get soggy.

Your eyebrows pressed together as you picked up a messy handful of napkins. You looked down at the sidewalk and pressed your hand against it.

It was bone dry.

That couldn’t be right, there’s no way the water would have evaporated that quickly.

You couldn’t ponder the strange occurrence for long as the shoe of one of the people stepped closer to you. Hurriedly, you scooped as many items back into the bag as you could and peered up at them with an apologetic smile. They were already reaching toward you with an open hand. It was a bit too close to your face for your liking, so you leaned away as you stood.

“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.” You pushed the bag into their hand and finally looked at the person’s face to see it was mostly covered by a black face mask and a hood. Despite that, peeking through a plume of dusty blue hair was a pair of fiery red eyes that felt as if they were burning through your soul.

♡ ♡ ♡

➨ Chapter Two

taglist: @boogiemansbitch

[neochan]

[9:10 PM] if it weren't for the gentle sting of soapy water seeping in to the gash above his eyebrow, he wouldn't have regretted it. or maybe it was the look on your face as you worriedly dabbed his torn skin with a blood soaked rag.

either way, mark lee was feeling something parallel to regret. see, he didn't truly believe in the word, because if he did, he wouldn't have gone out and done it to begin with. perhaps it was contrition or guilt he was feeling.

definitely the latter.

he felt guilty.

how could he leave his pretty girlfriend all alone, sick to her fucking stomach, while he partook in activities you hated. anxiously awaiting his return, eyes peering through the blinds in the kitchen until you finally caught sight of your boyfriend stumbling up the walk way.

and then to throw open the door to the sight of his face covered in blood - nose trickling ruby red; a particularly awful cut above his eyebrow. shirt torn and dirty with matching cuts littering his chest.

that's something mark will never forgive himself for either.

so yes, he felt guilty, but he never regretted it.

shit, those assholes who hit on you this evening belonged knocked out in the ditch behind the pub anyways. their sickening smiles coating their face in a grimy guise. just the thought of what they had said to you - how they had grabbed your ass.

mark's hand curls tight around the bathroom sink counter - knuckles turning white with how hard he was gripping the granite.

"babe-" you whisper, setting the rag down and staining the white countertop pink.

"sorry" he chuckles, loosening his hand and shaking it out, "sorry for worrying you, i just-"

"i know."

despite the fact that his wounds still trickled a bit of blood, he pulls you against him and leans his temple against the top of your head. "i swore to always protect you." he kisses your hair, "no matter what."

[yougavemeyourheartyouknow]

Put it back on (Miguel O’Hara x fem! reader) one shot

A/N: okay, before i get started to do want to say this is my first time writing fanfic since I was in middle school, so I am a bit rusty, please be nice to me 😭. This is based off a ca.i bot, the bot was made by tuxebo if you were interested, and I may or maybe not have put in a bojack horseman reference in here. Sorry not sorry.

Pre-established relationship (both you and Miguel are like late 30s, started dating in high school but are married in the context of this fic), swearing, angsty (?), mentions of alcohol, marital/ relationship issues.

Word count:872

Masterlist

—

“Why aren’t you wearing your ring?”

The harsh tone and the sudden question quickly pulled you from your thoughts. You jumped slightly, before placing your coffee cup down on the kitchen island that you were leaning on. He had placed the ring on the kitchen island in front of you, it making a small clinking sound as it settles on the counter.

Honestly, you’re not sure why you’re not wearing it. Usually, you put it on as soon as you get out of the shower, but today, it didn’t feel right to put it on, almost.

“I’m… I’m not- I don’t know…” you stutter under your husband’s cold gaze as he stands parallel to you, across the kitchen island. His shoulders tense and his face had a scowl, his eyes having a hint of red in them.

Moments like these, you couldn’t bring yourself to look him in the eyes.

Miguel let out a quick dry laugh, putting his body away from me slightly as he took a step back. “You don’t know?” He repeated in disbelief, “How do you not know? What are you trying to tell me?”

You stayed silent as your gaze drops down to the tiled floor of our shared kitchen, instead of your coffee mug.

“Oh, so now I get the silent treatment? Great.” His voice is cold as ice when he speaks up after a beat, his hands thrown up in the air before landing at his sides with a pat from his callus covering hands hitting his jeans. “What happened to us? What changed? What did I do to make you so miserable? Do you want to leave me or something?”

Your heart rate started to quicken at the suggestion, and your hands tightened around your mug, as if it would slip out of your hands or disappear, even though it sat firmly on the countertop. “No! No of course not!” You shook my head as you finally brought your eyes to meet his, your body pulling you up so you were fully standing straight.

“Then what? What is it?” He asked, “Do you not love me anymore?” That question made your heartache. of course, you still loved him, you always will, he was your first everything.

“Amor…” you trailed off, your hand came up and rubbed your face, taking a shaky breath, your eyes closing. “How do I put this into words…” you mumbled to yourself as your eyebrows scrunched together in thought as you look back down. For a moment, everything was silent, and you hated it. Usually, when you two argue, it was always big and dramatic. You should know it happens at least once a week now, it’s become a sick part of your routine together. You had become so used to the loud dramatics, the tears, the shouting. The pacing from one room to another while one ignores the other, while the other attempts to get the former’s attention back. But this time was different, it was calmer than usual, no yelling, no screaming, sure he was still talking in an annoyed tone but it wasn’t the way he usually does during a fight. It was almost like the calm before the storm, but you two have gotten so used to the storm, that the calm was worst somehow. The silence felt like it could suffocate you at any moment.

You let out a sigh as you feel Miguel’s gaze harden even more on you, you didn’t need to look up to know, it felt like a hole was being burned right in the back of your head, afraid that the next words you say might be the wrong ones, making it feel like he’ll end up leaving you like on the wrong end of a red laser dot.

“Remember… remember when we were in college? And we were at some, random-ass frat party? And you were drunk and smiled at me, and I said, ‘What?’ And you said, ‘I just like being in a room with you, you make rooms good.’” You say as you cross your arms to hug yourself. He just stayed silent, waiting for you to continue.

“And… Miguel, I have loved you for 25 years… and I have never loved anyone better. That kind of love, you only get it when you’re young and stupid. I’m not gonna get it again….”

A beat passes, two, then three before he speaks. “…so what? You’re saying you aren’t wearing your ring because we aren’t going out and partying every weekend?” You couldn’t help but let a dry chuckle escape your lips are you shake your head, “no, no- that’s not- I’m not saying it’s because of that. I just miss those moments, the sweet little moments we had like that. We’re it felt like nothing matter except you and me, like the whole world had stop around us. I feel like we don’t have those anymore.”

He lets out a heavy sigh, he knows you’re right. Both of you had been too busy with your own separate lives, it felt like your marriage had turn into a roommate situation. Something both of you said you’d never allow to happen.

“(Y/N)…”

“Yes, Miguel?”

“Just… put your ring on.”

[sionisjaune]

Mika/Nico 2004 Arctic Rally flirtation on the occasion of @blorbocedes ‘s birthday!

Mika is stripping down to his thermals when the kid slinks inside his cabin, bundled in a thick winter coat, tufts of blonde hair poking out underneath a knit hat. He bites the inside of his cheek, manufacturing a reason to grimace instead of welcoming Nico into his arms like he used to do when he could still call himself innocent. 

“Not your cabin,” says Mika, tugging off a sweaty glove and tossing it on the countertop.

Nico shuts the door behind him and braces himself against it, nose red from the chill outside. His entire face, or at least the part visible between the collar of his coat and the hem of his hat, is chafed red and blotchy. He licks his lips, and Mika’s gaze lingers on the chapped and wind-bitten skin of his mouth. 

“My dad snores,” Nico mumbles. “Just wanted to get some rest—”

“No,” says Mika, immediately. He knows what Nico’s going to ask of him, and he knows that if Nico asks it outright, he’s going to say yes. 

“You didn’t even hear what I was going to say!” says Nico, pouting rather childishly. Mika wonders what it says about him that he finds Nico’s worst moments attractive.

“No,” says Mika again. “Go back to your room. Cabins are for competitors only.”

Nico tilts his head, still tucked against the door in his coat. Mika watches him shuck his scarf and toss it haphazardly on Mika’s sofa. “I could compete,” says Nico. “I’m good on the ice.” 

“You’re not—” says Mika.

Nico cuts him off, a sparkle in his eye. “Old enough?”

“Used to rally,” Mika finishes. “It’s an entirely different sport.” 

“Really?” says Nico, eyes widening. It’s obvious what he’s doing. Mika strips off his other glove and lets it happen anyway, peeling his racesuit down his chest to hang around his hips. Nico makes a parallel move, drawing the zipper open and shimmying the coat down his arms to reveal a tanned neck and collarbones, the result of a half-Finn unaccustomed to his native climate. Mika doesn’t know why Keke bothered to drag him to Lapland to spectate. “Explain it to me,” says Nico. He drops his jacket on the floor and joins his scarf on Mika’s sofa, curling his legs underneath him.

“First of all, you have a co-driver in the car with you,” says Mika. He tugs the racesuit the rest of the way down, pulling it off his ankles one leg at a time. He was going to make use of the cabin’s meager hot water tank and shower off the sweat sticking to his skin, but with Nico around it’s probably best he keeps his clothing on. 

Nico shrugs, wrapping his arms around himself as if to stave off the cold. “I could handle that. I already have an engineer in F3.”

“It’s a different relationship,” Mika corrects. He can’t help but fall into this avuncular role with Nico, like Keke is still in the room.

“A relationship,” Nico purrs, learning over the edge of the couch. Mika bites the inside of his cheek, wondering where Nico learned this from. He stalls for time by folding his racesuit into a neat little rectangle and setting it on the countertop beside his gloves. It reeks of stale sweat and the ankles are damp with melted snow, but if Nico minds he doesn’t say anything. 

Mika sinks into the armchair opposite Nico and watches Nico furtively scoot towards the end of the sofa closest to Mika. His bare arms are startlingly skinny against the thin fabric of a white singlet. The faded jeans make him look like a ten-euro hooker, even though Mika knows Nico doesn’t wear anything that costs less than a hundred. 

“I bet you disregard your engineer all the time,” says Mika.

“No I don’t,” says Nico. 

Mika gives him a meaningful look. 

“Fine,” says Nico. “Sometimes. But only when he’s wrong.”

“Ah,” says Mika. “The difference is that your co-driver cannot be wrong. You trust him implicitly. If he says full-throttle, you don’t break until the finish line.” 

Nico wrinkles his nose. “I can’t picture you taking orders from anybody.” 

Mika raises a hand to massage his temples. “When I need to,” he says. The hand in front of his eyes conveniently blocks his view of Nico curled up on the corner of the couch, but he can still hear Nico twisting and fidgeting around. 

“Tired?” says Nico. 

“Yes,” says Mika. 

“Me too,” says Nico. He shuffles around on the couch again, and then seems to still. A moment later, Mika feels him plop down on the arm of the chair next to him. He drapes his long legs over Mika’s lap and leans close to his ear. Mika removes his hand from his face just in time for a lock of Nico’s hair to fall in his face while Nico murmurs in his ear. “And I’m cold. It’s fucking freezing in here.” 

Mika bites the inside of his cheek again. The flesh is getting raw, like it always does around Nico. 

“Nico,” he warns. 

“What?” says Nico. He’s completely irreverent. 

Mika shifts to create more space between himself and Nico’s skinny frame. “I’m not doing this with you.”

“Doing what?” says Nico.

“You know what,” says Mika. 

“I just want to warm up,” says Nico, curling closer. 

“I have to race tomorrow,” says Mika. He can hear his own voice wavering.

The corners of Nico’s mouth curl like a cat toying with its prey. “Nothing that will make you sore.” 

Mika exhales, rubbing his temples again. “Not even pretending anymore?” 

Hearing his permission, Nico slides into Mika’s lap and surrounds him like his limbs are made of putty. He wraps his arms around Mika’s neck and attaches his mouth to the skin above the collar of Mika’s thermal shirt. “I don’t need to,” he whispers. “Besides, don’t you want to see what I’m wearing under this?”

[justsescape]

[Welcome back to The Throwback Drabble Zone with Kasumi!]

“Oh, Senpai! Uh, well I… I went a little crazy,” Kasumi giggled. Her ponytail swayed back and forth like it was being massaged in a breeze. “I know you ordered a week’s supply, but it all tasted so good that I just… uh, I just kept going…”

Her room told the rest of the story. Emptied vials littered the floor like breadcrumbs, as did her broken bras and torn button-up shirts. The top she was wearing wasn’t to last either; as she drew a sharp breath, the uppermost button popped off like a champagne bottle’s cork. Kasumi’s gigantic bust drooped another inch and jiggled like gelatin upon a countertop – and another whole foot of pale, gelatinous cleavage eagerly poured through the newfound opening with every intent to spill out entirely. Surely that would be inevitable. The remaining buttons shivered with fear.

“They’re bigger than watermelons now…” Kasumi toyed with the red ribbon on her head; her blush was rapidly taking on a similar hue. “Senpai… there’s a side of me that’s concerned with how I’ll perform on the gymnastics team at university. You know, with such a large… chest hanging off of me like this…”

But in spite of her trepidation, her hands were quick – no, downright eager – in how they groped either side of her titanic boobs like she was holding an accordion. Fingers dug into their heft like they were preparing pizza dough; fat bulged around her grip in response. Of course, there was still that layer of fabric in the way of true skin-on-skin contact, but it was wearing thinner and thinner by the moment. And what wasn’t thinner was becoming darker. A few streaks of moisture had slid from the nubs of her nipples and stained her shirt from the inside out.

“Can you even imagine me doing parallel bars with these?” Another button flung free of Kasumi’s shirt; the way she wobbled, it was like she was recoiling from firing a gun. Coincidentally, you heard the stray button whizz by your ear like a bullet. “Ugh, they’re just bursting out… I bet they’d still jiggle like crazy even if I had my leotard on!”

Little was left to the imagination now. Without the support of a full shirt, Kasumi’s tits were transitioning from perky spheres to heaving teardrops – and you could even spot a few veins surfacing upon her pale skin. Two semicircles of areolae were also beginning to rise above the fabric like the sun over the horizon; it would only take another popped button or two to reveal her nipples in all their glory.

“…but on the other hand, Senpai~…“

Kasumi approached you in the same way a model might slowly walk down a runway. It only took a few meandering steps for her impressive boobs to meet with your chest. They squished, compressed, pancaked against your ribcage, as soft as pillows and as warm as a campfire. “I just couldn’t wait to see your face now that I’ve blown through two-thirds of the alphabet~!”

The fragrance of her deodorant gave way to the sweet, sweet smell of her milk. It was strong, it was humid; it hung around you like a fog over a mountaintop. Kasumi’s gaze met with yours. Hers was the kind of sly grin that she never could have managed before – but the years had stripped her of her innocence just as much as they were stripping her of a fitting wardrobe.

“And if I’m too much of a cow to be a gymnast in the Olympics, well… at least I can use my flexibility with you in bed~”

[cressthebest]

Art Heist, Baby! thoughts pt. 10

chapter 28:

this is the heist chapter, so i’m just gonna make it its own post. it will be too long otherwise

1. james thinks that falling in love with regulus is the most exciting thing he’s ever done- more so than the literal heist. they’re so in love

2. hell yeaaaah babey! they even have the clothes sharing trope. regulus looks so small in james’ big t-shirt. fuck yeah

3. they’re all nervous and getting tea in the kitchen <3 they all get along and love each other. do NONE of them have melatonin tho??? babes, medically force yourself to sleep atp

4. peter swears barty’s snoring is so loud there is two people in there. 👀 evan perhaps??

5. i love mary and lily’s friendship so much. like, i love their background friendship in this fic so much. like, i cannot even use words to express how much i love it

6. remus and james fell in love with stars and it’s the most important thing about the heist to them. wait. hold up. i just.

7. “Anyone would be lucky to marry you, James Potter. Plus, I didn’t really think Regulus was the wear your t-shirt, fall asleep in your lap, dance on countertops, type either and yet, here he is.” sobbing. literally sobbing.

8. remus and james being best freinds in this fic instead of the typical sirius and james freindship is healing in ways i didn’t think would need healing. i am healed. they are forever going to be in each others lives.

9. sirius and james matching 😭😭😭. but it also raises the question of what the others are wearing. jeans and blouses? night clothes? leggings?

10. tensions are so high. i feel like i need to be clutching my pearls and holding my breath. this is so stressful. i’m so worried something will go horribly wrong. so stressed

11. i’m also concerned why they are worried about fingerprints but aren’t wearing gloves

12. oh good, they’re wearing gloves actually

13. i love that part of the way sirius’ has his pure blood character show in here is by the way he can tell the price, quality, painter, and style of a painting just by looking at it

14. i love that after the first wolfstar kiss remus got back to james and told him everything. and i love that sirius and james are bringing this up during the heist when their LITERAL LIVES ARE ON THE LINE

15. oh shit there’s footsteps. i’m so worried for sirius and james

16. thank FUCKING GOD THEY ALL MADE IT OUT ALIVE AND UNSCATHED AND SAFE OH GOD I WAS SO SCARED OH MY GODDDDDD

17. still getting a bit of a rosekiller vibe here…

18. shit fuck no shit fuck shit fuck shit fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck shit shit shit fuck fuck fuck fuck shit shit shit fuck fuck fuck fuck shit shit shit fuck shit fuck holy fucking shit there’s police and sirens and holy fucking shit shit shit. stop no, i had such high hopes

19. oh no james thinking that sirius tipped the police off. (but i’m getting a bit of a feeling that this will be parallel to the peter betrayal moments in canon)

20. (not barty letting out a maniacal laugh during a fucking car chase. he’s not helping the sociopath claims)

21. not pandora playing the euphemia card.

22. also, once again, i would like to make a callback to my previous thoughts on point number 18. still thinking that. very worried.

23. god, not james saying i love you to regulus while the police have opened fire on him. i’m so worried. god.

24. it will be fine tho. there’s 10 chapters left. and james isn’t the one who dies. i will be fine.

25. james was shot 😳

26. and they’re all on the plane. they survived. end of chapter. thank fucking god.

[k-marzolf]

The world was on fire//

You draw parallels between your military father, and Billy. You know he’s not a good man, but neither was your father. And you love them both.

//established relationship, canon typical violence, blood, kissing, fluff, dark themes, misogyny, sexism, fem!reader//

910 words.

x

You knew Billy wasn’t a good man. You knew that he made a living out of violence being a military contractor, and he enjoyed it to some degree, but there was something sweet in the way he was a dangerous panther to everyone, but tender with you. Always soft with you, you thought remembering the way he’d played with your hair last night, until you fell asleep. A whisper of a kiss across your forehead, before he left for work, his fingers ghosting over your cheek.

You sighed, eyes fluttering and fingers reaching out to touch his fingers, squeezing. You brought his fingers to your mouth kissing him, even after he’d confessed to killing a man that night.

Your own tenderness made him love you with a violence that startled him. All Billy had known was violence.

And you accepted that part of him; with you he didn’t have to hide who he was, he was completely free to be himself. Because a part of you loved that violence in him, we’re drawn to it as a girl who’d also only known violence.

A military father who protected his family in blood, and you saw him in Billy.

You played with the pocket knife he gave you, laying in your bed the next night, the scent of menthols lingering where he laid last night.

You buried your face in his pillow, aching.

x

Your father opened the closet softly, ushering you inside quietly, putting a finger to his lips, before shutting the door, cloaking you in darkness.

You heard footsteps on the hardwood floor, and you swallowed. Your mother was away, but you weren’t close to her like your father. Your father was everything to you.

“Where’s your girl, Martin?” A man taunted, sounding like a rat might if it could speak.

“None of your goddamn business. Get outta my house.” Your father growled, voice quiet and deadly. He was standing by the closet door, you could see his boots under the door.

“When I find her, I’m gonna have so much fun with her. Then, maybe I’ll gut her when I’m through, throw her body in the woods, let nature sort her out.” The other man said, chuckling.

And then you heard your father’s shout, followed by a struggle and a crash. Against his wishes, you peeked out into the hallway. He had the man on the ground who was trying to fight your father off, who was slamming his head into the ground repeatedly until blood splattered and the man went limp, his skull caving in. And even then it seemed like your father couldn’t stop, filled with rage.

When he did, he was breathing heavily, wiping the blood from his face with the back of his hand, checking to see if the man was really dead. Your father turned to see you looking out through the crack. You let out a squeak, shutting it.

He stood up, walking over. But you weren't afraid, your daddy had protected you.

He opened the door, “I gave you instructions.” He said, scolding you.

“Sorry, dad.” You mumbled, looking down.

But he could never stay mad at you for long.

Like Billy. They always said a girl will love a man like her father. And like your father, Billy had been a hard military man, both of them being in the Marines.

You watched from behind the couch, Billy speaking to a man. He had told you to hide, and to be quiet, and you obeyed, mostly. “C’mon, Russo. We can share her.” The bald man said, his voice pompous. “Don’t be greedy.”

Billy drummed his fingers on the countertop, bored. “Or I can cut your dick off. How’d ya like that, Morty?”

Morty sneered, “I’d like to see you try, Russo. Maybe I’ll come back later, partake of her when she’s alone, and lonely. Bet she’d like my company, huh, Lieutenant?”

There was a pause, and then Billy unsheathed his hidden blade, striking Morty’s eye faster than a snake strike, before retracting his blade from his eye. You were brought back to that winter when your father caved a man’s skull in. He’d been all rage, but Billy was controlled. His eyes were like pits, pitch black and angry.

Morty screamed, blood running down his face. “Now you match your master, Morty.” Billy said, cleaning the blade, casually.

You pressed your thighs together at his casual violence, at the way Billy was controlled in his fury, a professional. You shivered, imaging Billy teasing you with his blade, dragging it down your body. You wondered if there was something entirely wrong with you. “You son of a bitch, Russo.” Morty growled, holding his eye, and looking like he wanted to say more, “Keep your whore, she’s probably loose anyway,” he snapped.

“Careful, Morty. You still have another eye.” Billy warned, quietly, as Morty stumbled out of the penthouse, probably to regroup. Or get medical treatment.

“You can come out now, baby.” Billy said, soft now, tender.

“Is he gonna get you back for that?” You asked, crawling out from behind the couch, aching for him.

“Morty has the instincts of a rat, and the courage of a rabbit. I doubt it.” He said, pushing his now cleaned blade back in. He smiled as you leaned up on your tippy toes, and kissed him eagerly.

Billy didn’t know his parents well enough to say he loved after them, but god he loved you.

Tags; @idaofinfinity @e-dubbc11 @rosaleenablack @firexfate @aoi-targaryen

[notjustjavierpena]

WIP WEDNESDAY (but it is Thursday)

Thanks for tagging me @ace-turned-confused @sawymredfox and @mountainsandmayhem !! I'm sorry I am so slow 💖

Below are three stories I am working on!

Have a sneak peek on chapter 2 of Ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia ✨

“Carissima,” Marcus soothes gently. He dares walk to stand in front of you, his bare feet quiet on the cold floor and even though he can potentially reach out to put his hands on you, he does not, “Goddess Nox has given us plenty of time to take things slowly before dawn. These stories you have heard… I wish you would not think of me as such a brutal man. Our chambers are not a battlefield.” 

You reach up with the back of your hand to swipe away the tears that have started to continuously fall from your chin, catching some on your cheeks before they even manage to go so far. You feel a pang of guilt at your assumptions because Marcus is right and the proof is in the way he kissed you so carefully yesterday when you had asked. 

“I’m sorry,” you cry unhappily and stare down at your feet again, hating the way you come off as a scared child. You are married to a general of the great Roman Empire, meant to exude grace and strength even when the two of you are alone in your home. Your home. These chambers will forever be yours too.

“I know this is difficult but this is something we must do to start our lives together as man and wife,” Marcus coos back at you. He dares to put at hand underneath your damp chin to tilt your head up again, looking into your eyes with his own that seems to be miles deep with their brown color. You whimper but he shakes his head, “No more of that. I will not have you remember your first night in these halls with remorse and terror.”

And into pre-hubby and wife's life too 💖

“Whew,” Connie and you place the glasses upside down on the countertop. She looks like someone who is about to say something but then she nods in the direction towards the door, making you whirl around when no one is close enough for you to bump into, “There they are.”

Time stands still as you lay eyes on the infamous Javier. Handsome is not the proper word because he is so gorgeous that you can feel your thighs heat up just from glancing briefly at him; aquiline nose, mustache that reminds you of Burt Reynolds and wearing a white shirt that sits so tight around his shoulders that you feel scared the buttons might pop. 

“Don’t even go there,” Connie says into your ear when she catches you staring. She catches your wrist to gain your attention properly, “Serial romancer. Forever bachelor.”

You whine animatedly and yank at your top to make your tits look better, making her roll her eyes, “Connie, what if I’m supposed to marry him?”

And into hubby and wife now!

“Is everything alright?” Javier asks with worry, taking note of the lack of reaction. 

“Yes, everything looks great,” Martina reassures, holding the stick in her hand in place while she taps a few buttons on the keyboard, “Hold on for a moment, let me just zoom in here... There we go.”

She presses yet another button to unmute the sound and the sound of the baby’s heartbeat fills the room, a rhythmic whooshing that you’re familiar with. However it is doubled right now, beating parallel to another sound just like it. Your stomach drops in shock at the realization. 

Javier takes a look at you before he tenses up too because you’re blinking in astonishment, mouth opening and closing a few times with no sign that something will come out anytime soon. He is just about to ask Martina for confirmation but she is quicker, with surprised glee on her face, “Double trouble alert. You’re having twins! That’s so exciting!”

npt: @javierpena-inatacvest @yxtkiwiyxt @mermaidgirl30 @msjarvis @vivian-pascal <3

[down-the-rabbid-hole]

A collection of miscellaneous Rabbids Invasion headcanons

Because I'm sleep deprived and why the hell not

Mad is VERY hyperactive and cannot sit still to save his life, he's always fidgeting or moving a little. He often tends to speak really fast when he gets excited about something, much to Nerdy's annoyance

Nerdy is Mad's first assistant to actually stay around him for longer than a week, most of the others would've run off out of fear or because they didn't want to become a lab rat. Mad doesn't know whether Nerdy stuck around because he likes him or out of stupidity and this will never cease to fascinate him (in truth it's a mix of both)

Yes there besties and you cannot change my mind, I'm very normal about their dynamic (lying)

I've said this before but Non Binary Mini

Nerdy didn't need glasses before the Mole-Rabbid incident but now he does, and is practically blind without them

Yes, he can still transform into Mole Rabbid, but he doesn't do it as often (HE SHOULD'VE DONE IT IN THE SEASON FOUR FINALE)

Lapini likes tea, and Mad prefers coffee, they have and will fight over this

Season four took place before the movie, and the stupidity thing just...wore off or something

At some point I may rewrite the season four finale cuz it kinda sucked no offense

The Mars gang sticks together after the events of the movie, sort of all staying together in scribbles little lab thing on that one island, John and Olivia visit sometimes too!

Lapini villain arc would be cool though

Mad is a chronic insomniac and will refuse to sleep unless he passes out in the middle of doing something, Nerdy has and will drug his coffee with NyQuil so he actually sleeps for once

One of the first things Lapini did in the lab was uncover his old translator from the series so he could have a proper conversation with Olivia

Less a headcanon and more of a parallel, but concept art reveals Lapini's lab in the movie is made from a half-dismantled helicopter, and since Mad's lab is in a school bus they both have labs made in/from scrapped vehicles!

Cosmo still dreams of being an astronaut sometimes, if he ever gets a room or something he'd fill it with glow in the dark stars

Lapini is claustrophobic

Nerdy still gets Mole-Rabbid instincts sometimes, he becomes more alert if he were to ever go underground, and his eyes glow ever so slightly in the dark

He also has retractable mole claws now! He's accidentally scratched more countertops than he can count with them lmao

Mad has absolutely horrible social skills. Mf has no sense of boundaries and cannot pick up on any social cues, also isn't really good at reading others emotions, which is why he sometimes goes too far with teasing or other things

Speaking of teasing! Mad LOVES to tease Lapini, and the two have a sort of one sided rivalry, Lapini doesn't want anything to do with Mad and Mad is determined to one-up Lapini at every little thing he does

Mainly because Lapini is the only other Rabbid Mad has found that can match his own intelligence, Lapini also sees this but sees Mad as impulsive, reckless, and a general disgrace to science

Mad doesn't hate Lapini though, quite the opposite really! He does enjoy being around him but only knows how to do so through competition and teasing, which he doesn't know is bothering Lapini as much as it is lmao

If we ever get a season five or another movie I NEED to see an plot where Lapini and Mad are forced to work together and learn they're not actually so different, please that would be so cool

[thefandomenchantress]

I could have sworn I have more questions about headcanons, but until then.. Take these! I'll send those questions in when I can. If the cast got turned into cats, how would they act like? (Since yk, it would be a little different if they're cats. I'll give a headcanon of mine as an example: David and Xander would always be walking beside each other and their tails would form a heart. They would also lick each other to help clean themselves) GIMMIE ACEVID ONES!! How do you think the cast acted when they were babies/kids? You can use this photo as a inspiration for ideas!:

Don’t worry I’m super forgetful, too. The amount of times I’ve thought of really good jokes or theories to post only to immediately forget about them once I remember I wanted to post something is too many. I look forward to seeing the other headcanon stuff!

If the cast got turned into cats, what would they act like? (+Acevid)

I’ll try to do everyone in the cast for this one! Also, I’m not using real-life cats for a basis on their appearances, some of them are blue and red. Second also, I’m doing this on the assumption that this is a parallel universe where they’re cats and always have been.

Teruko: The saying that a cat always lands on their feet does not apply to cat-Teruko. She is constantly getting into accidents and her owner is getting sick of all the vet bills. She’s not very cuddly, often preferring to be left alone. Appearance: Brown with some patches of fur burnt off.

Xander: Pirate kitty. Cats probably can’t wear eyepatches in real life, but cat-Xander does. He is constantly climbing all over furniture as well as his owner, and he often harasses said owner for affection. Appearance: Red with cool eyepatch thingy.

Charles: Very anti-social. Getting him to let you pet him is a difficult task at first, but evantually he might warm up to you. Watches his owner make things in the kitchen with a strange fascination. Appearance: Purple with a bushy tail.

Ace: A literal scaredy-cat. Constantly hissing at people and hiding under furniture, and trying to pick him up is just asking for him to bite you. If he does end up liking his owner, he will quickly develop separation anxiety. Appearance: Maroon, fluffy and smaller than average.

Arei: Constantly doing things to annoy her owner. Example:

Owner: *Walks into the room and sees cat-Arei next to a glass of water, which she is pushing dangerously close to the edge of the countertop* Hey! No. Don’t you dare.

Cat-Arei: *Looks owner dead in the eyes as she slowly pushes the glass off the countertop, and it shatters on the floor*

Appearance: Light blue and…uh…majestic?

Rose: Always taking a cat nap. Usually in the most inconvenient places, like right in front of the front door while her owner is trying to leave the house. Her owner has tripped over her quite a few times by accident. She also always manages to get into paints, no matter where her owner hides them. Appearance: Dark brown fur (which usually has paint stuck in it).

Hu: Definitely the most well-behaved of all the cats. It doesn’t matter what she’s doing, if she hears her owner playing any instrument she’ll come running. Sometimes she’ll try to help them play (Ex: Walking across piano keys while her owner is trying to play). Appearance: Dark green-ish fur

Eden: Doesn’t have great eyesight, since cats don’t wear glasses (or maybe they do I mean I gave cat-Xander an eyepatch). Very social and will often follow her owner around the house. Has a strangely good sense of time. Appearance: Brown fur, maybe dark brown markings around her eyes that sorta look like glasses.

Levi: Very calm, but will attack any human he does not recognize that enters his owner’s house. (He’s a very good guard dog—er, cat). He will protect his owner with his life. Appearance: Light brown fur, piercing light blue eyes. Bigger than your average cat.

Arturo: Loves his owner and is very clingy to them. Anyone he deems unfit for their presence he will hiss at if they get too close. His definition of ‘unfit’ seems to be anyone and everyone his owner has tried to invite over. Appearance: Mint/Toothpaste green fur, very lanky.

Min: Sits next to her owner whenever they read, staring at the pages. Whether she can actually read or not is a mystery. Not very easily excitable, but she really likes milk (just like human Min). Appearance: Brownish-Black fur, a tuft of which will often cover her pretty purple eyes.

David: When his owner isn’t home he barely does anything, and is usually laying in the same place all day. Once he notices his owner is back he gets all happy again, and will follow them with stars in his eyes. Appearance: Dark blue fur, his eyes do the same thing his human counterpart’s eyes do.

Veronika: Will often enter rooms quietly just so she can pounce up onto her owner’s lap and scare them. Makes very demonic hissing noises whenever she feels like it, usually when her owner least expects it. Appearance: Red fur, and dead, grey eyes. Has long claws she likes to scratch furniture with sometimes.

J: Will act like she totally didn’t miss her owner while they were at work for a while, but caves after around an hour and bothers them for affection. She likes to initiate any cuddles, and trying to give her any without fair warning will make her mad at you for a bit. Appearance: Black, thick fur with blue and green highlights. Somehow.

Whit: Very affectionate, and instantly likes the romantic partner his owner brings over to the house. He can sense it’s meant to be. Also:

Appearance: Has a heart shape on his chest (for an example of this, see the photo of a random cat I found on the internet). Blonde fur, pink hints throughout.

Nico: Hmm…I’m tasked with making them more cat-like, huh? I guess they hate bathtubs more now. They’re pretty anti-social and don’t hang around their owner too much, but appreciate their company when they do. Appearance: Black fur and red eyes, looks scary but is actually very sweet.

Acevid: At first cat-David thinks of cat-Ace as a bit too…energetic, if you get what I mean. But also finds him fun to mess with. Sometimes, they take naps together. A good way to summarize their relationship is this: Cat-Ace likes his personal space. Cat-David also likes cat-Ace’s personal space.

How do you think the cast acted when they were babies/kids?

Teruko: Actually sorta had a home, the orphanage, so that’s nice. She didn’t have any friends except for her brother, so they hung out a lot. She was more affectionate then, and often carried around a stuffed teddy-bear.

Xander: Liked school and did fairly well. He had a lot of friends, thanks to his more outgoing personality, but he was a bit too much for some people. Got into fights at recess a few times.

Charles: Rather sheltered, preferred to be by himself most of the time. Had a sense of child-like wonder about him, (and he still does, even though you’ll be hard-pressed to see him show it). It’s a shame he can’t remember most of his childhood.

Ace: Didn’t have any friends (until Taylor), since his off-the-walls energy was too much for most other kids, and he was just labeled as weird. Never stopped talking, despite the fact people constantly told him to shut up.

Arei: Her sisters got an early start on making her feel as bad about herself as possible, and they made it hard for her to make friends. She was compassionate nonetheless, but she slowly became more closed-off because of all the ridicule.

Rose: Didn’t sleep as much, since she didn’t have as much of a need for escapism (or at least I always assumed she slept as a form of escapism idk). She was very passionate about art and often got her pieces put in the school-wide art shows.

Hu: Got along pretty well with other kids, but was rather introverted. She had a lot of butterfly-themed clothing and jewelry, so it was well-known that was her favorite animal.

Eden: Had a few good friends, and really liked setting up play dates with them. She would often pick out art kits from the store, like bracelet-making kits, to do during them.

Levi: Rather quiet, didn’t have many friends. His closed-off nature and intimidating stature were most likely to blame for this. He had trouble reading who was in the ‘bad crowd’ and would sometimes get in trouble for being in the wrong place, wrong time.

Arturo: Didn’t have many friends, since he was often off in his own little world. Not sure when his beauty obsession started, but at some point it did and he would constantly read those celebrity gossip magazines and fanboy over every pretty person he saw in them.

Min: Had a few friends, but didn’t spend too much time with them. She was always studying, or doing schoolwork, or occasionally sleeping. She tried to hang out with friends sometimes, but would be constantly feeling guilty about how she was wasting time that could be spent studying.

David: Had many acquaintances and a few people he’d call friends, but he didn’t feel most of them actually knew him that well. He was way less…er…depressed? Than current David, and did anything for his parent’s approval and affection.

Veronika: Most kids either thought she was creepy (because of her psychoanalysis) or really cool, since she would often do things like hanging upside-down on high-up tree branches or other dangerous stunts. While intrigued by the spooky and gory, she wasn’t as into it back then.

J: Often forced to do things she didn’t want to by her mother, and hated every second of it. She felt as though most of her friends weren’t really her friends because they liked her, and that they just liked the idea of her, and the idea of being friends with a celebrity.

Whit: Didn’t have too many friends, since some considered him a little annoying. Wasn’t quite as ambivalent to terrible things happening, and wasn’t constantly positive. But he still really liked puns to an unhealthy degree.

Nico: Didn’t have any friends, but didn’t mind because they preferred to have their alone time anyway. Or maybe that’s just what they told themselves so they wouldn’t feel lonely. They would’ve liked to have at least one person to hang out with from time to time. But at least they had their cats.

Sorry this ask took forever for me to answer. I had never considered the cat question before and it took me a long time to come up with answers. But this was really fun, thanks for asking me stuff!

[good-beanswrites]

Hello again, I'm here to request once more. Feel free to take all the time you need btw! I would always be patient for your wonderful works ^^

This time I'd like to request from the Drabble List#2 - 47 with the 020607 Trio (mainly Mahiru though). And yes, this is hugely inspired by that one minigram with Mahiru. And as usual, feel free to change the scenario and/or the characters.

Thank you again, good luck with your future studies and take all the time you need!!

Woo thank you so much!! :'D This one was a ton of fun (and once again led me to get smacked in the face with unlikely character parallels I wasn't aware of before). It's from Kazui's pov but it's still mainly about Mahiru. I ended up going canon-compliant, but I did consider sticking super close to the minigram and do a little normal-au where Mahiru drags them across Japan to make a perfectly homemade cake 😅

Everyone knew Mahiru had a tough time distinguishing genuine from joke, but Kazui hadn’t expected it to come back to bite him. Mahiru wasn’t stupid by any means; sometimes she just forgot that others weren’t as unabashedly honest as herself. When she said something, she meant it. Kazui… not so much.

Which is why, following a conversation about her skills in the kitchen, in response to being pressed about his own household, he thought it would be inconsequential to utter the following words to her.

“Bake me a cake, and we’ll talk.” 

Kazui had laughed his booming laugh, Mahiru had giggled in her sweet little way. Neither realized what had just transpired.

That is, until Yuno dragged Kazui across the prison the following day to make him aware of the monster he had released upon the kitchens. The two hurried over to find a massive operation underway: Mahiru had several layers in the works, she was stirring multiple fruit fillings, decoration choices scattered across the countertop, and anyone who dared venture too close was shooed away with a slap from her wooden spoon. 

It took a few minutes to get the situation all worked out.

“So… you didn’t really want a cake…?” She asked, pausing mid-stir. Her eyes were so big and round.

Yuno came to the rescue. “Of course he does!” She interrupted. “Everyone here would die for a taste of your baking~” 

Kazui nodded. “I just didn’t mean for you to work so hard for my sake. I’m really not worth all this effort…”

Mahiru’s jaw fell, offended on his behalf. “Yes you are!” Her attention was momentarily caught by a timer chiming. Kazui took the bowl from her so she could take a pan from the oven. He picked up where she left off stirring. 

“Either way, why don’t I help you out?” Yuno had grabbed some ingredients from the counter as well. “While we bake, I’ll tell you a little bit about myself. A little,” he repeated. 

And he did. Her questions were easier than he’d expected. While the others knew how to poke and prod about each other’s murders, Mahiru really did just want to know about his home life. While she buzzed around the kitchen switching pans and creating intricate icing patterns, she asked him about his childhood, his hobbies, his job. As soon as she saw his wife was a touchy subject, she let it drop (though with a bit of disappointment, to be sure). He scrambled a bit as Yuno the human lie detector would shoot him a look now and then. Overall, though, his measured answers managed to satisfy both women without giving much of himself away.

When they carried the spectacular cake into the common room to everyone’s amazement, Mahiru prodded him with her elbow.

“We should talk more! I mean, come on. How difficult was that?”

If only she knew the half of it.

———

“Hey, Mahiru.” Kazui traded weak smiles with Yuno as he joined her by the bed.

“Oh. Hi Kazui,” came her weak voice. She tried her best to smile under the tangle of bandages that surrounded her. Then, silence. 

Aside from a few coughs and small requests, that silence stretched on for hours. He and Yuno usually had a lot to talk about, but neither could muster anything up today.

He thought Mahiru had dozed off, but she surprised him by taking his hand. “Kazui?”

“Yes?”

“Do you really think I’m unforgivable?” 

He blinked. “I can’t really say.” 

The moment the words left his lips, he knew they were the wrong ones. Well, the glare that Yuno was trying to murder him with also helped. “Er, I forgive you, of course. But… I don’t know anything about you, Mahiru. Not really. I can’t say why others would think you’re unforgivable or not.” 

“...I see.”

Yuno looked like she wanted to add something, but couldn’t find the words. Traces of emotions flickered over her face before she could cover them up. Kazui guessed she wanted to defend Mahiru. But maybe she also agreed with him. And that was when the realization struck him.

“I guess, I always thought you were so much better than me and Yuno when it came to talking about yourself. You do it all the time, and very easily. But now that I think about it, I probably know just as much about your situation as you know about mine. For such an honest person, you hide everything just like we do. Or maybe, you hide from everything, like we do.”

More silence.

A teary smile appeared on her face. “You know… you could bake me a cake… and maybe we’ll talk.”

Kazui didn’t laugh, and she didn’t giggle. He nodded, solemnly. “I think that’s a good idea.”

[northwestofinsanity]

Band Incorrect Quote/Scenario -“It’s Too Early For This!” (Happy Daylight Savings Spring Forward Monday)

Provided a bit later in the day than hoped, because Tumblr formatting put up a fight on me… A *long* scenario in an incorrect setting universe far more incorrect than most of my incorrect scenarios -solely for the guilty pleasure and humor of inserting bands into really wild situations that happened at my veterinary hospital job in current-day, in the chance occasions I could see their personalities fitting in.  Featuring the mid/late 80s Squeeze lineup, since the clock fiasco here sort of parallels well to the “Hourglass” music video.  (And maybe that’s the only realistic parallel here -but then, it is an incorrect scenario, and y’all can’t say I didn’t warn you!)

-It’s the Monday morning after the Spring forward to Daylight Saving’s Time, and the 7:00 AM openers (Keith and Gilson) are arriving at what was just formerly 6:00 AM to begin the day-

Keith Wilkinson: *Half asleep on his feet since he’s extra effected by the time shift.  Goes into the pharmacy hall, takes the clock off the wall, moves it forward an hour, and hangs it back up, having to attempt this a few times because the nail in the wall is loose and keeps moving into the wall so there’s not enough sticking out for the clock to hang on.  He finally gets it to stay up, and after waiting a few seconds to see that it isn’t falling and appears stable, shuffles off to help Gilson with other opening tasks*

-An hour later: The 7:30 arrival crew are all in, and mandatory opening tasks are finished.  To attempt to wake up a bit, everyone is going around doing other chores and keeping busy until appointments begin.-

Glenn Tilbrook: *Working on the weekly chore list and cleaning walls and countertops in exam rooms that were deep cleaned earlier in the previous week, then breaks off to load the first appointment that arrives early*

Keith Wilkinson: *Upstairs in the supply closet, getting paper towels and a few other things they need to restock*

Gilson Lavis: *Folding laundry in treatment -Chris got a lot done over the weekend on kennel duty, and the trash bag nested in the bin is stuffed to the gills so that it stands up level with his chest*

Chris Difford: *Setting up and assigning other exam rooms to the other appointments that are coming up next by writing information on the whiteboards on the door and pre-loading supplies that will be needed specific to those appointments*

Jools Holland: *Setting up the lab and pharmacy counter, and reading the appointment information off the computer screen aloud to Chris so he doesn’t have to keep going back to it in between each room being set up*

Glenn Tilbrook: *Comes out of the room he loaded, having gotten all the history he needs to report to the office with*

-As Glenn goes into the office, a baby gate propped up along the side of one of the doctors’ desks randomly slides down and hits the tile floor with a loud clatter-

Glenn Tilbrook: *Winces, because the room he loaded is directly across from the office door, and the walls are very thin, so literally everything in the hall is audible inside the rooms*

Chris Difford: *Gets jumpscared, as he’s spazzy and disoriented from being overtired, then snickers quietly before continuing to prep rooms. He is especially sleep deprived out of all of them, because he worked kennel duty in addition to the time change*

Jools Holland: “Goodness gracious!”

Glenn Tilbrook: *Picks the gate up* “Well, that’s something to wake everyone up with!” *Gives the history to the doctor, then starts to duck back into the other room he’s working on cleaning*

-Not even two seconds later, before Glenn can even make it back to his cleaning supplies, a huge, multiple-crash clatter resounds from the hall, ten times louder than the baby gate falling, as the clock finally jumps off the wall, takes the wall-mounted phone out with it, and both attack the computer on the pharmacy counter below-

Gilson Lavis: *Still around the corner in treatment folding laundry* “WHAT in the bloody HELL was THAT?” *Sets down the sheet he was working on and goes around to investigate*

Chris Difford: *Gives off a single cackle nearly a full octave above his typical voice tone and goes into hard, silent, wheezing, hysterical laughter*

Jools Holland: *Briefly flinches and recoils back away from the clock that fell just inches in front of his face, then turns toward Gilson with a deadpan expression*

Glenn Tilbrook: *Turns straight back around toward the hall, just one second too late to see the action, but just in time for the immediate aftermath*

-The pharmacy wall clock is on the floor right in front of the counter.  The phone, which usually hangs on the wall under the clock is also down -the body with the cradle, dial-pad, and intercom are on the counter, on top of the computer keyboard, and the phone receiver is on the floor, dangling by the curly phone cord stretched down the front of the cabinets.  The computer screen is spazzing out with a hundred error dialogue boxes, due to the phone cradle actively holding down keys, which already got smashed when the clock went down-

Glenn and Gilson (in unison from opposite ends of the hall): “LORD have MERCY!” *Both chuckle*

Chris Difford: *Leaning over the counter over the sink, still shaking, gasping, and wheeze-laughing, with tears in his eyes.  He’s visibly too weak to do anything but brace himself by his hands on the edge of the counter and lean against it to stay upright, and try not to look at any of his mates, because if he does, it’s going to set him off harder… He knows deep down this shouldn’t be this funny, but in his overtired state, it is the best thing in the world, and he is GONE!*

Jools Holland: *Picks the phone hook up off the keyboard, looking unimpressed; grabs the mouse and starts dismissing the errors* “What is this day?”

Glenn Tilbrook: “It’s hardly begun yet!” *Picks up the clock and starts fighting with the nail to try and get it hung back up again, having it shrink back into the wall on him multiple times. This causes the clock to fall again, only he catches it this time, with a priceless, wide-eyed, open-mouthed expression of surprise as he reaches to snatch it out of the air*

Jools Holland: *Finally cracks and starts laughing at this, which sets Chris off again and takes him further* “Well, shit!”

Glenn Tilbrook: “First the baby gate, then the clock and the phone jumping off the wall -our first patient is probably wondering what on Earth is happening here!”

Jools Holland: “That’s it, it’s official!  *Goes into his dramatic announcer voice* Our clock says that it is WAY TOO EARLY for this!” *Flinches as the computer throws up another error box, because it is big-mad after having its keys pressed so aggressively.* “And apparently, now this does, too!” *Shuts the whole thing down so it can be restarted.*

Chris Difford: *Points to Jools in agreement, then shakes his head, still in hysterical laughter, and runs out around the corner into treatment, leaving the room to go pull himself together where nothing else can get to him*

Keith Wilkinson: *Comes around the corner scooting a huge Sam’s Club package of paper towels along the tile in front of him with his feet, while having a six-pack sleeve of Kleenex boxes tucked under one arm, a roll of trash bags under the other, and with fingertips wrapped around the handle of a half-gallon refill bottle of hand soap, only leaving one barely-freed hand for him to have held the rail while getting down the very steep stairs in the back* *Freezes in place and does a double-take at Chris running out in hysterics and Jools and Glenn trying to get the clock and phone back up, then unceremoniously sets down the soap bottle and tissue boxes, since they’re nearly falling out of his grip, anyway.*  “What on Earth’s happened?  I leave for five minutes and I’ve come back to this!”

Glenn Tilbrook: *Goes off in one of his guttural, mirthful cackles* “Too much!  That’s what’s happened -too much!”

Jools Holland: “Too much at this hour, that’s for sure.  Even without being an hour ahead!”

-Twenty minutes later-

Glenn Tilbrook: *Notices that the clock is twenty minutes behind, approximately where it was when it fell down* “What?” *Takes it back down and tries to check that the batteries didn’t come loose, then realizes he can hear it ticking, though the hands aren’t moving, and in trying to turn the knob on the back to adjust the hands, realizes that they came detached from the internal mechanism with the glorious impact* “Oh, shit -great!” *Tries to fix the clock one more time, just in case, before leaving it on the manager’s desk*

Chris Difford: *Places a note on the clock stating ‘It jumped off the wall and broke’ and finds the office instant camera to commemorate the most chaotic Spring Forward*

[silvercrystalwhump]

The Safehouse Knows Now

Vince, Nat, Jake, & Kauri belong to @ashintheairlikesnow

Vince blinks awake to the sound of his phone vibrating. He wiggles up from under Dmitri’s arms and reaches up and takes the phone. His eyes struggle to adjust, focusing around glowing letters. The light from the partially open window dances over the screen and sends light glaring into his eyes. He turns the screen away and fails to read the name.

He presses the answer button and mumbles his voice barely more than a croak, “Hi, Shield speaking.”

“Vince–” Nat’s voice echoes through the phone– “You just woke up didn’t you?”

“Um, yes?” Vince mutters as he sits upright. Dmitri’s arm wraps tighter around his waist and Vince feels Dmitri press his nose into his hip. “How’s your morning?”

“It’s been quiet. Are you coming today?” Nat asks.

Vince blinks, “I said I would be there Thursday.”

“Today is Thursday Vince.”

Vince pauses and looks over at the glowing blue clock on Dmitri’s nightstand. His eyes fade in and out around the glowing numbers. Eventually, the small 10:43 glows back at him. His brain shifts around his skull like molasses as his thoughts scramble to get into a line.

I was supposed to be there thirty minutes ago.

“Oh shit! Sorry Nat I’ll be there in,” Vince exclaims as he scrambles out of Dmitri’s bed and thinks, shoving brain cells together, “Thirty… forty-five minutes.”

“Vince you can’t make–”

His thumb presses onto the hang up button before Vince realizes Nat started speaking. Falling gracelessly onto the floor, Vince curses under his breath as he scrambles for his drawer of clothes sitting in Dmitri’s dresser. 

Dmitri looks up from the bed and mumbles through the blankets, “Where you going?” 

“I completely forgot I was meeting Nat today,” Vince stumbles over to the door as he throws a jacket on, “I'll be back later!”

“Okay, have a good meeting,” Dmitri sheepishly mumbles as he rolls over in bed.

After just shy of thirty minutes of objectively messy driving, Vince knocks on Nat’s door. She opens the door and blinks, honestly shocked. “How did you manage to make a three hour drive into less than thirty minutes?” 

Nat steps inside and lets Vince walk in behind her. “I drove less than eloquently to get here.”

 She steps back into her kitchen and says, “That is not possible at all even if you speed the entire time.”

“And also I wasn’t at my house,” Vince answers as he shrugs off his coat, “I was at Dmitri’s.”

“Who’s Dmitri?” Nat says as she wraps her hands around a streaming mug on her countertop. The smell of tea ruminates through the room.

“Oh, um, he’s the man I’m seeing right now,” Vince says as he leans against the counter, “He’s my boyfriend. He lives on the other side of this city.”

“Congratulations,” Nat perks up, giving Vince a warm smile, “How long have you two been together?”

“A few months now,” Vince smiles as he looks at his feet. “He’s wonderful. I’ve been staying with him when I’m in between projects.”

Jake steps out from the back and blinks, “How the hell did you get here in thirty minutes?”

“I wasn’t at my house,” Vince repeats. “I was just up late.”

Jake looks back over his shoulder into the deeper parts of the house. Vince watches his expression shift slightly.

“I’m not interrupting anything am I?” Vince steps back towards the door, “I know I’m late and–”

Nat raises his hand, “Both of you were impromptu and this is brief. I can ask you about Dmitri later.”

“Okay so–” Vince starts.

“Wait a damn minute.”

Vince looks over his shoulder and Kauri stands in the doorway to the deeper parts of the house. He leans against the older, simple door frame and blinks, “Is he the Dmitri that’s so tall it’s stupid?” He raises his hand and locks his arm, holding his hand parallel to his head.

Vince nods, “Um, yes. I come up to his collarbone.”

“And he dyes his hair alot?” 

Vince nods.

Kauri pauses and chuckles, a more of a snort than a laugh, “So you’re the reason he’s been out less.”

“I don’t stop him from going places,” Vince mutters.

“I mean,” Kauri rolls his eyes, “I knew he was patient but I didn’t know he was a damned saint.” With that retort, Kauri spins on a heel and walks back deeper into the house.

[kallenchi]

Marker drawings drawn while staying over at friend’s place.

Image description under cut.

[ID: Three image photo set of sketchbook marker illustrations. 1) Bright, neon-colored still life of a yellow candle in the shape of a frog, surrounded by pens, two porcelain cups, a stack of note paper, and a salt grinder, placed inside a translucent, pink bowl. The base of the bowl is drawn as small, black tiles. 2) A street view looking down a sidewalk drawn in bright, neon colors. In the foreground is a purple moped, parked against a blue moped and a green, barren tree on a pink sidewalk. On the left are two storefronts. Closer to the viewer is a restaurant with a red facade and a red and blue awning. In front of it is a wooden, A-frame chalkboard sign. Farther back is a yellow-brick building, with a green sign reading “24/7.” On the right side is the road with a bright green car parallel parked by the sidewalk. Ahead of it is a hanging traffic light and street signs. 3) A look down an apartment hallway with an open kitchen, drawn in bright, neon colors. The hallway floor is yellow with orange lines drawn between the floorboards. The walls are bright green. Against the left wall is an orange table stacked with a microwave and kitchen utensils. Against the right wall are the stove, sink, kitchen countertop and refrigerator. Far to the end of the hallway are two gray doors, one slightly ajar leading to a bedroom. End ID]