#realised it was her birthday and rushed to draw her

[natashadewinter]

happy birthday sumire!!!

[prazinos]

Love At First..Sight?

Summary ~ You’ve been pining over Ajax Petropolus for what feels like forever. But there’s no way he could reciprocate your feelings, right? You would actually be surprised

WARNINGS ! ~ Minors DNI | Sexual Innuendos | Fluff

You always liked the young gorgan boy with his sweet smile and lovely sense of humour. You’ve had a tiny crush on him for a while but you’d never act on your feelings of course, but your friends were getting sick of you pining over him

‘Oh my god Y/N just go and talk to him, he won’t bite!’ Bianca groaned, you ignored her attempts at trying to get you to fess up ‘the worst he can do is say no!’ She continued.

‘What’re we talking about?’ Enid asked walking over to the table you, Bianca, Wednesday and Xavier were sitting at. Bianca groaned rubbing her eyes with her hands

‘I believe they’re talking about Ajax, Cara Mia’ Wednesday said, not looking up from her book. You watched as Enid’s eyes lit up from the nickname, and you wished Ajax would call you something like that. Enid sat down next to Wednesday resting her head on Wednesdays shoulder grimacing at what Wednesday was reading.

‘Okay listen, Y/N, you are gorgeous, funny, kind, smart, what’s there not to like?’ Bianca asked

‘I don’t know, I just don’t think he reciprocates my feelings’ you respond gloomily.

You walked next to Bianca in the large, long hallway. Thinking about Ajax once again, what can you say? He was gorgeous and you’ve always seen glimpses of his snakes when one of them comes out from under his beanie but you wondered what he would look like without the beanie. Granted, you would be stoned but you think being stone for a few hours is worth seeing his ‘hair’.

You and Bianca finally arrived to Serial Studies and watched as Bianca ran to sit next to Xavier, which confused you. While yes they’re on good terms and are friends after they broke up, she’s never rushing to sit next to him.

You look around the room for a free seat and notice there’s only one. Next to Ajax. You glared at Bianca and Xavier who both just snickered.

As you sat down Ajax gave you a tight lipped smile before writing down some notes.

You finally heard the sweet melodic sounds of Nocturne in A minor. Signalling that class was over, you quickly walked out of the classroom not being able to control the blush on your neck and face. You practically ran back to your dorm slamming it shut with your telekinesis and had a pillow to fly towards you before screaming into it, what if Ajax realised you had a crush on him? What if he thought you were weird? What if-

You heard knocks on your door and you groaned, walking over to it before swinging it open

‘Enid we’re not supposed to hang out until seven’

You cut yourself off when you noticed that there wasn’t a bubbly multi colour haired girl standing in front of you, instead a tall lanky snake haired boy stood before you. Your eyes widened before he spoke

‘Hey uh-sorry I didn’t mean to intrude I just noticed that you kinda dropped something and I’m here to, you know give it back’ Ajax said awkwardly, you looked at his outstretched hand taking the piece of paper that was being held.

You unfolded it to realise it was a drawing that Xavier had done for you, it was of yourself and Ajax sitting on a windowsill drinking from plastic cups, talking. Well you were laughing. Something that had actually happened at a party, Xavier had drawn it for you for your birthday and you had kept it in your notebook because you love looking at it.

Ajax must’ve noticed your flushed face and he stepped inside, and closed the door

‘Look um Y/N I was never gonna say anything but I um-I think you’re really pretty and cool and smart and god you always make me laugh and sometimes when im lying in bed thinking about you I wonder if your thinking about me and it sounds crazy I know but-‘

You cut him off by shoving him against the closed door with your telekinesis and grabbing him to pull him down by his collar before kissing him,

He froze at first before relaxing into the kiss and moving one of his hands to your jaw, then your cheek. You smiled into the kiss as did he. You don’t think anything could feel better than this.

After what felt like forever you finally pulled back feeling lightheaded after kissing for so long. You opened your eyes only to jump back in fear

Ajax looked mortified as he heard hissing and looked down to see his beanie on the floor. What he didn’t understand was how you weren’t stoned

After your initial shock and after calming down realising you weren’t stoned nor were going to get stoned, the snakes looked at you in almost admiration,

Ajax was still frozen still, did you think his snakes were weird? Terrifying?

‘They’re so cute oh my god’ you said reaching out to his head, the snakes allowed you to lightly pat them with the tip of your finger and Ajax relaxed ‘i don’t even know how I’m not stoned’ you continued.

Ajax smiled as his leaned down to kiss you again. You giggled into the kiss as you felt the snakes tickling the sides of your face, Ajax broke away laughing as well and he hugged you.

‘panemorfi’ he whispers into your hair

‘What?’

‘Gorgeous’ he smiles down at you. You smile back a warmth covering you from head to toe, you always thought it was cute how Wednesday called Enid Cara Mia but being called panemorfi by Ajax it was something else, the way it rolled off his tongue sent shivers down your spine.

You glanced at the clock before glancing back down at the boy who was asleep, his head resting on your stomach. You smiled as you stroked his snakes carefully and lightly. But the sweet moment was cut short as Bianca, Xavier, Wednesday and Enid burst through the door.

You were quick to pull the blanket over Ajax as you didn’t know if he would still stone them while asleep.

‘We’re supposed to be hanging out Y/N, what do you think you’re doing?’ Bianca asked

‘I-um nothing I guess I just fell asleep’ you answered hoping to be convincing

‘You’re a terrible liar Y/N’ Xavier sighed.

All of their eyes widened as they noticed your blanket move that couldn’t have been you. Then they heard yawning

‘What? Why am I-‘

You cut Ajax off by grabbing the beanie you had next to your pillow and shoving it over his face

‘Woah what were you guys doing?’ Bianca asked smiling wickedly

‘I believe the term is cunnilingu-‘

Wednesday attempted to answer before a hand was slapped over her mouth by Enid

You pulled the blanket down revealing Ajax and everyone gasped, Ajax smiled sleepily at them yawning again

‘He wasn’t doing anything I swear he was just asleep on my stomach and he had his snakes out and I didn’t know if they still work when he’s asleep’ you answered.

‘What that’s not possible just say that he was getting a taste of your-‘ Xavier groaned as Enid elbowed him in the stomach.

‘Actually it is possible, some have the ability to not be stoned if the gorgan is in love with them’ Bianca said casually.

You looked down at Ajax with wide eyes as he looked up at you, he looked so cute like this, he looked like a puppy and you smiled at him before tapping his side telling him to get up. He rolled off you before you went to your closet, quickly changing (out of sight) and back towards your friends.

‘You’re welcome to join us Ajax’ Xavier said smiling

Ajax nodded, adjusting his beanie before jogging over to you guys.

As you walked down the hall you, Wednesday, Enid, and Bianca walked in a line and behind you the boys were talking. Faintly thought you all heard a disturbing conversation.

‘So dude do you have like snakes for pubes?’

‘XAVIER!’

A/N ~ Wow two in like a few hours although this one isn’t smut ! Also please know I did use google translate </3

I also will be doing requests as soon as I do a post about boundaries and stuff <3

Thank you whoever said Cara Mia was Italian not Spanish oh my god I’m an idiot 😭

Please let me know if you enjoyed this by Liking, Reblogging, Commenting, or following!

Cara Mia ~ My Beloved {Italian}

Penamorfi ~ Gorgeous {Greek}

Thank you my loves <3

[writtenbymisunderstoodnerds]

Best day of my life (USWNT x ADHD reader)

Song: The one my heart beats for by Greg Steinfeld

This took longer than I expected and I got a bit carried away, but it's finally done!

I love this series, but I think it might be coming to an end. I'm open to doing one more part if you guys might want one, let me know and feel free to send me some ideas!

Warnings: Panic attack, self doubt

Part One, Two, Three, Four

Words: 7.3k

"What's got you so excited today?" Tierna asked sitting down next to me on the field. While I had tried to tone it down a bit, I was very hyperactive today. My hyperactivity was always worse when I was excited, there was pretty much nothing that could be done to stop it. Ally had to go back home for a month for work. We hadn't been apart for that long since her promotion so I was suffering. She was coming back today so it was safe to say I was extremely excited.  

"Take a guess."

"Something to do with your better half I'd say. Is she coming back today?"

I did a little wiggle before flopping back onto the grass, "Yup. A month is way too long to not be with her. Oh! It's also her birthday in a few days! I love her birthday because it's the one day I get to go all out spoiling her and she can't complain about it." 

"You two are adorable, I love how excited you get to see her. We should do a team dinner to celebrate Ally's birthday. Is the wedding planning all done?"

"You guys would really want to celebrate her birthday? Um also mostly, we just need to sort out wedding rings and honeymoon."

Tierna looked at me like I had just said the craziest thing ever, "You're marrying her, we see her almost as much as you and she is amazing. Y/n, Ally is family now, of course we want to celebrate her. What rings are you going to get?"

The problem was, I had no idea what my ring was going to be. I had been scouring the internet and countless jewelers for anything that might work, but I was drawing a blank. Rings were a sensory nightmare for me, I could wear them for a short time before they started driving me crazy. Ally had gotten me a few rings over the years, mostly fidget rings. She knew I liked them and wanted to try adjusting even though I always ended up wearing them on a chain. It was my wedding ring though, I wanted to be able to wear it normally, to show off that I was married.

"I don't know. I think Ally is going to use her engagement ring since she loves it so much. I really struggle with wearing rings so we were talking about getting me a fidget ring though a fancier one to fit as a wedding ring. That way I can play with it and hopefully it'll help me get used to it. Ally wouldn't care if I wore it on a chain, but I want to wear it like normal people do, I want to show off I'm married T."

"Hey, don't go comparing yourself to others okay? I think a fidget ring is a great idea and it's awesome you're trying to adjust even if it makes you uncomfortable. Just be patient with yourself and if all else fails, just get it tattooed."

"That's not a silly idea. Thanks T."

---

"Hey Y/n, wher-"

"Don't have time," I yelled running away from Emily. Ally had messaged saying she was downstairs. I was very excited to see her, but I also wasn't going to let her carry her bags up herself. Whenever we went anywhere, I carried her bags. Ally had messaged me when she was already in the lobby, so I was in a rush to beat her before she could come up. 

Before Ally had the chance to turn around I wrapped my arms around her waist and spun her around. She squealed, well at least the person I was currently spinning around squealed. As soon as I heard it, I realised it wasn't Ally. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I thought you were someone else."

The women laughed, before turning around to reveal Ally's younger sister. When you see her face on, they look nothing alike, but behind they look very similar, "Hi Y/n."

"Dani? What are you doing here? Where's Ally? I'm very confused."

"Ally's over there getting her key. I'm in town for a work conference so figured I'd come see Ally for her birthday." By this point, the coaches just automatically roomed me alone, but put down for two so Ally could stay with me. There had been a bit of push back when Ally first started traveling with me, though it was quickly realised that I played better when sharing a room with Ally.

After giving Dani a proper hug, I pulled away to go find Ally. There was no way I was going to repeat what just happened so instead I tapped Ally on the shoulder once she was clearly identified. "A warning would have been nice y'know, I just picked up and spun around your sister. Like I'm not complaining, I love your sister, but I love you more."

"I know, I saw and it was hilarious." I pouted. Ally giggled, pulling me into a hug and subtly kissing my neck. We didn't go out of our way to hide our relationship, but we were more careful in public. Things were easier without the public interfering, I also didn't want Ally to have to deal with the meanness of some of the fans. "I'm sorry my love. It was a last minute plan."

I pretended to think about it for a second before smirking, "Hmm I'll forgive you later when we're alone."

Ally blushed, but pulled me over to Dani without a word. I could only guess what was going through her mind. Dani had become like a sister to me pretty much as soon as we had met. So despite my initial embarrassment, I was actually really excited to see her. She was only a few months younger than me and much to Ally's dismay, she did match my energy most of the time. Ally loved that we got along, but it meant she had to deal with two crazy people. 

It was too early for dinner yet so Ally, Dani and I hung around in our room for a while catching up and talking about wedding stuff. Dani made me sit through the torture of looking at her possible dress choices. Ally loved it, but I would rather be doing anything else. Dani literally sat on me though, so there was no other option. 

Ally was taking too long to get ready so Dani and I decided to wait for her in the lobby. I had spent too much time sitting down and was feeling restless so I ran down the stairs while Dani walked behind me, complaining she wasn't an athlete and to slow down. I just flipped her off and ran faster, knowing full well that if Ally or Ali found out I would be in trouble.

Dani had decided to chase me after flipping her off. Some of the team were hanging around the lobby so I made a beeline to Ali and hid behind her, though Dani hadn't given up. I managed a few laps around Ali before she grabbed my shirt, allowing Dani to catch me. The team watched on as Dani tickled me, while I tried to fight her off. It wasn't an easy task given the full blown fits of laughter, but I managed to get her into a headlock. 

Eventually, Dani pulled out of my grip, doubling over in laughter while attempting to catch her breath. I followed suit, not realising how many eyes were currently on us. "Uh hey Y/n and mystery women who's not your fiancé."

My head shot up as I realised how strange this probably looked to them. "Right, this is Dani. Dani the team."

"Hello team."

"Where's Ally?" Ali asked, still looking very confused.

"She was taking too long to get ready as always so we left without her. We're always waiting on her, such a slowpoke." Dani answered, getting raised eye brows in response. A few of the team looked like they wanted to say something, but held back. It was then I realised I hadn't actually told them who Dani was.

"Dani is Ally's sister by the way. She's in town for work so we thought we'd go out for an early birthday dinner for Ally."

"Ohh that makes more sense. Nice to meet you Dani."

Ally caught my eye, looking stunning as always. I was really looking forward to having time alone with her. Not necessarily for inappropriate reasons, but to cuddle with her, the lazy make out sessions before we fell asleep or when we woke up and just being close to her. Dani flicked my ear, running out of my reach. Ali dodged me as I ran around her, moving to the safety of where Ally was standing, "Are they always like that?"

"Unfortunately. Dani matches Y/n's energy pretty much constantly so it's like having a hyperactive Y/n, times like 10 because they feed off each other. Dani is like the sister Y/n never had. They're happy, so I'm happy even though it's exhausting sometimes. I'll give them a few minutes to tire themselves out before stopping them, hopefully they'll sit through dinner."

"Good luck. The team and I were thinking we could go out for dinner to celebrate your birthday. Either on the day or a day around it. What do you think?"

"I would love that." Ally's smile caught my eye, distracting me from where I was going and making me run into Kristie. She stopped me from falling, but all my attention was still on Ally. It was one of her genuinely happy smiles, something that people wouldn't be able to tell apart from her regular smiles. This smile was more lopsided and toothy, the corner of her eyes crinkling just a bit more. Besides her love filled smile it was my favourite smile. Kristie and Dani followed my eye line when I didn't say anything for a while, "What are you looking at?"

"She's looking at Ally of course. She's in looooove."

"More than I ever thought possible," I mumbled, moving over to stand next to Ally. "I love you."

---

We had finished dinner a little while ago and had been walking around, but we all had to be up early so we dropped Dani at her hotel before starting the short walk back to ours. There weren't that many people around so my arm wrapped around Ally's shoulder, pulling her against me as we walked. "I love everyone and everything, but I'm really glad we're alone now. I missed you."

Ally kissed the spot under my ear, "I missed you too Y/n/n. Thankfully, I don't think I'll need to spend that much time away for a while."

"Good. Mmm I can't wait to cuddle."

"I believe you hinted at something earlier."

"Oh yeah, you giving me a massage to make up for not telling me about Dani."

Ally groaned, pushing me away, "You're such a tease."

I laughed, pulling Ally back into me, peppering her face with kisses, "I'm sorry."

"Nah," She pouted, walking away and into the hotel. I went to chase after her, but a group of fans outside the hotel called out to me. Interacting with fans was one of my favourite things to do so of course I went over. I knew she wasn't seriously mad or anything so it made me feel less bad about going over to them. Also, she was waiting just inside giving me reassuring smiles. Ten minutes and dozens of photos later, I made my way back into the hotel, following Ally into the elevator. 

My arms wrapped around her waist from behind, leaving light kisses across her neck. Sometimes, I felt bad that Ally had to deal with me being well known to the public. She never complained about it, instead keeping her distance and allowing me to interact as I wanted to. The guilt was hitting pretty hard right now though.

Once we were back in the room, Ally cupped my cheek, pulling me in for a slow, lingering kiss, "What's wrong?"

I shrugged, not meeting her eyes, "Nothing."

"Liar. You haven't said a word since you came inside, you got all soft and touchy suddenly so talk to me."

 "You're the best you know that? It can't be easy dating someone who's in the public eye all the time."

"You're feeling guilty again aren't you?" I just nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed. Ally straddled my legs, letting my head fall against her shoulder. "Y/n, I knew before we started dating that you were in the public eye and that once you got called up, it would only get worse. Maybe it's not always easy, but if I couldn't handle it, then I wouldn't have pursued you, let alone agreed to spend the rest of my life with you. You're respectful about it, you know the time and place to leave me to interact with them. Please don't feel guilty Y/n/n. Now, I know it's getting late, but I've really really missed you so what do you say we get reacquainted."

Once we were thoroughly reacquainted and cuddled up in bed for the night, I completed my nightly routine of scrolling the internet for my wedding ring. This time though I think I found the one. It was a simple black titanium fidget ring, engraved with shooting stars. They were subtle as they were black and flush with the surface. Ally absolutely loved stars so it would be a little reminder of her when we were apart. Another perk was there was the option to have the band width smaller which would be perfect.

I quickly rolled over toward Ally, making her look at me confused. "Baby I think I finally found my ring."

"Ooo show me." Ally grinned after seeing the photo, kissing my temple, "I love it. Stars because of me right?"

"You know me too well. A part of you for when you're not around."

"You're such a sap."

I cuddled against her side, leaning up to connect our lips, "Only for you Ally."

"Better be. Now we've got everything else sorted, we need to plan our honeymoon."

"Honestly, I don't even know where to start. There are so many options."

"Well, you've always talked about wanting to go back to New Zealand to explore the south island. Maybe we could do that? It'll be winter, but it'll be ski season."

"Wait really? That sounds amazing. It kinda fits, skiing was our first trip as a couple and it'll be our first trip as a married couple. I'll look into game schedules so we can book it."

---

Something anyone could tell you was that I was not in the slightest a morning person. I hated waking up early and would do everything to avoid it. That being said, there were three days in a year that I naturally woke up early for. They were Ally's birthday, our anniversary and since meeting Ally, Christmas. This morning I was awake at 7:30am because it was Ally's 27th birthday. It was too early to wake her up so I spent almost an hour enjoying cuddles before getting restless and sneaking out of bed to find breakfast for us. 

I peppered Ally's face with kisses. She groaned, shoving her face further against my chest, "Baby wake up it's your birthday!"

"Why does my birthday have to be one of the three days a year you turn into a morning person?" Ally groaned.

"Because I get to spoil you and you can't complain. Now I got you breakfast. I couldn't make it this year, but I found a cafe close by that had all your favourites so you gotta wake up."

Ally protested, but sat up anyway, taking the coffee with a sleepy smile. We ate breakfast in comfortable quite, some random show playing in the background. I just wanted to give her the presents I got, but I wanted her to enjoy her breakfast while it was warm so I waited impatiently. As soon as Ally finished eating, I pecked her lips before practically running to the cupboard where I had hidden them.

"Y/n, why did you get me so much? You know you don't have to."

"I don't have to, I want to so deal with it. Besides, it's only three things. You are an amazing, incredible women who deserves to be spoilt. I love you so much. Happy birthday my love."

"Thank you Y/n/n. I do appreciate it even though I don't like you buying me heaps of stuff. I love you."

"I know, now open them!"

In all honesty, I wanted to buy Ally much more than I actually did, but I knew she would feel really bad and not enjoy them as much. Instead I stuck with matching silver initial necklaces with a heart pendant, a star map of the night I proposed and a custom engraved keychain with a photo of me standing behind Ally, arms wrapped around her as she looked back at me with a huge grin. It was her favourite photo of us. These were all things that she had talked about wanting. Ally grinned, launching herself into my arms giggling. "You remembered. Thank you, I love them."

"You wanna know a secret?" Ally nodded quickly, "You know my memories shit so whenever you point something out that you want or talk about, I write it down in my phone notes so I remember."

"Really? You're so sweet Y/n/n. Put this on for me?"

I secured the necklace around her neck, leaving kisses across her neck and jaw before leaving a lingering kiss against her lips. "I have a whole day planned for you. Don't even ask because it's all a surprise."

We spent a while making out before moving to the shower and finally leaving the hotel. Ally went for a spa and massage session, while I went to get stuff required for a picnic lunch at the gardens. It was a little bit chilly, but Ally loved picnics so it was still perfect. We just used it as an excuse to cuddle the whole time. After the picnic, we walked around for a little bit before going to a board game cafe. They had a heap of board games you could play while you were there. While board games may not have been my thing, they were definitely Ally's and her birthday was all about things that she liked doing. That night, I took Ally to a restaurant where the team were waiting to surprise her. Of course we finished the night cuddled up in bed watching all of Ally's favourite movies. 

---

I felt multiple intense and overwhelming feelings as I read the text from an unknown number. 

Unknown: Hi Y/n, it's mum and dad. We're sorry it's been a while, but we've been thinking about you recently and wanted to check in, see how you're doing?

Unknown: We also heard you were getting married and wanted to say congratulations. We're sure he's lovely and can't wait to meet him. Maybe we can sort out a time before your wedding?

Anger, disgust, sadness, fear and many more emotions swirled around my head as all I could do was stare at the message. I didn't know how they had gotten my number, how they knew I was getting married or why they suddenly felt the need to reach out after years of no contact. There was nothing on my public social media about it and the only family I still talked to were a few cousins that had nothing to do with my parents. It was safe to say I was confused as hell and slightly scared at how they were getting information on me. They also knew I was gay, yet they still refused to acknowledge it, instead deciding to misgender my fiancé. 

I didn't know what to do, I didn't know how to process it. The familiar tightness in my chest returned as my breath caught in my throat. The tightness that I hadn't felt in so long. It felt like I was drowning, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't catch my breath. My phone fell to the floor, catching the attention of some of the girls. They were saying stuff that I couldn't comprehend as a hand landed on my shoulder. I knew they were trying to help, but it just sent more panic through me as I shrugged it off and stumbled back. 

Arms wrapped tightly around me from behind, calming me down enough to realise it was Ali. I wanted my Ally, but Ali was helping enough to breath a little easier despite still panicking. 

"You're okay, I've got you Y/n. Ally is coming, but I need you to take some deep breaths for me. Just follow my breathing."

The more I focused on mine and her breathing, the easier it became. I found myself relaxing against Ali. The tightness in my chest slowly disappearing. A few minutes later, hands cupped my face, familiar lips leaving soft kisses across my face before landing on my lips.

"Ally," I whimpered, pushing myself into her arms. 

"I've got you my love. Come on, let's go back to our room."

Ally didn't question what had happened straight away, instead she held me tightly as I curled into her side and cried. All the feelings and memories from growing up came rushing back. It had been years since I cried over them, I couldn't help feeling stupid. They didn't deserve my tears. 

A hand ran through my hair and down my back, effectively helping me to calm down enough to stop the tears, but left me a hiccupping mess, "What happened Y/n/n?"

I handed her my phone, never leaving the safety of her side, "Messages."

She was quiet for a few seconds before my phone was thrown back on the bed next to us and I was held tighter, "Oh hell no. Don't even give them the satisfaction of a reply, they don't deserve it and you don't need to deal with this. We can just block them and move past this."

"I know that's what I should do. I don't want anything to do with them, but how did they know I was getting married? We haven't posted anything publicly and we don't know anyone who has anything to do with them. They also shouldn't be able to message, I blocked them. It scares me."

"Okay, I'll text them back and ask then block them. You're not going to have anything to do with it."

"Thank you Ally. I feel like this is a huge step back. I thought I had accepted the situation and moved past it, but I obviously haven't."

"That's not true. It was unexpected, they put you through hell and this was a normal reaction. You've made so much progress, this doesn't take away from that. I know it might have taken you back to times you don't want to remember, but you'll move past it. We'll work through this together."

"I love you."

"I love you Y/n."

It didn't take long for my parents to reply. In all honesty, they were probably waiting by the phone. They were likely delusional enough to think that everything they did to me would be forgotten and I would welcome them back with open arms. Actually, they never understood what they put me through so in reality they just expected to act like the last 3 years never happened.

"So apparently my gran told her church group I was getting married, showing off photos and everything. Someone from the group recoganised you as the daughter of someone they know from a different group and told them you were getting married. As for your number, apparently they just got a new phone and tried your old number. I guess they got embarrassed that they didn't know so wanted to make themselves look better. I'm so sorry baby, I didn't know they were connected in anyway. I'll talk to gran about keeping stuff to herself."

"It's not your fault, it's such a random connection. I don't blame your grandma either, she's just excited that her granddaughter is getting married. We can talk to her about it tomorrow or something. Can you tell them I don't want anything to do with them, then tell them to fuck off, block them and delete the messages? I don't want any reminder of this."

"Of course. I think maybe we should change your number so this can't happen again."

"That's a tomorrow job as well. For now can we just have a bath then cuddle and watch movies? After you please let the girls know I'm okay."

"That sounds like heaven. Let me call my boss as well and let her know I'm done for the day."

"No, you should be working. I'll be fine."

"That's not happening. You're more important than work."

Ally slipped out of my grip to call her boss and run a bath before coming back. I pouted, lifting my arms up, "Carry me?"

"Baby, I would love to carry you, but you're the strong one. You know I would drop you."

She was right, I knew it from experience. Doesn't mean I didn't pout the whole time I was getting up, "Ugh fine."

"Don't pout. I can give you a massage instead."

---

None of the team had been told the details of what caused my panic attack a few days. I hadn't wanted to bring it up again. Surprisingly, after the initial panic attack, it hadn't effected me as much as I expected. There had been a few nightmares to begin with, but Ally had stopped me from bottling it up and actually made me deal with it. 

Ali gave me a quick hug before letting me into her room, "I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but you doing okay kiddo?"

"I think so. Ally's been a big help." Besides Ally, Ali was the person I trusted most, so I gave her a quick rundown on what had happened. Even if she tried not to show it, I knew she was worried.  

"Don't worry, even if they show up, they won't be getting in."

"Thanks Ali. I know I've asked a lot of you recently, but I have another favour to ask."

"You know I would do almost anything for you Y/n."

"Will you teach me how to dance? Ally wants to have a first dance, but I don't really know how. She knows and offered not to have one which I agreed to. I'm planning on surprising her though and want it to be perfect."

Ali smiled widely, "Of course I will. I really admire how much effort you're putting into this. I'm sure she'll love it either way because you tried."

Ali put some slow music on quietly in the back ground before standing in front of me, "There are two ways you can do it, either holding one of her hands as you more around or one persons arms around the waist while the others around the neck. Or you can do both depending what you're comfortable with."

Ali guided one of my hands so it was around her waist, hers looped around the back of my neck as she connected our spare hands, "Obviously you two will be closer, but you get the idea."

We moved around in small steps, swaying to the music as I focused on not stepping on her feet. It didn't work though as my foot connected with the top of hers, she flinched, but laughed it off. "It's okay, we'll keep practicing. You're doing great. If you step on her feet, just laugh it off and keep going. I'm pretty sure she won't mind because you're trying."

I stepped on her feet multiple times before managing to go a few minutes without stepping on her feet and we moved on. I was starting to relax by this point while also getting excited about dancing with Ally. Ali looped her arms loosely around my shoulders as mine went around her waist. We mostly just swayed this time as she gave me pointers on where I could rest my hands or head on Ally. "I want you to spin me."

"What? No I can't do that."

"Yes you can, when we do the first dance, move your hand up, spin me around then bring me back in either into the same dance or into the second one which ever feels more comfortable."

As I attempted to spin Ali around, I brought her back in too quickly and ended up head butting her. "Shit, I'm sorry. See I can't do the spin."

"Yes you can, we'll keep practicing. It'll feel easier with Ally because she's a bit shorter than you. Just bring me in slower."

It took a lot more head butting and tripping before I finally got the hang of it. Before we got the chance to practice the full thing properly, Ally's name flashed across my phone screen. I instantly remembered that we had dinner plans tonight and I was running late. 

"I have to go."

"You did good today. On the day you're going to be nervous both because you don't want to mess up in front of everyone and because you want to be good for Ally. So when you start getting nervous, just focus on Ally, let her guide you." 

"Thank you Ali. See you tomorrow."

---

I couldn't believe in just over three hours I would be married to the love of my life. I was excited beyond belief, but I was also incredibly nervous. What if I wasn't a good wife? What if Ally changed her mind and decided she didn't want to get married anymore? What if we didn't work as a married couple?

I knew it was just me overthinking. Ally and I worked well together. We loved each other deeply, we connected and understood each other, we had fun. Maybe it was cheesy, but we were made for each other. Not just because we met and connected instantly. We worked hard to get where we were, we worked hard to keep our relationship working despite our busy schedules, distance, and my issues with my ADHD. I tried to remember that as my thoughts went crazy, but it wasn't working. Ali was updating me on the set up and preparations, I couldn't focus on anything she was saying though. I was too busy overthinking.

"Y/n, Y/n!"

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?"

"I-I-I c-can't do this," I stammered, before running out of the house, Ali calling after me. I didn't stop until I found a hidden part of the beach where I slumped in the sand, tears falling down my cheeks. I don't know how long had passed when someone sat down behind me, arms wrapping around my waist and chin resting on my shoulder. Without even looking, I knew it was Ally, the softness of the way she held me and the smell of her hair gave it away. She didn't say anything for a while, just held me until the tears stopped.

Ally kissed my temple, hands drawing soothing patterns across my stomach. They weren't the soft touches most people find soothing, those touches made my sensory issues worse. There was a little bit more force behind it, making me relax against her. Sitting here with Ally, I realised that I was being stupid, there was no doubt that I was going to marry her today. Instead of being angry that I had ran away, she was here comforting me. "We can postpone if you don't want to do this, if you're having second thoughts about getting married. I understand, I know it was quick."

I quickly turned around, accidently knocking Ally over. "Shit sorry." I helped her so she was sitting again before kissing her softly, "No, no, we're not postponing. I want to marry you Ally, I'm going to marry you today, go to bed calling you my wife. I'm sorry I ran, I got stuck in my head, overthinking this, overthinking if I would even be a good wife, if you even still wanted to marry me, but didn't want to tell me and I freaked out."

"Baby, I want to marry you more than anything in this world, that hasn't changed and it won't ever change. You're are an amazing girlfriend Y/n, you're going to be an amazing wife. We're going to keep being the best couple there is and getting married is only going to strengthen that. I love you, I love you so much."

"I love you Ally. Can we stay here for a while?"

"We can stay here as long as you need. Ali's going to take care of the set up and everything. When you're ready we can go back and get ready for the first look."

I settled back between Ally's legs, back against her front as I watched the water, feeling more relaxed than I had all day, "I can't wait, you're going to look incredible."

"So are you Y/n/n."

Ally and I had decided to do the outfit reveals before the ceremony because I knew I wouldn't be able to control my emotions once I saw her. So here I was waiting anxiously for the love of my life to step around the corner. I was nervous about Ally's thoughts on my suit, but I was more anxious to finally see what Ally was wearing. Just as I was starting to get impatient, there she was. I froze, tears starting to fall instantly, I crouched down for a second, face buried in my hands to control the tears.

The sleeveless blue dress lined with lace, the black flats, her hair half up in a braid with the rest loose. She looked incredible, more breathtaking then I could have ever imagined. Ally stopped in front of me, small smile present with eyes shining with love and unshed tears. I took her hand, spinning her around so I could admire everything about her. Ally looked amazing on any given day, but today I was absolutely speechless.

"Y-y-yo-u-" I cut myself off, taking a deep breath to get myself together, "Y-you look breathtaking Ally, absolutely incredible. Holy shit."

Ally grinned, cupping my cheeks and connecting our lips. I heard protests about messing up Ally's make up, but I didn't care. Ally pulled away, this time being the one to take my hand and spin me around, she let out a long breath, making me slightly nervous, "Fuck you look stunning baby, my god you look incredible. I know it's probably out of your comfort zone, but you should definitely wear maroon more often, it is definitely your colour."

"I almost didn't choose it because it's not what I normally wear, but I decided to step out of my comfort zone for once."

Ally laced her fingers with mine, "I'm so proud of you love."

"Alright guys it's almost time to seal the deal so it's photo time," Alex interrupted as Ally was leaning in to kiss me. 

I groaned pulling away, "You couldn't have waited 2 seconds? We already had photos."

"And have you ruin her make up? No, you can do that after the photos. You had photos of your reveal, we want proper couple photos."

---

It was time. It was time to marry the love of my life. Of course I was nervous, incredibly so, but as the time came to walk down the aisle, most of my nerves were replaced with excitement. I was about to marry my person and there was nothing in this world I wanted more. We had decided I was going to go first, purely for the reason that I was dying to watch her walk down aisle. There was no better way to do that, then be standing at the end already.

We had gone pretty simple with decorations. The aisle was made out of various coloured petals, lined with rows of chairs and a wooden arch draped with white fabric at the end. String lights were strung around the trees, fence and patio. The chairs would later be replaced by outdoor furniture and bean bags. Long tables for food and the bar were set up, as well as a smore station for when the firepit was lit. We had made sure to hire a bartender to stop anyone getting out of control. 

Also, while we had hired a photographer, we also had a bunch of polaroid and disposable cameras for everyone to take their own photos. That way we had more intimate and fun memories. We had found a guest book that had mini envelopes and note cards so people could leave little messages if they chose to. The envelopes were the best idea knowing how inappropriate some of the team could be.  

Dance with me in the rain In the heart of Spain Let your hair fall down Curl around your face And sway with the tide Of the strangers passing us by

My arm linked with Ali's, her squeezing mine gently. Our friends and family lined the sides, huge smiles and some with tears in their eyes. My heart warmed knowing they were willing to be here, that they cared enough to make plans last minute to see us get married. 

Well let them watch What do we care There's no need to rush To come up for air As the world spins around us we dive In each other's eyes

No I don't want to go Can't seem to leave you alone For all that I am I wouldn't stand a chance This life on my own So love me now Love me forever Love me today and the days we're not together A moment this right is too hard to deny That you're the one The one my heart beats for

Land light on my feet To not make a peep Tip toe across the room So the floors don't creak As you're laying in bed Perfectly sound asleep I'll wake you with a kiss So you do not miss Your morning cup of coffee Pressed against your lips As the sun warms us up through the blinds We turn back the time

We stopped at the end, Ali kissing my cheek before walking back to her spot. I waited for a few seconds, trying not to fidget for once in my life. Every second that went by, made me want to walk back down grab her and drag her back because she was taking too long. Ally finally appeared, arm linked with her dad who had a huge, proud smile. There was a time in our relationship where I never thought he would be happy about us getting married. We had a rocky start, but now they were family. They had taken me in, treated me as if I was their own daughter. Between Ally, her family and the team, I had never been so loved.

No I don't want to go Can't seem to leave you alone For all that I am I wouldn't stand a chance This life on my own So love me now Love me forever Love me today and the days we're not together A moment this right is too hard to deny That you're the one The one my heart beats for No I don't want to go Can't seem to leave you alone For all that I am I wouldn't stand a chance This life on my own

They stopped in front of me, Ally's dad pulling her in for a hug and kiss on the cheek before moving to hug me, "You look amazing Y/n."

He moved back to his spot, while I took Ally's hands, kissing her cheek softly. We stood there, just looking at each other as the song came to an end. There was so much love shining in her eyes that it made my knees go weak. 

So love me now Love me forever Love me today and the days we're not together A moment this right is too hard to deny That you're the one A moment this right is too hard to deny That you're the one The one my heart beats for

We had chosen to have Sydney officiate our wedding just as she had with Ali and Ashlyn. It made the day feel just that little bit more personal. Once everyone was seated and quiet, Sydney started speaking.

"Thank you everyone for being here today to celebrate the marriage of our amazing Y/n and Ally. We all know Y/n gets antsy when she has to stand still for too long so we'll keep this as brief as possible. The relationship between Y/n and Ally is so full of love, life and friendship. It puts even the best of us to shame. With that being said, Y/n and Ally have chosen to write their own vows. Ally you're up."

"There are so many things I want to say to you, but we would be here all day if I did. So instead I'll start with thank you. Thank you for choosing me, for letting me in and trusting me with you and your heart. For trusting me enough to be your person and to show me who you are inside and out. With that, I vow to you that I will always tressure your love. I will always be by your side when you need me, I will always be there to hold you up when you need it and support you with everything I am. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you now and I will love you forever."

"Okay, you'll have to bare with me because there's no doubt I'm going to cry." There were a few laughs as Ally squeezed my hand. "There was a time in my life when I never thought this would happen for me. Where I never thought I would find someone who loves and trusts me so unconditionally, who understands me so deeply and who makes me laugh uncontrollably. Then you came crashing into my life, flipping it upside down in the best way possible. 

"You are my world Ally, my everything. I am far from perfect, but I promise to always be open and honest even on days that aren't great, to always support you in everything you do, to make you smile and laugh even when you don't feel like it. I promise to hold you, cuddle you and kiss you every chance I get because I know how much you love it. Most importantly I promise to love you with everything I am everyday for the rest of our lives."

My voice cracked as I pulled her closer, cupping her cheek and kissing her forehead, "You are my partner in life and love. I love you beyond what words can describe, I love the person I have become with you and the life we have and will continue to build."

"Now the rings. Ally, do you take Y/n to be your wife?"

Ally smiled widely, "I do."

I slipped the ring on her finger before letting her take my hand, "Y/n, do you take Ally to be your wife?"

"I do."

Ally slipped the ring on my finger, kissing it after she did so. If even possible, my smile grew as I stopped myself from fidgeting with excitement. One final sentence and Ally would be my wife. 

"It is my pleasure to pronounce you wife and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

My arm wrapped around her waist, the other cupping her head as I dipped her, lips connecting in a long, passionate kiss. Everyone cheered and clapped as I threw my hands up, "We're married bitches!!"

---

"We would like to welcome the newlyweds to the floor for their first dance."

Ally looked confused, but let me take her hand and guide her to the dance floor. Just like Ali showed me, I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her against me and taking her hand in mine. Ally smiled, pecking my lips before resting her head on my shoulder as we moved around slowly. As we danced around, watched by our closest family and friends, I was the happiest I had ever been. To have so many people come to celebrate with us at last minute, I felt loved, possibly more than I ever had.

After a couple of minutes, I successfully spun Ally around, bringing her into me and connecting our lips. My head landed against Ally's shoulder, kissing the bare skin softly, "We're married Ally, we're actually married."

Ally giggled, kissing my temple, "Best day of my life so far. You learnt how to dance."

"You wanted to have a first dance so I got Ali to teach me. You make so many compromises for me, I wanted you to have this."

"This is how I know we'll be good married, you're so thoughtful and sweet, you go out of your comfort zone for me with out a second thought. I love you."

"I love you more my wife."

[marleysfinest]

SHOPPING TRIP; JEAN X READER

THANK U @wyvernslovecake for this prompt & I’m sorry it took so long!!! life do be cray rn!!

jean x gn reader; fluff; no content warnings

there isn’t much jean wouldn’t do for you. he’s the loyal type, the stoic type, the will jump to your aid and defence without giving it so much as a thought type. where he was once selfish, maybe a little entitled, jean had come to realise that there’s more to life than looking after number one; leaving flowers at your door for you to return home to, texting you every morning and every night, swinging by work with your favourite coffee without even having to ask. he’d come to realise that he loved doting on you.

shopping, though? oh boy. that man hated shopping.

it doesn’t help that it’s a particularly sweltering day, with the sweat pouring from your brow as you both weave between the crowds of shoppers at the open-air shopping village. the cause for this somewhat tense shopping trip had stemmed from jean letting his hatred of browsing the stores get the best of him, and leaving it until the day before his mother’s birthday before revealing that he hadn’t picked up a gift. when you ask him what he thought was going to happen, his silence and scowl told you all you needed to know; I thought you’d pick something up for me.

his mother was, as you were very well aware, a notoriously picky woman. very loving and generous, but selective when it came to gifting. she wasn’t a stranger to exchanging gifts she wasn’t fond of, and jean had taken this act of pickiness as a challenge, and every year tried his hardest to get her something she would genuinely love. why he did this knowing full well he’d never want to shop for the thing to begin with, you didn’t know, but it was an argument that had long since been put to bed.

you drag him into another store - this one flaunting necklaces and trinkets of gold and silver - and hear a low groan behind you.

“this is ridiculous, she’s so picky with her jewellery!”

his tone was similar to that of a nine year-old schoolboy being ferried around by his mother.

“what’s ridiculous is you leaving it to the day before to get your own mother a birthday present!” you snap.

the store’s air conditioning leaves a lot to be desired, and realising that you’ve been at this for three hours now, you persuade jean to buy an intricate gold and ruby necklace and put in a little extra for the gift wrap. rush order excess was your excuse, and it was met with that signature groan and a roll of the eyes. you both walk back into the blazing sunshine, you feeling a little lighter from responsibility, jean from the dent in his wallet.

“let’s get a drink, please, I’m gonna die from this heat.”

realising that his attitude was beginning to irk you, you agree that a drink, a comfy seat, and a cool down is a good idea before you both started lunging for each other’s throats in broad daylight. you nigh-on run to the large bar at the far end of the mall, but just as it was in sight jean stops. wondering whether he was feeling alright or indeed had just collapsed dead through faux-exhaustion and carrying around such a bad attitude, you turn to ask what the problem is, until you realise he’s no longer by your side. he’s actually willingly walking towards a store window. heatstroke? delusions? a mirage of a cold beer in the window? you watch him keenly for a few seconds until he realises you’re not with him, and when he finds your eyes across the crowd, waves you over.

as you draw nearer, you realise that he’s looking in the window of another jewellery store. a certain high-end jewellery store, with a very welcoming duck-egg blue entrance and elaborate decorations, and you could see that the counters inside were surrounded by luxurious furnishings. you return to jean’s side, and take in the selection of diamond rings in the window.

“hypothetically speaking,” he began, “which one of these would you wear?”

you look up at him and realise that he’s deliberately averting his eyes from yours, keeping them fixed on the window display.

“hypothetically?” you ask, “babe, even hypothetically we couldn’t afford one of these.”

he rolls his eyes elaborately.

“hypothetically. hypothetically means anything is possible. now pick one.”

his tone wasn’t romantic or even overly affectionate, but you weren’t sure that you minded. jean’s signature brand of smugness and impatience was something that had grown on you over the years. you turn to look at the rings on display; all of them were obscenely beautiful, it was hard to pick just one. but after careful consideration you settle on a simple solitaire diamond on a white gold band.

“that one,” you say, pointing delicately to avoid hitting the window and being arrested for attempted theft. jean’s eyebrows raise in approval, and he nods lightly.

“alright…”

his voice trails off, and you’re left in silence for a few seconds before he snaps back to reality.

“c’mon, you can buy me a beer. if I’m gonna be getting you one of those things you’re gonna have to stop making me buy you stuff.”

you elbow him with force, and he laughs, throwing an arm around your shoulder as you head for the bar.

[definitelynotafurinasimp]

Them with a reader that likes being overly dramatic

Characters: Eula/Candace x gn!reader (separate)

Warnings: none

a/n: Guess who’s back? Back again?

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Eula

While it was slightly hypocritical of Eula to complain about you blowing things out of proportions for no other reason than to wanting to see how she reacted to it, when she herself had overused her “vengeance-talk” so much that simply mentioning the word would make her image pop up in most people’s heads, the Lawrence still couldn’t help but feel an intense urge to either shut you up or disappear before people realised you were with her whenever you started.

“I simply cannot believe you would do such thing on the birthday of my father’s cousin’s best friend’s birthday, and here I was thinking I actually meant something to you. You’re the worst, Lawrence”, you proclaimed while striking a hurt pose, immediately drawing other people’s attention to you, and by proxy Eula, causing her face to slightly redden as she grabbed you by the arm and pulled you closer to her.

“Could you stop? You’re making others stare”, she half whispered, only to let out an internal sigh when she saw the huge grin on your face.

“I’d also stare if I saw such a beautiful woman on the street”, you joked, Eula’s face heating up even more as she mustered enough strength to glare at you.

“How can you say such things and act this way in public without being embarrassed in the slightest?”, she asked in a mix of anger and embarrassment, only to finally notice the small blush on your own face.

“Oh, trust me, I am. But if a bit of public embarrassment is enough to see your reaction, then that’s a price I’m willing to pay”, you responded honestly, shooting her an even wider smile before carefully removing her hand from your shoulder.

It was in that moment, that Eula realised that there was no reason in bargaining with you, instead letting out a slightly frustrated sigh. “If that’s everything, we can go home. If you insist on continuing, you can do that on your own and return once you feel like it. But be assured that I will have my vengeance for today”, she threatened, knowing full well that there wasn’t that much she could do, but feeling better off attempting to make you warry anyway, only for you to nod with a smile on your face before happily following her back home.

Candace

While you had always heard tales about Candace’s gentleness and kindness when taking care of any wounded and other townsfolk after a sandstorm, unfortunately for you, you were a solid enough fighter to not get wounded by the threats encroaching onto the village, leaving you to only watch and help as Candace took care of the others.

So, when you actually felt one of your opponents cut you ever so slightly, you were quick to use it as a way to experience it for yourself—after you had taken care of the remaining monsters of course.

“Are you alright? Is the wound deep?”, Candace bombarded you with questions the moment she rushed over to you, feeling uncharacteristically stressed out by the possibility of you being hurt. And while you at first planned to at least pretend your wound hurt more than it actually did, you found it impossibly difficult to do so now, quickly opening your mouth to assure her.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a cut… I guess I’m just too used to walk away from a fight completely unharmed”, you tried defusing the situation with a small joke, moving your arm around to demonstrate that the wound wasn’t bad, only for it to backfire when you let out a small gasp upon realising that it did—in fact—hurt.

“No lying. Come, let’s get it treated”, she stated before dragging you to the village’s physician, watching you intently as he wrapped your arm in bandages after treating the cut, only to return to her usual collected self once you two were out of there.

“…Thanks for taking care of me. That turned out to go very different from how I planned”, you silently thanked her, only to realise that you said a bit too much, immediately reopening your mouth to correct yourself.

“No one plans on getting hurt during a fight. Just promise me you’ll be more careful next time”, she was quick to respond with her usual smile, causing you to silently nod as your face heated up in embarrassment and a bit of shame.

//Please consider liking & reblogging if you enjoyed this post

[kismetmoon]

i just realised i never talked about it before, but here’s Ruth’s full form under her cloak :

[ID: a digital monochrome drawing of an original stylised Flatland character, Ruth, on an off-white background.

Ruth is a humanoid character who has dark grey with light grey patches, a round half-lidded eye with a point on the top and four bottom eyelashes, a rectangular body, thin limbs, a ‘dent’ on the lower half of her body and a short tail.

On the left, Ruth is standing and waving out her left arm while the other is at her side. She is absently staring to the right. There is an arrow in the middle, which leads to the other drawing of Ruth on the right. She is holding her cane in her right hand and looking down to some white bandages covering the dent in her torso.

End ID.]

it’s essentially the flatland equivalent of traumatic lumbar scoliosis. she’s been left with a sort of indentation that pushed back her lower torso and goes in her right side and out her left. because of this, it throws her balance off slightly when walking (and having a shorter tail than usual doesn’t help in this situation), hence she uses a cane when she needs to leave the house for food, errands, etc. the bandages are just to prevent her from scratching the healed scar bc it’s almost always itchy.

[ID: two digital drawings of an original stylised Flatland character, Ruth.

In the first photo, it is a close-up of Ruth’s dent as seen from the side. There is an orange line to highlight the scar left in her torso from the dent. There is orange hand-written text on the left that reads “scar”. The black text on the right reads “side view”. The background is off-white.

In the second photo, it is a black, colourless outline drawing of Ruth. She is looking down towards the scoliosis back brace on her torso, with her arms held up and away from her body. The background is white.

End ID.]

if she had gotten proper treatment she would have had a brace similar to this. however, her mother wasn’t willing to wait long enough for it to heal like this and hated the sight of it, so she lied to Ruth about there being no proper treatment - or even just pain relief help - available for her case.

there’s a more in-depth explanation of what happened to Ruth under the cut, but warnings for murder, assault, accidental murder, child neglect and disownment.

what i’m working with is that Ruth was waiting outside a shop with her mother while her father went inside to get something. an isosceles who came rushing out of the adjacent alleyway (who had just got into a heated argument ending in the other party being shattered) fled the scene so quickly that he ended up running straight into a tween Ruth on his way out of the alley. he was able to catch himself before he got sliced up, but ultimately left Ruth with her ‘dent’ and left himself with a nasty crack that nearly completely ran down the middle of his frame.

he would later on succumb to this injury, leaving Ruth feeling immense guilt for being involved in another’s death (even though it wasn’t ever her fault).

her parents (a square family, with Ruth being their only child) tried to have her lasting depression dealt with and this ‘dent’ straightened out. while it was considered that one of her sides could easily be pushed back in, it was nearly impossible to pull the indented side back out - so they had to leave it for ruth’s ‘survival’. her depression only worsened and she developed extreme isoscelesphobia (it is what you think it is).

it comes up to her 18th birthday and she’s suddenly kicked out of the house five days later as her mother doesn’t want their family name “tarnished with an irregular daughter” that she’d be “ashamed to marry off to a poor soul”. so Ruth is forced to leave, but fortunately her father (who had no say in the disowning, and whose hand was completely forced by his wife’s decision) had bought the small cottage in the woods as her 18th birthday present as a place for her to reside to prevent her from becoming completely homeless. (but this is sad because he was obviously in on the discussion of her getting abandoned and wanted to guarantee her some shelter before she left, so he knew to purchase a house…but he still didn’t warn her about her impending eviction or fight to keep her with the family).

she’s 25 now and has lived there ever since, and Liz moved in with her about six years ago.

[bippot]

More Henderson!reader please? Love it 🤗🤗🤗

Summary: When the hell is Eddie's birthday? Well, the Henderson siblings soon find out and rush to make it the best day they can.

Tags: Birthday Fluff, Sweet, Established Relationship, Referenced Child Neglect

Song Recommendations: Your Song by Elton John

Stranger Things, Eddie Munson Masterlist - here

April fools day. First of the month. Great for pranksters. And, it was the birthday of Hawkins' own bumbling clown, Eddie Munson. It was his birthday, but nobody needed to know that.

When he was young, Eddie's parents never really had time to celebrate it, and if they did, they chose not to. It was another day. Just another in the calendar month. What were they going to do? Spend unnecessary money on gifts for a child that already cost enough to feed and maintain? For Eddie's parents, that was a strong no.

So, he kept the tradition, or lack of, as he moved in with Wayne. He didn't tell anyone. Not his friends. Not the other members of Hellfire. Even his girlfriend didn't know.

He celebrated her birthday. He serenaded her with gifts and kisses and a song to express how much he cared for her - even though he knew nothing he could ever write would come close to what he felt.

And she wanted to do the same when it was his turn but every time she inquired, "Baby, just tell me when it is," and grabbed his hand to pull it back and forth. Her voice came out whinier than she intended but she'd asked him so many times and always got the same answer.

"Don't have one. I was hatched from an egg."

That bitch.

Well, Gareth knew. He happened to be at the Munson residence on April 1st 1985 and was super confused as Uncle Wayne knocked on Eddie's door with a gift in his hand.

"For you, kiddo," Wayne grumbled. It was a happy moment but Wayne was a grumbler. He grumbled when he was joyous, when he was sad, when he was sombre when he...you get the gist.

Eddie leapt to his feet and took the gift, almost skipping with excitement. Gareth just sat there as his buddy ripped the paper off with eager hands, revealing a fancy-looking drawing pad. Was that a thing that Wayne did often? Did he buy his nephew drawing pads often? That looked too expensive to be a regular thing.

Not explaining anything, Eddie thanked Wayne and gave him a quick hug then the two teens got back to coming up with Gareth's new character.

To be honest, Gareth was so focused on his character sheet to question it at that time. But eventually, he realised that 'Oh shit, that was a birthday prezzie' and kept tight-lipped until the next fool's day.

"A gift for you, sire." He jokingly bowed and presented Eddie with a badly wrapped gift with a bow that had been haphazardly taped to the top. Eddie took the present and eyed it suspiciously.

A prank. It must be. Maybe Gareth had some little scare prepared to get back at Eddie for killing his PC two weeks ago. Was it filled with exploding glitter? Or an air horn? Possibly a bunch of fake spiders because they all knew about their DM's fear of those creepy crawlies after he'd been sleeping at Rick's and woke up to a huge one spinning its web down near his face.

Yeah, after everything that went down over spring break, the spider thing seemed like the least of his worries

"Sir Gareth, what have I done to deserve a gift? Not that I'm not going to take it because I totally am."

"Just open it!"

As Eddie peeled away the wrapper and lifted the lid off the box, he was preparing for something to pop out at him or make a loud noise. That didn't happen. Totally curious, he inspected the contents of the box.

"No way!" he exclaimed, getting out of his seat and showing the other boys a really sick new Dio shirt. An actual gift. No spooks or scares. No spiders. Just a cool t-shirt. And now his buddy Gareth was bound to get special treatment when it came to their next campaign session.

Shit. It wasn't manly to start crying in the cafeteria. Eddie had to control himself somehow. He couldn't cry at all - that would give Jason far more fuel to tease him. But damn that t-shirt made his heart swell with happiness. What had he ever done to deserve such kindness from his old friend? What could he possibly have done that had earned such a thoughtful gift?

Oh. It was his birthday. And Gareth definitely knew that as he said, "Happy birthday, man."

Shit. Now all the Hellfire boys knew. Including Dustin, who knew for a fact that his sister had no idea either. She was none the wiser and would feel like total shit if she missed her man's big day, and Dustin knew that. The younger Henderson got to his feet as Eddie gave Gareth a grateful punch on the arm - if they weren't at school, hell, he may have even given him a more affectionate thank you - and quickly made his way towards the nearest payphone, ignoring how Mike and Lucas were calling after him, "Where are you going, dude?"

Dustin didn't answer. He made it to the phone, only to find some girl twirling the cord around his finger and clearly flirting with whoever was on the other line. He cleared his throat loudly in the hopes that she would take a hint and hurry up. It worked. She turned around and stared at Dustin, giving him a once over before scoffing, hanging up with a cruel, "Sorry, some nerd wants the phone. I'll have to call later, daddy."

He doubted that girl was talking to her father.

"Henderson household, Y/N speaking," she said cheerily, her voice carrying through the speaker.

"It's me. Do you know when Eddie's birthday is?"

There was silence, probably due to the fact that Dustin's request caught her off guard, and he heard her suck in a breath before sighing audibly.

"Nope. Not a clue. He won't tell me."

Why Eddie was so reluctant to tell her was something she never understood. She wanted to shower him with love and gifts - not that she didn't do that every day, even if the gifts were small or handmade - and his birthday was the perfect time to do that.

From the other line, she heard a panicked, "It's today!"

"Shit!"

"Shit indeed!"

Y/N racked her brain for what to do. It was obvious. She calmed him down because she could hear how alarmed he was by explaining, "Okay, I'll pick you up after school and we can buy him some stuff. You're free, right?"

"Uh-huh! I'll be there."

Plans were made and their friend was soon to be handed gifts that were bound to make him as excited as Gareth's had. He hung up and returned to the table to find that Eddie had slipped Gareth's gift over his shirt, wearing it with pride despite how warm he was beginning to feel with two layers on.

"How does it look, butthead?" Eddie asked as soon as Dustin returned, dramatically gesturing to his new addition.

"Totally metal, Munson."

The minute school was over, Dustin rushed to the parking lot to see Y/N waiting for him there. She'd been standing in front of her car, leaning against the hood as she watched people rushing out of school. He grinned when he saw her, walking towards her as fast as his legs would allow him.

"Come on, we're running out of precious time Y/N!"

"Calm yourself, hermano. We've got enough time and I want to see Eddie," she soothed, opening the passenger side door for him to slide into.

And see Eddie, she did. The moment he saw her, her boyfriend sauntered over with a "Ms Henderson, funny seeing you here," and wrapped his arms around her waist to reach around to playfully pat a tune on her butt.

"What song this time?"

"No Stranger to Love."

"Sabbath?"

"Duh," Eddie chuckled and reached for the back of her neck to tug her lips onto his, causing Dustin to cover his eyes as Eddie firmly squeezed his sister's ass right in front of his gaze.

It was a familiar gesture to Y/N and she slapped away his hand - as she usually had to - and pulled them up to her hips. It quickly moved back down to their original place, and he couldn't help the smug grin that spread across his face when she let him leave it there.

Before they got too lost in each other, she mumbled against his lips, "My brother is in the car."

"Shit. Sorry, butthead."

From inside the car, they heard an annoyed, "You guys are gross," and the couple chuckled. The number of times Dustin had been forced to third wheel was immeasurable. It's not that he liked being a witness - he did not - but he had to endure it.

Tilting Eddie's head to move his focus from her brother back to her, Y/N felt the need to ask, "Hey, can I come over later?"

His reply came in an instant. He leaned back with a grin that almost split his face in half and replied, "Baby, you know you don't have to ask."

"Just checking. Remember what I walked in on last week?"

Ah, last week when she'd entered his trailer - as he told her she could do - and opened his bedroom door, only for her jaw to drop when she saw that he was moaning her name with his dick in his hand while his eyes closed in bliss.

"Having fun without me, huh?" She teased, causing him to scramble to cover himself (despite the fact that she'd seen it all so many times before) as she walked further into his room and shut the door behind her.

A blush crept across his cheeks as fell from his original position on his knees to get a face full of pillows so he could hide how embarrassed he was. She snorted and dropped to the floor beside his bed, lowering herself so she'd be eye to eye.

"Want me to take over?" She flirted, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as she pulled his pillow out from under him as she stood back up. Without his answer, she teasingly smacked his ass and straddled it, running a finger down his back. He could hear the smirk in her voice. He knew that she was enjoying this and knew for a fact he was too, especially when she did what she offered when he flipped over.

"Babe, I better go. Dusty and I've got an appointment to get to."

Finishing the flashback in his head, Eddie's cheeks grew warm again as he recalled it. He released her and ran round to open the driver's door for her, bowing as she passed him and grinning happily when she climbed in. As soon as she was seated, she rolled down the window and urged him to come closer to her so they could have one more kiss before parting ways.

Eddie obeyed, sliding his hands on her face as soon as he was close enough to reach her. Their lips met, but quickly disconnected as a disgruntled voice said, "You guys are seriously gross."

"Sorry, kiddo."

"For fuck's sake, Eddie! Stop kissing my fucking sister!"

"Language, bubba."

Chuckling, he gave her one final kiss before he walked to his van, calling over his shoulder, "Don't come before six. I'll be having some me time."

Soon, Eddie's gifts were bought, made and wrapped with the utmost care and precision. Dustin had taken the lead, of course, knowing exactly what stores to go into to get the perfect gift. Eddie was an easy guy to buy for. He literally wore patches of the bands and movies and books he was interested in on his clothing.

Arriving a little later than planned since Dustin came up with another idea, the pair crept up to the trailer. Dustin knocked, and then they quickly hid on either side of the door to surprise Eddie when he opened the door.

"Baby, you're so late. You've no idea how har-" and Y/N was so relieved that he stopped there. Dustin didn't need to hear whatever vulgar shit her boyfriend was going to say.

She winked as the signal and both Henderson's cheered, "Happy Birthday!" in unison as Eddie jolted from shock.

"HOLY FUCK!"

They laughed and waited until he recovered from his surprise before entering his home with his gifts held tightly in Dustin's arms - he was determined to be the one to hand Eddie his presents.

"Alright, which one do you want to open first?" he asked him as they sat together on the sofa. Dustin's words brought a wide smile to Eddie's face, and he looked over at Y/N who nodded approvingly.

"That one."

Dustin had hoped that Eddie was going to open this present first. He handed the box in question over to his friend, who immediately flipped the top over and opened it to find a handmade cake with a wiggly version of the Corroded Coffin logo drawn on top of it with chocolate frosting all over. Eddie looked absolutely gobsmacked and it honestly looked adorable.

"Wow..." Eddie breathed and turned to Dustin, grinning so hard he thought his face might actually crack to joke, "This isn't poisoned, is it?"

"The strongest I could find."

As he grinned, Y/N lovingly brushed her hand through his hair and swiped some away from his face, gazing lovingly at him as he continued to look down at the cake. It was clear he was feeling overwhelmed by everything at that moment. And it was all because of her. She could see it in his eyes, even if Dustin wasn't able to decipher the expression. His heart swelled with adoration as he stared at the cake.

"Turns out Dusty is a pretty good baker. I tried to help, but no, he had to have the kitchen to himself," Y/N said proudly with a roll of her eyes as Dustin stuck his tongue out at her, which she just waved off. Eddie caught her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles. "Hey, you're going to need that hand to open the rest of your presents."

He nodded with a goofy grin on his face, releasing her hand so she could reach out to hand him the bag. He slowly opened the paper of one, revealing a selection of comics. Eddie immediately began flipping through them excitedly.

"Ewoks? Bet this was your choice, huh, butthead?" Eddie teased and gave Dustin a light punch on the arm as Y/N laughed along with him. "Vigilante #27? I know for a fact that was you, Y/N."

"What? I think his suit is hot."

Smirking as Eddie raised an eyebrow in disbelief, he shook his head at her remark before turning to the next present - a pair of socks with Animal from the Muppets that he was almost too happy to get - then the next - some new fancy plectrums - then the next - a new DM's notebook - then the next - a picture of the trio and he distinctively recognised Y/N's drawing style - and then the magnum opus.

"No way! Look What The Cat Dragged In? I thought they were sold out?"

Yeah, Y/N had bribed the man behind the counter at the record store to sell her the Poison album they were displaying in the window. Apparently, this record store didn't usually do that. Whether they did and the cashier just wanted some extra cash to line his pocket was possible. Nevertheless, Y/N made sure Eddie was getting that album.

"Thanks, baby!" he exclaimed, hugging her tightly as he pulled Dustin in to join and pecked each of them on their foreheads. "These are the best fucking presents I've ever gotten."

They couldn't be happier that Eddie was so pleased with his gifts. After all, it hadn't been that long since spring break and he hadn't been this positive in a while. They were glad to see him like this again. It was always nice to see him this happy.

So, as he gazed at those he cared about, he felt complete. Like a part of him always belonged with them. In every sense of the word. All that really mattered now was that everyone was safe and secure. Nothing else would matter.

It didn't stop the occasional nightmares though, but with the knowledge of how much love he received, he could deal with that.

Despite his past, the Henderson's treated him like family, like the stable family he never had. He loved them more than he thought he could love anything or anyone. And, with that, he felt some form of safety once again. He didn't feel so alone anymore.

"You okay, Ed?" Y/N asked as she comfortingly rubbed up and down his bicep - which was now only covered by the Dio shirt from Gareth - and leaned in to rest her cheek against his shoulder. Eddie smiled down at her and kissed the crown of her head, causing her to giggle and nuzzle up further against him.

Then came his confession.

"I love you two so much. Obviously in slightly different ways, but you two are something else. I'm not a God-man, not at all, but the fact that Henderson's exists kind of makes me want to believe in a higher power, a benevolent good. Because, if it is, then I guess I should be thanking it, don't you think?"

Both Henderson's didn't know what to say. So instead of saying anything, Y/N simply held tighter to Eddie, letting him know she understood. Dustin however had let some tears fall and as soon as his sister realised, she cooed, "Aw bub, come here," pulling him into her embrace and rubbing circles on his back. He squished himself between the couple and, at this moment, he didn't mind being a third wheel.

The poor thing had witnessed as Eddie *almost* died. The tears of happiness that were shed now almost made him forget about all of that. Almost made him forget how scary it was when it happened.

Eventually, Dustin calmed down enough to lift his head from their shoulders and wipe away his last few tears with the back of his hand, deciding that this would be the best time to have cake.

"Did I do good? Does the taste resemble cake at all?" Dustin asked, staring at Eddie in a desperate attempt to see if he liked it or not. Eddie nodded his head frantically as he continued eating, humming in satisfaction as with every bite.

"Yeah, kid," he said after swallowing, his mouth completely stuffed, "You did great. Thank you so much."

Dustin looked pleased at the praise, smiling brightly as the two shared a fist bump and he let out a humble, "Glad you approve."

When Eddie was done eating like a pig, Y/N wiped some jam off the corner of his mouth with her thumb and licked it. Eddie got closer to her ear and made sure to whisper so Dustin couldn't hear, "That turned me on for some reason."

And the girl chuckled loudly, "Really?"

"Hundred percent."

After a bunch of messing around for the next few hours, it was time for Dustin's curfew so Y/N swung her car keys around her finger and said "Okay, bub, we've got to get you home."

"Already?" Dustin whined.

"Yes, it's almost half nine. You have school tomorrow," she reminded him.

"Oh crap."

Eddie and Dustin hugged tightly one last time before separating reluctantly. Dustin playfully snatched the keys from Y/N's hand and rushed to the door so he wouldn't have to see the couples goodbye. It was probably going to be gross.

No. It wasn't. Mostly because it wasn't a goodbye. Just before Y/N followed him out, Y/N pecked Eddie on the cheek and did an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, "I'll be back."

"Awful. Completely awful."

"Do you want your last gift or not?"

"It was amazing. Truly the best impression I've ever heard."

Dropping Dustin off and returning to the trailer took no time, Y/N was greeted at her car the second she arrived by Eddie who swooped her into his arms, hugging her close as he spun her around before setting her gently back onto the ground.

"Did you miss me?" she asked playfully, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You've been gone for five seconds." He paused. "But yes." She rolled her eyes with a laugh as they broke away.

"And because I'm the best girlfriend ever, I've got a surprise for you."

Curiosity creeped into his mind as he realised that she didn't have anything else in her hands. Where was it? Why hadn't she given it to him earlier? Was it hidden somewhere in her pocket? Was it a sexy present? Was it under her clothes? What if it had something to do with sex? Or drugs? His mind started racing trying to think of all the possibilities as Y/N placed both hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him inside.

They made it to his bedroom and she sat him down on the bed.

"So, I've been getting lessons from Jeff because I wanted to do this for our anniversary but I thought why not give it to you now."

Jeff? How was Jeff involved? How did he not know that his girlfriend was hanging out with Jeff?

He watched her curiously as she sat in his desk chair and reached across for his acoustic guitar.

"Jeff said that this is sappy and romantic and totally not your style. But that's bullshit. I know you love a bit of Elton John deep down."

She got a pic that was laying on his table and readied herself before adding, "Sorry in advance if this sounds terrible. Feel free to tease me about it later."

A huge smile already found its way onto Eddie's face as he saw the image before him and put together the pieces. He nodded for her to start and was enraptured by the first note.

🎵It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside

I'm not one of those who can easily hide

I don't have much money, but, boy, if I did

I'd buy a big house where we both could live🎵

Eddie could've swore that this day was a dream. Never had he been so spoiled by someone. No, he never expected it, but he loved all the attention that Y/N had and would give him. His lips somehow curved further upwards as she went on.

🎵If I was a sculptor, heh, but then again, no

Or a man who makes potions in a travelling show

I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do

My gift is my song, and this one's for you🎵

An Elton John song was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard, especially coming from Y/N lips. Her voice was beautiful. It wasn't professional in any way, but it was genuine. So full of love. He wished he had a way to record her.

🎵And you can tell everybody this is your song

It may be quite simple, but now that it's done

I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind

That I put down in the words

How wonderful life is while you're in the world🎵

"Do you like it or do you want me to stop here?" Y/N asked softly, snapping him out of his trance.

Of course he liked it! And he loved it! In fact, he loved it so much that he was practically shaking with emotion.

"Oh! I loved it! I really really did! Please keep playing!" He begged, unable to help it, unable to control his happiness. She giggled and began strumming again. Eddie rested his elbow on his knee and his head on his fist, beaming at her as she continued.

🎵I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss

Well, a few of the verses, well, they've got me quite cross

But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song

It's for people like you that keep it turned on

So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do

You see, I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue

Anyway, the thing is, what I really mean

Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen🎵

Stopping for a second, she clarified, "They really are the sweetest," and felt immense pride at how red that made him. As Y/N began the chorus once more she noticed her boyfriend looking incredibly bashful and absolutely adorable.

🎵And you can tell everybody this is your song

It may be quite simple, but now that it's done

I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind

That I put down in the words

How wonderful life is while you're in the world🎵

Tears welled in his eyes as he listened to her, and soon they were falling freely down his cheeks as he tried to hold them back but he knew that was hopeless. If there was anyone who knew what a mess he was, it was the girl sitting in front of him and she loved him for it all - the stable and the mess.

🎵I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind

That I put down in the words

How wonderful life is while you're in the world🎵

"Oh baby," she cooed and reached out to swipe his tears for him but he pushed her hand away to bring her into the biggest, most sincere bear hug he could manage, squeezing her tight enough her back clicked.

"Shit sorry."

"At least I won't have to go to the chiropractor now," she joked and he kissed all over her face as an unneeded apology. Each peck was sweeter than the last because every kiss he gave her, he got to feel her smile grow and her laughter vibrate against him.

He was happy, happier than he'd ever been before.

"Gross, you're so snotty," she teased, so he lowered his nose to her shirt and rubbed his snot onto her shirt. She playfully slapped her way from his grasp. "Ewww!" she squealed, laughing as she tried to run but he tackled her onto the bed and tickled her mercilessly which resulted in another round of hysterical giggling, the noise echoing throughout the entire trailer.

Eddie never let go of Y/N but he did flop down and laid on top of her, burying his head comfortably against her collarbone as she raked her hand through his tangled mess.

"Thank you, my love," he whispered into her skin, causing her to laugh lightly and squeeze him even tighter. "Best birthday in the history of birthdays."

She smiled fondly, kissing the side of his head and pulling him closer. Eddie buried his face deeper into her shoulder and closed his eyes, listening to her heartbeat and the way she replied with, "You deserve it, my love. I'll make sure to up my game next year."

How could a birthday get better than this? he thought. She had no idea either, but she did have some time to plan it next time. From now on, his special day would be exactly that - special. It wasn't just another day. It was his day.

When it came to Eddie Munson, Y/N would happily become a fool for him, every day of the year but especially on his day.

[inky-duchess]

May I present my OC:

Varvara “V”, Morozova, leader of the crime syndicate also known as the Five Fingered Devils and all-around businesswoman.

Varvara is called “V” (which means 5 in Latin) for the 5 people she murdered her way to power and for the name of her gang.

Known for her infamous string of red-hued jewels around her neck- rubies, garnets, bloodstones- which have been likened to teardrops of blood “after she’s finished with you”, Varvara has carved out a place for herself in a man’s world through her quick wits, ability to backstab, charm and ability to known how to turn a situation to her advantage by pleading the damsel in distress.

name: Varvara Morozova

nicknames: V, Vi Var

age: 21

gender: cis female, she/her

sexuality: uses bisexual or pansexual interchangeably

zodiac: leo

personality: sharp, quick-witted, cunning, willing to use people misconceptions of her as a woman to her advantage.

rank: leader of the five fingered devils, runs a small club on the side- specialising in assassinations, drug fencing etc.

birthplace: The Gold District

relationship with the characters: Varvara and the Burrow’s maintain a shaky peace though she delights in tormenting them by frequenting Kiva’s club and poaching his staff- to needle him (it amuses her)

birthday: August 3rd

backstory: Varvara grew up in the Gold District- daughter of a wealthy Archduke and a Countess- though was often bored with the squalor of having to sit around all day and do needlework as “a proper lady should do”- and began exploring the city with her friend Konstantin when she was 13.

 Two years later, Varvara ran into a section of what would later be the Vereslo, and they recruited Konstantin to their cause- to Varvara’s anger. Varvara heard of murmurs of dissent amongst the street, of cries for the Royal Family to be dismantled- though dismissed it as propaganda.

Varvara’s father journeyed to the Palace to stop what was happening once he heard of the news (hoping to be rewarded for his bravery-his great-great grandfather was granted his Duke title for helping hold off rebels and Varvara’s father wanted to step out of his shadow) though was slew by the rebels in the process- causing the family’s assets to be liquified.

Varvara fled a few months later- her mother attempted to marry Varsara off in order to gain some semblance of wealth- and joined a few gangs, though she found none to her liking.

While running a job (aged 16-on the verge of 17), Varvara ran into Konstantin who was now a member of the newly-formed Vereslo.

Only now Konstantin was…different. The mischievous gleam in his eyes was snuffed out, replaced by a cold glint, rigid spine, face as though hewn of marble and a silver-tipped bayonet ready to cut bone. One of the other soldiers tried to take Varsara in for questioning and Konstantin watched as he grappled with her when she resisted- strangling her which left semi-permanent bruises on her neck- before he pulled the soldier off of her- coming back to his senses when he realised, she was going to die- the soldier enraged attacked Konstantin.

 A few Burrow members saw the commotion and thought that Varsara- a seeming street urchin- was being jumped by two police officers- and rushed to intervene, fatally wounding Konstantin in the process who died.

Varsara was enraged at the Burrow members for this and vowed vengeance on them-leading her to form a gang of her own. She murdered those select Burrow members over the years- going silent then striking when they let down their guard.

She walks a razors edge between despising and taunting the Burrow- and their relationship is uneasy overall.

Varsara encountered a few Burrow members over the years- Nikolai (who she emphasised with), Kiva (who she flirted with- to annoy him- and they have a rival-like relationship) and Art (who she admires)

fashion: off-the-shoulder velvets dresses that are in bold hues to draw attention and revealing (Since the Lost Prince world is sadly rife with sexism, I imagine girls have to cover up their skin/not wear revealing clothes-Varvara walks a fine  line between dangerous ad disobedience by wearing revealing outfits to defy that) Varvara also wears luxurious fur coats, smoking jackets, stilettos (which double as weapons!)

trivia:

-Varsara covers the bruises on her neck with makeup

-Varsara (probably) has undiagnosed PTSD. She occasionally has nightmares of seeing Konstantin’s dead corpse as he croaks out “You betrayed me”

her triggers are:

-being pinned down

-the verselo/authority figures

-sudden movements

-the smell of rain/mud- it reminds her of the incident which took place on a rainy street.

[edienotsedgwick]

Hello everyone!

I haven’t posted many music updates here recently because I have just been forgetting to use tumblr as one of my platforms (even though tumblr is probably the one I’ve had the most growth on out of any of them cause of how long I’ve been here). However, although it’s two years too late I wanted to have a talk in depth about my latest E.P because one thing I love about this place is how I can talk in depth about what I’ve made more than I can anywhere else. I did it for the last E.P, now it’s time to talk about this one.

Last week, I got word from one of my friends that my music was no longer on Spotify so they could listen to it and it made me realise I’d forgotten to pay my Distrokid bill. So when I sorted it out and fixed all issues with accessibility I decided to take a trip down memory lane and have a listen for the first time in a while.

Unlike Made With Blingee which was one impulsive idea I came up with in 2018 that I rushed to finish within that year, leaving it a perfect time capsule of my scene days - Thing Is Me is not a snapshot of one year, but a snapshot of evolution from 2019-2022. While I was making it I changed a lot as a person, but also with the help of my collaborators the songs changed too until they settled to where they are now.

The oldest song on this E.P was Lola Bunny, the first inklings of it were born in late 2018 but it came to life in the way you know it in 2019. Lola Bunny was supposed to be just my voice and an acoustic guitar when I first began brainstorming it. It was fresh in my mind after I found out a boy in school who I thought I liked was taken. (It was one year before I learned I was a lesbian). In hindsight I wasn’t really in love with him, I just liked the idea that he could’ve been my only shot at love. My dating pool at school was small, the few people I pursued had found someone else, were straight, or were repulsed by me. I couldn’t go on dating apps or look for people outside of school at clubs or concerts. It was either school or the fandom circles on the internet, and I was sick of E-Dating people from completely different countries. When I found out that boy was taken, it’s a miracle that I didn’t lose hope that I’d ever be loved at all. Instead I thought I’d just never have a high school romance like the movies promised. (spoiler alert: I was wrong). In 2019 when I revisited Lola Bunny I got into shoegaze and realised the song would sound even better as a crushing wall of sound akin to Cocteau Twins, Ride or MBV. Me and my cousin recorded it together in 2020, the rest is history.

The second oldest song is The Hotel Song. In late 2018 I went to a friend’s birthday party and another traumatic incident involving two of my bullies happened. They taunted me and in a fit of pent up rage I confronted them about everything they did to me. They denied it all, called me delusional, and laughed in my face as I broke down on the side of the road outside my friend’s house. I was already traumatised but that sent me to a low point I believed I’d never recover from. The only place I remotely felt safe in afterwards was my bedroom and I coped with the intense depression and anxiety by drawing, eating two minute noodles for every meal of the day, and listening to the same queue of songs on repeat. One night I fell into a deep sleep and had a dream about going to a hotel with my friends and meeting one of the bullies from the incident there by accident. My friends invited her to go to the spa pool with us. Despite my initial hesitation, the time we all had together was pleasant, almost innocent, and I didn’t get hurt again. Later as we dried off, I got an apology from her for everything she did to me. Just as I forgave her I woke up thinking about how everyone has the capability to change for the better at the drop of a hat. As the next year rolled around the dream was still something I thought about a lot, so I decided to make it a song. I was getting into The Moldy Peaches, Neutral Milk Hotel and other weird folky stuff. I felt like the more oddball lyrics due to them coming from a dream suited that sound so I had that in mind as I put it together. I arranged to make it with a wonderful family friend. It was the only song he fully contributed to before I switched to working with my cousin, but he was really important and taught me a lot of great things. I’m very proud of what came out.

The third oldest song is from way into 2019. I was getting better. I had a great network of friends now who gave me the safety net I needed to recover, I’d gone on a long road-trip that made me see beauty in the world, I was getting into new music and other new interests and those new things kept me calm. I still had outbursts of anxiety from time to time though. One of the bullies from the party still scared me to death. I was growing stronger in all other areas of my life, but the looming fear that he could hurt me again was the only thing holding me back from completely recovering. At that time all I wanted was a resolution, ideally an apology but I was just coming to terms with accepting that he wouldn’t ever do that based on how he acted the last time I saw him. I wrote Post Mental about finding that acceptance. Learning to recover in spite of him. In this song I go through all the history we shared, then at the end I let him go. Like The Hotel Song, Post Mental has a lot of the same influences I discussed earlier but with an added flavour of Sufjan Stevens in there. My favourite part of recording this with my cousin was towards the end when we decided to become a two person choir. We did all kinds of things with our voices to make that part special and it was incredibly cathartic for me.

Post Mental Reprise came a few years later in mid 2021. A lot had changed since then, the most shocking thing of them all though was that the bully in question I wrote part 1 about finally did apologise to me! He’d grown up a lot since the incident, realised the friends who made him act the way he did weren’t good people, found better friends, and then apologised to everyone. Including me! We’re not friends now but we are civil. My cousin suggested the E.P should get rounded out with a part 2 to Post Mental, so that’s what we did! I acknowledged the positive change in the lyrics, and we decided to give this ending a 60s pop inspired sound with a Lo-fi twist.

Finally, the E.P’s youngest song is A New Sunshine. This is a breakup song, but probably the sweetest breakup song you’ll ever hear. I’d been in a relationship that was not perfect, but definitely meaningful for about a year and a half. In early 2021 I realised things were coming to an end as the two of us started University. The flaws in our relationship that we could handle in high school were more difficult to deal with as new young adults, so we calmly broke it off and remained friends. They are one of my best friends to this day and they even came to the listening party for this E.P while cracking a few jokes when this song came on about how they knew it was about them. I wrote this song the exact day we broke up. It definitely got a few tweaks as I started making it come to life though. In this song I talk about my excitement in moving on, not just from that relationship, but in my life in general now that I was fresh out of school. Kissing off the last of my teenage blues this E.P was tying up the loose ends of. For this songs influences I blended the shoegaze/dream pop influences from Lola Bunny and the alt-folk of the other songs and came up with something akin to Angel Olsen’s first album or Linger by The Cranberries. This song along with the first part of Post Mental took probably the longest to perfect, but it was a true labour of love that I’m glad finally came together eventually. Especially thanks to me and my cousin’s good friend Carson who gave us the twangy guitar solo towards the song’s end that I had envisioned in my mind but definitely couldn’t play.

I hope you enjoy the deeper insights into each Thing Is Me song and you enjoy the music if you haven’t already listened yet. Keep giving it love, and lemme know what you think :3 thank you ily

[lifeofkaze]

A Search for Balance

CHAPTER 19: SPARK A FIRE

Find the masterlist with all chapters of this story here, the previous chapter here, and the next one here.

Tagging: @flareshogwarts

Warning: language, alcohol, discussion of manipulative behaviour, explicit NSFW content

Orion had stayed at the training grounds longer than the rest of the team. He had hoped that tiring himself to the point of exhaustion would be enough to quiet his thoughts, but - like so often lately - he had eventually dragged himself home with a heavy body and a restless head.

He knew the root of his unrest, of course, but when his restiveness wouldn’t stop even after taking a long shower and a cup of tea, Orion forced himself to sit, push away his daydreams, and turn his focus on the inside.

He sat between the opened double doors to the garden with his legs crossed underneath him and the cold November wind prickling on his skin. The moon was still hanging low in the sky, but soon it would rise to eventually give way to the golden light of the sun. It was a dance that was repeated every day, two lovers destined to be near and yet apart forever. 

The thought made Orion sad. Neither he nor Lizzie had spoken about what had happened on his birthday, but something seemed to have changed since then. Lizzie still made sure to keep her distance from him, but she had become more relaxed, livelier, more like she had been before… 

He forced himself to stop right there. Thinking about Lizzie in that way was leading nowhere, but the way her smile had been making his heart beat faster lately was worryingly familiar, just like it had been when he had first fallen in love with her. Despite everything, he hadn’t been able to stay away from her back then, and it seemed that he still wasn’t able to now.

Realising that his thoughts were straying, Orion exhaled, his breath forming as a cloud in front of his mouth. He watched it ascend, imagining his troubles rising up into the starry sky along with it. 

He was about to settle deeper into the stillness of his mind when a sudden knock on the door distracted him yet again. With a sigh, Orion went to see who was disturbing him now, but when he saw who it was standing on his doorstep, his wonder turned into confusion.

“Lizzie?” he asked in astonishment. “What can I do for you?”

Lizzie jumped, as if her thoughts had been somewhere else entirely. She had a haunted look about her, her body constantly shifting from one side to the other. Her eyes were red and puffy, and dark streaks of make-up were staining her cheeks. Slowly, as if not to startle her, Orion stepped to the side.

“Do you want to come in?” 

Snapping from whatever was going through her head, Lizzie nodded slowly. As she passed him, Orion could feel how agitated she was, like the string of a guitar so taut that it was close to snapping. 

He led her into the living room, where she just stood, seemingly unsure of what to do. When Orion offered to take her coat, she flinched from his touch, then slowly shrugged it off herself and handed it to him. Underneath, she was wearing the same jumper she had after practice, but now there was an angry bruise on her skin right above her collarbone. Orion drew a sharp breath.

“What happened?” he asked her with a pressed voice. “Lizzie, who did this?”

Lizzie didn’t answer him for a long moment. Then, all the tension seemed to leave her body at once. She clapped her hand in front of her mouth and burst into tears. 

“It’s Matthew,” she cried, her words barely intelligible between her sobs. “He found my keepsake box with your old shirt and all the letters, and he read them all, and then he snapped at me and said he’d burn everything, so I threatened him with my wand, and now he’s mad at me, and I don’t know how everything just went so wrong!”

Her words had tumbled from her mouth in a hectic rush. Not sure how to comfort her, Orion put his arm around her shoulders, ready to draw back at  a moment’s notice should he overstep his mark.

“Matthew did this?” he asked quietly, struggling to keep his voice level.

“He was so angry with me,” Lizzie replied miserably, wiping at her eyes with the ball of her hand. “I told him to leave, and then he gripped my shoulder so hard it hurt. He’s never been this furious with me before. Oh, I’m going to be in so much trouble for this.” 

Her crying intensified at her last words, each of her sobs cutting into Orion’s heart. He had never liked Matthew - for more than the obvious reasons - but knowing that he had raised a hand against Lizzie was too much, even for him.

“You won’t be in trouble,” he told her, softly but firmly. “I will not let him hurt you, I promise. Where is he now?” 

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know either,” Lizzie shuddered. “Wait, where are you going?”

Orion had let go and stepped away from her. “I’m going to find him.”

“Orion, no, wait! Please!” 

He was almost past her when Lizzie’s hand on his shoulder made him stop. 

“Don’t go,” she whispered so quietly that he could scarcely hear her. “Don’t leave me alone. Not again.”

His fury fanned out at the pain in her voice. Acutely aware of how close she was to him, Orion closed his eyes. 

“What do you want from me, Lizzie?”

Her laugh was shaky. “A hug would be really nice right now.” 

No sooner had she finished speaking that he turned and wrapped his arms around her. He held her close as she began to cry again, doing his best to push aside the fluttery feeling in his chest. This was not the time; Lizzie had come looking for a friend, and he would make sure not to let her down again. 

After a while, Lizzie’s shoulders stopped shaking but even after she had ceased crying altogether, she didn’t move away from him. The two of them just stood there without speaking, the moment was too fragile for words. 

Eventually, Lizzie raised her head away from his chest. Tears were still glistening in her eyes, but there was a spark in them as she looked at him. Her eyes dropped to his lips, and Orion held his breath as…

“Orion, are you home?”

The sound of a voice in the hallway had them hastily break apart. They stepped away from each other just as Morgaine walked into the living room. Orion took a subtle step to the side, blocking her view of Lizzie hurriedly wiping the tear stains from her face.

“Sorry, the door was open,” Morgaine said, looking between Orion and Lizzie with her eyebrows raised. “I thought it was alright if I came in.”

“My door is always open for friends,” Orion said cheerfully, despite his heart beating in his ears. “What can I do for you, Morgaine?”

“I really could use some more help with this balancing thing.” She craned her head, trying to catch a glimpse of Lizzie behind Orion’s back. “Looks like I wasn’t the only one with this idea. Or what else would she be doing here?” 

“I could ask you the same,” Lizzie said stiffly as she stepped out from behind Orion’s back. Her eyes were still puffy, but she had regained most of her composure. 

“Clean out your ears. I need Orion’s help.”

“And I’m sure the prospect of him holding your hand had nothing to do with why you couldn't wait until tomorrow.”

“What do you even care?” Morgaine snapped. “At least I’m here because I want to improve my actual gameplay. Not sure what kind of game it is you’re playing at, though.” 

“I needed someone to talk to,” Lizzie replied hotly. “Stop making assumptions when you have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“The only one making assumptions here is you. I just know what I saw.”

“Flared tempers are not the ground to solve differences,” Orion cut in before Lizzie could reply. “As members of the same team, unity should be our most precious good to uphold. Of course I will help you with your training, Morgaine. Tomorrow,” he added, wiping the triumphant look from Morgaine’s face. “For now, I suggest you go and find the calm that lies within your centre. There can’t be balance when your heart is ruled by passion.” 

Morgaine looked at him in disbelief. “Are you telling me to get lost?”

“That’s not what I said.” 

”No, you didn’t,” she snorted in response. “I do hope you know what you’re getting yourself into here, though.” 

She turned on her heel and stalked from the room. Once the door had slammed shut behind her, Orion exhaled slowly. Next to him, Lizzie awkwardly cleared her throat.

“I had better go, too,” she mumbled with her eyes fixed to the ground. “I need to find Matthew and sort this mess. Thank you for… you know. And sorry about your shirt,” she added with a feeble smile, nodding at the dark stain on Orion’s chest.

“You don’t have to leave if you don’t want to,” Orion shook his head. “That’s what friends are for, aren’t they?”

“They are,” Lizzie echoed. “That’s what friends do, being there for each other.” 

She looked between Orion and the door as if she were unsure of whether or not she should stay. He knew it would probably be better if she left, but - selfish as it was - Orion found that he didn’t want her to.

“You really don’t mind me staying for a bit longer?” Lizzie eventually said with a small voice. “I don’t know where Skye has gone, and I don’t want to be by myself right now.”

“Stay for as long as you like,” Orion smiled at her. “Can I offer you something to drink?”

Lizzie sighed heavily. “That’s probably the best thing I’ve been asked today.”

Despite himself, Orion had to laugh. “I was thinking more about a cup of tea.”

The colour rose to Lizzie’s cheeks, but there was a guilty smile playing around her lips as she mumbled, “Of course you did.”

When Orion returned from the kitchen with two cups of green tea, Lizzie had already settled on the sofa. They didn’t talk about what had happened as they drank, and gradually, Lizzie’s smile became less hesitant and her gestures more lively again. With the terrace doors still open, the room had grown cold, so after they had moved from the sofa to the ground in front of the fireplace, Orion went to exchange their tea cups for two glasses of Firewhiskey. 

“That’s not the awful brew from your birthday, is it?” Lizzie wanted to know as Orion handed her a glass.

“No,” he shook his head and took a sip from his drink. The rich taste unfurled in his mouth and warmed him from the inside. “I keep this one for special occasions.”

“More special than your birthday?”

“What could be more special than cheering up a friend?” 

Lizzie hummed in response, her lips resting on the rim of her glass without drinking. She watched the fire with a sad look around her eyes. After another moment of silence, she put her glass down altogether.

“The way Matthew reacted today… I never knew he could be like that. How he switched from sad to angry just like that, it was almost scary.” She shook her head, not taking her eyes off the dancing flames. “He’s changed so much lately. He’s been obsessed with the wedding for a while, but it’s been getting worse. I asked him to slow down and relax, but he just won’t listen.”

Orion nodded, guarding his face carefully. “His love for you is burning strongly.” 

A flicker of defiance crossed Lizzie’s face. “Matthew loves me, and I love him. I really do. I didn’t want to get into another relationship so soon after… well. I went out with the odd guy, nothing serious, but when I met Matthew, it was like being swept off my feet. He was so accommodating, cultured, and charming, like he’d stepped right out of a fairytale.” 

“He sure sounds like it.”

“We hit it off straight away. For the first time since you had left, I was happy - really happy. I had never thought I would want to get married so early, but…”

Her voice tailed off, and Orion chose his next words carefully. “You got engaged very quickly, indeed.” 

“Maybe too quickly. I don’t know.”

Orion’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “So you didn’t want to marry him?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Lizzie replied hurriedly. “I was just taken by surprise, that’s all. I would have thought he’d wait a bit longer to propose.” 

“Why did you accept if you weren’t ready?”

Lizzie shrugged. “I didn’t have much of a choice. Matthew asked me at one of his parents’ parties, in front of all the guests.” Her face softened. “He looked so happy when he got to his knees, so hopeful. How could I say no to him without breaking his heart?” 

Her fingers, which had been fiddling the ends of her ponytail, stopped and her face took on a stubborn look. “And I did want to marry him - I still do - so what was the point in waiting either? It’s what I wanted, too.” 

Orion didn’t answer. Matthew’s proposal didn’t sound like the big, romantic gesture Lizzie was making it out to be. To him, it looked like Matthew had used Lizzie’s good-heartedness to build the first bars of her golden cage without anybody noticing. 

Knowing she was waiting for his reply, Orion pulled himself together. He had his own opinion of Lizzie’s fiancé, but it wasn’t his place to tell her that.

“If your heart told you accepting his hand was the right thing to do, you are following the path the universe has intended for you. There is no need for doubt.”

“I’m not sure if it was my heart I listened to that day,” Lizzie said thoughtfully. “See, Matthew has this gift of making people think that what they want is the same thing he wants. He would never do this to me, of course,” she added quickly when she saw the look on Orion’s face. “Or, so I thought. I’m not so sure anymore now. Maybe there’s a side to him I didn’t know. That seems to be a pattern with me.” 

She sounded so defeated that Orion had to fight the urge to reach out to her, but he knew that she was talking about him as much as about Matthew now. They had rebuilt their friendship on a base of unanswered questions - a fragile foundation if Orion had ever seen one. It had only been a matter of time until Lizzie would demand her answers from him; he had only hoped that it wouldn’t be today. 

“Relationships are much like snowflakes,” he said in the hopes of gaining some time. “They may appear similar at first, but if you look at them a little more closely, you’ll see that none are ever quite the same.”

Lizzie firmly sat her glass down and turned to him. “Orion, no, we’re not doing this. This is not a conversation you can talk yourself out of. I want you to tell me why you left me, so I can finally move on from all of this and fix my life!”

Orion held her eyes before looking thoughtfully into the fire. Lizzie had a point, he decided. If anything, she deserved his honesty. He owed her that much. 

“I didn’t only run from you,” he said quietly towards the flickering flames, “I ran from you as much as from myself.”

“But why?” 

The little crack in Lizzie’s voice was worse than if she had shouted at him. Orion turned his glass in his hands, watching the firelight dance over the smooth surface. 

“The year I spent in Montrose was hard, harder than I had imagined. I missed you… Merlin, I missed you so much. A bitter irony, don’t you think? There I was, living my dream, yet every time I flew onto the Quidditch pitch, it was like only half my heart was there. I had lost all my balance, and it soon began to show.

“The universe was kind when it led you to Wigtown instead of Montrose,” he continued, after having taken a sip of his whiskey. The alcohol burned down his throat and made the words come easier. “The Magpies’ flock flies fast and without looking back. I was a fledgling overestimating his own strength, too inexperienced to see that I was falling behind until it was too late. I was scared of how much I depended on you to be who I was. If everything that makes you is at the mercy of another, who are you once they’re gone?

“The only way to find my way back to myself was to strip my life to the core. I didn’t know where my path would lead me when I left, only that it had to be away from Montrose, and from you.”

Orion let his head fall back against the foot of the sofa, his eyes lingering on the picture of him, Skye and Lizzie on the mantelpiece. 

“I travelled the world without aim until I thought I had found my fate in India,” Orion continued. “I stayed there for over a year, looking for answers to questions I didn’t know I had. I built a life on the other side of the world, but believe me, I never stopped missing you, not even once.”

It was quiet when he was done. Lizzie had let him speak without interruption, her knees drawn into her chest and the look on her face more hurt than anything Orion had ever seen. 

“And did you?” she eventually asked with a breathy voice. “Did you find your answers?”

“I found what I needed to find. You have to understand that I never meant to hurt you. It pains me that I did, but it doesn’t change that I had to go.” 

Lizzie swallowed heavily. “I wish you had stayed away. I hate that you came back.” 

She suddenly turned to him, her eyes burning with something that took Orion a moment to recognise: desperation.

“I made something good from what you left behind,” she said fiercely. “I have a career and a name, and I worked my butt off for it. What made you think you could jump back into my life and make me want to throw everything away?” 

Orion was taken aback by her sudden fury. “I never asked you to throw away anything for me.”

Lizzie exhaled sharply, a sound somewhere between a sob and a bitter laugh. 

“That’s the worst thing about it - you didn’t even need to. You came and messed with me like it’s nothing to you. I had everything under control and now I don’t know Snitch from Quaffle anymore, and you make me want to do things I shouldn’t want to be doing, and what even gave you the bloody right?”

She had leaned forward while she spoke, with every word a little further. She was close to him now, so close that Orion could smell her perfume and the scent of Firewhiskey on her breath. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry.

“And what kind of things would that be?”

“Who cares?” Lizzie said, her breath brushing over Orion’s skin. “There’s nothing left between us anymore.”

“Nothing,” Orion echoed, his voice reduced to a whisper. She locked eyes with him, the blue of them deep and dark as the stormy sea. 

“Nothing at all.” 

He could feel her words more than he heard them as Lizzie closed the distance between them and brushed her lips against his. A shiver went through him as the butterflies in his stomach took flight, spreading into his chest, his arms, legs, every inch of his body.

They broke apart, Orion’s heart racing as their eyes met. For a moment, neither of them moved before their lips connected a second time in an almost desperate way. Lizzie slung her arms around his neck, her hands wandering from Orion’s neck up the back of his head, where she buried her fingers in his hair, stirring memories he had kept well hidden away.

When they paused for air, he searched her face for any sign of hesitancy or regret, but Lizzie moved in again with a fire that took his breath away. Her tongue brushed his lower lip and he let her in, the taste of her burning away every remaining bit of doubt.

As Lizzie shifted her weight to move onto his lap, Orion’s hands came to rest on her waist, where they fit as perfectly as he remembered. He ran his fingers through her hair, and she impatiently reached up and pulled her hair tie from it. Her curls tumbled over her shoulders and his hands, their scent of jasmine and mint deliciously intoxicating. She moved her hands from his shoulders and down his chest, where they slipped underneath his shirt and travelled upwards again. 

Feeling reach for the buckle of his belt, Orion was brought back to his senses. He caught hold of her wrists and gently pushed her away. 

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” he said, his words a raspy whisper. “You don’t really want this.” 

Lizzie’s eyes hardened. “I know what I want.” Her lips brushed from Orion’s mouth to his ear, making him hold his breath. “And something tells me that you want it, too.”

“You’re upset,” he said, hating himself for wishing that she’d go on. “I don’t want you to regret this.”

“Go ahead then,” Lizzie whispered, leaning in just far enough for her lips to barely touch his. “Tell me to stop.”

Orion opened his mouth to do exactly that, but instead, he pulled her in again, capturing her lips in a searing kiss. The stubble of his beard grazed her skin as he pulled her jumper over her head, making her draw a shuddering breath as he kissed the spot on her neck where her pulse was racing. 

His shirt went next, their kiss only broken for the time it took Lizzie to rid him of it. There was a spark in her eyes as she took in the pictures covering his arms and chest. The way she bit her lower lip as her fingers danced along the inked lines made Orion want to claim them all over again. 

As his mouth followed the curve of her neck dowards, he noticed that there was a tattoo on the side of her rib cage as well, one he had never seen before. It was two words written in a cursive font, the letters artfully intertwined with each other. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but his curiosity faded at the small gasp Lizzie made as he traced the lines with the tip of his tongue. 

He laid her down on the soft carpet as he explored her body with his lips. Savouring how she held her breath as he kissed her collarbone, he lingered there for a sweet moment before continuing towards her breasts, over her stomach, and further down from there. He brushed along the insides of her thighs with fingers and mouth, tracing the outline of her pants before she directed him to where she wanted to feel him most.

Orion paused, casting a last, questioning look at her. Lizzie had propped herself up on her elbows, her cheeks flushed and lips parted as she waited for him to continue. Her eyes were wild, impatient and told him everything he needed to hear - go on.

Lizzie arched her back to meet him as he drove her towards the edge and over it, the sounds she made sweeter than music to Orion’s ears. As he raised his face away from her trembling body, it didn’t need her half-pleading, half-demanding look to tell him what it was that she wanted from him.

Orion let her kiss him again, hungrily and with fire in her touch as she pulled him in. He waited until she had adjusted to him, leaving it to her to set the pace. She began to move, almost salaciously slow, but their rhythm quickly sped up until everything but the feeling of her skin against his was driven from Orion’s mind.

Their passion grew from a flame into a wildfire, like a desperate fever threatening to consume them both. They moved together in unison, their bodies remembering each other as if neither time nor heartbreak had ever gone down between them. The fire coursing through Orion’s veins spread from his hands to her skin, from her lips to his body, until he felt like they were burning, each set ablaze by the other’s touch. 

Lizzie cried out as reached her high a second time, her nails digging into Orion’s skin. The feeling of her tightening around him was enough to send him over the edge as well, his body shaking as he buried his face against her neck. 

As their heartbeats slowed, the tension gradually left his shoulders. Lizzie’s lips pulled into a soft, exhausted smile as she raised her face to kiss him once more. Orion broke away from her to say something, but she shook her head.

“Let’s not talk now,” she whispered, her thumb running over his cheek as lightly as a feather. 

Following her wish, Orion extended his arm to pull some cushions and a blanket from the sofa behind them. Holding her in his arms next to the glowing embers, he soon began to feel drowsy. Pressing a one last kiss to Lizzie’s forehead, Orion sank back into her embrace, allowing sleep to finally take him.

[ronnonon]

After overhearing a conversation between a group of muggle borns, Ron learns about ‘The Piercing Game’. It’s a simple premise, you get as many piercings and/or body modifications like tattoos or implants without anyone noticing. Ron has always felt invisible in his family and decides to play this game, mainly as a joke but part of him wants to know what it would be like to get some attention from his family that’s just reserved for him. He knows that technically his brother already has a piercing, but they rarely see him. Of course he can’t do this on his own, so he tells Harry and Hermione of his plan to get his ears done, pretending he’ll have to hide it from his mum. It’s easy to hide that after both of them as well as Luna and Neville help him get the two studs done, he just covers his ears with his hair. Then he gets his second loves done and can’t help but love the thrill of knowing he’s doing something he shouldn’t, especially as it hurts nobody but him. Then he goes bigger, getting a septum that he can flip up into his nose when around the family. He feels so smart with how well he’s hiding them, until he realises he’s been sitting at the dinner table with his septum down and even when his parents look him in the eye… they just don’t notice. For a few days he considers stopping this little game, but then Harry sends him a letter saying he should get a Helix or Conch with a little drawing to show what they are. He feels validated by his closest friend and that’s enough for him to keep going. There’s a difference this time when Luna holds the ice behind his ear and Hermione preps the needle and apple slice, because he’s laughing with his friends about school, not beating his parents. He’s doing it for himself, to have something for only him that makes him feel unique. Over the course of his sixth year, he gets several new piercings in each ear, two opposing snake bites on his lips and a (rather risky) bridge on his nose. For his birthday Hermione takes him to a muggle place to get his left eyebrow and tongue done, the cool look woman inspiring him to get his hair done as well. Both him and Harry spend the night at her families house as they dye the tips of his hair a deep, almost maroon red. Her parents gift him a pair of loopy earrings with little dragons resting in the hoops and he almost cries at the silent support. (Hermione pretends not to notice but later thanks her parents.) it’s at the end of the school year, him smiling everyday and painting his nails with Luna in courtyard when Ginny and the twins rush over to him with worried expression. Ron looks up, toying with his tongue stud and moves his head in a confused manner. All three speak in unison, “Draco told mum about you piercings!” Ron isn’t sure what shocks him more, that his mother is now aware of his rebellious actions or that his siblings have apparently known the whole time. Instead of being scared, he finds himself smiling and hugging his family, laughing softly as he says, “mum can stuff it. I’ve never hidden anything from her and it’s all legal, so if she has a problem that’s on her. I’m too happy to be bothered.”

[thesupermanandsuperfamarchive]

Seeing as I was tagged by @percysblackgirlfriend in a post about assigning sea slug plushies to six members of the Superfam, I'm going to assign them to six more members of the Superfam. So the first one is Cotton Candy.

This one goes to Ariella since Clark and Linda would have bought it for her because it was so colorful, and so cozy, and it reminded Ari of not only the cotton candy her grandparents, her parents, her uncles, and her aunts would get for her, or even make for her, only when they were celebrating something, especially her birthday, since Ari would be even more hyper than she was to begin with from the sugar rush, but also of the ribbon candies they would get for her much more often, since it was way smaller in size and in sugar compared to the cotton candy. Though more often than not she didn't get the fact that it was an actual candy and would try to tie it around her hair or her arm like it was an actual ribbon.

The second one is Sakura Mochi.

It might have been much more cutesy that what she usually kept with her, but Mae had been the one to get it for Linda as a souvenir back when the two had visited Japan after Linda had been interested to see the unique aesthetics each and every one of the forty-seven prefectures produced in its own ceramic ware as inspiration for one of her upcoming projects and then the two later decided to stop by a confectionery shop when they were hungry. The shop happened to be selling sakura mochi which Linda wanted to not only try out but also bring back with them for Ariella and Mattie to try out too. Mae ended up eating so much of it thanks to their fast acting metabolism that they had been given the plush by the shop as a prize which they had then given to Linda in the end.

The third one is Donut.

It seems pretty plain, simple, subdued at first glance, it isn't as colorful and as covered in ornaments as Macaron or Konpeito are, it isn't as overtly fluffy as Rainbow or Cotton Candy are, and it's mainly made up of shades of white and brown, but if you were to take a closer look at it, it's a pretty nice color, being neutral and warm, as well as being reminiscent of things you usually draw comfort from like a cup of coffee given to you late at night when she was still looking into a story, or a chunk of chocolate given to a kid or two in pain, and in tears who were in need of some sweets to calm down, from the top you would notice how there are sprinkles that came in many colors scattered on the white patch on its back, and from the back you would notice a pink and white glaze on its donut-shaped tail, which Lois would kind of be reminded of when she would buy it for Clark, partially because everyone else, even she herself, had one of these so it only made sense that he had one too.

The fourth one is Crêpe.

It not only shared similar shades of white and brown with Donut but still has pops of red all over its design that definitely sets Crêpe apart as its own thing, much like how he suited up and operated when he was Superman, but also played a part in his realisation and resolution to want, to need to live his life to the fullest following his visit to Paris, France to check out its culture and its cuisine as suggested by his new friend Mitch after he had been informed that his health was quickly deteriorating meaning that he was going to die within a year, which Ma would be reminded of when she would but it for Mon after she had happily learned that after some help from the LOSH, Mon's healing factor and the elixir Mon had taken in order to protect himself from the lead that was poisoning his body would no longer be at odds with each other like they had before, meaning that there no longer was an immediate threat to his life, and that the early end to his life was no longer so imminent.

The fifth one is Pudding.

It not only has a soft, spongy, and thick texture that can be compared to how they are whenever they appears to be how they originally appeared to be, a mass of synthetic protoplasm, but also was also one of the first few new things Mae had eaten with Linda one day, which Mae had really, really enjoyed, so much so that they were pretty happy that Linda had gotten one that looked a lot like it as a thank you for the sakura mochi themed one that they gave her a little while back.

And so, the sixth and last one is Macha.

Jon would be one to buy this for Kon, partially because it matches the color of his eyes, partially because Kon can be a bit bitter at times about this and that yet still be so sweet at the end of the day when he still looks out for Jon, for the rest of the family, and for his friends in his own way, partially because the green and black tiles on the side of its head and on its tail kind of remind Jon of one of those creepers that they would see when they would play Minecraft together in their free time.

Since I wasn't able to to cover all of the other members of the Superfam feel free to do so @superfam

[legends-of-time]

The Journey of Living at Downton

Chapter 31: June 1922

Masterlist

"Are you sure?" Emma asks Rose as the two convene in the Drawing room, knowing no one will be in there at the moment.

"I thought you of all people would like the idea!" Rose huffs.

Emma rolls her eyes. "I do like the idea and I'd say bollocks to the lot of them, but are you sure about it? You know how the family are. They're not always as open as you think."

Rose had dragged Emma further into her plans for Robert's birthday. It's soon clear that Rose plans on using the band that Mr Ross was a part of as the surprise. Emma hadn't realised that there had been contact between the two and worries about the mistreatment the singer will receive from the family because of their unconscious racism.

"But isn't this a part of the inclusivity you always talk of?" Rose argues.

Emma sighs and rubs her head. "Yes... and I suppose everyone will enjoy it. It's not like they'll want to make a scene if they don't."

Rose grins. "Exactly. I'll contact Mr Ross and organise it."

"Remember, we need to inform Cora about this, well, sort of tell her."

Rose nods eagerly.

Emma squints her eyes at Rose suspiciously. "There isn't another reason why you are so eager to do this?"

Rose's eyes widen and she shakes her head a bit too quickly. "No! I just think it'll be a nice surprise for Cousin Robert."

"Hmm. Mary tells me that Mr Napier and his boss Mr Blake are coming next week, they'll be here for Robert's party." Emma warns.

Rose shrugs with a grin. "More the merrier!"

"I think they may be more interested in the pigs and Mary in Mr Napier's case." Emma remarks with a grin.

Rose nods. "Yes, Tamworth's. We had them at Duneagle. Daddy swears by them."

"It's a new thing for us." Emma says. "Tom's been a bit restless with waiting for their arrival. We haven't done much with pigs before."

"Not disrupting anything else?" Rose remarks with a grin.

Emma lets out a fake scandalised gasp before creasing over with laughter.

——

Tom tells Emma a couple of days later that Harold, Cora's brother, has apparently come into difficulty in his business. Emma is curious as to why Harold has written to Robert of all people about it though.

Emma and Rose knock on the door and open it to find Cora in an armchair, reading a book.

"Cousin Cora?" Rose greets her as she closes the door behind them.

"I think you can call me Cora now." The Countess says with a smile.

Emma huffs out a slight laugh. "She wouldn't dare with Robert."

"She must dare with me." Cora remarks. "How can I help?"

Rose and Emma sit down opposite her.

"I... we wanted to tell you that we've settled the surprise. For his birthday." Rose tells her.

"Since you won't tell me what it is, I don't know what to say." Cora comments. "But I'm assuming everything is alright if Emma is involved so, good?"

Emma feels a rush of warmth from how much Cora seems to trust her.

"Well, if you're alright with it. Is it okay if we let Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson know since they'll be the ones that has to deal with it?" Emma asks. "It's only on the day. And it's only till after dinner."

It's at that moment that Baxter walks in, taking away the breakfast tray. Emma watches her as she walks past. She wonders what the lady's maid's history is with Thomas. The woman seems nice enough but Emma hasn't really had the chance to get to know her.

"I suppose so."

——

Emma and Rose soon find themselves in Mrs Hughes' Sitting room.

"A band?!" Mrs Hughes exclaims in surprise.

Rose and Emma look at each other in alarm at how loud Mrs Hughes is being.

"Shh! No one must know." Rose whispers. She closes the door furtively.

"We'll get the carpets rolled up and everything arranged during dinner. So that when His Lordship walks out of the Dining room, there it is." Emma eagerly explains.

"And we're to hide them until then?" Mrs Hughes questions.

Rose lets out an exasperated huff. "Oh, 'hide' them? You just have to keep them with you. His lordship won't come down here, will he?"

"He doesn't. Downstairs is a foreign land to him." Emma remarks. This lifts a slight smile onto Mrs Hughes' face.

"So, I have to find them food and beds. How many are there?" Mrs Hughes asks, slightly disgruntled.

"Six, I think. But I'll check." Rose replies

"And Her Ladyship knows about it?"

Emma presses her lips together, highlighting her discomfort. "Well, um, she doesn't know it's a band, but she does know there's a surprise that you're helping us with. We just want it to be a surprise for her too."

"Very well. I'll see what I can do." Mrs Hughes tells them though Emma can see she's not entirely convinced.

"Thank you." Rose says gratefully.

They walk out together, and Mrs Hughes sees them up the stairs.

——

Emma walks into the Outer Hall to find Edith by the telephone, trying to hold back tears.

Emma walks up to her in alarm. "Edith. What happened? What's the matter?"

"Michael's vanished into thin air. Nobody's heard from him, no one can reach him." Edith replies shakily.

This was what Emma was afraid of. She can't think that now and mustn't worry Edith until they are sure something has happened. "I'm sure it's just a failure of communication. If anything had happened, we'd've heard."

"Maybe." Edith says unsurely. "I just wish to God he'd pick up the telephone."

"He will. Come on." She holds her hand out to Edith. "We must ought to do the important ritual of getting changed for dinner." She remarks sarcastically.

Edith smiles slightly at the comment as they walk towards the stairs, hand in hand.

——

They all assemble in the Drawing room after dinner with the exclusion of Robert attended by Mr Carson and Alfred.

Robert enters.

"You're back." Cora says from the settee she sits on with Rose and Emma. Tom, Mary, Edith and Billy sit scattered about on the other chairs. "I thought you must've missed the last train."

"No. But I only just caught it." Her husband replies as he walks into the room.

"Do you want some dinner?"

"I ate in the restaurant car." He leans down to kiss his wife.

"You weren't very long in London." Edith comments. Emma is happy to see she's perked up a little though she won't be okay until they know what's happened to Michael.

"There wasn't much to do. Just sign some papers for a trust that Billy Sheffield set up for his son." Robert explains as he takes place in front of the fireplace

"What will that entail?" Billy queries.

"Mainly telling the boy to drink less and be nicer to his mother."

"We learned at dinner that Alfred's leaving. He's got a place on the Ritz cookery course after all." Cora tells him.

"He'll be a bit behind but he can catch up." Emma adds.

"Ah?"

"I'm sorry to cut and run, m'lord." Alfred apologises.

"Don't worry about that. We're proud of you." Cora says sincerely.

"You must return one day as a famous chef." Mary remarks.

"Now you're back, m'lord, there's something I wanted to say." Alfred declares. "I've been well treated in this house, and I want you all to know that I'm very grateful."

"Thank you, Alfred." Cora says.

"Mr Carson has been a kind—" Alfred swallows, overcome with emotion, "—and wonderful teacher."

Emma feels genuinely touched and she can see everyone else is overcome by Alfred's words.

"Much more and we shall all burst into tears." Robert comments.

"I'm sorry, m'lord. Come along, Alfred. Let's get back to work." Mr Carson instructs but he is very touched, too. They start clearing away the drinks.

Robert addresses them, "How's my birthday dinner coming on?"

Rose and Emma share an alarmed look before the former says, "How do you know about the dinner?"

"The Coldhursts rang yesterday and said they'd love to come." Robert explains as he takes his drink that Mr Carson offers.

"Weren't we all sworn to secrecy?" Billy questions.

Emma huffs. "Some people just can't keep a secret."

"I don't mind." Robert reassures them. "It won't spoil it if it's not a surprise. Not for me."

"There may still be a surprise." Rose tells him.

"So, I should hope!"

——

The next day, Emma makes her goodbyes to Alfred. The boy had been nice as far as she could gather from brief interactions but most of her knowledge of him comes from Gemma who's been whinging on about the square between Alfred, Ivy, Daisy and Jimmy. Emma is glad that she isn't downstairs anymore and hadn't have to experience it. Maybe Alfred going will sort things.

Emma also hears from Anna that she and Mr Bates are going out on a date to the Netherby Hotel, which Emma is happy to hear.

That evening, they all, minus Cora, who's also at the Netherby Hotel, but for a committee meeting, come walking out from dinner. Emma notices Mr Carson approaching Edith with an envelope on his salver. She pauses as the others walk ahead.

"I do apologise, m'lady. But this came in the evening post and it appears to have been overlooked." Mr Carson tells her

"Not to worry." Edith reassures him as she quickly slits it open and reads the letter. Mr Carson moves on.

Emma watches as Edith's face morphs into panic and shock. Emma swears she sees her eyes welling up.

"Edith, what's the matter? Is it Michael?" Emma questions, startling Edith who hurriedly looks up and attempts to school her features.

"No. Not at all. Just more dead leads." Edith folds up the letter and quickly walks past her.

Emma frowns. "If you're sure..."

Edith pauses. "I am. We mustn't keep the others waiting." She quickly enters the Drawing room before Emma can say anymore.

——

Emma finally gets a chance to talk to Edith on her own when she finds her alone by the fire on the pouffe in the Library, crying. Emma immediately comes to her side and sits down next to her.

"Edith? Hey, what's the matter?" Emma questions, gripping her hand and looking at her earnestly.

Edith sniffles. "It's nothing."

"We both know that's not the case." Emma says. "Was it the letter? It was about Michael, wasn't it?"

"In a way."

"Perhaps you should get your father involved? Send someone over there?" Emma suggests. It hurts to see Edith so upset.

Edith shakes her head. "No. His office has already done that. There's a detective in Munich now, working with the German police."

Munich... A significant place that changed the Nazi party's tactics. Emma knows Hitler hasn't led the 1923 coup yet but that doesn't mean he's not lurking. Emma hopes his brown shirts have nothing to do with this.

"Then you just have to be patient." Emma says instead.

"I want to know what's happened. If he's... trapped somewhere, or falsely imprisoned. Or even dead." Her voice catches on the last word. Emma looks at her alarmed. "I mean it. If the worst's happened, I want to know. It's just so impossible to plan in this... fog."

Emma gently squeezes her hand. "Well, I'm sure he's not dead." She hopes anyway. The fact that it's been some months since he was last heard from, but she can't share her doubts

Edith sees right through her. "No, you aren't. Because none of us can be."

——

Mr Napier and Mr Blake soon arrive and are being greeted by Cora, Emma and Mary in the Great Hall.

"It's so kind of you all to have us." Mr Napier says, turning pointedly to his boss. "Isn't it, Charles?"

"It is." Mr Blake replies. Emma can't help but feel that he'd rather be somewhere else.

"We're anxious to do our bit." Mary says pleasantly.

"What do you mean by that?" Mr Blake questions. Oh, dear.

"Well, you're here to advise the landowners on how to get through this crisis, aren't you? To save the estates that need saving." Mary replies. Emma is now feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"I'm afraid Evelyn may have given you the wrong impression." Emma is not liking what seems to be a judgemental attitude behind the mask of Mr Charles Blake.

"In what way?" Mary questions.

"The government is aware that up and down the country, great estates are being sold in large numbers." Mr Blake explains.

"Precisely."

"North Yorkshire has a lot of these estates, big and small. And many are in difficulty. We will have every variety of problem to study." Mr Blake continues.

"And you're here to help."

"Not quite. We're here to analyse the situation and ask whether our society is shifting fundamentally. Will it affect food production, and so on?" Mr Blake finishes.

Emma admits that he does have a point but it'll make an enemy out of Mary. She decides to cut into what is clearly brewing to be a sparing match. "So, it's not about how the owners feel, but the food supply?" She asks.

"If that's how you want to put it..." Mr Blake replies.

"I'm afraid that owners will not enjoy that, may see it as mean-spirited," Emma warns. Out of the corner of her eye, Emma sees Edith and Rose walk up to them and greet Mr Napier, who seems quite relieved about it.

"Mr Lloyd George is more concerned with feeding the population than rescuing the aristocracy. That doesn't seem mean-spirited to me." Mr Blake quips.

Emma can't help but feel a bit annoyed herself with his blasé attitude.

Mr Napier is quick to butt in, "I'm afraid you may find us disappointing guests, if you want us to stay up till two in the morning being witty."

"Don't worry. I don't expect Mr Blake to be witty." Mary snarks.

Mr Blake gives her a look that says 'challenge accepted'.

Robert arrives and shakes hands with Mr Blake before moving to Mr Napier. "How long will you be with us?"

"Until the job is done and we can write a report. If you'll have us." Mr Blake replies.

"You must be sure to get rid of us when we become a nuisance." Mr Napier adds.

"The gong is rung at seven, and we meet in the drawing room at eight." Cora tells them. "You know it's Robert's birthday?"

"So, you must try to be witty tonight, Mr Blake. After that, we'll lower our expectations." Mary quips.

By the look on his face, Mr Blake has definitely accepted the challenge. Emma can't help but think this is moderately similar to how Mary and Matthew's relationship began.

"The girls will show you up." Cora says.

——

Emma and Rose enter the Servants' Hall to see that they are having their tea, served by Ivy and Daisy and Emma is pleasantly surprised to see Mr Molesley as they walk to the doorway. Everyone gets to their feet as they enter. Emma still finds it very strange when they do that.

"Lady Rose, Mrs Branson! Can I help?" Mr Carson questions.

"Oh, please, don't let us disturb you. But Lady Rose and I wanted to make a speech. Mrs Hughes may have told you—" Emma begins to say. She consciously decides to keep the titles and be formal about those upstairs so as not to throw Mr Carson's nose further out of joint than they will be doing anyway.

"I haven't yet." The housekeeper interrupts. Emma is amused by the disgruntled look on Mr Carson's face.

"Well, we should tell them now," Emma says. She tries not to show her anxiousness and nerves as she turns to address the rest of the servants. "As a treat for His Lordship, a London band is coming to play after dinner."

"A London band? That's the berries." Jimmy comments.

"From a nightclub called The Lotus." Rose adds.

"A nightclub? Really?" Daisy asks excitedly.

"But it must be a complete surprise." Emma warns them. "No one knows anything. And they mustn't. That is, Her Ladyship knows that something's going to happen, but even she doesn't know what."

"And you think she'll be pleased?" Mr Carson asks doubtfully.

"She'll be thrilled." Rose insists.

"We'll look after your secret." Jimmy promises. Emma is thankful for it but she still doesn't know how she really feels about the footman.

"So, until then, if you can just make them comfortable. I know musicians are outside your daily round." Rose adds.

"Don't worry about that, m'lady. We can take it in our stride. We may be Yorkshiremen, but we do know a little of life in the city." Mr Carson says with a smile. Emma internally winces, she somehow doubts that a bit.

A male voice can be heard. It's Jack Ross, the band's singer. "Hello? Uh... is anyone there?" He comes walking confidently into the Servants' Hall. "I think this is where we're supposed to be."

Mr Carson is so struck by his appearance that he knocks over his teacup. There's a shocked silence. Emma frowns at disappointment to see even Mrs Hughes and Thomas are being a bit funny about it.

Rose, determined to save the situation, smiles at Jack. "Welcome to Downton." She and Jack shake hands.

——

Emma and Tom walk to the Nursery before dinner so that they can feed the children along with Billy and Mary. Emma knows they're already there before her, but as she reaches the door, she hears Isobel's voice and what she says gives her pause and she turns to Tom to shush him.

"When I got engaged, I was so in love with Reginald I felt sick. I was sick with love. Literally." She laughs a little. "It seems so odd to think about it now. It really does."

"It was the same for me." Billy murmurs. "As if I'd gone mad, or been hypnotised, or something. For days. Weeks. All I could think about was her."

"And me. I was standing outside in the snow, and I didn't have a coat. But I wasn't cold, because all I kept thinking was, he's going to propose, he's going to propose!" Mary reminisces.

Emma and Tom turn to each other and smile softly, thinking of their own engagement. Emma has happy memories but she always can't help but feel guilty about how she had left him hanging for so long.

"Well. Aren't we the lucky ones?" Isobel remarks.

Emma can't help but feel guilty that, unlike Isobel, Mary and Billy, she still has Tom, and that she has what they have lost.

She decides she and Tom have heard enough. The three in there turn to them as Emma says, "Isobel, are you here to join us in the chaos of feeding time?"

"I thought I might." Isobel says with a smile.

The door opens, and the nannies come in with George and Michael in their arms and leading Ivy and Sybbie by their hands.

"Oh! Look who's here!"

"Hello!" Isobel greets them.

"Come here, Sybbie." Billy gathers up his daughter.

"Daddy!" Ivy squeals as Tom picks her up while Emma scoops Michael into her arms.

——

A large dinner party has been assembled for Robert's birthday with Mr Carson, Thomas, Jimmy and Mr Molesley attending them, the latter being a pleasant surprise. While Emma usually hates them, the guests are seemingly alright so far. Thankfully she's at the end of the table with Mary, Edith, Rose and a couple of gentlemen while Tom is next to Mr Napier and Cora and Billy are sitting with Isobel. What's worrying is that Mary is sitting next to Charles Blake.

"But I can't help feeling sorry for the poor pigs." Mary says.

"Do you eat bacon?" Mr Blake asks.

"Yes."

"Sausages?"

There's a layer of irritation underlining Mary's features. "Yes."

"Then you are a sentimentalist who cannot face the truth." Mr Blake remarks.

Mary rolls her eyes at him. "I'm not often called sentimental."

Emma huffs a quiet laugh and quickly takes a sip of her wine to hide her amusement. Her smile dims when she sees the unhappy look on Mr Napier's face. Seems to have realised that he has, yet again, brought a man to this house whom Mary infinitely prefers to him.

"Carson," Emma hears Robert call to the butler, who's assisting with clearing away the plates, "you don't mind if we go on calling Molesley Molesley, do you?"

"Of course not, m'lord." He clearly does, but he doesn't say a word.

"I'm catching the ladies' eye." Cora says after a short while. Everyone rises to give the ladies the chance to withdraw.

Rose and Emma share a look of alarm and the former quickly stands, protesting, "Oh, no!"

"Rose?" Cora questions in surprise.

"No. We're not splitting tonight. We're all going out together!" Rose then darts out of the room.

"What on earth is she talking about?" Edith wonders.

The dinner party are still on their feet, clueless while Emma waits amusedly.

Rose comes rushing back in as the music starts up. "Happy birthday, Cousin Robert!"

Robert laughs. "I say!"

——

The dinner party enter the Hall to find a band has been set up and the carpet has been rolled up. Rose is pulling Robert out into the Hall by his hand. Jack Ross is singing 'I'm just wild about Harry'. Robert is willing enough at first, but he stops dead when he sees it's a black singer. His family and guests come walking out after him, looking on uncertainly. Rose, however, has already found another dance partner.

"Who is this singer? And how did he get here? Isn't it rather odd?" Edith questions causing Emma to frown.

Robert snaps out of his stupor. "No, I think it's fun." He and Cora start to dance, too.

"Don't be disappointing, Edith." Emma warns. She moves on to dance with Billy as Isobel has snatched Tom away – they're absolutely enjoying themselves. More and more couples join the dance floor.

Emma and Billy soon begin discussing her and Tom's plans to move to America.

"Maybe I should follow what you and Tom are doing, making a new start elsewhere." Billy remarks.

"You don't think you will make a life here? That you have one?" Emma questions.

Billy gives her a pointed look. "Don't you?"

Emma shrugs, fair point. "Maybe. But I know Tom doesn't feel like he's one of them and I want him to be happy."

"That's what I always wanted for Sybil. That's gone now." Billy murmurs sadly.

Emma gives him a sympathetic look. "Perhaps not forever. You might find someone one day."

"Would there be another earl's daughter who'd be keen to take me on, do you think?" Tom remarks doubtfully.

"Well, I don't know. It would depend on her." Emma admits.

"No. She wouldn't." Billy corrects. "There aren't many as free as my Sybil."

"Well, I agree with that." Emma concedes. "Maybe Tom can introduce you to one of his cousins?"

"Not sure an Irish working girl will make everyone comfy." Billy remarks and Emma chuckles at that.

The song soon ends, and everyone claps.

——

Emma is dancing with Tom now. The band are playing a slower instrumental number now.

"Isobel said something interesting earlier." Tom remarks as they brush past Mr Napier and Violet dancing.

Emma looks up at her husband questioningly. "Oh?"

"How this, the band, shows how things can happen at Downton that no one imagined even a few years ago."

"She's got a point, I suppose." Emma ponders for a moment. "There's so much development here that was definitely not the case when I first came here."

"Yes. She says we should listen to that before giving up being here entirely." Tom adds.

"Do you think we should?" Emma questions as they move around Mary and Robert.

Tom lets out a quiet hum before replying, "Maybe, for now."

——

A/N: Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.

[emilydeananimates]

Script Version 1

From the story I drafted, I created the following script using guides from the internet on how to format it (in the document the font is Courier size 12 which hasn't carried over to the blog post). I have never written a script before so this was a completely new experience for me. However, writing a script has really helped me figure out the scenes for my project and will really help in the storyboarding process. I will likely review both the story and the script, but this post (and the one before) are the early drafts. I still haven't decided on a title for my project yet.

TITLE: ???

FADE IN:

INT. PARENTS LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

We’re inside a brightly lit living room. The Protagonist’s mum is gives her a hug and a kiss goodnight before heading upstairs.

The Protagonist is left alone looking at reminders of her 30th birthday. She reflects on the family photos on the shelves, photos of her siblings with their own families and the lone photo of herself. She sees a photo of her grandparents.

INT. DINING ROOM - DAY - (FLASHBACK)

The Protagonist is a child, drawing at a table with her Grandfather. He has drawn a kingfisher and she’s proudly showing him her drawing.

END FLASHBACK.

INT. PARENTS LIVING ROOM - NIGHT - (PRESENT DAY)

She turns on the tv, flicking through channels, shows of couples, weddings and having children. The Protagonist turns off the tv and reads the cover of a magazine about finding love and achieving expectations. Annoyed, she puts the magazine down and leaves the living room.

EXT. GARDEN - NIGHT

She leans in the doorway looking out at the forest beyond taking deep breaths. Her phone buzzes with a reminder for work tomorrow. She turns back inside.

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

In her room, a radio voices society's expectations, and her childhood teddy bear questions her life choices. Angry, she rushes outside into the forest.

EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

We’re in a dark, gloomy forest of dense trees. The protagonist falls over a root and a light catches her attention. She encounters a friendly glowing Kingfisher who flies off, indicating that she should follow. Intrigued, she follows the glowing trail left behind.

The clearing is full of doors with glowing blue runes which the Kingfisher flies through. The Protagonist tries to follow but the runes flicker and fade, the doors collapsing and a shadow figure emerging from the dust and rubble.

Frightened, by the figure attacking her, she runs from the clearing, only to find herself back in the same clearing, stuck in an endless loop of being in the same clearing.

The kingfisher reappears and guides her to a hidden doorway in the clearing guarded by the shadow creature. She tries various strategies: throwing a stone, using a makeshift weapon, even disguising herself; all attempts fail to get past the creature.

Exhausted and defeated, she gives up. The kingfisher transforms into her grandfather, offering encouragement.

GRANDFATHER My dear, why do you fight? You give the shadows far too much power. You are stronger than you realise; it’s time to forge your own path. There are so many opportunities in front of you, go ahead and create your own destiny.

Encouraged, the protagonist enters the clearing holding her Grandfathers hand, before he turns back into the Kingfisher and flies once more through the hidden door. She confronts the creature.

The creatures attack don’t touch The Protagonist, the creature diminishes in size with each failed attack.

The Protagonist reaches the glowing door, turns the handle and steps through. The door closes behind her and a golden rune for destiny glows where she once stood.

FADE OUT.

[dracoslittleangel]

Not her 2(d.m.)

It has been about three months since I broke up with Draco. And when I tell you it was hard for me, it was hard.

And it still is.

I miss him so freaking much,but at the same time I don't. I want some time to myself, to make me realise that I am worth it. I feel like I have lost myself trying to be enough for him. Keyword:trying.

I still spend hours crying over him. Hours crying as to why I wasn't good enough to make him move on from her.

I never told him to forget Astoria. No. I just asked him to move on. But obviously that didn't work.

I am trying to forget about him. I really am. But I just can't seem to do so. Everywhere I go, everything I do, I see him. I miss his touch, his voice, I miss everything about him. But then I don't have to go through constant comparison, arguing and constant reminder of how I am not Astoria, and how I will never be able to be enough, even though I might love him more than Astoria could ever do.

I don't think I could ever be able to forget him, or even move on. I just can't seem to let go. And him and I working in the same department doesn't help. That's why I haven't attended work since the break-up. I didn't want to see him. But I can't be at home forever. I have to face him someday. And today is that day. I am going to work after 3 months finally. And I am dreading it, because I will have to face him.

3rd PERSON POV It's been a week since Y/N has re-joined the ministry and so far its not that bad, mainly because she hasn't seen much of Draco. Its kind of awkward between them. No, actually its very awkward.

Draco would always try to start a conversation, but Y/N would only give short responses and dismiss him. She only talks to him when she really has to. She also has visited Scorpius a couple times, and every time she visits, he would call her 'mama' and she would always remind him that she's not his mum anymore, and never was,while looking at Draco sadly.

Today, Y/N is in a better mood, because it's her birthday. When she came to work, she was greeted and wished by many people on her way to her office, and that brought a smile to her face.

Right now, she was sitting in her office, recalling the time when Draco forgot her birthday. And she didn't even say anything to him, thinking it was just because of work. She scoffed at the memory.

On the other hand, Draco was on his way to her office, along with Scorpius. Scorp insisted that he had made a gift for Y/N for her birthday, and he wanted to see her. Breaking-up with Y/N was hard for Draco too, and he's gonna lie if he said he doesn't miss her. He didn't realize how dependent he was on her until she was gone. He still loves her too. Life is hard for him without her. She always used to make him feel better. But she isn't there anymore, but for her own good. He wants her to move on, to find someone better than him, or so he thought.

He knocked on her office door and heard a faint 'come in'. He was about to enter when he heard his name being called. He turned around and saw Harry Potter, the head of the department. "I want the file I gave you yesterday, I have to check something in it.", he said. Draco nodded his head and turned to Scorpius. "You go inside. I'll be there soon,yeah?", he asked. Scorpius nodded and rushed inside.

"MAMA!",he yelled excitedly. Y/N looked up from her work and smiled. "Scorp, I have told you I am not your mama", she sighed.

But Scorpius just ignored her comment. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY,MAMA!", he crawled on her lap and showed her the drawing he made for her birthday.

The drawing had 3 stick figures, the smallest one had 'me' written above it. And the tallest one had 'dad'. And the last one was Y/N's, which had 'best mama' written above it, in a messy yet beautiful handwriting.

Y/N sadly smiled at the picture.

"Do you like it?", asked Scorpius, looking at her with his big grey eyes. Y/N smiled and hugged him close to her.

"I love it, thank you so so much Scorp!", she kissed his head repeatedly.

Scorpius then crawled down from her lap and pulled on her hand, which made her stand up. "Let's go somewhere!", he looked up at her. "And where do you want to go, Scorp?", she chuckled. "Let's go to...Hogsmeade?", he asked her. "I am sorry Scorp, I have work. How about we go when I finish my work? Till then you can...play here?", she looked at him expectantly. "Okay!", he smiled up at her and went to explore her office.

Just then she heard another knock, and in came Draco. He looked at her from head to toe. She looked really good(and hot) in her white formal attire.(its above if you wanna see it) He always liked when she dressed formal, but never told her. When she noticed him check her out, her cheeks burned, which she tried to hide. She cannot feel this way anymore, she tried to remind herself. "Uh..Happy birthday, Y/N!", he greeted awkwardly, looking at everything but her. "Thanks", she coldly replied. He then looked and her and said the words he might have never said to her before. "Y-you look really good", he complimented.  Something in her snapped when he said this. "I'd prefer if you don't comment on my appearance", she snapped. Scorpius was busy exploring the various kinds of quills in her quill stand. How dare he? He never complimented her when they were together, why now then?

And Draco felt something in his stomach at this, and they weren't butterflies.

Just then, they heard a knock on the door. It was Y/N's secretary. "Excuse me ma'am, but there's someone who would like to meet you.", she said. "Belle, I told you so many times to call me Y/N, and who is it?", she asked confused. "I don't know, but they said they know you." "Alright..send them in." She was still confused as to who could this be when the door opened again, and in came someone Y/N hadn't seen in a while. Ernie Macmillan. Y/N's bestfriend since Hogwarts. He shifted to America just after graduation and Y/N hadn't seen him since then. She gasped and ran up to hug him. "Oh my god, Ernie!", she spoke into the hug. He chuckled and hugged her back. "Yes, it's me." "I missed you! How have you been?", she broke from the hug, pure excitement written on her face. "I have been fine. How have you been?" Y/N took a deep breath and answered with a small smile,"I am good. When did you get here?" "Just yesterday, couldn't miss my bestfriend's 23 birthday now, could I?", he teased. "It's so good to see you again", she smiled. Ernie just looked at her and smiled. "Happy birthday, Y/N", he said and hugged her again, unaware of certain grey-blue eyes glaring at them.

Ernie broke from the hug and looked behind Y/N to see Draco and Scorpius. "Malfoy", he greeted Draco with a single nod which was returned by him. He then looked at Scorpius, whose attention was now turned to him. "And who might you be?",he asked Scorp with a smile. Scorpius puffed his chest out and answered,"Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy." He definitely got that from his father. Ernie just looked at him and chuckled, surprised by how he looked exactly like his father. He then turned to Y/N again. "So, do you want to hang out later? Maybe we could catch-up?" "Sure!", Y/N smiled. "How about we go for dinner tonight then?" Before Y/N could answer, someone cut off. "NO! Mama and I are going to Hogsmeade today!", Scorpius pouted. Possessive, just like his father.

"Mama?", asked Ernie and looked at Y/N with furrowed eyebrows. Before Y/N had the chance to explain, she got cut off,again. "Yes, Mama.", Draco interjected. "But didn't you marry Greengrass?", he asked. Y/N looked at Draco and saw him tense up, so she decided to answer for him. "Ernie, Astoria uh..died of a blood curse.", she sighed sadly. "Oh, I am sorry Malfoy.", he said with sympathy, to which Draco just nodded. She turned to Ernie again. "And Scorpius calls me 'mama' because I-uh..me a-and D-Draco..w-we"- Before she could finish, Draco cut her off, again. "We are dating." She looked at him with widened eyes. "What?",she half-yelled. "We are dating." "No, we are not. I don't think you remember but we broke up,Draco.", she answered coldly. Scorpius and Ernie just looked at both of them. "Uh..I think I should g-go.", Ernie said. He then looked at Scorpius and thought it was best if he doesn't witness his dad and his 'mama' argue, so he asked him if he wanted to go get ice-cream, to which Scorpius happily agreed to, forgetting all about the argument.

After they were gone, Y/N turned to Draco again. "What was that,Draco?", she shouted. Draco just looked at her and walked closer, and she took one step backward with each step he took forward,until her back hit the wall. "W-what are you doing?",she asked, her voice weak, when Draco suddenly put his head in the crook of her neck, and she felt something wet on her neck. He was crying. "I am sorry, I am so so sorry.", he kept whispering into her neck. "Please take me back, please give me another chance.", he was now starting to cry harder. "I miss you. I m-miss you so f-fucking much. I know you deserve better, someone who'll take care of you much better. I am just m-messed up, I know that. But I am s-selfish, I can't stand seeing y-you with someone else. I lost Astoria, I can't lose y-you too." Y/N lifted his head from her neck so she could look at him. He looked devastated, which brought tears into her own eyes. "But Draco, I am not her, I cannot be her, I don't wanna be her." "Yes, you are not her. You are you. And I am sorry I didn't see that earlier.I love you as you are. You don't have to be her, just be with me. I am sorry for all the pain I put you through,but please give me another chance, I promise I'll be better. I promise it will be worth it. I want to make up for all the times I hurt you. Just please.", he looked at her with pleading eyes. The same eyes that melted her heart everytime she looked into them. Including this time. She slightly nodded her head and watched his eyes lit up. She gave in, once again. She simply couldn't resist him. "R-really?", he asked with hope in his eyes. "Yes.", she nodded again and bit her lip. Draco's eyes went to her lips, and he connected his lips with her, in a passionate,loving kiss. She tried to pull away for breath, but Draco deepened the kiss. He finally let go, both out of breath. He buried his face in her shoulder and kissed it lightly. "Thank you, thank you, Y/N. I promise it will be worth it. I love you, my darling.",he whispered.

And he did change. He did become better at expressing how much he loves her for her. They both got married shortly after, and not to mention the pure look of excitement on Scorpius' face when he found out that he was going to be an elder brother.

YAYYYY

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[tteokdoroki]

had it | k.bakugou.

♡ pairing: katsuki bakugou x fem!reader.

♡ word count: 4.5K

♡ rating: everyone.

♡ genre: pro hero!au, married!au, fluff, comfort.

♡ summary: your pro hero husband is a show off, always has and always will be... but when his big ego gets in the way of you doing your job, you give him little piece of your mind..

♡ warning(s): please read ! mentions of violence, i gave reader a quirk?? bakugou with a daughter ok literally nothing. oh and angst if you squint.

♡ author’s note(s):  hi besties!! happy birthday to meee!! today i’m dropping a fic that’s been a long time coming, its a short and fluffy little piece with domestic baku bc i love him with babies n kids ok ok!! i hope you all have a lovely day <3

♡ masterlist | requests | kofi

some say that working for a pro hero is an honour, no matter what the position is. some may work behind the scenes— creating gear and suits that support the pros protecting their cities or livelihoods. others are in charge of things like reports, PR and even physical health. everyone plays an important role in a hero's career. there’s never a dull moment working in a team supporting the pros, especially if that pro was dynamight.

the offices for katsuki bakugou’s hero agency were always buzzing; usually because the clean up team were rushing through with stacks upon stacks of receipts and paperwork from the damage done during bakugou’s patrols— other times it would be his secretaries gossiping about how good he looks in his winter costume because damn did that tight black shirt do his arms justice but usually it was just because of the PR team contacting media outlets with excuses for bakugou’s potty mouth.

working for the hot headed blonde was more laid back than it seemed however, the man himself was rarely ever in the office as the number two hero but out on missions instead, the pay was pretty decent and no one ever really faced his angry wrath nor his sailor like mouth unless they had royally fucked up on their job. katsuki bakugou was someone to admire, he never gave a damn about what people had to say about him— he only cared about getting the job done and maybe that’s why most people enjoyed their time under the dynamight agency.

particularly this time, right around noon.

the doors to the floor of the secretary offices fly open, crashing loudly against the walls and drawing the staff from their daily work. this office space is around ten floors up and somehow you’ve made it in record time today. “where is he?” your voice crawls through the entrance of the room, settling over the workers like a thick fog— commanding, menacing and soft all at the same time. newbies cower in their boots, confused at what’s going on and it’s safe to presume those who have been working here for years have yet to give them the run down. “don’t make me ask again.” you add, eyes darkening as you cast your gaze across the room.

an intern approaches you, visibly shaking with fear which makes you loosen your stance and raise an eyebrow toward them. “he-uh... he just went for his lunch break—“ the stutter, gulping under the stare of another highly ranked pro hero. “in his...office— ma’am!” they stumble through their words, hiding behind the ungodly amount of paperwork that's been dumped into their hands. you make a mental note to chew bakugou out on the load his interns have been getting as well as your prior reasons for coming to his agency.

nonetheless you shake your head and drop the frown, a sweet smile quickly replacing the look that could put anyone six feet under if you really tried. with a tap to the side of your head, the visor to your hero costume rises above your eyes— allowing you to give the poor little intern a cheeky wink as thanks. “‘ppreciate it darling, have a good one!” you thank them properly with a ruffle to their hair, resuming your previous stance as you march the rest of the way through the office and kick open the door at the end of the room.

the intern sags, a whimper of relief passing from tired lips while they wipe at the sweat forming on their brow. they’d not even encountered their boss yet and they’d already come face to face with a top pro hero. “w-what’s her deal?”

a chuckle to the left of the poor kid startles them out of their mind; but they relax upon realising it’s just another one of dynamight’s secretaries— haruto, who’d apparently been working at the agency since it started up. “that’s nightsky, her quirk is lullaby, which allows her to control certain people if she hits the right note. she can also put them to sleep, if she really wants to,” the intern now perks up, remembering you from countless interviews on tv. you ranked pretty highly too, managing to the reach the top five this year along with others like shoto and deku. “she owns the hero agency across the street, herself and dynamight have been going at it ever since. it’s like they’re elderly lovers or somethin‘.”

“d-do you think they are? lovers like you say?” the intern asks a little too excitedly, touching at their messy hair from where you’d ruffled it. a crimson blush warms their cheeks, the idea of two pros playing enemies to the public eye but being lovers in secret seemed like something right out of a romance novel. how romantic.

haruto only chuckles at the newbie, standing to ruffle their hair as well before heading over to the coffee stand to fix himself a cup. “beats me,” he mumbles cheerily as he walks away, arms crossed behind his head. “but with the way yn bursts in here at the same time everyday to scold bakugou, and leaves with a huge smile on her face— i wouldn’t put it past them. they probably have a whole life together.” he taps his nose once as if he’s given away too much information, turning away without a word.

the intern hums, seemingly happy with their superior’s answer and easily heads back to work from there.

katsuki bakugou was bored out of his mind.

being a successful pro hero was all he’d ever wanted— being the number two pro hero just came with that. bakugou wanted to get to the top and show everyone he was the best of the best and with him being blessed with a powerful quirk there was no way he couldn’t be where he was today. yet, now that he’d finally achieved his dream all he wanted was a fucking break. the blonde stares down at his microwaveable bowl of home cooked stew, a frown cutting deep into his cheeks. it was his lunch break for crying out loud, but instead of scarfing down the delicious meal before him, the hero was forced to watch it cool as some dumb fuck reporter asked him questions over the phone.

the telephone interview ( or a waste of his fucking time, as katsuki had called it ) , had been set up by his PR team right after he’d taken down a couple low level villains downtown earlier this morning. katsuki had called it nothing but apparently the whole world and their mother had been on his ass, watching as he took the criminals down with ease and raving about how glorious dynamight was during that fight. the reporter drones on about said event, asking the same old questions and it takes everything within the hot headed pro not to blow a casket— he’d been promised a few extra days off from his manager if he could finish the interview without blowing something up and only god knew how much katsuki needed a break from dumb paps and some overly obsessive fans.

‘so, final question, how does it feel to be the number two?’

bakugou grunts, buying himself time to formulate an answer. what he really wants to do is kindly tell the reporter to fuck off and ask more original questions; but with the prize of a longer weekend hanging in the balance he bites his tongue for the sake of freedom. “well i—“

“katsuki bakugou.” your voice cuts through his sentence before he can finish, vermillion eyes land on your hero costume clad form as you burst into his office. a lazy smirk now decorates the hero’s lips, brow quirked with piqued interest. “i have a bone to pick with you, you motherfucker.”

the reporter on the other end falls silent as katsuki watches you, leaning back in his plush leather chair. you look slightly disheveled, costume torn in a few places, scrapes littering your skin as you pant heavily from exertion— chest rising and falling with every breath, it seems ragged and bakugou makes a mental note to remind you to get your ribs checked out later. “you’re late, shitty woman.” the number two sits up a little straighter as you enter the room, leaning up to look at you while you slam your hands down on the smooth marble desk— the force rattling the items he has neatly placed on it.

‘uh-? mister...dynamight-? sir?’

your eyes sweep the room while the pro before you deals with the reporter, mentioning to her that they’ll have to continue their call later. in the meantime, you note that katsuki’s office is meticulously clean, not a single book, folder or pen out of place— it’s high up with a perfect view of the city and the large windows allow golden beams of the sun to light up the room. the sound of a phone being placed back on its hook brings you from your thoughts; annoyance settling deep in your veins as you turn to face bakugou again.

“i had it,” you growl lowly, jumping the gun before he can even register what you’ve said. “i’m a grown woman, katsuki, i can handle a couple of criminals myself, you know.”

the blasting hero does nothing but smirk even wider at the irked tone that litters your voice, standing up as well to tower over you. bakugou still wears his own hero costume, considerably in less damage than yours— not a single tear had formed in his suit, mind the small scratches on his face no doubt from his stupid explosions creating some debris. leaning over the desk between you, bakugou uses a forefinger and thumb to tilt your head up, bringing you even closer than before. “clearly y’didn’t sweetheart, or otherwise that icyhot bastard wouldn’t have needed to back you up ‘fore i got there...” his timbre voice sends sparks of electricity through the air in the room, it’s low and gravelly which is enough to send shivers down your spine but you’re not about to let katsuki bakugou know that he makes you flustered— it’d go straight to his head, the cocky bastard.

nonetheless; you roll your eyes at the mention of your old classmate and fellow pro hero— shoto todoroki. yourself and shoto got along fairly well, even back in high school, so it was normal for you to work together from time to time; you both made a great team and your skill set complimented each other’s well. katsuki was just jealous. he never really got along with todoroki like that. “he didn’t back me up, we were working together,” you snap back at the blonde, shaking yourself from bakugou’s grasp and flicking him right between those alluring vermillion eyes. “something you might not be familiar with, mister number two.” bakugou backs away from you completely ( only wincing slightly ), making you smirk in victory. you’ve struck a nerve. deciding to leave the conversation at that, you turn to make your exit as he collapses back into his seat with a deathly scowl and a quiet ‘tch’. “like i said, i had it, dynamight. next time, don’t jump in uninvited.”

happy that you got the last laugh, you open the door to leave his office but pause when a wave of heat hits your back. you should have known, katsuki bakugou was never one to back down from a challenge and you certainly weren’t an exception. well shit. when you turn around to face the blonde, small explosions spark from his right hand and he has some what of a look of a feral pomeranian, blood red eyes full of rage.

you visibly gulp and katsuki growls out his next words with the upmost venom, designed to hurt and cut at your feelings. “well maybe y’sudda let the actual pros handle shit like this,” bakugou begins, voice rising in volume with every syllable that passes his lips. “we both know you’re no good at short distance attacks with your quirk, shitty woman, you couldn’t have taken those villains down without me.” the blonde finishes with a short ‘tsk’, settling the explosions that spark in his palms. now it’s your turn to be pissed. you could handle katsuki’s jealousy, his petty reasoning for joining you on your patrol and taking the credit but bashing you and your quirk? no way in hell would he get away with that.

“bakugou?”

“what? the fuck y’still here for?”

you roll your shoulders, gracing the blonde with a devilish smile as your eyes light up mischievously. “why are you hitting yourself, bakugou?” you sing, hitting just the right notes that will have him under your spell, the tone in your voice as smooth as chocolate. katsuki’s eyes widen in horror and before he can stop himself, his free hand comes up to slap him across the face. that was your quirk, lullaby. you had the ability to sing your way out of any situation— adjusting the tune of your song to control the actions of certain individuals or groups of people. it was near impossible to resist but the more people you used your quirk on, the weaker your control over them was. that doesn’t mean you weren’t going to use it on bakugou from time to time. the blonde tries to fight it, he really does, but he’s no use up against your ability— losing all control of his own body. he grunts on impact, looking bewildered for a moment as he moves to grab his own wrist to stop any impending blows. “not so cocky now, are we dynamight?”

“h-hey!” he stammers, refusing to accept defeat against you. “shitty woman, no fuckin’ fair. you know i can’t use my quirk against you in here.” he was right, while your quirk was poor against short distance attacks ( meaning you had to result to hand to hand combat ), bakugou couldn’t use his own in enclosed spaces without hurting anyone he didn’t want to. especially you, he would never hurt you intentionally unless you were sparring.

“shoulda thought about that before you decided to taunt me, you know better than to piss off your wife, katsu.” you chide, still smiling just as brightly as you were earlier, before taking a seat on his desk and folding one leg over the other. it was quite amusing to watch your husband of four years fight against himself— everyone knew katsuki had an unbelievable amount of strength even without his quirk so he was definitely beating himself up ( literally and figuratively ).

bakugou looks up at you through gritted teeth while he struggles to keep the wrist you have control of down and you almost feel bad for the guy. “turn it off, dammit!” he curses at you, said hand rising above his free one to tug at his own sun kissed locks.

feigning interest in the objects on your lover's desk, you ignore his pleas for you to release him from the holds of your quirk and hum “apologise.”

“f-fuck... fuck y-you.”

you sigh knowingly, picking up a hand crafted paperweight, covered in glitter and sequin stars,  inspecting it carefully. bakugou could hardly ever say the word ‘sorry’, it was just in his nature and he’d been that way since you were young. part of you knows it’s because of how he was treated as a child where people praised him for his quirk. that meant he became prideful yes, thought highly of himself too and struggled to admit when others were right...but he had his own way of apologising— through actions instead of words.

like when you first moved in together and he had broken your favourite mug, instead of saying he was sorry, he spent all night super glueing it back together for you to use in the morning. to him, actions were louder than words but you right now; you were being mean and just wanted to hear him say it.

“fuck fuck, fine. alright. ‘m sorry.” bakugou lets out a strained growl as the hand you control gives a particularly hard yank to his hair. “i’m sorry for lying about your quirk. it’s not shitty…’n ‘m sorry for... barging in on your patrol. again.” you grin, satisfied with his answer and grab the hand he keeps down with his wrist. you press a simple kiss to the skin, making your husband blush as you release your hold over the limb. katsuki shyly yanks it from your grip, rubbing over the area that you’d kissed, shooting his gaze to the side in the process. “jesus shitty woman, if i don’t die from being a hero or of old fucking age, i know for a fact you’ll be the one to kill me first.” he mutters harshly under his breath, but you know he’s only kidding from the way his hands now fall to your thighs and his fingers rub small circles into the exposed skin.

“pro hero nightsky murders number two pro hero dynamight in cold blood!” you joke as if you’re reading a headline in a news article, katsuki only glares up at you— making no effort to curse you out because of your shitty joke, which causes you to frown while leaning  forward to brush some of his hair away from his face. “you know i’m only kidding right? is something wrong? did i come at a bad time?”

it’s only now that you notice the exhausted expression that paints your lover’s face. he’s always up to playing this game with you, at the same time every day— you come to bother him about some trivial matter, tease him a bit and leave with a kiss. but today, you can tell he’s trying to hide something from you. something that bothers him.

bakugou shakes his head, leaning into your touch as you play with his hair— a habit he’d picked up from even before you started dating back in high school, although he’d never admit that to you if you’d asked. “nothin’, just this stupid fuckin’ interview the PR team want me to do about the fight today. the one i took from you,” your husband smirks slightly at the thought and you roll your eyes for what seems like the nine hundredth time that afternoon. “didn’t get to finish my fuckin’ lunch but they promised me a couple days off if i got the interview done.”

“better the number two than me, eh? but don’t worry, i’ll order us some take out tonight,” your suggest, voice coming out as soft and mingling with your slight giggle— a quiet melody to katsuki’s ears. your only reply from him is a grunt, so you stop your fingers in his hair and watch as he scowls up at you. you quickly press a kiss to the explosive hero’s lips, pulling away to reveal his blushing face. you smile, knowing that you’re the only one who can make him flush red like that. “there’s something else bothering you, isn’t there?”

if there’s one thing katsuki bakugou hates, it’s how you read him like an open book. one look at him and it’s like you know exactly how he’s feeling. he can never hide anything from you— sometimes that both pisses him off and reminds him of how much he is loved by you. he hesitates with his words at first but decides to confide in you anyway, knowing that you’ll get it out of him in one way or another. “‘m worried about you, dumbass.” he mumbles, nudging your hand with his head as if to ask you to continue your earlier actions. “i know you had it, yer fuckin’ powerful but you looked so tired in that fight today ‘n i thought something bad was gonna happen to you, y’fuckin’ shitty woman.”

he toys with the tears in your costume now, smoothing over scars from your bumps and scratches as a result of combat. “oh lovebug,” you mumble, cupping his cheeks to make him look up at you. “you know i can handle my own, they just took a lot out of me today. i promise i’ll—“

“that’s not it, fuck,” katsuki cuts you off, brows furrowing deeply as he grabs your wrists— pulling your from his desk and into his lap. he holds you close, burying his nose into your neck as if you’re going to disappear. you sit still, a little shocked by his actions and his quick change of mood, but wrap your arms around him anyway and slowly fall silent. “it's just that...we’re both pros now and at the top of our ranks ‘n we both have a lot to lose.” you instinctively cling tighter to katsuki, mind flickering to the homemade paperweight you’d spotted on his desk earlier... causing your heart clench.

your daughter had made that for him during her time at preschool for fathers day; something your husband cherished with his whole heart, even if the thing was still sticky with glue when he’d gotten it.

katsuki loved taiga more than anything in the world and if something had happened to her because of your line of work, you don’t know what either of you would do. “what if something were to happen to you? or to me? or shit...both of us? who would look after taiga? you know what happens to kids who end up in the fucking system.” bakugou pauses, the same tired expression from earlier now sitting heavily on his face. “i just want you to be careful, stop pushing yourself so much, y’fuckin’ dumbasss. we have a family take care of. it’s not just you and i anymore.”

you nod, grasping onto your lover’s clothes tightly. the air is flooded with a comfortable silence, the pair of you holding one another right the way through it. you treasure moments like this, where the world stops and katsuki shows you another, more vulnerable side to him.

he would never admit or show this to anyone; but he cares , more than he lets on... especially for you and especially for your daughter. he was attentive, paid attention to you and your weaknesses and helped you overcome them. it was something you couldn’t stop loving about him. “i promise to be more careful, for you and for taiga,” you say quietly after he’s done scolding you, brushing your lips against the side of his head in a soft peck. “that must’ve been why jumped in earlier, you were worried about me?”

“somethin’ like that, you crazy woman,,” bakugou whispers, there’s a tinge of fondness to his ruby eyes as you pull away to look at him, his hands settling on your hips while he moves up to press a soft kiss to your awaiting lips. “didn’t want you getting yourself killed.”

you stay with katsuki in the office for a little longer than usual, laying on his chest as he prattles away about everything and anything even though he should be working. you make sure he eats his lunch, despite how cold it is and promise him a boat load of take out when he comes home later— your sweet cuddling session only being cut short by a call from your assistant to tell you that your daughter is ready to be picked up from school. “better finish that interview katsu, taiga’ll be happy to know her daddy’s getting some time off to spend with her soon,” you remind him as you gather yourself together, your husband pouting ( he swears on his life he wasn’t ) from the loss of your warmth in his lap. “she has a lot to tell you.”

the blonde quirks a brow, watching you as you head for the door. “yeah? like what?” a hand comes up to cover your mouth as you giggle at his curious face. sometimes, when you look at katsuki, you could see how much your daughter resembles him, right down to his mannerisms. she had somehow inherited the shape of your nose and the brightness of your smile ( the only reason barely anyone realised bakugou had a kid, he never fucking smiled. ) but the bakugou genes were incredibly strong so there was no way she’d miss out on those crimson eyes and uncontrollable, untameable messy blonde hair.

she even acted like him. a very brazen little girl who knew what she wanted and how to get it, so she had her daddy wrapped around her stubby little fingers.

you grin, eyes sparkling with the same mischief as before. “oh y’know, just her little crush on midoriya’s boy.”

“yer fuckin’ kiddin’ me.”

“i would never joke about such a thing,  just make sure you’re home in time for dinner, number two!” you squeal, dashing out of the office before your husband has time to demand more answers from you. slamming the door shut, you chuckle at the melody of curses that leave your husbands mouth before heading off to pick up your daughter.

on your way, you admit to yourself , that maybe you didn’t have this fight in the bag. but what you did have; was a loving husband, a beautiful daughter and the best life you could have ever imagined.

extended ending:

“so, taiga... daddy hears you have a little... crush on someone.”

you’re in the kitchen, washing the dishes from tonight’s dinner as bakugou wipes tentatively at your little girl’s messy face— she was a poor eater but it’s something you didn’t mind, not when your husband was so soft with cleaning her up. you can see them from where you stand, watching katsuki knowingly.

taiga looks up from the colouring you’d set out for her when she finished up her meal, crimson eyes shining brightly as she fixes her gaze on her father. “mhm mhm!! he’s mister deku’s son! and i’m gonna marry him!”

“no yer not.” bakugou answers simply, looking close to popping a vein.

“why not?”

your husband scoffs, throwing away the tissue he’d used to clean his little girl up before joining her in her colouring. “‘cause daddy says so ‘n boys are gross, especially ones who’s dad’s look like broccoli.” the older ash blonde seems satisfied with his answer, grinning to himself as you dry the dishes with an amused smile.

but taiga isn’t finished, swapping her green crayon for a red one to finish up her drawing. “but you’re a boy...and mommy still married you!”

bakugou pauses, lost for words as taiga continues to colour— humming the theme song from a commercial for some of deku’s merch. you can tell it’s taking everything katsuki’s got not to combust right there on the spot, but he can’t stay mad at taiga for too long, not when she’s describing her wedding and how her daddy is going to walk her down the isle.

setting the dishes to dry and towelling your hands; you smile to yourself as you admire your family. some would say you had it all, and looking at the pair of bakugou’s now, who were you to deny the truth.