#seriously if anyone knows what this shirt is from please send me the link you don’t know how much I would pay for it

[mikubilliards]

She is GRILLING. She is ON FIRE. Girl I don’t THINK THATS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. Girl CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT

[everafterkeiji]

Hii how r u? Can i request hanma baji smiley and anyone else ( if u want) with a clumsy s/o

heyyaa! thank you so much for requesting!! apologies for taking so long but have an amazing day and stay safe always! ᕙ( ~ . ~ )ᕗ

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐒/𝐎 𝐖𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐒𝐘

PAIRINGS: Baji, Smiley, & Hanma x gn!reader

GENRE: fluff, humor (not proofread)

♡ 𝐁𝐀𝐉𝐈 would definitely hide his laugh. It's just bound to happen when the first thing he sees when he meets you is when you stumble across the room, quite literally taking the meaning how you waltzed his way to his heart.

- He can't conceal it anyway, poor boy would just cover his mouth and that's when you know he's being entertained but he will rise to his feet and help you get up.

- The concern kicks in like three seconds after you trip. It's bad—he knows it is but still, he's reaching out his hand for you and you just send a subtle glare to him at how his first instinct is to hold back.

"Keisuke."

"I'm sorry but you fell flat on your face, I just—" *apologetic yet not so guilty laughter resonates*

- Okay after the getting to know stage, he does feel like there's a new reflex that form from him which is the "make sure Y/N doesn't fuck up a body part" and it surprisingly works like there's just a ding to his head and he's already going "Well, gotta save them now."

- He's wondering if you have two left feet because how can you stumble so much? Them poor motor coordination of yours need to be repaired, he thinks. He just stands back and watch in amusement at how you were just walking properly and the next, you're shoelaces are dragging you to slip up, everything seems unexpected when he's with you.

- When you're standing far from him and you're not aware of whichever direction you're walking on, there's a hand gripping your arm to move you to his side, mentally facepalming and he's definitely going to scold you.

- He would not trust you around items please. He loves you, that is true but trust is the most important part of a relationship.. as well as a few yens worth of figurines that he can't afford to pay for if you break it. He's tugging on your shirt to reel you off your closeness to such expensive works of art. "Baji, I was just looking at it."

"I don't care, you're still pretty dangerous, babe."

- He insists that you link his arm with yours. How could that go wrong? He thinks he's a personal bodyguard of yours but the only thing he's protecting you from is your own lack of coordination. You're never going to get away from him—he thinks that the world is safer like that.

- If you do get seriously injured, like you just hit your head really badly, he will scold the fuck out of you but you can see how concerned he is and he's putting ice on your head while he's looking at you in grimace. "...sorry, Kei."

"This is the fourth time, what do you mean you're sorry?"

- You're never going to hear the end of it how much he calls you a dumbass. Every ending lecture always has that word and you can't blame him anyway but he will always be alert for you to be safe which you appreciate.

- He would cover a corner of a table or part of the wall with his hand so you'd never hit your head with it.

- Another injury is when the skin on your knee just rips open, Baji swore his eyes dropped to the concrete and he's shouting your name while your knee bleeds as you were being carried by him. His thoughts are caught in a storm, destroying every calm thinking he should've had but nope he was out of his damn mind out of panic. He'd have nightmares about it, trust me. When you wake up and give him a smile, it just pisses him off but at the same time, he's glad that you're okay.

"I-"

"I don't know how many sorrys I have to hear to the point you could lose a limb."

- The next time you're out with him, he's carrying a damn first aid kit with bandaids and every possible way to save you from any other accident because you've lost all his trust from ever being alone.

"Let me guess, you got that from hitting your elbow on the door frame."

".. how'd you know?"

"It's cause I can sense your dumbass again."

♡ 𝐍𝐀𝐇𝐎𝐘𝐀, this little shit doesn't even hide the cackle that slips pass him and the stares that it attracted because of his laugh was even more painful then falling on the floor.

- He's the definition of "I'm gonna help you stand up but I'll be making fun of you through the process of it."

- He's gonna apologize but please, it's just fits of chuckles trying to utter a word he doesn't even mean. "S-SORRY HAHAHAHAHA"

"Nahoya, respectfully, please shut the fuck up."

- No because when you trip, I see him standing a few distances away from you just to act like he doesn't know you and that you do—you walk away from him and he's chasing you, apologizing but it does crack a smile onto you which you despise because you were supposed to ignore the mf.

- And this will happen lots of times to the point you can't even say anything because he's already walking away so when someone else helps you, the peach colored boy just stands like a damn statue and rushes to your side. "Hey hey, I'm the boyfriend here."

"Oh I don't actually know him."

- This act drops when he can actually see how in pain you were. He's so shocked at how many bruises you have covering your body. Just from your arms then to your knees and down to your legs, he realizes that you really needed someone to hold you because it wasn't looking good for you.

- He sees that flash of ache through your features and after being used to helping yourself on your own, you just shake it off not seeing how you just disregarded your own wound then that's where the genuine apology comes from him and he'll be more alert this time due to how many falls you've gone through and it's probably never going to stop if he just keeps acting like a jackass.

- Nahoya likes to keep his arm to your wrist. It's just wrapped around it ready to pull you away from any possible damage but it doesn't surpass him when you bump into someone and that stranger was pissed off by you so he does what he's the best at; verbal assault 😭

"Look where the fuck you're going, kiddos."

"Kiddos eh? Why don't you get your geezer ass back to the retirement house?"

- He is sarcastic as always even when he's scolding you to be careful. It's slightly funny though now that the person who used to make fun of you was now over the moon in protecting you.

"Hey, babes, I'm just saying. If you're gonna die early, don't let it happen when your head bumps into a door because you pulled it instead of pushing it."

"Nahoya, are you suggesting it or are you predicting it?"

"I'm not carrying your dead body. That's embarrassing."

"You really don't love me do you?"

- He just learns his lesson and packs a couple of bandaids for you wherever you go.

- One time, you were trying to reach for something and the book just drops to your face from the top cabinet, you decided to prank him by ending up on the floor, acting to be unconscious since he was in the other room so there's loud footsteps coming from the same room onto yours and Nahoya just lets out a loud ass cuss before he's lifting you to place you on his lap.

"Y/N? BABE? WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU UP TO YOU, YOU FUCKING DUMBASS."

"Smiley? Is everything okay?" Souya asked coming into the room and when he sees that you're on the floor with eyes closed, he freaks out too.

"Oi, wake up!" Nahoya screams slightly tapping your cheek and when he noticed how your eyes fluttered ever so slightly he decided to prank you in return. His brother leaves to get his phone and ask for help while his twin had other plans. "I'm gonna need to slap Y/N to wake them up."

"WHAT THE FUCK SMILEY?"

"WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE YOU DIED, SHITHEAD?"

"WHAT? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WAS GOING TO SLAP ME."

"I WAS JOKING, I'D NEVER HURT YOU THE FUCK?"

"Aww were you worried about me, 'Hoya?"

"Now I'm not." He proceeds to drop you from his arms, standing up and cleaning his hands and waving at you to mock you.

- When you do get into a serious injury and you're quiet, clutching on whatever scratch or bruise that was freshly forming on your body, he will treat it and take you seriously, eventually apologizing and swears he'd react better.

♡ 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐌𝐀, is the same as Smiley but there's a hint of Baji to it.

- He can't hold back his holler, nope. He has an obnoxious laugh and that just doesn't go away until you walk ahead of him, leaving him alone.

- He's just bewildered. How can you just bump into these objects like they were alive? How strong is the force of gravity for you to keep them close to the ground at all times? He sits back in amusement whenever he watches you go on your own and cause your own little chaos.

- He'd also act like he doesn't know you when you terribly trip. It's shit annoying and you'd often slap his shoulder because people were staring too much.

"Hanma."

"M'sorry can't hear you over the sound of your face dropping to the floor."

- Out of notice, he actually holds onto you before you could fall or when you're about to collide with something. He does it absentmindedly because he can sense that something bad was going to happen so he's already going to bring you to him with an arm slung to your shoulder.

"Ah~ if you trip again, what am I gonna do when you end up in a hospital?"

"Oh shut up, Shuji."

- It then develops into a habit. Being cautious of every move you do just so you don't hurt yourself or break stuff in your way. He doesn't even have time to laugh because he's always a step ahead of you to catch you. "Is this your first time walking?"

"You're very funny."

- He's not going to scold you that evolves into a long ass lecture but he'll surely give you a slightl glare that just indiciates how you should be more weary of your surroundings because he doesn't really like seeing you weak on your feet.

- When there's a sudden sound of glass crashing to the floor and you were right beside it, he's dragging you out the scene to escape the pressed charges and this is why you spent the night at his hideout and he's just looking at you while he pants. "How the fuck do you push off a vase when you're just exisiting?"

- Hanma begins to have a knick for checking everything that you're wearing. At first he thought it was just your shoelaces that's causing you to stumble but when he caught the side of your belt hoops getting stuck in some knobs when you pass by them, he just realizes you weren't getting tied up in these accidents for no reason.

- He's used to seeing you in bruises from hitting the corners of tables and hard edges but it doesn't make him feel at ease when he thinks about he frequent you get them.

"Oi, come here."

"What are we gonna do?"

"I'm buying you protective gear, pretty but seriously, let's treat those wounds of yours."

- Would definitely fight whoever bumped into you and tries to tell you that it was your fault. He can't have that to he'll come back with red knuckles.

- He makes sure he has a hold on you wherever you go. Wheyher it's a hand to your waist, to your shoulder, to your back, he just has to have some grip on you or else he'd never see the end of how many times you failed to be conscious of your surroundings.

- If not, he's opting to use whatever you were wearing at the top. He's pulling you like a human trying to pick up a cat but you're lucky cause he's quite fast in doing so.

- You notice how he's covering the sharp parts of an edge so you don't hit your head on it, every corner, he'll just cover it for you.

- Would also carry a shit ton of band aids because you were too friendly with the floor. He was actually serious about buying you protective gear.

- If he sees a single blood drop to your skin because of your clumsiness, he's letting out a sigh and points his finger to your forehead.

"Dumbass, stop fucking around. You're gonna keep hurting yourself."

- He doesn't even trust you in using skates or going on his motorcycle, that speaks volumes so you have to grip on his waist so you can avoid trouble. "I'll catch your fall, don't worry."

- It would take him a minute to process that you actually tripped on a rock and there's a bump to your head that was actually bleeding because he was laughing since you were just chasing each other around the park but when he sees how your finger was covered in red, he stops and approaches you fast.

"You're making it hard not to scold you, babe."

TOKYO REV : @strawberrieas @kwrg @raya-sano @kimrena-stuff @heavensbeloved @rosewood1999 @beezebub @l-luci @bekky06 @keiisukebaji @manjiroarchiviste @smileysmileysmiley @tendo-shairdye @toshiswifey @thispenguinrocks @kleesboom

OVERALL: @stesphy @itsmeaudrieee @crapimahuman @meguroshi @floydenai @dai-tsukki-desu

[your-average-weeb-dealer]

Hello hello! so I'm a little new here and I saw your post about "how demon slayer characters comfort their s/o" then I saw you do jujutsu kaisen stuff! I was wondering if you could do the same kind of headcannons for Jujutsu sorcerers + anyone you want! Thank you so much! I hope you're taking care of yourself!!

Hey!! Thank you for worrying about me! I’m taking care of myself fine (not really- but I’m always a mess) and I hope you’re taking care of yourself as well!!

Jjk Characters comforting their s/o!

Characters in this post: Itadori, Megumi, Nobara, Gojo, Inumaki, Maki, Sukuna and Mahito (...kinda) 

Style: headcannons

Genre: fluff

Warnings: none

I hope you enjoy!! Here's the link to the demon slayer one!

Itadori Yuuji

poor baby

He gets so sad when your upset

He'll pull you into his chest, stroke your hair and tell you how much he loves you

He'll ask a lot of questions and he'll low-key be way more energized then he needs to

Until you tell him that right now, all you need is for him to be there with you, in the moment

"I'm so sorry Y/n... I just hate seeing you cry, it makes me scared and frankly I don't know what to do,"

"Just be here, that's all I need,"

good luck trying to get rid of him now, you're stuck with this adorable puppy forever

Megumi Fushiguro

tell me he isn’t the sweetest fucker on the planet.

do it. I dare you.

He's a quiet boy, he'll wrap his arms around your waist and just snuggle into your shoulder

He doesn't say anything, he knows that when someones upset, most of the time they just want to let out all of their feelings

so feel free to do so, he's here to listen to you rant, hug you when you cry and overall just be moral support

He loves you too much to let you suffer in alone and in silence

If your sobs get bad he'll gently shush you and comb your hair with his fingers

"shh, it's ok y/n. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere,"

Nobara Kugisaki

She drops anything and everything she's doing and rushes to your side

cuddles? yes, yes lots of cuddles

She'll be a little aggressive while telling you she loves you

She'll probably call you an idiot for crying (sorry it's just her instinct)

But soon she'll realize that right now, all you need is for her to sit down and have someone to talk to

If you need to rant, go for it. Need a shoulder to cry on, you can drench her entire shirt in tears if it makes you feel better

She'll bring you her sweaters, sweatpants and all of her comfy clothes

cause you're having a movie night

Be prepared to watch Avengers (I headcannon that she loves marvel movies)

Don't wanna watch that? Ok! That's fine. Seriously she just wants you to be happy

"Y/n. Stop crying, you idiot. I don't like seeing you cry,"

Gojo Satoru 

Despite what a teasing, goofy mf he is

He’ll take this seriously 

He’d be so worried, to the point where he’d literally give you the world if it meant you’d feel better (tbh he’s already prepared to give you the world) 

He’ll hold you, cradle you, hug you, cuddle you, kiss you, anything to show that he cares

He might even start crying as well, 

With a frantic look on his face he’ll just be holding you and kissing your forehead

Saying all kinds of words of affirmations/compliments 

Telling you how much he loves you

“Y/n, you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, you’re so kind and -sniffle- caring, it just makes me love you even more, all I want...”

Inumaki Toge 

he can’t really talk as we all know

But that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to comfort you 

Sure he can’t tell you how much he loves you, but he can show it

He’ll hug and cuddle you, frequently kissing your cheeks, your forehead, your nose, just your everything 

This was one of the moments where he wished he wasn’t a cursed speech user 

God, he wanted to tell you how much he loves you, how much you mean to him, every single reason he wants to spend the rest of his life with you

but he can’t, and it’s so frustrating,

But he’ll do the next best thing,

 he’ll write a handwritten note, saying everything he wanted to say in that moment

He wrote it all fancy too

He wasn’t going to make this your everyday later. No he was gonna write it like he was a Medieval knight sending a letter to his lover 

some of the highlights included 

“Y/n, your so beautiful sometimes I believe you aren’t human, and are really just an angel sent from heaven,”

“I love you so much that my heart might explode one day, and if it does, I will still love you. I don’t think I can ever stop loving you,”

All and all. 100/10 letter 1000/10 lover

Maki Zenin

unlike almost everyone else here

she’d get pissed

Like uncharacteristically pissed

She’s bout to go smack some bitches. How dare anyone make you upset

please tell her to calm down- idk if I like angry Maki.. she’s scary

When she eventually calms down, there’s going to be a long cuddle session

with lots

and lots

and LOTS

of kisses

“y/n. Who did this to you? What happened? who do I need to hurt. Fuck it, who do I need to kill”

Sakuna 

ok- I know he would probably kill you and eat your heart but i wanna pretend that he wouldn’t for a sec 

He’d act like he didn’t care, but really

he’s pissed.

Did someone say something? well they won’t have a tongue long enough to say anything else. Someone did something? aha, they won’t live long enough to do anything else

Your just crying cause you want to? cool, he’ll come back later

Mahito

laughs in your face and kills you.

don’t worry! he’ll still hug and kiss you after you’re dead!! 😊 

(can you tell I don’t like him??) 

Hello dear reader! If you’re a Panda simp and are wondering where he is, sorry, I don’t write for animals- even if they walk, talk and basically act like humans. It just feels weird to me, I hope you understand!

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

The Power of Storytelling: A Dangerous Mistake

listen nonny i wanna put the full ask here but it's so long so i'm just gonna link it here

Read on Ao3 Masterlist

Warnings: presumed drowning, invoq is ‘trapped’ in a trick box but the other character doesn’t know it’s a trick box.

Pairings: anxceit, can be platonic or romantic you decide

Word Count: 2769

The next time Tobias walks through town, he’s careful to avoid any conversations about Conras. It’s more difficult than anticipated, even with the allure of Invoq’s show and the buzz about the upcoming ball. Because Conras is such a phenomenon, it seems that everyone can’t get enough of talking about him. He manages to dodge most of them by looking standoffish and walking faster than most people can keep up with, but when he has to go visit Merk, he can’t avoid it. 

“You don’t look very happy,” Merk says as he measures Tobias’s chest again, “did you and that magician have a fight?”

“No, we—wait, what the hell does that mean?”

Merk rolls his eyes. “Oh, please, just because I spend most of my life staring into a glowing forge doesn’t mean I’m blind. The whole town’s been talking about it.”

“What?”

“Wait, have you really not noticed?” He sets the tape measure aside. “It’s a wonder to see you with the same person all day, let alone for this long.”

Tobias hunches his shoulders. “I wasn’t aware that my choice of company was such a source of entertainment.”

Merk glances at him as he fiddles with a piece of metal. “It’s not, Tobias, not really. It’s just, well…”

Tobias glances at him. “What?”

“It’s just I’ve had complaints of other people who want to spend time with the elusive magician before he vanishes, and someone is hogging all of his time.”

Ah. Tobias grins. “That’s hardly my fault.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Merk grumbles, “you laugh it up over there.”

“I’m not laughing.”

“You may as well be.” He holds the piece of metal up. “Now let’s get you fitted so you can get out of my shop.”

“Shouldn’t I take my shirt off? So you can fit it better?”

“If you wear my armor over your bare skin you’re an even bigger idiot than Agnes gives you credit for.”

“Listen, if you want to keep me in here longer so other people can have more time with Invoq…”

“Keep your shirt on!”

Tobias laughs as Mark flicks water at him. He behaves, letting the blacksmith take his measurements without complaint. Still, his mind begins to wander back to Invoq and Conras. Two entertainers, so different, and yet they both had such an impact.

“Seriously,” Merk asks when he doesn’t say anything for a while, “are you okay? I’ve only ever seen you so quiet when Agnes is yelling at me for not making your armor properly. Which I do, by the way.”

Tobias sighs. “I went to Conras’s storytelling last night.”

“Ah.” Merk picks up another tool. “Something sticking with you?”

He rubs a hand over his face. “Something like that.”

“Mm. That’s why I don’t go to those all the time.”

“No? Even when they’re so rare?”

“Nah. Conras is, uh, too good at his job sometimes.”

“Yeah,” Tobias mutters, “I know what you mean.”

“Well, anyway, I think you’re done.”

“Thanks.” He shrugs his bag back on. “Should I come see you in a bit?”

“Yeah, gimme a while to get this together.”

Tobias tips him a lazy salute as he walks out the door. The townspeople aren’t too busy at this time of night so it’s pretty easy to amble his way across the way to where Invoq’s tent is. There isn’t a show tonight, but it is the easiest place to find him. 

His stomach twists a little as he thinks about what it means that he knows exactly where to find Invoq. 

Is he being drawn in by the man? Yes, absolutely. He’s been more enthralled with Invoq than he has with anyone in a long time. And maybe that’s because the rest of the townspeople are…well, townspeople. Invoq is different. Invoq isn’t from here, he’s—well, he may be temporary. Seize the moment and all that, right?

But there’s a niggling at the back of his mind that won’t go away. Something that says Invoq is familiar, in a way that sends little shivers down the back of his spine. Something that says he shouldn’t be falling so fast for what is so obviously a performance. 

He does his best to push it away as he nears the tent grounds. The fabric flaps in the breeze, the gold seal dulled by the lack of candlelight. He knocks on the wooden post and parts the flap. 

“Invoq? You here?”

No answer. He walks inside, pushing more fabric apart. No sign of him. 

“Invoq, if you’re trying to scare me, it’s not funny.” 

Still nothing. Maybe he’s stepped out for a moment. Tobias heads back out of the tent, walking down to the path that leads to the river. It’s a lovely walk this time of night, it wouldn’t surprise him if he came out this way to enjoy it. He wanders down to the riverbank, ready to take a seat, when something catches his eye. 

A box. 

Floating in the river. 

He frowns, getting closer. 

It’s not just any box. 

It’s Invoq’s box. 

The one he locks himself in. 

Bang. Bang. Bang. 

Tobias leaps forward, splashing into the water, uncaring about his boots or bag, and wrapping his hands around the box. The wood and metal dig into his fingers as he grits his teeth and pulls. 

The current yanks against him, determined to drag the box down the river. Tobias sets his jaw and pulls harder, a guttural roar emerging from his throat as he heaves the box onto the river bank. It lodges in the mud. A corner digs in and it stops. 

“Invoq,” he bellows, searching for a way to unlock the box, “Invoq, can you hear me?”

No response. He bites back a curse and scrabbles along the edge, looking for a seam, something, anything. He finds a latch and heaves. 

It clicks. Jammed. 

“Shit,” he snarls and reaches for his sword. He slams it against the latch. The metal tings and gives. “Hold on, Invoq.”

The wood splinters and groans as he throws the lid open. He reaches inside and fists Invoq’s shirt, pulling him out and laying him on the grass. 

“Come on, come on,” he mutters, checking to see if he’s breathing, if he has a pulse, if he’s alright, “come on!”

Invoq splutters. Coughs. Water comes out of his throat. 

“Okay, okay,” Tobias manages, rolling him onto his side and patting his back, “come on, get it out. River water tastes awful, trust me, I know.”

Invoq spasms and heaves and he winces, wondering if Agnes would be terribly pissed at him if he ran to get her help. 

“It’s going to be okay, I—“

“What did you do?”

The sudden shout startles him into silence. 

Invoq sits up, wiping the back of his mouth. Without waiting for Tobias to help him, without even looking at Tobias, he scrabbles up and over to his box. He looks at the damage—Tobias did have to mess it up quite a bit to get him out. 

When he looks back, the force of his glare makes Tobias’s knees go right back to the ground. 

“Do you have any idea how long it took me to make this?” He points a dagger-like finger at the box. “Do you know how hard it was to get everything right? And you, you great brute, you’ve ruined it!”

Irritation bubbles up in Tobias’s chest. “I was trying to save your life!”

“No one asked you to! I was fine!” Invoq looks back at the box. “And now look at my poor box! I ought to charge you for the price of fixing it!”

Invoq…Invoq is actually mad at him for saving his life. That’s what’s happening right now. Invoq is pissed that Tobias saved him and broke a wooden box to do it. 

And he’s threatening to make Tobias pay for it. 

“Are you fucking serious?”

Invoq whips around. “What?”

Tobias gets up, glaring right back. “You were drowning and I pulled you out, and all you can think about is the fucking box?”

Invoq’s eyes flare. “This ‘fucking box,’ as you so eloquently put it, is part of my livelihood. This isn’t like someone breaking your silly little sword, I can’t just go into any place and say ‘oh, can you fix this one-of-a-kind box for me?”

“My sword actually saves lives, Invoq,” Tobias growls, “unlike your box, which seems determined to end yours. It just saved your life as well, unless you very much missed that.”

“I was never in any danger! I—“

“You locked yourself in a box with no one else around and submerged it, you were coughing up water—“

“—and if you had just trusted me,” Invoq says, ignoring him, “then you wouldn’t have barged in like this!”

“How am I supposed to trust you when I don’t even know what’s going on?” Tobias throws his hands up. “I just stumbled across your box, locked, in a river, and you weren’t anywhere! How was I supposed to know someone hadn’t thrown you in there?”

“I was practicing, for your information.”

“You were—wait, practicing?”

“Yes, you brute,” Invoq snorts, folding his arms, “I have other acts I want to put on, you know. I needed to know—“

“So you did it by yourself with no one around to help you?”

“What part of magic shows is unclear to you? No one is supposed to know how it works! If I tell someone, it ruins the whole thing!”

“Oh, and heavens forbid you tell someone something that might save your life,” Tobias snarls, “because if you’d gotten stuck or something had gone wrong out here, you know what would’ve happened?”

“I’m sure you’re about to tell me what you think would happen.”

“You could’ve died! You could’ve died, Invoq, is that what you want? And for what? Some magic show that most people aren’t even going to see?”

Tobias winces. Oops. 

Invoq draws himself up. He stalks over to Tobias. “Is that all you think of me? Some dancing monkey to entertain you until you grow bored? I’ve heard talk of you in town, I know your type. You use people up until they bore you and move on.”

He should apologize. He should say he’s just worried. He should say he doesn’t think of Invoq like that. 

He doesn’t.

“You’re one to talk,” he spits, “hopping from town to town like that? Dazzling people until they get bored of you or you get bored of them and move on? Is that why you take such risks all the time, because you don’t want people to be bored of you?”

Invoq’s face contorts into a snarl and he stalks away, standing over the box. Tobias takes a deep breath. 

“Because it’s not worth it, Invoq, it’s not worth you getting hurt.”

Invoq scoffs. “You’re all the same, you people. You want the results without the hard work it takes to get there. You want to ooh and ahh at something spectacular but the minute you understand how it happens you pull yourself into a little ball and rock and whine about how it’s wrong. Pathetic.”

“Says the man who has to risk his own life just to prove he’s worth looking at,” Tobias snarls, stalking forward, “even if it’s only to himself.”

“Yeah, I’m really getting the ‘care’ right now,” Invoq spits, turning back to him, “thanks.”

“You just scared me half to death, Invoq, of course I—“

“No one asked you!” Invoq jabs a finger into his chest. “No one asked you to come here, no one asked you to save me, no one asked you to care about me!”

“Well, I do anyway!”

“Oh, for the love of—“

“Of course I care if you get hurt, if you die, and I don’t know if someone with as little self-preservation as you would’ve cared, but you would be dead. I have to—“

“Why?” Invoq shoves him back. “Go on, tell me why.”

“Invoq—“

“Because you’re a sellsword? Because that’s the only part of your personality that makes you worth looking at? Because you think pretending to be the good guy is interesting enough to make up for the fact that without it, there’s nothing else to you?”

He advances, smirking as Tobias takes a step back. 

“Go on, sellsword,” he sneers, “tell me how important you are. Tell me how good it is of you to care so much. Tell me. Tell me how useful you are.”

Tobias stands his ground as Invoq comes up to him. He looks up, mouth hardening. 

“You would’ve panicked. Your throat would’ve filled with water. It would’ve closed off to prevent water from getting into your lungs but you would’ve drowned. Your body would’ve bloated underwater in that river and some poor child would be the one to find you!”

Invoq leans closer. 

“Or maybe you’re just paranoid.”

There is a ringing in his ears, he realizes distantly. The world grinds to a halt. Everything is silent, and as he turns his focus inwards, he realizes his mind is completely silent too. The anger, the worry, everything churning inside him is gone, pushed so far away they might as well not be his anymore. 

Tobias has never felt this kind of disconnect before. 

He stands up straight. His expression smooths out. The hand that had been going for his sword drops away. When he speaks, his voice is cool and calm. 

“Good night, magician.”

He watches Invoq jerk back in shock, clearly unnerved by how stark the difference is, before he turns and walks away. He leaves them both by the riverside. 

He doesn’t remember the walk to the tavern, only sitting down as Evelyn waves the other patrons away. She brings him a tankard and asks no questions. He picks it up and drains it in one go. She brings him another. 

He drinks alone that night, and he doesn’t leave when the drunks start to get loud. 

They don’t get too loud. They know what it’s like when Tobias gets quiet. 

Virgil growls, shoving the pillow under his head. Then he shoves another one under there. Then another. Then he snarls and throws all three of them away. No matter what he tries, he can’t get comfortable. 

This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It’s supposed to be an escape, goddamnit, not whatever the fuck it’s turned into. 

He punches the pillow closest to him

Okay, maybe he shouldn’t have said some of that stuff to Invoq. But the idiot had almost fucking died and couldn’t even acknowledge it! Did he have no self-preservation? 

Virgil scoffs, turning on his back.

Why did Invoq have such a strong reaction to being told he had no self-preservation? It wasn’t like it was any worse than some of the other stuff he said to him. And if he’s being honest…it wasn’t the worst thing he said either. But then that really didn’t explain things, why would he act like having no self-preservation was the worst insult in the world?

The niggling feeling comes back. Something about trust, something about honesty, something about—

Virgil sits upright. 

Invoq hadn’t been wearing his gloves. When he was in the box, he hadn’t been wearing his gloves. 

Suddenly the self-preservation thing starts to make a little more sense. 

Janus curls himself tighter around a pillow, huddled under his blankets. Even with the heat lamp on, he’s still shivering. 

Fucking Tobias. Why did he have to do that? Why did he have to try and make him into some damsel in distress, and then when that didn’t work, into some sort of villain? He hadn’t done anything wrong, he was minding his own business, and here comes some big hunk to ruin everything. 

He huddles tighter. 

…maybe it wasn’t entirely fair to yell at him like that. He was only trying to help. Even if he didn’t ask for it. And he did seem genuinely scared for his safety, even if he then went off on some self-righteous speech about how he wanted to make sure he was safe and all that.

The memory of Tobias suddenly freezing, then the light behind his eyes dying as he bid him a calm and cold ‘good night’ makes him shiver. 

He pushed too far, obviously, but…but what was it? Was it poking fun at his intelligence? Mocking him for talking about being a sellsword again? Janus frowns, thinking. No, he’d only reacted like that when…

…when he’d called him ‘paranoid.’

He takes a while to get to sleep that night.

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[the-insomniac-emporium]

Serenade (Daniela Dimitrescu/Reader) Pt. 11

Fandom: Resident Evil: Village Rating: T for language Warnings: Nope! Notes: Here we are, a breath away from the end. This features not one, but FOUR songs written by myself. If you only choose to listen to one of them, listen to the final one (Cradle of Heaven), as it is a duet I wrote specifically for this fanfiction, as something that the reader wrote to play together with Daniela. The links to these songs will be within the fanfiction itself, at relevant times. Past Chapters: Pt. 1: Nocturne, Pt. 2: Overture, Pt. 3: Accelerando, Pt. 4: Toccata, Pt. 5: Poco a Poco, Pt. 6: Elegy, Pt. 7: Harmony, Pt. 8: Obbligato, Pt. 9: Berceuse, Pt. 10b: Hymn AMAB

Chapter 11: Cadence

(Cadence: Two chords that mark the end of a song)

The stage is set, the lights are dimmed, your heart pounds within your chest, and the world is yours. Soon, it will be Daniela’s. She is right by your side, as ever, hand gently taking hold of your own. There’s a silent reassurance in her grip, a reminder that the two of you have overcome a plethora of challenges. A promise that this will be no different. Both of you take a deep breath, in sync, before exchanging a quick kiss. All of your hard work has been leading up to the coming moments. Although you are beyond confident in your lover’s abilities, there is a shadow of doubt in the back of your mind. Not for her sake, but surrounding the expectations held by her mother, the standard against which you would be measured.

“Come hell or high water, Songbird, I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise,” Daniela whispers, squeezing your hand again, eyes unblinking as they stare into yours. “You’ve made every right choice, worked harder than anyone I know, and there is nothing more I can ask of you… except another kiss to celebrate afterwards, that is.” Giggling in response gives you the moment you need to relax, nerves fading into the background of your mind. “Now let’s put on a show the likes of which my mother has never seen, mhmm?”

THREE HOURS EARLIER:

“Here, you can borrow my brooch. It’s been in the family for generations, since before we even came to the village, passed down starting with an ancestor who crafted it himself, from materials he scavenged while fleeing his home country,” Daphne rambles, helping you attach the jewelry to your shirt. Thankfully, her hands do not tremble nearly as much as yours have been for the past hour. “I’m more than sure that Lady Daniela will tell you this much, but I feel the need to repeat just how good you look right now. I don’t know where the hell they’ve been hiding this version of our uniform, but damn do I wish I could get one for my next date with Ygritte. Seriously, if you can get one in my size, please do me that favor.”

“Anything for my best friend. Especially after all the times you’ve saved my ass these past few months,” you reply, pausing to give her shoulder an affectionate pat. If not for her constant interference running, someone would have certainly found out about your relationship with Daniela. “Speaking of that… of my life being on the line, I mean… no matter what happens today, no matter what Lady Dimitrescu decides, take care of yourself. You’ve gambled with your own blood to keep me safe, but what I’ve done, what I’ve risked, those were my choices. My consequences. The last thing I’d ever want is for you to pay for them, somehow.”

Rolling her eyes, Daphne gives you a playful shove to the chest, before smoothing out the fabric of your dress uniform. Now she refuses to meet your gaze, a familiar mistiness taking over her brown eyes.

“Nobody around here is stupid enough to think you’ll die today. You managed to get Lady Daniela, of all people, to stay focused long enough to learn some absolutely beautiful pieces of music. You have proved, time and time again, that you are a talented musician, teacher, and ‘servant’. So get out there and kick some metaphorical ass, my friend, because you are ready,” she finally says, offering you what seems to be a handshake. But as soon as your hand meets hers, she’s pulling you in for a hug, holding you tight for a solid minute. When at last you part, you give her what may very well be the last smile she’d ever see gracing your lips.

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

A hand’s edge against xer forehead, parallel to the ground, kept perfectly flat. From anyone else, it would be mockery. From xer? Honest salute, solidarity in a traditional form, accompanied by a sharp-toothed grin. Mimicking the expression, you wave at Ava, glad to see that xe would be awake for your concert. After your first night with your girlfriend, Daphne had helped arrange for someone to be your “cover story” for sleeping outside of your usual quarters. With Daniela’s input (and jealousy), only one candidate had revealed themselves, in the form of a (conveniently) mute butler with an inconsistent schedule, love of mischief, and somehow the respect of the Dimitrescu family. Now, xe appeared ready to escort you to the location of your trial by fire.

“Are you sure our mutual friend won’t be upset to see the two of us together?” You teased, knowing full well that Ava was one of the only people that Daniela trusted 100% around you. In response, xe gives an exaggerated shrug, then quickly links xer arm with your own. Together you march onwards to your destiny, amused by the way xe practically skipped down the hallway. Maybe there was a certain wisdom to xer shenanigans, a carefree philosophy that encouraged laughter in the face of death, and you embraced the thought with a smile.

Before long, however, the two of you encounter another unlikely pair headed towards the same destination: Lady Cassandra, looking somewhat embarrassed, with an unfamiliar maiden at her side. Their hands are clutching each other desperately, although neither of them dares to look at the other. Instead they both watch you closely from where they’ve paused in the corridor. Oddly unfazed, Ava gives them a short bow of acknowledgement, earning xer a brief nod from Cassandra. Seeming eager to move on, she addresses you quickly before gesturing for you to keep walking.

“Good luck. Don’t fuck this up for Daniela, or I’ll never hear the end of it,” she growls, doing her best to downplay her obvious concern. Wanting to let her keep up with her facade, you merely give a nod as you resume walking towards the concert stage. Soft footsteps behind you let you know that the strange pair are accompanying you. Still walking alongside you, Ava repeatedly glances behind you, putting out xer hands in the shape of a heart, giggling all the while. If you didn’t know any better, you would almost assume that xe wanted to get hit by Cassandra.

“Ava, please calm down. If you’re not careful, she’ll throw something at you. If she does that, you’ll probably dodge, and then I’ll probably end up getting hit, and then I’ll miss the concert, Lady Dimitrescu will kill me as punishment, Daniela will be sad and whiny about it, and none of you will have any peace for, like, a month. Three weeks, bare mims,” you tease, nudging xer in the ribs. Emphasizing a pout, xe sends one last look at Cassandra and her ‘friend’ (whose hand she was still holding onto like a lifeline), mouthing words you couldn’t parse. Based on the way Cassandra groans, it was something ridiculously cheesy. Regardless, xe behaves the rest of the way there…

ONE MINUTE TO SHOWTIME:

“I love you, Firefly, and I know that you’re going to do absolutely amazing out there. I’m so proud of you,” you murmur, pressing a feather-light kiss to Daniela’s cheek. As dearly as you wish to stay behind the curtain, in her arms, you know that the show was inevitable. With one last nod to your beloved, you part the fabric shielding you, stepping into the spotlight. Imaginary crowds grow hushed at your appearance, a sea of faces greeting you warmly. In truth, there are but five members in this audience, each gazing upon you with veiled interest. Donning you best presentation persona, you set this final act in motion. “Lady Dimitrescu, Lady Cassandra, Lady Bela, and Mx. Caldwell, it brings me great pleasure to present to you, on this day, a concert performed by your own Lady Daniela. For three months now I have acted as her instructor, and these three months have been, perhaps, the most rewarding of my entire life. I could not possibly be any more proud of her than I already am. Now, without further ado… let us begin!”

Stepping to the side, a tug of a rope has the curtains parting entirely, revealing your beloved, waiting ready at the piano. All at once your audience (including Cassandra’s partner, acting as a mere servant in the background) sits up with wide smiles. They look Daniela over, taking in the sight of her fanciest dress, and the way her eyes light up with joy. By the time her fingers begin dancing away at the keys, there is not a single ounce of anxiety in your entire soul. This first song is a relic from your past, a representation of an abandoned idea, yet she plays it like a celebration. It’s fast, hits hard, a bold take right out of the gate. Admittedly, it is also somewhat short. Nonetheless, it serves its purpose, igniting a spark of excitement in those present. Once the song ends, Daniela is surprised by the intensity of her family’s applause. In the back of her mind, she trembles with excitement, knowing that the best was yet to come.

Riding this wave of pride, she immediately settles into the next song, something slower but far grander. Affection thrums inside your chest as you watch your pupil perfectly execute another piece. You can only imagine what her mother must be feeling, to see just how far her daughter has come in such a short amount of time. A quick glance in Alcina’s direction reveals the barest hints towards her being impressed. For now that was enough to satisfy you. Soon enough her face would twist in surprise, as the second song ended, and a new face steps up onto the stage: Lady Bela. Wordlessly she retrieves her violin from the back of the stage, then turns to the front with a mischievous smile.

“Now, a duet! Presenting the ever-talented Lady Bela, to join Lady Daniela for a rendition of an original song, dubbed ‘Northern Lights’. Enjoy!” You call out, before once more taking your place at the side. While Daniela did not need you to count her in for her solo performances, this feels ever so slightly more important, and as such you do your best to conduct for the duration of the song. If either of the performers need it, they hide it well. Honestly, you weren’t sure if your girlfriend had looked your way even a single time so far. ‘Twas incredible to witness her. Akin to a siren, near glowing, taking to the stage as if born to grace its center. Even with Bela working her own magic, Daniela is ever the star. Together they weave a lovely song, notes rising high into the air, swirling around an enchanted audience.

When it ends, both performers give a bow, as if the entire affair had come to a close. Without hinting at what was to come, you switch places with the eldest Dimitrescu daughter. A deep breath rattles your ribcage as you find your center, reaching out to take Daniela’s hand, the two of you raising your arms upward in a display of union. For the first time this evening, Lady Alcina narrows her eyes in what feels like disapproval. But you pay her no mind. Instead you sit alongside your beloved, quietly settling into your practiced position.

There is no introduction for this song. No announcement, no showmanship, nor even a countdown into the symphony. Simply, like exhaling a breath, the two of you start to play. Your phrases echo hers, and vice versa, calling and answering, accompanying all the while, natural as anything holy in the wild. ‘Tis the second shortest song of the night, only long enough to showcase the degree of your partnership with Daniela. As the song crescendos into an ending, you manage to meet the gaze of your employer. Perhaps it is merely an illusion of hope, or a reflection of lights above, but you swear you see tears in her eyes.

“Outstanding, incredible,” she praises, rising to her feet alongside her other daughters, clapping all the while. Once again you rise to your feet, hand clasped with Daniela’s, bowing as deeply as you can manage. Before you can even process what’s happening, your girlfriend is being pulled away from you, swept up into the arms of her mother. Desperation digs like a knife into your heart, as you ache to celebrate with her, but you remain ever in the guise of a professional. “You did amazing, my dear. I cannot begin to describe how proud I am.” The family gathers around each other, buzzing with affection fit to make the hardest of hearts melt. You are left on the outside, awkwardly waiting, without a hint of acknowledgment.

Even if this concert was a measure of your skill as a teacher, Lady Dimitrescu had never bothered to consider you more than another servant. This night was about Daniela. About your secret girlfriend, the brightest star in all the skies. That is not something that bothers you, nor does it surprise you. All that makes you wish to weep is the desire to kiss her. To sweep her into your arms, with celebratory kisses, singing her name as a praise to higher powers. In the end, it takes several minutes for Daniela to pull away enough to move back to you, and even then she cannot give you the reaction she yearns for.

“I’ll come by to talk to you tonight, I promise,” she whispers, as she gives you the weakest hug you have ever felt. Then she is returning to her family, clinging to her mother with a massive grin. Soon enough you are left alone on stage, quiet surrounding you, mixed feelings gnawing at the pit of your stomach. Something feels… wrong. You cannot put a name to it. No one has hinted to you what your beloved has planned, for none but her even have a clue. As soon as she is alone with her mother, as soon as she has the smallest sliver of an opportunity, she knows what she must do. “Mother… we need to talk. I... I have a confession to make.”

[miscellaneous-bnha]

A little “Christmas Magic”

Kirishima x Fem!Reader x Denki

This is my piece for @lemonlordleah-shinzawa-kitten’s Citrus Dome “Snowed In” Collab.

Link to the Collab: https://tomurasprincess.tumblr.com/post/637531853698547712/citrus-dome-server-snowed-in-collab

Warning: slightly Scumbag Kiri/Denki, dubious consent (at the start), Possessive/FeralDenki, Smug Kiri, some exhibitionism, lowkey yandere Denki if you squint, dumbification, a little tongue pulling, light cum play

Also, I write Denki as someone who pretends to be stupid but is actually extremely intelligent.

ALL CHARACTERS ARE AGED UP

Being childhood friends with Denki had it’s perks; knowing how intelligent your best friend is compared to how stupid he likes to act is one of them, so you knew that it was no accident he kept you distracted long enough for the blizzard to roll in.

Effectively trapping you in his home with his roommate Kirishima.

“Aww come on! It’s not that terrible! We’ve got good heating, enough food n’ snacks. The world’s BEST portable charger,” he points to himself dramatically, “And, if you do get bored of me, Kirishima’s here too.”

“You say that like you were planning on excluding me from your plans.” Kirishima looks at his roommate unimpressed. You stifle a giggle.

“Even if he was, I wouldn’t let him.” You nudge the redhead with your shoulder, making him snort a laugh.

“Fair enough.”

“So you agree it’s not that bad?” Denki bats his eyes at you, causing you to push his face away with a scoff.

“Alright alright. It could be worse.” He grins.

“I’m glad you agree!”

The three of you spend the night talking about the latest games the three of you have been following. They had both just convinced you to download a multiplayer rpg when the power suddenly went out, leaving you all in the dark.

“Oof, unlucky. I guess even state of the art homes still get black outs.” You mutter.

“More likely than you think. Here, why not get closer before the temperature starts to drop.” Kiri offers.

“Sure, why not. I’ll be thankful for it later anyhow.” You sandwich yourself between Denki and Kiri laying on your back as the three of you bundled together.

“Everyone’s phones charged up?” Denki peeks at your phone, still going strong at 95%

“Yeah, it should be good for a while longer. Anyone up for some music?”

For the next 3 hours, you continue to talk until you find yourself growing sleepy. Comfortably warm, you can’t help the way your eyes slip close.

————

When you wake up again, you can still hear the wind whipping around outside. You grab your phone only to be met with the no battery signal. Both boys on either side of you completely knocked out.

You tsk at your own stupidity. ‘I should have turned it off when I realized I was getting sleepy.’ You thought to yourself, leaning over Denki to use his phone to check the time.

The numbers 9:27am stared back at you. Just as you move to settle back into your spot, Denki’s arms suddenly wrap around you.

“Mm… five more minutes…” the angle at which he grabbed you made it so you were lying on top of him, your legs straddling his hips.

“Uhm… Denks…” you try to shake him gently.

“Noooo… jus’ five mmm….” he starts to snore softly again, and you’re left stuck on him.

You sigh, accepting your fate. With your phone dead, you decide whether or not you should stick the charger into his mouth and plug your phone in or if you should just go back to sleep. Unfortunately, with how restless you felt, sleeping wasn’t an option, and you’d feel pretty guilty for disturbing him from what must be a good dream.

A really good dream.

Your face erupts into flames when you realize there’s something hard poking at you. The blush darkens when he groans and his hips jerk up to grind against you.

You would be lying if you said you weren’t ever attracted to your childhood friend; blonde hair, golden eyes, killer smile. You saw how popular he was back then, and you can see it in his hero ratings now. Even aside from his looks, his goofy, lovable, secretly intelligent nature made it impossible not to fall for him all those years ago.

But you also knew he tended to be a flirt, which made it hard to tell if he was genuine. Especially since his advances were never directed at you.

Wishful thinking made it easy to believe that he didn’t flirt with you because “he didn’t want to think the one person he cares the most about to think he was playing with them”, but reason told you otherwise.

You’ve met some of his exes, and none of them were like you.

So, in the friendzone you stayed. ‘Better than nothing’, you reason, and— much to your own surprise— you’re satisfied with that.

You shake your head and squirm. “Denki…! Wake up you idiot!” He snorts when you headbutt his chest, head sitting up as he let you go to rub at the spot you hit.

“Awww… I was having a good dream…”

“I’m sure you were!” You spit, embarrassed.

You make an attempt to hide it. “Also, I need a favor, my phone died while we were sleeping.”

“Ah, yeah. I tried turning your music off, but I guess that didn’t work.” You hum, but nod.

“Thanks for trying. Mind charging it for me?”

He taps a finger to his chin, pretending to think about it before he grins. “Sure, but it’ll cost ya.” You snort.

“Ha ha. What do I owe?”

“A kiss.” You roll your eyes. Even as a kid, Denki always liked to say stuff like that.

You lean down and press a kiss to his cheek.

“There, your kiss. Now can you charge my phone?” You have to bite your tongue to hold back a yelp when you’re suddenly flipped over on your back, Denki hovering over you.

“You can do better than that!” He grins when you snort.

“Oh really now?” You plant another, wetter, kiss to his cheek with a smack. “And is that good enough for you?”

“Nope.”

“Oh come on!” You whisper-yell, fake exasperated, “I give! What more could you possibly want??”

“You really want to know?”

“Yes!”

He pauses, eyes watching you for a moment before suddenly his lips are on yours. One hand cupping your jaw, thumb circling the underside of your chin, the other bracing himself over you.

You don’t expect it, nor do you expect the way he deepens the kiss so effortlessly even while you’re still floundering for steady ground. He almost seems to be intent on trying to keep you stumbling.

You gasp and pant when he parts from your lips with a wet smack; head foggy with confusion, you don’t have any time before his lips are back on yours, smothering you into another blissful, naïve cloud.

You whine when the hand cupping your jaw trails down slowly, fingers intertwining with yours and giving a gentle squeeze, bringing it above your head to pin it there.

“W-Wait!” You gasp, trying to come back down to reality, still not believing what’s happening.

“No.” He nips the side of your neck, making you groan softly, “Waited long enough.”

“Wh- what do you mean??” You don’t get your answer. Instead, he presses more hot kisses to your lips, each accompanied with a soft smack.

“Denki—!” You hiss through your teeth when he bites down on your neck again, harder this time. He covers your mouth with one hand, hushing softly.

“Waited too long for this. Should’ve just said something a long time ago.” His breath is hot against your ear, making you squirm when his teeth nibble on the lobe. “Should’ve told you how I feel ages ago.”

You can’t help the excited thumping of your heart, especially if his words mean what you hope they do. You gasp when you feel his hard on grind against you, sound stolen from you when Denki presses another deep kiss to your lips.

“Fuck, need you. Need you so fucking bad.” He borderline growls as his free hand disappears below the blanket covering the both of you. You’re just about to let the haze overcome you when you suddenly hear Kirishima snort from next to you, making your blood freeze.

“Denki..! Kirishima’s right there—!” He groans burying his face in your neck.

“Fuck..! I know! ‘S fine!” He flips you both again so that you’re on top, tugging at the pair of sweatpants you borrowed and your panties.

“We can’t!” He bucks his hips into yours, making you inhale sharply. He tugs you down so your chest is pressed to his. You can feel the way his heart is pounding through your thin shirts.

“For fuck’s sake, please, baby girl. I can’t. I can’t wait anymore.” He groans into your ear, hands pinning your hips to his, moving you to grind against him.

“But Kirishima—!”

“Kirishima—” He growls his roommate’s name with disdain, making you shudder with fear and arousal, “— won’t know if you stay quiet.” He hisses when he finally manages to slide the sweatpants off of you, bare cock nudging against your panty-clad pussy.

“Please. I need you so fucking bad it hurts. I will combust if I can’t fuck you right fucking now.” You shiver when you feel his fingers pull the crotch of your underwear to the side, fingers sliding through your slick and circling your clit.

“Okay, okay okay okay— wait!” You bite your lip when he shoves his leaking cock into you, growling into your shoulder.

“Fuck, fuck fuckfuckfuckfuck…” he groaned, hips fucking up into you with soft ‘paps’

“Den—ki!” You whine, grinding down on his cock as much as he would let you.

“That’s it, baby…. jus’ keep sayin’ m’ name.”

“Or maybe mine.”

The shock of hearing Kirishima’s voice right by your ear has you clamping down on Denki’s cock, sending you over the edge when he thrusts roughly into you.

“Kiri—“ Denki slaps a hand over your mouth, cutting you off.

“Seriously?” Denki growls, pissed. He doesn’t pull out though, opting to fuck into you still,

“Aww, come on. I’m not the one breaking promises around here, Denki. Don’t get a little salty because I wanted to join in on the fun.” You shudder and moan, overstimulated.

It’s hard to focus on the conversation as yet another orgasm builds. You can barely focus on the fact that you just got caught fucking your childhood friend by his roommate, at least until two hands grab you by your shoulders and pull you against a firm chest.

“Kirishima! Wh—” You whine when one arm wraps around your neck, not squeezing, but keeping you pinned to his chest, the other pinching and pulling at your nipple,

“Kaminari here can’t keep a promise, so I’m just having some fun touching you.” He laughs, seemingly unbothered. Then he whispers into your ear,

“But don’t worry; I’ll give it to you later.” You squeeze and clench around Denki’s cock at the sound of that.

Kirishima’s hand trails down your body, leading a trail of goosebumps until his fingers pinch and tug at your clit. He activates his quirk, the rough sensation of his hardened fingers add to your pleasure until you’re creaming on Denki’s cock all over again. You whine, trying to pull away from the stimulation, but Kiri just holds you there, letting Denki rut up into you until he’s cumming, hissing through his teeth until he can’t bring himself to pull out anymore.

You’re vaguely aware of the fact that he isn’t wearing a condom, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t have time to as you feel yourself falling asleep again.

————

When you wake up, you’re cuddled in Kirishima’s arms. He gives you a bright, toothy smile when he notices your eyes opening.

“Well good morning, sleeping beauty! Well, good afternoon now.” You groan, feeling a little sore.

“What time is it?”

“About 2pm. You didn’t actually sleep that long.” You grunt.

“Where’s Denki?”

“Grabbing some snacks together. Your phone finished charging, by the way.

He presses the device into your hands and you stare at it owlishly until your brain catches up with your body.

“Ah, thanks.”

“Sure thing.”

You set it off to the side, sitting up and stretching. Your face twists when you feel something leaking out of you.

“Ugh.. I should go and get cleaned up… well, as much as I can anyway.” You throw the blanket to the side, but you don’t have the opportunity to stand before Kirishima’s hands are on your hips.

“About what I said earlier…” he murmurs softly. It takes you a moment, but you blush when you finally remember.

“Wh-what about it?”

“Do you mind?” He squeezes his hands gently.

You chew your lip. Everything considered, he’d watched and helped Denki fuck you, and you certainly were curious…

“... alright, why not?” Kirishima grins before patting his lap, pushing his shorts and boxers down. Your eyes widen when his cock stands,

“Have you been hard this whole time??” As smug as he’d been acting earlier, he seemed to get a little shy at your question

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“You were!” He sputters, but pulls you into his lap.

“Look, of course I’m going to be hard.” He teases the sharp points of his teeth against your neck,

“Thinking about all those noises you made, the way you looked on his cock…” he growls playfully, biting down on your shoulder until you whine softly.

“Shit... just hurry up then!” You grumble, giving his cock a couple of good strokes.

He flips you around so your back is against his chest again, slowly sinking you down on his cock as you both groan.

“Christ... I see why he wasn’t keen on sharing.” Kiri raises you by the hips, slamming you back down on his cock with a hiss,

“So fucking tight baby girl…” he groans as you whine, falling back against his chest. Your body shakes with his laughter.

“Awww… already stupid from my cock stuffing your tight little hole?” He groans, but you can feel the way he grins against your neck,

“That’s alright, baby. I’ll take care of ya.”

Your whines and moans do eventually attract Denki, pulling him away from his task. He scowls at Kirishima, who only continues to lazily bounce you on his cock.

“You could have at least waited until I came back.”

“And miss a chance at fucking her cute little pussy? I don’t think so.” You whine when Kiri forces your hips to still, instead rotating your hips so his cock grinds deep inside.

You feel Denki grip your jaw with one hand, the fingers on his other hand slipping inside your mouth. You yelp when you feel him pinch your tongue, tugging it out and forcing you to tilt your head up to look at him.

“You’ve always had such a pretty little mouth too…” Denki says more to himself than to you, letting go of your tongue in favor of tugging his cock out of his sweatpants.

“Mind if I use it?”

He taps the tip of it against your tongue, groaning a soft “good girl” when you suck on it, only for you to choke when he pushes more of his length into your mouth.

“Hey, take it easy man.” Kiri starts to bounce you on his cock again, making you moan with each drop of your hips. Denki grunts, cupping your cheeks with his hands,

“She’ll be alright, won’t you baby?” You whine softly, too busy focusing on the rising heat in your core.

“Either way, I don’t think she’s coherent enough to even notice if my balls smack against her chin.” Denki says as he snaps his hips forward again, making you gag.

“Well… don’t make her sick.”

“She’ll be fine.”

You moan and gag with every drop and rise of your hips respectfully. In some ways, Denki was right when he said you’d hardly notice him shoving his cock down your throat; come later, it’ll be sore as hell, but for now, it added to the curling pleasure that only seemed to build the more roughly they treated you.

You feel Kirishima reach forward to pinch a nipple, making you gag out a yelp around Denki’s cock. Both of them hiss in unison.

“Shit, I think she liked that.” Kirishima gives it another painful tug, causing you to whine and your cunny to flutter.

“Fuck.. keep doing that.” Denki groans out, forgetting completely about your comfort for a moment when he shoves his dick all the way down your throat, making you choke when Kirishima buries himself balls deep.

You feel like your head is floating aimlessly by the time they start to lose control. Between Kiri’s thick, heavy cock splitting you open and Denki fucking your face, your eyes roll back as you cum hard, whining and moaning through your choked noises.

“Fuuuuuck, that’s it baby! Just tighten up like that!” Kirishima growls as he abandons your nipple, opting to rub your clit instead to keep you cumming.

Denki hisses and pulls his cock out of your mouth, instead leaving the tip on your tongue as he strokes himself to completion.

Both men are loud when they cum, and you can only whine when you feel your body turn to gelatin again.

You grimace when Denki pushes his cum around on your tongue, only removing his finger when he’s satisfied with the look of it. “Swallow for me, yeah?” He pets your cheek when you comply, smiling in satisfaction.

You can feel Kirishima’s cum leak out of you the second he pulls out. He lets out a low whistle, lightly patting your ass. “What a sight to behold.”

You flop back against Kirishima’s chest, groaning softly. “Now can I get cleaned up?”

“Of course. Just give us a sec, yeah?”

“Or you could just stay like this for-“

“No thank you, Denki.”

“Party pooper.”

[writingsbychlo]

smoke and fire (16)

word count; 9744

summary; thomas does his best to explain and make amends for the interruption of the night before, but things always seem to get in the way.

notes; again, this part ended up getting too long so it was split up, the finale of this became the next part.

warnings; reference to drug use, reference to injury.

Slamming your car door shut, you took a deep breath. Brenda had collected you the night before and driven you back to the station to get your own car, a gesture you were thankful for because you weren’t so sure getting a cab would have been the best thing for you this morning. You were almost late, only a few minutes off the beginning of your shift, and you could still see the night team clearing out, sleepily waving polite greetings to you as they got into their vehicles to head home.

Grabbing your bag from the backseat, you slammed that door shut too, locking the car up and tucking your keys into the front pocket of your day bag, you didn’t even bother putting it onto your shoulder, covering your mouth with a yawn as you wandered towards the buildings main entrance. Your bag bumped against your leg as you went, feet dragging on the tarmac as you tried to shake away your exhaustion, a smile pulling at your lips as you remembered your night with Brenda.

As promised, she’d brought a bottle of wine and enough take-out food for the entire Squad, before following you back to your place upon picking up your car. You drank, and ate, and she listened to you complain about everything that had happened before doing her best to give you advice. She told you about how things were progressing between her and Minho, and that she was thinking of asking him out on a real date, and she watched Adam Sandler movies with you until the early hours.

You’d caught a few hours of sleep after she’d sobered up from half a bottle of wine and driven herself home, and you’d pumped yourself full of enough coffee this morning that you were almost jittering, but you still felt tired. However, you did feel a lot better.

Until you rounded the corner to the main door, and Thomas perked up from where he was slumped against the doorway, standing up straight as his back left the wall beside the door, eyes fixed on you as you approached, and your footsteps stumbled for a moment. He met you halfway, pausing before you and he stayed a foot or so away, hands twitching by his sides as debated whether or not to reach out, and you grasped your bag a little tighter, holding it with both hands now.

“I don’t know what to say, or where to start.”

“You don’t have to say anything, Thomas.” You let out a soft sigh, his shoulders slumping, and you shrugged. “I mean, there’s really nothing to say. There wasn’t anything hidden and there were no secrets, you didn’t sneak around behind my back, it’s just something that happened.”

“I know, but I wanted to explain to you that-”

“You bitch, how do you look better than me when you drank more than I did?” Brenda all but yelled the words, and you winced, chuckling a little as she came up to your side, hopping with her steps, and you admired how much energy she had.

“Pretty sure it was you who drank more than I did last night.” You retorted, and she shrugged, linking her arm through your own. The bell overhead chimed, muted from being inside, of the building as the door sat pegged open, and your eyes flickered to the building. “I haven’t even gotten changed yet, does this make me officially late?”

“I’ll distract Vince so you can sneak into the lockers?” Brenda teased, and you rolled your eyes at her, smiling nonetheless.

“I have to go.” You held your bag up, shaking it a little at Thomas, and he nodded his head, face smoothing out as his frown lessened a little.

“I know, I know. Can we talk, though? Please, at some point?” You rolled your lower lip between your teeth, before nodding, and trying to offer him the best smile you could, despite the pain swirling through you right now.

“Of course, later, alright? I have stuff to do first. I still need to fill out all the forms for medicine and equipment used yesterday. I didn’t do it after the call.”

“After that, though?”

“After that.” You confirmed, and he stepped out of your way, lingering for a while as Brenda tugged you along the corridor, her arm looped through your own as she pulled you away into the corridor. Once you were approaching the locker room with no Vince in sight to chastise you for not being changed yet, she glanced back over her shoulder, letting you copy, to catch sight of the doors to the common room swinging as Thomas walked into there instead of following. “What are we looking for?”

“Thomas.” She huffed, holding open the door for you as her arm left yours and you thanked her, jumping a little as it slammed closed, behind you both. She took a seat on the bench before you as you opened your locker, dropping your bag down and pulling it open to expose your uniform, before tugging your hoodie up and over your head. “So, you’re really just forgiving him? Just like that?”

“What are you talking about? He didn’t technically do anything wrong.” Her brows raised at you, eyes narrowing a little as she tried to analyse you, while you tugged your smart new shirt up your arms, buttoning it up over your vest. “Don’t look at me like that, Bren, you know it’s true. He loved her, and you know that as well. Of course, he told her things he didn’t tell me, they have way more of a history, a deeper connection than we do, and there was a lot of unfinished business because it was a messy end.”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t love her, anymore. You told him all of your secrets!” She argued, and you nodded, undoing the belt of your jeans and popping the button, shimmying them down your legs before folding them alongside your hoodie. “If you love someone, you should be honest with them, and not let them be caught off-guard with a whole shitstorm of things they don’t know!”

“Exactly. If you love them.” You mumbled, covering your bare legs with your smart work trousers, and pushing your feet back into work-appropriate sneakers that you’d abandoned, listening to her huff as she caved, nothing else to say. “Really, I’m not mad, you shouldn’t be either, nobody should be mad at anyone.”

“Well, I need to be mad at someone, because I’m anxious about asking Minho if he wants to go to dinner with me, and I’m better at being angry than nervous. Anxiety doesn’t suit me.” She huffed, and you grinned, putting your bag away in the locker and swapping out what you needed, before sitting down beside her on the bench to tie your laces. “What if he says no?”

“Then he’s stupid.”

“Well, duh, I’m hot as hell and great in bed.” She scoffed, and you grinned, flicking her in the forehead for sassing you. “I know, but I mean, what happens to us if he says no? Do we keep on hooking up like I didn’t ask, will things get awkward?”

“Well, y’know, you have to ask. Otherwise, you’re always going to wonder what could have happened, and you’re so hung up on the bad that you’re not seeing how awesome things could be.”

“It seems ironic to hear you saying that, what with how you used to be.”

“I’m trying to give you genuine advice, smartass.” She let out a sound of protest at the insult, before letting the last of her nervous defences down for you. “Look, just ask him. If he says no, then you know where he stands and you can move on. Either way, you stop hooking up as ‘just coworkers’. You might become something more, you might not, but you gotta’ take the chance. The same way I took a chance all those months ago by staying here and not running away like I always do, and it worked out for the best.”

“The best? Even though things are rocky with you and Thomas?”

“Whatever is going on between me and Thomas is just a fleck on the surface of it all.” She stared at you, waiting for you to go on, a vulnerable look in her eyes. “The ‘best’ I referred to is finding a family and a home with you all, and finding best friends like you and Newt, and a place to stay for however long I can. I don’t want to move anywhere, and it’s been a long time since I’ve been happy where I was, but I am here, thanks to you all. Even if things never go any further between me and Thomas, we’ll still be friends.”

“Okay, I guess you’re right. Which I rarely admit, so make the most of it.” She gave in, a smile taking over, and you held a hand out of her. She high-fived you, taking the offering, and you beamed, standing up and swinging your leg over the bench, before offering your hands out to her and pulling her to her own feet. “C’mon, I’ve got stock to take in the ambo, and you have a date to ponder.”

She sighed, dramatically, but wandered away with you. When you parted ways at the main door entrance, Newt was already sitting in the back of the ambulance, with the doors open, the clipboards out in front of him and both of your bags on the stretcher, the cupboards all open before him. The pen was held between his lips, and his phone was in hand one thumb moving rapidly over the screen as he typed away quickly, various diluted expression flickering over his face as he spoke.

You knocked on the door, your friend clearly not having sensed your arrival because he jumped rather violently when he heard your arrival, glancing at you for a second and letting his shoulders slump, before finishing his message and hitting ‘send’. He chucked his phone to the side to let it land on the beside your bags, and came forwards, sitting on the edge of the ambo’ and letting his legs swing. The pen dropped from his mouth, caught in his fingers and wiped on his shirt, your brows raising as you waited.

“I’m arguing with Derek.”

“Why?” You poked, his frown only deepening, and he shrugged a little, a flicker of anger passing over his features. “Seriously, what happened?”

“He cancelled our date, again. That night he was going to stay over, he didn’t but he said an emergency situation came in at the hospital and I figured that made sense. But then we rearranged for a week later, and he cancelled that too, and now he cancelled our rearrangement of the rearrangement which was supposed to be tonight, so I’m kinda’ mad.” Newt sighed, rolling his eyes slightly at his own reaction, and you plucked the pen and the clipboard from his hands, putting them down on the van floor and stepping a little closer. “I hate relationships.”

“Me too. You want a hug?”

“Mhm.” He stood, holding his arms out wide, and you wrapped yours around his waist as his went around your shoulders, squeezing you in tight to his body, and his chin hooking over your head. “So, why do you hate relationships? I thought you had a hot date last night?”

“Yeah, well, sometimes things get in the way. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“But, you know I’m here if you do want to, right?” Newt pulled back enough to look at you, and you nodded your head, unable to help the smile you let out at his honesty.

“Yeah, I know.” You nudged his shoulder, and he stepped back, picking the clipboard back up, and clambering up into the van, holding a hand out to tug you up to follow. “So, I’ll count, you do the math, and we get it done in half the time?”

“Deal.” He beamed, and you set to work, turning your focus to the first cabinet, and the sets of bottles. You knew that there was no chance you’d actually used this much medicine, half of these bottles still had the seal on because they were so rarely used, but it was your job to check not only the quantities used but also their expiration dates and what needed replacing.

After pulling on a clean pair of gloves, you opened each jar, tipping the contents out into your hand if it was opened and counting each pill carefully back into the packet, so then it could be checked against the medication logs issued out, Newt adding everything up and writing down each name of medicine or treatment as you went.

You checked every cabinet methodically, rearranging the bottles inside of their holsters and putting them back, moving across the cabinets above the beds. The pair of you moved ins silence, as you always did when doing this job, putting your main focus on the medicines you were calculating, but his company was simply soothing enough.

There was something about being with Newt that was calming, doing this job was calming. It hadn't always been so, for a few months when you’d first moved to this house it had been tense and made your skin crawl, the silence for well over an hour as you counted bottles save for calling out numbers and giving dates on bottles used to make you feel uncomfortable. Now, you loved it. The quiet time with Newt made you feel relaxed, like you could let your walls down, and the mundane task of counting the medications gave you time to think. It was a safe space you could always use to clear your thoughts, a weekly task that helped you to keep your mind in order.

There was a lot on your mind today, everything from fear and confusion to an odd sense of serenity. You already knew that no matter what happened, this was your home, and if things never progressed between you and Thomas, if the furthest the two of you ever got into exploring what could be was the kiss that barely counted on his couch, you weren’t going anywhere. These were your friends, this was your family, and it was an incredible feeling like a rush of warmth simply to know that you were strong enough this time to make it through the pain, and that you didn’t have to run anymore.

Moving across to the drawers behind yourself, Newt was purposefully avoiding the buzzing on his phone as he moved to the bed, the humming of ‘Mr Sandman’ under his breath getting a little more aggressive each time another text came in, and you snickered as you listened to him.

“You know, you’re going to have to talk to him at some point.”

“Yeah, but not right now. I’m mad right now.” He scoffed, turning the device off entirely, and you gave him a pointed look, which he was more than eager to avoid. His pen went back to scratching at the paper, scribbling down notes with a little more force than necessary, and you turned back to finishing the final drawers. The supplies in there were definitely running low, everything from the needles to fluid bags was on the short side, and you needed more water bottles to go in the fridge, because you’d used up the last of them.

When the job was finally complete, you were simply left with grabbing your bag, and taking it with you as you went to the stockroom, ready to count what was in them and grab what you needed. Flicking on the light, it was cold inside, the concrete walls having no radiators attached to them, and you shivered at the icy feeling that had gotten caught inside.

Placing your bag down on the table in the middle of the room as the musty yellow light overhead warmed up and got brighter, Newt grabbed the large plastic basket from the table and added that to the middle, the clipboard and plastic bag following. You sourced another pen from the pot, used to Newt’s routine by now, and he handed you two cheers of charted paperwork, keeping two himself, as the two of you split the supplies that needed gathering.

Turning to the shelves, you glanced down at the first item on the list, staring at the writing on the paper for a second, before giving in. “Newt, can I ask you a question about Thomas?”

“Sure! Especially if it’s something embarrassing. Did you know he cried when Tony Stark died? Sobbed like a toddler who got their toys taken away.”

“Okay, first of all, we all cried.” You mumbled, grabbing the first few bottles from the shelf that you needed, and stacking them into the box. “But, no, this is something serious.”

“Okay, well, shoot.” His voice was a little strained as he reached up to one of the higher shelves, pulling a box forwards to get at the contents inside, and you left a little tick next to each box as you gathered the correct amount, or left a number next to the ones where the full amount wasn’t available, so you’d know what to order more of.

“Do you think Thomas is still in love with Teresa?”

“Oh, fucking hell, it is a serious question.” He had turned to face you, you caught his eye as you twisted to another bottle of ‘carbamazepine’ into the crate of supplies. “It’s also a loaded answer.”

“Stop looking at me while you tell me, it’s making me nervous. Pack as you talk.” He chuckled at the request, turning back to his work, and taking a few hesitant moments, before letting out a slow breath.

“I don’t think he does, no. This house was having a lot of substitute paramedics filling in with me before you, and Thomas was angry and upset for a while, and he made it real difficult for anyone to take this job because for a few months he was sure she was coming back, and then he lost hope at all. Around about month eight, you showed up.”

You felt slightly nauseous, like you’d somehow started prying into his business where you weren’t welcome, but Newt was sharing it with you, and there was arguably nobody who knew Thomas better, and what he’d be okay with you knowing.

“He was still hurting when you showed up, as you know, but then he wasn’t hurting anymore. You changed that for him, and he was happy again, he didn’t blame himself so much and he wasn’t so mad. I don’t think he loves her anymore.”

You swallowed thickly, not too sure what to say, and so you switched onto the next page of your set, staring down at the numbers, and trying to clear your thoughts. It was a lot to take in; on the one hand, it filled you with warmth and made you feel a little more secure, but on the other hand, it only made you doubt things further, because you wondered why he’d never told you any of it himself.

“Why do you ask?”

“Teresa showed up last night.” Newt hissed under his breath, the shaking of pills inside plastic sounding, and he continued to pack his collection. He finished before you did, putting down his clipboard and pen before opening up his bag, and moving on to restocking it with sprays and cotton pads. “She said they had unfinished business, and she knew a whole bunch of stuff that made me feel like I barely knew him. I didn’t even know about his mom, Newt. She knows him, I don’t.”

“She also left him.” He sighed, clearing his throat and forcing you to look at him as you finished your sheets, taking your bag and standing opposite him. “What you and Tommy have is nothing like what they had. She already knew everything about him, he’s taking it slow with you, he’s nervous. Maybe that's why he didn’t say anything. He really likes you, okay? You should talk to him about this.”

“I know, I know.” You huffed, shaking your head slightly, and giving in to the silence again as you packed your bag up carefully. You filled it up again, a fresh canister of antiseptic, new cotton pads, fresh packers of paper stitches and needles threads, and some new painkillers. When you were done, you grabbed both bags, Newt grabbing the basket, and the pair of you headed back toward the ambo’.

When you arrived, there was someone leaning against it, and Newt froze in his tracks, face growing a little icy as he stared at the man there. He looked sullen, white lab coat and scrubs swapped out for skinny jeans and a hoodie, his hands tucked into the pockets, and you felt like you were suffocating in the tension.

“What are you doing here? I am working.” Your partner hissed, stepping a little closer, and Derek lifted a set of flowers that he’d placed on the bottom of the ambulance, an offering as he gave Newt a soft smile. “You can’t have those here, and not in the ambulance. Some people have hay-fever, you know.”

“C’mon, are you really still gonna’ be mad at me?”

“Yes, I am, because you keep fucking cancelling on me,” Newt muttered, stepping past his boyfriend and into the truck with his box, huffing when he stumbled a little on his leg, and Derek placed a supportive hand on his back. You offered your friend a shrug when the dark-haired man sent you a pitiful look, begging for help, but you had no idea what you could do. “You know, if we’re breaking up, just say it.”

“Do you think that if I wanted us to break up, that I would have come all the way down here with flowers to apologise after you stopped answering my texts? Huh?” Derek pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head as he was evidently exasperated with the situation, and you placed down your bags, under the stretcher, tucking them away securely, and Newt was angrily putting away bottles and packets. “I cancelled our first time, and that was a mistake, okay? The second time I just freaked out, because it had so much pressure on it then, and you know my relationship history.”

There was a story there, and you shuffled from foot to foot, feeling like you should go, but Newt shot you a desperate glare the second you took a few steps back, and you were frozen in your place to awkwardly endure the conversation you were listening to.

“Then, I felt bad for cancelling the second time because I was nervous. We rearranged again but I wanted to make it up to you, and do something more special, and you didn’t even give me a chance to explain!”

“There’s nothing to explain, you just keep cancelling! You’re the one who suggested taking this step!” Newt’s voice raised a little, nearing a shout, and you poured your lips together. “You said ‘maybe we should call it off for tonight, and wait a few more weeks, and do something else’. If you aren’t ready, or you don’t want to, just say it! But don’t keep rearranging if you don’t plan to go through with it!”

“I was trying to ask if you wanted to go away with me for the weekend!”

“You were-” Newt cut himself off from his shouting, his cheeks going red, and he stopped where he was putting away equipment to stare at his boyfriend. “You were?”

“Yes, you hot-head! I was trying to ask if you wanted to go away for the weekend, when there would be no interruptions, we could book it off. Then you got mad at me and stopped answering, so I had to drag myself out of bed, on my day off, to come down here and fix it.” Derek huffed, and you covered your mouth to muffle your chuckle, but it didn’t work, because both men turned to look at you.

“I’m gonna’ go get more water bottles. You keep unpacking.” Newt nodded, face still flushed, and you spun on your heel, smirking to yourself as you walked away. Entering the common room, a few of the firefighters turned to look at you, raised brows as you made your way through the kitchen to the large cupboards continuing water bottles.

“What’s with all the yelling?”

“Newt got a visitor, and some flowers.” You teased, gasps and teasing going up around the room, and Fry raced to the window with Brenda to peer out of it. Thomas was sitting at the kitchen island, an abandoned bowl that had the remnants of cereal sitting beside him, and he watched you go as you pulled out several packets of water bottles to refill the fridge with.

“Are you almost finished with the ambulance?” There was hope in his voice, his eyes wide as he looked at you, glitter swimming in his irises, and you nodded, closing the cupboard door with your foot. “We can, uh- we can talk soon, then?”

“Yeah, we can.” You lifted one packet of the bottles, feeling a little guilty at the cold shoulder you were giving him when you’d sworn to yourself you wouldn't because he wasn’t to blame, and that you wouldn't take your pain out on him, because that would only put the two of you back to where you were when you’d first joined this team. “Do you wanna’ help me carry the water? If you’re not busy?”

He perked up a little at that, a small smile forming and he stood up, reaching out for two packets straight away. “I’d love to.”

Following after you as you took one of the final two, he followed after you quietly, turning to look at you with raised brows as he backed through the swinging doors and caught sight of Derek and Newt. The two seemed to have calmed down considerably, Newt was no longer yelling, and instead, he had a beam on his face, sitting on the edge of the van where Derek was leaning and staring up at him with what could only be described as heart-eyes, and you huffed a little.

As you approached, Newt’s attention moved to you, his cheeks going red as you placed down your packet of water bottles, placing your hands on your hips, and Derek turned to give you a wider smile now that he wasn’t as stressed.

“You know, when you gave me his number, you promised me peaceful.”

“Uh, I absolutely did not. I could never promise peaceful from Newt. I promised calm and simple. I have delivered, because as far as I’m aware, Newt has yet to force you on a rollercoaster or make you go skydiving.” Newt gagged falsely, before tearing open the plastic of one packet loudly, and opening the fridge to begin stacking them inside.

“I hate rollercoasters.”

“I know.” You teased, and he flashed you a toothy grin, while continuing to put water bottles into the door of the mini-fridge. “There’s another packet of bottles, I’ll go grab it.” You jerked a thumb over your shoulder, Thomas sticking his hands into his pockets, turning to look at you as Derek began to say his goodbyes, the two talking quietly among themselves and consolidating plans with as much privacy as they could get. “Then, yeah, we talk.”

He nodded, motioning his head over towards one of the fire trucks, promising he’d wait there for you, and you only nodded. It took you only a few moments to grab the last collections of water, Derek walking away and offering you a wave as he left, a little more of a pep in his step and a smile on his face than it had been when the pair of you had first seen him, and Newt was grinning madly to himself in the back of the van as you approached.

“So, not as dire as suspected, then?”

You placed the bundle down, leaning over it a little and balancing your forearms on it, crossed over as you looked at him, and your partner sighed happily. “Okay, so, maybe I was overthinking it, and maybe I reacted too soon, but there was compelling evidence, you gotta’ give me that.”

“I never said I didn’t!” You teased, and Newt lifted a whole packet, unopened, and began to stack them into the fridge, the scuffling of shoes a few metres away reminding both of you of Thomas’ presence, and Newt gleaned at his best friend over your shoulder, a split second diversion, before his gaze was back to meeting your own. His look said it all, and you slumped a little more, pouting slightly. “I know, I know. I’m gonna’ face up to it, but sometimes ignorance is bliss.”

“He looks like a kicked puppy. I hate seeing him like that.” Newt frowned, and your shoulders slumped a little further. “I hate seeing you like this, too. It’s killing me.” He reached a hand out, placing it over your cheek, and swiping his thumb over your cheekbone gently, matching your pout. “I’m here if you need me. I’ll support you. I’ll finish up with the bottles and put the stock order through. Go sort your shit out.”

“Thanks, Newt.” You took a deep breath, your gut twisting anxiously, before standing up, and turning around to face Thomas, who was waiting patiently, and pretending not to be trying to eavesdrop.

Making your way over, Thomas offered you a small smile, lips pursed together, but it looked more pained than genuine, and you felt bad that he was so worried, because you didn’t want him to have to be scared to talk to you. No matter what, you’d still be his friend, and his family, and a member of his team.

He shook himself down slightly, and you lifted a hand, placing it on his arm gently, just below his elbow, giving it a light squeeze and he seemed to lose some of his tension at the simple action, his gaze dropping down to it. He paused for a second longer, but he looked back to you, and you could see the cogs working in his mind. “Relax, alright? You look like you’re about to have a meltdown. You wanted to talk, just say what's on your mind.”

“There’s so fucking much on my mind, though, and I can’t think straight.” He huffed, words running out so quickly they all ran together, and his brows furrowed slightly. “Look, first, I just wanted to apologise, okay? Before we get to anything else, I feel like shit for letting you walk away, and having to get Brenda to come and get you. I was just, I don’t know, in shock, I guess? I wasn’t thinking, just like I can’t think now, there’s so many fucking thoughts, my head hurts.”

You frowned, and his eyes flickered over your features, waiting for a reaction. You weren’t sure what to say, but his gaze was too intense, though he seemed to pick up on your forgiveness because while your touch dropped away from his arm, you didn’t step away, and you allowed him to take a hesitant step closer, lifting a hand towards your cheek. Before it could land, you were looking away, your brows furrowing, and he pushed away stray hairs from your forehead. “Uh, Aaron?”

“It’s Thomas, actually.” Your sights snapped back to the man before you, an unamused look on your face despite the twitches of your lips, a direct contrast to the smile he was wearing as he attempted to lighten the situation, and you smacked the back of your hand against his shoulder.

“No, dumbass, Aaron.” You pointed behind him, to the main bay doors, and he swung around, turning to face the driveway, and the young boy you had helped so many months ago was walking up the front pathway of the firehouse, hands tucked in his hoodie pockets. His body sagged a little, hands falling to his sides and curling into light fists, jaw tensing a little, like he’d only just actually registered what you’d said. “Can I-”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course. I’ll just, y’know, wait here.”

You smiled, as best you could with the heavy air settled between you both, before turning to Aaron. He glanced around the garage, seemingly nervous, hiding it behind a scowl before he finally saw you and an endearingly happy look took over the teens face. Your footsteps were quick, almost a skip as you made your way over to meet him at the entrance, and his hands untucked from his pockets, one pushing his hood down from his head to his neck, and you took him in for a second.

There were scars, faded and scarcely noticeable unless the cuts he’d once had were burned into your mind, and you hadn't noticed any kind of limp as he was walking up here, showing that his physical therapy had been paying off, almost a year of it making his recovery possible. There was more colour to his skin, he didn’t look as pale and washed out as the first times you’d met him, and his hair had grown longer, shaggy and sitting long enough for him to run his fingers through, covering the tips of his ears. His smile reached a little wider.

“Aaron, what are you doing here? I mean, I’m thrilled to see you, you look like you’re doing so much better, but this is a surprise.”

“Yeah, I can see that, it looks like I interrupted something important. Are you in trouble?” He gasped, holding a hand over his heart, and you turned to look back at Thomas, who was leaning against the firetruck and kicking his heel back against the tyre.

“I am, but not the kind you think.” You mumbled, staring at him for a second longer, before bringing your attention back to the kid before you. “So, what’s up?”

“I, uh, you’re part of my rehab. Well, my therapy, really.” He scratched at the back of his neck, an embarrassed laugh leaving him, and you placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing comfortingly. “I went to rehab, and I’ve been clean since the hospital, and my physical therapy worked, obviously. But, my sponsor suggested I started actual therapy, and for months I hated the idea, but I hit super low a couple weeks ago and I wanted to relapse but I didn’t want to let my sister down, and I didn’t want to let you down, and then I realised how long it had been since I’d seen you..”

“Oh, but I’m so happy for you! The fact that so much time passed by without you realising is a good thing. It means you’re doing well, and I couldn't be prouder of you.”

“Really?” He sighed, daring to look up from the concrete he was staring at, warm cheeks signalling his nerves.

“Really.”

He nodded, smiling again now, and letting his anxiety slip away, relaxing before your very eyes. “Good, because, I also wanted to ask you for some advice.” You raised a brow, curiosity filling you. “My therapist thinks I should set goals, y’know? I transferred schools and moved to a new neighbourhood and I got a kinda’ fresh start, and it’s nice, and my therapist says I should pick something to work towards. My grades in school are kinda’ crap and I’m working hard to pull them around but it’s a lot to catch up and with my history, I’m probably not going to college, so it leaves me with limited options.”

“Kid, don’t think like that.”

“No, no, it’s okay. Because, there’s a lot you can still do that doesn’t require you to have good grades. Maybe I won’t become a super cool paramedic, but,” He cut himself off, shy once again as he rocked on the balls of his feet, and you couldn't contain your smile. “Y’know, maybe a firehouse candidate doesn’t need all A’s?”

“You want to be a fireman?”

“I mean, is that too much?” He was worried now, and you hadn't intended for it to come across that way, shaking your head rapidly.

“No, of course, it isn’t! I’m just surprised. I’m also really, really happy for you. I think that sounds awesome.” He beamed, an expression that read like you’d made his whole day, and you filled with warmth at the idea. “I’m not sure on how it all works, I’m pretty sure you have to do a couple of training courses, and a season at the academy in your free time for your physical training, but I don’t know what that entails. However, one of our other firemen, Jeff, only finished his candidacy a couple of years ago, so he’s pretty fresh with it all. How about I talk to him, and get him to give you a call with some more information, yeah?”

“You’d do that for me?”

“‘Course I would, kiddo.” You reached out, messing up the mop of hair he had, and his face formed a scowl for just a second, smoothing it back down as you giggled, before turning away. “Let me grab you a pen and paper, hold on.”

He nodded, and you stepped away to the ambulance, opening up the passenger side door and reaching into the dash compartment, searching around for the pad and pen you knew was in there, among other pieces of junk, before finding both pieces. The young man took them from you when you returned, leaning against one of the side tables as he scribbled down the information he had; his name, his phone number, his email address, before handing it back over to you, his lips pursed to contain his expression as he kept up strong appearances.

“You’ll hear from him soon.”

“Thank you so much.” You tore the paper from the pad, tucking the pen through the rings and folding the used sheet neatly in half.

“It’s just some information on some courses. It’s nothing.”

“No, no.” He shrugged, biting his lips for a second, before focusing on what he wanted to say. “I meant, thank you for saving my life.”

There was more in his tone, more than just the physical act of changing his life, and as he stared at you honestly without a hint of anything but gratitude, you tried to blink back tears that were forming, and ignore the stinging in the back of your throat. “Well, that was my pleasure. Thanks for making me so proud with what you’ve chosen to do with it.”

“That was my pleasure.” He mocked, chuckling when you rolled your eyes at him, before he took a step back. “My foster mom is waiting for me in the car, I gotta’ go.”

“Go make me proud, come see me again soon, okay?”

“I will, I promise.” He hesitated for a second, before stepping forwards, and letting you wrap your arms around him as he squeezed you back just as tightly, sagging into you with what you guessed was a much-needed hug for him, running your hand up and down his back soothingly.

“You’re such a good kid, Aaron, you’re gonna’ be great.”

“I hope so.” His voice cracked slightly, and he avoided your eyes as he pulled back, rubbing at his nose and turning to make his way back toward the street.

He turned, waving at you for a second, before he was gone, getting into the car that was parked up and almost completely hidden by the bushes lining the pathway, but you saw enough to watch the excited look on his face as he spoke to his mom.

They chatted for a few minutes, before the car was pulling away, and you watched as he waved again upon seeing you still standing there, the car cruising past, and your cheeks were almost aching from your smile. Turning around, you detoured to the ambulance to put the pad and pen back, before Thomas was making his way over slowly, and you turned to him.

“Good chat?”

“He wants to be a fireman, Tommy.” His face softened a little at your joy, and you couldn't help it, feeling particularly attached to this patient, as he’d been so important to you, and you knew you’d never forget him. “He’s in therapy, and he didn’t relapse, and he wants to do something with his life. He said he wanted to make me and his family proud, and he wants to do something important and give back. God, he deserves it, he’s working so hard.”

“That’s amazing, sweetheart,” Thomas spoke gently, and you nodded, joy shooting through you.

“Yeah, it is. I told him I’d get Jeff to give him a ring or send him an email with some more information since he was a candidate pretty recently, but maybe you could too?”

“Of course, yeah.” You put the piece of paper securely into your pocket, patting it to confirm, before turning back to Thomas.

“Anyway, you were saying something before. You can continue now.” Thomas tensed up again almost immediately, and your mood was already beginning to lower again, but you tried not to let it sink any lower, no matter what Thomas had to say.

“I was just trying to tell you I was sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. I mean, you loved her. Of course, she was going to know more about you, and it was messy, so there was unfinished business on her end and clearly some on your end, too. Which wasn't exactly a shock because you were still pretty upset over it when we met, I just didn’t know it still cut you up now.” You shrugged, confusion flicking over Thomas’ features, before dismay and disappointment were taking their place.

“That’s the thing, though, I didn’t know there was still unfinished business until she showed up. She was right there, and she was speaking about things like it was still a fresh wound and not something that happened almost two years ago, and it threw me.”

“Thomas..” You paused, nervous sickness sweeping over you again and you tried to steady it. “I think a little part of you must have known. I mean, I get it. It was sudden, and you were invested, and there was no build-up. But, you still had pictures of her up in your living room, and you still had her number, and ever after all this time, you were still willing to ‘catch up’ with her when she stepped back into your life. Somewhere, deep down, you knew, you just didn’t want to think about it.”

“I know how it looks, okay? I do, I really do, and I know I fucked up what we have going on, but there was more to it.” He paused, stuttering a little, before going silent, his words falling away, and he cursed himself under his breath as he tried to decide what to say. “She knows my mom, and I should have told you about my mom, I was going to, I planned to. But, it’s hard to just come out and say.”

“You think I’m mad, because you didn't tell me about your mom?”

“Well, I mean, I’m taking it from your tone that’s not what you’re mad about, but I don’t know if you’re mad at all, and whether that’s a good sign, or a really bad one, but-” Your phone buzzed in your pocket, and you jumped violently, having forgotten that it was even there because you never normally carried it on shift, usually leaving it in your locker, but today was an exception. It continued buzzing, clearly not a text but a call, and Thomas’ face flushed with anger. “You’ve gotta’ be fucking kidding me.”

“I’m sorry, I forgot I even had it, let me put it on silent, okay?” You pulled it out, brow furrowing for a second as you looked at the number on screen, trying to place why you knew it, before the last few digits clicked in your mind. “Oh, it's the hospital! It must be about Gally!”

You looked up to Thomas, whose face smoothed over from anger at another interruption, but he nodded his head, seeming at least a little relieved. “Answer it, everyone needs to know.”

You clicked ‘accept’, bringing the device to your ear, and taking a few steps away to answer it. As you listened to the nurse on the end of the line talk, you could only focus on a few key pieces of information, humming and mumbling a  few words of acknowledgement as you chewed on the nail of your thumb, pacing in the entrance of the garage.

Thomas watched you, waiting for a few minutes, trying to put together how you were feeling clearly as he stared at you, puzzled you didn’t doubt, and you eventually gave up on the spot. Nodding your head to the man, you motioned toward the common room, and he made his way to your side, the two of you walking there in silence as you entered the room, and Thomas made sure to round up anyone who wasn’t in the room, including Vince, everyone gathering in silence and the television being turned off as they all waited.

When you finally got done, all eyes were on you as you thanked the nurse who had called you, clicking your phone off and putting it away. Letting out a deep breath, your hands rubbed together, and a smile pulled on your cheeks.

“Gally is okay.” Cheering went up around the room, a giggle on your lips that only increased when Fry scooped you up, swinging you around in circles once your feet left the floor, and you slipped in his grip slightly, insisting he put you down so you could finish what you had to say; “They got the bleeding under control yesterday evening, he’s all stitched up, and last night he woke up from his meds and was able to do a few tests, before the painkillers knocked him out again. He’s had all his shots, and they finished up their examinations.”

“Why does it feel like there’s a ‘but’ to come, though?”

“Because there is.” Vince’s eyes narrowed a little bit, analytically as he studied you again, and you sighed, the joy in the room dropping away as everybody turned from their celebratory chatter to focus silently on you again. “There was a lot of nerve damage in his shoulder, and he still has some movement, but he struggles to make a tight fist. He doesn’t have enough strength to lift anything up, not even something light. Admittedly, it’s only been twelve hours and they’re optimistic about it, they have great physical therapy programs and Gally is a healthy guy, but they said they can’t promise anything solid yet, but he may not be able to return if he can’t pass the physical requirements with that arm anymore.”

“He’s okay, though?”

“He has some use of the arm, right?”

“They say anything else about his recovery?”

“How long until they discharge him?”

The questions came flying in, overwhelming you a little, and you sighed, swallowing down the lump in your throat as hesitation swept in. “He’s okay; and yes, he has some use of his arm, which is a really good sign right now. They said some people don’t show signs of movement after that kind of trauma for days after surgery, so he’s doin’ good. They didn’t say a lot, but that’s because they have to talk to him about his recovery options first, doctor-patient confidentiality, y’know?”

They nodded, taking it all in, and Clint spoke up, from where he’d been leaning against the wall in silence. “How long until we can see him?”

“We can go see him from tomorrow, as long as it’s during visiting hours, of course. As for discharging him, I’m not too sure, they didn’t say. If I had to make a guess, though, I’d say they’ll keep him for observations for another week or so, and then send him home on extended leave for work.”

That seemed to soothe everyone, plans to visit Gally and who would go and when immediately taking up, and Vince excused himself from the room, remaining professional despite his relief as he gave the reasoning of going to arrange a temporary Truck lieutenant replacement, but you suspected he just wanted to relax in his relief alone, where he didn’t seem any less strong or fit to lead by doing it in front of his crew.

You were floating on a little bit of a high, having seen Aaron and now having good news for Gally, what had started as a bad day was very rapidly becoming an epic one, despite the lingering sadness still hanging over it.

Scooter woofed, loudly, expressing his own excitement as he sensed everyone else's, and he sat up in his bed, the new cushion with his name stitched across the front that had arrived a few days ago, chosen specially by Minho himself as everyone chipped in for it, and you crouched down, tapping at the floor for him, and the puppy came bounding over.

Scratching behind his ears, his tail wagged excitedly, thumbing against the tiles floor when he sat down for you, before he was rolling over, exposing his belly to you for scratch, and you chuckled at his enthusiasm.

Golden fur as growing back on his body, no longer showing the patches that had been shaved, and he was almost at the end of his medication course, the pills that you had to crush and hide in his food to get him to at, and you certainly wouldn’t miss that struggle every day as you disguised the medicine he needed. His stitches had dissolved and burns were healed, a half-used tube of dog-friendly skin cream having worked wonders, and the bottoms of his paws that had been swollen and sore were all fixed up, allowing him to run and bound every time you took him for a walk without any pain.

“Hey, you know I taught him a new trick?” Minho came over, crouching beside the puppy and scratching at his tummy two, taking over as you pulled your hand back, and Scoot squirmed and yipped happily on the floor with his excitement. Something in Minho’s tone suggested he wasn’t talking about tricks like ‘sit down’ or ‘roll over’, and you chuckled. “Do you wanna’ see?”

“Yeah-”

“No!” Thomas interrupted, and you turned to him, brow raising, standing up a little before him, and his face crumpled a little. “I mean, in a few minutes. Just give us, like, fifteen minutes, please! No interruptions or anything, I just needed fifteen minutes to talk to you.” His tone was pleading, and you nodded, holding up your phone.

“Let’s go put this away in my locker, and then I'm all yours, alright?”

He nodded, following after you as everyone mingled around, returning to their business as they waited for the day to go by, and you unhooked your locker, placing it on the shelf inside as soon as you could. There was evidently a lot Thomas wanted to say, he looked like he was running through it in his mind, various expressions taking over one another in quick succession as his thoughts worked, and he followed you silently as you guided him out of the locker room, and into the hall. He took a breath, before you could speak, and then your name was being called by Brenda from the garage, and Thomas growled under his breath.

“Why are you the most popular person on the surface of the fucking planet today?”

His hand found your wrist, securely but not so tight as to hurt you, and he tugged you along behind him, ignoring the second shout of your name from Brenda as she entered the hallway at the opposite end of the corridor, noticing you. You glanced back, protesting a little as Thomas pulled you with him and guided you through the halls, before opening the door to his office. He looked stressed, closing the door, and turning to face you as your back pressed to it, eyes wide at the look on his face.

“I just need five damn minutes to tell you how I feel and what the hell is going on and I can’t get even thirty damn seconds today.” He wasn’t talking to you, more like yelling at the universe, but he was jittery and on edge over it all.

“Tommy..” His attention moved to you at the sound of the nickname, his features softening slightly.

“You’ve got me now. Just talk, okay?”

“Okay. Okay.” He was whispering it to himself, calming down, and his eyes closed. Two deep breaths, and then he was looking back to you, sadness swimming in pretty brown irises. “The first time I called Teresa was a long time ago, okay? You’d been here for, like, two months. We were arguing all the time and I was pretty sure you despised me but you reminded me of her and it made me miss her more. I called her, and told her I missed her. And, yeah, I told my mom that too. But, that was before any of this started.”

He waved a finger between you both, pausing for a second, and you stepped a little closer to him, placing a hand on his cheek, which he happily leaned into. “Thomas, I understand.”

“No, you don’t.” His hand closed over yours, holding your hand there for a second longer, before pulling it away. “I called her again, the night after the first time we spent a day together. After Chuck’s funeral. It had been so long since I had actually seen her, and we were drunk by the end of the night, and when I got home and I was alone again, I was sad and confused. “I wanted to tell her it was over, I wanted to finish whatever was unfinished between us, but she didn’t answer. Admittedly, it was like three in the morning by then, so I’m not really surprised she didn’t. But, by the morning, I wasn’t brave enough to face it again. It fucking hurts, still. All of it, it hurts to dig back up, but not as much as it did.”

“You’re brave, Thomas. You were brave telling me everything you have, and I know there’s something different and deeper that you had with her, and that’s okay. You can never just forget her, she was a part of your history.” He frowned, sensing it was going somewhere else. “I just need to know if I’m going to be a part of your future or not.”

“Please don’t leave me.”

“Oh, Tommy.” He sighed, lips pursing when his chin wobbled, and you lifted your hand again, hovering near his cheek, and he nodded, letting you cup his jaw softly. “I’m not going anywhere, but you gotta’ decide, okay? I don’t want to be strung along, and I’m not mad at you. I’m not going anywhere, this is my home. So, no matter what happens, I’ll still be here and I’ll still be your friend.”

“I don’t want us to be just friends, though.”

You nodded, dropping your hand from his face, and he looked a little more broken as you did, but he let you step back. “I know, Thomas, but I can’t be a second choice, okay? I can’t be with you, if you’re still in love with her. Just make your choice, and let me know, okay?”

“But I don’t. Love her, I mean. Not anymore, you changed things. I know she’s back, and I sorted things out, and I know it all seems like I didn’t but I..” His words trailed off, not knowing what else to say, studying your face carefully as he tried to find what you were feeling, but if there was one thing you were good at, it was looking your feelings up tight.

Silence fell between you both, only the sounds of heavy and deep breaths to break the tension, before the chiming overhead muted by the closed office door called you both away to a call.

He paused, just for a second, before glancing at the door, signalling the pair of you to go. Once you opened the door, you could hear the rushing of the team, multiple footsteps and the sounds of engines starting as they all ran to their stations, boarding the vans, and as you reached the doorway to the corridor, a second before entering the busy garage, you turned to him, watching as he came to a halt from where he’d followed behind.

“If you want to try and make things work with her, that’s okay. If you want to make things work with me, then you already know I want that, too. I just need you to clear things up, that's all, and if you want us, then we’ll start over, okay? We’ll forget last night ever happened, okay?” He nodded, a vulnerable look on his face as he stared at you, hope flickering over his face. “You promised you’d never hurt me, Tommy, so just don’t hurt me.”

He only nodded, the two of you backing out into the main bay, and Newt was waiting next to the ambulance, the Truck can already pulling out, and Thomas was kicking off his shoes to pull on his work boots as you climbed into the passenger seat, following the first red van, as the second one followed the two of you.

Newt didn’t say anything, which you were grateful for, because your emotions were in overdrive, the idea of him picking an option that wasn’t you cutting deeper than you cared to admit, but he silently offered you companionship on the ride. He didn’t comment on your cracking voice or occasional sniffles as you tried to read off the information that had come through on the screen of the ambulance as he drove, to prepare you both for what was coming.

[kitsu-katsu]

On kiribaku becoming canon and their evidence:

So I posted this on reddit earlier, but wanted to have it here where more KRBK shippers are, since I just ended up compiling a lot more than I thought I would.

Fair warning: A pretty big text with a compilation of kiribaku moments ahead.

We would all love kiribaku being canon, and I think it's not as much of a longshot as some may lead you to believe.

Honestly, if one of them was a girl, this would most certainly be canon, like, just in the anime we have:

Them becoming friends slowly in the background, leaving us with good development between them that is so seamless it can hit you hard once you notice how close they've become if you hadn't noticed before.

Them arriving and leaving the pool together while walking in the sunset.

They support and compliment each other (both on personality and quirks, like come on).

Kirishima can just lean on Bakugou or side hug him all the time and Bakugou lets him with no problem, which considering who we're talking about is a pretty big thing.

Kirishima can seem even more agitated than Deku about Bakugou being taken, and Deku is the one who idolized him since childhood.

The whole "It has to be you" thing and the precious hand holding (including that little scene after the rescue, where Kiri tries to grab Baku's hand again).

Kirishima bought expensive night vision googles in case they were useful for the rescue even though they had Yaomomo with them (this boy goes through extremes just to ensure his boyfriend's best friend's safety)

Kirishima is officially the one Bakugou considers an equal, and considering his conflicting inferiority and superiority complexes (making him perpetually place people as above him or beneath him) is vital information.

Kirishima is esentially Bakugou's first real friend (as Deku was considered more of an incomprehensible nuisance and his childhood troop seemed more like his followers who just put him up on a pedestal and followed what he did).

Kirishima has jumped in front of danger for Bakugou's sake quite a bit of times (including a time in the movie).

Kirishima is a central piece in Bakugou's character development.

Bakugou was the one who told Kirishima he was strong and gave him his confidence back, reminding him of what he said at the start of their friendship.

Kirishima unlocked fucking UNBREAKABLE because of Bakugou's encouragement.

Going to extra stuff:

Bakugou's favourite hobbie is hiking, and we're shown he takes Kirishima with him sometimes, thing he doesn't seem to do with other characters.

The whole festival thing, with the narrator outright assuming Bakugou must have given his coat to a pretty girl who was cold, only for it to be revealed in another picture that he gave it to Kirishima because as usual, he didn't have a shirt on.

On the movie Bakugou could have taken anyone to I-Island and took Kirishima as his plus one. They share a room. Kirishima bought suits for both of them, with the most detailed one with white roses being for Bakugou, and they decide to go to the party together.

In a BNHA Smash connected directly to the movie, Midoriya notices the white roses in Bakugou's suit and notes that they mean deep respect and "I'm the one for you", which prompts Bakugou to send an explosion his way (not to Kirishima who gave him the suit, mind you), which makes the flowers turn red (from blood), after which Mineta appears to say that red roses mean "beautiful and passionate love".

They are usually seen together in merch stuff.

There's this tumblr post talking about japanese fan's reactions to one of Horikoshi's drawings which I find at least hilarious:

https://exbrodokills.tumblr.com/post/187710597637/here-it-is

There are discussions regarding Kirishima's character sheet and the translation of him liking "tough guys" (here's a podt by aitaikimochi explaining the meaning of the translation: https://www.google.com/amp/s/aitaikimochi.tumblr.com/post/171127708911/amp) where even translator such as aitaikimochi have gotten into, and they have mentioned that there's a japanese stereotype of a type of gay guy who is obsessed with "manly behaviour" and usually stay away from women, prefering tough guys instead, which is interesting to say the least.

Some of the light novel episodes which show more slice of life moment feature some good kiribaku moments, with a prominent one being this one wich details their study date (it seriously seems like fan fiction, not even kidding, and this is supposed to be sort of canon):

https://www.google.com/amp/s/aitaikimochi.tumblr.com/post/171236111166/amp

Also there's a chapter where Kirishima tells Fatgum about Bakugou being extremely happy, and another one where they are arm wrestling between classes and they cheer for one another heavily.

(Honesly, just go through aitaikimochi's whole kiribaku tag, there are some pretty interesting things there)

Here are some analysis on their possible coding, if you guys are interested:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dxO6Y0yK_wxOJDmRsBYvsVWKwsH7tKc92skxJ--R1m4/edit?usp=drivesdk

(Bakugou's one link can be found at the end of that one)

And in BNHA Smash, there are quite a lot of things, and we must not forget that the whole thing still gets approved by Horikoshi before being published, some of my favourite things are:

Kirishima inviting Bakugou to spend christmas together, with the translators noting christmas in Japan to be a romantic holiday in the same panel.

In one issue, Jirou falls for Kiri and him being oblivious just leaves her for Bakugou.

Once Bakugou becomes a shoujo boy after being his with a quirk and just involuntarily talks in flirt, and in one moment Kirishima outright flirts back.

Bakugou works his ass off to repay Kirishima for the night vision googles they used in the rescue.

Kirishima is literally described as the chicken soup for Bakugou's soul!

An interesting thing I found out is that in the chapter where all of 1A minus Bakugou turn into animals, one scene originally had Kirishima (as a dog) getting jealous of Kaminari and Midoriya petting Tsuyu (as a cat - yes I know, a cat) and giving all their attention to her, however, Horikoshi himself changed that scene, noting he didn't think their character relations worked well in that scene, and made it so that the one that ended up in smash contains Kirishima (as a dog) getting jealous because Todoroki (as a koala) has climbed up Bakugou's torso and won't let go. I saw this all in a tumblr post a few months ago, which showed the original scene in a book (I think it was in italian and was translates below) but I can't currently find the link, sorry, if someone finds it, It'd be appreciated if you could reblog with said link.

And in regards to meta stuff, the show already has some LGBT characters in it, with Magne and Tiger being trans and Toga being bisexual, so it's not as much of a lost cause to hope for this as it would initially seem.

(Please kirimina shippers, don't take offence because of this, it isn't my intention to insult your ship, I simply want to analize what has been given to us, so please try to take this lightly):

We should also take into consideration Krishima's first version in the sort of "beta" for the manga (where Midoriya was Yamikumo).

His character sheet mentions he's quite the delinquent and entered UA to impress a girl. Obviously his character evolved tremendously since then, but the girl was most probably intended to be Mina's equivalent. This was later changed to him liking "tough guys"/"hard liners" and his thing with Mina became more of an "I admired your bravery and heroic spirit when in middle school even if I hardly knew you", later seeing each other and establishing more of a little friendship. However, it hasn't really moved further from there, and Kirishima has already established much stronger bonds with our favourite exploding boy. All changes in characters are made for a reason, and Horikoshi clearly changed his mind on Kirishima's motives for wanting to be a hero and his relationship with Mina.

So yeah, all in all, this ship is great, it's precious, adorable, helps both characters grow, is balanced and has good chemistry. So even if after all these things they don't become officially canon, we still have so much canon material for them in the present I'd honestly still be happy, these dorks make me smile and melt my heart, so I hope they both have good endings.

[just--another--daydreamer]

Cotton Candy

» Katsuki Bakugo x gn!reader (no pronouns used)

» Fandom: My Hero Academia » Genre: Fluff » Requested (by anon): Hi there. Your writing is amazing, I love it! Could I suggest Bakugou knowing how to get he wants and how to make you weak at the knees. Sorry if it doesn’t make sense » Warnings: swearing, mentions of death » Words: 1.8k

You can find a link to my Masterlist in my bio

Please check my bio for the status of requests before sending something in

A mild breeze brushed over your face as you inhaled the familiar scent of the funfair that was popcorn and cotton candy mixing with the smell of the warm spring day. The many booths spread across the field provided shadow, keeping you cool as you strolled around the fair midst the many people who had been drawn to the same spot by the inviting smells and sounds. The crowd’s chatting was drowned by joyful screams and laughter whenever you passed by one of the rides, adults and children alike seemingly having the time of their lives.

Bakugo and you blended into the crowd perfectly. You had cotton candy in one hand, the other held onto your boyfriend’s right one as you passed by the booths. 

It was your first date in a while. The new boarding school system at UA put many restrictions on your free time, as well as on how you were allowed to spend it. You had gotten the permission to go to the funfair by All Might, who had given in after a few days of you begging him nicely and Bakugo threatening to blow stuff up if he didn’t let you two go on this date. Any other teacher would have probably said no after the recent events of Bakugo and Midoriya sneaking out, but after all that, your boyfriend still managed to convince All Might. He knew how to get what he wanted at all times.

Most of the time, that was achieved by excessive yelling and him trying to intimidate the other person, sometimes even setting off small explosions and threatening to kill them – which was more terrifying to anyone than only intimidating – but it always worked. Though, there were some rare exceptions. And you were one of those. 

Before you had started dating, and before you even became close friends, Bakugo used to try to get his way by yelling at you too, only to be met by a blank expression and you immediately brushing off his demands. It frustrated Bakugo to no end, to the point where he just gave up on that tactic. Asking nicely was what had worked out with you in the end, and it was what Bakugo had stuck with ever since, even though it felt humiliating - Bakugo could have walked around UA naked and he would feel the same. But if it was a way to get what he wanted, he would do it.

You got Bakugo’s attention by tugging at his shirt lightly. “Look!” Bakugo’s eyes followed the direction you pointed with your cotton candy and landed on a booth with a simple game – though what had caught your attention was not the game, but the prizes, specifically the stuffed animals. 

“Huh?” Bakugo looked back and forth between you and the booth. “You want one?” You smiled and nodded silently. A frown formed on your boyfriend’s face as he continued looking at you. “Seriously?!” “Come oooon, Katsuki!” you whined. “Please? This is a date after all!” He seemed to consider your words for a moment before he sighed. “Ugh, okay, fine.” Letting go of your hand, he approached the booth and you followed him close behind.

The game was simple: you had to throw a ball at a target to win a prize. Bakugo dug his hand into his pocket and slammed some money onto the counter. “One throw.” The man behind the counter exchanged the money with a tennis ball. Without looking at you, Bakugo yelled over his shoulder, “you want this one, right?” he pointed at a huge teddy bear dangling over the counter. “Yeah!” 

“Young man,” the guy behind the counter started, “I’m afraid you’ll need more than one thro-” “Shut the hell up!” Bakugo began cracking his knuckles while eyeing all the targets in front of him.

“I’m assuming this is the main prize and that I’d have to hit more than one target for it?” “Correc-” “Are there any other rules?” “No, there are n-”

A wide grin appeared on Bakugo’s face. “Then step back, old man.” The man looked confused but did as he was told. You took a step back as well, already covering your ears. Bakugo let his knuckles crack one more time before he winded his arm, aiming at one of the targets. Even though you were protecting your ears, the explosion that came simultaneously to Bakugo throwing the ball made you flinch a little. It was not a huge explosion, just enough to blow away every single one of the targets and to make everyone else who was around turn to face you, which might also be because Bakugo had shouted “die” while throwing.

The back of the booth had been blown away by the explosion, particles of dust and smoke as well as pieces of wood flew through the air. The older man behind the counter fell into a state of shock and was only able to nod when Bakugo pointed at the big teddy bear once again, asking if he could have it now.

“There you go.” “Thank you so much, Katsuki!” You landed a kiss on his cheek before welcoming the stuffed animal with open arms, earning a huff from Bakugo. “You jealous?” You teased with a raised eyebrow. “Tse, dream on.”

You took one last look at the hole that your boyfriend had blown into the booth before you took Bakugo’s hand once again and continued walking, the teddy bear in your arm.

You came across some more booths, bought some sweets for your friends and went on almost all of the rides together.

“There is only one ride left,” Bakugo pointed out. “Yeah.” You slowly approached the Ferris wheel that was towering over the funfair, cabins slightly shaking every once in a while, whenever an evening breeze caught them. 

“Come on, let’s go!” Bakugo started walking but was held back by you. You remained right where you were standing. “Hey! Why aren’t you coming?” Your boyfriend looked at you a little confused. “I-” you started, avoiding his eyes. “I’m not sure about this, Katsuki.” “Huh? The Ferris wheel?” You shook your head. “It’s getting late, y’know?”

Bakugo took a quick look at his phone and groaned. “Who cares if we come back a little too late, this is my date and I make the rules.” This came as a little surprise to you. Bakugo was usually the first to go to bed, at eight in the evening, and never a second too late. If someone tried to stop him, he blew them up. “Mister Aizawa might get mad at us,” you argued. “Who cares?!” Bakugo repeated, louder this time. “Let’s go, Y/N!” He made another attempt at pulling you towards the ride, but you did not budge. Your boyfriend let out another annoyed groan before he turned back to you.

He tilted his head to the side, a frown on his face. Before you knew how to interpret his expression, it changed again. This time, into a sly smirk. Bakugo knew how to win. He always knew. 

One of his hands grabbed your wrist, pulling you closer until you were only a few inches away from him. His breath fanned over your cheek as he let out a short chuckle. With his other hand, he lifted your chin, made you look into his eyes. Your heart skipped a few beats as you stood there, stunned, and surprised by your boyfriend’s sudden change in behaviour. The places where Bakugo’s fingers were touching your skin – light and gentle, like feathers – tingled pleasantly and sent signals through your veins. Your legs – no – your whole body felt like putty in this exact moment while your brain was filled with nothing but cotton candy.

“You know,” he started, voice low and quiet, “If anyone says anything about us being too late, I’ll kill them. Let’s enjoy this moment. Together. Just you and me. Come with me, Y/N. We have all the time in the world.” Heat started rising to your cheeks and you wanted to turn away in embarrassment, but all you could do was stare at him. “Take my hand,” Bakugo continued in the same tone as he took your hand in his, that had been holding your wrist just a second ago. He intertwined your fingers and took a step back, though his other hand lingered beneath your chin for one more moment before he let go.

When he started to walk again you followed him closely, legs barely working yet carrying you by themselves. Your mind was still clouded, and the state only began to fade when you sat down in one of the open cabins.

The wheel started to move not soon after and you pressed the teddy to your chest as you started to rise off the ground and into the sky. It took a while, but soon you were able to overlook the whole funfair. The farther away from the ground you rose the quieter it got, and soon the laughter and the screams were nothing more than faint sounds barely reaching you. You came to a stop exactly at the top.

“Look over there.” Bakugo nudged your side. You tore your eyes away from the ground and instead looked at what your boyfriend wanted to show you. Your eyes widened at the scene in front of you. The sky was painted in bright orange and golden colours, the clouds shone in a soft yellow. The cities and fields in the distance were bathing in the warm colours of the evening sun, like a sea purely consisting of light. 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Bakugo put an arm around you without looking away from the sunset. “Yeah,” you whispered. The light was dancing on Bakugo’s face as well, making his hair appear in a rich gold. You leaned against him and rested your head on his shoulder. A kiss was pressed to your forehead and you turned your head to receive one to your lips as well. It was a sweet one that faintly tasted like cotton candy. Bakugo lingered there for a while before pulling back with a smile on his face.

The whole spectacle only lasted a few minutes before the orange was replaced by a crimson red that faded into deep blue. Slowly, the Ferris wheel began turning again.

Once you had landed back on the ground, the lights of the fair turned on one by one, blinking and flashing in the rhythms of the music that was playing.

You shivered and walked a little closer to Bakugo when you made your way across the field, past the booths, and back to UA. “You cold?” Without even waiting for a response, Bakugo put his arm around your shoulders again. It was not a lot of protection against the cold, but warmth spread through your body anyway.

“I had an amazing day,” you told him after a while. “I’m glad.” “Do you think we’ll get yelled at?” “If someone tries to, I’ll kill them.” You only chuckled and leaned in for another kiss.

[maddiwrites]

Secrets of the Shore (Chapter 3)

Pairing: Pogues x OC, Eventually JJ x OC

Summary: This is just my rewrite of the show Outer Banks with my own twist by adding another main character which also happens to be John B’s twin sister.

Note: I’ll be honest, this isn’t my best chapter, so please don’t judge too harshly I swear it gets better!!! (: Again, forever grateful for all the kind feedback. I truly appreciate it. If you asked to be on the tag list and I accidentally forgot, please let me know! 

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: Slight insinuation to sexual assault.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 & Chapter 4

Like I said before, I'm good at advertising. Although the cell phone towers are still down, making it harder for me to get the word out about a party in the boneyard, I still know how to get around to the other teenagers on this island.

I sneak in an hour of surfing on the beach, afterwards finding Tourons and even some Kooks. These are the best people to go to when you want word to get around. They're rich and live for gossip. They have the internet and cell phone service, which means they can text their friends and send out tweets. And that is exactly what they do when I'm finished talking to them.

Later, I go with JJ and John B to get the kegs. As they work their magic, somehow securing two, I walk around the lot where most kids who live on the Cut hang out, hoping to score cheap booze from a stranger walking into the beer and beverage store. I use to spend a lot of my weekends here when my dad first disappeared. A small part of me still wants to. It was so easy to forget about my life falling apart when I was too wasted to form a complete sentence.

I tell them about the party and tell them to tell their friends and so on.

As I expect, the empty boneyard fills up quickly. To Kie's dismay, almost every kid has a red solo cup in their hand instead of a reusable one by the time the sun sets. Music and the chants of people playing drinking games fill my ears like a bird chirping on a Sunday morning.

Beer dribbles down my chin and onto my pink v neck crop top. JJ has his arm linked around mine, also chugging his drink, trying to down his before me. However, I beat him by one gulp and slam my cup on the sand as triumph.

"Seriously, Mar?" Kie scolds. She picks up my cup and throws it away.

JJ just smiles at me, maybe even looks at me with some kind of pride. It's hard to beat JJ in any drinking match, but I'm his biggest competition. I usually lose against him, but sometimes I have my nights where I'm undefeated.

He points his finger at me, pretending to be mad without losing the smile on his face. He takes a menacing step forward and bends down to lift me over his shoulder. I squeal in surprise and laugh against his back as he swings me around in circles.

When he sets me down, I shove his shoulders playfully. "Looks like you've finally met your match." JJ just shakes his head. "Get me another beer, loser?"

"You're lucky you're cute." He winks.

You can't understand the Outer Banks without understanding the boneyard. It's kinda like a three-layer burrito. There's us and our friends, working-class derelicts. Then, there are the Kooks, the rich second-homers. They're mostly from pouncy-ass boarding schools, just rich trustfarian posers. Our natural enemies. And then, there are the Tourons. Totally clueless. Here for a week on vacation with their families. Chum for the sharks. They're usually my first pick. A night with no attachments and a more than likely chance I'll never see them again.

I walk past Kie, who's sitting on drift wood talking to someone about zodiac signs and horoscopes. And when I pass Pope, I hear him talking about dead bodies and how TV doesn't portray the biological condition of them accurately. I giggle to myself when I see who he's talking to. A really pretty girl who wasn't expecting to get an anatomy lesson from the boy next to her. I make a mental note to work on Pope's flirting tactics.

As I make my way to the back of the beach, I see Sarah Cameron leaning off a fallen lifeguard stand. Her boyfriend, Topper Thornton, is right there with her, trying to get her to come down. Sarah Cameron's known as the Kook princess. Kiara's best friend in the ninth grade, worst enemy in the tenth grade. None of us know why she started hating her all of a sudden. She doesn't like to talk about it so we don't bring it up. However, John B works on Sarah's dad's boat thanks to me.

My teeth clench together at the sight of both of them. The two of them and their friends are the worst Kooks of all. Bad memories prickle my brain like a million tiny needles and the palms of my hands sweat against my solo cup.

I walk to the back of the beach and lean against a tree that's as close to a palm tree as this island is going to see. I like being back here when the sun goes down.  It gives me the perfect view of the party. Watching people laugh and have fun because of a night my friends and I put together makes me feel satisfied. Like I did something to make their day a little more enjoyable.

"Now what's the life of the party doing back here all by herself?" A voice that makes every muscle in my body turn to ice says.

I force myself not to look in his direction. My hands clench tighter around my cup until it bends and beer sloshes on my hand.

"Trying to avoid grimy wandering hands from pompous pricks," I say through clenched teeth. I'm surprised my voice isn't as shaky as I feel. "Go away, Rafe."

Rafe Cameron ignores me and moves to stand in front of me. His blonde hair is slicked back with a gel that's probably more expensive than my entire outfit. He's wearing a salmon pink button up shirt and white shorts. The sight of him makes me sick and I don't know if I want to drink more heavily or throw up and call it a night.

"Oh come on, Marleigh. Let's not pretend like you don't want to finish what we started."

I stand up straighter, feeling bile rise in my throat. "I'd rather rip both of my eyes out with a spoon." My insult wipes his stupid cocky grin off his smug face. At first I take it as a compliment, but the look in his eyes chills me to the bone. "Get out of here, Rafe. I'm not going to tell you again."

Rafe jerks forward and pushes me back into the trunk of the tree. His forearm presses against my chest, right below my collarbone. I try fighting him off but he's surprisingly strong. His eyes swing back and forth with craze, his pupils large and dilated. He's gotta be on something. Cocaine maybe. I've heard rumors.

"You think you can talk to me like that? After what my dad did for your friends?"

"Your dad only helped them in hopes to cover up the mistake that you made," I seethe, trying to push him away again. I try to keep my breathing even and my eyes unblinking. I don't want him to think I'm afraid of him. Even though I'm scared enough to vomit on his two hundred dollar shoes. "I owe you nothing." There's a pause as Rafe considers his next words carefully. So I push even harder. "You know, if you keep bringing it up, people might overhear and start to talk. I don't know if even your dad could buy the entire island's silence."

"You seriously think you can threaten me? You're nothing but a dirty walking piece of trash Pogue. No one will believe the Cut's biggest whore." Rafe shakes his head. "Remember that next time you think about talking to me like that."

His words cut through me like a stab in the chest, but I try not to let him see that. I push against him, keeping my face pinched and my eyes unwavering. "I'm not the same girl I was eight months ago," I say, finally pushing him away from me.

Back then I was a messed up girl who's dad had just left after a big argument that resulted in him thinking she hated him. All I wanted to do was drown myself with drugs and alcohol in hopes to forget about him, even if that meant following Kie to a Kook party when she was trying to roll around in the Kook life. I was easy to manipulate and take advantage of...easy to hurt. But not anymore.

"You think I'm above hitting a girl?" Rafe breathes heavily, his hands clenched to his side. I struck a nerve. One more and he might actually attack me.

"No," I say honestly. "I don't think you're above anything...or anyone. Including me - a dirty walking piece of trash Pogue." I use his words against him.

Rafe jerks forward and raises his hand to hit me and I'm ready for the blow and a fight back, but someone's voice forces us to halt, stopping us like she just pressed paused on a movie screen.

Kie watches us with wide eyes and glances back and forth between us. She looks both scared and angry. Rafe doesn't even bother looking in her direction. He's more disappointed that she got in his way.

I stand up straight again and walk past him, making sure to shove him backwards with my shoulder. Kie wraps her arm around mine and pulls me in close as she guides me away from him. She looks behind us one last time to make sure Rafe isn't following us. When the coast is clear, she stops and turns to look at me with a stone cold expression.

"What the hell was that?" She says, trying to read my face. "Are you okay?"

I can barely hear her behind the screaming in my head. Dirty walking piece of trash Pogue. The Cut's biggest whore. Who would believe you?

"Fine," I shrug, feigning nonchalance. I look back to where I was just standing. Rafe's gone, but the nausea he left me with isn't.

"Marleigh."

"Seriously, Kie. I'm fine. Just some unresolved built up resentment coming out full-fledged. I can't say I'm surprised. Now that summer's started, we're probably going to see a lot more of them."

Kie sighs and looks at me sympathetically. I hate that look.  "You should tell the boys."

"What? No way!" I snap.

"What if he -"

"He's not going to." I glare at her.

"Why won't you just -"

"So they can think of me as some pathetic little girl who needs protection from some self-centered Kook? Besides, John B and probably JJ will go after him and the last thing either of them need is charges pressed against them."

The noise of people yelling at one another and some cheering stops Kie from fighting back with me. We turn to look towards the water, seeing a crowd form around two people fighting. Dread creeps up my chest. If I had one hundred dollars, I'd bet it all that one of my friends is the center of attention in that crowd.

Kie and I run to them, pushing ourselves to the front. My breath hitches in my throat when I see who's involved. John B and Topper are fighting ankle deep in the ocean, each one getting a few good punches in.

"John B, stop!" I yell. I don't care who started the fight or why Topper deserves to get beaten to shit. If John B gets caught, the two of us are more than screwed with DCS.

"We're suppose to be incognito, remember?" Pope yells at my brother next to me.

"Babe!" Sarah yells at her boyfriend, jerking back and forth, trying to grab him by the shirt to pull him back. But his movements are scrappy. Sarah would just get hurt.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The crowd around us cheer like it's a high school wrestling match and not my brother, the one that threw them this party by the way. I can't believe people find this as a source of entertainment. Half of them wouldn't even last a second if they were the one's getting beaten to a pulp.

Topper gets the upper hand and throws John B into the water. I flinch from the pain that must of caused to John B's back.

"Hey, John B, don't make me drown you like your old man, all right?" Topper says.

In that moment my vision turns red and a switch flips in my body. I picture my hands around Topper's neck and him begging for me to let him go - him taking back those words.

When I step into the water to reach him, arms wrap around my waist, stopping me from going forward. I glare at the blonde Pogue and try shoving him away from me but that only makes his grip on me tighten.

"JJ, let me go," I grunt.

"Sorry, pretty girl. Can't do that." His lips are so close that I can feel his breath.

John B tackles Topper to the ground and punches him in the face again.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"John B, let it go!" Kie screams. "Stop, you guys!"

Topper kicks John B's feet from under him and just like that, JB is back in the water. The Kook kneels next to him and punches my brother across the face before shoving his head into the water.

"Topper stop!" I yell.

"Come on John B!" Pope yells.

Topper lets John B come up for air before dunking him back in. I feel my chest tighten when I realize what Topper is going to do, whether he means to or not.

"JJ, please! He's going to kill him! JJ!" I cry against his hold.

"Come on, Man!" Topper taunts John B, keeping his head under water.

I'm going to kill him, I think. The second JJ lets go, I'm going to rip Topper apart.

"Topper, stop! No!" Sarah cries.

"Pope!" JJ says, swinging me around before pushing me into our other friend's arms. "Hold her."

"What? No!" I fight back but even Pope is stronger than I give him credit for.

JJ disappears to God knows where and I'm left watching like a stranded duck. I feel useless, like I should be doing more to help my brother. Everything I said to Rafe only minutes ago goes straight out the window. Maybe I am weak and still a girl who needs protecting.

Then the world freezes. JJ holds the gun we found in the motel to Topper's head, not only making Topper pause, but the rest of the crowd too. Pope releases his hold on me and I stumble away from him. I only watch the scene unfold in front of me with wide eyes.

"Yeah, you know what that is," JJ says, clicking the safety off the gun. "Your move, broski."

"Come on!" Pope yells. "Chill dude!"

"Stop! JJ!" Sarah cries. "Put the gun down!"

"Did you say something princess?" JJ turns towards Sarah and points his gun at the sky.

"We're good. We're good." Topper stumbles away from my brother to stand in front of his girlfriend.

The second he backs away, I'm in the water helping John B. I pull his upper back into my lap and push his hair out of his face. He coughs up a couple gulps of water before relaxing against me.

"Kie! Can you check your psycho friend, please!" Sarah yells.

"Okay, everyone, listen up!" JJ addresses everyone else who still watch in fear. "Get the hell off our side of the island!" He fires two bullets into the sky, causing people to shriek and cry around me.

"Are you crazy?" Kie yells at him. "Why do that?"

"I'm saving his life, okay?" JJ yells back at her.

When people begin dispersing, Pope runs into the water to help me lift John B back to shore. He's in a daze and barely able to stand on his own.

The four of them help me drag him back to the Chateau, the party long forgotten. Kie covers John B with blankets and places a glass of water on the nightstand for when he wakes up. I don't say anything as the night wraps up. I'm not mad at JJ like Pope and Kie. He did what he had to do to save John B. Topper could have killed him and the police would probably chop it up as an accident and I would be left with no family.

"You guys should go," I say.

I just want to be alone. Between Rafe and Topper, all I can think about is sleep so I can wake up to a new day. Start over and try again.

"Are you sure?" JJ asks, looking between my eyes to find any sign for him to stay.

As much as I want JJ to stay the night and let me cuddle into him like the night before, it's best if I'm alone. So I reluctantly nod.

"You can stay at mine tonight, JJ," Pope offers.

I offer a weak smile before turning around to lock myself in my room. When I hear the door to the Chateau close one last time for the night, I sigh deeply and stare up at my ceiling. I'm restless, anxious, sweaty. As much as I want sleep, sleep doesn't want me. I toss and turn hoping for a wave of darkness to hit me but it never does.

I glance at my clock. 3:04 AM. I roll my eyes and groan to myself, pushing myself up against my bed's headboard. I tip toe out of the Chateau and make my way down to the dock. I dip my toes in the water and lay back against the wooden slacks. The moon's half crescent illuminates the water, dark with a mystery glint. It's cold against the night, feeling refreshing against my skin.

Even my mind isn't tired. My head wanders with different thoughts. Rafe, Topper, Scooter, the gun...my dad. His words echo through my ears like a skipping record. The night before he disappeared he told John B and I that he might have to vanish for a bit. This only caused a major fight to brew between my father and I whereas John B only nodded and said okay. I think this is why John B still holds on to hope that he's alive somewhere.

John B was always the loyal one to my father. Although they fought almost as much as my dad and I, they were quick to move on and pretend like it wouldn't happen again. Even though it always did. He tried to help my dad keep me on track with school, friends, and other activities. Most of the time, he just joined in on my antics. Sometimes I regret not giving my dad enough credit. He was a single father to Pogue twins with the distraction of his own obsession. My last words to him haunt me every day I pass his office.

"I hate you!" I screamed. I didn't give him the satisfaction of seeing my tears. I wanted him to know I was strong and that I didn't need him. I think my main intention was to hurt him like he hurt me, but I would do anything to take it back.

                                                  ~ ~ ~

I wake up to the low rumble of an engine and the crunch of gravel underneath some tires. I blink away the sleep in my eyes, looking out into the marsh. The sun is above me, warming the entire island with it's summer heat so early in the morning.

My back aches as I sit myself up. I twist to find the noise that woke me up.

"Shit," I curse when I see the cop car parked in front of the Chateau.

Sheriff Peterkin sees me walking up my yard and waits for me to approach her before barging into my house. I squint against the morning light. Even though I'm not in the mood for a pop in, I actually like Peterkin. She's the only one I trust to do her job right.

"I hope you brought some coffee," I say before opening the door for her.

"This will be quick," She says. I watch her eyes scan my kitchen and living room judgmentally. "Where's your brother?"

I point to his room. Peterkin gives me a look to go first. I sigh, knocking twice on the door before letting myself in. John B is still passed out. Half of his body hangs off the bed. His left eye is officially black and blue, a mark I know Peterkin won't subtly ignore. It's the first thing she sees and gives me a sideways glance. I cross my arms and look away.

John B blinks up at us when he hears our footsteps. His brows furrow in confusion, sleep still fogging his head.

"Get decent, sweetie," Peterkin says. "We need to talk."

As we wait for JB to get dressed, I sit on the pull out couch in my living room, fumbling with my thumbs until he appears, dressed in an open button up and swim trunks. He glances between Peterkin and I for some answers but neither of us give him any.

"Sorry to break in like this," She says, pacing the floor. John B stands next to me with his arms crossed. "But DCS called. They wanted me to check on you. See how you two are doing." Neither of us answer. "So, how are you, besides -" She points to JB's shiner and I hold myself back from rolling my eyes. So far so good!

"Oh, no, I'm - I'm great," John B says, shrugging like our life is just full of rainbows and butterflies. "Yeah, fantastic. Uh... thanks for coming by."

Peterkin just smirks. "I'm so glad to hear you say that, John B, but I heard a few things that worried me. Let me see if I can remember. Oh yeah. One of the things I heard was that your Uncle Teddy, your guardian, hasn't been in the state for three months."

"Yes he has -"

Peterkin cuts me off. "You don't have to say anything. I know it's true. I called the school. They said you used to be a good student," She says, looking at John B. Then she looks at me. "You not so much. But John they say now you're failing all your classes."

"No. No, I'm only failing one and it's history. He's a dick. He's out for me - "

"I heard," Peterkin continues, not giving a damn about John B's bullshit excuses, "there was a fight on the beach yesterday, and a gun was involved."

My eyes snap up to look directly at Peterkin. I feel my heart drop to the pit of my stomach. What else was she going to ask? Would JJ get in trouble? Are we going to jail?

"Okay, gun?" John B plays dumb. "No. Did I get in a  dustup? Yeah, but was there a gun? No. No way," He scoffs.

"That's okay I know who it was. I'll get to him. All I'm worried about right now is making sure you're in a safe home."

"Yeah," I say. "Super safe."

John B knocks the table next to him. "Super sound, sturdy. You know?"

"Uncle T's coming so..." I say to get John B to stop talking. He's a lot of things but a good liar isn't one of them.

"That's what he told you?" Peterkin looks at me with a raised brow.

"Yeah."

"If he is coming," Peterkin picks up a cigarette and sniffs it. "I think you should be allowed to stay."

"Thank you."

"But if I stick my neck out for you, you have to help me. Tit for tat."

John B tilts his head in confusion. "What - what does tat mean?"

I squeeze my eyes shut and let my head fall back. I swear I'm going to buy duct tape to keep this boy's mouth shut.

Peterkin ignores him. "Let me see, how can you help me? Oh, I know. So, a body was found in the marsh yesterday. Were you in the marsh yesterday?"

"Yeah," I decide to answer. "We were fishing for some drum."

"You catch anything?"

"Nah, we were skunked."

"Strange," She says, not believing me. "Fishing's usually good after a storm. All sorts of things get stirred up. You come across a wreck yesterday?"

"No." My heart falls deeper,  but I try to keep a straight face.

This makes Peterkin sigh and she glances between the two of us. "You two are skimmin' just above the surface. Now, down here is foster care, juvie," She says, dropping her hand to about knee length. "Pretty big drop for smart kids like the both of you." She moves her hand to eye level. "Up here is you and your little friends doing whatever you want. Outer Banks...or foster care on the mainland." I let her threat swim in my brain. "You one inch above the surface, Routledge. If I was you, I'd start flapping my wings." She looks at us one last time, no longer wanting to play games. "Now, you sure you didn't come across a wreck yesterday?" She looks at John B who's more likely to blab than me.

I look up at my brother, warning him that he needs to lie.

He shrugs his shoulder, the lie sliding across his tongue like silk. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure."

Peterkin looks between John B and I and nods slowly. "It's better if you didn't, you understand? I'm gonna look the other way as long as you stay out of the marsh." She runs her finger along the wooden kitchen table and rubs the dust between her fingers. "I got dogs living better than this. You might wanna think about cleaning' up."

Peterkin lets herself out without saying goodbye. John B and I don't say anything until her car pulls out of the driveway and only then do we just share a look that says how screwed we both are.

Tag List: @notyourcupofteax @acvross-the-universe @jjmaybankzz @jeeperky @realistic-breadstick @moniamaybank @urbinoutfiters​ @brebear121​

[milkybonya]

hello smiling anon here :) can i request nct 127 as boyfriends? ur astro as boyfriends post was so cute :)

Anonnie im sorry i made you wait so long TT this is the busiest week of the year so far and i had to stay focused to prepare for it, but i hope you enjoy~

NCT 127 as boyfriends ♡

link to Astro version

Warnings: food mentions

what i listened to while writing: To My Youth by BOL4

Taeil

sweet to the MAX

always singing around the house and serenading you

multiple movie nights with you in one week where you eat a whole bunch of junk food together and cuddle the entire time ;3;

becomes flustered very easily when you reach for his hand or hug him because he doesn't like skinship

but strangely with you, his heart skips a beat??

helps you when you're stressed by enveloping you in a hug and not letting go until you feel better

not overly clingy but not distant either - he's the perfect bf !!

knows when to give you space and when he needs to invade your space and give you lots of kisses >:)

not big on fancy dates, just wants to bask in your presence

wherever he is, as long as you're there, he's happy

i don't know why but i imagine his hand getting clammy when you hold it because he's so nervous,, then he gets all shy and embarrassed about it :")

Johnny

always taking photos of you

literally has a folder in his phone named '[y/n]'

so whipped for you omg he literally giggles any time you lock eyes

so EMBARRASSING cause of all the bad jokes he cracks and how tough he tries to act

"[y/n] do you wanna feel my arm muscles?"

waking up next to him each morning would involve you thinking he’s asleep and staring at him until he pulls you closer into his chest and presses his lips to your forehead ;3;

takes you on really creative dates like going to markets, going for drives, walks through unknown paths

if y’all are not seeing each other in person, he’ll constantly be texting or calling you

always sends you photos of things that remind him of you

the type to pretend he’ll give you your coat, then he doesn’t, but then he does because he loves you :”)

quite clingy in the sense that he always wants to be near you, holding your hand, hugging you, kissing you, whatever it may be

Taeyong

such a sweet and loving bf :”)

the type to buy you flowers and be that classy, romantic boyfriend

he’ll leave handwritten notes around the house and will send you good morning texts if you guys are apart from one another

the two of you are definitely the cool couple

but you’re also the couple who laughs hard about the most random things

like Taeil, knows when to give you space and when he should be there for you

will respect your sense of independence and root for you to succeed in your own things!

but also gets clingy sometimes and just wants a few hugs and kisses :”)

acts cute and pouts in front of you a lot 

but only in front of you, never in public or in front of anyone else

listens carefully whenever you’re sad and lets you rest your head on his shoulder, cry all over him - he lets you do whatever you need to do to be happy again, and he’ll try his best to cheer you up too :D

Yuta

loves reading with you, it’s one of his favourite things to do :”)

sometimes just ends up staring at you which leads to him pulling you towards him which leads to cuddling while reading and for him to kiss the top of your head an infinite amount of times

omg he will let you braid his hair or play with it or do all kinds of things to it

painting each other’s nails !! and searching for unique accessories in stores!

he’ll just buy an accessory and give it to you like “i just know this will look good on you, please try it on!”

i feel like he’ll be very honest with you about everything

so you both have nights when you talk for hours about your thoughts

and in the morning forget all about it by watching something while in bed hehe

will like exercising with you from time to time so you both stay healthy!

always thinking about you and your health, both mental and physical

you might be able to convince him to get a couple outfit :o

Doyoung

Like Johnny, likes taking photos of you but does it a bit more shyly

puts on a cool front all the time but he’s quite shy ;-;

loves to bake with you and actually takes it quite seriously

he’ll chase you around if you smudge batter on his face >:)

makes home dates fancy by lighting so many scented candles that the smell actually becomes unbearable

when you go on walks together, he’ll hide behind you every time he sees a dog, and you always have to apologize to the dog owners on his behalf because he’s scared :”D

likes to lie on top of you when you cuddle, with his weight on his legs which are on either side of you so he’s not crushing you, just so he can trace the shape of your face with his fingertips

if you cry, he cries and if you laugh, he’ll laugh - i feel like that’s how he’ll comfort you, by empathizing :”)

likes to go on car rides with you where the two of you are just singing songs 

always makes sure you’re eating your meals and staying hydrated - brings you food if you’re busy or forget

gets you really thoughtful gifts for special days but also throws a few meme gifts in there

Jaehyun

that bf who invites you to watch him play basketball just so he can take off his shirt in the middle of the game and watch as your face turns red

i feel like he’ll tease you in that ^ way a lot - he’s always trying to fluster you

he likes peaches so imagine going peach picking with him !! you’ll take such cute photos together and if he’s taller than you, he’ll pick all the peaches that you can’t ;3;

always trying to cheer you up whenever you’re sad - why can i picture him doing aegyo TT

this one time it rained when you were on a late night walk with him and he took off his jean jacket, held it above your heads as you ran home, but you ended up wet anyway :”)

super comforting whenever you’re sick or don’t feel good

constantly complimenting you and shows you lots of physical affection

always hugs you when he sleeps because if you’re not there, he’d just be hugging the blanket instead

not incredibly sentimental but always tries his best to show his love for you

tried to make breakfast in bed for you and dropped a whole bunch of cutlery on the floor :D

went through your phone and saved his name as ‘peach’ in it

Winwin

(this is from WayV as boyfriends, that’s why it looks a little different <3)

SOFT ANGEL

SOFT SOFT SOFT

did i mention he’s soft?

always worried about you 

genuinely cares about your feelings

a lot of “are you okay?” and “you’re not mad at me, right?”

if you’re ever in a bad mood, he’ll run to the store real quick and grab your favourite food for you

A LOT OF CUDDLES AND LAZY MORNINGS

he doesn’t like skinship but loves to hold you :’)

too shy to show affection in public tho

will hold your hand at the most

even if he does that, he’ll hold your hand in your pocket because he’s so shy

pls protecc him at all costs

is willing to do anything for you

sometimes you have to ask him how he genuinely feels about something

because he can’t say no :(

please make sure you tell him you love him regularly, or he’ll be sad :(

a lot of stay-at-home dates like watching movies

watchiNG ANIME (if you like it, of course)

“let’s just do whatever you want”

wiLL CRUSH YOU IN MOBILE GAMES

“i beat you! now give me a kiss >:)”

Jungwoo

if you also like to eat, y’all will have the most epic food dates omg

literally travelling to countries just to try the food there - that’s what it will be like

most of your dates involve food, but also a lot of walking dates so you can burn it off :”)

yet also many movie nights on the days where you don’t want to walk

he’ll learn your speaking habits and will imitate you whenever you get annoyed or angry 

likes to play soccer with you, even if you’re bad at it (so he can tease you), but if you’re good then he’ll enjoy trying to beat you

he’s the one who roasts you the most yet also cares for you the most

likes to kiss your neck because he can smell your natural scent, but if you hate it then he’ll do it to tease you or he’ll stop if you seriously tell him to

imitates kdrama male actors and actually makes your heart flutter by doing those things

and when you see the actors kissing in a drama,,,, you already know what he’s about to do

when you’re upset, he’ll hug you tightly and stay with you until you feel better

Mark

y’all have a shared playlist that you always add songs to so you can listen to it during car rides or when cuddling 

he keeps everything and anything you give him, whether it be a candy wrapper, flowers, a belt, shoes, anything

prepares really sweet gifts for you - a lot of songs or meaningful things

claims that you’re his muse and sometimes just stares at you for 5 minutes whenever you drop by his studio

“you’re my sun, i’m photosynthesizing so just stay right there”

he’s shy and gets flustered easily when you kiss or hug him, even when you just hold his hand

you have a tradition with him each fall where you go to a park, gather all the leaves to make a pile so you can dive into it

usually ends with you falling on top of him and the two of you just laying there for a long time

voice calls that last for more than 8 hours will become a thing when you date him :”)

always jokes about things related to marriage like ‘wow imagine if we had our wedding here’ and laughs awkwardly but he’d actually love to marry you 

takes you on trips that he claims are for him to get inspiration for music writing but he really just wants to spend time with you

Haechan

you already know what you’ve signed up for, right? chaos, absolute chaos - but in the best way

super clingy, always holding onto your arm or hand

whines when you don’t give him hugs or attention

bought a big plushie that reminded him of you so he can hug it when you’re not there and he misses you

he’s such a baby omg he’ll love being babied by you

makes hand crafted, diy gifts that clearly have his entire heart and soul in them

likes singing karaoke songs with you because if too you’re shy to sing alone, at least when he sings with you, he can hear a bit of your voice

cannot live if you’re sad or upset - he’ll do anything to help you feel better

cuddling is his favourite thing on this planet and he’ll wrap his legs around you so the two of you become an entangled mess, yet somehow are still comfortable

texts you random things like ‘i just saw a dog’ but also says stuff like that out loud to you

acts strong and cool sometimes like when you’re watching horror movies but fails miserably :(

ah, have you made it to the bottom? thank you for reading <3 were you by any chance looking for a sign? because this is it, this is your sign. i wish you luck with whatever it is that you must or must not do ;3;

[secret-rendezvous1d]

“you did what?”

hello, hi!

surprise, i guess? haha. i’m struggling to sleep so i’m letting my imagination run a little wild on google docs and i gained a little inspiration from an episode i’ve just watched of criminal minds and this came out. a little fluff in the workplace. a huge contrast to the previously posted story, full of smut, which you will find linked here.

like, reblog and send in some feedback, please. it’s greatly appreciated and it helps me work out what you want to see and what you are after. if you want something specific then do let me know! i’d love to try and write something for you.

thank you. enjoy.

-

“you did what?” spencer reid x female reader (reader insert imagine) word count; 1.5k

* if you haven’t watched criminal minds then this does contain some spoilers to the show that you may want to dodge if you are thinking of starting the series up. *

summary; when the bau arrive home from a case, spencer has something exciting to tell yn.

-

As soon as YN had gotten word of the jet touching ground, the time around her seemed to slow down.

All she wanted was to see her boyfriend after a long day of doing nothing around the office. Having been injured in the field during their last case, with a gunshot wound to her right shoulder, YN had been given strict orders to stay away from any activity until her arm had almost completely healed. Hotch made sure she wasn’t placed actively on a case, using the help of Garcia to keep her grounded in Virginia whilst they flew across the borders, making it clear that she would still be on some use when she wasn’t with them in person. Something Spencer could agree one and was adamant that she followed orders because, even though they were vulnerable to any kind of violence and injury when working a case with a dangerous unknown subject and there was always a likelihood of getting seriously injured or caught in a predicament that caused onsight panic, it scared him to see her get hit in a crossfire. If he had it his way, he’d have requested that they both took their holiday leave so he could help her back to health at home - but he knew, deep down, it wasn’t necessary.

The ding of the elevator was enough to calm the butterflies in her belly.

Morgan was the first to leave the confined space and gave YN a side-hug, being careful not to jolt her arm with his sudden movement, before he rushed away and disappeared round the corner. Hotch gave her warming and welcoming smile and a subtle nod, which she returned in his favour, and she watched him walk into the unit whilst undoing the button of his sui jacket and carrying his briefcase in his free hand. Blake had given her uninjured shoulder a squeeze on the way passed with a knowing look in her eye, a twitch in her eyebrow directed behind her and had YN looking at the elevator. JJ and Spencer were the last to leave the elevator, deep in a conversation with Rossi, that YN could only work out was his time in the marines from the way he was talking to passionately.

“Hey, you. You’ll never guess what your boy wonder did today,” JJ grinned, squeezing YN into a gentle hug before releasing her, allowing Rossi to come along and show his appreciation of his welcome by squeezing her elbows. Squeezing one a little softer than the other to not add injury to an existing one, “genius here delivered a baby.”

And with that, the two of them had left Spencer and her alone in the hallway.

“You did what?”

YN stood stunned in her place, barely able to move any part of her body nor close her mouth that had gawped open in surprise, watching and feeling him step closer to her. His tattered trainers squeaking on the tiled floor beneath him with each step he took in her direction, his eyes never leaving the sling that her arm had been tucked into for the last few days, guilt sinking to the bottom of his gut because he probably could have prevented her from being in the pain she was in by simply following her when she disappeared to check a room and spooked the unsub who had been hiding. His body stopped before her, almost awkwardly and like they hadn’t been dating for almost 6 years, almost like they were new to a workplace romance and didn’t want anyone to see them so soft towards each other.

“Yeah, I- uh,” he blushed softly and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, something YN had found out to be one of the tics that showed up when he felt a little under pressure and anxious over a situation, “I delivered a baby.”

“You- you helped a woman give birth? In the field? A baby?”

YN had a million questions running through her mind; how the hell did he end up in a situation where he had to help a victim give birth to a baby? How was it safe enough for a woman to be giving birth if she was surrounded by police cars and police units and weapons all around with a dangerous unsub so close to the scene? Why did he decide he was the best one in the team to become a temporary midwife for the moment? When did he learn so much about labour and delivery?

She wished she had been there to watch as Spencer took control of the situation whilst keeping everyone in and around the scene calm and collected, a slight sense of panic in every word he spoke and every action he played, his mind tunnel-visioned on making sure the baby came out healthy and crying for the touch of its warm and nurturing mother. His calming tone being of good use, letting his hand go through the abuse of a woman taking her pain out on squeezing through her contractions, not letting anything get too out of control so that the baby was born into a room that had only, minutes before, been a scene that no baby should have been brought into.

“Yeah, yeah. I, uh, I helped a woman give birth to a baby out in the field,” he repeated, his arm falling down to his side, the leather strap of his go-bag slipping down to his elbow, something he corrected and hoisting it back up onto his shoulder, slipping it over his neck to keep it in a more secure place around his body, “something my eidetic memory will had trouble forgetting.”

YN snorted and rolled her eyes, stepping forward and wrapping her free arm around his waist, welcoming him home with a warm hug and a little intimacy that had gone missing over the last few days; he’d been on a case and YN had been the one left behind to work alongside Garcia on the computers, for obvious reasons. A time she took advantage of and used to complete files with deadlines she had missed because they piled up on the corner of her desk and almost towered her standing figure, that she couldn’t do as quickly as she could with two working arms.

“I read a lot of books about labour and delivery when JJ was pregnant with Henry. You know, just in case she went into labour somewhere where we couldn’t get her to a hospital in time. We needed someone on the team who knew what they were doing so she was doing it correctly,” he explained, arms tight around her waist and a kiss pressed to her forehead after he had concluded his sentence, inhaling the scent of her hair that hadn’t been used with the shampoo that held her usual scent - it was his shampoo and he’d know that scent anywhere and every now and then, keeping it hidden from Spencer, she liked to used his soap and his shampoo to smell like him because she missed his presence around her. “I’d like to think I’d get a job as a midwife almost instantly now. I have experience.”

“At least we’ll be prepared if we ever had to go through it personally,” she hummed, looking up at him and resting her chin upon his chest, his neck craning back so he could press a kiss to her lips and shake his head with a smile. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion though so she was unsure of how he truly felt on the subject of having children. Her fingers dug underneath the hem of his buttoned shirt, fingertips touching the naked skin of his hip, forefinger drawing circles into the soft flesh beneath, “what? We might have a baby and the story of daddy delivering them would definitely be one to tell at Christmas time when they’re all-.”

“We will,” he interrupted, squeezing her hips before releasing her body from his hold, “we will have a baby. I’m not even going to doubt that.”

Not yet, of course.

They had perfect jobs that they loved to be actively involved in, they had a life they were enjoying as just the two of them, they had an single-bed apartment that didn’t feel like a good fit for raising a baby, and they didn’t feel they had enough life experience to even think about trying for a baby. They may have been dating for six years but, in the last two, they’d only just learnt to live with one another, figuratively and literally.

“A baby?” Garcia gasped loudly from behind the two of them, a shocked yet excited expression written all across her face, coffee dribbling down the side of her coffee mug and droplets landing on the floor beside her feet, dressed in the brightest pair of pink high heels she could find in her wardrobe. “Are you guys-”

“No,” YN blurted out, and turned around at her sudden presence, shaking her head quickly with a giggle, “no, we’re not pregnant. Garcia, we’re not.”

“Damn it,” she frowned, her body sinking closer to the floor in dismay, “I was hoping for a new godchild to spoil.”

“One day,” Spencer smiled, dipping his head down and hiding the smile within the fuzz of YN’s air that had become a little messy over the stress of the day, “one day, Garcia. One day.”

[mashiraostail]

I love your writing and was wondering if I could request a fic with mic where student reader doesn’t speak a lick of Japanese and can only talk to mic in English and mic ends up basically adopting reader? Please and thank you

this is so cute please thank u for asking omg present dad, dad mic, father Michael 

It was nice to get the recommendation for this school, honestly, it was one of the best hero programs in the world and it was a huge honor to have even been considered for a spot let alone invited to attend but...what was less nice was barely ever being able to communicate.  You could understand it when you heard it well enough, forget reading it, writing it was a hard no and speaking it? Fat chance. So Aizawa sends you Mic’s way. If anyone can teach you it’s him.  You approach him as timidly as you approached everything here, you seriously felt like a fish out of water. Of course when he sees you shuffling over to him, clearly nervous to even speak...dad mode activated. He already likes you. No, he does not know your quirk, or where you are from, or even your name, but he likes you he’s decided, so under his wing you go.  “No Japanese, huh?” He purses his lips at you and you nod meekly, “I feel so silly having accepted to come all the way out here for school...when I don’t even speak the language, I thought it’d be easier to pick it up. It’s only been a few weeks but..” You sigh, “I’m totally hopeless aren’t I?”  He simply cannot allow a student of his to have such low self-esteem.  “No way!” He slaps your back, it knocks the wind out of you but it reminds you of home. “You’ve got me now so don’t worry about it! We’ll have you speaking like a local in no time!”  “Do you really think so?” When you look up at him all stary eyed and hopeful? He’ll tell Aizawa they are picking up another one later. You are officially his kid from that point on. You become inseparable, a package deal, you are linked to him now for good, and if someone is looking for you their best bet is to find him and vice versa.  He takes extra time every week to tutor you so that you don’t miss out on training, if anyone gives you a hard time for the language barrier there will be hell to pay, serious hell. No one eve tries it.  He’ll get lunch with you whenever you ask, or bring it to you while you study.  He understands it’s important for you to practice but he also likes talking to you in English, and he thinks it's important for you to keep a connection to home too, so he’ll chat with you about your favorite things from home, stores, and restaurants that don’t exist in Japan, TV shows he’s never heard of and underground bands you like. It makes him feel even closer to you and he likes that you lean on him for that sort of parental support. When you say you like hearing him speak Japanese and that you enjoy it when he talks to you about his own interests and hobbies in his native language because it makes you feel closer to him and like you can go to him for help? He’ll be going to the courthouse now, would you like your own room or bunk beds with Eri? What’s color should the walls be? You’re his kid now you’ve legally been adopted. Have a Present Mic or Hands Up Radio tee shirt and you cross paths with him while wearing it one day? He’ll scream. Get a funny Eraserhead & Present Mic keychain set for your backpack? He’ll barely be able to contain his joy. Called him dad by accident one day? He’s crying ugly crying, he’s thrilled. 

[mymelodyheart]

All I Want For Christmas Is You Chapter 11 ~One More Day~ The Final Chapter

Previously in Who the Hell is Harry? ...

They lay there like that for a long while, listening to the fireworks subside until only a few isolated booms from a distance could be heard. Their breathing and heartbeats harmonised, bodies interlocking to fit each other. Finally, Jamie eased himself off Claire, kissing her lips tenderly before disposing of the condom. 

Moments later, when he returned, she was on her side, watching him with a satisfied smile. "Happy New Year," she said hoarsely.

Jamie got into bed, pulled her into his chest, and bit her earlobe. "Happy New Year to ye tae. That was the best New Year firework display I've ever seen." 

She laughed and slid an arm across his waist. Nuzzling her nose on the hollow of his throat, he felt her smile against his skin, but her hold on him remained only for a few seconds before she passed out cold.

Not wanting to disturb the perfection of the moment, he gathered her closer and whispered, "I love you," into her hair, hoping and praying that the New Year will bring them together for good.

If you wish to read this on AO3, here is the link.

If you wish to read this from the beginning:

AO3 link

Tumblr link

  Laughing, Jamie and Willie noisily strode in from the kitchen backdoor at ten in the morning with Rollo in tow. They found Annalise and Claire making shortcrust pastry for the Cornish pasties and preparing sandwiches for lunch. Apparently, the boys were expecting a few of their mates to come over and help with a project.

With no forecast of rain for the whole week, the brothers had decided to knock down Jamie's old shed and build a new and bigger one. A day ago they'd torn it down, cleared the debris, levelled the ground for the extension, laid down some slabs for support and poured the cement for the foundation. This morning, they've completed the base and put up the wall frames, including the waterproof sheeting.

"Good morning, ladies." The brothers said simultaneously, making the girls smile in acknowledgement. Willie gestured for Annalise to follow him, leaving Jamie and Claire alone.

Jamie washed his hands, made himself a coffee and came around to where she was stood dropping cubed butter into the flour. "Have ye seen our progress with the new shed yet?" he asked. But before she could reply, he leaned in and gave her a swift kiss on the lips, making her knock the carton of milk over. 

Claire gasped, and Jamie grinned with triumph for catching her off guard. He brought his cup up to his smiling lips and winked.

"I have," she laughed, picking up the milk and wiping the countertop. "Are you sure, it's a shed you're making out there and not a small house?"

He leaned back against the counter and smiled. He'd taken off his jumper and was now only wearing a white long-sleeved t-shirt that stretched across his chest, showing the definitions of his toned muscles and broad shoulders. His eyes gleamed in the soft morning light, and Claire thought of how handsome he looked, making her heart pick up a little.

"It's a shed, but I thought while I'm in the process of restoring it, it would be a brilliant idea to build an additional extension for when ye come over for a visit, and ye wish to write. I'll have a huge window facing the field so ye can look out when ye need an inspiration. It's a grand view overlooking the greens. I'll even soundproof it for ye, so ye willnae be distracted by outside noise."

She arched an eyebrow in surprise. These past few days, she started to notice a lot of new items cropping up in Jamie's cottage. There were a couple of floral throw cushions she'd never seen before. And after Annalise had casually mentioned how much Claire missed her mermaid blanket, a handmade crochet mermaid tail blanket had shown up one night on his sofa while watching a movie. His cupboard was now fully stocked with her evening herbals such as chamomile, Valerian root and lemon balm tea. There was even a pair of soft fluffy memory foam slippers, waiting for her whenever she stayed over. Somehow, she was sensing a sense of permanency and more and more each day, she was starting to feel she belonged to him and his home.

Claire tried not to examine it too deeply and focused more on enjoying the moment, but it was getting harder. Because as each day slowly neared to her departure date, the hollow in the pit of her stomach became wider. And tonight was her last night with Jamie.

"Well, I suppose I won't see the finished product until I come over for a visit," she said with a little sadness in her voice.

Sensing the shift in mood, Jamie put down his cup and closed in on her, his fingers coasting past her jaw into the back of her neck, gently urging her in. He stilled for a moment, smiling an inch from her lips, as she inhaled him, his masculine smell, the coffee on his breath, the faint intoxicating scent of his aftershave mixed with sweat. Then he closed his eyes and kissed her.

"What do ye want to do on yer last night? Fancy going out?" he breathed against her mouth.

She swallowed and shook her head. "Shall we stay in?"

He cupped her face, opened his eyes and held hers with his. "I was hoping ye would say that." 

"You don't want to say goodbye to Annalise? It's her last day, too," she half-teased. 

"I think she'd want to spend her last night with Willie," he said seriously this time. He glanced down at her lips. "As I do with ye. But I want to spend the evening, not saying goodbye but making memories." He looked back up at her. "Memories that will bring ye back to me sooner."

Her heart pounded. She knew what Jamie was trying to say to her. 

She smiled at him. "I'd like that too, Jamie."

"Good, that's settled then."

..........

When Claire and Annalise brought out the Cornish pasties, sausage rolls and sandwiches for lunch, they arranged them on a makeshift buffet made out of wooden planks so the men could help themselves. Although it was in the middle of winter, the sun was out, and it was a lovely day to sit outdoors and soak up the heat. The hungry men descended on the food and sat on the benches Willie had earlier put out. Jamie filled his plate and grabbed a can of cider, and they sat on a thick blanket-covered ground, away from the rest, making sure the sun was on them since it was very chilly in the shade. 

"The shed is going to be massive," she observed, her chin in her hand. 

"That's the plan," he said, smiling at her, taking a huge bite of the Cornish pasty and humming in his throat to let her know how much he was enjoying his food. "Once the exterior is done, I'll send ye some photos, and then ye can tell me what colour ye want yer writing studio to be painted in." 

Claire looked at him for the longest time and then sighed. "Why are you doing all this, Jamie? It's not like we've known each other for a long time."

"But it feels like we've known each other for a long time. Ye know it too." He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "And if ye dinnae like the wee studio, I can always turn it into a workshop."

She smiled. "At least allow me to put some money into it."

He shook his head. "Dinnae fash. Most of the woods we're using are from work, and I got the rest of the stuff from the reclamation yard," he explained with the eagerness of a young boy, his eyes all lit up.

She wanted to kiss him right there and then, and realised how much she would miss this place, especially him. He looked so rugged and at peace with his surrounding and very much part of it. And knowing that he wanted her to be part of his world, made her even more determined to wrap up her work in London as soon as possible and start that writing career she'd always dreamed of. Although a little niggling voice in her head was telling her to slow things down, she dismissed it, knowing that for once, her life had a direction she could look forward to.

She noticed, he hadn't put back his jumper on and was only wearing that long-sleeved shirt.

"Aren't you cold?" 

He shrugged. "Here in the sun ...no' at all."

"I'm sat in the sun with you, but I can still feel the chill. Even after working all morning next to the oven, I could not for the life of me just wear a thin shirt like that in this Highland weather. Are you sure you're warm enough?" She frowned, looking over him.

"I am. Do ye want to sit on my lap so I can warm ye up? I have a few ideas on how to quickly achieve that." His eyes gleamed.

She crumpled a paper napkin and threw it at him. He laughed out loud, making the group of men look their way. 

The sun rose higher, and the sky was cloudless, a rarity at this time of the year. Somewhere on a speaker played a Simple Minds song  Don't You Forget About Me,  and Rollo and another dog ran back and forth in the open field. 

"I have something to ask you," she said, plucking a weed from the ground and watching the dogs frolic. "At the risk of sounding clingy and needy, I want to know if you've had a lot of girlfriends ...or say, sexual partners." She shrugged and looked down at her hand. "I-I can't help but wonder ...well, you know, not that I have anybody else to compare you to, but I must say you sort of know things, like when we touch and love each other. And you seem to be good at it. So I figured that maybe you've had a lot of experience." Her eyes suddenly widened when she realised what just came out of her mouth. She waved a hand. "I mean, I'm no prude or anything, and I understand a lot of people are early bloomers and have had a lot of sexual partners. I-I just wanted to understand ...if  it  comes naturally to you."

He grinned at her over his sausage roll as if he was pleased to hear the possessiveness in her tone. "I'm thirty years old, Sassenach, and in as much as I would have loved the idea of ye being my first, I must admit I didnae live the life of a monk. So aye, probably ye can call it that ... experience. But if ye must know, I've never been drawn to anyone like I am with ye."

She cleared her throat. "Fair enough, and since we're sharing our thoughts, I want you to know, I feel the same way." She bit her lower lip and thought over the words she wanted to say. "You kissing me on a first date, making love to me on our second, running after me at the airport on the third day. Very rash, I'd say." 

"Only with ye." He laughed. 

He slugged the last of his drink, and she got up and grabbed him another cider. "How about your ex-fiancee? Any lingering feelings for her still floating around in the ether?" She asked, sitting back down in front of him. 

Looking at her straight in the eyes, he took her hand and rubbed the inside of her wrist. "I will always care for her, Sassenach. But what I feel for her is nothing more than friendship. She's about to be married, and she wants me to be the godfather of Simon's child. And if ye must know, I'm thrilled she's found somebody to share her life. I think Simon would have wanted that for her too as do I ...someone who will take care of her and their child." He twined their fingers together. "What we have between us is rare. Like what ye said, I was rash, but that's ever since meeting ye. Somehow I've lost the ability to guard myself. When it comes to ye, I lose all perspective and control. It's chaotic and scary at the same time, but I wouldnae wish it to be any other way."

She gave him a smile. "Sweet and convincing as you sound right now, I'm still not allowing you to come to London and visit me. It's too risky. I want you to get better first, and one day you will. I believe that."

"I believe that too."

They stared at each other for a while, their surrounding fading into a haze, and it felt like there were only the two of them left. Until the dogs' barking reminded Claire, they weren't alone. "Right now, I would like to kiss you," she said softly. "But I don't know what I feel about people watching us."

A gradual grin crept across his face as he let go of her hand. "Weel, I dinnae see how I cannot oblige ye. Just close yer eyes and dinnae mind them lads."

Smiling, he leaned in close and brushed his lips on the corner of her mouth. When she thought they were done and started to pull away, he caught her lower lip with his teeth, keeping her still. After a few heartbeats, they began to kiss, achingly slow and gentle, his tongue probing into her to tease, taste and mate.

The cheers, sallies and whistles from the men nearby kicked-off almost instantly, and even Rollo started to howl in unison. Intent only on each other, they ignored the raucous banter in the background and continued to kiss.

"Ye ken I'm gonnae get a lot of pelters for this," he murmured against her smiling lips, his eyes closed.

 "Well, you might as well make it worth your while." 

His chest rumbled with laughter, as he kissed her again, causing more cheers to intensify, utterly oblivious to their surroundings.

"Ah, here's my not so wee brother!" a voice cut through their own bubble, making them both jump.

Jamie tore his lips away from her, and they both glanced up. "Jenny!" He immediately shot to his feet and hugged the petite woman wearing a puffer jacket, black jeans and a pair of wellies. "When did ye get back? I thought I'd see ye just after Christmas."

"Aye, had a last-minute change of plan. I left yer pressies in yer kitchen, and Ian says he'll call one of these days to see ye. He's just got some catching up to do with work."

Claire absentmindedly wiped her hands on her jeans and got up, noticing the other woman's delicate features and black hair tied in a high ponytail. At first glance, Jamie's sister could be mistaken for an adolescent with her five-feet height and small frame. The only tell-tale sign that she was a Fraser was the same blue eyes and dark hair she'd inherited from Brian.

"I told ye no' to bother ..." Jamie's voice trailed off as he looked past her sister's shoulder. "You brought company."

Still not acknowledging Claire, Jenny beamed at Jamie and then motioned for the beautiful tall dark-haired girl standing several yards away to come over. "Ye remember Geneva? Aye? Met her at the centre today and we're going for coffee after. Actually, she told me she's going to be yer new therapist. Yer former one had to leave temporarily for the south of England because of some family emergency. Now isnae that grand Geneva's back? She's going to stay here for good."

The girl, Geneva practically skipped, stopping short of throwing herself in Jamie's arms as her eyes briefly caught Claire's. "Jamie!" she greeted breezily, giving him a slack embrace. "Nice to see you again."

"Aye." Jamie nodded, looking perplexed. "It's been a while. Didnae realise ye were around." Not waiting for Geneva's response, he grabbed Claire's hand, drew her to his side and planted a kiss on top of her head. "By the way, this is Claire, my girlfriend," Jamie said, with a hint of finality in his tone. It was almost as if he was giving a warning to his sister that there would be no discussion about it. 

He must have noticed Jenny ignoring her presence and wanted to reassure her he was on her side.

Claire offered a polite smile, a few words of greeting and shook both women's hand, all the while conscious of Jamie's comforting hand on her back. Its weight served as a reminder the promise he'd made to her at the airport, lessening the sting of Jenny's lack of warmth.

"Weel, Jenny, Geneva, nice seeing ye both but I'm afraid I have to cut this short. As ye can see, I still have work to do and Claire and I are in the middle of discussing some personal matters. So if ye'll excuse us, both." Jamie gave his sister a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks for the pressies."

"I'll give you a call one of these days to arrange for our first round of session," Geneva said, smiling at Jamie.

Jamie nodded and then he firmly grabbed Claire's hand as they edged past them, without another word. Once alone in the kitchen, Jamie pulled her in his arms and sighed into her hair. "Dinnae mind my sister. I'm sorry she wasn't as welcoming to you as the rest of my family."

She swallowed. "I'm fine, really, and I understand. Jenny is only concern about you. Who is that girl, Geneva?" she asked.

He exhaled and stroke her hair. "A friend of my sister. She used to live in the village but moved to Glasgow a while ago. I guess she's back and will be my new therapist."

"Oh, alright."

Jamie hugged her tight. "I want ye to know, it's ye and me now, Sassenach. I need ye to trust in that. Ye with me?"

She buried her face against his chest, as Jamie's words plunged deep and unearthed the truth she'd been grappling with ever since the count down to her departure date begun. For years she'd been living in a fog in London with no sense of direction searching for something she never had a name for. Now that she'd found it, she didn't want to spend a long time analysing it while doing a job that never gave her a sense of fulfilment. She knew now Jamie would follow her anywhere in the world, but she didn't want him to do that and lose a piece of himself. This was the place where he belonged, and she would find a way to belong here too, with or without Jenny's blessing.

She snuggled closer into his hold. There was a reverence in the way he held her, and all she could think of how cherished, safe and anchored she felt. More than ever, she felt secure in his affections and more optimistic about their future. Jamie was right. All that was left was them. Who would have guessed a month ago she would have her life all planned out around this man in such a short time. 

Shivering slightly with excitement, her mind flitted through the countless tasks that needed to be done before she could start her new life. To get back to her Jamie.

Looking up at him, she smiled. "It's you and me now, Jamie and I trust in that. Always."

He looked relieved as he relaxed in her arms, telling her something had lifted off his chest.

..........

That night, Jamie watched Claire from the sofa as she rearranged her suitcase for the umpteenth time. His parents had given her a boozy fruitcake, homemade preserves and a bottle of single malt to take with her, and she'd insisted she didn't need another bag to make everything fit in.

Though her beautiful face looked concentrated and determined with the task at hand, her whisky eyes looked haunted, already dreading the time when she would leave. They'd had a light supper earlier and made love twice, and there was only one truth that mattered. They loved each other. Though he didn't want her to leave, he needed to let her go, for now, be the voice of reason and the face of courage for what might be a lengthy separation. God knows, he understood what she was feeling, but he didn't want their last night together to be filled with uncertainty. He wanted tonight to be a celebration of their love and the future to come. 

How many times had he thought of persuading her to let him come even for just a few days? But then again it wouldn't be fair to her if she had to worry about him every single minute of the day when she would be better off concentrating on the work she needed to do. He had enough on his plate as it was with his arboricultural business and his own mental health, and he needed to refocus his attention on that. 

He told himself, it was a wee sacrifice, and this time next year, she would be here for good.

With a sigh, he slid down to the floor and picked up her travel diary. 

He glanced up at her, waiting for her permission. When she nodded, he smiled. He liked that they sometimes communicated without talking, like it was their own wee secret, instinctively knowing how the other felt or when the other was looking trying to get one's attention.

He carefully opened the travel diary which was thick with postcards Claire had pasted on its pages. A few photos slipped out. Thinking they were postcards, he was about to slide them back into the diary, when he realised he was looking at one of Claire's family photos. His heart leapt, and his eyes immediately zeroed in on Claire's father, confirming his suspicion.  Harry is Henry Beauchamp! But how and why?  Goosebumps coasted down his back. He didn't know what to feel other than have this urge to laugh out loud. He'd never believed in spirits or ghosts, but something inside him told him tonight was not the night to delve into it. He needed to talk to his godfather and find out more about Harry. And find out why Claire's father's spirit was helping him.

He felt Claire's eyes on him, and they stared at each other for a few moments. He put the diary down, and he opened his arms, and she slid into his embrace and onto his lap. 

He breathed in the clean scent of her hair and savoured the length of her body, fitting perfectly to his. His hand travelled down the curve he'd memorised and worshipped with his lips and tongue and touch. And he realised this woman had healed him, with her presence and humour and stubbornness.  Harry must surely approve.

Her whisper drifted to his ears like a wisp of smoke. "I have to leave tomorrow." 

"I ken." 

"Oh, God, but I don't want to." 

He pressed a kiss to her temple. "I ken." 

She tilted her head back, a soft smile curling her lips. "Speechless for a change, huh?" 

He laughed, even though his heart was ripping apart at the idea of her gone from his bed and everyday life, realising what a gift she'd given him this holiday season. "So many things to tell ye but we have little time left. So I'm just gonnae hold ye like this to make up for the long winter ahead."

She blinked twice, a moist sheen apparent in her eyes. "Always the sensible and practical one, aren't you? " 

"I willnae be tonight." 

Claire caught his intention, and the longing they thought was already sated rose between them once more. He kissed her slow and thorough, taking his time, savouring the taste of chocolate, whisky and sweet honey, sinking deep and demanding everything. And she gave it all and much more, as they made love until all their energy had been spent and fell into a deep sleep in each other's arms.

..........

Claire walked out of the cottage and found Jamie waiting for her, her suitcase already deposited into the rental car. Willie and Annalise were in their own bubble locked in each other's embrace, whispering promises and secrets. She smiled at them, her heart hurting. Though Annalise's and Willie's relationship looked seamless, they'd had their own share of teething problems resulting in a couple of fights. Claire was glad they'd made up already before their departure. Claire walked with heavy feet over to them and cleared her throat, making Willie grinned boyishly at her. He let go of Annalise and gave her a big hug. Jamie did the same and enfolded her friend into a tight embrace.

"My brother and I are going to miss ye both" Willie whispered into her ears. 

"Me too. I heard from Annalise, we'll be seeing you in a couple of weeks. Is that right?"

Willie laughed and drew away. "Aye but unfortunately, I willnae be taking my brother with me. Someone has to be here to run the business." 

"I know." 

"I'll bring ye his love letters though," he teased.

She laughed.

With one last squeeze, Willie let her go. Claire watched Jamie said his own goodbyes to Annalise, making her friend tear up even more. Who would have thought, Annalise would be reduced to a bumbling mess when she had always been the one who had everything under control. Claire watched them both laugh with moisture in their eyes, both trying to downplay what they were feeling.

"Take care of my lass," Jamie whispered gruffly. "Ye have my number in case anything happens. Ye can call me anytime."

Annalise laughed and pulled Jamie in for another hug. Claire knew Annalise was trying to hide her own tears "You have my number too. Send me some candid photos or videos of Willie, whenever ye can."

"I will. I have a few embarrassing ones already on my phone. I'll send them once ye're in London."

Annalise wiped the tears with the back of her hand. "I'd love that."

Willie motioned Annalise over for another final goodbye. 

Her friend looked at Jamie before walking over to Willie. "I'll see you when I see you." 

Jamie nodded, smiling.

Claire faced Jamie, sliding her arms around his waist. "I don't like goodbyes," she whispered. "I wish I could teleport myself now to London, so I could just go back to bed and sleep off this feeling." 

Jamie caressed her cheek, his soft blue eyes filled with adoration. "Dinnae be sad, Sassenach. Enjoy yer trip back home and have a few laughs with Annalise. I took ye away from her a lot of times, keeping ye all to myself. Maybe ye can both catch up with whatever ye lassies talk about." 

"I'm glad I'll have her with me on the way home. She will at least keep me distracted from being sad." 

"Ye'll keep one another distracted."

They smiled, and Claire was about to say something when a loud excited barking filled the air, and she glanced over to see Rollo bolting towards them, tongue lolling with excitement. She laughed and let go of Jamie. "I haven't seen the kitten. Where is he?"

"Oh, Adso?

Claire frowned. "Adso?"

"Aye, I've named the wee cheetie, Adso. My ma used to have a cat called Adso, and I couldnae think of any other name, so I'm calling him that."

"Goodness, what a horrible name!"

Jamie laughed. "Try saying that to my ma. Anyway, he's at Mrs Fitz's for now until he's big enough to be on his own."

Smiling, Claire got down to her knees and hugged Rollo, burying her face into its warm fur and inhaling the doggy smell. "Going to miss you, handsome," she murmured, stroking the dog's back. "I'll never forget our first breakfast date. You were a perfect gentleman." 

Rollo replied by nudging her neck with his snout. 

She unfolded herself from the ground and walked towards the car, where Jamie waited. Annalise was in the driver's seat already while Willie leaned on the window talking to her.

Claire glanced at her watch. "I'll call as soon as we arrive home." 

"Looking forward to it." 

"Well, this is it." She stuffed her hands in her jean pocket and looked away, rocking to and fro on her heels. "Try that mediation I told you about so you don't have any nightmares at night." 

"I haven't had them for almost a fortnight, so I guess you have to talk to me on the phone until I fall asleep," he joked.

"That's very good, Jamie," she said, looking at him thoughtfully, this time ignoring the jest that was common in their conversation. "But try to look into meditation. If it isn't your thing, then at least you've given it your fair shot."

"I promise I'll give it a go tonight."

She smiled. "Good."

"And one more thing, Sassenach."

"What?"

"This." He braced her jaws with both hands and kissed her tenderly, the warmth and feel of his mouth, making her sigh, and her heart expand. When he raised his head, he had a beautiful smile etched on his face, almost beatific if it weren't for the mischief that always seemed to shine from his eyes. "I love ye, Sassenach." 

"I love you too. See you around?" Claire whispered, suddenly feeling the odd lump in her throat.

"I'll be waiting." 

She stepped away from his hold and quickly got into the car, allowing herself to take one last look at Jamie through her window. Time slowed in that instance, as if her brain needed a mental photograph, a keepsake to give her strength in the times to come. With his legs braced apart, one hand on Rollo's head, his coppery hair blowing in the wind, the leashed strength radiated in waves around him as his pale-blue eyes locked with hers. Annalise started the car, bringing her back into this moment, and he smiled and raised his hand in goodbye. She knew that took a lot of effort to keep that happy expression plastered on his face, so she smiled back, though wobbly, and blinked back the tears. A choked sob rose up from her throat, and it felt like she was losing a piece of herself she'd just found. 

With one deep fortifying breath, she tore her gaze away from him and looked straight ahead, as Annalise reversed and drove away. 

This time, she didn't look back. 

She knew if she did, she'd never leave.

Dear Readers, 

Well, here we are ... the final chapter of All I Want For Christmas. I thought I'd still be writing this until Easter. 😂 My problem with me is I get so focused on one scene and write too lengthy details about it, instead of quickly moving to the next. But hey, we live and learn. And the main thing is, I finished this story, even though two days later than I projected. 

If you think the ending to this chapter is sad, please don't be disheartened because there will be an arc or Part 2 as I wish to call it. 

As I mentioned in the previous chapter, I have decided to make this story into a series. The title of the series is, WONDERWALL. So if you wish to subscribe to the series, click here. As for part 2 of this series, I still have no definite date when I will publish it, but you can always subscribe on AO3 here or check my Tumblr blog if you wish to be updated.  

My plans are to start publishing the second part around holidays/special days. So either before Valentine's day or St. Patrick's day, all depending on how well I've rested and how quickly I can put the story together. 

Having said that, I thank you all for being part of the journey with this story, and I look forward to writing part 2 of Wonderwall for you. And also thank you so much for the kudos, feedback and follows. It warms my heart to know that you enjoy my story. Big hugs for that! 

So for now, I wish you good health and strength in these strange times. Keep the good vibes up, take care always and sending you all love. X 

PS: I will be updating the Masterlist of this story soon here.

[peachyteez]

second chances ≫ DAY FOUR, BROKEN PROMISE.

as a feral wolf hybrid that was violent with all of the employees assigned to him, seonghwa was subjected to be put down. however, jiyu being the softhearted feral hybrid nurse she was, she decided to save seonghwa no matter what.

PART OF THE HEAVEN SERIES

✧ taglist: @defsoul15, @choisaniskillingme, @t-tbinnie, @multi-bookmarkscripts, @hello-its-ya-boi, @sunsethw4, @chanyeolol

feel free to let me know if you would like to be added to the list! :)

✧ notes: just for reference, i pictured hwa with his light brown hair from inception/thanxx hehe

back。| next。

“please don’t fall asleep out here, i really can’t carry you back.”

seonghwa lazily opened an eye to stare up at jiyu. “then call someone to help,” was all he said before he shut his eye again.

true to her word, she took seonghwa out to their facility field the the next day. residing in the shade of a huge tree, seonghwa laid on his back, crossed his arms underneath his head, and closed his eyes. it was a tranquil experience for him.

jiyu, who was sitting next to him, slightly pouted. “what if i just left you out here?”

“we both know you don’t have the heart to do that,” he softly snorted.

her pout grew deeper. he was right, she really wouldn’t leave him out here on his own. looking down at the hybrid laying next to her, she took in his peaceful and relaxed expression. she’s never seen him look so at peace before—he was always tense and on guard.

“my eyes may be closed but I can feel your stare,” he mumbled. “am i that interesting to look at?” a small smirk spread across his lips. 

jiyu slightly scoffed. “who knew the quiet park seonghwa would be so cocky,” she teased.

tearing her eyes away from seonghwa, she looked up at cloud–dotted sky. the phone call from the previous day still plauged her mind. she did everything to try to forget—she even watched cat videos until 3 AM. which was a mistake since she slept through all of her alarms and woke up ten minutes before she was suppose to leave for work.

seonghwa cracked an eye open and turned his head over to peer up at jiyu through his light brown fringes. for whatever reason, jiyu didn’t seem like herself ever since yesterday. sure she smiled, but the smile never reached her eyes.

it surprised him. usually, he didn’t really give a care about the humans that looked after him in the facility. maybe with the exception of the man named yeonjun, but only because he dyed his hair in a vibrant yellow color that would catch anyone’s attention. but he would catch himself observing jiyu whenever he could.

he sighed. “you’re frowning again.”

“hm?” jiyu seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in and returned her attention back to the hybrid laying next to her. “did you say something?”

“i said you were frowning again,” he repeated as he sat up. now the two were sitting side–by–side under the shade of the huge tree. “you’ve been frowning a lot lately.”

jiyu’s eyes slightly widened at his comment. he’d been observing her? she mindlessly flicked the dirt specks off of his hospital gown shirt with a breezy chuckle. “i have been, huh,” she murmured. “sorry if it bothers you.”

now it was seonghwa’s turn to frown. “i never said it bothered me,” he defended. “if anything, i’m curious as to where that smiley and peppy caretaker from a few days ago went.” although he was smirking, he was pretty worried about her.

jiyu lightly punched his arm with a small pout. “she’s still here. just troubled with some issues—”

“jiyuuuu!”

interrupted by a very familiar voice, jiyu turned towards the running puppy hybrid and braced herself for impact. “beomgyu, wait—”

but the impact never came.

instead, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and she was pulled out of the way. feeling her back come into contact with a hard chest, she looked up with surprise to see seonghwa glaring at poor beomgyu while protectively holding her against him.

beomgyu squeaked and hid behind the tree from seonghwa’s intimidating glare.

jiyu snapped out of her shock. “oh no, no, no, gyu. it’s okay,” she gently cooed to the scared hybrid behind the tree.

she gently patted seonghwa’s arm. “don’t worry, he may be energetic, but he’s harmless. i promise,” she sheepishly reassured. “you can let go.”

giving her an apprehensive look, he slowly unwrapped his arms from her. he watched as she slowly went behind the tree to try and calm the shivering puppy hybrid. beomgyu was his name, right?

jiyu squatted next to beomgyu, who was laying huddled up against the trunk of the tree while hiding his face in his arms. his ears were flat against his head, a sign that he was terrified. “gyu, it’s me,” she gently patted his head. “don’t be afraid.”

beomgyu peeked up. “h–he was s–scary...” he whimpered.

“i know, bub. but that was because you came out of nowhere screaming. it probably scared him,” she reasoned. “but he won’t hurt you, okay? you can stay with me if you’re still scared.”

beomgyu hesitantly unravelled himself out of his huddled form and with jiyu’s help, stood up. “s–soobin was with me...” he mumbled as he looked down and fiddled with his fingers.

jiyu furrowed her eyebrows and looked around. “soobin? then where is he?” she asked. coming around the tree, she saw seonghwa focusing on a bush. seeing the bush slightly trembling, she put two –and–two together. “seonghwa, stop glaring at the bush, you’re scaring the poor bunny,” she gently scolded as she made her way towards the bush. beomgyu stayed glued to her and nervously glanced at seonghwa.

squatting and parting the bush leaves, she found soobin in a protective huddle position, similar to beomgyu’s. soobin’s long, white bunny ears covered his eyes and he even covered his eyes with his hands.

“binnie,” she gently called out to the shaking bunny. “don’t be afraid, seonghwa won’t hurt you or beomgyu, okay?”

soobin removed his ears from his eyes and he peered at her through his fingers. “pinky promise?” he squeaked and extended his pinky towards her.

jiyu nodded with a smile and linked her pinky with his. “pinky promise.”

soobin slowly stood up from behind the bush, showing his full height that made seonghwa’s eyes slightly widen. the boy was practically a six–foot giant bunny.

soobin and beomgyu, despite being heads taller than jiyu, hid behind her and peeked out to glance at the sitting wolf hybrid. it was an amusing sight—beomgyu peeked around her left side while soobin to the right.

“seonghwa, this is soobin,” she gestured to the bunny hybrid, “and this is beomgyu,” she gestured to the puppy. “they’re harmless, so let’s not glare or growl at them, deal?” she asked, although there wasn’t really room in her tone for seonghwa to protest.

seonghwa’s intimidating stare morphed into one of curiousity as he nodded. looking at their scared forms, he figured they really were harmless. his tail calmly swayed from side–to–side.

jiyu gently nudged soobin and beomgyu from behind her. “it’s okay, go on,” she encouraged.

beomgyu was the first to slowly approach the wolf hybrid. clutching his tail to help him calm down, beomgyu sat by seonghwa. the two sat in silence for a moment before beomgyu broke out into a grin. “wah! he really is harmless!” he chirped to soobin, who was still standing behind jiyu.

jiyu chuckled at seonghwa’s surprised expression before rubbing soobin’s back. “see? everything’s okay,” she gently said. “wanna go sit with them?”

soobin nodded and slowly shuffled towards beomgyu and sat next to him. now it was seonghwa and soobin’s turn to stare at each other for a moment before soobin’s tensed form relaxed and a tiny smile spread across his face.

jiyu let out a breath of relief that she didn’t even realize she was holding in. seeing the three slowly opening up to each other warmed her heart.

but what made her genuinely smile for the first time in two days was seeing seonghwa smile.

a small smile was on his face as he conversed with beomgyu and soobin, and it was a sight to see. who would’ve thought that the “intimidating and violent” park seonghwa, or so everyone claimed, possessed the most adorable smile?

an hour eventually passed with the three talking as if they’ve been best friends their whole lives. well, it was more of beomgyu talking whilst soobin and seonghwa nodded along as they tried keeping up with the hyper boy’s words.

jiyu chuckled as she watched. she felt her phone vibrate in her white coat pocket. fishing the device out, her smile dropped seeing the person calling.

her dad.

quietly stepping away far enough from the three hybrids, she picked up the phone with a shaky breath. “hello?”

“jiyu, you didn’t send me your candidates last night,” his firm voice answered. not even a “hello”.

jiyu looked down and clenched her other hand into a fist. anger and sadness coursed through her, but she knew better than to blow up on the man.

“sorry, things were hectic yesterday,” she coldly replied.

“was it really, or are you just delaying?” he asked. “i seriously don’t understand why you decided to follow your mother’s footsteps.”

“and that’s a bad thing?” she shot back. it pissed jiyu; her father sounded apathetic, and perhaps even condescending, when he referred to her mother. did he not care for her anymore now that she was gone? “do you not care about her? why do you sound so disgusted?” her voice wavered from her emotions.

“don’t you dare say i never cared, jiyu!” he warned. “everything i’m doing now is for you and your mother.”

by that point, jiyu was trembling from the anger. “are you listening to yourself right now?! do you really think mom would be proud of you if she were still here?! you’re practically playing god in my life!”

“jiyu, we’re not having this discussion again,” her father said with finality. “send me your picks by tonight or there will be consequences.”

and he hung up.

jiyu stood there, frozen speechless. her emotions were all over the place—she didn’t know if she wanted to scream or cry. she was confused, and a mess. the arm holding her phone went limp against her side and she stared up at the sky again. what did i do so wrong to deserve this? she felt her eyes water and she closed her eyes to compose herself.

unbeknownst to her, the three hybrids overheard bits and pieces of her phone call. beomgyu slowly approached her and nuzzled his head in the crook of her neck. soobin and seonghwa stood a little ways back.

“are you okay?” beomgyu asked with a saddened gaze.

opening her eyes and craning her neck down to look at beomgyu, she softly smiled. “don’t worry, gyu. i’m okay,” she reassured as she reached up to ruffle his hair.

but anyone could see how red her eyes were. anyone could tell she was hiding her sadness.

seonghwa stomped over to stand in front of the two. he bent down to match jiyu’s height and stared at her straight in the eyes. beomgyu scrambled back to soobin after feeling seonghwa’s strange aura.

“stop lying.”

jiyu’s eyes widened. “what?”

“stop lying that you’re okay,” he firmly repeated. he knew that he was overstepping his boundaries, but at this point, he didn’t really care. “anyone with half a brain cell can tell you’re not okay. if you want to cry, then cry. how can you take care of hybrids when you can’t take care of yourself first?”

soobin and beomgyu stood and watched with shock at seonghwa’s outburst. jiyu didn’t know what to say. she looked down at her shoes as she felt the tears return to her eyes after hearing seonghwa’s words.

seonghwa sighed. “i know i’m overstepping my boundaries, but seeing you lie about being okay—”

he heard a sniffle. and then another.

peering down further, he realized that jiyu was crying. her eyes were squeezed shut, but the tears were still leaking through. small sobs wracked through her body.

“i–i didn’t mean to make you cry—”

soobin and beomgyu immediately rushed to her side and nuzzled their heads in the crook of her neck and on her head. frankly, none of them have ever witnessed her cry, so they were clueless on how to help. they just followed their animal instincts.

“n–no, it’s n–not your f–fault,” she said in between sniffles. she lifted her head up and gently wiped her tears away. “i g–guess i kind of n–needed to hear that,” she tearily chuckled. “i never really told anyone besides yeonjun about my problems. no one can really help anyways, so what’s the point in trying to confide in someone?”

she looked at seonghwa and a small, grateful smile made it’s way onto her face. “but thank you for caring. it means a lot to me,” she said. she couldn’t describe how much she meant those words.

seonghwa’s face may have slightly softened from her words, but the nagging voice in the back of his head never calmed down. clearly she was bothered by something—or rather someone, judging from that phone call. so why was she hiding it and claiming that no one could help her? just what exactly was happening to her?

feeling a hand on his head, he snapped out of his thoughts and saw jiyu reaching up to gently rub his head. he took note of her red eyes. “now look who’s frowning,” she teased. “come on, i need to bring you guys back inside before the nurses freak out.”

she escorted them back to their respective rooms, seonghwa’s being the last one. entering the key code, his door automatically opened and jiyu gestured him in with a smile. “well, that’s all for today. let me know whenever you want to go out again and i’ll take you, okay?”

seonghwa nodded and stepped into his room before turning back around to face jiyu.

“...i’ll be here.”

jiyu cocked her head at his words. “huh?”

“i’ll be here...if you want to talk. only if you want to though!” he shyly offered. his head and ears drooped and he played with his tail out of embarrassment. he’d usually never do this for someone—go out of his way to help. he didn’t know why, but he felt as if he could trust and put his guard down for jiyu. he peeked up through his bangs, waiting for a response.

jiyu’s eyes widened out of surprise before she softly grinned. not a big smile like he was used to seeing, but it looked a little more genuine. “thank you, seonghwa,” she said. “i’ll be sure to keep your offer in mind.”

the moment seonghwa’s door shut, jiyu’s smile dropped. despite his comforting words, she was still conflicted and scared. she’s already accepted the fact that she may never understand her father’s motives, but sometimes, she wished she had some closure.

but that wasn’t the only reason for her gloom.

from the beginning, she knew she shouldn’t get too attached to the hybrids she took care of. that was the one thing she promised herself; to not get too attached otherwise it’d make leaving harder.

but promises are meant to be broken. and this one was no different.

[yikeswtfmate]

Golden // Part 1

Summary: There’s this cute guy Y/N keeps seeing on her morning run. 

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: swearing; sexual references

A/N: in case anyone’s wondering - this is verbatim my train of thought when writing, before all the editing happens; enjoy this fic that came to me in a fever dream/ sleep deprivation/ stress induced delirium/ post CATFA rewatch; this is also the reason why no one should take me seriously ever

masterlist // next part

It’s been two weeks. Two weeks since Y/N moved to this side of the city, two weeks since her evening jog suddenly became her morning run, two weeks since she’s met the most gorgeous man she’s ever seen in her entire life. It’s been two weeks since she’s perfected her morning routine to the point where she now knows exactly when to tie her shoelaces on the bench next to the West gate in order to see him round the corner into the park.

It’s 5:43 am on a Wednesday morning and if anyone would’ve told her two weeks ago that there would come a time she’d wake up by choice at this ungodly hour she would’ve laughed in their face and fluffed her pillow.

It all started when Sam convinced her to meet him at 5:30 that day in exchange for helping her out with moving. He never showed up and later explained he slept during his 20 alarms because Clint insisted on a “calmer, more relaxing alarm that won’t instantly make you want to murder someone.” Hell would have followed, if it weren’t for the cute guy that passed before her eyes – a nod in her direction, eyes sparkling in the sunrise and Jesus Christ, for the love that’s all holy, this guy is a wonder. So Y/N not only forgot all about Sam’s treason, but her focus was completely diverted to that huge back that seemed to be bursting at his shirt’s seams.

5:44 and Golden Boy seems to now be hesitating for a moment when he sees her – a novelty, truly, considering his acknowledgement always only extended to a nod and a smile. Y/N is even more confused when he stops right next to her. Does she have toothpaste on her cheek? Did she forget to put on a shirt? Oh god, Y/N, whatever you did, please tell me you put on deodorant at least.

“Hi.” He says and oh fuck, if his voice doesn’t sound like melting sugar from a cotton candy.

“Hi?”

Her answer comes out more like a question, but at this point, Y/N is more panicked that this guy actually exists and isn’t just a continuous delirium caused by her sexual frustration. He smiles and wouldn’t it be funny if she actually said that out loud. Ha ha, Y/N, you dumb clown, you’re not in a rom-com, stop it. Focus.

“I can send you the link of a company that makes great running shoes.”

A few seconds pass, he’s still smiling and Y/N realises she should maybe say something and not just blink continuously at him.

“What?” She croaks, because really his offer makes no fucking sense and there are no brain cells left in her brain now that she hears him talking.

“Your shoes.” Golden Boy points to her foot on the bench, shoelaces still untied. “You always seem to be tying them when I see you.”

“Oh.” I don’t know what to tell you man, you’re on your own here. I told you you’re a dumb clown, and isn’t it great when your brain just refuses to cooperate with your mouth in order to form words? Or even say something remotely intelligent rather than – “Huh, yeah, I’ve never noticed.”

Golden Boy smiles because he knows, it’s not that hard to decipher her lingering looks or the way she’s suddenly always there when he starts his run, or even how she sometimes bites her lip when he smiles at her. He’s not dumb, he sees all of that, but he’s also wanted to be absolutely sure before making his move and to be honest, if it weren’t for Bucky’s bet, he would’ve kept staring at her legs until they would’ve both grown old without saying anything.

“I’m Steve, by the way.” He says and extends his hand which is huge, thank you very much and there’s a split second there when Y/N’s brain falls completely in the gutter.

“Y/N.” She smiles and fuck, please tell me I’m not imagining this and you really are holding my hand for far too long to be appropriate.

“Y/N.” He repeats, and he likes the taste of her name on his tongue, but he also very much likes the way she seems to be melting right there on the spot for a second. “Could I take you out for a date one of these days? I feel like 6 in the morning is maybe too early to share a bottle of wine.”

Yes, a thousand times yes. Take me here, right here on this stupid bench and anywhere you’d like, Stevie. But she only says “I’d love to.” like a well-behaved lady that her mamma supposedly raised.

“Great.” A step back and a huge grin on his face that might just split his face in half because he really does love that lip biting she’s doing but he also can’t do anything about it here without him being arrested for a) indecent exposure and/or b) indecent behaviour. “I’ll ask Sam to give me your number.”

“Sam?!” She can’t help the screech that comes out, but let’s be honest here, what the fuck?

“Yeah, he told me he knows you when I kept going on and on about you when we went out for drinks.” He winks. He winks! The audacity of this man. “I’ll pick you up at 8. I’d suggest you wear jeans.”

“Jeans? Are you taking me rock climbing or something, Steve?” Her shock is replaced by confusion yet again and Y/N wonders if this man will keep her on a rollercoaster of emotions. Did he say he knows Sam? Did he also admit he’s been talking about her for enough time that Sam picked up on exactly who she was? Did he just invite her on a date? Jeans?!?!

“Not spilling any secrets, but I’d think riding a motorcycle in a dress would be quite difficult.” He’s shouting as he’s running backwards, a wave in her direction and she’s left dumbfounded – again.

“A motorcycle? A motorcycle?!” Y/N shouts. “What do you mean a motorcycle?! Steve!” She’s more than certain he can hear her, mostly because he’s laughing at her reaction, but on the other hand, she can’t deny that her panties are already soaking just at the image of this Golden Boy on a bike. Goddammit.