#plus it just made it easier to talk to the other people because shed just be like

[jattendschaton]

Some people are very good at talking to a group and creating an environment where all of them feel very welcome and proactively making sure people are included in all aspects of the conversation and then some people talk to a group as if they are trying to keep everyone divided? Like they are using inside jokes that only one person understands or talk in a guarded way that suggests they are everyone's closest confidant but no one else is allowed to know each other. No real point, I'm just thinking about how much I would rather be the first type of person but how much more common I think the second is

[pochipop]

＃MYSTIC MESSENGER !! ♡ — BEING VULNERABLE WITH YOU.

#. synopsis! — how they show their trust .

#. characters! — jumin, zen (hyun), yoosung, saeyoung (707), saeran (ray), jihyun (v) .

#. warnings! — slight angst.

#. others! — navigation & masterlist .

#. a/n! — come join my discord server? it's newly opened with a fantasy bakery theme! we have emojis from genshin impact, honkai star rail, sanrio, overwatch, pokemon, mystic messenger, and more! a collection of funny stickers, channels to promote yourself, meet new friends, share your writing/art, + lots more! plus, our staff is very chill and friendly! we'd love to see you there! <;33

＃ JUMIN !! ♡

Jumin, who never really thought himself to be the romantic type, but loses himself so easily in his relationship with you that he’d do anything imaginable just to see you smile for him. This sophisticated, pressed-suit wearing, stone-faced man who just crumbles when it comes to you, —who once thought love was some sick ruse made to rope people in and keep them hostage to their feelings, suddenly realizing that this rush is marvelous, and he can’t quite clearly remember a time before his heart seemed to beat for you. This man who swore he’d never love someone enough to put aside everything else on his mind and just live in the moment who sheds that dry cleaned business attire at the end of every workday and lets himself come undone for you. His walls come down and he welcomes you inside, and for once, he’s not scared of what will happen when you see the parts of him that perhaps aren’t as pretty as others. He lets you see the beautiful mess he’s made of himself over the years, and it’s then that he begins to pick up all these tattered pieces, finally preparing to put himself back together again. And recognizing you’ll help him do so is the sweetest comfort he’s ever known.

＃ HYUN (ZEN) !! ♡

Hyun, who stops pretending to be perfect over time and lets you see him in all the stages of healing. This man who often shields himself from the world, hiding behind a mask of narcissistic confidence, who finally lets his imperfections seep through to the surface and breathes another sigh of relief every single time you stay in the aftermath. He lets you in on the insecurities that lap at his ankles much more often than he'd ever had liked to have admitted before. He lets you hold him when he shatters instead of pushing you away, —dulls all his rigid edges to feel your warmth surround him, as if lowering all his defenses for the very first time. The world can be a cruel place to those that have made mistakes, but Hyun feels like he's finally found someone who can look at him for more than just the pretty, well-kempt face he maintains for the public. There's no sense of shame he feels the need to drown in when you let him fall apart in your arms. There's no crushing feeling of disappointment or suffocating feeling of disdain. He's more human than he fears he's ever been when your thumbs wipe the tears from beneath his eyes and you whisper to him that everything will be okay.

＃ YOOSUNG !! ♡

Yoosung, who learns over time how to not let things fester until they’ve built up so much he can’t keep them in any longer. For all he is and might not ever be, he’s come to realize that it’s okay to express his emotions before they reach a boiling point. He comes to you at the onset of upsetedness, —allows himself to feel frustrated without stuffing it down and pretending the problem doesn’t exist until it explodes. He finds that it’s so much easier to be earnest when you never talk down to him or make him feel like he’s any less of a person in your eyes because of it. Sometimes he needs advice, and other times, he just needs someone to talk to. No matter the case, he seeks you out before anyone else, knowing that you care enough about him to value his thoughts and opinions without qualifiers or regulations. He holds grudges sometimes that aren’t good for his own sake, and being shut down when he tries to address them only adds fuel to the fire. Having someone who truly listens and tells him that it’s okay to feel the way he does goes such a long way, —perhaps longer than you’ll ever know.

＃ SAEYOUNG (707) !! ♡

Saeyoung, who lets himself be honest eventually, —who lets himself chip away and then lets you smooth him over. He’s done a lot of things he’s not proud of, and he doesn’t need anyone to tell him that it wasn’t his fault. Whether it was or wasn’t doesn’t matter as much as what he knows he has to do going forward, and the last thing he really wants is to be coddled out of pity. He just wants to be heard, no sympathy necessary, no fawning over the way he sheds the skin he used to wear when he felt like happiness was millions of miles away. He just wants to be listened to. To Saeyoung, it’s the ultimate show of trust to admit to all the things he regrets, let them spill out like word vomit and not have to worry about the consequences. He doesn’t need you to understand, and knows you likely can’t given the specifics of his life’s course thus far, but knowing that you’re keen on carrying the burden with him is such an insurmountable feeling of relief. Finally, someone knows every grimy little corner of his soul and they still love him, still hold him, still want him. . . There’s nothing quite like it.

＃ SAERAN (RAY) !! ♡

Saeran, who lets little things slip as time goes on, —stares a little longer when he passes twin popsicles in grocery stores because he knows you won’t ask why. As much as he likes to pretend that he can fix things by pretending they never hurt him in the first place, there are always scars that linger just below the surface, ready to burst at the first sight of mint-colored liquids or at the first sound of deceptively sweet voices offering commands from the shadows. He carries a lot around with him wherever he goes, and just loving him until the sun dies isn’t a cure-all. You can’t turn back time and shield him from all the things in his life that have left him feeling like a shattered stain glass window. All the love in the world can’t fix the past. But there’s nothing that means more to him than knowing he can lean on you, —even if he doesn’t always do it. There’s such a sweet comfort in knowing he can turn to you when he feels like he’s drowning. And if sometimes that manifests only in letting himself shed a few tears while he eats an ice cream cone outside next to you in the sunshine, then so be it.

＃ JIHYUN (V) !! ♡

Jihyun, who talks about it all a little at a time, —about the good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful; because it wasn’t always bad. There were times before you came in which he’d been so in love that he’d have done anything to stay exactly where he was, to freeze those moments up and keep them in a capsule that could never be shaken. And it’s important for Jihyun to tell you about those things every now and again, to let you in and reminisce on the way he’d once been so sure of it all, so ready to settle down and stay exactly where he was. But it’s equally as important for him to bare the remnants of the betrayal for you to kiss, and hold, and make peace with. He likes to think you understand him better in the wake of it, —that you’ve seen him in a new light every time he sits with you and tells you of the loss, the desire, the yearning, and all the ways he wishes things could have been different for everyone. In the end, he’s here, and there’s nowhere else he’d rather be.

[drabbles-mc]

Restless

Nestor Oceteva x F!Reader

Whumptober 2022: No.24 Fight, Flight, or Freeze- Blood Covered Hands and “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

Warnings: 18+, angst, blood/injury, hospitals

Word Count: 3.7k

A/N: It’s always Fuck Miguel Galindo Hours here at drabbles-mc. 😌That being said, I have a lot of feelings about these two. I’ll be thinking about them for a long time.

Mayans Taglist: @buckybarneshairpullingkink @thesandbeneathmytoes @paintballkid711 @queenbeered @sesamepancakes @kelpies-shed @chibsytelford @yourwonkywriter @gemini0410 @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @plentyoffandoms @amorestevens @garbinge @bucky-iss-bae @bport76 @rosieposie0624 @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo @mijop @choochoo284 @blessedboo @holl2712 @withmyteeth @redpoodlern @punkgoddess-98 @black-repunzel99 @lexondeck @fanfic-n-tabulous @i-love-scott-mccall​ @mijagif​ @winchestershiresauce​ @frattsparty​ @beardburnsupersoldiers​ @mveggieburger​ @thanossexual​ @anditsmywholeheart​ @passionatewrites​ (If you want to be added to any of my taglists, please let me know!)

You didn’t know why it always ended up being the two of you.

Miguel had an entire fucking team of security people working for him, and yet it always seemed to be you and Nestor who got things the worst. You were always stuck in the most volatile situations, you were always the ones who seemed to be bleeding the most. You hadn’t asked to show and tell, but you were willing to bet that out of everyone on the team, you and Nestor were also the ones with the most scars left over from everything. Sometimes you started to think that maybe the two of you were just bad luck charms.

But no matter what shape you were in, the two of you always made sure that Miguel made it home in one piece, and usually unscathed at that. And that was the point of it all. On days when you wondered why Miguel hadn’t told both of you to hit the goddamn bricks because messes seemed to follow you around like a starved cat you fed once, you remembered that all he was worried about was himself. You were serving your purpose to him perfectly despite what it was putting you through, what it was putting Nestor through. You felt like the human incarnation of a broken mirror but Miguel saw you as his saving grace. The same way he saw Nestor.

So, on second thought, maybe you did know why it always ended up being the two of you. You were messy sometimes, sure, and certainly not conventional in your methods, but you always made sure the boss made it home. You were good. Messy, but good. Plus, Miguel made sure that your bills were covered and then some, and it wasn’t like you had a whole lot of other options banging down your door.

You wished that you could have the same weird sense of pride in it that Nestor did. No matter how brutal it got, not matter how badly he was injured, Nestor never seemed to second-guess any of it. He had the type of blind faith in and loyalty to Miguel that you only remembered having back when you were in the service. And those years were long gone now.

You always meant to ask Nestor where that came from, that undying sense of loyalty. But it never seemed like the right time. And, in the moments that could’ve been the right time, it didn’t seem like it was really a topic that he talked with people about. You weren’t so foolish to think that whatever it was between you and Nestor put you in high enough rank to know what was really going on inside his head. You knew he’d take a bullet for you. You’d take one for him, too. It was a lot easier for him to do that than to bare his soul to you.

None of those should’ve been the thoughts that were going through your head given your current circumstances. You hated that your brain took you there. All of the late nights and obscenely early mornings pretending that you were just as disconnected from it all as he was were proven to be futile, useless, a complete waste of your time and energy. Because there you were, bleeding out in the back of his SUV, and rather than thinking about literally any other thing in the entire universe, you were thinking about Nestor.

You weren’t going to wax poetic to his face, though.

“Told you,” you gasped out as you tried to put as much pressure as you could on your lower abdomen, “we should’ve worn the fucking vests.”

You couldn’t see it from where you were laying across the back seats of his van, but Nestor tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He wasn’t the most relaxed driver to begin with, but now he was white-knuckling the damn thing, one quick move away from detaching it from the rest of the vehicle completely.

“We didn’t exactly have a lot of time to get strapped in.”

“And now,” you cringed, fighting the urge to cough because you knew how badly it was going to hurt, “you gotta use that time we don’t have to get me to the fucking hospital.”

“You probably shouldn’t talk.” He glanced at you for a split second in the rearview mirror, already seeing the change in your complexion from the blood loss.

You brought one hand up from your bullet wound to wipe at the sweat on your forehead. You hadn’t thought about the fact that sure, you would wipe the sweat away, but you were going to leave smears of blood behind in its place. You went from feeling slick and sweaty to sticky with your own blood. The hits just kept coming.

“You got an ETA? I can’t see shit back here,” you gritted out.

“ETA is fucking soon.” He shook his head at you. “Stop talking and sit still.”

“Always so bossy,” you grumbled through the pain.

He knew better than to engage with you when you got like this. He especially knew better than to do it when you were bleeding out in his back seat. But he couldn’t stop himself. That was the whole issue with you: he was never able to stop himself.

“Too bad you don’t listen.”

You huffed out a tired, pained laugh. He was right, of course. It wasn’t that you never listened. But you weren’t always the best at taking orders from people, not even from Nestor. You wanted to come back with something else snarky, maybe something that would put his current anger at odds with amusement. You were feeling too tired to fire back with something, though. Your eyelids were finally starting to feel as heavy as the rest of you.

It took a lot more effort than it should’ve to lift your head off the seat. Looking down at your stomach, you saw the way the blood was trickling down your hands and onto your wrist. Your head dropped back again with a soft thud as you tried to press a little harder. It hurt, but you didn’t have much of another choice.

It was hardly a minute later when there was the sound of another, much softer, thud coming from behind him in the car. Nestor reached up, angling his rearview mirror to get a better look at you. He saw that your eyes were closed and his stomach twisted into a knot. Then he saw that your one hand had dropped, arm dangling off the edge of the seat, leaving your fingertips dragging lightly across the floor of the car.

He called your name, his tone gruff and angry, not unlike how he usually sounded on the clock. But you didn’t stir, didn’t respond with anything. He twisted his hands on the steering wheel as his foot pressed a little harder against the gas pedal, calling your name again.

“Come on.” He sounded worried, and it was a shame that you weren’t awake to hear it. “Don’t fucking do this.”

He practically drifted his way to the emergency entrance of the hospital. He didn’t even take the time to yank the keys out of the ignition before going and ripping the back door open. As carefully as he could, he pulled and lifted you out of the car. He looped your one arm around the back of his neck, the blood from your hand smearing across the floral pattern of his shirt, something else that conscious you would’ve had something to comment about. He saw the way that with each minor adjustment, more blood seemed to spill out of your wound.

He came crashing into the hospital, knowing the halls practically like the back of his hand by this point. People quickly scattered out of his way, most likely off-put not just by you being covered in blood and draped over his arms, but also by the angry, frantic look on his face.

“Sir,” one of the nurses was running to catch him as he stalked through the halls, “sir, what happened?”

“What the fuck does it look like?” he grit out, his voice not loud but the sharpness of it still made the nurse flinch.

He wasn’t the first angry person she’d ever dealt with, though. She took it in stride as she called on a few other personnel to help her take out off his hands. He didn’t want to let you go. It wasn’t until they were directing him to lay you flat that he realized how tightly he had balled his fists into your clothes. Unfurling his fingers felt like a herculean effort.

He stood there as the doors closed, breathing labored by much more than just carrying you inside. He was just about to reach up and run hands his down his face when he realized that they were covered in your blood. He was a few seconds from being the second person to have your blood smeared across their face. He wished that he got the chance to wipe it off yours.

He lost track of how long he’d been pacing. With the exception of his phone call to Miguel, and the split-second pauses each time a doctor strode their way out into the waiting area, he had been in constant motion. He hadn’t sat since he got out of the car.

When a nurse finally approached him, he almost didn’t think that she was really talking to him. She cleared her throat, waiting for Nestor to focus his attention. “She’s not awake yet, but you can still see her.”

He was too hung up on the fact that you weren’t awake to be relieved that he could see you. “Is she alright?”

She nodded. “She’ll be fine. Anesthesia hasn’t worn off yet. She’ll be moving slowly for a bit, but no permanent damage.” She paused, waiting a moment before gesturing to an adjacent hallway. “Would you like to…?”

“Yes,” he answered, snapping back to attention.

The nurse left him with a warning to just be careful. He heard it but didn’t acknowledge it as he took in the sight of you. It was far from the first time he’d seen you injured. It wasn’t even the first time he’d ever seen you asleep, but this was a different kind of vulnerable and defenseless that he’d never seen on you before. You were no stranger to trips to the hospital, but you’d always been awake for them. You were usually providing commentary to him while you got checked out and stitched up. They’d never had to put you under before. It was strange to see you all hooked up, laying in the hospital bed.

They’d at least cleaned you up. He also saw the spare set of clothes on the side of your bed—they were at least nice enough not to make you change back into the bloody, bullet-torn top you had on before. You’d probably be strangely ecstatic at the prospect of a free pair of sweatpants when you finally came-to.

He was about to reach out to hold your hand, touch your face, anything to really send home the fact that you did actually make it, that you really were going to be okay like they’d said. Before he reached far enough, though, too-familiar sound of someone clearing their throat behind him halted his movements. He didn’t have to turn around to know who it was, his hand dropping limply back to his side.

“She’s alright, then?” Miguel asked.

Nestor took in a slow, deep breath as he nodded. “Yea. Doctor said she’ll be fine. She, uh, she won’t be able to work for a bit though until it all heals.”

“That’s fine,” Miguel said, stepping in closer to the hospital bed. “We have a team for a reason, yes?”

Nestor nodded but it took more work than it should’ve to get one word out. “Yea.”

“Do you plan on staying? Or should I send someone else?”

Nestor tried not to sound too eager, too protective. “I’ll stay.”

He could feel Miguel’s eyes on him. Miguel might’ve been self-absorbed, but he wasn’t stupid. The reason that you and Nestor had kept your deal under wraps so successfully for so long was because you were both able to compartmentalize. What happened in the dark halls and rooms of your apartment never seeped over into working hours. All these months he’d gone thinking that you would be the one to crack, to blow your cover. And yet, here he was.

He must’ve kept a straight enough face to satisfy Miguel, to wipe away any lingering suspicions. Miguel rested his hand on Nestor’s shoulder for a moment. “I’ll make sure they switch out the cars—take yours to get cleaned.” He pulled his hand away, already taking a step back towards the door. “Call me if anything changes.”

“Yea,” Nestor nodded, managing to pry his eyes off of you just long enough to look back at Miguel before he left, “I’ll let you know.”

It wasn’t until Miguel left that Nestor pulled the chair closer to your hospital bed, finally allowing himself to sit down. He almost reached out to catch your hand in his, the same one that had been limply dragging along the floor of his SUV only hours before, but he stopped himself. Instead, he knitted his fingers together as he propped his elbows against his knees. He pressed the knuckles of his thumbs into the space between his eyebrows, like that would press all of the stress out of his brain. He didn’t expect to be so rattled by it all.

“You look,” you sounded groggy, tired, but your smirk was still audible, “pretty stressed out for a guy who didn’t get shot.”

He snapped his head up to look at you. His expression didn’t give much away, but the fact that he so quickly reached to catch your hands in his said it all. You looked at the way both of his hands clamped over yours, small traces of blood, your blood, still embedded in the cracks of his knuckles.

“Maybe if they doped me up with anesthesia, I’d be as relaxed as you,” he replied with a shake of his head.

You tried not to think too hard on how tightly he was holding your hand as he studied the look on your face. “Still today?”

He chuckled, nodding. “Yea, still today. Their drugs aren’t that good.”

“Damn,” you tried to laugh but you felt the pain shoot through where you’d been shot. “Not even the good drugs.”

There was a small stretch of silence between you before Nestor spoke up. “For a second, I thought…”

“That I was gonna bleed out?” You watched the shift in expression on his face as he nodded. You shook your head, pulling your hand from between his as you tried to get yourself in a more upright position, wincing in pain the entire time. You caught the way he went to reach for your hand again but stopped himself—you didn’t comment on it. “Yea, I thought I was too.”

He didn’t know how to address any of the things that he was thinking or feeling, so he didn’t. “Mikey stopped by.”

“Yea?” You dragged your hands down your face before letting them drop to the bed on either side of you. “Asshole didn’t even bring flowers?” Nestor got half your name out before you put your hands up in surrender, “My bad, my bad.” You shook your head. “I got shot for the guy. If he can’t send me a consolation prize, I think I should be able to call him an asshole.” You paused. “What’d he say?”

“N-not much.”

You nodded, the unimpressed expression on your face speaking volumes. “Sounds about right.”

Nestor’s brows furrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just,” you shrugged, “I don’t know, Nestor. Do you, do you think that if it was you in this bed instead, that he would’ve had more to say?” You paused to give him the chance to answer. When he didn’t, you continued. “’Cause I don’t think he would.”

“Don’t—”

“What? Don’t what?” you shook your head, taking a deep breath as the pain slowly starting coming back. “I know we don’t talk about…well…fucking anything, really. Or, like, I talk, and you lay there and listen to me. Or pretend to. I don’t know if you ever actually do.”

“I do.” He sounded mildly offended by the insinuation.

You raised your eyebrows slightly. “Okay. So you listen. Then,” you gestured vaguely at nothing, “then you know what I’m saying. Miguel didn’t even stick around.”

“I told him I would stay.”

“That’s not the fucking point!” You gasped, wincing in pain. You knew better than to yell, but you were at the end of your rope now. the drugs were wearing off and you were done with all of it.

“What is the point, then?”

You took a slow, steadying breath. “I’m not gonna die for him, Nestor.”

His brows furrowed. “What?”

You shook your head. “I’m not dying for Miguel. I thought, I fucking thought that I was done. I thought I was going to die in the back seat of your stupid SUV. And for what? For some rich prick who didn’t even stick around to see if I woke up?” You rested your head back against the pillow behind you. “What the fuck would it even be for?”

You’d never seen his frown stretch so deeply. His fingers messed with the edge of the blanket draped over your hospital bed. “So, what, then?”

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” you said with a helpless shrug.

“So,” you could tell by his cadence that he was coming up with the sentence as he went along, something that wasn’t quite like him, “so you just. You get shot and you’re going to walk away?”

It took all of your self-control to stuff down the cold laugh bubbling in your chest. “That’s…that’s what most people would do if they almost died, yea.”

“We aren’t most people.”

“We?” You couldn’t hide your surprise. “We’re we now? Okay, okay. Interesting. I’ll bite. What is we, then?”

His jaw clenched. “You can’t leave.”

“Why not?”

“Mikey isn’t just going to let you—”

“I protect him. No,” you shook your head, “we protect him. What’s he going to do if I leave?”

His voice got unexpectedly soft. “You wouldn’t just be leaving him.”

You felt your heart crack on top of all the other pain that was returning to your body. You tried to ignore all of it. “I never got the impression you really cared if I stayed or not.” You saw the slightly hurt and confused look on his face. “Don’t do that. You’re almost always gone when I wake up in the morning. And if you aren’t gone yet, you’re halfway out the door.”

He knew that he couldn’t argue with that. You were right that he was always the one leaving. But it wasn’t because he didn’t care. He didn’t know how to tell you that, though. He didn’t know how to afford himself that sort of vulnerability. It crossed his mind that if he couldn’t get it together and say something to you about all of it now, after he thought you were going to die, when you were saying that you were going to leave, he might never be able to say something.

“You want me to stay, Nestor? You want me to stay with you?” He nodded, not able to force the words out. You let your hand creep over, delicately tangling your fingertips with his own. “Why do we both have to stay?”

“What?”

“Why is the option that we both stay? What if…what if we both go?”

He leaned back in his chair, fingers slipping out from underneath yours. Your stomach dropped at the reaction. You didn’t know what you had been expecting, really. He didn’t quite seem like the running off into the sunset type. But you still had a sliver of hope. Maybe because you would’ve been ready to give this up for him if the roles were reversed. Not that you’d ever be in that position anyway. Not like he would ever turn his back on Miguel.

You let your hands rest far enough up on your stomach not to bother your injury. “Forget I said anything.”

“Listen, I’m—”

“You can call Miguel,” you slowly lowered yourself so that you were lying down again, “let him know I officially didn’t bite the dust. No paperwork for him.”

“Let me—”

“And you can go,” you could hear the slight shake to your voice and you knew that that meant he could hear it too, “I’ll be fine.”

He stood up out of his chair, reaching over to rest his hand on top of yours. “Hey…”

You hated that it took you bleeding out in front of him to get even a modicum of vulnerability out of him, and then it still all turned out to be for nothing. You put your cards on the table and for what?

“You can go, Nestor.” You pulled your hand out from underneath his. “If you’re feeling particularly cruel, you can break the news to Miguel that I’m leaving once I get checked out of this fucking hospital.”

“I’m sorry.” It sounded genuine, but it still didn’t do you any good.

“Go get your car detailed, Nes.” You turned your head so that you weren’t facing him anymore, so that he couldn’t see the tears that were starting to gather in your eyes, “I’ll send you a postcard from wherever I end up next.”

He lingered for a moment, his fingers running over the knuckles of the opposite hand. He could’ve sworn he could still feel the warmth. Looking down at them, he could still see the little bit of blood left over. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, hoping that the words would come to him, but they didn’t. He pressed his lips into a flat line before finally taking a step back and making his way towards the door.

[bayisdying]

Lucky Penny- Chapter Four

A/N: I HOPE Y'ALL LIKE SOME FUCKING ANGST. THIS CHAPTER IS ALL ANGST. SORRY NOT SORRY.

(Okay I'm a little sorry) As always feedback is much appreciated and encouraged 🥰

Dogfight football had to be the dumbest thing Lucky had ever heard of. It made zero sense, and it hurt her brain. Plus while she worked out, sports were not her strong suit. She was however enjoying herself by tackling Fanboy as often as possible.

"Why are you so mean to me Lucky?"

"You make such an easy target!"

She couldn't deny the fact that her man looked damn good running around shirtless either.

Poor Fanboy's brain had short-circuited when he saw Lucky in her bikini top and shorts. He didn't even pretend to look away when she had shed the shorts. Standing there looking like a goddess in her tiny, black bikini. He noticed Hangman staring too, he didn't even blame the blonde. Lucky was hot as hell, but Fanboy knew who she would be sleeping next to tonight and it wasn't Jake Seresin.

As the sun went down the group decided to spread out a couple beach towels to chill on. Beers were drank, jokes were told, and Lucky never felt so close to a group of people before.

----

Now that Maverick was satisfied with their dogfighting skills, they were moving on to actually running the mission's course. After several mess ups, they moved into having four planes in the air at once.

Dagger One was Coyote, Dagger Two was Lucky, Dagger Three was Payback and Fanboy, and Dagger Four was Phoenix and Bob. It was going so well even with Maverick acting like a bogey trying to throw them off their groove. That was until they reached the 10G climb. Lucky watched in horror as Coyote went into G-Lock.

Even when he came back to, Lucky still felt like something wasn't right. That's when the bird strike happened and she plummeted towards the ground.

-----

The last time she had gone home to see her Mom, it ended in the same argument that always happened. Delilah Steele was a strong woman, and she was damn proud to have raised a daughter just as strong as she was. However, she still held a little resentment that her daughter had left her so soon after they had lost William.

Everytime Baylie came home it was the same. They would both play nice for the first few days, filling each other in on their lives. Then her mother would bring up her retiring from the Navy, coming home to settle down, and giving her grandkids.

Baylie wasn't ready to give up her wings, and she sure as hell wasn't settling down in Illinois. Mickey and her had talked a couple times about marriage and babies. They decided that California was only fair, that was where they had met and fallen in love. Plus that way neither of their families would feel inferior to the other.

Baylie had stormed out of her childhood home and flown out to California to spend the rest of her time off alone, in the home she'd created with Mickey. Crying herself to sleep, because she never wanted to hurt her mother.

Now as she spun out of control, she wished she had made up with her mother. Wished she hadn't stormed out, had instead hugged her mother and told her that she loved her one last time.

-----

The last time her and Mickey had been on leave at the same time had been over a year ago. They had only a week until they were both shipped out again and had spent that whole week in New York. It had been around Christmas time so they walked hand in hand around Times Square taking in the beautiful sights, while sipping hot cocoa. They had declared a snowball war in Central Park (Lucky had won, but Fanboy swears he let her win). And they spent every night under the sheets in a hotel room that was far too expensive for the accommodations.

When their week was up it had been a bittersweet goodbye. It never got easier leaving the person you loved behind.

"I love you so much mí amor."

"I know."

"Did you just Star Wars me?"

"I did, nerd."

As the ground came closer and closer she heard that same voice ringing in her ears telling her to eject. She couldn't respond, but she hoped that her nerd knew how much she had loved him for all these years. That if he had ever asked her, she would have said yes.

-----

The very last time she saw her father, she had been saying goodbye. He was so fragile and so pale. The past five months on chemotherapy had destroyed him. She knew it was the end. He wasn't getting better and the cancer had spread too much. It was only two weeks before her high school graduation and she hated that he was going to miss it. That had been his goal, he told every nurse and every doctor.

"I want to see my little girl graduate."

He wouldn't get that wish, but she knew he would be watching from somewhere much nicer than here. A place where he was no longer in pain.

"You can let go Dad, I promise we will be okay." She whispered. "It'll be hard but me and momma will take care of each other."

Then William Michael Steele took his last breath and his daughter's life would forever be changed. She would chase clouds across the sky, knowing that she was as close to heaven as she could get. Hoping that he could see her, and was proud of the path she had forged. Praying for more pennies from heaven.

As she pulled the eject handle, she could almost hear her father's voice.

"That's right, Lucky girl. It's not your time."

-----

IM SORRY FOR ENDING IT RIGHT THERE. BUT ALSO NOT SORRY. ANGST IS THE NAME OF THIS CHAPTER FOR A REASON.

I hope you enjoyed! As always thank you for reading and shoutout to my bestest friends on this silly app for loving these two as much as I do!

The Forevers: @kloofspeaks @notyoursbutlewis @roosterscockpit @callsign-milano @callsignthirsty @callmemana @likelyrowdy

The Discord Loves: @mtnofgrace @callsign-dragonbaron @cycbaby @askmarinaandothers @persephonesportal @callsignscupcake @mrsjaderogers @biehnybaby

[plus-size-reader]

Not a Good Idea

Jack Kline x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 2084 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Jack asks out the reader thinking he's joking with her and she goes to hide but he follows easily?

For @lilacprincessofrecovery, I hope you like it darling

—————————————————————————————————

Jack had always had a crush on you, now that he understood what that meant.

He felt connected to you, and even though he didn’t know a ton of other people, he knew enough. He knew that no one was ever going to make him feel like you did, which was why he decided to ask you out on a date in the first place.

That was what you did when you liked someone, he’d seen Dean do it a million times before.

It seemed to work out for him just fine, because he was always in the company of women. You were a woman, and he didn’t see a reason he couldn’t do the same thing with you.

Granted, he hadn’t exactly worked out all the details yet but he figured you would help him.

You always did.

All he had to do was ask you and the rest would fall into place.

At least, in theory that was how it was supposed to work. After all, as soon as he had suggested that the two of you go out for a romantic evening as Dean so often did, you weren’t nearly as receptive to the idea as he imagined you would be.

In fact, you almost seemed upset by what he was suggesting.

He’d never seen you so upset before.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea” you hummed, barely looking up from your laptop as you spoke, your eyes still locked on the screen. Had Jack not been so fine tuned to your every move, he may have missed the slight tensing in your jaw.

He had definitely upset you, but what he didn’t understand was how.

In all those times Dean had asked a girl to have dinner with him, or get some coffee in the morning, she had never reacted like you were now.

In fact, you hardly ever acted like that at all.

You were always very attentive to Jack when he talked to you, eager to help him navigate the world around him or help him understand something he couldn’t quite wrap his head around.

It wasn’t like you to be so cold, but you couldn’t help it.

What he was asking, it was too much.

“What do you mean, not a good idea? Did I say something wrong?” he asked, concerned that he had unknowingly done something to offend you.

It all seemed pretty straight forward but it wouldn’t have surprised Jack if he’d somehow misread the situation or said something he shouldn’t have. He was pretty new to this whole thing after all.

It wasn’t like someone had gone out of their way to teach him how to talk to a girl he liked, he was just making it up as he went.

“No, it’s just not a good idea” you repeated, unsure of what to say to get him to drop this whole thing.

Nothing was going to make him realize how humiliating this was for you.

It just wasn’t fair.

You couldn’t imagine Jack would do something like that to be cruel to you, or push buttons that he shouldn’t but you couldn’t help but be upset by it.

It was just too much.

Jack hardly even realized what it was he was asking, and you just had a bad feeling about it. You knew that he was trying to be sweet, trying to do what he thought he should, but it wasn’t like he actually understood any of this.

You were basically the only girl he knew, like, at all.

Of course he had come to the conclusion that he wanted to have something with you because he’d seen this before. He constantly saw Dean trying to woo beautiful women and all that, but he wasn’t Dean, and you certainly weren’t like those women in the bar.

He didn’t know enough about this to even know what he wanted.

He didn’t know enough to know why you weren’t what he wanted, and the last thing you wanted was to wait around, caring about him, until he realized that.

You would only get your heart broken.

There was silence between the two of you for a moment as Jack desperately tried to understand what could have possibly gone so wrong in these few moments since he approached and it was only overwhelming you more.

You felt like you were ruining everything, like by saying no you were going to upset Jack and he wouldn’t want to be your friend anymore but he didn;t know what you did.

He didn’t understand that you were only trying to help him in the long run.

“I, I have to go” you decided, gathering the few files Sam had given you to look over as you went. It would be better to just get out of this situation as quickly as you could, especially since Jack clearly wasn’t going anywhere.

Maybe later you could have Dean explain just why this was such a bad idea. It would be much simpler than having to go through telling him yourself.

It was bad enough you were having this conversation in the first place.

You hoped that you would just be able to go, though, maybe you should have known better than to think that. As soon as you rounded the corner to your room, you came face to face with him again.

It was too much.

“What are you doing?” you gasped, cursing yourself for forgetting about what he was. It was lost on you too often that Jack wasn’t human and he could do things like teleport around and scare the shit out of you.

You thought you had been pretty clear about the fact that you wanted to be alone, but like Jack was known to do, he didn’t get the message.

Instead, he found himself more worried about upsetting you than anything else, including your own wants.

“I’m sorry, I thought I was supposed to come with you” he shrugged, once again struck with the fact he had done something wrong. This was really hard for him, and he was just trying to get it right.

It seemed like everything he was doing lately was wrong, no matter how hard he tried to get it right.

...and now he’d upset you, his only friend in the world.

“No, I told-'' you started, but stopped as soon as you saw the look on his face change from concern to complete and utter confusion. Just when he thought he understood, he went and did something bad.

It was getting frustrating.

“It’s okay, I just don’t think you understand what you’re asking” you allowed, deciding that if he wasn't going to just take your no for an answer, you were going to have to shed some light on the subject.

Just like Jack wasn’t a regular guy in any other sense, he wasn’t a regular guy in this either. He wasn’t being a creep or yanking your chain just to get a rise out of you.

If he had asked for a date, that was because he wanted one.

It wasn’t his fault he didn’t quite get why it wouldn’t ever work.

“Would you tell me? Please?” Jack hummed, confused as to why this was upsetting you so much. It wasn’t underhanded or accusatory like you had come to expect from other men.

It was real.

Jack was really just confused and that made this conversation that much harder.

“You don’t want to go out with me Jack, I don’t look anything like those girls Dean goes out with, do I?” you reasoned, hoping somehow he would get the point.

What you were saying made all the sense in the world to you, but not to Jack. He didn’t see what the big deal was, or why that mattered but clearly, you did.

There was this look in your eyes that he’d never seen before.

“This? Do the women Dean dates have this?” you asked, your voice little more than a whisper now as you grabbed at the fat around your middle with your fingers, as if proving your point.

To you, that skin was your biggest shame and more than enough reason for him not to care about you at all but Jack, being the metaphysical being he was, didn’t see a single flaw in you.

To him, every person was exactly how they needed to be and you were no exception to that.

You were perfect.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never looked at them too closely” he admitted, sitting down beside you on your bed, where you had decided to stay. It was far easier than standing there, having him look at you like that.

This whole thing was ridiculous.

It would have been much easier if he just accepted your no in the first place, but maybe that was the hardest part. Deep down, you didn’t want him to accept your no, or to know just how much you hated your own body.

There was nothing more embarrassing, but again, you had to remember who it was you were talking to.

Jack really didn’t have anything to gain by making you feel like a terrible person, and he didn't have a problem with how you looked. The only trouble would be making sure you understood that.

He didn’t see anything wrong with you, not at all.

“This is why you’re upset?” he clarified, Jack knew well enough to know that just because he didn’t understand why it was such a big deal, it was obviously affecting you quite a bit.

That meant it had to be important to him too.

“Yes Jack, you deserve a girl like the one’s Dean cares so much about. You can’t go out with me just because I’m the only girl you know” you tried, hoping that this would prove it to him.

There were plenty of other girls out there, girls far prettier than you, but even hearing that, Jack wasn’t swayed in the least.

He understood that you were different than they were, he was just lost on how they were somehow better.

They didn’t help him keep track of things that sometimes slipped his mind or read to him when he was too preoccupied to remember that he had to sleep every once and a while.

They didn’t pay attention to him or care about him, not like you did.

Besides, you were his best friend, his only friend. If there was anyone alive he was going to be in love with, or take on a date, it was you. There was no one in the world as important to him as you.

“But you’re my favorite girl, doesn’t that mean something too?” he tried, still genuinely confused if he had a point or not. He thought that he did but you seemed so sure that you were right.

He didn’t know what to believe.

“How can I be your favorite when I’m the only one you know?” you asked, a small laugh leaving your throat before you could stop it, thinking about how silly this whole thing was.

All Jack wanted to do was have dinner with you, or something like that, and you had turned it into something else completely.

He was trying to prove a point he didn’t even understand just because he cared about you, and that was sweet. Besides, it was nice to hear that you were his favorite girl, even if the roster was short.

You did like Jack, of course you did, you just didn’t want him to make a decision without knowing everything.

Right now, he didn’t know everything.

“Because even if I knew every girl on the planet, you would still be my favorite” he shrugged, leaving you just as speechless as you had been at the very start of this.

You wanted to talk to him, wanted to say anything, but it wouldn’t make any difference. There was nothing you could say that was going to make a difference, you wanted to go out with him.

More than anything.

“I’ll go on a date with you, if you’re sure it's what you want” you decided, looking into his blue eyes and finding it impossible to not do exactly that. You liked him and nothing was going to change that.

If he wanted to go on a date, a real date like normal people did, there was no sense in arguing with him.

“I would really like that”

[wrenhyperfixates]

Secret Santa

Pairing: Loki x reader Summary: When you pick Loki’s name for Secret Santa, you are at a loss for what to get him. Some quality time with the God of Mischief sheds some light on the situation. Warnings: pure, unadulterated fluff; very long A/N: It’s almost Christmas now; less than a week to go! And a big thank you to my best friend @lokistan​ for writing the beautiful poetry for this story. I love you my bean! Happy reading all :)

Tag List: @lucywrites02 @frostedgiant​​ @lunarmoon8​ @twhiddlestonsstuff​ @lokistan​ @thelokiimaginechroniclesficrecs​ @gaitwae

Disclaimer: Gif not mine

“Oh my gosh, thank you Nat!” you said, throwing your arms around her shoulders in a hug. She had been your Secret Santa and gotten you the expensive jacket you’d been wanting for months. “It’s perfect.”

Christmas Eve in the Avengers Tower was full of laughter and drinks as the team exchanged Secret Santa gifts. Tomorrow morning you’d be opening regular presents, so it was tradition to set this aside for the night before. It was more fun that way, maybe because you could focus solely on the excitement of learning who had picked your name.  

“You’re welcome. I know you were nervous about being able to pull it off, but it’ll look great on you,” she reassured, hugging you back. “Ok, now it’s your turn.”

You shot a nervous glance at Peter, who flashed a thumbs up. Thor, who was sitting next to you, pat your back. You stood and picked up the carefully wrapped package, all decorated in gold and green. You were nervous about what you had picked, but whether the recipient liked it or not, you were happy that this anxiety of if it was good enough or not would be over. You’d rather know. After all, you’d been feeling this way ever since you’d picked the name a week earlier...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright everyone,” Tony said, holding a stocking filled with little pieces of paper. “It’s time for Secret Santa. And remember, if you get me, cash is accepted.”

You gathered around with the rest of the team as they started to pick names. You said a little prayer that you would get Peter, your best friend, seeing as you already had about thirty different gift ideas for him. Wanda would be pretty easy, too, as you were also really close with her. In fact, looking around, you were able to come up with at least some scrap of an idea for almost everyone. Almost being the operative word.  By the time Tony got to you, there was only one slip left. As you stuck your hand in the stocking, you made a silent wish that it wouldn’t be the one person you had no clue what to get for.

Please, you thought. Please be someone I know. Please don’t be...

Loki.

“And that concludes the name picking process,” Tony announced as you cast a dismayed look at the four-letter name on the paper. “You have a week to figure it out, so good luck.

“Remember, no swapping!” Steve added as the group began to disperse.

You looked around for the trickster, wondering why he was even participating. It’s not that you didn’t want him to, just that it didn’t seem like his kind of thing. From the way he was clenching his fists and scowling, you still guessed it wasn’t. Not like you really knew him all that well, unfortunately. When he’d come to the Tower, Loki seemed like he preferred the solitude. You often wondered if you should have made more of an effort to be his friend, wished that you had. There was this one time you were both reading Macbeth in a common area and had gotten into a very animated discussion about it. Nothing more ever really came of that, though, as he left for a mission the next day and didn’t return until two weeks later. By then, you’d both moved onto different books.

Later, you made a trip to the library, hoping to solve the enigma that is the God of Mischief. You were the only two people who went in their regularly and more than half the conversations you’d had with him had been held in that room. Granted they were all short, but you figured it was a start. In fact, you found yourself rather wanting to have a conversation with him right now. Yes, because of the Secret Santa thing, but also because they’d been getting more frequent recently. With every one, you realized how much you enjoyed talking to him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in his usual spot by the crackling fire. You considered just leaving, but decided you should at least make some use of this trip. You’d seen him reading some works by James Joyce most recently, and you went to go look for the one he’d had last. Maybe seeing what he likes to read could give you some gift ideas. Your eyes scanned the shelves, but you couldn’t find it. It was possible you were just remembering the cover wrong. Just as you were about to give up, someone tapped your shoulder.

“Pardon me,” Loki said as you whipped around. “I think you may be looking for this.”

He held out the copy of the book you’d been looking for and raised an eyebrow when you just stared at him blankly for a second. Who could blame you, though? He was standing rather close, and he was... Well, quite frankly, he was hot. With his raven black hair framing his smooth, pale skin, and with striking blue-green eyes that stare into your soul, he was the most handsome man you’d ever met. Then again, he wasn’t really a man, was he?

“Oh, uh, yes. Yes I am,” you said, coming to your senses. “Thank you. Did you enjoy it?”

“Very much so. I have read it five times now. I apologize for that, if you were looking for it.”

“Don’t worry about it. You have nothing to apologize for.” He looked rather surprised that you would say such a thing, and you briefly wondered how many times people had made him apologize unnecessarily. “You could even just keep it if you want.”

“No, that is alright. At least, not until you have gotten to read it, too. Perhaps we could discuss it?” he said hesitantly, like he wasn’t sure if he was overstepping.

You looked at the title in your hands. Dubliners. You’d read a few of the short stories in high school and hadn’t enjoyed them much. But you were older now, so maybe your tastes had changed. Either way, you couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have another conversation with Loki. That slight smile and those intelligent eyes were just too captivating.

“That’s a wonderful idea. May I ask what your favorite is?”

“A good question. I think I will have to say Eveline. The way she ends up trapped, the mere emotion in the implication... It’s exquisitely done.”

“Wow, Loki, you have such a way with words. You’re beautiful,” you told him without thinking. As his eyes widened, you realized what you’d said and tried to cover it up. “I, um, I meant that that’s beautiful. The, ah, way you weave words. Sorry, I obviously don’t have the same ability.”

“It is quite alright. They do not call me silver-tongue for nothing, you know,” he said, though he was blushing now. “Still, I look forward to hearing your thoughts. But for now, my dear mortal, I must bid you goodbye. I have a sparring session with my brother to get to.”

He swept into a small, princely bow that made your heart stutter. Hugging the book to your chest, you waved goodbye, feeling much more awkward than he had been. You were also about a hundred times more determined to get Loki a perfect gift. You looked at the book again. It was a special first edition, unfortunately, and you couldn’t really do better than that. Besides, you got the impression he appreciated books more when they were well-loved. So, you could scratch that idea off the list.

You sighed and headed to your room for the night. Maybe an inspiration board could help you figure things out. Unfortunately, that led to you having a poster board with pictures solely of Loki. You’d meant to add other things, but you’d gotten so caught up in how beautiful he looked with his soft pink lips and carefully styled hair and... Ok, maybe you had the slightest, tiniest crush on the trickster god, but it was silly. You’d hardly even been friends for half a year. And yet, he was very hard to resist. You ended up destroying your project, cringing at the idea of anyone finding it and taking it the wrong way.

The next morning you woke up just as idealess as you had been the night before. You had been hoping that you could figure something out if you slept on it, but to no avail. Frustrated, you kicked your blankets off and got ready to attack the day. You absolutely hated the fact that you couldn’t come up with a gift idea on your own, and the last thing you wanted to have to do was ask someone else.

Splashing some water on your face, you had another idea that you quickly shut down. You’d thought for a second that maybe you could buy him some cologne, but then you realized you had no idea what scent or brand he used. In fact, you weren’t sure he used and fragrance at all. The smell of leather, pine, and old books that he had just suited him so well you couldn’t help but wonder if it was just a natural thing. Either way, he always smelled so safe, so wonderful. You cursed yourself for letting your thoughts take that turn again. It was a lot easier to ignore this crush when you didn’t have to be thinking about him 24/7.

Traipsing into the kitchen, you found Peter and Thor having an animated conversation about what was better, pecan or pumpkin pie. You wondered if you could bake something for Loki as a gift, then you realized that still required knowing what he likes. You would get him tea, but you already knew for a fact that was what Thor had gotten him as a regular present. Plus it was a special Asgardian blend, so there was no way you could top that.

“Good morning, guys,” you greeted as you tried to decide what to eat for breakfast.

“Morning,” they chorused back.

You bit your lip, coming to a split second decision. “Can I ask you two a question. It’s about Secret Santa.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Peter said while you took a seat across from them.

“Ok, this is top secret, right? So don’t tell anybody.” They both eagerly nodded their heads. “I know you’re both friends with Loki, and well, I picked his name. I have no clue what to get him, though. Any ideas?”

“I have the perfect idea!” Thor declared as you motioned for him to keep his voice down. “Get him some causal Midgardian clothes. You have excellent taste, I am sure he will love whatever you pick out.”

You wrinkled your nose. “Are you sure that’s not just what you want for him? I mean, he seems plenty happy to wear his Asgardian clothes around the Tower. And there’s nothing wrong with dressing up when you go out.” You sighed when Thor just seemed confused by your words, not understanding that his brother had embraced the Midgardian style as much as he wanted to. “I’ll just consider that a back-up plan for now. What about you, Peter? Any thoughts?”

“What if we just went shopping together?” he excitedly suggested. “Then if we see something we think is good, we can just point it out.”

You hurriedly agreed, anxious to get the gift-buying out of the way. The plan was to head out right after your training session with Nat and Steve. Unfortunately, that meant you were distracted nearly the whole time, leaving you with a few more bruises than normal. You loved your teammates to death, but boy did they ever need to learn how to ease up a little in practice. You stayed a few minutes extra to do some cool down stretches, and in waltzed the trickster god who had been occupying so much of your brain space recently. The way he was flipping and catching his daggers as he walked was slightly mesmerizing.

“My apologies,” he said, noticing you. “I did not think there was anyone else in here. I can come back later if you still need the space.”

“No!” you shouted as he began to turn away. It was a bit louder than you had meant to say it, and you mentally kicked yourself. “I mean, I was just on my way out, so please, stay.”

He smiled and set his things down on the bench next to yours. You eyed the daggers that had just been wielded by his expertly trained hands moments ago.

“May I?” you asked, gesturing to them.

He picked one up and handed it to you. Turning it over in your hands, you noticed that handles were slightly worn, but it was still excellently crafted. The blade had obviously been sharpened a great number of times before and was looking like it might need to be again. You’d never personally used a dagger in battle, but the way Loki was so graceful with them made a part of you want to.

“To be very precise with such a weapon,” Loki began as if reading your thoughts, “requires great focus and skill. There is no room for error when used to block another’s attack, and to deliver a powerful blow, you must strike in just the right spot.” A shiver of excitement shot down your spine as he picked up his other blade and began adeptly demonstrating, moving like a flowing river as he sliced the air. “It is much smaller than most weapons, sure. However, it is just as deadly. And if the sword is an extension of your body, the same can be said for the dagger tenfold.”

You blinked a couple times, beyond impressed by his majestic, fluid movements. It was breathtaking. He was breathtaking. Now you just had to find a way to say that without sounding obsessed.

“Wow, Loki,” you finally gasped, unable to hide your amazement. “I don’t know how you do it, but you even make weapons sound beautiful. And you’re very talented, too. I could never,” you nervously laughed.

“You are too kind to me, my dear mortal,” he said, and you felt a spark of pride in your chest that you were making him blush yet again. “You are not kind enough to yourself, though. I am certain you would be excellent. Perhaps you just need to find a teacher.”

“Would you teach me?” you asked, oddly worried to do so. You tried to calm your swelling nerves.

“Well, I did not mean to imply that I should be your instructor, for I fear that I would not be very good at it.” He watched your smile falter just the tiniest bit and found himself rushing to bring it back to full strength. “However, if you so desire, I can certainly try. I must warn you, it will not be easy.”

“Loki, you’d really do that for me?” Your heart beat a little faster in your chest as he shyly nodded his head yes. “I would love to. And don’t worry about going easy; I want to be as good as you.”

“Excellent! We shall have out first lesson, say, at the start of the New Year?”

After the plans were set, you excused yourself so you could meet your friends for shopping. You were late as it was, and you still had to go freshen up. The whole reason for the trip was you, and you’d feel bad to keep them waiting much longer. Still, you stole one last glance at Loki before exiting.

Hours later, you still had no gift for Loki. You barely even had an idea, much to your dismay. Peter and Thor kept pointing out little trinkets, a couple of which you did pick up as a regular gift for him, but your Secret Santa gift had to be a showstopper. Something about him drew you in, and you wanted to give him the most amazing present you could. If only it weren’t so difficult.

You were walking down a street when you happened to notice the trickster god himself in one of the store windows. You waved your companions on with the excuse you wanted to check something out for one of them and entered the shop Loki was at. For a second you considered just watching him to try to get some ideas, but that was quickly dashed when he let out a sigh of frustration. He just looked so perplexed and adorably aggravated.

“Hey, Loki,” you greeted after clearing your throat. “Funny running into you here. Are you alright?”

“Hello, my dear mortal. Thank you for asking,” he said. “I am alright. It is just this blasted Secret Santa.”

“I know what you mean,” you replied before you could help yourself. “But I’m, uh, not going to say who it is. I mean, you can tell me if you want to, but I’ve already told so many people it’ll hardly be a secret if anyone else knows,” you covered your tracks.

“Ah, I see. It is supposed to be a secret, and I do so ever hate to crack under the pressure, but I find myself in dire need of assistance. Do you suppose you could help?”

You beamed at him as you realized you’d talked with him more in the past few days than you had in the last three weeks. If there was one thing you knew, it was you had better be careful, or you’d get addicted to the sound of his voice. You were on thin ice with this crush as it was, you really shouldn’t let it blossom into more.

“Sure! I’d love to. Who do you have?” you finally said, looking around the store. “Wait, let me guess. Steve?”

“Stark.”

“Oh. Well, he did say cash was fine,” you giggled.

“Believe me, I was tempted,” Loki chuckled along with you. “But I promised Thor I would make more of an effort this time around. I do not know what he is talking about, though. Bruce loved his socks last year!”

You slapped a hand over your mouth as your loud laughter garnered a few stares from other shoppers. Loki’s eyes held only soft admiration, though, and your hands got a little sweaty from how nervous that made you. You subtly wiped them on your pants as you calmed down.

“Well, it you want to get something more personal, I might have an idea.”

“By all means, do tell,” he urged.

“You know that tool set he was talking about the other day?” you questioned, but were met with a blank stare. “I’ll take that as a no, but he was saying he didn’t want to get them because he doesn’t actually need them.”

“When has that ever stopped him before?” Loki scoffed.

“I guess he’s trying something new,” you shrugged. “But anyway, if you got them it would show you were thinking about what he actually liked and stuff. Or maybe that’s dumb, sorry.”

“No, no, it is a splendid idea!” he was quick to reassure you. For a second it seemed as if he was going to reach out and touch your shoulder, but then he thought better of it. “You do not happen to know where they are sold, do you?”

You nodded and led him out of the store you were in, towards the place where he could buy them. You were waiting at a corner for a light to change, amicably chatting. Nothing groundbreaking, just small talk. Regardless, it made your heart beat just a little faster. Still engrossed in the conversation, you took a step out into the crosswalk when the light said it was safe to go. You didn’t notice the car speeding towards you until Loki grabbed your wrist and pulled you back into his chest. You gasped as he glared after the driver, who gave no acknowledgement or apology to you. The god’s arms were wrapped around you in a protective manner, and you looked up at his face, appreciating his beauty at this close angle. Given what had just happened, probably not the thing you should be focusing on.

“My dear mortal,” he fretted, looking down at you, not yet letting go. “Are you alright? You are not injured at all, are you? Shall I take you to the hospital wing to make sure?”

“I’m ok,” you reassured him, though a part of you didn’t want to. He seemed about ready to scoop you up and use his godly strength to carry you home. Alas, your moral compass decided that wouldn’t be very fair to him. “Just a little shaken, but you saved me. Thank you, Loki. That doesn’t really cut it, but thank you so much.”

“Do not mention it. I am just glad you are alright,” he replied, though his voice did still have a tint of worry to it. Maybe you were imaging it, but he seemed almost reluctant to let you go from his tight embrace. “Now, you may carefully lead the way. Carefully,” he emphasized.

With a giggle, you brought him to the store where the tools were. After browsing the aisles for a few minutes, the two of you found the shelf they were on. With a frown, you examined the price tag.

“Sorry, Loki,” you said. “I didn’t realize how expensive it was.”

“It is fine,” he replied, looking at the cost himself. “This is actually plenty within my price range.”

You waited outside of the busy store while he made his purchase and checked your phone. You felt a pang of guilt as you noticed a number of missed texts from Peter and Thor.

Sorry guys, you texted the group chat. Ran into someone I know and got carried away. Carry on without me.

Don’t worry, came Peter’s reply. See you back home :)

You pocketed your phone as Loki walked back out, giving you a smile. You looked at the ground to keep yourself from saying something stupid.

“I hope I am not keeping you from anything,” he said as you started walking back towards the Tower. “Is there any shopping I can assist you with?”

You lamented the irony of the situation. Despite the entire point of this venture being to buy a gift for Loki, you were still empty handed. It was tempting to try to ask him what he wanted, but you were sure he was far more clever than you were subtle.

“No, I’m good, thanks. But if you don’t mind my asking, how do you have so much money?” you asked to satisfy your curiosity. “I mean, Tony’s always complaining about how you use his credit card.”

“That, my dear mortal, is simply because I can,” he replied as you both laughed. “I have been around for much longer than you might imagine. I have amassed a certain amount of wealth in my many years.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool, actually. You’re making me wish I was an immortal being,” you joked.

“And tell me, my dear mortal, if you were to treat yourself to something nice, what would it be?”

You thought about it for a moment. “Maybe I’d go to a nice restaurant,” you finally said. “It doesn’t have to be anything too far from home. Oh! Like, Nobu has really good sushi.”

“Well then, perhaps I will have to pay for us to have a meal there sometime.”

“Yeah! I bet the team would really like that.”

“Actually,” he sheepishly said, bringing you to a stop on the sidewalk, “I meant for just the two of us to go. That is, if you would like to. Maybe one day after we start our training. You are not obligated to say yes, though. The offer for me to pay is still open if you would like to take another friend instead of me.”

“Loki, no. That’s so generous, of course I’d love to go with you,” you reassured him, settling a hand on his arm. Though, admittedly, you were beyond flustered, especially when you realized how that last sentence sounded. “I mean as friends, of course. It sounds amazing, thank you.”

“Well then, I look forward to it.” He brought his hand to rest on yours, and goosebumps erupted on your skin, not only from his cold touch, but the wave of excitement you felt. “And speaking of our lessons, I was thinking you may want some daggers of your own. We do not have to get them now but-”

“That’s it!” you suddenly shouted, then apologized for cutting him off. “Can I borrow your daggers, Loki? To go get myself a pair?”

He offered to come with you, but you waved him off, saying you’d be fine on your own. It was a little suspicious, he thought, but decided to drop it. Handing you the weapons, he bid you goodbye. As soon as he was out of eyesight, you examined the daggers, trying to get a clear picture in your mind of what you wanted.

A few quick stops later, and after gaining permission from Tony, you were in the lab, carefully crafting Loki’s gift. It took a few days, and you were by no means used to doing this kind of thing, but you were finally satisfied with the finished product. You wrapped it and then hid it with the rest of your presents, just waiting to be given to their recipients. With only a few days left until Christmas Eve, you were filled with an anxious excitement to give Loki his gift. There was nothing left to do but hope that he likes it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...You looked everywhere but at Loki as you approached him, nerves bubbling in your stomach. By the time you reached him, his mouth had curled into a soft smile. It occurred to you that you’d never seen him look that way at anyone but you. Building on the confidence that thought brought, you held out the gift.

“Here, Loki,” you told him, averting your gaze again. “This is for you.”

You perched on the edge of the coffee table across from him as he accepted the package with a thank you. There was some light chatter coming from the rest of your teammates, but it felt like the only people in the world at this moment were you and Loki, his fingers skillfully unwrapping the present. You sat on your hands to keep from fidgeting with them. It took all your focus to keep your eyes on Loki and not wandering the room in anticipation. As he opened the lid of the box and revealed what was inside, his mouth formed into a surprised “o”.

He picked up the gift, a pair of new daggers, each with a gold hilt. His name was engraved on it, and there was a band of emeralds at the top and bottom. You’d made them the same dimensions as his old ones.

“My dear mortal,” he breathed in awe, his eyes full of sincerity, coming up to met yours. “This is so thoughtful, so beautiful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Loki. I’m really glad you like it.”

“I do. I love it,” he replied, taking your hand in his for the briefest of moments. He pulled away before anyone could really think anything of it. Neither of you said anything else, instead just staring into each other’s eyes.

“Ok, Reindeer Games,” Tony said, interrupting the moment you were sharing with Loki. “Now it’s your turn. So, who’d you get?”

“Well, actually, I picked your name, Stark. Here,” he said, nonchalantly handing over the gift. Though he seemed completely uninterested, you could tell he was a little nervous. “For you.”

“Alright, let’s see what it is. I swear, this better not be socks or-” Tony cut off, seeing the very thing he wanted. “Wow, Rock of Ages. This is really thoughtful. Thanks. I had no idea you actually listened,” he finished with a laugh.

“You are quite welcome,” Loki said, but he was more looking at you than Tony.

Later that evening, after all the gifts were given out, you were sitting by the fireplace, waiting for the flames to completely die out. You were curled up in the corner of the couch, your feet pulled up next to you, a blanket draped over your shoulders, and a book open on your lap.

“My dear mortal,” Loki’s voice suddenly said as he appeared in the doorway, pulling you from the words on the page. “I thought you were supposed to be in bed, lest Santa skip this house and move onto the next.”

“Yes, but I have to make sure the fire goes out so he can get in,” you laughed, playing along. “As long as I’m up, I wouldn’t mind some company. Care to join me?”

Wordlessly, he sat down, and you closed your book. The both of you just stared at the dying flames in a peaceful silence for a while. Your mind seemed to be content to be filled with thoughts of Loki; the way he was sitting so close, the way his hands kept brushing his hair away from his face every few moments, the way he’d looked at you earlier when he’d received your gift. After you weren’t sure exactly how long, he gently said your name, bringing you out of your thoughts.

“Yes?” you replied.

“I truly do your love your gift. It is beyond lovely, your generosity and thoughtfulness a true reflection of what is in your brilliant soul.”

“Loki, I can’t even express how happy I am to hear that. And thank you for your beautiful words.”

“Speaking of,” he nervously said, “the gift that I have for you, it is, well, my words. A poem. I am sorry to say, I would be a little self-conscious to give it to you in front of everyone else. Would I... Would I be able to recite it to you now?”

“Of course, Loki. Whatever you’re comfortable with. I’m just grateful that you’re willing to share it with me.”

“Alright then, my dear mortal. Here goes nothing.”

You shifted to a more position as he took a deep breath and opened up a journal. You waited with bated breath as he began to speak.

“From your eyes that shine as the brightest stars, to your smile that's a reflection of your radiant heart. From your gentle hands that fit as though they belong in mine, to your laugh that stops my perception of time. You've shown me kindness when I didn't feel I deserved it, you welcomed me into your world with a caring embrace and showed me I am not my mistakes. My heart beats stronger for you, the love that I feel couldn't be more true. If you will have me, I will show you the world, for you have shown me the universe, the place also known as your touch, as your mind, as your heart, as your soul. You, you are my universe.”

He looked at you expectantly, but with a hesitation understandable given what he’d just confessed. You wanted to tell him how you felt just as eloquently, but were dumbstruck that the feelings were even reciprocated.

“Loki,” you said, holding his cold hands in your warm ones. “That’s so beautiful and I-I love you, too.”

He seemed just as shocked as you that the feeling could be mutual. He squeezed your hands, at a loss for words for the first time since you’d known him. With no one to interrupt you this time, you remained lost in each other’s emotion-filled eyes. It was Loki who broke the silence.

“My dear mortal, I... May I kiss you?”

You answered by surging forward and pressing your lips to his. His hands came to cup your cheeks, and yours found his hair, tangling themselves in his dark locks. He tasted like heaven, and you sighed against his mouth. You could have stayed that way forever, and yet it could never be enough. Sadly, you had to pull away, but Loki was quick to pull you against him, holding you to his chest as if he didn’t believe you’d stay, didn’t believe he could have something so wonderful.

You stayed like that for a while, conveying things even words couldn’t say in the silence, just holding each other. Eventually, you began talking, enjoying the way a light conversation was flowing between you. Your eyes were drooping shut as you snuggled against his chest, the final embers of the fire going out. You glanced at the clock and saw that it read midnight.

“Merry Christmas, Loki,” you whispered. “There’s no one I’d rather be with than you.”

“Merry Christmas to you too, my dear mortal. I could write you a thousand poems, and still I would never properly express how much I feel the same.”

As sleep slowly claimed you, it occurred to you that you may have never even admitted how you feel without the whole Secret Santa ordeal. It seemed that it had revealed more secrets than you’d ever expected, and for that, you’d be forever grateful.

[blueflamebimbo]

Bakugou x Reader - Not Butterflies

Shit hits the fan and you both have to stop thinking like heroes and more like a couple to fix it. 

Dedicated to: @silenceofthecookies Warnings: angst, hurt/comfort Word count: 3K

The glare of the television screen only added to the discomfort you felt each time you checked your phone with no good news to show for it. There were no notifications, not a single sign of life that would put your mind at ease and keep you from worrying. You were met with only the changing of the hour as the room darkened around you.  You were bundled up on the couch, a fleece blanket wrapped tightly around you serving as the only comfort you could provide for yourself.

Katsuki wasn’t big on texting. Small talk was not something he would actively engage in face to face, let alone through text. Even so, you could always count on him letting you know each time he had finished for the day and would be on his way home. After the two of you had graduated from UA, you had moved back into your parents’ place for a few months in search for an apartment. That was nearly two years ago, and the apartment you shared with your boyfriend of four years was finally starting to look like a home. The television set-up no longer balanced on cardboard boxes, the messy suitcases had been replaced by an actual wardrobe and the cutlery in the kitchen finally matched. Even Katsuki’s reluctantly softened features were put on display throughout the living space in the form of polaroid pictures that had been haphazardly pinned to the walls with thumb tacks. To a stranger it seemed like a cozy home shared by two people who spent their days enjoying each other’s company, which wasn’t exactly the case - not now, at least.

Moving in together had seemed like the obvious next step in your relationship, and it had been save for the slight miscalculation in the quality time department. As pro heroes, you were both doing well. This was definitely a plus when it came to learning how to deal with finances and the like, but working a lot also meant spending less time at the home front than you had initially anticipated. Your mutual friends seemed to be solving this issue through the form of communication, but unfortunately that was something neither Katsuki nor you excelled at.

With Katsuki, communication had always been simple in the sense that there had  never been that much to argue about so heavy conversations rarely occurred and, even if they did occur, they were always solved by either one of you simply giving their opinion and, if needed, compromising. The difference was that, back then, there had been more opportunities for the both of you to sit down and have a conversation. There had been more time spent together: between classes, after assignments and even late at night before bedtime, though the latter often poked at both of your bad tempers and resulted in an explosive discussion, excuse the pun.

Right now, Katsuki was letting the pro hero rankings get to his head, causing him to take on the longest and hardest assignments he could get and resulting in him barely spending any time at home. It had come to a point where you felt anxious going grocery shopping, not knowing if you should bother buying groceries for two people, since Katsuki’s serving often lay forgotten in the fridge after he’d get home in the middle of the night, tired and already having eaten on the way home. You barely felt him crawl into bed with you, only to feel him leaving long before the sun was back up. It felt like he was starting to slip. Like he was drifting away from your relationship with him and towards a world that revolved only around his job. It was a very Katsuki thing to do, but, seeing as he’d grown up a lot since his first years at UA, it was disheartening to see him slip back into old habits without a chance to discuss your worries with him.

That same dread filled you as the moonlight streamed into the living room, another indication of how terribly late it was getting. He was supposed to be home by now. Katsuki had planned a meeting with Hatsume, who had become one of the best in her own ways, to discuss some adjustments to Katsuki’s hero costume. That type of meeting wasn’t supposed to take long, so when you came home to an empty apartment after your own assignments, you had felt your stomach drop. Part of you had tried to stay optimistic as you prepared dinner, but as the clock ticked and the hours seemed rush by, Katsuki’s food ended up in the fridge and you had to endure dinner by yourself once again. That was how you had anxiously made your way to the couch with a cup of tea in hand.

You checked your phone once again, but to no avail. It was starting to overwhelm you. This was not what you had signed up for. It wasn’t often that you let yourself get this emotional over Katsuki, because it was rarely this serious, but this time it was starting to feel like you had hit a dead end. Was this really the way things were going to end? With him growing out of your relationship and deciding that that was fine, while you were left feeling empty and staring into the void with the white noise of a once shared television set in the background, alone on a couch where you had spent some of your softest moments together? The Katsuki you knew couldn’t be that cruel...

... Could he?

The sound of the front door slamming shut made your heart stutter and you watched the blond step into the living room, looking stoic and cold as he eyed you. He was standing just a few feet away, but he’d never seemed further away, not even on that day you first made eye contact from across the room back in your second year at UA.

“So much for spending time together, huh?”

The tone of his voice matched his features with an crispness that chilled you inside and out.

Your eyebrows knit together, slowly realising that he was somehow making you feel responsible for the situation you were in. “Excuse you? If you wanted to spend time so much, then you had every opportunity to do so, I’d say. I’ve been waiting here for you all night. I’m always waiting. How am I to blame, here?”

Katsuki’s features hardened even further, evolving into a look you’d never seen him direct at you. “You have got to be kidding me. For once, I was trying to do the right thing here--”

“Do the right thing? By leaving me here by myself again? Do you think I like preparing food I know you won’t eat? Do you think I like going to sleep and waking up in a cold bed?”

“You had a choice--!”

Bakugou was trying his hardest not to burst out into explosive yelling, and you could see that frustration was getting the better of him. You couldn’t understand what he was getting at. How did you ever have a choice in him not being there when you wanted-- needed him to be there?

Before you could say anything else, Bakugou had made a beeline towards the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind him. That’s when you noticed your eyes burning with tears you were too stubborn to shed. With trembling legs, you went to sit down onto the couch once again, and you wondered if sleeping in your shared bed tonight was even a good idea.

Bakugou’s POV

The days were becoming longer and harsher as Bakugou barely got any sleep, spending his nights staring at the sleeping person next to him -- the one he wanted to impress the most, the one he so desperately wanted to make happy. But he was failing to do so, he could feel it. You barely spent time together, but Bakugou figured that if he became the best, then he would be able to make you proud of him and then life would get easier. Maybe if he achieved his goals faster, he would be able to spend his life by your side comfortably, knowing that he could provide easily and knowing he was doing the best that he could possibly do. The stolen forehead kisses in the middle of the night were left only for him to remember as he watched your resting form, and they were the only thing that kept him going these days. He needed them to get over the heartache that came with the sight of his dinner in the fridge. He was disappointing you. He wasn’t there, couldn’t be good enough. He needed to work harder, be stronger, be better for you.

Back at AU it was easier to assume that he was the best, surrounded by background characters who turned out not to be too terrible to be around. It was easier to imagine that you were proud of him, back then. Once he became a pro hero, though, it seemed like every time he proved his worth as he defeated one villain, an other, stronger villain would provide an even bigger challenge, one that he sometimes couldn’t tackle by himself. He simply wasn’t the best he could be yet, and you deserved the best. But he could see the dried tears on your cheeks late at night, and could hear the nightmares that he had no way of saving you from. Something had to happen. He had to fix this, because it was tearing the two of you apart.

That day, he had met up with Hatsume, who seemed to notice the way Katsuki wasn’t entirely himself. He seemed tired, too tired to even make snide remarks to some of the adjustments Hatsume had suggested. After she’d left, he’d sent you a quick text, asking you to meet him for dinner at your favourite restaurant, so you could finally have a decent conversation. He then went to take care of a few errands before he headed straight to the restaurant, waiting outside and only sporadically checking his phone for the time.

When at first you didn’t respond, let alone join him at the restaurant, he’d felt his heart break, feeling as though you were giving up on him after all. He knew... He knew you weren’t happy with how things were, but he had hoped that maybe you would still give him a chance to fix things, even though he had no idea how he was supposed to do that without giving up on his goals. If making Bakugou give up on his life goals was the only way you would be happy... You would never be that egocentric...

...Would you?

By the time the sun went down and you still hadn’t replied, he felt his anxiety and despair slowly evolve into anger. The least you could do is talk to him about the situation. You owed him that much.

He become so overwhelmed that he ended up sprinting his way back to the shared apartment, where he felt his last nerve being blown up by your behaviour. It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried to spend time with you. It wasn’t like he hadn’t offered to have a conversation with you, so why wouldn’t you admit that you just didn’t take the chance to fix things?

He needed time to cool off. A cold shower would soothe his nerves. He couldn’t stand watching you fall apart when he had clearly done what he thought was right. It was a two way street, no?

After his shower, he changed into some PJ shorts and a freshly washed shirt. The scent of the fabric softener reminded him of the sheets he found you bundled up in every night, and for some reason it broke his heart once again. He grit his teeth and gripped the edge of the bathroom sink, watching his knuckles turn ivory as he willed himself not to give into emotions that would make him lose control over his composure. He took a few slow breaths and then straightened his back, deciding to clean up after himself and throw his clothes into the hamper. As he did so, his wallet and his phone clattered onto the tiles, making him curse under his breath. He picked them up with a sigh and then checked to see if his phone was still alive.

The clock signalled that it was almost midnight, and he noticed a small crack in the screen right above it, next to the aeroplane icon that signalled...

His phone was on aeroplane mode. How...

That’s when it hit him. Katsuki had put his phone on aeroplane mode during the meeting with Hatsume, and hadn’t touched the settings afterwards. He gulped, feeling a shiver crawling up his spine as he realised just how badly he had fucked up and unlocked his phone.

His text message to you had never been sent.

With dread filling his entire being, he changed the settings and watched several text messages arrive.

[5.21 PM: Y/N] I’m making stew tonight! You’ll be home for dinner, right? [6:45 PM: Y/N] Almost done. Are you close? [7:33 PM: Y/N] I’ll go ahead and eat... I’ll save you some in the fridge... [9:01 PM: Y/N] ...Is everything all right? [10:53 PM: Y/N] Katsuki...?

With a heavy heart, he locked his phone screen once again and unlocked the bathroom door. He padded his way towards the kitchen and made two cups of tea, carefully bringing them over to the living room and setting them down on the coffee table.

He could barely look you in the eye as he pulled out his phone and showed you the message he never actually sent.

His voice was rough when he muttered a soft “I’m sorry. I put my phone on aeroplane mode when I met up with Hatsume. I had no idea. I-- I fucked up. I’m sorry.”

Your POV

When Katsuki came out of the bathroom looking frustrated but infinitely less pissed, you felt a sense of hope bloom in your chest. Even though it was late, you hoped you could at least clear up a thing or two, because you still had no idea what had just happened.

The scent of the tea that hit your senses calmed you down, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of the dip in the couch cushion as Katsuki took a seat next to you. When he showed you his phone, it suddenly became painfully clear what had happened.

After you’d processed what had happened, you felt your throat close up once again. “You idiot...” You looked over at him and watched how he was stubbornly looking at a small stain on the carpet but looking ten different kinds of defeated. “You... absolute idiot.”

He didn’t seem opposed to the insult... not this time.

“Did you wait at the restaurant all this time?”

He reached out for his cup of tea and took a tentative sip, after which he nodded. “At first I thought you were punishing me. Since I’m never home for dinner anymore, I thought you would let me wait a while before showing up, and I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did.”

You scoffed, frowning into the steam that rose from your cup. “I’ve not been... happy about that, but I would never do that to you, Katsuki.”

Katsuki’s nose scrunched up slightly, signalling that he was getting frustrated again. “I just keep fucking up. I keep fucking up and it’s pissing me off because you deserve better, I promised to take care of you--”

“Take care of me?” Your frown intensified, “Katsuki we’re supposed to take care of each other. And that doesn’t mean working so hard you’re barely functioning. I thought you were past all that. I’m behind you and your aspirations 100%, but you know there’s more to life than just proving your worth.”

But he shook his head, “This isn’t about proving my worth anymore, it’s gone beyond that.” He looked up, “It’s about proving your worth. Ours. I want to be good enough for us, and I don’t think I am.”

“Being good enough for us does not include missing out on quality time, Katsuki. It does not include skipping on affection and it definitely doesn’t include not talking to your partner. You are good enough for us, Katsuki, but you have to be around for me to be able to show you that.”

Katsuki looked guilty more than he looked frustrated, then. After a long pause, he nodded in agreement and placed his tea back down onto the coffee table. He kept his gaze fixed on the cup as he tensed his shoulders as if he was bracing himself for what he was about to say. “Y/N... I am really, really sorry.” He looked up, locking his gaze with yours. “I will do better, I promise.”

At this point, you put your cup down as well and placed your hand on Katsuki’s thigh, your features softening slightly. “I know you will. We both will.”

“Do you still love me, Y/N?” He still had a serious expression stretched across his features, but there was a glint of softness in his eyes.

With an unnecessarily heavy sigh, you nodded. “Yeah-- I really do.”

“Good,” Katsuki nodded, taking a moment to remove your hand from his thigh and turn his body towards you, slowly closing the distance between the two of you. The sudden proximity made a shiver crawl up your spine, a sweet smile matching Katsuki’s gaze in softness.

Finally, the sentiment made the corners of Katsuki’s lips curl up, forming a smile that you knew he only shot your way when he knew he was going to make you feel like he wanted to give you the world. The tip of his nose slowly rubbed up and down along yours as his eyelids lowered. When his lips met yours, weeks upon weeks of affection exploded between the two of you, spreading like a frenzy throughout your body. It barely registered how Katsuki cupped you’re jaw as his lips moved along yours. When he pulled back, all you could do was blink up at him, and that did not escape his attention.

“Butterflies?” he asked.

You shook your head slowly, smiling. “Dynamite.”

[paper-n-ashes]

The Late Shift - Part 2

Characters: Paul Sevier x Female Reader

Words: 2k

Warnings/Tags: Little inklings of sexual themes. Otherwise we’re still in PG territory. Oh and mutual pining from two idiots. My favourite kind.

Authors Note: One shot? I don’t know her. Honestly, I don’t have any excuse. I just felt the urge to continue on with this dumb fluffy story because it makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside and I needed that. Will we drive this car straight into smut town afterwards? Ah you’ll just have to see. 

Catch up with Part 1 here

*

Paul always considered himself a smart guy. Perceptive, knowledgeable, with years of grueling education behind him to be where he is today.

His schooling, work, almost every minute of his waking moments was spent in the realm of artificial illustrations of correspondence. He could happily spend hours sifting through the words and numbers that made up all types of message transmission, might even admit he had a talent for decoding their significance and origin. Exchanges born from machinery were easy to analyse – they had set rules and gave little room for differing interpretation. He was comfortable in that world. Knew how things worked, what paths data and carefully devised information would take.

Human communication was infinitely harder to navigate. It was a skill he knew he was lacking in, compared to others at least. His words never came out the way he wanted, he struggled to say exactly what was wished to convey and agonised over the fact expression and tone could morph any remark into something with a whole different meaning.

Every day, he encountered people who used this as a tool - a weapon to obscure the truth and conceal hidden agendas. It was hard not to, working for the US government. In time, he’d become cynical. Wary of what people spoke aloud, assuming it was all said without much sincerity or reliability unless proven otherwise.

And then after another arduous day, there you were. Out of nowhere. Kind. Honest. Genuine. Within such an excruciatingly short interaction, you’d exuded all these traits so effortlessly. A breath of fresh air after being smothered by the smog the rest of his life contained.

Paul would easily admit his attraction to you was surprisingly swift. The rapturing smile you wore when you’d looked up from your notepad had him snared from the moment it appeared, an aura of natural vibrance and radiant energy shimmering out from your animated expression. What he’d expected to be a dry, tedious endeavour turned into a spark-filled scene, where an excited stranger made him feel both horrendously nervous and unusually at-ease. It had been a long time since someone made him feel like that.

It had also been a long time since he’d asked someone out on a date, for more than a few reasons. The more prolific Paul became in his job, the more unpredictable and unstable his life outside of it was. It took him across the country at a moments’ notice and consumed most hours of his day, meaning forging even short relationships was fairly difficult.

Plus… he just wasn’t good at it. Putting himself out there. He was shy, paralyzingly so. It’s not exactly something he could refute. His confidence was always born from experience and understanding, in knowing the reasons behind why things worked the way they did, along with being able to calculate what would happen next. No textbook could ever cover the entire spectrum of human personality, and there was no way to truly predict what a person might do or say. 

So, without the security of knowledge behind him, uneasiness and apprehension took over in most of his social interactions, particularly with those he felt a magnetism to. It’s exactly how he thought he seemed during his time with you. Awkward and floundering. Not exactly the most charming attributes for a man to have. And yet, the longer he was in your presence, the more he sensed those foibles fade into the back of his mind.

Talking to you was easy. Easier than it had been with anyone during a first meeting. What hadn’t been easy was enduring the seconds your touch grazed over him in your delicate workings while taking each different measurement - his heart beating a little faster, his muscles becoming a little more tense. When you’d eventually let your stare reach his, he’d seen how your eyes moved to trace the lines of his mouth, and it set his insides on fire. He’d been frozen by the unique type of burn, his body locked in place while a rare impulse begged him to sink his lips onto yours. In the past, he struggled to kiss a woman even after several dates, unable to push past the fear and doubt to turn his desire into action. However, in that moment, he’d been all too eager. His hand had moved on its own accord, fingers slinking up your waist, about to pull you closer when interruption instantly shattered his resolve.

The urge was still there in the dialogue that followed, although the promise of seeing you tomorrow made it easier to walk away, safe in the knowledge he had another opportunity to ask you out when his confidence was properly steeled. For once, he could be smart about this. Use his natural intellect to plan and act accordingly, giving him the best odds of securing more time with you.

Oh, but that all went to shit when your text message popped up on his phone screen. Seeing those words, even if they were meant for someone else, made his excitement reach an unfathomable peak, and in turn made him recklessly send a response without taking a second to think about the consequences.

And now, Paul had never felt so stupid in his entire life.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, the phone in his palm lit up with your conversation on display, he felt his stomach spasm with anxiety. Were you going to reply? What would you say? What if his bluntness freaked you out? What if you weren’t even talking about him? Was this all something his mind conjured up?

As the minutes passed without any sign of a response, the initially minor sense of panic began to compound, weighing heavy on his chest, the chaos of his mind soon melting into one certainty - he’d totally fucked this up.

About to slump his forehead into the steering wheel in a display of despondency, Paul suddenly felt a flash of courage at remembering the view of your face peering up at him. He knew the image of it would haunt him if he didn’t do something. He had to fix this. Explain himself. But it needed to be in person. He wouldn’t let technology mess this up for him again.

With a purposeful breath, Paul exited his car and began to retrace his steps past the other shopfronts, silently rehearsing what he wanted to say to you. He hoped to surrender himself to a collectively embarrassing situation, laugh off the turn of events, having it all culminate in an offer of dinner once your shift had finished. He already had a place in mind, only a street away, a little dumpling house that was always open late. Perfect for a cosy, quiet date after a chance meeting.

When his eyes latched onto your figure through the glass window, he stopped his hand from reaching for the door handle. You were crouching down in front of a small boy, his mother behind him cradling a newborn baby, your hand gesturing towards an array of child size suits. Paul couldn’t help but watch as your warming smile beamed, guiding the boys hands to touch and feel over the material, your words evidently making him feel more at ease as his expression slowly relaxed out of its worried frown.

Creeping backwards to make sure you didn’t catch him in your periphery, Paul felt a wave of relief wash over his skin, having evidence that your lack of reply wasn’t due to any of the worst case scenarios he’d been fretting over. You were just busy, concentrated on your work, giving your time and expertise to others in the same way you’d given to him.

The realisation was enough for him slink away, still impatient for your next encounter but assured in it being set within the next day cycle. He just had to wait.

Although, waiting wasn’t exactly a talent of his either.

 *

You were dying inside.

A friendly grin was plastered on your face as you conversed sweetly with the woman in front of you, making idle chit-chat while her son changed out of the suit you’d picked together, but the smile had never felt so insincere. Usually you loved when children came in to pick out ensembles for weddings and similarly formal events, but at the moment your mind was stuck on a small battery-powered rectangle sitting at your desk with a half-written message remaining under your lock-screen.

In the time before Paul’s response came through, you’d never felt more humiliated in your whole existence. Evaporating into thin air would have been a welcomed miracle. But when the returning text slid into focus, your whole mindset shifted.

He felt the same. He wanted you too.

You’d been in the middle of typing out a hasty invitation to come back and make true on his intentions when this overwhelmed mother with a fussy baby caught your attention. Her eldest son had done his best to iron out his only formal suit for the role of ring bearer in an aunt’s wedding this coming weekend, unfortunately resulting an a house full of smoke and a clump of burnt wool.

Personal matters withered into the background at the comprehension of her drained, exhausted demeanour, all your focus pointed back towards the job you’d been distracted from. Well, mostly.

You couldn’t avoid the thoughts and questions glinting in the back of your mind. Of what might have happened if this woman never appeared. What might be happening in an alternate timeline where you’d been able to send that waiting reply. Without intention, your wonderings turned into moving pictures – leading Paul into the back workshop, being roughly picked up onto the cutting table, his lips and yours finally connected in a heated clash, shedding all of his clothing until that heinous mustard shirt was crumpled on the floor-

The high pitched beep of the receipt machine snapped you back into reality, noting the relieved smile the mother wore while her son excitedly grabbed at the bags containing his dashing new suit.

“Thank you!” he hollered without needing to be prompted, waving his hand vigorously before skittering away to the door.

“You’re an absolute lifesaver,” the woman echoed, taking the receipt from your outstretched hand. “I’m really sorry for keeping you so late.”

“Oh don’t worry about it.” The time on the monitor screen just ticked over to 8:17pm, long after you would usually shut up shop and head home to your empty apartment. “I've got nowhere special to be.”

You each said your goodbyes, waiting until the precise moment her silhouette was out of sight before jumping to your phone. The same half written message was there, but now it felt impossible to finish. All traces of adrenaline had long since worn off, and the bravery that made you type out the risqué proposition was reduced to almost nothing. Your timid nature rushed back in full force, a thumb pressing hard on the little x button to erase all evidence of your out of character impulses.

Who were you kidding. You weren’t this person. Unashamed and brazen enough to dive into a fiery entanglement with a handsome stranger in the same evening you’d met. You wished you could be. There was never a time the concept was so enticing. But… it was a fantasy not meant for you to live out. They were destined for the outgoing, the cool and composed, the bold and sure-footed. You rarely felt like any of those things. And Paul, like most men, probably reserved their interest and attraction for those types of women. It was so silly of you to think any different. Getting your hopes up was foolish, and would only end in-

The tingle of the shopkeepers bell sounded, internally groaning as you slid your phone back onto the desk. “We’re closed,” you hawked, a coldness in your tone you couldn’t hide. Eyes snapping up to the intruder, a bolt of lightening shot through, barely able to stop the delight mixing into your blood.

“I just, uh, figured out something more that I needed,” Paul said softly, scratching the back of his neck, clearly nervous.

“You did?” you breathed. “W-what was it?”

His chest rose and fell with a calming exhale, making sure your stares were secured before giving his answer. “…You.”

*

Tagging some lovelies who might want to read. Feel free to let me know if you don’t want to tagged in future works!

@tlcwrites @roanniom @princessxkenobi @hopeamarsu @blowthatpieceofjunk @mariesackler @leatherboundriot @foxilayde @modernpaw @cornmousequeen @direnightshade @mylifeisactuallyamess @caillea @jynz-andtonic @paterson-blue @miraclesabound @prismaticpizza​ @millenialcatlady​ 

[kenmasgameboy]

May I ask for 61 and 2 were Iwaizumi cheated on the reader, and Oikawa knew but never told the reader even tho they were best friends. And she leaves them behind. Cause fuck cheaters. Angsty angst please!

bruh the way this shit made me FEEL WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU UGH im SAD. also i ended up writing SO MUCH for this omg. I loved this prompt a lot more than i thought i did. I think i put into it what i wish i said to my ex who cheated on me with my best friend. fuck!! cheaters!!

TW: arguments, long distance relationship, cheating and betrayal, swear words.

2. “When did you stop loving me?”

61. “You don’t smile anymore.”

┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓

You had known these boys for ages. Looking at Oikawa and Iwaizumi made you feel like you were home. Iwaizumi, the man that would send you into the heavens and make you feel safe beyond any amount of doubt. You don’t remember a time when you weren’t in love with him. You don’t remember a time when you weren’t with your best friends.

But recently things are different. University made everything hard and it was like a wall had been driven between you and your happiness. The first year was the hardest, you would call Iwaizumi every night or every other night in the pain of being so far away from someone you loved so much. You’d keep things under control though, you never wanted to worry him. You thought you knew him, that if you exposed how you really felt he’d march down there in an instant. But then somewhere around a month or two into this, he stopped answering. He’d still text you in the mornings, so you didn’t give it much thought and instead turned your attention to your best friend, Oikawa.

Both of them were on the other side of the world from you. Oikawa was away in Argentina, and he still made time to talk to you. Iwaizumi was all the way in California, just doing university and not a university student and a professional volleyball team like Oikawa was. He was a completely different person than you used to know.

“What’s wrong, Y/N?” Oikawa looked over at you after about a 5-minute long pause of silence in your conversation. You were staring at your phone. You took in a deep sigh. Iwaizumi hadn’t texted in two days.

“Nothing, I’m sure it’s nothing.” You brushed it off, trying your hardest to hide those tears that threatened to sting you and fall down.

“You can tell me, right? Is it something at school? Have you made any friends?” Oikawa asked you. Reaching his hand out and laying his head against his bicep. 

“A few.” You shrugged.

“Y/N-chan, I don’t want to sound like Iwa, but I’m worried about you. You don’t smile anymore. Have you thought about going home for a few days?” He offered as a possible solution.

“I don’t want to go home if you guys aren’t there.” You grumbled, “But I was Hajime’s thanksgiving break is coming up next month, I was thinking about surprising him since I know he’ll have a week off with nothing to do.”

“I’m offended you aren’t coming to visit me!” Oikawa whined.

“I will when you finally give yourself a break!” You teased, “Plus, honestly he hasn’t texted me in days. I know it sounds stupid, we’ve been together for years, but I feel like I need to see him. Something just doesn’t feel right.”

“I think you should. But maybe you should tell him you’re coming before you go?” Oikawa suggested. Fiddling with his hair in between his index finger and thumb. 

“No way, that takes all the fun out! You said it yourself you hadn’t seen me smile recently. This will give me a reason to smile. Once I go there and we figure everything out, I’ll have my reasons again. Just please don’t tell him! I don’t want to get his hopes up and if I suddenly can’t afford it or something then he’d be disappointed.” You begged your friend, and he solemnly nodded before needing to leave.

You kept to your plan. You got on that long flight to California, landing alone and getting a uber to your boyfriend's apartment. You were so thankful you guys swapped sharing locations before leaving, it made this so much easier. You got to the door and fixed yourself nice and pretty before pulling out your phone and recording. You wanted to keep his face of surprise forever.

You knocked on the door, but the person who was surprised was you. A woman opened the door in a towel. Your face dropping.

“Is this Iwaizumi’s apartment?” You had one last shred of hope in you, you had one last string of hope in you. Please, anything but this.

“Oh my god! Wait you’re Y/N right? Hajime and Tooru always talk about you.” She smiled widely, offering her hand to you, “I’m Jess, I’m his girlfriend. He didn’t say you were coming by.”

“Babe, who is it?” You heard the love of your life's voice coming from the shower. You stopped recording on your phone.

You couldn’t control yourself, you pushed the woman in front of you to the side before she could answer for you. You ran into his bathroom, your tear-filled eyes meeting his through the shower curtain.

“Surprise.” You said your heart being smashed to pieces on the ground as you meet his face. His eyebrows raised, his body limp. He knew he was caught.

“Y/N.. What are you doing here? No, no wait.” You tried not listening to him, you walked away. Not wanting him to see your tears fall anymore, he didn’t deserve that side of you anymore. 

“Wait, who the fuck are you?” Jess asked you on your way out the door.

“She’s my fucking girlfriend.” Iwaizumi called from behind you. Following you into the street in nothing but his gym shorts.

“Stop, Hajime! I can’t even fucking look at you!” You couldn’t help but raise your voice. 

“Y/N, please I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You weren’t supposed to find out like this–” He grabbed you by the wrist but you just ripped it away from him.

“Don’t touch me! Are you fucking serious? What did you think I would say? I knew you were distant, I didn’t know if it was the timezone or what but now I understand.” It took all the strength in you to stand and face him. Your body running on the adrenaline of the betrayal and anger that coursed through you. “You fucking asshole. 4 years for it to end like this? I loved you so much. I wanted to marry you! You couldn’t have at least broken up with me like a man when you find a new girlfriend.” 

“She’s not my girlfriend– I don’t know why she told you that, babe I don’t want this to end–” Iwaizumi tried coming up with absolutely anything to say to you. The truth was he hadn’t thought about what to say at this moment. He’d replayed it in his head multiple times when he laid with other girls, at some point he convinced himself he could get away with it. That maybe he’d never have to tell you. Obviously, that dream came down in a crumbling wave of hurt and disappointment.

“Don’t you dare call me the same thing you called her. Like it even matters if you called her your girlfriend or not! It’s obviously been going on for some time. So tell me, Iwaizumi, when did you stop loving me? I need to hear it so I stop being so blind in the future.” You choked out the last bit of your words, tears fell into your mouth. You were sure you looked the ugliest you’d ever looked. It embarrassed you, but you needed to know. After this, you’d never see him again.

“I–I can’t answer that.” Iwaizumi was crying in front of you. Rubbing his eyes on the back of his wrists. “I still love you–”

“No you don’t. Iwaizumi, you feel guilty. That’s not love. I want to know how long, was she ever there when I was calling you because of how badly I missed your voice.” You refused his confession. His eyes widened, you couldn’t tell if it was the realization or the way it hurt to be rejected by you. Either way, his silence was enough to answer for you at that time.

“Did Tooru know?” You asked next to his lack of response.

“What?”

“You’re girlfriend said you and Tooru talk about me a lot. So both the closest people in my life lied to me, right? They lied to my face.” You asked him again, wanting to speed this up and get the hell out of there. He hung his head. You let out one last hiccup of pain.

“I asked him to, I told him I would tell you myself. Don’t be mad at him–” Iwaizumi begged you this time but it was too late.

“If he were a real friend of mine he should’ve told me, but he chose his side. When you stopped answering I was on the facetime with him every day. He had plenty of chances. You’re too late, Hajime. Tell Oikawa that I’m never speaking to either of you again. I’m blocking your numbers and I’m going back to Japan the next chance I can get.” You backed away, your head hanging. You didn’t know if you had any more hot tears to shed. They burned your cheeks. You hung your head down, trying to drop them onto the street instead of on your cheeks.

“Y/N... Please...” He begged weakly, his arm extending to touch your shoulder. He tried to bring you into his chest but you put your hands out to his chest. Your skin felt like it was going to fall off, he didn’t give you the comforting feeling of love and home and happiness anymore.

“No. This is the last time you’re ever seeing me.” You said it, looking into his eyes one final time. You could never do this, you felt like everything had been flushed down a clogged toilet. How would you ever move on from this?

“Where are you going?” He asked you, trailing at your heels.

“Away from you.” You spat, pulling out your phone. You were trying to look for an uber in the area.

“No, please let me take you somewhere safe, this isn’t a good neighborhood! And I know you got a C in English. Please, I’ll protect you, even if I need to follow from further away or something, I can call you someone and we can talk again tomorrow–” Iwaizumi was really trying, he pulled out his own phone and tried to look for something in his contacts list but you refused. 

“That’s coming from the person who hurt me the most. You have no place in my life anymore. Just leave me the hell alone.” You said this without looking behind you, “Goodbye, Hajime.” 

┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛

jenna’s 5k celebration dialogue prompts!

[selfwriting-sugarquills]

70 Fred Weasley headcanons in celebration of 700 followers:

(plus an extra one, for the heck of it lmao) 

You guys, thank you so much for 700 followers! I appreciate every single one of you and writing for the twins has been such a blast so far, much to the thanks of all of you <3 

Find the 70 George Headcanons: Here

Fred has always been really good at sleight of hand stuff, as a kid, he could do card tricks with ease, steal baked goods from his mother’s kitchen and later on since his allowance wasn’t exactly anything to brag about, he’d steal sweets from honeydukes' on Hogsmeade trips, with the help of George, he’s not proud of it but in his defence, he was a stupid teenage boy at the time. 

Fred is incredibly competitive and will hold onto anything you challenge him to for way longer than you might think. He’s definitely the type to “race you” anytime you’re headed to herbology, care against magical creatures or Hogsmeade together.

As the man himself said in the deathly hallows, Fred doesn’t like the idea of a big grandiose wedding ceremony, he’d prefer something more low-key and simple, where the focus is more on having fun and celebrating instead of neat seating plans and meticulously chosen decorations. Some flowers and booze will do, he’ll provide the fireworks - In essence, he only needs his S/O and the rest he couldn’t care less about. 

George may be better at cooking, but Fred makes a damn good pancake and he will forever pride himself on that. 

Fred is the more jealous, overprotective twin. He’s aware of this and tries his best not to let it go to his head but he can’t help it. 

Fred snores, I’m pretty sure it’s canon that both twins snore, but Fred is louder and, as mentioned in my last headcanon post, a very heavy sleeper meaning it’s more difficult to get him to wake up so he can stop, your best shot is trying (and probably failing) to turn him over. 

Fred is also a very restless sleeper, he’ll toss and turn, and occasionally dream about quidditch. I’m saying you might want to be aware that he might confuse you for a bludger in his sleep, don’t worry though, he’ll always apologise profusely and make it up to you with a lot of kisses (and maybe a bit more than that, if you’re keen ;)) 

Fred has an extensive caffeine addiction, which is unfortunate cause he’s quite hyper already but he can’t function properly until he gets his coffee in the morning, and then again in between lessons/at lunch and then again late in the afternoon. Sometimes, if he needed to write an essay that was due, he’d drink coffee at like nine pm. He knows he won’t be able to sleep because of it, please, Y/n, he’s accepted his fate. 

I personally always imagined the twins as having ADHD, idk why it just fits their characters. Fred is for sure the more outwardly fidgety and intrusive, this gets less and less with age, as it does for a lot of ADHD people, his inability to focus remains the same though. 

Fred loves being outside, he’s the first of the Weasley siblings to suggest a game of quidditch or just going outside for walks, hide and seek in the woods near their house. He absolutely loves taking his dates on walks in parks or at the beach and when he has kids he plays with them in their yard, building snowmen etc. 

Fred probably suggests at some point that the whole family should go camping, and he’s actually really fun to camp with. He’ll tell the best scary stories by the campfire. 

In regards to children, Fred wants a lot of kids. Like at least three but would be willing to have more if his s/o wants to. He just really likes the dynamic of a large family since that’s what he’s used to. 

Fred’s favourite flavour of sweets is anything sour, the sourer the better, because of this he can handle it really well and he loves handing people some of his ridiculously sour candy and watching them squirm. 

He also really likes spicy food, he’s a bit of a daredevil so don’t challenge him to eat anything because he will eat a whole chilli and nearly die. 

 You know he’d be really casual about it too, lol, like sweating and crying but just leaning on the counter like “*pant* what? hot? no not at all *deeeeep breath* I can ha-aw-rdly taste it!” 

One thing about Fred is that he’s oddly squeamish, like seeing his brother’s ear blown off isn’t so bad (if you don’t take into account the emotional trauma that is), but a needle for a blood sample or a vaccine? oooh, he’s gonna need a big juice box and a cookie and his s/o’s hand to hold if he’s gonna make it through. He also has a thing about leeches. One time at Hogwarts they were mentioned in a lesson and he thought he was going to faint the entire time. 

Fred’s broken five bones over the years, four are from quidditch: his left arm and two ribs, and then the other arm from trying to do an elaborate stunt on the stairs in the burrow and falling down two flights. 

Fred loves to sing karaoke (because I cannot get that damn clip of James singing karaoke out of my head) though he particularly enjoys doing a very poor job on purpose. 

Fred is such a good liar that on several occasions he’s given presentations in school and gotten good marks for them despite having bullshat his way through the entire thing. 

Like seriously, he’s that guy in the group project who only looks at the slides like five minutes before the presentation and then just turns on a full charming newscaster voice on the professor to the point of them being genuinely convinced (albeit a little confused) that what Fred’s saying is true. 

This is also why Fred loves playing card games like poker: he’s really good at bluffing. 

Speaking of poker-face, he’s really quite good at teasing in public (if you’re into that sort of thing *wink*) because no matter the dirty deeds he might get up to under a table, his face remains as regular as always (safe for a little smirk to his lover every now and then) 

Fred always wanted to learn an instrument, he thought it’d make him cooler when he was a teenager, as an adult, he just really wants to recreate that clip of the trombone-playing dad with the sunglasses, or maybe serenade some cows with jazz or something. 

Fred was never a big fan of the uniform thing, so he always tried to make it his own, whether that be tying the tie differently, or having his sleeves rolled up; it’s not much but you gotta take what you can get when you’re literally dressed the same as everyone else. 

Fred might make fun of his dad’s interest in muggle things but secretly he loves it too. He has spent a lot of hours in the shed with Arthur, assuring everyone that it was just to have some quality time with his dad but he would still pay close attention when Arthur explained things to him. 

Fred had a whole business of selling candy from Honeydukes’ and joke products from Zonko’s to second and first years before he and George started dabbling with their own products, he could get you a butterbeer too but it’ll cost you an extra three galleons. 

Fred really likes glitter, George has a thing for lace, anything that glitters on his s/o makes Fred weak. If you want to get your way just put on some glittery eyeshadow or lipgloss and watch him spin. 

Since he loves things that glitter and gleam he loves buying his s/o jewellery, he loves seeing them wearing them as little tokens of their relationship. 

Did someone say slight possession kink? oops not me

Fred is incredible with numbers, this is pretty much canon and has been explored but I’m just amazed at this boy’s wit AND intellect. I have a slight headcanon that if he ever goes on a proper first date with someone where a bill is involved, he impresses his date by calculating the tip after just a glance.

Even if Fred has a longstanding reputation of not caring about school, when he has kids he does want to help them with any coursework over the summer and Christmas breaks, he’ll even study up on his old books just to be able to help out in any classes he didn’t take/didn’t pay attention in. 

Fred would, in general, be an amazing father. He’s goofy and playful most of the time, though he’s serious and incredibly caring whenever his kids are in a bad mood or have problems. He knows that he’s not the most outwardly emotional of the twins but he makes sure his kids know they can always talk to him about anything. 

Fred is incredibly messy. His room is usually a cry for help and he only cleans it when it gets to the point where it distracts him from focusing on work. 

No worries though, his S/O doesn’t have to do all the housework for him, he’ll do it. He just needs to be reminded that he needs to every once in a while. 

Fred has a really bad temper, he doesn’t know where he gets it from but he tends to get angry easier than George, though Fred is better at letting it out so it doesn’t continue to bother him. 

His bad temper does mean that he used to brawl more with siblings as a kid, and it wasn’t unusual to see him with scrapes and bruises as a kid, much to Molly’s dismay. Fred didn’t mind though, he thought it made him look tough. 

Fred is more likely to get caught sneaking around because of his brash nature, he tends to forget just how quiet you have to be to avoid Mrs Norris in the corridors. 

Fred is certainly not an early bird but his favourite time of day is, in fact, the morning when the sun’s coming up. He only knows this because of Wood’s ridiculously early quidditch practices but there’s something about the way the world looks when it’s bathed in soft golden light that just hits different to Fred. 

Fred is a great team player, as much as he seems like he’s more selfish than George, if it’s regarding a team activity (like quidditch or a battle of sorts) he’ll completely lose all focus on himself and only try to ensure other’s safety and victory. This is also why he plays as a beater, he’s not afraid of getting hit at all when he’s focused on getting the bludgers away from his teammates. 

So if his s/o ever needs it, he’ll be there to help with anything: Needs to take a day off from work to take care of his sick s/o? no problem. Needs to stay up with his small child because his s/o is exhausted and needs rest? On it. Something as small as carrying groceries or books, making a cup of tea when the other is busy or doing the dishes is all on the list of things that Fred will happily do for his s/o, and often without having to be asked, he’ll just do it. 

Fred’s boggart is seeing his family members and/or his s/o hurt beyond what he can save. Essentially his worst fear is being helpless when he needs it most. 

One of those times was when George lost his ear. The first night when George was lying practically unconscious on the couch with blood everywhere was the worst night of Fred’s life, he truly felt so anxious and helpless and angry that he vomited and ended up passing out next to the couch after staying up till sunrise watching his brother like a hawk. 

He didn’t just sleepwalk when he was younger, he also often experienced nightmares, it’s only George, Molly and Arthur who remembers anything about this. 

They got less and less the older he got and he assumed that he’d never be bothered by them again until after the second wizarding war and the battle of Hogwarts. 

I don’t like to headcanon that he dies cause he didn’t and that’s final lol. I do, however, headcanon that Fred still gets hurt, since everyone in the explosion beside him seemed to sustain minor injuries, I just think that to even out with George losing his ear, he hurts his leg and needs a lot of retraining/a walking stick. I think that’d be a more fair/unfair ending for Fred who’s always full of energy having to have to adjust to living slowly for a little while (not permanently, I couldn’t do that to my boy). 

The boy has anxiety sometimes, ok. (just let me project for a second)

He didn’t know how much tension he usually holds in his body until he drank alcohol for the first time and felt his entire body loosen up and was like “huh this is new.” 

He doesn’t use alcohol to deal with it though, he prefers just talking to George about whenever he feels is stressing him out and that helps. A massage from his s/o to loosen him up doesn’t hurt either. 

Fred prefers to talk to his dad about his problems more than he prefers to talk to Molly, generally. 

His favourite body parts on his s/o: Shoulders, hips, hands. 

He loves to kiss, just in general, but he also loves kissing his s/o’s nose, forehead, neck, shoulder, etc. as little gestures of affection. 

He def. has a bit of a size kink, he loves being taller than his s/o. 

If Fred could have any pet he wanted, he’d probably want a dog, the bigger the better. He doesn’t think he has the time for a pet though. 

It was his idea to start breeding pygmy puffs, it’s the closest he’ll get to having a pet. 

I don’t know why but I feel like when Fred and his s/o are expecting and his s/o goes into labour he just panics. loses it, drops the binkie as we say in Denmark: Freaks the fuck out, if you will. He’s definitely the pacing and wringing his hands together type, though he probably tries his best to keep himself composed and chill during the whole thing whilst simultaneously hyperventilating. 

Fred doesn’t cry often but he sure as hell wept with pride when he held all his kids for the first time. 

Despite the notion that the twins often slip in a joke version of a sweet treat or something similar amongst the snacks at parties, Fred is strongly against tampering with drinks. He knows the connotations it holds and he doesn’t want anyone to be afraid they’d put something in it. If he wants you to test out their truth serum or a love potion, he’ll just ask you flat out and if you don’t want to, he’s not going to continue asking. 

Most of the detentions Fred has gotten from Snape come from times he’s spoken back to him when Snape’s been giving another student a rough time. He doesn’t regret it one bit. 

 If you ask Fred what his proudest accomplishment is, he’ll probably say that it’s having had enough restraint to not punch Umbridge in the face every time he saw her. 

On the note of Umbridge. It wasn’t her detentions with him that got his blood boiling, it was when she punished little kids (a la Nigel) for doing practically nothing, he understands that to an extent and by comparison, setting off a bunch of fireworks inside a building would harbour a harsher punishment, but making twelve-year-olds bleed for running in the halls or playing music or just doing things that twelve-year-olds will inevitably do, is something Fred doesn’t understand. That year pretty much any kid younger than him, or anyone who was too afraid to stand up for themselves, became Fred and George’s little siblings, and they’re very protective older brothers. Umbridge can vouch for that. 

He struggles with a lot of insecurity in his relationships, he always puts on a front of being extra funny and outgoing when he’s in a new relationship because he’s secretly afraid that the way he is isn’t good enough and that eventually, his s/o will see through him and leave because they don’t like the softer, more serious side of him. 

Fred is the godfather of all of George’s kids but is also the godparent of Hugo, Lily and Lucy. 

Fred loves business meetings, he sees them as a good challenge to practice his smooth talk. 

Fred spent his first salary from the shop on the most expensive bottle of champagne he could find and a new suit. 

Fred tried to get into whiskey, feeling like it’d make him a cool business owner type of man, so, with his second salary, he went out and bought a fancy-schmancy bottle of whiskey and the whole getup with a bottle and some cool glasses, and then invited Lee over to try it with him and George. 

They did not like it. Fred thought it tasted like what he imagined gasoline tastes like so they mostly used it as decorations, not having the heart to mix it with something. 

Fred doesn’t necessarily like PDA, it depends on what you mean. He likes being secretive. Pulling his s/o into an empty classroom, nook, hallway, secret pathway etc where anyone could wander in at any time and snogging her senseless is one of his favourite things to do. 

Fred knows how good he looks in his quidditch uniform and will absolutely use it against his s/o. (they’re gonna get spicy from here on so read with caution if you're in public)

Fred prefers giving more than receiving oral. 

He has a lot of energy, did you not think that would rub off (no pun intended) on his sex drive? He can go pretty much any time and place, and typically last at least two rounds. 

Also, his favourite position is having you on top. Okay, I'm gonna stop now. 

[idkcantthinkofaname]

It takes time/11

Pairing: BTS x Reader

Gene: attempted fluffy, angst, future smut

Warning: none in this chapter unless you count bad words?

Summary: after finally getting the house y/n always wanted, she find a hybrid hiding in an old shed. Unlike most people who find strays, y/n doesn’t turn him into h.c mainly because there was a lot of shady things that happened with the hybrid control in the area.

Prev

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(Meanwhile in the Legion of doom 😂 I’m sorry)

“You really think they would allow us near her?” Asked Yoongi. Him and namjoon had been going back and forth about staying at y/n place.

“This cave is just fine.” Yoongi ticked.

“No it is not Yoongi. This cave barely goes into the mountains, and you know very damn well what the storms are like here.” Namjoon stated. He understood why Yoongi and jungkook were not happy that he asked the others to stay there for a while. But what choice did he have. Or that’s what he told himself along with the others. Every time he ran into the others he could smell her scent, it called to him. His instinct wanting him to be closer to her, he had been refusing to be tempted by it. His logic brain over ruled his instincts, and kept himself away, but now that spring was coming along with some of the worst storms...his instinct to find a safe place for his pack was with the rest of them..and her... Namjoon rolled his neck ‘why dose she effect him so much’

Yoongi stood there starting at the earth. He wasn’t happy about namjoon’s choice, but he also knew he had to follow his alpha. He smirked slightly, ‘at least now it will be easier to get to her.’

“The foxes already made it clear they are not letting us any where near her.” He said flatly

Frankly they were staring at jungkook and him when they opposed. Yoongi had seen the way their ear twitched in irritation, how their fist clinched and eyes shifted to their fox. They would put up a fight if Yoongi tried to harm her. ‘This only made this little game more fun’

Namjoon stared at Yoongi. “Yes, but Hobi said he would talk to all of them.”

Yoongi sighed. “I would be surprised if y/n even lets us in after what kookie did.”

Namjoon sighed he would be surprised too really. He pinched the bridge of his nose. She just made everything so complicated. His ear twitched

“Someone is approaching.” His eyes scanned the tree line.

Someone landed right behind both namjoon and Yoongi, causing all three hybrids to just and turn around. Taehyung stood there with a smirk on his face. “Y’all are slipping.”

Taehyung straighten his clothing. He was very happy that he could sneak up on them without any of them noticing.

“Fuck off tae.” Jungkook huffed and sat back down.

“No can do there.” Taehyung said. “You need to get back up.”

Jungkook side eyed him. “Why?”

“Because y/n said you guys are staying with us.” Said Jin as he emerged from the tree line.

All three hybrids look at their brothers with a slight shocked face “are you serious?”

——————————————————————————

I was fidgeting, I tried to take in a deep breathe to calm down, but I couldn’t seem to stop. Taehyung had left this morning with Jin to fetch the others. I know I agreed with to this, but I was so nervous... what happened if things get much worse? What if...I shock my head. No no, no thinking like this, must make sure they feel at home and safe until they want to leave. I nodded my head at the thought and went to the kitchen. I was going to make a dinner for them as a welcome gift. To let them know all of forgiven.

Hobi followed me from the room, he hadn’t left my side... even though he was happy his brothers where coming to stay, he made it clear that he wanted to make sure I was really fine with this.

“Hobi you don’t have to hover.” You smiled at him as you mixed the ingredients. Hobi smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his chin on my shoulder as I worked.

“I just want to make sure you are really okay with this.” He watched my hands intently. “I can feel your uneasiness.”

I sighed and stop. “I admit that I am nervous about all this, but I can’t leave them out there to suffer. I’m not sure how smoothly this will go, but I’m hoping for the best.” I smiled

I started to cook again and Hobi remand attached to me. Hugging even tighter every now and then. “You are to cute you know.”

I blushed “stop I’m trying to work, I want to make sure they have a good meal.”

As I finished up the meal I waited for them to make it back...they had been gone all day. Where they not coming? Did they change their mind?

Jimin seemed to noticed my uneasiness. “Don’t worry, they are coming.” He placed his hand on my shoulder as he gave a reassuring smile.

“You think so?” I asked.

He hugged me. “You are so cute when you worry.”

“WE ARE HOME!” yelled Taehyung as he walked through the front door. My breathe caught in my throat as namjoon, Yoongi and jungkook walked in right after Jin. Yoongi’s eye locked with mine. A slight shiver ran down my spine. Yoongi gave a slight smirk before a frown took its place. Jimin had stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

“Glad you could make it boys, our little y/n made a welcome to our humble home dinner for you.” Jimin was smirking while the other three glared.

Namjoon eyes slowly lowered to meet mine. “You didn’t have too..”

I smiled. “I know I didn’t, but I wanted everyone to have a good meal.” I was actually felt more confident with Jimin standing right behind me.

Taehyung was grinning as he came to us. “You are so sweet” he placed a kiss on my forehead. “Let’s all eat!”

I could have been mistaken but I could have sworn I heard a low growl.

“I’m sitting next to y/n!” Yelled Hobi who came grabbed my hand and raced to the table.

Hobi and Jin both sat down on either side of me, much to the foxes disappointment. Taehyung sat next to Hobi and Jimin next to jin. Namjoon too the far end of the table.. Yoongi and jungkook refused to sit down and eat with us. Taehyung had showed them their room, which was the farthest from my bedroom. Jin had reassured that he would get them to eat later. I wanted to put up a fight but Jin wouldn’t allow it. Namjoon as soon as he was done took two plates to their room.

“Well that could have been worse.” Said Jin as he sat down on the couch.

“I hope they eat...” I said as I looked towards their room.

Since they had taken that one, the rest will stay in the middle bedroom...or well one will be rooming with me...I gulped.

Jin arm wrapped around my shoulders. “Don’t worry to much, they will behave..”

“We also won’t let them do anything.” Said jimin. He placed his head on my lap.

“I just hopping they are comfortable is all.” I sighed.

Jimin looked up at me as he lifted his hand to rub my cheek. “I’m sure they are.” I smiled down at him and nodded my head. I looked up to see all the other boys smiling.

“What?”

“You seem more comfortable with affection now. Before you use to slightly jump, or shy away from touches.” I looked down at my hands and blushed.

“Why?” Tae asked.

“I’m just not use to it.” I shrugged and started to yawn.

“I think it’s time for bed.” Said Jin, he got up he offered his hand out.

I smiled and grabbed his hand.

“I still don’t see why Jin gets to sleep in her bed first.” Pouted jimin.

“Seeing how this was my idea, it should be me first.” Pouted Tae.

Jin just shook his head and lead us to the bedroom. My heart was pounding. I haven’t had anyone else in my bed in a long time..plus the last time we were alone he kissed me..not that I didn’t like it.

“She needs to sleep with someone that won’t try anything.” Smirked jin as he closed the door.

Says the man THAT KISSED ME. I could hear tae and Jimin start to say something but i couldn’t really hear what they said.

Jin locked the door and turned around.

“I’m going to go change in the bathroom.” I said quickly and darted off. As soon as I shut the door I let out my breathe. After changing into my night shirt and shorts i open the door to head to bed. Jin was sitting on the bed flipping through channels. He looked up as I walked closer. His eyes scanned what I was wearing... lingering on my legs just long enough to make me fidget.

“I would suggest not wearing something like that around the others..if you don’t want them to lose their minds.” He smirked.

I gave him a questioning look. It was just an over size tshirt and shot...I realize just how short the shorts really were as he kept looking. “I can go change..” I turned but Jin jumped and gripped my wrist

“No, it’s fine. I promise I won’t do anything but sleep on my side, I just wanted to give you a heads up. Some of the others control might not be as good as mine.” Jin smiled.

I nodded and looked down at his hand. He let go and stood up.

“I’m going to go take a shower.” I nodded and crawled into bed. Why do I feel like this is going to be a long night..

Yoongi sat in a tree just outside the window...he watched Jin crawled into bed after y/n had passed out. Had he always been sleeping in her bed? He frowned at the thought. This was going to make this a little more difficult, but Yoongi will have his moment. He always got what he wanted

——————————————————————————

Next

Taglist

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[janetbrown711]

"I'm just looking out for you" - Yakko to Wakko

Yakko wasn’t usually one for waking up in the middle of the night, but with a loud crash and a flash of light so bright Yakko thought his eyes were open, Yakko was awake in no time. With a pounding headache, he grabbed a hold of his thoughts, and realized he should check to see if his sibs were okay.

Slowly, he got up out of bed and noticed that Dot had gotten out of bed at the same time. Well, at least she was okay...

Dot looked at Yakko groggily, silently asking what had happened, but Yakko had the exact same question so they both just shrugged at each other.

“You’ll never guess what just happened!” Wakko said, standing at the end of the hall.

“Try me,” Yakko yawned.

“Okay- So I was just sitting here playing this instrument I made, right? And then I saw a Wishing Star and I thought ‘what the heck’ and so I wished on it- and then this desire fulfillment facilitator named Larry came down in this big ball of green light and told me that I can make one wish if I go out and touch the wishing star first- and then the star fell from the heavens and crashed way out there!” Wakko said without taking a single breath, and pointed past the mountains out the door. Yakko didn’t quite believe him at first, but there it was- undeniably, there was a giant star resting behind the mountains, glowing almost as bright as day.

“Okay... so?” Yakko scratched his head, still trying to wake up.

“That means I have to go to the wishing star and make my wish,” Wakko said, surprisingly chipper for this late at night/early in the morning. “And I should go right now- before anyone else notices-”

“Woah, woah, woah. Slow your roll Wakko, you need to actually go to sleep, you still haven’t gone to bed,” Yakko pointed at him. “And besides, you absolutely cannot go alone. We’re coming with you,” Yakko said, nodding at Dot.

“Yeah! We’ll take the sled! It’ll be fun!” Dot smiled.

“That’s good, I really didn’t want to go alone,” Wakko sratched the back of his neck.

“You really think we’d let you?” Yakko raised an eyebrow.

“No,” Wakko laughed a little.  

“Good. Now, let’s all get back into bed and we’ll head out in the morning,” Yakko nodded at his younger siblings and they both nodded and went their separate ways.

Fortunately, Yakko had quickly been able to go back to sleep, but unfortunately, morning seemed to come in the blink of an eye. When he did finally open his eyes and prepare himself to do his daily morning check up on Dot, he was surprised to find that both Wakko and Dot were sitting on the edge of his bed staring at him so hard, he almost fell out of the bed.

“Yay! You’re awake! We can go now!” Wakko grinned. Yakko wanted to be upset, but seeing his siblings practically bouncing off the wall with positive energy couldn’t help but bring a smile to his face.

“Alright, let’s get going,” Yakko rolled his eyes, though he really didn’t mind and did it with a smile on his face.

Together, the Warner siblings ran off to the shed where Yakko had been making the sled for Dot. What made it special was the fact that it had a sail and was big enough to fit a very old and warn out mattress, and with a pillow and blanket, Dot would be able to stay warm.

Slowly, Yakko and Wakko began to push and drag it out of the shed, and Yakko noticed that by the time they had reached the town square, people were starting to watch, curious about what they were doing. Before Yakko could think to stop anyone, Wakko and Dot started telling the whole town about the wishing star, and how the first person to touch it would get their wish.

This in turn started a chain reaction where suddenly everyone in town who had some means of transportation now wanted to go to the Wishing Star themselves and make their own wish.

Yeah, they probably should’ve kept it to themselves.

Oh well, The Warners carried on and started sledding away as fast as they could, especially since they now had competition.

This was going to be an interesting trip.

.o0o.

For the longest time, Yakko, Wakko and Dot had the lead in the race. They remained steady and ahead, the wind on their side and pushing the sail of the sled right along. Plus, everyone seemed to be having a good time. Dot and Wakko were making up songs about the wishing star, and guessing what it would feel like to touch a star. Yakko stayed mostly quiet, but that was because he was still tired. How his younger siblings managed to have seemingly boundless energy was beyond him.

However, after about an hour or so in, Yakko started to get nervous as he heard the voice of none other than the Baron himself shouting orders at the Constable Ralph. However, he did his best not to focus on that, and instead join in on his siblings conversation.

“If you could wish for anything, what would. you wish for?” Yakko asked them.

“I’d wish that we could have all the time in the world with each other, and never be seperated,” Dot said with a little smile. “What about you Yakko?

“I’d wish this could’ve happened in the summer, it would’ve been a lot easier to travel through,” He chuckled, though only somewhat joking. He was the only one without any real top covering and the wind was quite cold. his siblings laughed before Dot had another coughing fit.

“If I could have a wish, it’d be for a way to pay for your surgery,” Wakko said to Dot, patting her back. Yakko nodded.

His true wish was that his siblings wouldn’t have to suffer anymore, that they could soon be in a big, warm home and want for nothing, and that everything would just be... okay. That wasn’t a lot, right?

They kept on riding.

Yakko once again faded out of the conversation, steering the sled carefully as they twisted through the mountains, and trying his best to remain fast and steady so the Baron wouldn’t catch up with them. He could only imagine what he’d do if he did, he always had it out for him and Dot when he had gotten stationed there a year ago, right after Wakko had left. And now, as he glanced back, it seemed the Baron wasn’t any happier with them now than he was then.

Yakko kept his eyes forward from there.

Instead, his eyes focus on Wakko. He looked a lot more tired than Yakko remembered him being earlier, and the more he looked at him the more he noticed. He had a new scar on his knee that Yakko hadn’t noticed before, and he was really skinny. Yakko really wished he hadn’t pushed off talking to his brother yesterday because all of this Wishing Star business was too distracting.

“Yakko! Cliff!” Dot gasped and shouted and Yakko snapped back into he moment and pulled the break slowly, if a bit roughly. With a huff, he jumped down and examined the cliff, looking straight down and remarked at how deep it was.

“Do you get vertigo?” Wakko asked his brother, coping is motion.

“Nope,” Yakko said.

“Me neither,” Wakko clearly lied.

“C’mon Wak, we’re gonna have to pull the sled across,” The elder brother said, looking at the rickety bridge. Hopefully it’d survive the weight of the sled...

“Just- be careful and watch your step. We don’t want the bridge to break, understood?” Yakko said.

“Wouldn’t that slow everyone else down though?” Wakko asked with a sly grin.

“Wakko, no,” Yakko scolded, but couldn’t help but think that was a pretty good idea...

No. After this they’d have to head back to Acme Falls anyway, they needed the bridge.

“Just watch your step, and help me pull,” Yakko said.

Yakko had prepared for a situation like this, as he took out two pieces of rope and tied it to the sled. Then, he and Wakko started to pull. Yakko cringed when the bridge creaked under their feet, but they kept pulling anyway.

“Please don’t break, please don’t break, please don’t-”

Wakko cried out as the board gave way and he fell. Yakko’s eyes widened and he dropped the rope and rushed to help and relaxed a bit when he saw Wakko had maintained the grip on the rope.

“I-is he okay?” Dot gripped her blanket tightly.

“He’s holding on- it’s alright Dot,” Yakko said. “Wakko, hold on, I’m gonna pull you up,” He said to his little brother, who nodded and held on for dear life. Yakko could a deep breath, summoning all of his inner strength and slowly pulled his brother back onto the bridge.

“Phew, that was close, huh?” Wakko joked nervously, but Yakko’s face twitched.

“’That was close’??? That’s all you have to say???” Yakko was baffled, and mad, the swirl of emotions returning.

“I-”

“Wakko, You can’t just- You almost just-” Yakko sighed. “We need to keep moving.” Yakko gave up and stood and picked up the rope and started to pull again. Wakko looked at him apologetically and started pulling again too.

Eventually, they reached solid ground and Yakko was relieved to feel the snow crunch underneath his feet. Yakko then looked over at his brother and saw he guilty look on his face and realized he probably shouldn’t have snapped like that. Wakko started to head back onto the sled but Yakko stopped him by touching his shoulder.

“I’m sorry Wakko, I shouldn’t have gotten mad. It wasn’t your fault, I was just... trying to look out for you. I’m sorry,” Yakko said.

“I’m sorry Yakko, I should’ve been more careful,” Wakko bit his lip. Yakko gave his brother a quick hug before getting behind the sled and giving it the push it needed to continue onward.

However, everyone’s head turned when they heard a loud crack of a whip and they noticed the Baron was right behind them. Yakko frowned in determination and tried to make the sled go faster. However, apparently, the Baron didn’t want to play fairly as literal missiles were fired from his carriage.

“Geez, I always knew the guy was insane, but really?!” Yakko scoffed as he made a sharp turn to avoid them and they exploded against the mountain.

“That guy’s a maniac!” Wakko growled.

“You said it,” Yakko agreed, looking back to see Plotz sticking his head out of his window and growling at them.

He then shot three more missiles at them, but with careful navigation skills, all of them just went through trees instead.

Was this where all of their tax money was going to???

Dot and Wakko blew raspberries at Plotz, which only seemed to anger him, but Yakko laughed anyway.

However, the Baron’s next attack was much more effective, as a cannonball shot through and ripped their sail.

Yakko’s eyes widened when he realized that wasn’t the last one and that the next one was aimed at their heads.

“DUCK!!!” He shouted and dived at his sibs, and as they did the next cannon fired and took down the mast of the sled entirely. At least they still had their heads...

Still, it was clear Plotz was starting to lose his sanity, as he just kept firing cannonballs at them, which he kept getting worse and worse at aiming, so at least they also had that going for them.

Soon enough, there was a three-way division in the road, and Yakko made a last-second turn to the farthest one to the left, leaving the Baron behind Dr. Scratchnsniff and Hello Nurse’s elixir cart- how they managed to get ahead yet behind the warners was beyond them.

Still, Plotz was no longer attacking them, so Yakko finally relaxed.

However, the world seemed to hate Yakko, and as soon as they relaxed there was a loud explosion and shouts from the people on the other path, and Yakko just hoped Plotz didn’t kill anyone. Eventually, all three of the roads became one and Yakko got a good look at what had happened, but honestly couldn’t explain it.

Hello Nurse’s horse had in his teeth a strange device that held those weird mice he had rarely seen in Acme Falls but knew existed, as well as three pigeons, while Rita, Runt, Mindy’s dog Buttons and Mindy herself, The Doctor and Hello Nurse were all drinking their elixir drink and apparently must’ve had some kind of breakthrough two seconds ago because it wasn’t terrible. Yakko was curious about that, but they didn’t have time to stop, the Wishing Star was growing closer.

However, things went from strange to worse, when a loud crack went through the mountains, and everyone froze and turned their heads to find out that the worst had happened-

An avalanche.

Everyone scrambled back into their vehicles and raced away as fast as possible. Yakko glanced at his siblings, who were looking up at him nervously, hoping for encouraging words.

“J-just- hold on, it’ll be okay, we’ll make it. I know it,” he said, lying. In all honesty, the sled was losing momentum and if they stopped they were screwed.

Yakko did his best to keep his eyes forward so as to not see the snow getting closer and closer, knowing there wasn’t much they could do. They had to make it to the Wishing Star- they just did.

However, the world didn’t seem to hate him- it did, and soon the sled was lifted from behind by the snow and Yakko Wakko and Dot were knocked out and into the snow.

Yakko didn’t hesitate to dig up with all his fury and might, despite the pounding in his head and the soreness of his arms. He was not going to die like this, no siree. He had a job to do and that job was to protect his sibs by any means necessary, not leave them to die in an avalanche in the mountains.

Finally, he breached the surface and gasped for air and relief when he saw Wakko had already made it up. However, relief turned to panic when he couldn’t find Dot. He dug around him frantically, pleading that she was okay.

After a minute of panic and worry, Dot finally popped her head out of the snow and Yakko cried in relief. He dug the rest of his body out of the snow and lifted Dot out and gave her a bone-crushing hug, which Dot was too weak to return, coughing quite a bit. Still, Yakko didn’t care, she was okay.

“Look! The Wishing Star!” Wakko pointed and the other Warner sibs turned their head.

Yep, there it was. Yakko and Dot couldn’t help but “ooh” and “ahh” at it’s beauty and size. The thing was massive.

“Well, what’re we waiting for?” Yakko asked, setting Dot down but still holding her hand. Wakko grinned and held his brother’s other hand.

They made it- they had actually made it. Yakko had doubted a little bit back there, but it was actually happening. Sure, they no longer had a sled and had barely managed to survive but they were here and-

“Hello, Warners.”

That voice. That- face-

King Salazar.

Yakko wound up to sucker punch the king right in the face, but soon he and his sibs were surrounded by guards with guns aiming right at their faces. His siblings gasped and clung to him for safety, and Yakko hugged them both. He looked around and saw the other citizens of Acme Falls were getting the same treatment.

“Secure the area!” The king shouted at his troops and soon everyone was dragged off to a camp/fort the king had set up just for them. Yakko gulped nervously as he held his sibs close.

“Y-yakko is everything gonna be okay?” Dot asked nervously.

“I don’t know sibs... I really don’t know...” Yakko merely whispered, not having the strength to say much else.

“ATTENTION!” One guard shouted and everyone turned their heads. “All hail the mighty King Salazar!”

Yakko wanted nothing more than to kick his teeth in.

“That’s King Saladbar? He looks so ugly,” Wakko blabbed without thinking.

“I know right? You’d think with all the money he takes from poor innocent orphans he’d be more fashionable than said orphan,” Dot flaunted her own outfit. Yakko snickered and internally facepalmed at the same time, but the joy he felt left when the King’s eyes fell upon them.

“Plotz!” The King shouted for his loyal tax collector. Yakko gripped his sibling’s hands a little harder.

“Y-yes, your majesty?” Plotz bowed.

“I thought I told you to get rid of the little monsters, they’re still alive.” The king said, and Yakko felt a chill run down his spine.

Apparently, the King didn’t let go of grudges, go fig.

“I-i did my best s-sir,” Plotz said, glancing at the Warners and if Yakko wasn’t full of hatred for the man he’d almost feel pity for him.

“You failed me Plotz,” Salazar shook his head. “Lock him up with the rest of the prisoners. Same for the Constable and those rats with wings.” He snapped his fingers and they were dragged into the line with the rest of the people of Acme Falls.

“As for the Warner...” The king looked at them maliciously.

“Execute them.”

Yakko’s stomach fell to the floor.

Execution.

Them.

This couldn’t be happening.

He had to get them out of this, and fast.

“Ahhhhh, you don’t have to treat us special,” Yakko said, trying to put on a brave face.

“Oh, but I insist,” Salazar grinned, and a guard hit him with his gun to get him moving. Yakko growled and tried to think more, when it hit him.

“Okay Saladbar, have it your way,” Yakko shouted. “But we know secrets about the star that you dont~” He teased.

“We do?” Wakko tilted his head and Yakko elbowed him.

“I-i mean- Yeah we do!” Wakko grinned at the king.

“Like what? Tell me,” The king stomped over and demanded.

“Uh-huh. Well... perhaps we can come to some sort of agreement,” Yakko suggested, teasingly. The King thought about it for a minute and nodded.

“Fine, I’ll take you back to the castle, and you will tell me the secrets of the Wishing Star. Guards, take them away.” Salazar waved his hand after giving the new order and the Warners were dragged over to a cart where they sat, surrounded by guards and waited to be taken to the castle.

“But Yakko, the Wishing Star doesn’t have any secrets,” Dot whispered.

“I know, but he doesn’t know that. It’ll buy us some time to escape and let Wakko make his wish,” Yakko whispered back and his sibs nodded.

Good, at least now they had some semblance of a plan and weren’t being marched off to their doom. Still, things were looking kind of bleak, and Yakko just prayed he could think of something soon and fast.

It quite literally was a matter of life and death.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

[utterlyinevitable]

‘Of all the lies I have ever lived, my favorite was you and I” Ethan x MC. ❤️ love your writing!!

thank you so much!🥰  i hope i did the request justice 🙈

For All The Lies

Word Count: 1.4k Warning: lil bit of angst Summary: This takes place two years after OH2. 

(art by @juliaraeart) ________________________________________

They sat around the fire of the large Cape Cod backyard at Harper’s engagement party. Becca had come as Bryce’s plus one, the surgeon wanting to spend as much time as possible with her while she was briefly back in town. A lot had changed since she accepted a research fellowship across the pond, an easier departure for her since Edenbrook had to make staffing cuts because of a budget shortfall. Becca consciously made the choice to leave the comfort she came to know for an opportunity of a lifetime and subsequently save another person's job.  

She hadn’t seen or spoken to Ethan Ramsey since she accepted a research fellowship. That was two years ago. 

Becca walked into the evening garden party on Bryce’s arm, her petite diamond still shining under the fairy lights. The moment Aurora saw the pair, Becca immediately let go and jogged over to her friend enveloping her in a hug. The two girls had kept in touch over the last few years, even setting up a free movement research programme between their two hospitals.

“What, no hug for me? I thought you loved me,” Bryce pouted at his two friends. 

The women chuckled and opened their arms letting him into the group hug. 

“That’s what I’m talking about. I miss being surrounded by beautiful women.” Ever since Becca left and residency ended last year the usual gang of doctors had spread out all over the globe, leaving Bryce with just one ally at Edenbrook - Elijah.    

One of the attendings waved Bryce over, leaving the two diagnosticians to talk. 

“How was your flight?” 

“Not bad. I’m not jet-lagged at all if I’m honest. Bryce is making sure I don’t pass out any time soon though,” she chuckled before quickly changing the topic, “I can’t believe Dr. Emery’s getting married.” 

Aurora looked directly into Becca’s eyes and said, “Believe me I never thought I’d see the day.” Harper Emery, like all Emery’s, was completely career orientated. Her career had been her longest and only love for as long as Aurora could remember. That’s why when she announced her engagement to the family they all thought it was an April Fools joke. “I’m happy she’s happy.” 

“Me too. Anyone special in your life?” Becca wiggled her eyebrows. 

“Definitely not. I’ll settle down when I’m retired.” 

There was a call for all family members to gather on the balcony for a photo with the happy couple. Aurora gave her friend and sorry smile as she departed. 

Becca timidly made her way over to the bar to grab a glass of champagne. She looked up at the stars shining in the sky and carefully took in her surroundings. She wondered if her own wedding would be as grand and glamorous as this reception. As if thinking the thoughts of her future while in Boston was a charm that summoned ghosts of her past, she heard a gruff clear of a throat from behind her. 

His velvety baritone voice cooed, “Dr. Lao.”

She couldn’t help the smirk that perked at her lips when she heard her name on his tongue - it was a Pavlovian response. 

Rebecca Lao turned around to see Ethan Ramsey apprehensively standing a few feet away, dressed head to toe in his trusty black tux. 

“Dr. Ramsey,” she uttered back. 

In a space of over 300 people they still had such a hold over one another - for time stood still and Ethan and Becca were the only people permitted to move. In the distance a new song began to play from the orchestra.  

Ethan held out his hand, “For old times?”  

Without a second thought she took hold and with a small smile agreed, “For old times.”

The pair planted themselves in a corner of the laid out wooden dance floor and away from the commotion of rambunctious party-goers and attention of others who could misconstrue their embrace. Ethan had his hands respectfully on her waist, while she had her right hand draped over his shoulder and left securely on his chest. 

They swayed back and forth for a labored moment before either of them spoke. 

“Let me see,” Ethan nodded to the jewelry affixed to his chest. For a moment Becca completely forgot about her reality. Hesitantly she lifted her hand and placed it into Ethan’s waiting one. With intrigue and precision he rotated it back and forth, letting the silver diamond catch the light at each angle. “It’s decent,” he nodded in approval.  

“Not too shabby,” she agreed, staring at their interlocked hands. “Doesn’t get in the way and not as distracting.” 

Becca knew she never wanted to make a show of her relationship status, especially in her line of work where she’s constantly using her hands and needing to pull gloves on and off. Anything bigger than 2 carats was too much in her mind. She mindfully thanked her fiance for once again knowing her and her needs better than she herself did.  

“You’ve always been a magpie.” Ethan smirked as he remembered all the times she would get distracted by shiny objects in a shop window, on a screen or even the reflective glare of light.  

She rolled her eyes. 

“How.. have you been?” they weren’t the words he wanted to say but they were the ones their situation called for. He had no right to demand any personal information from her. Hell, he didn’t even deserve the privilege of her company but here she was in his arms after all this time.  

“Busy,” she said with absolutely no humor. “I now know why you preferred a solitary life.” 

Ethan’s face fell with the unintentional sting.  

He pulled his lips back up and pridefully told her, “I read your book.”  

Shock was evident all over Becca’s features. She knew her book was published globally and as an avid reader of all medical journals he was bound to read it. Still, it shook her that after all this time he was still paying attention. “What’d you think? Not as boring as yours, huh.”  

“Satisfactory,” she saw a flicker of mischief dance around his irises. “For a first time author.”  

Becca began to speak, “How -” at the same time Ethan added, “Wh-”.   

She let him continue on with his thought; 

The flicker of light was replaced with a dark cloud as he spoke, “Why didn’t you keep in touch?”  

Becca’s eyes grew heavy with sadness and she tried to look anywhere but at him. “Ethan…” 

He searched her features, using everything he learned about body language from years of doctoring and from knowing her body, for any semblance of an answer. 

All he found was guilt and… something else. 

She went to remove her hand from his and he squeezed it tighter. Her mouth fell agape and turned her gaze to meet his. Blue mimicked brown, both trying to convey all they wish they had the courage to say. Both wanting to mend all the problems they caused and all the decisions they’ve now come to regret. 

The brows above her sorrowful eyes rose, coaxing him to speak. 

Looking at the face of the woman he once passionately cared for, the woman who could see right through his facade, Ethan couldn’t form a coherent retort. He couldn’t think of anything he could say that would make up for all the lost time, all the lost moments. 

She squeezed his hand, egging him on. 

After a harsh inhale Ethan finally relayed the most daunting of words, “Of all the lies I have ever lived, my favorite was you and I.” Finally, after all this time - after all the tears shed he was finally able to say, “I’m sorry I pushed you away.” 

It was as if the admission crippled him, his hands fell from her immediately and he took a step back.  

Becca closed the gap between them once more and placed her hand over his heart. She stared at his chest, remembering the old blissful feeling of their skin on each other, as she maturely admitted, “We were meant to be in each other's lives but not in that way. I know that now, I’m sorry I kept forcing myself on you.” 

“You didn’t force anything.” He shook his head admonishing her words. “I wanted it all, every bit of you.” He placed his hand over her own. His eyes never shifted from her sullen ones that kept themselves fixed on their joined hands. “I’m sorry I wasted all that time lying about my feelings for you. I completely failed you - I know that now.”   

She balled her fist up against him. “Ethan…”  

“Are you happy?” 

“Yes.”  

“I’m glad,” he said with recognition for the most impressive person he has ever met and will ever meet.  

________________________________________

Taglist: @ohchoices​​ @dulceghernandez​​​ @aylamreads​​ @binny1985​​​ @ramseysno1rookie​​​ @interobanginyourmom​​​ @queencarb​​​ @perriewinklenerdie​ @rookiefromedenbrook​​ @eramsey28​​ @choicesficwriterscreations​​ @heauxplesslydevoted​​ @schnitzelbutterfingers​​ @purpledragonturtles​​ @ramseyandrys​​​ @ermidc​​ @mrsdrakewalkerblog​​ @doilooklikeiknow​ @overwhelminglyaquarius​ @drethanramslay

[factual-fantasy]

21 asks, some old some new, all basically just heart warming compliments. ♡ඩᴗඩ♡

You’re welcome!! And thank you so much!! Something I always love to do with characters like this is give them some crazy depth. Give answers for things that the media they’re from never answers. I always work really hard to make it all fit together and really feel natural and I’m so happy you noticed! (இ﹏இ`｡)

I’ll be sure to. I’m still feeling really crummy mentally, but taking a break from my lovely community of fans certainly didn’t make me feel any better. XD

Pfff Kitty cat Pirate man XD

Well you’re sort of right. Captain Barnacles is my favorite character 100%, but the reason why I draw those two together so often is because the show has established that they are really good friends. 

Where ever the Captain is, Kwazii is usually nearby. Kwazii was the only one that knew about the Captains fear, Kwazii is the Octonauts lieutenant, which probably means that they spend a lot time around each other. They share a bed pod, they have had these little interactions that don’t happen with anyone else. Like fist bumps, shoulder pats etc.

They’re even used as an example of symbiosis in the crab and urchin episode! Now, you can interpret that how you’d like, but I believe the show is somewhat subtly trying to push the point that these two are best friends, like family even.

So when ever I draw Captain Barnacles, I always have an incentive to draw Kwazii with him. :}

Honestly by my headcannons, I feel like Kwazii would need it more than anyone else really. But yeah, the Captain could really use me a pick me up. XD

Dawww you’re welcome, I’m just glad everyone likes my art so much. ♡●ᴗ●♡

Th-Thank you!! That’s so sweet!! I’ll Be sure to keep making them!- Be sure to drop in some suggestions you guys so I know what ya’ll want to see!! :}

COMMERE YOU

(before I left for a break)

Well I may have needed more time to “relax”, but I just missed you guys too much lol.

Wow! That’s a lot of shows! I don’t recall really watching.. any of them.. any way uh- that aside, there are several shows I used to watch as a kid. Some weren’t meant for kids but were still funny to me.

For one, like I’m sure a lot of people did, I watched SpongeBob.

I also used to watch, of course, Octonauts. Although that was when I was a wee bit older.

I also used to watch The Three Stooges.. this one was for adults I think but it was still hilarious.

I also used to watch Beetle Baily, although this one was kind of like a once a year tradition type thing we did.

There may be one or two more but I don’t recall.. I mean, we did have one episode of speed racer that I watched over and over and over again. Or.. was it a movie? Heh, I uh, cant really recall.. 

(after my break announcement)

Thank you, turns out taking a break from Tumblr kind’a just made me miss the community. I felt really awful while I was gone but feel a little better after returning sooo.... guess I’m hangin around for a little while longer! :}

No I don’t ship anyone personally, although I can see how some of their dynamics could be seen like that.

Oh! No worries, that’s alright, and that thing is in the description as a heads up kind’a. If I tag my own art as ship or explicitly say it is okay to do so, then go for it. I just don't usually ship characters and don't want my art to be perceived incorrectly.. 

I have watched both Octonauts movies and season 1-3 on Netflix. When it comes to season 4, so far I haven't had much trouble just finding it on YouTube.

When it comes to watching season 4 in order, just go to the episode wiki, find the names in order and keep searching on YouTube until you’re sure you’re on the right episode. Pretty sure you can find basically all the Octonauts episode this way, go ahead and give it a shot! Hope it works!

To keep the fourth wall breaking to a minimum, what would my Transformer OCs think of Octonauts?

Suburban, A.T.Dragster, Green Truck, Escort, Vega, Red Van, Brown Suburban, Miata, AND Honda, most likely wouldn't really be interested and wouldn’t really have an opinion on the show, but they don't make fun of anyone who does watch it. No matter how old. Volvo specifically would respect the educational aspect of the show and most likely wouldn’t pick on anyone for watching it either.

U.M.Dragster would kind’a poke fun at the show and its imperfections. But low key is peeking around the corner wanting to know what the characters do next.

White Truck thinks it pretty cool and kind’a likes to watch it with others, but wont really go out of his way to watch it on his own.

Beluga would probably think its really cute, bet 10 bucks her favorite character is Kwazii.

Ranger would be hooked. She loves everything about Earths water and want’s to learn everything about it. Including the creatures that live in it. She would appreciate the show “dumbing everything down” for her, because she doesn’t know these basic things that kids know. Having everything “dumbed down” makes it easier for her to understand everything.

Jeepy’s driver used to make fun of me for watching it, but now he thinks it neat. So maybe he’d think its silly but eventually come around?

Bash Buggy cant see the screen-

But really Its cool though, he wouldn’t be all that interested in it even if he could watch it anyway.

Daww thank you! ♡●ᴗ●♡

Oh how cool! I never thought so many people grew up watching this too, I thought this show was really obscure! Glad I can share the nostalgia and joy with ya’ll through my art! :}

You mean the Vegimals? These little dudes?

I just haven’t had a good opportunity to draw them yet is all. 

Hmmmm.... let me think.. I feel like my Transformer OCs would mostly like certain aspects of seasonal things, not one season and all of its aesthetics as a whole.

Suburban, Red Van, Escort, Brown Suburban and Green Truck love the bonfire part of colder weather. The warm, bright and surrounded by loved ones aspect of it is what they enjoy. Especially Brown Suburban. He loves bonfires man. The more light and heat the better, that poor mech is freezing his aft off out there in that old manky dark shed all by himself. He just wants to be around his loved ones where its warm and bright.

Miata would probably like pumpkin spice lattes, and just that aspect of fall. Beluga and Honda however would be all over fall and all its traditions. They’d be all over every season really, always up to date with trends and having fun.

The Dragsters are all about summer and its aesthetics. Summer is the prime time for dragstrips and the weather they function most efficiently in so they’re all for it.   

Vega is more about fall. Sure its not really racing weather, but he does like all the pretty colors and the temperature is just right for him.

White Truck would like summer the most. He’d like the attire, the swimming, the warmth, all of it. He’d function a little on the edge I’d think though, he does have a bit of an overheating issue.. but still, I think summers for the win.

Ranger would like summer. Summer = more fish in the water. She loves to look at fish and be out in the water and just explore everything. Summer is when most of the fish are around so she’d really enjoy that. When it comes to seasonal outfits and food? Meh, waters cooler.

Volvo doesn't care for any weather or aesthetics honestly. But would prefer fall for its cooler temperatures. Having so many layers of armor is bound to make you overheat eventually.

Jeepy would like the fall and winter most of all, because of MUD. Going slipin, driftin and slidin with Bash is a real hoot, so he’d really like those seasons. He’s just built for them you know? Plus he’d kill a man for a glass of eggnog so he likes that aspect of cooler seasons too. :}

Bash Buggy likes summer and spring for the temperatures mostly. He also likes winter and fall, but because of the mud, he doesn’t like them for any other reason. Just the mud and goofing around with Jeepy. Everything else about those cold seasons are terrible, and he cant even see all the pretty colors and aesthetics so what does it matter? His body has no insulation anymore so the cold just eats him up, and he cant go outside in the snow because of his blindness and the cold. So he’s stuck shivering indoors while his friends go goof around in the snow without him. Colder seasons suck besides mud, the warmer ones are a win.

I don’t know, it just kind’a makes me uncomfortable. Not all artists are the same, not all artists like that.

It kind of feels like stealing to me in a way, I just don’t like it..

I want to, but I am completely halted by the knowledge that these comics don’t get much traction. They only get a handful of notes when I post them, which just makes them feel like a waste of time.

I’m weird about time. I don't like talking about my interests with others because I know I’m wasting their time and they don’t care anyway.

I am heavily discouraged to draw things online, not just because people steal, but because only a handful of people truly care and get excited about them.

And I mean, a handful of lovely followers, is a handful lovely followers. But you can see how a people pleaser like me would drift towards what people want me to draw instead of what I want to draw.

And when it comes to what people want me to draw? Besides those lovely few, people don’t want to see my comics.

[rotten-games]

Is hair dying a thing in your world? Do the various races and/or countries have common ways/trends of styling their hair (like, elves like to keep their hair tied up and decorated with jewelry or orcs like to loc their hair)? Any fun hair facts?

Hair dying as we know it is probably not the best way to describe how it is done in Aebrex. It’s most often done with a pretty simple spell similar to what someone would use to shapeshift. Some people also make concoctions with bugs or berries and such, but that’s becoming less and less common nowadays.

If we’re talking Xactha, it’s very common for soldiers to cut their hair short if not shave it entirely, this practice is less common in Hadaria but it does happen amongst career military families.

I can say Infernals tend to keep their hair long; and rarely do they cut it at all throughout their lifetime unless they do something considered shameful in which case they’ll either cut part of their hair short or all of it. This is less common in infernals who live among other races since they usually just don’t know the traditions but Druvel clearly heard this tradition from an uncle and absolutely went with it. Lokeira, on the other hand, left home and immediately shaved his entire head. He didn’t keep it shaved, clearly.

Dwarves tend to braid their hair and beards, this is partially tradition, partially practical. Most of their jobs before they came to the surface involved mining or working in conditions where long beards tend to get stuck in things so it’s easier for a braid to be tossed over their shoulders. Plus they can just stick their tools in their beards now. Win-win. This has obviously been maintained over the years and now serves as a traditional hair/beard style for dwarves all over the world.

Elves can vary but as a general rule they often weave grass, reeds or flowers into their hair. Elven priests do often wear headdresses made out of shed antlers or vines, and sea elves will often put clams or shells in their hair and on their clothing both. Otherwise, it’s often kept long and in intricate hairstyles, though this always depends on the type of elf and where they grew up.

Orcs can vary group to group. Some you’ll find tend to keep their hair out of their face, while others do something else entirely. More often than not, though, you’ll find they tend to decorate with jewelry they find along the way. This could serve multiple purposes; to just generally look nice and also to keep valuables on their person because, hey, if a pickpocket gets to them that’s on them for not keeping a closer eye on things.

[imagination-is-key-in-my-world]

Brave

Authors Note: I decided to include parts of the book as well as the television series. I really like the way that it turned out. As a previous sufferer of self-harm this was quite interesting for me to write. Due to this I did not want to make it too lengthy as it can cause some triggers.

Request: Could you do one where Jace notices the reader’s self-harm scars? Also, I was wondering if you could mix the story where she refuses to cry and then Jace sees her self-harm scars.

Pairing: Jace Wayland x Reader

Summary: A Shadowhunter who was not born into a life of Angelic powers now fights off her own inner demons. The consequences of being made Angelic from the Mortal Cup were now catching up to Y/N. While she feels numb to every emotion on this planet, she knows one that is true. The love that she feels for one Jace Wayland. But how is he going to feel when he knows that she has been keeping one part of her life private from everyone she knows.

Warnings: Mental health triggers and references to self-harm. This could also contain swearing.

Word Count: 4,687

“What are you doing here Jace?” I screamed from the bathroom door. Jace and I are in a relationship together which is why it should not have been that big of a deal that he invited himself into my room without warning or permission.

Instead of receiving a response, he just stood there watching me with his mouth gaped open in surprise. “Jace!” I launched a pillow from the nearby bed straight towards his beautiful blonde locks. “I am trying to get ready for training, would you please leave!” I yelled as I clutched the drooping towel around my naked body.

“But I thought that we were going to walk over together.” He pleaded. Jace always did this thing where he would drop his head ever so slightly and look straight up at me, the same way that an innocent puppy would to get the last bite of your sandwich. “You know, as boyfriend and girlfriend.”

“You could have still knocked!” I countered as I shut the door to the bathroom to start getting dressed.

“I wanted it to be a surprise, Y/N.” He huffed. I could tell that he was leaning against the bathroom door in a cheesy ‘I want to be as close to you as I can’ kind of way. “Plus, that Sebastian guy keeps on trying to get closer to you and he should know that you are mine and not his.”

I huff back, “You should know by now that Seb means nothing to me. I am in love with the goofy guy on the other side of this door. Speaking of which, will you move so that I can actually open this door.”

When the door was pushed open, I saw how tired he looked. There were large dark circles residing under his eyes as if he had not slept in days. His hair was dishevelled and his clothes were a little creased from where he possibly threw them into the corner of his room without considering to fold them.

I reach for him and hold onto him tightly. “Are you alright?” I rest my hands on either side of his face and gaze up into his eyes. When he did not respond, I asked again. “Jace? Baby? What is going on?” “His eyes sort of snapped into focus and the corners of his lips rose up into a quick grin.

“Right!” He stood back a step and clapped his hands together. “Are you ready to have your arse kicked?” I grimaced at his sudden change in character. Jace has acted weird the last couple of days and I was starting to get a little worried about him. The constant checking of time and sudden change in emotion was not uncommon lately. But it was not the Jace that I grew to love. Something about him was different.

I snatch his hands and pull him away before he could brush me off once again. “Jace? I think we need to talk.” Before I could even finish my sentence, fear flashed in his eyes.

“What! What do you mean by ‘we need to talk?’ That is the ‘you are breaking up with me’ spiel.” I hold on tightly to his hand as his body starts to go into a minor panic mode. The sort of reaction you would get when you looked everywhere for you weapon during a battle while the demon surges towards you kind of thing. Utter hopelessness. “Don’t do this, please. Is it because of how jealous I get with Sebastian when he gets close to you. I will try to work on it. If it means we can stay together I would do anything. I would change anything, you name it, and I will change it. Just do not do this.”

“Jace!” I screamed shaking his body to revive him from the sudden rant that he had fallen into. “Jace, I am not breaking up with you.” His breath slowed and his cheeks slowly regained some colour in them. “Sit down with me.”

I guided Jace over to the bed where I continued to hold onto his hand tightly. “What’s wrong Y/N?” I noticed that his eyes were welling up slightly.

“I could ask you the same question Jace.” I pause as I let my eyes search his. “You have not been yourself lately. Your hair is messy, your clothes are not as pristine as they normally are and it looks like you have not slept in days.” I sigh, “Baby please just tell me what is going on.”

His shoulders caved in and his head dropped to look at the floor. “I am scared Y/N.” The words came out of his mouth in a whisper. “I am scared because every time I close my eyes, I see myself turning into this monstrous form of myself and I get these awful nightmares and they always end the same way. I either push you away, or I destroy you so much that you crumble away into nothing. I am scared that I am going to ruin you because of what I am.”

“What are you on about! You could not hurt me even if you tried. You are a good person Jace.” Carefully I reach for my sleeve that has started to rise on my arm. Slowly I guide the fabric back down to my wrist to cover up the marks that were not caused by runes. Jace has no clue that I have these and if I had my way he never would. The thing is I was not born a Shadowhunter. I was made one. Unfortunately for me when Valentine stole the Mortal Cup and made me into what I am, there were some problems. Some of the runes that most Shadowhunters can use do not work on us who were made from the Cup. Some runes that would make keeping my secret from Jace that little bit easier – the healing rune.

“You were there! Y/N, you heard what the Angel had to say. Valentine poisoned me with demon blood. He made me into a monster. A monster that may one day hurt the people I love.” He held onto my wrists tightly but not in a way that hurt. “I can not let myself become that, that thing.”

“Jace you are not a monster. Nor will you ever become one. I will not let you.” I searched his eyes for something that possibly seemed like recognition of my words, but there was nothing. He was completely consumed with fear and regret.

“You need to promise me that if I ever become that thing that Valentine wanted me to become that you will kill me.” There it was. A shining drop slowly guiding its way down his cheek only to splash onto my hand. “When or if that day comes, I will need you to kill me, Y/N.”

I pulled his head onto my lap and gently smoothed his hair as he wept. Seeing Jace cry like this did truly break me. But I had no similar reaction when I heard those words. I do not know whether it was because I knew he would never do anything to hurt me, or because I was programmed to be this Shadowhunter that was not able to feel that sort of way. It was hard for me to accept why I was so different. Why I could not cry over things that happened to me. When I saw my mother die, when my father disowned me when he saw what I had become thanks to Valentine or when Jace told me he loved me for the first time. During all these milestones, I had not cried once. The thing is I do feel pain, I feel suffering and I feel loneliness. But I respond in a different way. While most people can get the pain out of their head by crying or opening up, I cannot. Instead I open something else up. I know it sounds bad, but it is the only thing that lets me truly feel those emotions, no matter how long they last. Only after I am done feeling my own ‘pain,’ I can not wipe the slate and pretend that it did not happen, the way that most people can do by shedding a tear. The memory is left on my arm forever.  

“Jace, I will never hurt you, just like I know in my heart that you will never hurt me.” His crying was slowing down which was a good sign. I leaned down and placed a kiss on Jace’s cheek. “I love you too much to do anything to hurt you.”

Jace began to sit up and rub at his eyes to remove the tear stains. “I wish I could be as brave as you. Everyone seems to think I am the big brave Shadowhunter. When really it is you who is the brave one. I would love to know for one day what that felt like.”

Those words hit home. Jace would never have said those words if he really knew what was going on with me. What was really going on in my head. I am not brave; I was built to be numb to fear. “You do not want to be brave baby.”

I passed him a tissue from my nightstand and gave him one last cuddle. “Trust me, Jace.”

***

Training was stressful. I mean training could never be exciting or fun for another word for it. I never really expect much when I go, just sweat and hard work. It was intense. Training might have been easier if it was limited to just me and him. The thing is, Jace has this massive problem with some of the other Shadowhunters. He knows that a few of them treat me slightly different to the rest because of the way that I acquired my abilities. Unlike the rest of them, I was not born Angelic. In fact, I was a little reckless before the Cub changed my life. Since then, some view me as unworthy to hold this gift. Sometimes, I would be inclined to agree with them.

Unfortunately, for us during the training session, it was not just me and Jace like we had wished it would be. Sebastian was there and I could tell that Jace was unnerved by the idea of sharing the same space with him. With almost animalistic qualities, Jace would bare his teeth whenever Sebastian came close to us. I do not know whether Sebastian is interested in me because of how I reached this point in my life, or for other reasons. Either way, Jace has decided that he does not like him. Therefore, when Jace has made his mind up about someone, it is often quite difficult to change.

“Why can’t you just tell him to fuck off?” Jace turned to me. Clearly annoyed by his whole presence in the institute let alone the training room. “He is trying to piss me off and I know it. Please babe, can you just say something.” It was not as if Jace and Sebastian had ever had words about me. It is just Jace can not stand his whole entire existence. It was almost as if he smelt something rotten about him.

“Jace, babe. We need to be able to share this room. You know what Alec said, we can not be having any privileges now that he is running the institute. I mean he has made so many allowances for us already. We are the only two Shadowhunters who are not married who can share the same room simply because you said you were afraid for my own protection. Alec is not going to suddenly change more rules around here for us.” I hold onto his shoulder as I stretch out the muscles in my leg. “Plus, I am not interested in him one bit. Therefore, he should not pose that much of an issue for you. And stop growling at him already, you are starting to drool a little.”

Jace scoffed a little and picked me up. I let out a small squeal at the sudden contact that he had made. “Can you both just get a room.” Clary said as Jace’s lips collided with my own. “I mean I am starting to feel a little queasy. I looked over to see that Clary was holding her stomach and pretending to bend over to throw up.

“We have one. Thanks though.” Jace mocked as he continued to kiss me. “I mean you could all leave and we could have this room to ‘continue working up a sweat.’” I swatted his arm as Clary let out another fake gag noise.

While Clary saw the fun in the whole situation, it was clear to me that Sebastian had not. In the corner of my eye I could see Sebastian staring right at me and Jace with a furious look in his eye. I clocked onto the spear that he was holding in his hands. However, the spear was not resting between two of his hands, it was now in two pieces in either hand. I shivered at the sight of the metal weapon now residing in two parts. His face was the epitome of disgust and anger mixed into one.

Due to the kind of Shadowhunter that I am, there were not many things that could startle me in the slightest. However, looking at Sebastian and the broken spear did something to me that I did not think was possible. It scared me.

“Earth to Y/N?” Jace waved one hand in front of my face when I must have missed the last few attempts to gain my attention. “Hey? What’s up with you. Clary and I were only having a laugh.”

Clary looked over concerned that she may have offended me. She was one of my ‘closest friends’ in the Institute as she knew how much of an outside I felt when I first joined. But behind her grew an even angrier Shadowhunter. Sebastian’s chest was rising and falling with an increasing pace. My eyes were locked onto his, for once I felt a little afraid.

“I know.” I forced a fake laugh but I never lost eye contact with Sebastian. Jace continued to talk to Clary as I fought back this intense feeling inside of me that was telling me to run and to take Clary and Jace with me. I watched as Sebastian picked up a dagger from the table. He too did not break eye contact with me. Unlike the spear, he did not break this weapon. Instead he held onto it and bounced it up and down in his palm. Almost as if he were deliberating what he was going to do with it.

“Jace?” I whispered as I watched Sebastian hold onto the dagger. “Jace?” I repeated as his arm lifted above his shoulders and began to fold slightly behind his back. “Jace!” I screamed and launched myself in front of Jace as the dagger left Sebastian’s hand and entered my back. I heard a scream when my body was thrusted against Jace’s caused from the impact from the dagger.

Jace’s face was white, as was Clary’s. He did his best to hold me up as my legs began to weaken beneath me. “Y/N?” Fear washed over Jace as he tried to come to terms with what had just happened. “Clary, go and alert Alec of the attack.” When Clary was frozen still, he yelled at her again. “Clary now!”

The dagger hurt of course but nothing hurt more than the fact that if I were a couple seconds slower that this would have resulted in a different outcome. One that I did not even want to stomach.

She ran off in the direction of Alec’s office. “Pull it out, Jace. Please, I can not reach it.” I wanted to cry from the pain caused by the dagger but instead I just felt empty. The soring pain rushed throughout my shoulder once the blade was removed. It was lodged between my shoulder blades; however, it was slightly more to the right of my spine which lucky for me means that there should not be too much long-lasting damage. If I had not have reacted in time, the dagger would have been perfectly aligned with Jace’s heart. A risk that I was not going to take.

I knew that Sebastian and Jace had issues, but I did not think they were that bad that Sebastian would try and kill Jace over them.

The entire time Jace had tried his best to keep his cool. To stop himself from wanting to run off and find Sebastian and bury the dagger deep in his heart just like he had intended for him. Jace lifted my legs up and carried me to the infirmary where Isabelle and Max were playing cards in one of the spare beds.

“What the fuck happened!” Isabelle proclaimed as she saw the mess that my shoulder was in. “Who did this?” Max jumped off the bed and started prepping the bed ready for Jace to place me onto. The little boy was worried. I had never seen him look that afraid whenever I was around. He once told me that he always felt safe when he had Jace, Alec, Isabelle, Clary and myself in the room with him. But now he was shaking like a leaf.

“Sebastian.” Jace murmured. “See I told all of you that Sebastian was a creep and no one wanted to listen to me. Turns out he is not a creep, but a complete and utter arsehole.” Jace punched the infirmary door once and then winced at the pain that rushed throughout his hand.

“Language!” Isabelle declared as soon as the word ‘arsehole’ left Jace’s lips. “Max is here!”

“Are we going to just forget the fact that you just said the word ‘fuck’ then?” Jace countered. “When I find the son of a-” Jace looked over at Max before rephrasing himself. “Angel, I will make sure that he does not take another breath. Jace was unnerved by the attack and he was not thinking straight. I have seen him act like this a couple times, but not when it came to considering taking another Shadowhunter’s life, even if it was Sebastian.

“Jace. I am okay. There is no need to go and do that.” I whimper as I attempt to adjust myself on the bed so that I was no longer leaning on top of my wound.

“There you go, defending him again.” Jace snapped. I have seen Jace angry before, but this time he was angry within reason. When he gets like this there is no way anyone can reason with him. “Why the fuck do you do that for. He just tried to kill me but he ended up hurting you instead and you will not let me do anything about it. Sometimes it is like you treat him more like your boyfriend than you treat me.”

“Jace!” Isabelle snapped but Jace brushed her off and stormed out of the room. Isabelle looked sympathetic. I could tell that she was torn over who she should go to, me or Jace. “He does not mean it, Y/N. He is just angry.”

I sigh from the pain, “More reason for you to go after him.” She looked over at me with mixed emotions. “I will be okay. Just make sure that he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

She handed me a spare blade that she had in her belt and took off with Max closely behind. Finally, I could be alone and deal with my pain in my own way without any judgements.

***

I looked at the dagger for what must have been 5 minutes. I balanced it in my left hand and watched as the light caught onto the metal. I was in so much pain and I wanted desperately to take the pain away. I scanned the room to ensure that there were no Shadowhunters lurking about as no one would understand the need that I had to do this. I needed to take this pain away, and I could only do it by hurting myself more.

It only took a minute to glide the blade over my arm parallel with the fresh scars. I watched as the blood coated the blade and I felt this rush of overwhelming relief. I let my head fall back onto the cushion and I closed my eyes. I sort of imagine that this is what heroin feels like. A sense of abandonment from the body allowing the soul to feel free. My head buzzed from the loss of blood but it felt good, it felt like my body was cleansing itself.

I let myself think back to the incident. What I could have done differently. But instead of defending Jace, a vision popped into my head that I desperately wished had not. It showed me watching the event happen. But this time, I was further away from Jace. I tried desperately to reach him but it was almost as if I was being held back by something. When I turned my head in the dream, I noticed the snarled face that was Valentine. “Now, now my little prodigy. He told you he wanted to die before anything or anyone hurt you. Let him have his wish. But why he would want to risk his own life for you is unjust. I mean, you’re not even a real Shadowhunter.”

“Y/N? What did you do?” Jace’s voiced boomed in my ears, resulting in my body shooting to an upright position. I sort of panicked when I felt the cool air drag across my arm, revealing the scars that were laid out for him to see, including the fresh one that I made while he was possibly risking his own life trying to defend me.

“Nothing, I didn’t do anything Jace.” I lied clawing at the fabric on my sleeve to bring it down over the marks. Of course, I felt ashamed. I saw the look in his eyes and it made me feel like I had broken the boy that I love.

As fast as I had brought the sleeve down, Jace was at my side bringing it back up. “What the hell is this?” He was pointing directly to the cuts on my flesh. He did not yell at me. His voice was soft and calm. The calmest it probably had been since the incident.

“Jace, I-”

“Babe please do not lie to me. I have eyes, I can see what you have done to yourself. What I want to know is why you did it?” He stared at me and I could tell that he was looking at a completely different person to the one he thought he knew. I searched his person for any sign of blood but there was none. Isabelle must have caught up with him before he could do anything to Sebastian. Well anything bloody that is.

“After everything that I said this morning about wanting to die before I let myself hurt you. While this whole time you have been hurting yourself.” Tears were filling his eyes again and I could not even force myself to look away. “I told you that my life was not worth living if you were not in it. So why are you doing this to yourself.”

I was speechless for a while. It is not that I didn’t have an excuse to tell him. It was that I did not want to lie to him anymore. The words that I had were not going to be enough to fix how broken I had just made the boy I love. I felt my body fighting the urge to react but this reaction was a stranger to me.

“I am not brave.” Were the words that broke through the surface.

“What?”

“This morning, you said you wanted to be brave like me. Only I am not brave. Not even close. From the moment that Valentine did this to me, I was the one who changed. Not only my strengths and abilities, but my emotions to. I became this numb being. A shell of a person who cannot feel things.”

“If you can not feel things, does that mean that you do not love me?” The words were caught in his throat. Trapped behind the tears that were spooling from his eyes. “Did you ever love me?”

“No, Jace. I do love you. That is the one emotion that I know I have. From the moment that I met you I knew that I loved you.”

“How can you know that?” He interrupted.

“I know I love you because every time you get close to me, my heart beats faster. Every time you kiss me, I feel like I belong with you. Every time you say you love me; my cheeks flush and I feel warm in every part of my body. I know I love you because I know that no matter what is broken inside of me, that whenever I am with you, I feel stronger and almost whole. I know that if you are not with me that my whole world will come crashing down. Living is not possible without you. That is why I love you. You make me a better person. Someone who is worth loving.” There was a cold sensation on my hand. I dropped my hand and saw a wet spot that had fallen on top of my skin.

Jace’s hand rose to my cheek, his thumb ran across the space underneath my eye. “I don’t think I have ever seen you cry.”

I shake my head. It was actually happening. I was crying for the first time in years. “That is because this is the first time.” I choke as the tears continue to flood from my eyes. Jace pulled me into him and held me against his chest. “I am so sorry for what I have done.” Within seconds the tears became more rapid and fell quicker from my eyes.

“Can I fix it?” Jace whispered as he reached for his stele from his belt. I shook my head.

“I have tried. Those runes do not work on me.” He kissed my head and continued to hold onto me. “I guess it is the Angels’ punishment for me being the way that I am. For being a reckless and untrue Shadowhunter. When I apply those types of runes all it does is burn and disappear.”

“Will you tell me what is going on? Why you do this to yourself? Maybe if you tell me, then I can make it better and you won’t have to do it anymore?”

I sat there for about an hour explaining it to him and then again to the doctor when he tried to apply the healing rune to my back. I told him about how empty I feel and how hard it was to feel any sort of emotion that made me weak. I told him that love did not make me weak because when I was with Jace I was the strongest person of the planet. That is why I can feel love and nothing else. Jace was understanding but he still looked at me like a frail little girl. “Jace, I am not weak you know.” I looked up at him as my head was resting against his lap. “Now that you know everything about me, I hope you don’t start thinking that I am weak.”

Jace’s head tilted down to look at me directly in the eyes. “I would never think that. I know who you really are.” He whispered, pushing back the strand of hair that had fallen onto my nose.

“Who am I really?” I questioned as I looked up at the man that I knew I loved more than anything in the whole entire world.

“Brave.” He kissed my forehead. “The bravest person I have ever known.”