#sigh whatever its super late so i should probably just go to bed and stop thinking abt this before i start to spiral or smth...gnite <3

[pcktknife]

man I'm gonna have to move pretty soon and it is not putting me in the greatest of moods

[rudystopit]

Daydreamer

[Denki x f!reader]

summary: you've been friends with Denki since your first year at UA. one morning he makes a joke and it haunts your dreams. you slowly develop a crush and the daydreaming begins.

all characters are aged up!!

warnings: nsfw, oral, light quirk play, overstimulation, and praise kink.

wc: 3.2k

You tossed and turned. Blankets thrown on the floor and pillow scattered around your bed. Every time you closed your eyes, that stupid scene played in your head. This morning you were hanging out by the third year bakugou’s desk with kiri and denki.

You joked that Denki couldn’t get any girl. Then the guys made bets. You can tell he was getting pissed. then he turned to you and grabbed your hand. He pulled you close and whispered something along the lines of “if you wanna know how I’m in bed, just come by tonight,” you instantly became flustered and walked away from the boys.

You sat in your seat and tried to think about something other than Denki. You could hear Denki and while Sero asked what he said. Bakugou told them to shut up and leave him alone.

Now its night and you can’t stop thinking about this stupid joke. It was totally a joke… right? You flipped over and faced the wall. You huffed and searched for your phone. 11:09. you scrolled through instagram for a little bit trying to thinking about something else. You saw cute dogs and other little animals. You watched the craft videos. You laughed at some memes and sent a few to your friends. Then you saw a stuffed Pikachu. You groaned and turned off your phone.

“Screw you Kaminari,” you whispered, staring at your ceiling. “I can’t even enjoy mindlessly scrolling through my phone without thinking about your dumb face,” you mumbled.

You stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours before your eyes slowly drifted to sleep.

You felt warm hands travel up your sides. Soft lips pressed even softer kisses into your shoulders. You smile and lean back against the person’s chest. his hands snake up to your stomach and he snuggles his face into your back. Your hands intertwine with his. You feel his head move away from your back. He shifts and plants a kiss on your cheek. His blonde hair tickling you face as he leans down. He whispers into your ear, “I love you,”

You snap up. Face beat red. the sun is rising. There’s no way you just dreamed about Denki. Nope nope nope. It didn’t happen. You swing your body off the bed and headed to go take a shower.

Nothing like a freezing cold shower and barely enough sleep to put you in a good mood. you dry your hair as much as possible with the towel. You flop yourself onto the bed and pick up your phone. Just your friends answering your late night messages and group chats saying good morning.

You open your Spotify and press the 2000s throwbacks. You toss your phone onto the bed as it tries to load the song on UA’s janky wifi. You start getting dressed for the day. Then it plays… Electric Feels by MGMT.

“Oh Fuck No!” You yell, running to your phone to change the song. “Not right now,” you slam your thumb on the screen to the next song. You sigh and go back to getting dressed.

after your very fun morning, you were dreading homeroom. You walk in and instantly head your seat avoiding the boys. You hear them laughing and yelling at each other. Uraka leans over her desk to talk to you.

“Hey y/n are you ok? I saw you weren’t hanging out with Bakugou and the others,” she sweetly asked you.

“I didn’t sleep much and those idiots will give me a headache,” you replied looking to the front of the class. Your eyes skim over the class. Yuga, Mashirao and Mezo were all sitting at their desks while kiri, denki, sero, and mina all crowd around bakugou’s desk who looks irritated.

They’re all laughing and you can’t help but to stare. You smile yourself. Denki looked so adorable laughing. He always had a goofy personality and it was easy to be yourself around him.

You catch yourself staring at him and mentally smacked yourself. “No y/n, he’s annoying and dumb,” you mentally scream at yourself. Then Aizawa walks in.

Class went by incredibly slow and you catch yourself drifting off. One time you zoned completely out… staring at him…

You walk to the lunch room with Mina and Tsuyu. They talked about whatever the hell Aizawa taught and making plans for the weekend.

“Hey, how come you didn’t sit with us this morning?” Mina turned to you snapping you out of the daze you were in. You shrugged and walked to the line. “Well, Denki made this joke I knew you would have loved,” she continued talking. “I wish I remember what it was.”

After getting your food you sat with them. You decided sitting with Mina and the boy so they’d stop asking you what’s wrong. It was getting super irritating. You sat in the middle waiting for the boys to get here. Mina chatting on about this cute outfit she saw last weekend and that you should go back with her to get it.

The boys came in a loud cluster and shoveled into the seats. You got used around a bit and when it settled, you were across from Kiri, who smiled and waved. He was next to Bakugou and on the other side was Sero. That means you stuck between Mina and… Denki…. You quietly ate your food and smiling when you needed too.

Suddenly you felt a hand travel up your leg and rest itself on the middle of your tight. You face goes instantly red and you push it off, only for it to return. You stomp on his foot. He yelps and everyone looks at him.

“Ouch y/n,” he whined, “what is your problem? Are you pissed at me?” He looked like  he was about to cry.

you push away from the table and leave. Not wanting to deal with the shitty mood of no sleep because you are developing a massive crush on a literal idiot.

You keep walking till you’re outside and you sit down. You feel like crying. You see Aizawa walking by. You run up to him and tell him your not feeling well and you’re going back to your dorm.

The walk back was peaceful and quiet. The dorms were silent and calming. Once you made contact with your pillow, you were out.

You feel your face pressed against someones chest. You pull away but two arms keep you close. You feel him kiss the top of your head. Your legs are tangled with his and he whispers how much he loves you. you move your arms to wrap around his neck and lean your head up. You look into his golden eyes. He gives you a goofy smile and kisses you.

You pull him closer and close your eyes. One of his hands slides up your shirt and rubs your lower back. You pull way from the kiss, foreheads pressed together, you whisper, “I love you Denki,” he smiles

A loud slam wakes you up. You see Mina standing there. “Hey are you ok?” She asks pulling her shoes off.

“Yeah, I didn’t get much sleep last night and im not in the mood to deal with the boys,” you move your feet so she can sit with you.

“Y/n, are you running a fever?” She asked putting her hand on your forehead. “You’re all red.”

“N-no, I’m fine,” you laugh it off and push her hand away. “I’m sorry about lunch. I hope Denki isn’t mad at me,” you sigh.

“He’s not. He wanted to come with me but I told him that he’d probably make it worse somehow,” she laughed. “Well, I’ll let cha get some more sleep. See ya later, y/n,” she waves and leaves.

You flop back down. you stare back at the ceiling. You pick up your phone and saw there was a few messages from Denki, Mina and Kiri. You tap on Denki’s notifications.

You roll your eyes and toss your phone away. “Complete opposite Denki,” you whispered. you closed your eyes and tried to go back to that dream. You wanted to be with him. You needed his warmth. You needed his dorky smile. You needed him.

You tired to go back to sleep for what felt like hours, till you gave up and picked up your phone. 11:30.

You make your way down to the third floor. You stood outside his door for a few minutes trying to collect your thoughts. You take a deep breath and knock. The door instantly flies open.

“Y/n are you ok?” He starts, “what’s wrong? Did I do something?” His voice is full of worry while you just stare at him. You slowly start walking in while he backs up still asking if you’re ok.

You had enough of the questions and you grabbed the collar of his shirt. He looked shocked. You look into his golden eyes. Suddenly, you body went into autopilot and you smashed your lips into his. he backs away in shock, but you still held onto him. It took him a few seconds to realize what’s happening, but once his thoughts cleared up, he kissed you back.

His hands found their way to your hips as he pulls you closer. Your grip on his shirt loosens and you fingers snake themselves into his blonde hair. His hands slide up your shirt. His cold hands make you hiss into the kiss. He smiles and pulls the shirt over your head. You had those two seconds to breath because after the shirt as off he back on your lips. His tongues grazing over your lips. You smiled but kept your lips closed. He backs you up against the door. He lifts his knee in between your leg. his tight makes contact with your clothed clit and the sensation makes you mewl slightly, which made Denki seize the opportunity and slipped his tongue into your mouth. He wasted no time exploring your mouth and his hands wasted no time exploring your boobs.

one hand slips under your bra. He massages your soft flesh. his index and thumb twist around your nipple and you feel a light zap. your eyes fly open and you pull back. Denki looks back at you with the widest grin. you shake your head. this is the man you fell for.

you placed you hand on his chest and pushed him off of you. he gives you a stunned look then quickly notices your moving to the bed. you flash him a quick smile and turn to his messed up bed.

his large hands grab your hips and he pulls them to him. his breath lingers on the back of your neck. he plants a chaste kiss on the pit of your neck as you pry his hands off your hips. you sit on the end of his bed.

his hand lifts your chin up to look at him. your hands move to the waistband of his shorts. you try to pull them down without breaking eye contact. you sink to the floor with his shorts and are met with a semi hard dick in the face.

you kiss his tip as his fingers lace themselves into your hair. you move to the base of his cock and you lick a long line along the underside of his dick. you hear him suck on his teeth.

“come on, babe,” he whines, tugging your hair slightly. you look up innocently as you bring his tip into your month. by the look Denki’s face was making, you can tell he was ready to bust just by that simple contact.

you swirl your tongue around his swollen tip. you make sure to give it a few little sucks to really get him going. the saltiness of his ore cum and the thought of reality of the situation makes your core tighten. you can feel your already wet.

“y/n, more,” Denki whines, after ‘waiting too long’ for you to add more into your mouth.

you sink your head slowly down his shaft. he takes a sharp deep breath and he grips your hair just a little tighter. you moan at the hair pulling which causes Denki to let out his own moan. sweet jesus it sounded like angels.

you wanted to hear more of his angelic moans so you start to bob your head more while humming. he lets out more moans and his fingers loosen on your hair.

“fuck, that feels good,” he moans, pushing you head back to looking at him. the slight of you on your knees with his dick thrusting in and out of your mouth sends a hue of red to his face. he quickly looks away and let’s you continue.

you knew he was getting close, so position yourself till his dick his hitting the back of your throat. you focus on your breathing throw your nose while he starts taking control. his hand is now on the back of your head. he tilts it up to get a better look at you and so his dick can get further down your throat.

his trusts become more frequent and quicker. his face twists in pleasure as his hot cum goes down your throat. he sloppily thrusts a few more times and pulls out. he grabs your chin. his thumb forces its way in and he opens it.

“good girl,” he says in a low voice. he leans down and kisses your forehead. “now get on the bed. it’s my turn to make you feel good,” with that you get up and sit on the edge of the bed.

he sinks in between your legs. this large hands grip your thighs and slowly moves them apart. he plants soft pecks on your inner thighs as he travels to your dripping heat. his warm breath hit your core and sent shivers down your back. his tongue drags itself through your folds. he gives your clit a few flicks and enjoys the sounds coming from your throat. your hands make they way to his soft hair.

he continues to suck on your clit while one of his hands slide from your thigh. he slips two into his mouth and pulls them out with a pop. then those two fingers into you. you take a sharp breath and your fingers tangle into his blond hair. his fingers thrusted in and out.

“denki~” you moan out. his fingers curl to hit that sweet spot. you arc your back into his fingers. he moves his lips away from your clit and gives your thigh a love bite. you thug his hair. he smiles against your thigh.

his lips moved back to your clit. his tongue swirls around your sensitive nub. he grazes his teeth across your nub. his fingers began quicken pace and soon you felt the knot in your stomach form.

he curled his fingers again, feeling the sponginess of your sweet spot. he rubs his two fingertips against it. his mouth removed itself from your abused clit and positioned itself at your entrance. he continued thrusting until the knot snapped and you arched your back. he removed his fingers and his mouth had taken the place. he lapped up your juices and listened to your sweet moans.

you came down from your high and released denki’s hair. he looked at you and smiled. he stood up and planted a kiss your forehead.

“gimme a sec” and with that he ran to the bathroom. you stayed laying on the bed. you tried to collect your thoughts. you were currently laying on your friend’s bed after he just ate you out. you blush madly and cover your face when denki reappeared into the room.

“what’s wrong y/n?” he rushed over to you. he pulled your faces away from your face. you were widely smiling and your face was as red as a tomato.

“i’m just happy,” you whispered, kissing his cheek.

“ok good,” he gets up and opens a condom. he slips it on and moves in between your legs.

he grabs your legs and moves them to around his hips. he drags his tip across your sensitive pussy. then he positions his tip at your entrance. he looks up to you for an ok.

“denki please i need you,” with that he pushes his way in. you inhaled sharply, surprised at the size. tears pricked your eyes. you knew he was relatively large but it feels different when it’s in you. you let out a moan when he bottoms out.

he leans down and peppers your neck with kisses. he cups your boobs as he waits for you to adjust to his size. after a few seconds of him kisses you, you roll your hips to see if you were ready. he feels you move and groans into your eyes, which makes you bite you lip.

you roll your hips a few more times before denki takes control. he slowly pulls out then slams back in. you scream in pleasure as he ruts back into you. he does this a few more times before falling into a pace. his hands grip your upper thighs as he thrusts in and out. you have your fists gripping on to the pillow as you let out beautiful moans of pleasure.

your moans fuel him to go harder and rougher. soon the room was filled with your moans, skin hitting skin and light pants from denki.

“shit y/n, you feel so good,” he groans pounding a little harder than normal. “you’re so good to me,” he whispers, watching his dick go in and out of you. “i love those little noises you make and those cute faces you make” he smiles looking at your face twisted in pleasure.

you feel his pace quicken and he biting down on his lip. he’s about to cum. one of his hands releases your thigh and moves to you clit. he rubbed at the same pace as his hips. soon the knot in your stomach reappeared.

“cum on his dick for me, y/n,” he moans about to come undone. his words fueled the fire and you felt the knot slowly coming loose. he quickened his pace even more and rutting even harder into you.

the knot comes undone and you moan out his name. he feels you cum and you pussy trying to milk him. he cums with a loud grunt and rides out his and your high.

his trusts slow down and he pulls out. he leans down and kisses you. he pushes a piece of hair behind your ear. “you did so good,” he said and rushed off to the bathroom.

you roll over to find your phone but found denki’s instead. he had three notifications.

you giggle and toss his phone to the side as denki comes back. he lays next to you. you lay your arm and head on his chest while you leg is crossed over his body. he kisses your head.

“i was gonna tell you sooner, but i thought you hated me,” he says.

“i dont,” you answer kissing his chest.

“good,” he smiles.

[moth-baybee]

Bakugou x Reader

Just some fluffy stuff! Feel free to request anything! 

Word Count: 1247

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You and the girls of 1-A decided to have a girls day. Currently you were all eating snacks as Mina is doing Momo’s hair.

“And…done!” She passes the mirror to Momo, who gasps at her reflection.

“It looks so beautiful! Thank you Mina!” She smiles bright and hugs Mina.

“Well… what do you guys wanna do now?” Uraraka asks, glancing around the room. They’ve already watched movies, and did makeup and whatever else a Girl’s Day entails.

Hagakure comes in with a fresh bowl of popcorn, “Ooh! How about we play Truth or Dare again!” The rest of the girls disagreed.

Uraraka shakes her head, “We already played it once. I’m out of dare ideas.”

“well, I’m gonna head to bed. Night guys.” You say, standing up.

Mina whines, “What? B-but its only 10pm! We still got the whole night ahead of us!” You start walking to your room,

“Yep, past my bedtime.” You yawn.

Uraraka looks at Mina, “Well, girls day didn’t cheer her up.” The girls look at Mina and Uraraka confused.

“Cheer her up? What’s wrong with (y/n)?” Jirou asked, shocked that she didn’t notice anything off.

Mina groans and leans back, “I don’t know. Shes just been bummed this past week.” Momo glances towards your room,

“Well, did you ask her whats wrong?” Momo looks at Mina.

“No point, doubt she would tell me. She’s stubborn and hates talking about feelings.” Mina mumbles.

Hagakure huffs, “So you haven’t tried asking her?? She’s probably thinking we don’t care!” She fumes at Mina, “Go talk to her! You’re her BFF!”

Mina sighs, “Nah, Bakugou is her best friend, but he hasn’t been really talking much lately… Oh my god.” All the girls groan, “Of course! Bakugou is the issue! But what’s new with Bakugou? Did they fight?” Uraraka looks at Mina worriedly.

“Not that I know of, he’s been super secretive lately, been on his phone a lot- OMG MAYBE HE GOT A GIRLFRIEND!” Mina gasps. The girls look at her confused.

“No offense to Bakugou, but he’s the LAST guy in our class that would have a girlfriend. He’s too hot headed.” Jirou shakes her head.

Momo sighs and looks to Mina, “well you’re part of the Bakusquad as Kaminari calls it. You should be the one to go talk to her.”

Mina sighs and nods, “I’ll try, but I really don’t think she’ll tell me anything.” She gets up and heads to your room.

You’re laying on your bed, staring at your phone. No messages from Bakugou. You hear a knock at your door, “(y/n)? Its me. Are you decent?” Mina chuckles as she cracks the door open before peering inside. When she lays her eyes on you, curled up in bed holding your phone, her heart breaks. She sighs and closes the door, climbing into the bed with you.

“What’s going on? You aren’t acting like yourself.” She plays with your hair.

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” You mumble. Mina sits up,

“Stop. Don’t tell me not to worry about it. You’re my best friend. Something is wrong, and I wanna help. So talk to me.”

You shake your head, “Really it’s no big deal” You bury yourself deeper into the blankets.

Mina grabs your blanket and pulls it open, “God dammit (y/n)! It is a big deal! Please! Talk to me! Is it Bakugou? Did he do something? I swear I’ll-“ “No! He didn’t do anything! It’s just my brain being dumb.” You interrupt, tears starting to form.

Mina looks at you, “Your brain is not dumb… what’s going on?” She wipes the tears that fall down your cheeks.

“This is so stupid, I don’t even know why I’m crying” You laugh, burying your face in your hands. Trying to stop the tears. “It’s just been a long week. Bakugou’s been so busy that we haven’t talked.”

“What is he busy with? He’s on his phone all the time!” Mina looks at you confused.

You sigh, taking a moment to prepare yourself. “He’s on a date.” Mina looks like her heads about to explode, “WHAT? HOW?”

You snap your head towards her, “W-what do you mean how? He’s actually really nice! Yeah hes stubborn as hell and acts like an ass, but he’s actually a really good guy Mina. Very sweet, handsome, everything a girl could want…” You trail off, glancing at your phone again.

Mina processes it for a second before coming to the realization, “Oh my god! You’re in love with him!”

Your face flushes immediately, “Shut up… it doesn’t even matter if I do or not. He hasn’t texted, so he’s obviously having a great time with her.”

Mina sulks, “Aw babes…” She pulls you into a hug, and you just sob into her shoulder. “What do you need me to do?”

You shake you head, “I think I just wanna be alone for now. Admitting it outloud… I just wanna be alone.”

She nods and wraps you back up in your blanket. “Alright. Just let me know if you need ANYTHING. Okay?” You nod, and she leaves.

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As 11pm rolls around, you hear a knock at your door. You get up, blanket draped around you, and open the door to reveal Katsuki. You glance up at him, surprised.

“Can I… come in?” He asks, looking uncomfortable out in the hallway. You move out of the way, stumbling over your words.

“Y-yeah sure! Sorry, didn’t think I’d see you tonight. Thought you’d stay with your date tonight.” You both sit on your bed.

“Yeah… date didn’t go so well.” He sighed, glancing at you.

You snickered, “Why? She have a bigger ego than you?” He chuckled, mumbling about you being a brat.

“The date didn’t go well… cause I couldn’t stop talking about you.” He says, looking at you. Your eyes shoot up to meet his, as you try to ignore the feeling of your heart beat fast against your ribs.

“Ahaha… very funny. What’s the real reason?” You chuckled nervously. He looks down and gently grabs your hand. You feel how sweaty his hands are, and the slight tremors as his eyes meet yours again.

“It’s the truth… I couldn’t stop talking about you. She asked about hobbies, favorite movies, all that bullshit… and each time I couldn’t help but talk about all the things we do, the movies we watch… the time we duct taped dunce face to the ceiling.” You chuckled, and a tear fell down your face. He wiped your tear. “Why are you cryin’?” He looks at you, and you can see that tears starting to form in his eyes.

You wipe your eyes, “Just funny I guess. I had a bad night too… couldn’t stop thinking of you.” You look away. He stares at you, “For real? Don’t fuckin lie about it!” He pulls your face by your chin to make you look at him. The tears are flowing freely from both of you.

You laugh, “I’m not lying, you ass.” You smile at him, “I’m in love with you, dammit.”

He laughs and takes a deep breath, “I’m in love with you too, you damn nerd.”

[obsessive-ego]

Talking in you sleep

Musical beetlejuice x reader

Reader says Beetlejuice's name 3 times in their sleep, but hes already in their home

Sfw

Idk been thinking about this for ages

Just a small fic

It was an accident

It was no secret to anyone that you talk in your sleep, not full sentences, just a word or two, nothing too abnormal, you didn't know about this little quirk of yours until a certain foul mouthed undead demon wormed his way into your life, he was the one who told you.

...

"Ya know you chatter on in your sleep?" He'd  chuckle as if he found something truly embarrassing to bug you about.

"How'd you know? Am I that loud you can hear me in the livingroom?"

"Nah, I watch you sleep" he said it so plainly as if it wasnt super creepy.

The ghoul eventually upped his late night habits from watching you sleep, to sleeping in the same bed as you, he did this so often you stopped setting up the couch for him and just accepted your fate to be spooned every night by a creepy old dead guy who you may or may not have a crush on

...

The nights you've babbled in your sleep always brought on annoying mornings of beetlejuice teasing you, probably lying through his teeth over how you moan his name in you sleep to get you worked up for his own amusement, unfortunately you couldnt prove you didnt since your dreams never really stuck with you long after waking.

Hell with your late night chatter you even manged to summon beej once in your sleep, a night he was spending over at the Deetz, you manged to say his name 3 times in a row, spoken, unbroken, in your sleep, and boy was your face red when you woke up and saw the bastard in question sitting inches from your face with the widest shit eating grin you've ever seen on his face, that was an instance you couldnt deny saying his name in your sleep and dreaming about him, you missed him, of course you think about the demon when you two are apart, even the few days he's with the Deetz and the maitlands.

Tonight wasnt one of those nights, beetlejuice has spent the entire day glued to your side, chatting your ear off about all the scares he and lydia pulled in your absence, his stories always made you smile, the way he practically glowed green with excitement as he retold his showmanship to you.

The night went on with bad jokes and fun stories as the demon filled you in on all the fun you missed while you were doing boring adult breather things and how the two of you should mess with some unlucky breathers so he could show you how amazing he truly was, as if you needed proof that the ghoul was a ham who loved to show off.

As the two of you sat on the couch laughing away, forgetting the movie that basically became White noise to your conversation, a yawn escapes your lips

"Getting tired babes? Am I really that boring" the ghoul teased pinching you cheek

You groan and pull away "well, yeah, unlike you mister freeloader, I worked all day" you shrug before letting out another yawn

"Freeloader? Oh sugar, your words hurt" the ghoul fakes hurt, giving you an over exaggerated gasped face, with his hands over where a person's heart would be "I thought we had the mutual understanding that I was your trophy husband"

You give the demon a soft laugh "you wish-"

"Every night baby~" he purrs pink stripes slowly appearing in his hair

You freeze, it wasnt uncommon for beetlejuice to openly flirt with you, but that doesnt mean it didnt make you freeze up everytime, you werent exactly the type people lined up to date, nor were you very popular growing up, so the sudden and intense attention the demon gave you always made your heart pound.

"Uh, um, I think I'm gonna head to bed" you stammer before getting up "night beej" you mumble before disappearing into your bedroom.

The demon stifles a laugh, god slash satan you were a delight to get worked up, not to mention easy. He loved it, his favourite little breather was always so hot when they were an embarrassed mess.

The ghoul decides to finish the movie the two of you had on in the background, before heading to bed with you, he didn't need to sleep, just enjoyed being snuggled up to that soft warm body of yours, and it was more rewarding to sneak in after you were out cold, bed would be already warm, and with the added thrill of not wanting to wake you.

As the credits roll beetlejuice snaps his fingers and tv goes dark, the ghoul raises from the couch and gives a yawn and a long stretch as if he was exhausted. The demon makes his way to your room, standing outside your door he pauses at the sound of your voice

"Beetlejuice"

It was soft, barely audible, but herd it, guess you were still up, beetlejuice phases through your bedroom door, to be greeted by your sleeping form.

He stifled a chuckle, you were dreaming of him, tomorrow was gonna be great, the ghoul was already busy thinking about ways to poke fun at this in the morning, moaning out his name in you sleep? What kind of dream were you having babes? He could see your face now.

"Beetlejuice" you mumble again in a whisper

"Whoa there babes, you know the rule, one more time and I'm out" he whispers making his way to your bed.

"Beetlejuice" you sigh

"Y/N!" was the the only thing he had time to shout before vanishing.

His shout was enough to make wake you, but not enough to clue you in to what you just did, you grumble out a swear before rolling over and going back to sleep.

The next morning you wake up, a tad confused to not have a snoring dead guy weighing you down, normally on nights beetlejuice would stay over he'd slip into bed with you after you've fallen asleep, using your chest as a pillow.

You dont think much of it at first, heading to the kitchen to make some coffee before getting dressed, you did notice there was no beej there either, waiting for you kettle to boil you give your little home a quick sweep for the demon, nothing.

He's vanished to do his own thing before, he was a grown man, sometimes he'd duck out and mess with the neighbors in your apartment complex, but he would at least leave you a note or something.

You started to worry, what if something awful happened to him? Then it clicked, lydia must had summoned him away to hang out, that had to be it, and with that thought all dread left you so you could carry on with your day, since bj wasnt around you took the opportunity to get a few odds and ends done.

The day drags on into the late evening, you were enjoying the peace as you catch up on some reading.

Your phone rings, looking at the screen you see its lydia, that's odd, she normally texts you if anything

"Hello?"

"Y/n I need to ask beetlejuice something"

"Isnt he with you?"

"What? No-"

Dread returns to you chest, you havent seen him since last night, he left no note, he wasnt with lydia, did something awful happen? was he bored with you? You felt like you were going to be sick

"Y/n?"

"I gotta go" was all you could say before hanging up,

"Beetlejuice!"

Nothing

"Beetlejuice!"

Again nothing, he normally came after the second yell, anxiety for your dear friend make you since to your stomach in fear for the worst, you steady yourself and take a deep breath and say it for a third time

"Beetlejuice"

With a puff of green smoke there stood the ghoul, unfortunately sporting a purple hue

"Bee-"

"It took you that long to notice I was gone?"

"No, I-"

"Why did it take so long then? Enjoying your time without me?!" Red streaks began to show up amongst the purple

"I thought lydia summoned you back-"

"And you waited till now to check?!"

"I DIDNT WANT TO BOTHER THE TWO OF YOU" you yelled back, beetlejuice is taken abck by your volume, you take a deep breath "if I knew why you were gone I would have said something sooner, what happened?" You say calmly gently taking the demon's hand, red now fading away, though the purple stayed

"You sent me away, you said my name 3 times in your sleep and sent me back to the netherworld" he refused to look at you as if you did this on purpose to mess with him.

"Bee, I'm sorry, I would have never done that on purpose, i- i love having you around, and I, god, i miss you when you're not here, with me" now it was your turn to refuse eye contact, admitting such a cheesy thing, you wanted to just die, not that it would help.

The purple hue is quick to leave the ghoul's form in replacement with a much softer pink, you missed him, music to his ears.

"Sugar" beetlejuice grabs your chin and forces eye contact

You give him a soft smile seeing that he was no longer purple, but also when he pulls you into a rather over exaggerated dip and sloppy kiss "so how bout we make up for some lost time and you can make this little misunderstanding up to me, what do you say babes?~"

You only stutter and choke on your words as the demon spins you around

"Would you like to scare some delivery guy and watch a bad slasher?" You finally get out

The demon pauses for a moment, as if to think about this offer.

"Normally I'd be delighted honey, but I think you owe me~ how bout you have to sit on my lap the entire film~" he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at you, you swallow the lump in your throat, this was gonna be a long night

Bonus

The two of you were snuggled together on the couch, Beetlejuice's arms were around your waist, his head on your shoulder, your bum on his lap.

"So babes, whatever you dreaming about last night?"

[flourgirl]

Sleepyhead

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Peter will try just about anything to help out the very pretty insomniac from his math class.

Work Count: 11.2k

Warnings: Just some sweet, pure fluff with a few curse words every now and then.

A/N: Either the tags aren’t working for me or you guys just didn’t like it, but the final part of “Even If It’s a Lie” has been out for a few days now if anyone’s interested in reading it 🥺 Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this super long piece I’ve been working on to help me get through finals <3

“Touch you softly I call you up late at night No doubt it isn't right But you could be my one and only” -Softly, Clairo

Peter had seen you around campus a few times, but it wasn’t until you started sitting two rows ahead of him in his linear algebra class that he really started to notice you. 

He thought you were really pretty, and he liked how cozy you always looked in the puffy winter coat you kept on in the perpetually freezing lecture hall. You took a lot of notes, which told him that you cared about the class, and never showed up without a giant cup of iced coffee.

You’re being a creep, Peter told himself. He had thought about switching seats to somewhere in front of you, so he could actually listen to his professor discuss permutations instead of staring at how you chewed on the end of your pen when you were thinking.

It was even worse when you started sleeping in class, your soft hair falling around your shoulders as you leaned your head against your desk. It seemed like all the coffee in the world couldn’t keep you awake, and Peter wondered if he should ask if you wanted to borrow his notes or something. But that would mean him admitting to looking at you way more than he needed to, and that was weird, so he quickly dropped the idea.

Still, he was worried about you. So when he came back from patrol in the middle of the night and bumped into you outside of the dorm kitchen, he figured it would be the perfect opportunity to introduce himself and maybe even find out why you were so tired all the time. 

The only problem was that he had accidentally knocked your pan of banana bread out of your hands, and you were currently staring at it laying on the floor with your sleepy eyes, not saying anything.

“Shit, uh, I’m so sorry,” he told you, crouching down to scoop up the remnants of your late-night snack into the pan. “Were you really up baking at 3 a.m?”

You blushed a little, starstruck that the cute guy from your math class was talking to you. “Um, yeah. I couldn’t sleep, so I figured I’d come down to the kitchen while nobody else was here and make something. Baking always helps me calm down, and so here I am. And here we are. And there’s my bread, all covered in whatever kind of dust the custodians refuse to sweep down here.”

He offered a soft smile, and it made you feel better about the fact that you were rambling way more than you wanted to.

“I’m Y/N,” you continued, gently taking the pan from his hands. “You’re in linear algebra with Professor Meyers, right?”

“Yeah, you, um, you sit right in front of me. Well, not right in front of me. Two rows in front of me. Shit. I’m not creepy, I promise. It’s just… uh… My name is Peter and I’m going to stop talking now.” 

That couldn’t have possibly gone any worse, he thought. You were probably thinking he was a serial killer or something.

“It’s okay. I know you sit behind me,” you reassured him. “You answer a lot of questions.” He was cute and smart, and you hoped he couldn’t notice how flustered you were to be this close to him.

“What are you doing up so late?” he asked, which made you laugh at how ironic his concerns were, considering he was also wandering around the dorm basement at this hour.

“I could ask you the same thing,” you replied, sitting on one of the benches that jutted out of the walls of the corridor. “I mean, you’re here too. At least I was baking. What’s up with you?”

You had a point. “I had an emergency… with my internship. I work for Stark Industries, and Mr. Stark rang me in the middle of the night to come to the lab immediately for something, so, yeah. That’s why I’m awake right now.”

“Okay,” you said, not buying his story. “So that’s why you have a black eye and you’re lurking in the basement hallway? Did Tony Stark punch you?”

Fuck. Did he really have a black eye and not notice? He didn’t think that Doc Oc’s stupid mechanical arm had punched him that hard, but apparently, he was wrong. And now he had to come up with some reason as to where it came from, although he could already tell that you were about to call his bluff.

The only solution he could think of was to change the subject. “Why are you always asleep during class?” he blurted out, causing you to give him a funny look before frowning down at your slippers.

“Isn’t it obvious,” you yawned, stretching your arms out in front of you. “I’m an insomniac. It’s actually kind of funny. I never really had any problems with falling asleep until I moved here. Maybe it’s the cold weather or the constant pressure to get good grades, but I just can’t sleep anymore. It sucks.”

Normally, you’d never tell this much about yourself to somebody, let alone a complete stranger. But somehow, you felt really comfortable around Peter. There was just something about him that made you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Peter caught himself staring at you again, your baby pink pajamas a far departure from how put together your usual outfits were. Even without your makeup or hair done, you were still the prettiest girl he had ever seen. For some reason, even the dark circles under your eyes were really cute to him.

“You never answered my question,” you reminded him, hoping that he’d say something to fill the awkward silence. “What’s with the black eye and wandering around in the middle of the night? Are you some kind of superhero?”

“What? No! That’s crazy. Me, a superhero,” he laughed awkwardly, wondering if you had somehow figured out his secret identity. Had you spotted him that one time he made sure that you and your friends got home safely from a late-night study session? Even so, you totally couldn’t have known it was him, right?

“Relax, I’m just joking,” you giggled, thinking about how cute he looked when he was flustered. “Although my friend did tell me she thought she saw Spider-Man a few weeks ago on her way back from a party.”

“Haha, yeah,” he breathed out, a wave of relief washing over him. It was times like these that he really started to appreciate how well-hidden his muscles were underneath all of his oversized sweaters.

“Does that hurt?” you asked, bringing your hand up to lightly brush his lip, which was bleeding. He flinched instinctively before settling under your touch, your eyes focused on the small cut. “I have a first aid kit in my room if you want some help cleaning it up.”

“Oh, no, it’s cool. I wouldn’t want to bother your roommate,” Peter told you, scooting further away on the bench, nearly falling off the edge of it. Ned hated it when he stumbled in at some ungodly hour after patrol and woke him up. 

“Don’t worry about it,” you said, standing up and gesturing for him to follow you. “I have a single.”

Peter looked at you in awe. Freshmen never got rooms to themselves, and yet somehow you had one. “Okay, fine. But only because I’ve never actually seen a single in this building before.”

“That’s cool with me,” you smiled, reaching for his hand so he could keep up with your pace. He noticed that you were chewing some of the banana bread, which he really hoped was from the part that didn’t fall on the floor. To be fair though, it did smell really good.

Not only did you have a single, but you lived on the first floor. Peter couldn’t believe how lucky you were, considering the building that the two of you lived in didn’t have any elevators to traverse its seven floors.

He was even more shocked when you opened your door, revealing the coziest dorm room he had ever seen. How on earth did you transform the glorified prison cell into something that felt so... comforting? From the twinkling lights that were wrapped around everything and the soft rug under his feet, Peter found it really hard to believe that you had trouble sleeping here.

“Sorry, it’s a bit messy,” you apologized, piling your many throw pillows and blankets into a basket to clear up some space on your bed. “You can sit here.”

If this was messy, then Peter and Ned’s room needed some serious help. “No worries,” he said, watching as you rummaged around your drawers in search of your first aid kit.

Eventually, you found it hidden under a bunch of graph paper and colored pencils, untouched ever since your overprotective grandparents had helped you move in. “Here we go,” you mused, now looking inside it for alcohol wipes and band-aids.

He winced as you rubbed the little cloth against his lips, and you made sure to be more gentle as you cleaned up the other cuts on his face. Thankfully, nothing was bad enough to require stitches, something you were seriously under-qualified to do.

All Peter could focus on the entire time was how close you were and what it would be like to just kiss you right then and there, but he knew that was way too forward of him. Plus, he didn’t even know if you liked him like that. Surely you were just being nice.

Still, the way he caught you staring into his brown eyes after smoothing a band-aid on his forehead made him think otherwise.

“You’re going to have to tell me eventually who beat you up,” you sighed, gathering up wrappers to throw away and tucking the first aid kit back into its place in your drawers.

“It’s a long story,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding your stare.

“I’ve got time,” you replied, climbing onto your lofted bed to sit next to him, innocently brushing your bare leg against his jeans, which made his breath hitch. “Tell me about it.”

“Uh, how about another time?” he stammered, hopping off the bed and running his hand through his hair. “After class tomorrow, or something. It’s getting pretty late. We should, um, go to sleep.”

“You can stay here if you want,” you offered, his eyes widening at your invitation. “On the bean bag, I mean. It’s actually really comfortable. You mentioned something about bothering your roommate and I figured that maybe you’d like to avoid the trouble tonight.”

“Oh…” Peter hesitated, looking for a reason to say no. He knew he’d never be able to sleep knowing that you were in the same room as him. “I don’t have any pajamas.”

“True,” you agreed, a little disappointed that he wasn’t interested in sticking around.

“I don’t actually even wear pajamas to sleep,” he continued, making you look back up at him instead of playing with the hem of your shirt. “It’s just… I sleep in my boxers.”

“I’m sorry for asking. I didn’t mean to put you in an uncomfortable situation,” you sighed, your face hot with embarrassment.

“It’s not that! I mean, I do want to stay here. But, uh, you… well, you make me really nervous, Y/N,” he muttered, his glance bouncing around the room.

“Why?” you asked, your brows furrowing. “Did I do something?”

“No, no! Nothing at all. I promise, okay?”

“Okay. You can, um, get ready for bed, I guess. I promise not to look,” you assured him, turning on your side to face the wall.

“Thanks. Yeah, alright.” You heard him fumbling with his clothes, his sneakers making a soft thud on your floor. You did your best to resist the urge to glance back at him.

“Can I just use any of these?” he asked, although you had no idea what he was talking about.

“Peter, I’m not looking, remember? You’re going to have to be a little more specific than that.”

“The blankets. Do I just pick one, or are you particular about them?”

“Oh. You can use whichever one you want to. But the coral one’s the softest and my personal favorite.” Peter stared at the basket in confusion. To him, they were all just pink. But based on touch alone, he pulled one out that he figured was a little more orange than the others.

He walked over to the light switch and flipped off the overhead fluorescents, letting the room be illuminated by the warm glow of your fairy lights, which weren’t too bright, but still twinkly and beautiful.

“Goodnight, Peter,” you whispered, snuggling into your comforter in the hopes that your heartbeat would slow down and let you fall asleep for once.

“Goodnight, Y/N.” In a matter of minutes, you could hear his soft snoring, and you figured that it would be okay just to take a quick peek since he’d probably be bundled up in one of your blankets.

His hair was perfectly messy, and he looked so cozy wrapped up in the blanket you had recommended. Still, as much as you could stare at his adorable face all night, you were exhausted. Burying your face under the covers, you did your best to calm your nerves and get some rest before class tomorrow.

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

“Peter,” you whispered, jostling him lightly by the shoulders in the hopes of waking him up. “Uh, we have an hour before class. I was thinking that it would be enough time for you to go shower and change, and then we could go get coffee or something.”

He blinked back up at you, amazed at how well he slept on your bean bag. You had already gotten ready for the day, doing your makeup and picking out one of your many fluffy sweaters to keep you warm in the New York snow.

“Thanks, that sounds awesome,” he yawned, accepting the hand you held out to help him up. The blanket fell, and you stared at each other in shock, having forgotten that Peter was in nothing but his underwear.

You dropped his hand as fast as you could, covering your eyes. “Oh my god! I’m sorry. Shit, I completely forgot, Peter. I’m so sorry. I’ll let you get dressed.”

Peter watched as you stumbled around the room, your eyes squeezed tightly as your hands attempted to guide you away from him.

“Y/N,” he started, catching your attention as you nearly ran into your bed frame. “You can open your eyes. Really, I don’t care if you see me like this if it means I can keep you from breaking your nose.”

You hesitantly opened your eyes, relieved that Peter had already managed to pull his pants back on. Still, he was completely shirtless, and you found yourself staring at the abs you would have never expected to be hiding underneath his clothes.

Moments later, you averted your gaze, although you knew that he probably noticed you looking at where was now covered by his plaid button-down and dark blue sweater.

“I’ll, um, be right back,” he muttered, before practically sprinting out of your room and up the stairs. You groaned in embarrassment, burying your face in a pillow before attempting to take a quick twenty-minute power nap.

Peter couldn’t believe it. Sure, he had thought one time about you seeing him without clothes on, but this wasn’t how he thought it would go at all. Still, the image of you staring at him shirtless, your face flushed, made him feel like he was going to have a heart attack.

“Dude! There you are,” Ned screamed, startled at his roommate’s unexpected entrance. Peter panted, having run up four flights of stairs as fast as he could. “Wait a second. Did you finally get laid? Is this a walk of shame?”

Before Ned could praise him any further, Peter was grabbing a change of clothes and sprinting towards the bathroom. Don’t think about her, he begged himself.

The memory of your leg touching his last night immediately came to mind, and Peter was so angry at himself for being this starved for physical intimacy. To be fair, though, you were the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and so he cut himself some slack.

Shit, he told himself, making sure the water was set to cold. He needed to calm down, but instead, his thoughts were stuck on how good you looked in your pajamas, but also how good you would look without them and—fuck it. 

Peter liked you a lot, and if thinking about you like this in private kept him from being a complete weirdo in person, then maybe he just needed to get his feelings of desperation over with.

When he came back down to your room about thirty minutes later, you were still super tired. You trudged your way towards the door, your hair now noticeably messier than earlier, but at least that meant your nap had been a success.

His hair was still damp and this time he was wearing yet another blue sweater, which made you wonder if he ever wore any other color. He had his backpack slung over one of his shoulders and a nervous smile on his face as he locked eyes with you.

“Hey,” he said, pushing some of his hair out of his face. “Are you ready to go?”

You leaned against the doorway a little bit, letting out a yawn that was literally the cutest noise Peter had ever heard in his life. “Yeah, let me get my backpack.”

“It’s so heavy,” you continued, rightfully complaining as the weight of all its contents practically pulled you downwards. “I think it’s so stupid how almost every professor bans computers from class. Like, it’s not fair that I have to lug around three textbooks every day. I don’t have time to run back to my dorm in between classes like some people!”

Peter frowned. Three textbooks were nothing to him, but he knew that you didn’t have spidey-strength and that you were also pretty tiny compared to him. It must’ve been hell on your back to be carrying all that stuff around every day.

“I can carry it for you,” he offered, holding out his hand to switch with you. “Here, you can take my backpack if it’ll make you feel better. I have a lot of programming classes today, so I’ve only got my laptop and a notebook in there.”

You gave him a look of gratitude as he traded bags with you, literally taking the weight off your shoulders. He was right. His backpack was much more manageable for you, even if the dark grey contrasted with the light colors you always wore.

In contrast, it looked kind of odd for him to be walking around with a backpack that was covered in a soft pink floral pattern, much like everything else you owned, but the sight of him carrying your books brought a smile to your face. 

It was one of the sweetest things a guy had ever done for you, and Peter wasn’t even your boyfriend. He probably didn’t even think of you in that way.

“Uh, where do you usually get coffee?” he asked, slowing his pace so you could keep up. He felt bad seeing how tired you were, no doubt due to the lack of sleep you got last night.

“The Starbucks next to Hendrie Hall,” you replied, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. “You?”

“I don’t drink coffee,” he admitted. “I’m actually more of a tea person.”

“Oh,” you hesitated, wondering if it was worth it to walk all the way across campus just for a caramel ribbon crunch frappuccino. “We could go somewhere closer then.”

“It’s okay,” Peter reassured you, grabbing your hand and pulling you along to your destination. “I like walking.”

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

You hadn’t really talked to Peter since that morning before class, but sometimes you would peek behind you and catch him stealing glances at you. Eventually, he had started to feel brave enough to give you a little wave whenever you caught him looking at you. Well, at least the times when you were awake.

One day, not even the loud shuffling and growing chatter of your classmates exiting the lecture hall could wake you up, and Peter figured he better do something before you got chewed out by one of the TAs.

“Y/N?” he said, leaning closer so that you could hopefully hear him. “Y/N. You gotta wake up. Class ended three minutes ago.”

He shook you a little bit, nervously hoping that you wouldn’t mind him touching you. Your eyes fluttered open, and you smiled softly as soon as you realized it was Peter. 

“Oh. Thanks,” you said, standing up to slide your empty notebook into your backpack. Your hand brushed the side of your mouth, making sure you hadn’t drooled onto yourself.

“You can borrow my notes,” he offered, glancing at you sheepishly as you gathered up your coat and fixed your hair. “If you want to.”

“That’d be great,” you sighed, wondering whether you should skip your next class and just go take a nap. At this point, you weren’t even bothering to put on makeup and you basically wore whatever clothes you had that weren’t already sprawled across your room.

“Are you alright?” Peter asked, walking close to you to make sure you didn’t fall over. He knew you were an insomniac, but you looked seriously sleep-deprived today. “Have you been sleeping at all lately?”

“Nope,” you huffed, lugging your perpetually heavy backpack along. “But I’m skipping the rest of my classes today. I’d rather lie that I’m sick through an e-mail than have to explain to my professors why I was sleeping during their classes.”

“Fair enough,” he agreed, stopping you in your tracks to take your backpack from you. “I’ve actually got some time before my next class. I can walk you back to your room and give you my notebook if that’s okay with you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” you told him, reaching to take your bag back from him, although he didn’t let you. 

“Y/N. Come on, you’re exhausted. At least let me carry your stuff, alright?” He had such a kind look in his eyes, and you certainly didn’t have the energy to keep arguing for no reason.

“Okay.” You crossed your arms, the cold air slowly waking you up as the wind hit your face. Your ears were super cold, but you were glad you had pulled your hair into a quick braid to keep it from flying everywhere.

It wasn’t long before you were kicking your boots off in your dorm room, your teeth chattering as you wrapped yourself in a blanket. 

“Do you want some tea?” you asked Peter, inviting him to sit down wherever.

“Sure, but I thought you drank coffee,” he reminded you, watching as you pulled an assortment of tea bags for him to choose from.

“I do,” you said, handing him the box and running to your bathroom to fill up the electric kettle. “But you drink tea.”

Peter’s ears suddenly felt hot. You had gotten tea just for him. Or maybe you were just a really good hostess and kept some around for all of your visitors. Probably the second option, he thought.

“Are you even allowed to have one of those?” he asked as the two of you waited for the water to boil.

“No,” you laughed, sitting next to him on your bed. For someone with so much space to themselves, you really needed to invest in more places to sit. “But you can’t have candles or fairy lights either, so I guess I’m just a rule breaker.”

“Guess I’ll just have to report you to the RA,” Peter teased, getting up to make himself a cup of earl grey. “Do you have any sugar?”

“Top drawer on the right,” you replied. “Do you have a sweet tooth?”

“Yes.” You watched as his lips blew on the tea to cool it down before remembering that it was weird to stare.

“You should let me bake something for you. What’s your favorite dessert?” You were kicking your dangling legs, suddenly feeling a lot more awake than this morning.

“Chocolate cake. With chocolate frosting,” he said in between sips, walking back over to you. With you on the tall bed and him standing, your faces were level with each other.

“I’ll have to make you one to thank you,” you smiled, peering into his eyes. Peter felt your heartbeat quicken, and the grin on your face as you stared at each other made him weak in the knees.

“Can I get those notes?” you asked, making him remember that people don’t just look at each other and say nothing like that.

“Oh! Yeah, definitely.” He quickly set the mug down on your nightstand to rummage through his backpack, flipping one of his notebooks open before handing it to you. “There are the ones from today, but all of the ones I’ve taken this semester are in there too.”

“Wow,” you laughed, making a worried expression form on his face.

“What’s wrong? Are they not good?”

“No, it’s not that. They’re just, uh, very thorough.” He had basically transcribed your professor’s lectures onto the pages. “You must write really fast. But thank you, Peter. I really appreciate it.”

Peter nodded before nervously gulping down the rest of his tea, not even noticing how hot the liquid still was as it nearly burned his throat. 

“I should go now,” he started, looking around the room for his things. “I want you to get some rest, Y/N. Please.”

He had this look in his eyes that was so genuine—so full of care and concern—that it made you want to do whatever he asked you to.

“I’ll try,” you told him, awkwardly rubbing the top of your arm in the hopes that you could actually fall asleep after he left. “Have a nice day, Peter.”

“Bye, Y/N. I’ll stop by later,” he said, already halfway out the door. “For the notes, I mean! Uh, bye. Again. Okay. I’m going to go now.” 

You giggled, giving him one last wave before he left. Like magic, the more you thought about how Peter was worried about you, the easier it was for you to drift off into a peaceful sleep, finally feeling at ease for the first time in weeks.

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

You woke up later that day to Peter knocking on your door, this time standing next to some guy in a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt.

“Hi, Y/N,” Peter greeted you. You looked a lot less tired than when he saw you this morning, which relieved him. “This is my roommate, Ned. He just wanted to know who I’ve been hanging out with, so I hope it’s okay that I brought him here to prove you’re real and not a figment of my imagination.”

Ned leaned closer to you, your hair still a little messy from your nap. “Blink twice if he’s paying you,” he whispered, causing you to giggle. Peter looked on nervously, unsure of what his best friend had just said to you.

“What did you say!?” he asked, lightly pushing Ned on the arm, knowing that it was probably something meant to embarrass him.

“Ow! Okay, now I’m really not telling you,” Ned replied, rubbing the spot where Peter had just hit him.

“Y/N, what did Ned say to you?” He turned to you, a worried look on his face as you and Ned held back your laughter. Peter’s face turned as red as a tomato, making you instantly feel a little bit bad. 

“It was nothing, Peter. Really,” you said, pulling him into the room with you. “It was nice to meet you, Ned. I’ll make sure he’s back before curfew.”

Ned laughed, offering a quick thumbs up and mouthing “I like her” to Peter before you shut the door on him.

“I knew that was a mistake,” Peter sighed, his back against the door. You were still a bit giddy from the exchange, giggling softly as he slowed his breathing.

“You don’t need to be embarrassed around me,” you reassured him. “We’re friends, right?”

“Yeah, of course. It’s just that…”

“What?” You could barely hear him as his voice trailed off.

“Well, uh, not all of my friends are, you know…”

“Spit it out, Peter,” you said, leaning closer so that you could hear him better.

“They’re not as pretty as you,” he muttered, making you blush at his words. Did he really think you were pretty?

“Oh. Thanks,” you smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. Peter lifted his head up, relieved that you didn’t think he was a creep or something.

“Your notebook’s on my desk,” you continued, stepping back a little to give him some space. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding as the distance between you and him grew. “I just took a bunch of pictures, so I can look at them on my computer whenever.”

“Alright, awesome,” he said, walking over to collect it before turning back to you. “How’d you sleep?”

“Pretty well, actually. The best I’ve slept in a while. I think you’re some kind of good luck charm.”

“Really?” he asked, a little surprised that he had been helpful.

“Really. You know, I’ve been thinking…”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe it’d be nice if we hung out somewhere that wasn’t my room all the time,” you said, a hopeful look in your eyes. “If you want.”

Peter had never noticed it before, but the two of you really did spend most of your time together in your room. It really was a nice room, but it made sense that you’d want to get out of it every once and a while.

“I’d like that. What did you have in mind?” Play it cool, Parker, he told himself. You can freak out with Ned later.

“How about ice cream on Friday?” you suggested, which came as a bit of a surprise to him.

“In the middle of winter?” As far as Peter could remember, you were always cold.

“Yeah. I really love ice cream,” you added, smiling up at him.

“Okay, then. Ice cream it is,” he agreed. There was absolutely no way he could ever say no to you when you looked at him like that.

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

“May! No, it’s not a date. She’s just a friend. Yeah, I got it. Open the door, pay for her, don’t be an idiot!” Peter sighed into his phone, hoping his aunt’s unwarranted crash course on first dates would be over soon. “Yes, I’m wearing the green sweater. Thanks, love you. Bye!”

“I have no idea who told her I had a date tonight,” he groaned, slumping down onto the couch next to his best friend.

“I texted her,” Ned replied nonchalantly, not even looking away from whatever video game he was playing. “Knew you’d need some kind of pointers. Y/N is way out of your league.”

“Hey!” Was he right? Yes. Did Peter need to be reminded of it right before his not-a-date date with you? Definitely not.

“Come on, you know I’m right. It’s Liz Allan all over again. I have no idea how you keep pulling all of these pretty girls, but hey, credit where credit is due.”

“You’re so mean.”

“I keep it real and you love it. Good luck, man.”

“Bye,” Peter grumbled, slipping on his coat and walking out of their room. Four flights of stairs later, he was at your door.

“Hi!” you squeaked, wrapping your arms around him. This was the first time the two of you had ever hugged and Peter was not going to forget about it anytime soon. “Come in. I have a surprise for you!”

“Here,” you continued, holding out a blue and white beanie for him. “I made it for you. To match all those blue sweaters you wear all the time.” Except this time, he was wearing a forest green one, which brought out the slight hazel tinge in his eyes.

“You made this for me?” he asked, eyeing the different stitches you had used and fiddling with the pom-pom on top. It looked store-bought.

“Well, yeah, silly. I just said that,” you replied, hoping that he liked it. With all the time you didn’t sleep, you were knitting anyway, but this was a special present for him. “Try it on.”

“I didn’t get you anything,” he sighed, pulling the hat onto his head. He looked really cute, the ends of his wavy hair peeking out from underneath the brim.

“Don’t worry about it,” you said, pulling him out of your room and towards the front of the dorm building. “Getting to hang out with you is good enough for me.”

“Where’d you learn how to knit?” Peter questioned, walking alongside you on the snow-lined sidewalks. With how cold it was, and considering he didn’t have a hood on his coat, it seemed like perfect timing that you had given him a hat.

“My grandma taught me,” you shared, taking in the twinkling of the streetlamps and how they bounced against the snow. In New York, that was practically the closest you could get to stargazing. “My, uh, grandparents actually raised me.”

“Oh. I was raised by my aunt and uncle,” Peter confided. It made you feel not so alone to find out that he didn’t grow up with his parents either, even though you knew firsthand just how hard it was.

“Do they live around here?” you asked, stealing glances at him and how rosy his cheeks were in the cold air.

“Yeah, my aunt lives in Queens,” he told you, staring at his feet to both avoid eye contact and make sure neither of you accidentally slipped. Not that he wouldn’t catch you, but he wanted to be safe. “My uncle actually passed away a couple of years ago.”

You stopped walking, immediately feeling a sense of regret. “I’m sorry, Peter. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s okay, Y/N. There was no way for you to have known that,” Peter reassured you, his warm breath coming out in clouds, and he reached for your hand to run his thumb across your knuckles. He gently pulled you along, keeping you from dying of embarrassment in the middle of campus.

“What about you? Are you from around here?” he asked, hoping to break the silence and make you feel a little bit better.

“No, I just moved up here for college. I grew up in Texas but moved to North Carolina when I was 13, so I finished school down there,” you explained, Peter suddenly noticing a slight Southern twang to your voice. “I just really wanted to go to school in a big city and not next to a farm for once in my life.” 

“That makes sense,” he laughed, wondering what it would be like to live somewhere else. “I’ve only ever lived in New York City.”

“Do you like it here?”

“I love it. Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, to be honest.”

“Me either,” you sighed, squeezing his hand tighter as the two of you enjoyed your walk in the snow.

It seemed like forever before you reached the ice cream shop, but you didn’t mind. That just gave you and Peter more time to get to know each other better. Turns out you both competed in academic decathlons, although you were more of a math person and he preferred science.

“Okay, you’re wrong. Night at the Museum 2 is so much better than the first one. I mean that kiss between Ben Stiller and Amy Adams? The Jonas Brothers as little cherub angels? Name one thing from the original that tops that,” you ranted in between spoonfuls of peppermint ice cream.

“I just really like when the little cowboy and gladiator are driving that toy car around,” he reasoned, subtly admitting defeat.

“Don’t even get me started on why the second Shrek movie—”

You were interrupted by the sound of Peter’s phone ringing, and you immediately recognized his ringtone as the Coconut Mall theme from Mario Kart. He peered down at his phone screen, sighing and mouthing an apology to you as he accepted the call.

“Uh, hey, Mr. Stark. Did you need something?” Well, at least you knew he wasn’t lying about his internship at Stark Industries. “Toronto? Tonight? I’m kind of busy.”

There was a long pause as Peter mentally kicked himself for talking back to Tony, resulting in an earful about how being an Avenger should always be at the top of his priorities.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I’ll be right over… but I need a favor. Could you send Happy to pick my friend up? Yeah, it’s the ice cream shop on 1st. Thank you so much, Mr. Stark. Bye.” He frowned at you, and you could tell from what you had heard that he had to go.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. It’s just, something came up last minute and Mr. Stark really needs me to go on this business trip with him,” he apologized, pulling his coat on. “But, uh, he’s sending a car for you. So don’t worry about walking back alone, alright? I’m so sorry. I’ll make it up to you when I get back, okay? Bye!”

“Oh, okay. Bye!” you managed to call out before he was running out the doors and down the street. Lots of customers were staring as you awkwardly gathered your things and went to go wait on the sidewalk.

A few minutes later, a shiny black car had pulled up to the curb in front of you, a man rolling down the window.

“Miss Y/N? I’m Happy Hogan. Mr. Stark sent me to drive you home,” he called from the driver’s seat, before getting out to open your door for you. You stepped in, a little starstruck at how nice the car was. You had never been in anything this expensive before. 

The two of you were sitting in silence until you finally got the courage to speak up. 

“Mr. Hogan,” you started, causing him to turn down the smooth jazz that had been playing on the radio. “Do you know why Peter has to go to Toronto?”

“Yes,” he replied, glancing at you in the rearview mirror. “But I can’t tell you that.”

“Oh, okay,” you accepted, shifting to look out the window at all of the places in the city that you hadn’t yet gotten the chance to explore. 

Eventually, he was dropping you off in front of your dorm, and you were trudging inside to your room to sulk about how your not-a-date date with Peter had gotten interrupted. You stared at your ceiling all night, wondering when the next time you’d see each other would be, and whether or not he’d come back with the same cuts and bruises as when you had first met.

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

Peter had been gone for six days and counting, and you were starting to worry that he might never come back. You had already started missing him the night he left, and now it was just some agonizing waiting game for him to return.

You must have spent hours in the basement kitchen before deciding to visit the fourth floor where Peter lived. You knocked on the door and was quickly met with Ned’s shocked expression.

“Uh, hi, Y/N. Peter’s not here right now. Did you need something?”

“I know,” you acknowledged, holding up the plate in your hand. “It’s just, well, I’ve been baking a lot and I didn’t really know who to give all of these cookies to, so I was wondering if you wanted any.”

“Oh, in that case, sign me up!” You watched as his face lit up as he noticed the assortment of chocolate chip, sugar, and snickerdoodle cookies all still warm from the oven. He offered his hands out to take the plate from you, which you happily relinquished. 

“These are really good,” he complimented, his mouth full of a sugar cookie. “Can I keep the rest of them?”

“Yeah, of course,” you answered, doing your best to smile despite how much you wished it had been Peter opening the door. “I’ll see you around, Ned.”

“Hey, Y/N,” he called out to you, making you turn around on the stairwell. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Peter’s going to be back any day now.” You nodded, offering him a wave and walking back down to your room.

Turns out Ned had been right. The strange noises outside of your window were masked by how loud you were jamming out to We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel, jumping around and listing off the lyrics that had never made much sense to you. Peter knocked louder on the glass, startling you as you quickly switched off the music to investigate.

“Holy shit,” you whispered, squinting your eyes to make sure you weren’t hallucinating. “Spider-Man? Is that really you?”

You fumbled to push up your window, extremely confused as to why one of the Avengers was outside your bedroom this late at night.

“It’s me, Y/N,” he explained, his voice suddenly becoming extremely familiar. Your eyes widened as you realized who was behind the mask.

“Oh my god! PETER?” you screamed as he slipped through the window, pulling off his mask and clapping a hand over your mouth.

“Don’t freak out. It’s okay. It’s just me, okay?” he stammered in an attempt to get you to calm down before an RA heard. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I really wanted to tell you, but we were in public when I left, and I couldn’t risk it. And I didn’t want to text it or do it over the phone because it’s kind of a big deal, so I figured I’d just come to see you as soon as I got back and Mr. Stark said that you have to promise—”

“It’s okay, Peter,” you interrupted, wrapping your arms around him and burying your face into the very weird material of his spider-suit. “I won’t tell anybody.”

He softened under your touch, resting his head on top of yours. “I like your dance moves,” he whispered, making you glare up at him, your face suddenly very red.

“How long were you watching?” you groaned, dramatically throwing yourself onto your bean bag, your face covered by your hands.

“Only for about a minute,” he answered, pulling your hands down so you could see him grinning at you. “I especially liked how you used your hairbrush as a microphone. Plus, I thought we agreed to stop being embarrassed around each other?”

“Well, that was before I knew you were freaking Spider-Man!”

“Okay, fair enough,” he agreed, nudging you to scoot over and make room for him.

“So, that’s what that whole Toronto thing was?” you asked as he sat next to you, your knee touching his.

“Yep. There was this thing about aliens and these guys that could shapeshift. It’s a lot to explain.”

“Are you going to keep that thing on all night?” you asked, gesturing at his outfit, which was very tight and very distracting from whatever alien story he had to tell.

“Oh. Yeah, I guess so,” he shrugged. “I don’t have anything on underneath it.”

“How scandalous,” you teased. “Not so family-friendly after all, huh, Spidey?”

“Oh, shut up,” he quipped, rolling his eyes as you let out a long yawn.

“Have you been sleeping much?” he continued, suddenly remembering the issue that had brought the two of you together in the first place.

“Of course not. I’ve been too busy worrying about my classes and, oh, just some idiot I know that abandoned me in the middle of an ice cream shop. Pretty sure he said he’d make that up to me, by the way.”

“Okay, okay. Message received. What would you like?” Please say a kiss. Please say a kiss. Please say a—

“Can I meet them? The Avengers, I mean. It’s not like anyone else really has a secret identity except for you.”

“Oh. I mean, I’d have to ask Mr. Stark and the rest of the team and see if they’re cool with it, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Awesome! You’re the best,” you chimed, wrapping your arms around him and planting a kiss on his cheek.

It was then that Peter decided he would just never be able to wash that side of his face again, his heart nearly skipping a beat.

“Peter,” you said, breaking the silence he had left the two of you in. “I’m tired.”

“Me too,” he sighed. “I should head up to my room. Gotta make sure Ned knows I’m still alive.”

“Yeah, of course,” you agreed, standing up to see him out. “Aren’t you worried somebody will see you, though?”

“Y/N, it’s 4 a.m. I’m pretty sure that you and I are the only people on campus that are awake right now.”

“Oh, right. Still, be careful, okay?” you told him, slightly worried at his secret identity being found out by some college kid that just couldn’t stay off Twitter.

“Will do,” he said, smiling and giving you a little salute before leaving.

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

A few days later, before you could even greet him, Peter was already walking into your room. It was 10 p.m., a little earlier than when he usually came over, but by now you were used to him showing up at your door unannounced.

He was already wearing his pajamas, a t-shirt with a science pun and some flannel pants that he had invested in to avoid any more awkward moments between the two of you. You were dressed in leggings and a sweatshirt, the clothes you usually threw on after class just in case you fell asleep on accident. There had been more times where you had woken up sweaty with your jeans stuck to your legs than you were willing to admit.

“Okay, so I asked Mr. Stark about your request and he told me he doesn’t think now is a good time, but…” he grinned, holding out a giant cardboard box with some kind of minimalist home appliance on the front for you to look at.

“Am I supposed to know what that is?” you blinked back, trying to figure out what the hell you were staring at, considering that all of the text written on it was in a language you didn’t know how to read.

“It’s some fancy white noise machine from Japan. If I remember correctly, Mr. Stark said he made Pepper order it because I wouldn’t shut up about you, and it would be in everybody’s best interest if you got some sleep, so I could stop annoying him and the rest of the team.”

“Oh. That’s pretty thoughtful, I guess,” you said, gathering things off your floor to make space for it.

He set the box down on your rug and got to work opening it. Meanwhile, you were busy translating what exactly Tony Stark had so generously gifted to you.

“Peter, wait. This thing is like $300. Doesn’t he know that you can just look up whale noises on YouTube for free?”

“Yeah, but this one adjusts its volume based on the noises around it, has a light that simulates the sun rising, and has an alarm noise that’s supposed to support healthy cortisol levels.”

Peter peered up to see your arms crossed and brows furrowed, it suddenly becoming clear to him that the things he had just listed meant very little to you.

“Plus, he’s a literal billionaire, so I don’t think it was that big of a loss for him,” he added.

“Fine. Let’s just hope this thing works,” you sighed, watching as Peter leafed through the instruction manual before tossing it behind him. “It’s a little early to go to sleep, though.”

“Y/N, plenty of people go to sleep at 10. Not everybody is nocturnal like you.”

“I guess you have a point,” you agreed, kneeling down beside him as he fiddled with all the settings.

“I know,” he said with a smirk as you rested your chin on his shoulder to get a better look at what he was doing. “What time do you want to wake up? 7 a.m. would give us time to go get breakfast before class, but we could do 8 if you wanted to sleep in.”

“We?” you mused, liking the sound of that. “I guess that means you’re staying here tonight?”

“Well, yeah. I’m not letting you have all these overpriced rainforest noises to yourself.”

“Do 7. We can go get those blueberry muffins that you like,” you decided, standing up to get Peter’s makeshift bed on your bean bag ready. “Do you actually like sleeping on this thing, or were you just trying to be polite the first time I asked?”

“Dude, that thing is awesome. It’s like I’m on this little cuddly cloud, and then you add all those warm blankets and the twinkly lights and it’s the perfect recipe for me to fall asleep.”

“Wow,” you nodded, looking around your room to see all of the things that Peter was talking about. “I wish it worked that way for me.”

“Maybe it will, tonight.”

It didn’t. You were tossing and turning for nearly an hour to the agonizing sounds of birds cawing and the occasional monkey chatter, all set against the backdrop of a heavy thunderstorm. To be honest, it was something that would’ve given you nightmares when you were little.

“Y/N?” Peter whispered from the floor. “Are you sleeping?”

“No.”

“Me neither.”

“Could you turn that thing off? It’s really distracting me.”

“Yeah, of course,” he said, leaning over to switch the noise machine off. “Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything.”

He hesitated, not really sure if he should ask the question that he had been thinking about for a while now. “How old were you when your parents died?”

You had to think for a moment, not really sure about the answer. For as long as you could remember, you just lived with your grandparents. “Um, well my mom left when I was a baby. And I think my dad passed away when I was four.”

“Oh,” Peter mumbled. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a parent leave you, but he didn’t want to pry just in case it was a sensitive topic. “Are your grandparents from your mom or dad’s side?”

You rolled over to rest your head on the edge of your bed so that you could see him better. He looked so cute bundled up in all of your blankets, his hair already a bit messy. “They’re my mom’s parents. It’s weird. I see a lot of pictures of her from when she was growing up, and I look so much like her, but she’s basically a stranger to me.”

Peter opened his mouth to say something else, but there was a long pause and he decided not to.

“What about you? How old were you when your parents passed away?”

“Five or six. They met while working at the C.I.A. together, but most of my memories are from the stories my aunt and uncle told me when I was growing up.”

For a moment, neither of you could find the right words to say to each other.

“Peter,” you spoke up, interrupting his thoughts. “I’m really glad I met you.”

“I’m really glad I met you too.”

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

Peter’s next plan of action involved even more advice from his fellow Avengers, and you were not looking forward to trying out any of their suggestions. 

“Okay, so, Steve—I mean Captain America—said that when he was little, you know, in the 1940s, all he had to do was drink a glass of warm milk before bed.”

“I’m lactose intolerant,” you groaned, crossing your arms.

“I just saw you eat an entire pint of Ben and Jerry’s in one sitting the other day.”

“Regular milk has almost 15 times more lactose than ice cream. You’d think a science nerd like you would know that.”

“I’m a geek,” he scoffed, clearly a little bit offended. “Not a nerd.”

“Yeah, I can see that now. It’s okay, though. At least you’re pretty,” you said, pinching his cheek.

“Just try it,” he grumbled, handing you the warm glass and waiting impatiently for you to take a sip. If anything, the milk did a better job at keeping you up that night than putting you to sleep. Not even thirty minutes after you had gone to bed, you were feeling sick to your stomach.

“I hate milk,” you gagged, Peter holding your hair back as you kneeled over the toilet bowl. “My grandpa could never get me to drink it as a kid.”

“Is that why you’re so short?” he laughed, helping you up. You glared at him as you moved to the sink to wash the acidic taste out of your mouth.

“Shut up, Parker,” you quipped, tired and grumpy from how terrible you felt. “Let’s just go back to sleep.”

“Alright, munchkin,” he smiled, pulling you out of the bathroom and back towards your bed.

Somehow, the warm milk wasn’t even the worst of Peter’s ideas, because a few days later, he was standing at your door with a bottle of some Asgardian sleep aid from the lightning god himself.

“Are you sure this is safe for me to drink?” you asked, your eyes widening as you stared at the silvery liquid that was almost shimmering.

“Uh, I’m about 87% confident you’ll live,” he said, “But I’m 100% sure that it’ll work.”

“Gee, thanks. Now I really want to drink this weird alien potion,” you sighed, looking at him nervously.

“Just drink a little bit and see if you feel anything,” Peter encouraged, leaning over your shoulder. You nodded, hesitantly bringing the drink up to your lips to take a sip.

“This stuff tastes amazing,” you mused, taking a bigger gulp this time. “Like a blue raspberry slushie.”

“Whoa, that’s enough,” he warned, taking the bottle from your hands before you could drink any more of it. “We don’t want you to go into a coma.”

“I don’t feel anything,” you shrugged, frowning back at him. “Maybe I should—”

You stopped mid-sentence to let out a loud yawn, the potion starting to take effect. Peter caught you as you slumped down in your chair, helping you into bed.

“Okay. I definitely feel it now,” you admitted, already half asleep. Peter tucked you under your blankets, placing a kiss on your forehead as your eyes fluttered shut.

“Sweet dreams, Y/N,” he whispered, turning off your lights and softly closing the door behind him. 

For a moment, Peter had thought he had finally found a solution to your insomnia. At least before you slept through class the next morning. And then the day after that. But it wasn’t until the third day that he really started to freak out.

“Where’s Thor!?” he panted, having run all the way from his class over to the Avengers Tower. Wanda and Vision stared back at him from the kitchen, very confused at what he was so panicked about.

“He’s in his room,” Bucky called from the couch, his mouth full of popcorn as 13 Going on 30 played on the big screen. “What’s going on, kid?”

“No time to explain. Gotta go!” Peter called, sprinting up the stairs towards Thor’s room. He knocked frantically until the door finally swung open.

“Greetings, young Spiderling. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Thor smiled, his long, golden hair shiny as ever.

“I think I killed my almost-girlfriend!” Peter blurted out, practically sweating from how stressed out he was. “She drank that stuff you gave me and she hasn’t woken up in three days now!”

Thor chuckled, patting Peter on the head. “Do not worry, my brother. I’m sure she will wake up given time. It was a very potent drink, after all. Calm yourself.”

“Okay,” he sighed, relieved to know that he hadn’t poisoned you to death. “Cool. Cool, cool, cool. She’s fine. Everything’s fine. Thanks, man. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you around.”

“Farewell, Peter. May we meet again soon,” he grinned before closing the door in Peter’s face.

On the way back down the stairs, Peter figured he’d give you a call and see if you were still sleeping.

“Hello?” you groaned, your throat dry from just waking up. “Peter, what the hell happened to me?”

“THANK GOD YOU’RE ALIVE!” Peter yelled into the phone, making you recoil from the volume of his excitement. “You’ve been asleep for three days, Y/N. I thought you were dead.”

“I am very much alive,” you laughed, slowly feeling the potion wearing off. “Where are you?”

“Uh. I may have run all the way to Midtown to ask Thor if I had killed you,” he admitted, feeling you roll your eyes through the screen. “I was worried, okay?”

“Now you know how I feel whenever you leave for a mission,” you countered, glad that Peter couldn’t see how much you were blushing. “Hurry up and get your butt back over here. I have the weirdest dream to tell you about.”

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

Even if you still weren’t getting a full eight hours of rest at night, it was obvious that all of Peter’s efforts had vastly improved your sleep schedule. Over the past few months, you had gone from staring at your ceiling all night to actually being able to stay asleep for small periods of time.

“Your eyelashes are so long,” you mused, playing with Peter’s hair. He was sitting in between your legs and How the Grinch Stole Christmas was playing on your TV.

“Really?” He tilted his head back to look at you, batting his eyelashes and making you giggle.

“Yes. It’s not fair that boys get all of the pretty eyelashes,” you pouted, watching as the Grinch explained his plan to steal all of Whoville’s presents to his dog.

“I think yours are pretty,” he replied, a soft smile on his face. “But there’s a rogue one just hanging out on your face right now.”

“Can you get it?” you asked, your eyes still glued on the TV screen. Peter nodded, twisting around to gently brush the eyelash from your cheek.

“Do you want to make a wish?” he laughed, holding the little eyelash on the tip of his finger in front of you.

“Okay,” you agreed, squeezing your eyes shut and blowing it away. When you opened them, Peter’s face was only inches away from yours.

“What did you wish for?” His gaze shifted downwards to look at your lips for a split second, before returning to look into your eyes.

“I can’t tell you, dummy. Then it won’t come true.” You weren’t about to tell your best friend that you wished for him to kiss you. At least not now, while the two of you were stuck in this really weird “not dating, but more than just friends” limbo.

“Fine,” he frowned, crossing his arms and pouting in a way that you recognized had been mimicked after you.

“Don’t make fun of me,” you said, mirroring his stance. Your puppy dog eyes were definitely a lot more convincing than his.

“I’m not.”

“Uh-huh, sure. You smell really good, by the way. Well, your hoodie does. I could just wrap myself up in it and fall asleep.”

“How come you’ve never mentioned that before? You could’ve been out cold every night months ago!”

“Guess I was just too distracted by your dreamy face,” you teased, causing Peter to blush.

“Whatever. Seriously, though. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know. I think it took me a while to realize how sleepy I got whenever you were really close to me,” you shrugged. “You’re not mad at me, right?”

“Of course not. But if I had known sooner I would’ve just given you one,” he said, slipping the hoodie over his head and handing it to you. “Here, put it on. You better fall asleep instantly or I’m calling bullshit.”

“You caught me, Peter. This was all some elaborate plan for me to steal one of your hoodies.”

“Just put it on. The suspense is killing me.”

You rolled your eyes and pulled his hoodie on. Just from looking at Peter and how slim he was, you never would have guessed that it would be this oversized on you.

“How do I look?” you asked, striking silly poses in front of him. Peter involuntarily licked his lips and he knew he’d be replaying this image of you in his head for the next few weeks.

“You’re going to have to keep that,” he stammered, doing his best to hide how much he really liked seeing you in his clothes. “It looks a lot better on you. I, um, have to go do my homework. And call my aunt. And walk my roommate.”

Peter stumbled to his feet, staring at his wristwatch to maintain his act that he was late for something before grabbing his things and heading out the door, making sure to hold his backpack in front of him. “Let me know if the hoodie thing works. Bye!”

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

Brushing off Peter’s strangely abrupt departure from last night, you nuzzled into your pillow, the warm morning light spilling through your curtains. Last night had probably been your best sleep in months, and you even got to wake up late since it was Saturday. Things probably couldn’t have gone any better.

Before you knew it, you were running up to Peter’s room and banging on his door. He opened the door on your fourth knock, right after Ned had chucked a pillow at him, and you were met with his sleepy eyes and messy hair.

“It worked!” you yelped in excitement, twirling around and still wearing his hoodie. “Well, kind of. I fell asleep after about an hour, and then I slept for maybe three after that. But I had to pee in the middle of the night, and when I got back into bed I couldn’t fall back asleep until 6 a.m.”

“That’s some good progress,” he yawned, stepping out into the hallway to keep your little celebration from bothering Ned too much. “If only we could get you to sleep the entire night.”

“I know right. But I’m so happy!” you cheered, wrapping your arms around him. “We finally did something right!”

“We need to celebrate!” you continued, grabbing Peter’s hand and dragging him down the stairs. “Come on. We’re making you a chocolate cake!”

You stopped by your room on the way to the kitchen, piling a bunch of ingredients into Peter’s arms from your mini-fridge and various shelves.

“Okay, eggs, flour, butter, sugar, chocolate. Damn it. We’re all out of milk.” You side-eyed him, remembering the whole Captain America induced fiasco from a couple weeks ago. 

“I think we might have some in our room,” Peter laughed. “Ned drinks a lot of milk mixed with Milo powder. It’s some obsession he picked up when his family took a vacation to Australia. I’ll go get it.”

He set all of the ingredients you had given him on your desk and sprinted back up the stairs to raid Ned’s stash, already thinking of ways to apologize for it later.

A few minutes later he was knocking on your door, out of breath, and dressed to brave the many inches of snow that had fallen overnight. 

“We didn’t have any milk,” he panted. “But I can run to the dining hall and get a few cartons.”

“I’ll go with you.” You quickly pulled on your snow boots and layered your puffer coat on top of Peter’s hoodie, wrapping a hand-knit scarf around your neck just to be safe. “All ready.”

Getting the milk was the easy part. Making sure you didn’t die of frostbite was another story. By the time you and Peter got back to your room, your nose was super red and you couldn’t feel your toes.

“Okay,” you said, your teeth chattering. “I thought I was used to the snow by now, but that was something else.” You dropped your coat on the ground and climbed into your bed, burying yourself under your comforter.

“I thought we were making a cake,” he laughed, walking over to see you peeking out of the pile.

“Cake will have to wait,” you whined, your voice slightly muffled by the blanket. “Come here. I need some of your body heat.”

“Okay,” he stuttered, kicking off his sneakers and climbing in beside you. He had sat on your bed a lot since the two of you met, but this was the first time that he was actually laying in it. You snuggled up to him, and he hesitantly wrapped his arms around you.

“This is nice,” you sighed, nuzzling your head into his chest. “Is this one of your superpowers? Spidey-warmth?” Peter let out a soft laugh. It was silly but true. Ever since the bite, he never really noticed how cold it was outside anymore.

“Y/N,” he whispered, tightening his grip around your waist. Your head was nestled underneath his chin, and he could smell the faint citrus scent of your shampoo. “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it, Pete?” you yawned, your eyelids heavy from how comfy Peter’s cuddles were.

“I love you.” He held his breath, nervously waiting for you to respond.

“I know,” you giggled, intertwining your legs. “Sometimes, you talk in your sleep. You’ve probably professed your love for me at least eight times by now.”

“Oh.” Peter had no idea how he was supposed to respond to that.

“Don’t worry. I love you, too,” you assured him, grinning and placing little kisses on his jawline. “I thought that was obvious.”

“Maybe you could make it a little more obvious,” he mumbled, his heartbeat getting quicker as you shifted up to kiss him on the lips, your hand running through his hair.

“I will,” you smiled, your forehead resting against his. “But after we take a nap, okay?”

“Okay,” Peter agreed, snuggling as close as he possibly could to you, never wanting to let go. In no time at all, he watched happily as you fell asleep in his arms, wondering how the two of you hadn’t thought of this sooner.

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

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P.S.: Please shoot me an ask or a reply if you’d like to be added to (or removed from) the taglist!

[tanzaniiite]

Hello! Can i request part 2 for "just a thought"? Where kuroo's s/o finally pregnant and their pregnancy journey until she give birth and gushing over their newborn 😔❤ thank you

JOURNEY • KUROO T.

requests: CLOSED

warnings: none!

word count: 2k

a/n: heyo!! this request is months old but here you are! the baby isn’t born in this but a part three is in the works! enjoy! 🥰

part one

Who knew trying for a baby would be so hard?

Both you and Kuroo sat on the couch, staring at yet another negative pregnancy test, that seemed to mock you from its place on the end table. You turned your attention to your boyfriend who was groaning in frustration. It’s been about three months since you and Tetsuro have actively started trying for a baby. Luck was not on your side. Rubbing his arm gently, you offered Kuroo a small smile. “It’s okay babe. This stuff takes time, no one said it'll be easy” You explained, getting up from your spot on the couch to throw away the test. 

“The Sims did! All they have to do is click try for a baby and bam! Eating for two” Kuroo huffed. You couldn’t help but laugh a bit. You weren’t sure if he was joking or if he thought getting pregnant would be that easy. After throwing the test away and washing your hands, you crawled back to your previous spot on the couch. You watched as your boyfriend scrolled through the endless pictures of Koutarou and Keiji’s newborn. “How many pictures did Bokuto send you?” You giggled, placing your head on his shoulder. Kuroo groaned again, “Too many.. but she’s adorable” He sighed. You nodded in agreement and snuggled closer to your boyfriend. The two of you sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Tetsuro spoke up. “How come Kou and Keiji can have a baby but we can’t? This is bogus” He pouted, shutting off his phone and tossing it to the other side of the couch. 

“Well, they used a surrogate but that’s not always guaranteed to work. It’s all about luck baby” You explained, running your fingers through his unruly hair. Kuroo grumbled something that sounded like a “You’re right” before laying on your chest. Suddenly he tilted his head to look up at you, “Wanna try again?” He inquired. Your eyes widened a bit, “Right now?” You asked. He nodded fervently. You winced a bit at the soreness between your legs that decided to make itself known. “Uh, m-maybe later,” You said, tearing your eyes away from his gaze. At that, Kuroo deflated, laying his head on your chest once again.

You knew your boyfriend desperately wanted a baby but the ‘hit it until it breaks’ method doesn’t exactly work in this case. Of course, you knew it wouldn’t happen the first couple of times but you didn’t think it would take this long either. Maybe it was time to come up with a game plan.

Kuroo walked through the door, tired from another day at work. As he placed down his bag and chucked off his shoes, he noticed that you didn’t come to greet him like you normally did. “Y/n?” He called out, putting his jacket on the coat rack. “I’m in the dining room!” You replied. Tetsuro made his way to the dining room, wondering if he should ask you to try again tonight. As much as he wanted a baby, he didn’t want to wear you out, you come first. All those thoughts vanished as he looked at the scene laid out in front of him.

There was a huge calendar sprawled out across the table, with huge red circles drawn over certain dates. On top of that was your laptop, which was opened up to some article he couldn’t see the name of. And not too far from your laptop was a book.. was that a book of sex positions? Kuroo gave you a confused look as you gave him a warm smile. “Welcome home baby” You greeted, going up to him and giving him a quick peck on the lips before going back to… whatever you were doing. “What’s.. all this?” He asked, gesturing to the dining table, still confused about what the hell was going on.

Your face lit up at his question and he couldn’t help but smile. “I’m glad you asked! Okay so, I was looking at my period tracker, and did you know that it gives you the days you’re most fertile? So I took it upon myself to circle those dates, as you could see here,” You explained, pointing to the calendar. “Uh-huh,” Kuroo responded, starting to understand what you were doing. “Right, so those days are when we’ll try, instead of blindly picking days. And we’ll use the most penetrative positions, which I learned from this book” You said, raising the book. Your boyfriend took the book from your hands and flipped through it, “Oh wow” He breathed, looking at rather.. confusing position that you circled. “Also I was reading this article that said pregnancy tests aren’t always right so we should probably go to the doctor next time” You stated, pulling your boyfriend’s attention from the sex book. 

“Babe, this is so extra. I love it” He chirped, hugging you from behind and pressing kisses to your temple. You giggled slightly, “I’m glad you like it, I know how badly you want a baby” You hummed, turning around to face him. “I mean yeah, but you didn’t have to do-“He started. You quickly placed a finger on his lips, “I wanted to okay? I want this baby as much as you do, if not more. So let me help us get to that end goal” You said, holding his cheeks in your hands. Kuroo smiled and sighed dramatically, “Ugh! How did I get such a perfect partner?” He asked rhetorically, kissing your forehead. 

“So when are most fertile this month?”

“Today”

You have never seen Tetsuro move so quickly. He hoisted you up by the thighs and carried you to the bedroom, with you giggling into his neck the whole way there.

Today you felt like absolute shit.

It all started this morning when you felt too nauseous to get out of bed. It was so bad that Kuroo had to call your job and tell them you were taking a sick day. Your boyfriend proposed the idea that maybe you were finally pregnant. You dismissed that idea quickly, saying that it only been a week since you guys last tried and that there was no way you would be showing symptoms that fast. Plus, although you felt nauseous, you didn’t throw up. Even though you wanted to, just to get this wave of nausea to go away. So Tetsuro reluctantly went to work (he wanted to stay home with you) and you were laying in bed feeling miserable. Kuroo put a bucket next to your side of the bed just in case you eventually threw up and couldn’t make it to the bathroom. He loved you but he would rather not have to clean up vomit. Around noon, you decided to FaceTime Kiyoko and chat with her a bit.

“Are you sure you’re not pregnant?”

She questioned, giving you an incredulous look. You let out an exasperated sigh, “Yes, I’m sure. Tetsu and I just tried last week. People don’t start getting symptoms until two or three weeks afterward” You explained. Shimizu nodded slightly before perking up a bit, “Wait. Didn’t you guys try last month? I remember you complaining about how rough Kuroo was” She recalled, tapping her chin thoughtfully. You blushed slightly, looking at your blanket that was suddenly super interesting. “Well yeah but that was a whole month ago. If I was pregnant from that time, I wouldn’t be showing symptoms this late” You clarified.

“Well better late than never right? Maybe take a test, if not that then go to the doctor” She suggested. You hummed in agreement, looking at your dresser, that had an almost empty pack of pregnancy tests resting on top of it. Slowly getting up you grabbed your phone and one of the tests. “Stay on the phone with me?” You asked, showing Kiyoko the test. She nodded, “Of course hun”. 

Now you were sitting on the rim of the bathtub, waiting for the result of the test. You and Kuroo have done this several times before, the result always comes back negative, so why did you feel anxious? Why did this time feel different? Was it because your boyfriend wasn’t with you? 

“Y/n relax, worst case scenario it’s negative and you guys will try again” Shimizu reassured, watching you spiral in your thoughts. You took a deep breath and nodded, “You’re right, I’m just super nervous” You stated. “That’s understandable, the test should be ready now,” Kiyoko said. Taking yet another deep breath, you took the test off the sink and flipped it over to see the result. 

Dropping both your phone and the test, you lunged for the toilet and finally threw up for the first time that day. “Y/n?! Are you all alright? What happened?” Shimizu’s panicked voice called out from your phone. “I-I’m fine, just felt sick all of a sudden” You explained, hovering over the toilet. “Are you sure? I can come over” She fretted. You shook your head before realizing she couldn’t see you. 

“No no, I’m good. Look, I’ll call you back later, okay?”

You couldn’t stop pacing the living room, waiting for Kuroo to come home. This was it, you were pregnant, you and Tetsuro were finally having the baby you both longed for. You couldn’t help but let a few happy tears roll down your cheeks, this was surreal. After months of trying and failing, you were finally pregnant. Holy shit, you were pregnant. The jiggling of keys snapped you out of your thoughts. You clutched the test in your hands and put it behind your back. 

“Hey babe, you feeling better?” Kuroo asked, taking off his shoes. You nodded slightly while making your way closer to him, the test still hidden from his view. He bent down and placed a sweet kiss on your cheek, “You want me to make dinner tonight? Or we can order takeout if you’re feeling up to it” He suggested, noting how your hands were behind your back. “Takeout is fine but... I do have something to tell you” You stated, guiding him to the couch. “O…kay? Should I be worried?” He asked. You shook your head and sat down, “Nope, now sit down and close your eyes” You requested, patting the spot next to you. Kuroo raised an eyebrow at you, suddenly suspicious of your behavior.

“Come on, please?” You pleaded, pouting a bit. “Alright alright,” He gave in, sitting down and closing his eyes. Putting the test, that you had put in a small ziplock bag, on your lap, you took Kuroo’s big hands into your small ones. “This is something we’ve been wanting for a while, so I hope you’ll be just as excited as I am” You stated, placing the test in his hands. Tetsuro’s face scrunched up in confusion before he opened his eyes. You watched his face intently, trying to take in his reaction. However, that was hard to do since his face was blank and he fell silent.

“Tetsu? Baby?”

Your boyfriend clenched the test in his hands, so much so that you were afraid he would snap it in half. You placed a hand on his shoulder, in an attempt to get him to talk, but you were surprised to feel him trembling. "Babe? I-I know this is a lot to take in, it's.. um, it's fine if you need time to proc–" You started only to jump back as Kuroo pulled you into a tight embrace. Slowly, you wrapped your arms around his torso and rubbed his back gently. "I.. I'm so happy right now" He whispered in your ear, his voice wavering. "Aw baby, me too. But you don't need to cry" You laughed slightly, kissing his cheek.

Tetsuro pulled back from the hug and looked at you with hazel eyes, tears just threatening to spill. He chuckled, "Shut up, I'm ecstatic okay? Oh shit! I need to call Kenma!" He exclaimed jumping up from the couch to grab the house phone. You watched in amusement as your boyfriend animatedly told his best friend the good news. You subconsciously placed a hand on your stomach.

This was going to be one hell of a journey.

tanzaniiite © 2020 — all rights reserved. do not repost, modify, or copy. do not plagiarize. thank you.

[thr-333]

Just Another Class Trip :)  Part 2

Marinette sacrifices Adrien and then steals his alter ego.

First<>Next

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

With the help of the staff Marinette is directed to the room she will be sharing with Chloe and Kagami. It was meant to be two to a room, but yada yada Lila yada yada medical condition yada yada tears= Lila gets her own room.

“Marinette,” Kagami spots her first, rising from the couch.

“Mari!” Chloe vaults over the couch and hug tackles her, Marinette barely moves an inch, “You should have heard all the shit Lila was saying on the way here, you’d think it be enough she got the class to leave you behind!”

“Perhaps it’s best if you do not,” Kagami pulls Chloe off her, “You didn’t answer your phone,”

“Flat,”

“Bags?”

“Stolen,”

“Lila?”

“Probably,”

“Well lucky for you housekeeping dropped this by earlier,” Chloe hands her a box, inside filled with essential items, tooth brush, hair brush, even a pair of pyjamas, along with a note

‘Courtesy of the Waynes, for Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng’

“Must be a generic package,” She had shrugged off the bellhops earlier saying her bags were lost.

“Well since you don’t have to unpack, help me with this,” Chloe leads her over to their kitchen that might actually be bigger than her houses.

On the counter beauty products are lined up along with random ingredients.

“We’re making face masks!”

“Correction, Chloe is making face masks,” Kagami scolds, “I argued that sleep would be more effective,”

“And yet you didn’t go to sleep,” Chloe teases, mashing up avocado.

“Well not without you,” Kagami smirks, making Chloe blush, but it’s not like her to back down.

“Awe, you’d wait for me~” Chloe relishes in the blush dusting Kagami's cheeks.

Marinette dry heaves, wondering how long they were going to keep pretending to flirt like this, each too stubborn to back down. They have been doing this more and more recently, great that they were more comfortable around each other but…

“How about we go to bed,” Marinette disturbs their challenging stares.

“Not without Kagami,”

“I already used that one,”

“I never said we’d use the bed for sleeping~”

“Hey!” Her exclamation doesn't get them to drop their staring contest, “Do either of you know what room Adrien is in?”

“End of the hall,” They both answer, not looking at her.

“Great,” Marinette hastily grabs her bag and the box, she could get ready in Adrien's room, away from the weirdness.

She practically runs down the hall, ignoring her Kwami’s snickering.

“Mari!” Adrien throws the door open for her, “Did everything go ok, you didn’t answer your phone, you look upset,”

“Sorted everything out with security no problems, Phones dead, Bag stolen,” She plops down on the couch next to Nino, “Chlo and Kags are driving me crazy,”

“How long have you been back?” She looks down at her watch.

“Three minutes,”

“Are they doing that thing again?” Adrien, Kwami bless him hands her a mug of coffee.

“Yep,” She takes a sip from the mug, she retracts that blessing “Betrayal! This isn’t coffee!”

“It’s hot chocolate,” Adrien is in the kitchen fixing another mug, “You need to go to bed, and coffee will keep you up,”

No she needed to go on patrol, and a coffee is vital to her surviving it.

“What’s up with Chloe and Kagami?” Nino takes off his headphones.

“They started teasing each other by jokingly flirting but their both too stubborn to back down," Marinette sighs, downing half the mug of hot chocolate so she can get herself a damn coffee, "So they get uncomfortable then we get uncomfortable and its overall very uncomfortable,”

“I think it’s kind of funny,” Adrien sits down next to her, mug in hand.

“It would be if they both weren’t horrible at flirting,” She steals the mug away from him taking a sip.

That is not coffee, that is sugar disguised as a liquid

“That’s the funny part,” Adrien smiles as she hands back the mug,

“Touche Agreste, Touche,”

“If you wanted you could sleep in my room,” Nino offers, oh so innocently.

“Thank’s Nino, but I would rather Alya not kill me,”

“Nah dude, I was going to stay with Alya anyway Madame Bustier wont mind,” Yeah their teacher really should learn not to trust teenagers, "So you can have my room,”

“Nino you are a godsent,”

Nino cleans up his few thrown about items and bids them adieu. Marinette was glad they could still talk, maybe they were even still friends. When you have the devil in one ear and her loyal sidekick in the other it is actually kind of impressive they still have a friendly relationship.

“So how’s your day been?” Marinette gathers up the strength to start a conversation after making her own coffee, and her mouth was only very burnt from chugging a hot drink.

“Good, Chloe took us to a supermarket, I brought a bunch of american snacks!”

Indeed he had, Marinette watches in mild horror as he plops bags full of junk food in front of her.

“I didn’t realise we were feeding an army,” Adrien starts rooting through the bags, “If a super villain comes after you because you brought all their favourite snacks in Gotham I’m not protecting you,”

“I’d just share with them,” Adrien hums, chomping down on a chocolate bar.

“... Yeah that could work,” Dear Kwami I have to protect this sunshine child,  “Maybe,”

“Oi, don’t eat too much, I don't want to have to re tailor your outfit for the runway,” She teases, regretting it immediately as Adrien's shoulders sag.

“Sorry,”

“Adri I’m kidding,”  She places a hand on his shoulder smiling gently, “I already made the measurements a bit bigger so you’re good.

“Have I ever told you you’re the best?”

“Not enough you haven't,” Marinette huffs in mock offence, “Now eat,”

She shoves the chocolate bag in his face, getting it all over his cheek. They both start laughing as Adrien tries to get his revenge. They end up falling off the couch, Marinette on top of him. Adrien is blushing a bright red, Marinette just grins and shoves the chocolate in his face before getting up.

She could almost laugh at how her younger self would react to that. It wasn't as if she didn’t like Adrien, well maybe not in that way anymore, she honestly hadn't put that much thought into it lately. Things just got busy she supposed, Akumas got harder, then she became the guardian, she started her fashion career. Actually her fashion career might be at fault.

Gabriel had started lending Adrien to model for her more and more. The man stepping further and further back from the fashion world, or the world in general, over the years for whatever the reason. At first she had been a blushing mess around Adrien, not directing him properly and making her work suffer for it. Overtime she had learnt how to handle it, getting less flustered every time they worked together. Now that she thought about it, when she had revealed her identity as MDC Adrien didn’t seem surprised; maybe her work attitude had bled into her regular life well before then.

Marinette is washing the chocolate off when a knock sounds at the door. Neither feel like walking to it so shout out ‘come in’. That turned out to be a mistake as Lila bursts into the room. How were they supposed to know Lila would actually knock?!

“Marinette you slut!” Lila all but screeches.

“Lila, you don’t have an audience and neither of us believe you,” Marinette comes out of the bathroom, already bored of the conversation she really needed to go, Lila and Marinette both.

“Well just wait, tomorrow the whole class is going to know what you did,” Lila gets up in her face, so close she can smell her perfume.

No not Lila's perfume her perfume.

“Right, sorry to say but there’s worse rumours than sleeping with a supermodel,” Marinette tries to edge her way around Lila, good excuse as any to dip out for patrol.

“Not if I say you forced him,” Lila looks way to self satisfied for what she is implying

I think the fuck not

“Nah,” Adrien shrugs, getting Lila’s ire turned on him, a noble sacrifice indeed.

“Nah?” Lila looks livid, “What do you mean Nah !”

“I’d just say I wanted to,” Adrien stays calm with Lila's face inches from him, Marinette gives him the thumbs up as she edges closer to the door, Adrien nods back.

She loved this version of the high road

“After all Marinette's super pretty and talented,” Adrien gushes, Marinette grins at the face Lila must be making, “Honestly your lie is so unbelievable, why would she ever go for someone like me?”

Marinette closes the door on Lila’s cursing response, saying a quick word of praise for Adrien's bravery and sacrifice.

At least he gets to see Lila’s reaction when she realises I’m gone

Marinette uses a back door of the hotel to get to the street, not wanting the staff to stop her and warn about the dangers. She skips along looking for a good place to change. The city was actually kind of beautiful at night, she feels drawn to it in a strange way.

“Marinette!” Tikki looks out from her scarf, “You forgot the Miracle box,”

“Shoot!” She looks back to the hotel, a few blocks away from it by now, “It’ll be fine Tikki I leave it at home all the time,”

“You’re not at home right now,” Tikki looks worried, those are her friends after all, “It’s a guardians duty-”

Marinette tries not to groan, she really does.

“I know Tikki, I know,” She looks over the buildings surrounding her, feeling a deep itch to see Gotham from the rooftops “But can’t I just be myself for once, not the guardian?”

“You are the guardian,” Tikki insists, before sighing, “Which means you can make your own decisions regarding the miracle box,”

“Thank you Tikki,” She hugs the little Kwami, “I promise to be back super quick, I just have to stop one bad guy, an eye witness account of Starling so I don’t just appear randomly, I won’t even need to go on patrol again after this,”

“Alright Marinette, I trust you,” Tikki nuzzles her cheek, easing Marinette's conscience.

With that she ducks out of sight to get changed. Her costume is pretty simple really. All she had to do was pull her infinity scarf up, discrete holes allowing her to see. She turns her skirt inside out to a black side, with white, purple, and blue detailing to stick to her Starling namesake. The skirt pulls over her shoulders, a zip down the middle allowing her more movement, and a zip to form a secret hood.

Ready to go she climbs up to the roof, super strength and speed making roof hopping easier. She supposed if someone looked too hard they would be able to piece together pieces of her costume but her ‘cape’ hides the detailing of her shirt. Besides if she has her way she won’t have to use this identity ever again, but she rarely has her way.

About ten minutes into her search through Gotham she spots a broken window. Not notable except that the lights are on. She lowers herself onto the fire escape and sure enough someone is being held at gunpoint.

“Excuse me,” Both people jump, spinning to look at Starling casual sitting on the broken glass on the window sill, “You seem to have a very rude house guest on your hands,”

“Who the hell are you!?” The burglar turns their gun on her.

“Just a stray passing through,” She gives a bright smile, and a very Chat like bow, “Starling at your service… milady,”

If I’m going Chat I might as go full Chat Noir, hope he doesn't file a lawsuit against me

“Ummm,” The woman looks very confused, but not as confused as the burglar.

“Would you like me to remove him from your home?”

“Ah… yes?”

With another smile Starling makes her move. In the split second it takes the burglar to register her offer she's standing in front of him. The gun moves a second too late as she ceases his arm, her strength being as good as handcuffs. She hits a pressure point her Aunt taught her to make him drop the gun, kicking it away. Pinning the man's arm behind his back she spins him around, zip tying his hands.

“What the fuck!!”

“That’s no kind of language,” Starling reprimands, pushing him towards the window, “Now apologise,”

“What?! No way fuck you!” Starling grins, hooking a bungee cord to his shirt.

“Alright then, bye!” She pushes him out the window.

His screaming doesn't stop even when she watches as he bounces back up, dangling out the window. She grins.

Ladybug would never get away with that

Tying the other end of the cord to a post, she double checks to make sure everything is secure before turning back to the victim.

“So sorry about the rude intrusion milady,” She bows again, in jest, “Have you contacted the police?”

“Yeah… what are you?”

“A Starling bird,” Starling spins, showing off her cape, the patterning placed to resemble wings, “I though the name would be a dead give away,”

“Yeah, but what are you? A Bat? Vigilante?”

“Vigilante yes, Bat not so much,” Starling can see as she looks more cautious after that, “Just happened to be passing through Gotham when I saw you in need of assistance,”

“Right... ok then...” She sits down, letting herself slump over the couch, “Ugh, this has been a terrible day,”

“How so?” Starling eyes up the kitchen, “Besides from mister bungee jump out there,”

“I was almost out of work this afternoon when a new rumour about the Wayne's blew up,” Starling nods along, turning the oven on and picking out ingredients.

“I work in the PR department at Wayne tower, do you have any idea how hard that is?!” Starling shakes her head finding a bowl but no measuring cups, she could just estimate.

“They have new bruises everyday,” Starling does look up to that, very concerned, “Don’t worry it’s not abuse or anything, they really are just dumbasses,”

Starling snickers a little bit at that, pouring in ingredients like second nature.

“I once asked mister Drake why he had a giant bruise on his forehead, he told me he passed out at his desk and just slammed into it!” Starling does laugh at that one, “Like?! How am I supposed to tell people that without sullying the Wayne name?”

“I think its funny,” She did clearly not agree, Starling changes the subject as she starts mixing “What was the problem today?”

“Nothin much really someone took pictures of mister Drake talking and giving a ride to some girl with black hair and blue eyes, and now everyone thinks she’s a Wayne,”

“That’s all it takes?” She starts placing the cookie dough on the baking tray, “Maybe I should apply?”

“Nah, you’d sooner be Batman's kid than Bruce Wayne's,” She cracks the first smile Starling has seen so far, “He’s got the same amount of kids, if not more,”

“Maybe they should share custody?” Starling puts the cookies in the oven, “Double the number each,”

“Yeah, how about no?” She smiles more, which is good, “I can’t imagine having to explain away the bruises the Bat kids get,”

Starling smiles, the sound of sirens now drawing close.

“I guess that's my cue to leave Milady,” Starling jumps up onto the window sill, the burglar still shouting below, “Take the cookies out in fifteen minutes,”

“Hey,” Starling looks back, “Thank you,”

“No problem,” Starling sends a dazzling smile, “Good night, Milady,”

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

Taglist (guess I’m doing these now, please let me know if theres any issues):

@smolplantmum @flufflepuffle296 @dawnwave16  @caffeinetheory   @g-arya   @Maribat-2k20   @ladybug-182    @Actual-disaster-human    @fusser90   @messrs-weasley   @soap-lady  @paintedhope7   @zeneralla    @mochegato     @random-nerd-3 @clumsy-owl-4178  @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen   @too0bsessedformyowngood @certifiedbidisaster  @Purplegeekypanda

[e-of-west-glendia]

For the very amazing and wonderful and super super kind @sirrriusblack. I cannot believe I’ve only known you for a year and I’m so so glad I know you Kay Kay. Happy birthday and I love you so very very much.

~~~~~~

The dorm was silent at this time of night. Everyone had gone to bed hours ago and the only sound came from the soft rise and fall of people breathing and the quiet rustling of the curtains.

Marlene always insisted on leaving the window partially open. Lily could never figure out why but she just went with it.

The autumn breeze blew the curtains around causing them to look like ghosts under the pale light of the moon.

They’re mesmerizing to watch, and quite frankly Lily doesnt have anything better to do.

She’s found that she can’t sleep. Her homework had been done hours ago and everyone else had gone to bed. So curtain staring is currently her best source of entertainment.

Although it’s beginning to grow boring. It’s only so long that you can stare at strips of fabric fluttering with the wind.

She’s not sure what makes her decide, but next thing Lily knows she’s pulling on a pair of shoes and leaving the dorm. Heading down the stairs and making her way swiftly to the portrait hole.

It’s chilly in the hallway, and the silence makes her footfalls echo across the stone.

She lets her feet carry her wherever they wish, not quite paying attention to where she’s going.

However, when she reaches the quidditch pitch, it becomes apparent what her subconscious is doing.

She sighs a bit. “Of all the places.”

No use turning back now, she’s already here. Besides, she wanted to get out of the dorm and now she is.

If it was cold inside the halls of the school, it’s freezing out on the pitch. Whats even better is that Lily realizes that she forgot a jumper, or anything warmer than pajamas, really.

She sits on the ground, deciding to lay back in the grass. It’s peaceful out here, quiet. Lily can’t help but let her eyes close as she enjoys the peace being outside brings.

“Well you’re out late.”

The voice startles her despite its familiarity and she jolts upwards.

Jamec chuckles from where he hovers in the air on his broom. “Sorry,” he says, running his free hand through his hair and offering a somewhat sheepish smile. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

Lily ignores the way her heart skips at beat at his laugh and soft smile.

“You’re one to talk,” she counters. “I’m not the only one outside.”

James snickers. “You got me there,” he says, hopping off the broom and sitting beside her. “What are you doing out here?”

Lily shrugs. “Couldn't sleep. You?”

James leans back onto his elbows, another one of his signature smiles tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Captain of the quidditch team, Lils. Take every moment to train that I can.”

Lily raises an eyebrow. “It’s three in the morning, James.”

“Okay fine,” he sighs. “Couldn't sleep. Better?”

“Much.”

James just laughs and rolls his eyes, laying back and then folding his arms behind his head.

The two of them stay like that for a while, staring up at the stars.

“You just come out here when you can’t sleep?.” Lily asks eventually.

“Yep. So do you apparently.”

“Wasn’t intentional. Just kind of let my feet carry me, yknow.”

James turns onto his side, grinning. “Thinking about me Evans?”

Yes, she thinks.

“In your dreams, Potter,” she says, which only makes James laugh again.

Lily has to suppress a sigh. She’s started noticing things. The sort of things she’d have ignored last year and the year before.

Things like the way James’s eyes crinkle in the corners when he laughs. The dimples on his cheeks and the one on his chin. The way his eyelashes curl ever so slightly, just enough so that they don’t touch his glasses.

James stands so suddenly it almost startles her as much as when he arrived.

“Where are you going?”

James shrugs. “Flying.”

“Now?” Lily asks, slightly incredulous.

James nods at his already floating and previously abandoned broom. “Yep. Can’t see why not.”

“You’re blind enough in the daylight James, it’s not even remotely sunny out.”

He waves a nonchalant hand at her. “Quidditch Captain instincts.”

“You’re an idiot, Potter,” she mutters. Although if she’s being perfectly honest she’s thinking he’s several other things too.

“Maybe,” he says.

Lily shakes her head. “Definitely.”

She watches as James climbs back on his broom, expecting him to take off at any moment.

“You’re staring,” James points out.

“I’m not.” It probably sounds a bit too indignant to be believable and Lily is suddenly very thankful for how the darkness covers most of the blush that’s spread across her cheeks.

James only chuckles. “If you say so.”

He regards her curiously for a moment.

“Look who’s staring now.”

“Not staring, thinking.”

“About?”

James shrugs a bit. “You should come with me.”

Lily blinks in confusion. It takes a solid thirty seconds of staring at him blankly for it to click.

“Oh you mean up there,” she shakes her head quickly. “Yeah, no, I don’t fly.”

“Well you wouldn’t be,” he says and Lily rolls her eyes.

“You know what I meant.”

“Did I?”

“James.”

“Well where’s the harm in it.”

“Well theres-“ she stops short, not able to think of any suitable reasons.

“I was made quiddtich captain for a reason, Evans. Wasn't because I can’t fly.”

Lily just sighs.

“Do you trust me?” He asks.

And she does, probably a lot more than she should.

Its why she finds herself standing and walking to his side.

“Yes, I do.”

The smile he gives her in return makes this idiotic sky adventure worth it.

A breeze spins through the air and Lily, who is rather forcibly reminded that she should’ve brought something warmer, shivers.

It doesn’t escape James’ notice and he frowns.

“You’re cold,” he says.

Lily snorts. “I didn’t notice.”

Then, before she can protest it, James has taken off his jumper and is extending it to her.

“Take it,” he says upon seeing the look on her face. “Really, I mean it. I’ll be warm enough when we get in the air.”

It’s never been a good idea to try and argue something with James Potter. So with no more protest than a small sigh, she slips it over her head.

The jumper is warm, about three sizes too big, and despite being the standard quidditch sweater, it’s distinctly James.

“Thanks,” she mutters.

“Anytime, Lils,” he returns. Then, “You probably want to get on now, can’t do much flying if you’re still standing there.”

“Oh, right.”

She settles herself onto the back of the broom. And after a quick check in, they take off.

Lily can’t help the way her arms tighten around James’ waist as they pitch upwards.

“Alright, Evans?” He asks, and Lily can feel the way his small laugh vibrates through his chest.

“Mhm yep.”

She’s trying mostly not to think about how far down the ground is. Or why the hell anyone would want to play quidditch.

As if sensing this, James says, “Eyes up, Lils. All the interesting things are up here.”

She hums in agreement as she looks up at the stars.

“Hold on,” James whispers and then he leans forward a bit.

How fast they’re going is soon lost to Lily as they streak across the grounds of the school. Spiraling upwards towards the top of the astronomy tower and then down to the lake, low enough for her fingers to skim the water.

She’s starting to see why he likes it up here. Nothing but the stars, the sky, and the air. The air that's fanning her hair out around her face and makes James smile as it brushes his face.

There’s a moment when when he turns back to look at her. The corners of his eyes crinkling into his telltale smile.

Of all the people she had to fall for at school it had to be James Potter.

The one boy she’d spent years being annoyed with and trying to ignore. And now, after all this time, he was the one she wanted the most. The irony of it was that since they had become friends, it seemed as though he wanted it to stay that way. Lily could deal with being friends. It was better than whatever the hell had been going on in years prior.

Or perhaps it wasn’t. At least then she didn’t feel the small pang in her chest when he smiled at her.

They touch back down onto the ground far too soon for Lily’s liking. James gets down first, offering a hand to help her jump down.

She lets her hand stay in his far longer than she should’ve and when she looks up at him to see if he’s noticed, she finds that he’s looking in the other direction.

“Well?” He asks when he finally turns back.

“Okay, I’ll admit that was fun.”

The triumphant look on his face makes her laugh.

“Don’t get too excited. Quidditch is still a ridiculous sport.”

“I’ll take what I can get,” he says.

She walks with him as he puts his broom away, and then the two of them walk back into the castle, all the way up to Gryffindor tower.

It’s not until she’s at the foot of the stairs to her dorm that she realizes she still has his sweater on.

“Oh! I forgot to give this back!” She’s staring to take it off, but he stops her by placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Keep it,” he says. “I’ve got plenty.”

She doesn’t have an answer for that and it’s not long before James says goodnight and heads up to his own room.

Later, when she’s back in her bed, Lily finds herself staring at that curtain again. She’s fiddling with a loose seam on one of the sleeves as she looks at the curtain.

The way the red and gold of it billows in the wind. It reminds her of when they were flying, and suddenly the curtain looks much less like a ghost and more and more like James.

She supposes that they’re the same things. The curtain ghost and James Potter. Like a ghost, James Potter is someone she can’t have.

But at least they’re friends she thinks. And as she falls asleep in the jumper he gave her she slowly realizes that maybe, that’s not enough for her.

[bigskydreaming]

Okay, long time followers will probably remember having read this, but I can’t find the original post and I’m trying to like.....force-reboot/jumpstart me working on my ‘Kings of the Sky’ AU again because I haven’t touched it in awhile and I have like literally eight different installments in various stages of completion and that’s ridiculous even for me. So here’s a repost of the first part of “Teachable Moments” the canon-divergence point of that AU series, where Jason calls Dick for advice after the Garzonas case and everything changes from there.

******

The way Jason Todd warily eyed the device in his hand, one might think it was an instrument of great and terrible destructive power, rather than just…his own personal cell-phone.

To be fair, he was Robin, and pretty used to the idea that even the most unlikely of things could be used for evil in Gotham. It could’ve been stolen and replaced at some point by a henchperson of Mr. Freeze, and using it could unleash some kind of cryogenic freeze ray that would turn him into a Robinsicle. Mad Hatter could be up to shit again, and dialing the phone at this very minute might mean syncing it up with a remote radio signal that would override his natural brainwaves and turn him into Tetch’s mindless minion of like…doom and stuff. Or…or…

Or sometimes, even in Gotham a phone is just a phone, and Freud is still a dumbass. And neither of the above possibilities had anything to do with why Jason was being a giant freaking pansy about entering the last digit of the phone number he would never ever admit to having had memorized for months now.

Nightwing had said to call if he ever needed to talk. He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t actually want Jason to call, right? Like, its not as if Jason had remotely been expecting him to do that, so its not the sort of thing someone did just because it was ‘expected’ or shit. He was pretty sure. Rich people manners were weird though. Had to factor that in.

But Nightwing had also even made a point to say not talking to people about stuff was Bruce’s problem and that Jason shouldn’t let it be his problem too, and even though months ago Jason had been a starry-eyed dumbass who was totally drunk on the Bruce is the Bestest Kool-Aid or whatever, ‘Wing had definitely known what he was talking about there. So maybe he’d get it, and having this conversation with him wouldn’t be. Like. The actual worst idea in the history of ever.

Deductive logic said that Jason was getting worked up over nothing and there was no rational reason for him to be this nervous about dialing a fucking phone number. And he’d gotten pretty good at the whole deduction shit, given all the work he and Bruce had put into training his mind to view the world through entirely new paradigms, so Jason was pretty sure his math on that checked out. But on the other hand, Bruce was a hypocritical asshat that Jason was currently not speaking to, so what the fuck did he know about anything?

Aaaaand he was back to square one. Well damn. This was excellent. Very productive. Good hustle out there, Jay.

Sighing gustily, Jason flopped back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and trying to pretend he hadn’t gotten used to how luxurious and cushion-y his ridiculously expensive mattress was. He’d gotten soft, he told himself. Then he scoffed at the idea that the past year and a half of rigorous Robin training and patrols had made him less tough than the pipsqueak he’d been back when living on the street, getting his ass kicked by bigger and badder on the regular. That hadn’t been hardness, that had been bravado.

But it had gotten him this far in life, so maybe there was something to be said for it after all?

Ugh. Decisions were hard. He objected on principle. He also really wanted to understand why he was this nervous…if he could literally fill the guy’s shoes and kick supervillain ass as Robin, what freaking sense did it make that he couldn’t even call him up on the phone?

Maybe you just know better than to ask him questions you don’t really want to hear his answer to, a smug voice said in the back of his mind. It sounded suspiciously like Willis Todd, which was all kinds of weird and fucked up, cuz Jason was damn sure his abusive a-hole of a deadbeat dad had never said anything that insightful in his life.

Which meant it was his own screwed up subconscious - presenting in the voice of his not so dearly departed douchebag dad, no less - that had Jason reacting out of spite, entering the last number and hitting Talk, all while totally on autopilot. Because apparently we’re all making healthy life choices in this Chili’s tonight, Jason snickered somewhat hysterically while his phone rang once, twice, three times.

Ugh. Was he always this fucked up in the head and he just never noticed, or was it a side effect of running around rooftops in a cape. Inquiring minds wanted to know.

“Hello?” Someone said then, answering on the fourth ring. Jason sat bolt upright, his nervous humor vanishing as quickly and unexpectedly as it’d hijacked him in the first place. For all that he’d only actually interacted with the older man a few times, his voice was instantly recognizable. As was his slight confusion.

Right. Because why would Nightwing have the untraceable number of the latest burner phone Bruce had given Jason, when the ever paranoid Bat had him swapping out phones every freaking week? Duh, Jay.

“Uh, its me,” Jason said hastily, as if he could somehow catch up to and overtake the epically long ten second silence he let lapse before his mouth started making words again. “Jason?”

“Jaybird! Hey! What’s going on?” The older vigilante’s tone instantly morphed into one of surprised delight, so apparent even across the phone that Jason actually pulled it away from his ear and stared at it, as if that could explain Nightwing’s inexplicable giddiness. He’d literally only met the dude three times. Give or take a concussion he was forgetting about maybe? Weird.

Then again, the older man was a circus performer from birth. Might just be good at faking being super excited to hear from people? Whatever. Still weird.

“Uh, you said to call if I was ever having, I dunno, issues with Bruce I guess? So I kinda had a question? I mean, if you’re not busy or anything.”

Just one question? Willis’ voice asked snidely, echoing in time with the rapid tripartite beat of Jason’s heart. Since apparently everything Jason said was trying to come out with a question mark attached to the end of it at the moment. Ugh, fuck you, subconscious, Jason thought forcefully, even as he ransacked the recesses of his mind for that bravado he was thinking about earlier. It had to be in here somewhere…

“No worries dude, I’ve got time. Hit me!” Nightwing said cheerfully. His lighthearted cadences were so at odds with the sweat suddenly breaking out on Jason’s forehead, the younger teen couldn’t help but wince in anticipation of its inevitable change once he got his actual question out. This was a bad idea, he decided, way too fucking late for it to make a difference. He had a hunch Nightwing wouldn’t be content to ‘just forget it’ or whatever even if Jason chickened out now.

So he took a deep breath, shrugged and did what Jason Todd did best. Said fuck it, put pedal to the metal, and drove at full speed for the metaphorical police barricade that was his way of picturing all the things telling him He Should Definitely Just Not.

“Do you think I’m someone who could kill somebody in like, cold blood?”

Aaaaand there went the lightheartedness. Well, he’d definitely stone cold killed that, Jason thought grimly into the silence that followed.

“Huh,” Nightwing said at last. “You’re gonna have to give me a second to switch gears here, Jay. I was kinda expecting something along the lines of ‘how do I avoid Bruce giving me the safe sex talk.’”

Jason flushed and nodded jerkily, not that the older man could see it. Still, it’d been enough of a workout just getting to this point. He didn’t trust what might come out of his mouth next if he kept trying to force it. Thankfully Nightwing didn’t make him wait too long before continuing.

“I think anyone’s capable of killing somebody in the right circumstances,” Jason’s predecessor began carefully. Except that was not remotely what he wanted to hear. Or helpful.

“I’m not looking for platitudes,” Jason grit out, not angry at the other vigilante so much as the whole fucked up mess and his inability to think about anything else at this point. “It’s just a simple fucking question. You’ve met me, do you think like, I’d be capable of just killing somebody or not.”

“I’m not offering platitudes,” Nightwing continued calmly, as if he wasn’t phased by the younger boy’s interruption or sudden aggression at all. “And its not a simple question at all. Speaking from experience, most people wouldn’t think of an eight year old as a cold-blooded killer, but that’s what I could have been if Bruce hadn’t stopped me from killing my parents’ murderer when I first tracked him down. And yet that’s still totally different from when I held a gun on Two-Face barely a couple years later, about to shoot him because somebody else told me to, and because I wanted to hurt him like he’d hurt me. Wouldn’t you agree those are two different situations and two different ‘kinds’ of cold-blooded killer? Context is kinda a big deal here.”

Huh. First off…what the fuck? Jason stared blankly up at the ceiling, trying to hurry up the processing functions of his brain because, again, what the fuck? He was like ninety nine percent positive none of that had been in the Dick Grayson Is The Greatest and Here Are All The Reasons Why brochure he’d had read to him every time someone new found out he was Wayne’s newest stray, and like. Uh. Yeah, that part would have definitely stood out. Because once more, with feeling:

“What the fuck?”

Oops. That hadn’t been supposed to be out loud. Bad mouth. Bad.

Nightwing just did a weird kinda half laugh half sigh combo. Rueful, Jason would describe it, if he were describing it to someone else, which it kind of felt like he was, relaying the conversation to himself now that it’d taken a hard right turn into the surreal.

“Blindsided you with that, huh? Sorry, should’ve figured neither of those are the kinda stories Bruce would want to share with you. Then again, I don’t really have any idea what Bruce has told you about me.”

“Not much,” Jason admitted. Which was a major source of irritation, if he was being honest. The much sung praises of Dick Grayson came from literally everyone he met except for Bruce. Who usually just got a pinched expression whenever Jason brought him up, and a rapid subject change that was not nearly as subtle as Bruce seemed to think it was.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Nightwing sighed. “I hope you haven’t put too much stock in anything else you’ve heard about me then. I’ll admit to a bad habit of enjoying my mystique, so secondhand hearsay tends to lose my best nuances.”

Despite himself, Jason’s lips curved up and he let out a rueful huff of his own. “I mean, this definitely isn’t where I saw this conversation going.”

The older man chuckled. “Thought I was going to just assume the worst and chuck the book at you?”

“Well. Yeah.” Jason shrugged, even though he knew it wouldn’t come across. “Bruce did.”

Nightwing heaved an exasperated breath. “Yeah, that’s kinda the thing about B. Sometimes, he’s great. Other times, he’s an ass. Its kinda an either or thing. He’s never really mastered the art of finding a midpoint between two extremes. Mostly because he’s never seen the point of aiming for middle ground.”

“Well its not like he’s ever really had to,” Jason griped. It just slipped out before he could stop it, leaving him feeling guilty for bad-mouthing B when he wasn’t around to defend himself. Especially since he knew Nightwing wasn’t the guy’s biggest fan these days. But he couldn’t deny it also felt good, in a way.

To his surprise, Nightwing just laughed. And not even in a malicious, spiteful kind of way, but almost relieved.

“God, thank you. You’d think that ‘hey, so my billionaire guardian kinda has entitlement issues’ would be a water is wet kind of revelation, but try saying something like that to pretty much anyone else…”

“And they look at you like you’re an ungrateful asshole?” Jason finished for him. Not that he’d ever actually tried saying that to anyone before, though he’d definitely thought it a time or two. But he could all too easily imagine the reactions he’d get, which was pretty much why he’d never gone so far as to speak the words.

“Yup,” Nightwing drawled, dragging out the p and popping it with emphasis. “And its not about being grateful or not, its just…there are some parts of everyone that just aren’t up for grabs, for other people to weigh in on or take charge of, you know? And a lot of people just don’t get that…because nobody’s ever tried it with them, or had to deal with expectations that…overstep, let’s call it?”

“Is that why you left?”

Jason winced the second it left his mouth. Too far. Definitely way too far, but he’d just gotten unexpectedly comfortable with the back and forth, and now he’d done the overstepping thing himself and was left with just dead air.

But ten seconds of heavy silence stretched into twenty, and went no further, as Nightwing sighed into his side of the phone again.

“The spiteful part of me wants to say it was more of a push than me just up and leaving,” he laughed again, but this time with unmistakable bitterness. “But even while that’s true, its not really the right answer to your question, because no matter how much of a clusterfuck that was at the time, its not…I mean, I knew at the time how to fix it. Where and how I needed to cave in order to make up with him and let things get back not quite to normal, but at least close enough.”

The pause wasn’t as heavy or tense this time, as Jason could almost sense the older man gathering his thoughts, trying to put them into words. He bit his lip rather than risk any more unexpected utterances escaping. This might not have been where he’d thought his phone call would lead, but now that he was here, hearing the answers to questions he’d wanted to ask for over a year and finding them almost comfortably familiar, he wasn’t going to risk distracting Nightwing or shutting him up for well. Anything.

“But it would have meant me caving. Settling in ways that I just…couldn’t. So in a way, yeah, I did leave, it was still my choice. And all of that was definitely a big part of it. I love Bruce, I do. I just couldn’t live with him anymore. Not without feeling like I had to give up my own autonomy and just be what he wanted. Or what he’d expected me to grow up to be, back when he first took me in. And as grateful as I am to him for that, I can’t honestly say I would have stuck around back then if I knew that was the price tag attached. I’m not…I don’t do well with people trying to force me to stick to one place, one thing. I was born on the road, you know? When I was a kid, I expected to spend the rest of my life living like that. Home was people. Not places. And so Gotham…its never fit me quite right, the way it does him, or even Barbara. Its not like I was miserable there, its just.”

“It wouldn’t have been your first choice,” Jason finished again, quietly. There was silence again for awhile.

“No. No, it wouldn’t have been. Not then.”

[dizzydancingdreamer]

Little Witch | The Mikaelson Boys

Hey lovelies, I’m finally back with some Mikaleson Brothers content. I’ve had this idea for a while and rewrote it about a thousand times. I’m not sure if I love this but I needed to just finish it. I feel like it’s not that great but regardless I’m giving it to you. It’s super fluffy and a quick burn romance but, hey, who doesn’t like kissing me you just met you know? In all seriousness I hope you’re all doing well. I know life is really off right now and I hope this helps. All my love <3 until next time loves!

Description: Hogwarts and The Originals crossover, disbelief must be suspended for this one as we all know some of this doesn’t add up, soulmate AU

Pairing: The Mikaelson Boys x Female!Hufflepuff!Reader

Warnings: there are no warnings

Word count: 6.7k

Tags: FLUFF

Tag List: @activist-af , @hellotvshowtrash , @firebirdsalvatore

(Photos not mine but mood board is :) )

“There you are, sweetheart,” her gentle voice breaks through you dreams, pulling you from the same scene you’ve grown used to seeing for the last couple weeks, “you’re going to miss dinner sleepyhead.”

You awake to a familiar picture: your books sprawled across a desk in the middle of the library and a fiery redhead with a soft smile holding a semi-crumpled cardigan towards you. Her eyes twinkle with laughter and familiarity. This isn’t the first time Arabella has found you asleep after you told her you were going to be studying. When you look down at your divination textbook you notice a small pink smudge from your cherry lip gloss. You wipe your fingers around your lips, collecting the rest of your smeared makeup.

You stifle a yawn, stretching your limbs out with a soft groan, “shoot, I fell asleep again. What time is it, Ari?”

“Quarter to six, hun,” she reaches out to brush some fallen hair out of your eyes, “we should really get a move on. Are you feeling okay?”

You nod, this time the yawn interrupting any intention to answer that you had. Your head buzzes lightly with the remnants of your dream. For weeks you’ve felt something on the horizon, something meant just for you. Three pairs of brown eyes and the warmest feeling in your chest. It’s the same feeling you’ve been waking up with every night, if not a touch stronger this evening. You don’t mind it though, it layers a warmth to your bones that this winter in the castle has stripped from you.

“I haven’t been sleeping too well lately is all,” you let Arabella help you slip your cardigan back on, straightening it and your tie, evening the yellow and gray stripes. 

Her hands still against your shoulders, her concerned green eyes meeting your own half open ones, “still having those dreams, sunshine?” 

You nod once more, sagging slightly from the weight of your tote when she loops it over your shoulder. Your skin tingles with slight electricity, lulling your already fuzzy brain into a deeper haze. You tug your sleeves over your hands, scrunching your fingers into a fist to try and regain some awareness.

“Hmm,” Arabella pushes the same strand of hair from your forehead again, removing her headband and putting it on you instead to keep your unruly strands in place, “remind me to make you some tea before bed. I have some herbs from the greenhouse that might help with them. Let’s go get some food into you first though, ok?

She links her arm through yours, pulling you alongside her towards the dining hall. The corridors are mostly empty, spare a few behind students. Much like yourselves, they hurry in the same direction, following the wafting smell of roasted chicken and pumpkin pie. You can’t help but shiver as you watch them rush, feeling like someone forgot to tell you something. As if everyone knows a secret that you very well must have snoozed through.

“Hey Ari,” you tug lightly on her sleeve to get her attention, “why is everyone in such a hurry? Did I miss something?”

She looks confused for a moment, her button nose scrunching tight before her mouth falls open, “oh yes, that’s right! I forgot to tell you! Some seventh year prefects overheard McGonagall talking about some exchange students from Ilvermorny. They’re supposed to be here for dinner!”

Your skin crackles with electricity, the air static with anticipation, “Ilvermorny? They’re from America?”

She nods her head cheerfully as the two of you approach the towering doors of the dining hall, “I know, it’s crazy right?”

You can hear the buzz of activity emitting from the hall before you cross the corridor, a dull roar that lights you with an even mixture of excitement and nervousness. 

“They certainly think so,” you motion to the giggling fourth year girls who scurry past you, their chatter no doubt about the possibility of Hogwarts’ newest additions. 

The current coursing through your body sings when Arabella pulls you through the doors. The dining hall is a flurry of activity, each house no doubt wondering if they’ve gained any new members tonight. The thought of some new Hufflepuffs warms your heart. You haven’t had any new faces around in ages it feels like. You let her lead you to a few seats left open near the front of the hall, next to the small stage.

You fall into your seat with a sigh, graciously accepting the plate of food Arabella hands you. How she made it so quick you aren't sure. Magic probably, that would make the most sense. When you glance over at her she has her wand out, levitating food onto her own plate. She always puts you ahead of herself, something you can't help but feel bad about sometimes. Regardless, it warms your heart immensely to be lucky enough to have such a caring best friend. You catch her eye and she passes you a loving smile and a wink before lowering her plate. 

As you take the first bite of your pumpkin pie, ignoring the nudge you get for eating your dessert first, Headmistress McGonogal taps her wand to the podium in front of her.

“Students,” she clears her throat, waiting for the noise in the great hall to quiet, “as quite a few of you have already heard by now,” she searches you all with a glint in her eye, a small smile on her lips, “we have a few students joining us.”

The great hall buzzes at her admission, a current running through the entirety of the student body and, most of all, you. Your head feels like it’s spinning. Like you’ve just drunk a litre of fire whiskey and that if you stand up there’s a good chance you’ll fall right over. You drop your fork but the clatter it makes doesn’t register with you as much as it should. Arabella looks over at you, clearly worried, and raises her eyebrows, placing a warm hand on your back. 

As you go to shrug your shoulders at her, the doors to the great hall open once more, “ah, and here they are! Please, everyone, show them your warmest welcome. They have come a long way, all the way from Ilvermorny in the United States.”

McGonogal continues to speak about Hogwarts and its connection to Ilvermorny but her speech is drowned out by cheering from all over the great hall. Well, you’re pretty sure it is. Your pulse is thundering so loudly in your ears that you can’t hear much of anything at all. Arabella stares at you still, growing more and more scared as the seconds pass. You think you say something, you open your mouth at least, but whatever words come out of your mouth don’t reach your ears. Arabella tightens her grip.

You close your eyes, squeezing them shut tightly, desperately willing your senses to go back to normal. It almost works too but then you breathe in and are hit with three scents so hard that you almost vomit. Not because they’re terrible, though, they’re anything but. No, you almost puke because of how fast you’re swamped in pine and buttery leather and the entire damn sea and how quickly it makes your heart rate spike. Are you having a heart attack? What is going on?

When you open your eyes the great hall is spinning and you know for a fact that you’re the only one experiencing this carousel ride. You have to get out of here. You push away from the table, standing on legs much too shaky for your own good. Arabella calls your name and it sounds like she’s behind a thick sheet of glass, one you can’t break no matter how hard you slam against it. The trees and leather and sea wraps around you again and your knees almost give out. There’s only one thing you can think to do and you don’t hesitate to do it. 

You run like hell. 

No. Scratch that. You run like hell is chasing you and, well, maybe it is. Maybe hell is a person, or people, perhaps even three people, and their footsteps pound down the corridor behind you so loud they echo through your chest. Your kilt whips around your legs, your hair flying behind you as you clear the corners as they come. You can feel them, whoever they are, gaining but slowly. You can make it, you know you can.

It’s midwinter, the thick of February, and yet you feel like you’re wading through lava. The halls should be ice right now but your blood is scorching you from the inside out. You pull the sweater from your chest as you run, not thinking twice before dropping it, never stopping. Your skin is charged with electricity and you want to scream and tear your heart out but you can’t, not now. You feel them like they’re right on your heels, the triplet of scents swirling furiously around you. You need to get outside. Now. 

You make it to the courtyard, practically leaping off the cement steps, but a hand catches your arm midair and you stumble. You see the ground hurtling towards you in slow motion, the cobblestone path laughing at you. You squeeze your eyes shut, waiting for the stones to bite into your side but they never do. Instead you’re wrapped in pine, two warm arms pulling you into a firm, hot chest. 

You thought your skin was electrified before but that was nothing compared to what is now. Everywhere your body touches the person holding you prickles with static. You can almost hear your flesh crackle, each one of your veins roaring so loud that all you can hear is your blood rushing through you. It’s like a tsunami, waves of fire and power and fucking pine rolling over you unrelentlessly. You aren’t quite sure if you’re still breathing.

You feel another pair of hands on your back, rubbing up and down, spreading the fire like butter over your shoulder blades. Your body reacts on it’s own, your back arching into whoever it is behind you, your head falling onto a shoulder that smells like summer at the beach. 

A part of you is screaming to run. To jab your elbow into their stomach and fight like hell. However, against all of your better judgement, the feeling is fading and fast. Hands skim down your arms lightly and you fight the delicious shiver that crawls up your spine. You don’t realize you’re still clinging to the first person until your fists squeeze around the cotton of their shirt. Their hands hand loosely off your hips and you don’t even want to acknowledge how much you like it. 

Instead of fighting, you pry your eyes open, only to stare directly into strikingly familiar brown eyes. Your breath catches in your chest, your head still against his shoulder. He leans closer towards you, blonde hair falling down his face slightly. It looks entirely soft and you squeeze your hands tighter, resisting the urge to touch this stranger’s hair. His scent, that overbearing ocean, wraps around you again. He definitely doesn’t feel like a stranger.

“Hi love,” his voice is soft and lulls you deeper into his chest, his nose skimming the arch of your cheekbone, “you’re lucky we’re fast. That could have been quite the fall.”

He chuckles lightly and your cheeks flame, the noise like the wind chimes you hung in the greenhouse your fourth year. His laugh hits you in the gut and radiates to every inch of your skin, cooling the flames but also concentrating them lower. Too low. Your traitorous core sets on fire from the mixture of his musical laugh and mesmerizing eyes. Merlin, you don’t even know his name.

You look away from him but you can’t escape his eyes no matter how hard you try, looking directly into an identical pair of warm, brown eyes. The man in front of you, the one with his hands squeezing your hips, is also frustratingly familiar. He’s tall, his chest, the one underneath your fingertips, is broad and heaves up and down with every breath. Your body, being the wanton force of nature she is, longs to have you wrap your legs, and every other part of you, around the man in front of you. When the blonde behind you wraps his arms around your stomach, reminding you that he’s still there, you want to do the same to him as well.

Memories prickle the edges of your mind, the dreams you’ve been having for weeks now flashing behind your eyelids every time you blink. The warmth in your bones and the molten brown eyes. The same electricity that is burning through your chest and head and core, only now it’s a million times stronger. You shake your head. Not at the man in front of you but at yourself. No way are these the men from your dreams. That’s impossible, Right? And besides, there were three eyes in your dreams.

“There you guys are,” a voice, steadily approaching and as slow and tantalizing as honey, pulls your attention away from the men surrounding you, “I can’t believe you left me to explain what was happening to McGonagall.”

You meet the third pair of eyes with an audible gasp, his sharp leather scent curling around you despite the distance between the two of you. It sinks into your skin and puts you in motion, like the potion you needed to break whatever paralyzing spell you were under. You pull yourself so suddenly from the two men that they don’t have time to catch you, putting some much needed distance between all four of you. You force yourself to ignore the way your heart aches already. Your hand finds the wand in your kilt pocket. Stupid girl, longing for men you don’t even know. 

You find your voice but only enough to mutter hastily, “Were you chasing me? Aren’t you supposed to be meeting, like, the whole school right now? What in Merlin’s name is going on?” 

The newest male takes a step towards you, his eyes drawing up and down your body, reigniting the heat that has been slowly subsiding and lingering on your hand wrapped around your wand. He smirks at you, like he knows something that you don’t and, honestly, he probably does. You pull your bottom lip between your teeth. His hair is dark brown and just as touchable as the previous two. You squeeze your fist tighter.

“One question at a time, darling,” he takes another step and you tense your shoulders instinctively even though your body is fighting the urge to run to him, “we’ll tell you everything. Can we go inside first, though? You look like you’re freezing. Is this yours?”

His question isn’t really a question, in his hands is your cardigan. He picked it up for you? You let your shoulders sag slightly and your grip loosen. He doesn’t know you, why did he bother picking it up?

“I-,” you release the wand slowly, “yeah that’s mine. Thank you.”

He’s right about the cold, now that you aren’t sandwiched between the other two men the chill nips at your fingers and legs. You go to take your sweater from him but he holds it open, beckoning you to turn around and let him put it on you for you. You sigh but oblige, tucking your arms into the soft wool with his help. His hands smooth down your arms once you’re settled, the familiar sparks following their path. You’re head squeezes with confusion and you want to scream if only to release the pressure.

You turn in his hands, meaning to break his hold but only ending up closer to his chest, “what is going on?”

He wraps his arms around you, pulling you closer to his chest. The ache in your heart eases drastically and you breathe in the leather once more. Merlin’s sake, this is exhausting. Even so, your limbs feel lighter in his arms. His eyes burn into yours and you don’t even try to look away, letting him extract whatever information he wants from you. You’re almost sure he can read every thought flashing through your eyes.

“Can’t you feel it?” His hand brushes your cheek, your skin buzzing on cue, “feel us? Like there’s a string pulling you to us, right? We feel warm, don’t we, and you want to be near us. You feel like you know us but you don’t know how or why.”

You find yourself nodding along to the words of a man whose name you don’t even know yet, your hands finding their way to his chest. 

“Who are you,” you turn to meet the other two, your eyes wide, “all of you.” 

The second man, the one who caught you, steps forward, holding out a hand for you to take. You aren’t sure why but you look back to the male in front of you, the one with his arms still tight around you, for approval. He nods, letting his arms fall almost reluctantly. When he releases you, you’re quickly pulled back into the pine scented chest. You don’t like how easily your body moulds to his, how his body seems to have some sort of claim on yours. How all of their bodies do.

“Elijah,” he rests his chin against your head, caging you against a chest that feels too much like home to make any sense, “I’m Elijah. You were just talking to Kol and Klaus-”

The hands, the same ones from before, once again rest on your back, drawing a traitorous sigh from your lips, “is right behind you, love, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Your heart squeezes dangerously at his words, letting them fill you with the warmth of his promise. Even if your rationality doesn't accept it for the immediate truth it is, every other part of you does. You pull out of Elijah’s arms and turn to the ocean of a man behind you, throwing your arms around his neck without a second thought. He, too, feels like coming home. He takes no time squeezing you against him and burying his face in your neck. You feel hands behind you move your hair away from your neck and then a nose drawing up the exposed bumps of your spine. 

“I don’t understand any of this,” you mumble into Klaus’ shoulder, “I don’t understand what any of this means.”

“Of course you do, darling. You can feel it in your bones,” Kol pushes his nose against your temple, his lips skimming your ear before tugging the lobe between his teeth.

Merlin. His teeth on your skin sends heat pooling in the pit of your belly. You tighten your arms around Klaus, biting back an embarrassing moan as he laughs again. This time the sound echos through your chest and wraps around your heart, grabbing on and refusing to let go. Kol’s lips skim down your jaw, nipping lightly at your throat in a way that is completely inappropriate for a man you just met but you don’t care right now. 

Arms wrap around you from behind and you sink back into them, letting Elijah spin you and haul you into his chest. Your head is spinning from how quickly you’re being passed around by men you don’t know. Your heart stings slightly, the comfort you feel in the large male’s arms screaming at you. Perhaps you don’t know them but your body has been waiting centuries for them and is more than ready to reunite. You don’t hesitate to wrap your legs around him. 

“Baby,” your heart stutters and his pupils expand like he can hear it, “do you mind if we go back to our dorm before anyone sees us?” Elijah glances over your head, searching around the courtyard before landing back on yours, “This is a lot to explain to one person, let alone the whole school.”

Your cheeks flame for the millionth time and your head whips around, searching the courtyard yourself for any prying eyes. You breathe a quick sigh of relief when you don’t see anyone. He’s right and, besides, you really are freezing now, your exposed legs two icicles.

You smile gently at him, savouring the way his eyes draw to your lips, “that’s probably a good idea.”

You go to unwrap your legs from his hips when he stops you, his hands tightening around your back and thighs, “may I?”

Your eyes widen, your hands stilling on his shoulders, “you want to carry me?”

He leans his forehead against yours, his nose brushing yours gently, “very much so, baby.”

Your heart feels like it restarts, kicking your pulse into overdrive. You don’t trust yourself to speak, your entire body engulfed in pine and flames like a forest fire that you never knew could exist. You just nod, your arms snaking around his neck and pulling you flush against his chest. You can feel every breath he takes, closing your eyes when he begins walking. 

The hallways, thankfully, feel empty and you don’t open your eyes, letting yourself sink into Elijah’s chest like you’ve been doing it your whole life and this isn’t your first experience being held by someone as large and strong as him. Your fingers, laying on the back of his neck, can’t resist shuffling through his hair. You’re already in his arms anyway, so what’s the harm. Just as you thought, his hair is soft to the touch and mesmerizing. You tangle your fingers through it, the last dregs of anxiety seeping from your bones. 

When he starts down a staircase that you aren’t anticipating you tighten your fingers, squeezing your thighs to keep from falling out of his arms. In turn Elijah releases a breathy groan, one that hits you directly between your thighs. When you open your eyes you’re met with a coal black instead of the warm brown from minutes ago. Your breath catches in your throat but not from fear, albeit it should be. You know you should be painfully afraid of this man, whom you barely know, whose arms are wrapped around you so tight it almost hurts, but you aren’t. Not even a little bit. 

Not even when he opens his mouth and you see two, very sharp looking fangs poking out of his gums, “Eli?”

You don’t know where the nickname comes from and, honestly, you don’t care. All you can think about is the irrational heat growing between your legs and his hands, once again squeezing your hips. Who is this man and why do you want him to press you against the stairs and do unspeakable things to you? You look over his shoulders at Kol and Klaus, whose eyes aren’t quite the same charcoal as Elijah’s but definitely not the sunshine whiskey that they were before. You have to bite your lip again to keep from squeezing your legs harder around Elijah. 

“Come on,” Klaus steps ahead of you and Elijah, glancing back over his shoulder and smirking teasingly, “I can hear people leaving the Great Hall.”

You furrow your eyebrows at him. How can he possibly hear the Great Hall from here? You glance back to Elijah, the sight of his fangs flashing through your mind. You shake your head, not wanting to think about any of this right now. You reach a hand up, cupping his jaw and running your thumb over his cheek like any of this at all is normal.

“Klaus is right, Eli. We need to figure this out before it gets around the school.” More than it already is, you add in your head.

The four of you somehow make it to their dorm and you breathe a sigh of relief when it’s segregated from the rest of the dorms. McGonagall probably gave them their own dorm to make them feel more comfortable. You’re just thankful to be away from the open space. You already know the entire school will be talking about what happened. Merlin why is it always you? You’re just a Hufflepuff, you didn’t sign up for any of this. 

Their dorm is magnificent. The doorway leads into a moody common room, surrounded with cozy browns and greens. The walls are lined with bookshelves and there’s a window looking out into the lake. The waves lap against the glass and you giggle as a few fish swim by, stopping to look into the room and then continue on their way. The room smells like all three of them. Like every plain of earth and sea and air. There are four doors leading to what you can only assume are their bedrooms and bathroom. Compared to your dorm, which you love but also share with five other girls, this place is an oasis.

Elijah sets you on an incredibly soft, brown leather couch and you pull your legs up, tucking them underneath you. Kol settles next to you, his arm resting on the back of the couch, behind your head. Klaus sits on your other side, pulling your legs from under you and over his lap, his hands rubbing circles on your calves. With your back now to Kol, you can’t help but let your head fall to the side against his arm, soaking in the warmth of his skin. The dungeons are colder than you thought they would be. How do the Slytherins do it? He laughs quietly, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and pulling you to lay against his chest. 

Elijah settles on the coffee table in front of the couch, leaning his elbows on his knees and staring at you with a look only slightly less hot than before. You hold a hand out for him, one he quickly takes, threading his fingers between yours, pulling your knuckles to his lips. Klaus’ hands are slowly working up your legs, now wrapped around your knees and steadily moving higher. You squeeze your eyes tight before opening them and staring at the ceiling, avoiding three pairs of brown eyes to the best of your ability.

You sigh gently, leaning into Kol’s hands as his fingers search through your hair, scratching at your scalp in a way that makes you almost keep your thoughts to yourself if only to ensure he doesn’t stop. But you need answers now.

“Okay, I’m serious this time,” your eyes train on a bookshelf, counting the books to keep yourself focussed, “who are you? You clearly aren’t like me, you aren’t witches, but you definitely aren’t regular people,” you suck in a breath, your eyes stalling on a thick book titled The History of Mythical Creatures, “so what, pray tell, are you?”

Your eyes stay focussed on the book but you don’t want to entertain the thoughts flowing through your mind. You had to read that volume in your seventh year myth class. Just because you’re a witch it doesn’t mean you’re used to the creatures you’re taught about. There’s a reason every student at Hogwarts takes eight years of defensive magic.

“You got us, little witch,” Klaus’ hands are above your knees now, kneading your exposed flesh with skilled fingers, “clever and beautiful. The perfect mate.”

Your eyes snap from the bookshelf, from the book that you know holds the answer to their identity, to the blonde lazily licking his own extended fangs. Mate. Did he just say mate? There’s no way he just said mate. Impossible. You’re a witch. As far as being mythical goes, you’re as close to normal as it gets. They, however, are something stronger. You can feel the power rolling off of them. 

“I,” your mouth falls open, your mind spinning, “what?”

Kol laughs from behind you, his chest rumbling under your back. He pulls your hair to the side again before capturing your ear with his mouth again. 

“You heard him, darling,” he tugs your earlobe between his teeth, pulling a tiny gasp from you as, “your ours. And, I hate to break it to you, but we’re pretty hard to get rid of. ”

Klaus’ hands squeeze right below the hem of your kilt, lighting your skin with the delicious sparks. If his hands weren’t there you would be squeezing your legs together for sure.

“He’s right, love, I’ve tried. Many times,” Klaus smirks at Kol in only the way an older brother could and it hits you.

“Oh, Merlin,” you close your eyes again, heat flaring across your face, “you’re brothers. All three of you are brothers. What is going on, Helga help me.”

All three of them laugh and Elijah kisses your knuckles again, “yes baby, we are in fact brothers. It’s been a long millennium.”

“Millenium?” You feel faint.

He laughs again and you wish you could pluck the sound out of the air and hold onto it for the rest of your life. When you look at him all you can do is smile and run a hand down your face. A thousand years, huh? Klaus’ hands trace lazy circles on your inner thighs as Kol’s lips find your neck, his teeth scraping your skin in a way that has you sinking even further into his buttery leather arms. When he bites down a touch harder you can’t help but wonder what kind of experience a thousand years would allow a person. 

A thousand years. Your chest stings unexpectedly as another thought hits you. It must be the day for that.

“I don’t think I’ll live a millenium. I probably have a few hundred years but a thousand? Not even close,” your heart stutters, a cold chill running over you, “You’ll all outlive me.”

Three growls sound in the room and you almost jump out of your skin in shock before you realize that they’re coming from them. Kol tightens his arms around you protectively as Klaus’ hands find your hips under your kilt, squeezing you like you just suggested you’re going to die tomorrow. Elijah drops from the coffee table, sinking to his knees in front of you and throwing an arm over your stomach. 

“You’ll be living a lot longer than that, baby, I assure you of that.”

You reach a hand towards Elijah, curling your fingers through his hair on instinct, “I may be magic, Eli, but I’m not immortal. It’s not the same for me.”

He leans into your palm, rubbing his cheek against your fingertips, “that’s an easy fix.”

Your head spins, the pieces connecting in your head as you stare into his serious eyes. For the first time all night a tinge of fear zaps your chest. Immortality is no joke.

“You want me to become like you?” You look away from him and Klaus, who nods in agreement with his brother, “You want me to become a-”

Kol nips the back of your neck and you try to ignore the pleasure rolling through you in the midst of the most serious conversation of your life, “a vampire, darling. You can say it. We’re vampires.”

The word echoes through you, bouncing around your head and lungs, fluttering in your stomach before finally settling directly between your thighs. Merlin. You sit upright quickly, pulling your legs from Klaus’ dangerously skilled fingers, and all but stumble over Elijah and the coffee table in order to put some distance between you and the brothers. You scrub your hands over your face, your entire body feeling more alive than it ever has in your short lifetime. But you know it can’t last.

You keep your hands over your eyes, letting the open air sooth you for a moment before speaking, “I’m just a witch. Just one witch and not even a good one at that,” you peel your hands from your eyes, opting instead to tug your hair, “I’m more of a farmer, honestly. I spend all my time in the library or the greenhouses. I’m not mate material. I’m definitely not,” you swallow thickly, your throat closing all of a sudden and without your permission, “vampire material. You have the wrong girl.”

As soon as you say the words they feel wrong but they’re already out of your mouth and you have to live with them now. For a long moment nobody says anything. It’s just you standing in front of them, your eyes refusing to open and your hands ripping at your hair. Your legs tremble beneath you and it feels like your heart is trying to crawl out of your throat. If it can’t be with them then it would rather stop beating altogether. The cold air of their dungeon dorm nips at your legs and fingertips painfully and you revel in the feeling of something other than the torrent of emotions that you’ve been battling for the better half of an hour. 

You feel a rush of air in front of you, forcing your eyes open just in time to see Kol standing in front of you. You open your mouth, ready to let even more words that you know you’ll regret out, but you find that you can’t speak. Not because you don’t want to, though, but because Kol’s mouth is now crashing into yours and, gods, does it ever feel like you’re breathing for the first time. Kol’s mouth is oxygen. Like before this moment you were dead and his lips are life. You grip his shoulders, your fingers digging into the taught muscle to keep yourself upright against this force of nature. 

His hands wrap in your hair and he tugs gently, swallowing each moan like it’s candy and he can’t get enough. Your hands crawl from his shoulders to his hair, doing the same to him. He groans, a sound completely different from Elijah but so similar at the same time. When his tongue finds its way between your lips you see stars. Your blood sings like you’ve walked through a magnetic field, your veins buzzing with a foreign kind of power. This time you don’t feel like you’re home, you know you are.

Kol pulls back a fraction, his lips brushing yours while he speaks, “you feel that?” His hands move to your cheeks, your skin like a current where he touches you, “I know you do, I know you feel me in your veins, darling. I don’t have the wrong person. Fate doesn’t make mistakes. You’re perfect for me.”

Your eyes widen and you push back the swell of emotion rising in your chest.

A pair of arms wraps around you from behind, a riptide pulling you into an ocean of a man, “me as well, my little witch. Besides, I quite like farmers. Tell me, can you grow strawberries?”

You try to stop yourself from sagging against his chest but you can’t and you don’t actually want to. His head falls on yours as if he’s been doing it for years.

“Pumpkins,” you whisper. You don’t know what else to say, knowing full well you aren’t ready to answer the other questions, “I grow the best pumpkins in the school.”

Klaus’ chest rumbles like a cat purring against your back, “pumpkin pie it is then, love.”

You feel a hand close around your arm, pulling you from both Kol and Klaus and into a pair of arms that rival the dark forest. Elijah lifts you against his chest, giving you a moment to wrap your legs around him before he walks the two of you to the window. He looks out in the water and it eases you knowing that you don’t have to answer to his molten brown eyes.

“I know this is a lot to take in right now, baby. I know you’re scared and tired, I can feel it. You don’t have to make any decisions right now. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t. But just know that we’re here because something stronger than time itself brought us to you. No mistakes were made,” he catches your eyes through the reflection of the glass, “I’m ready for whatever challenges this brings. I’ve been ready for a thousand years, ten lifetimes, and I would wait fifty more for you,” he pulls you further up his chest, pressing his forehead against yours, “just think about it. That’s all I’m asking.”

You can’t stop yourself from pressing your lips against his, catching his bottom lip between yours, “graduation.”

He pulls back, his eyes wide and his eyebrows scrunched together, “what?”

You pull his face back to yours, stealing another kiss that he doesn’t hesitate to return, “I just need until graduation. I need to finish my last year here, it’s my home. After that, I’m yours.”

He crushes you against him as soon as the last syllable leaves your lips and you let yourself giggle freely. He looks at you in awe, a smile blooming across his face like he just won the lottery. Kol and Klaus are next to you in an instant, their faces almost mirror images of Elijah’s. Your heart soars at the sight of the three boys you met less than three hours ago who you’ve just promised the rest of your life, and longer, to. It sounds ridiculous still but nothing has ever felt so right.

“Well, brothers,” Klaus’ eyes shine happily, “it looks like we’re going to be here longer than we thought.”

[miwtze]

bathroom floor (matsukawa issei x reader)

cw: eating disorders, purging, its not angsty 

wc: 5.6k

dunno why this is so long but no beta i die like a man

matsukawa could count on one hand the names of his classmates that he could personally remember. even then it was only the class president and the student council secretary seeing as they were the only two people that ever really interacted with him when he was there. on his breaks he was with hanamaki, in class his head was down, after school he was at volleyball practice; he didn’t really have a reason to remember anyone else. it’s not to say he didn’t try, people were just standoffish due to his large structure or wanted to mingle with toru through him. he simply believed it was a bother. that was probably until his first term of his third year when he was seated next you.

“matsukawa-san.”

“matsukawa-san.”

“matsuk-” matsukawa groans, shifting his head to the left in hopes of identifying the offending voice. he cracks open an eyelid, shifting his head to figure out who’s the one pulling him out of his nap; it wasn’t his mom or his younger brother. as his eyelids adjust to the rays of light engulfing the room he comes to the realization that he is in fact not in his bed, but rather sprawled across his desk and staring down at his desk mate’s tights-covered legs. “are you okay?” he whips his head up at your voice, wide eyed and rubbing the side of his mouth with the back of his palms as he scowls at you. not with any bad intentions but he’s willing to run the risk of looking like a dick if it saves him from the embarrassment of being caught sleeping in class.

“what is it?” you cock your eyebrows at him fingers to your chin, deep in thought. what did he say that was so interesting, he doesn’t know but he sinks into himself, wishing you would just outright laugh in his face. you don’t laugh. instead you turn around and dig through your bag pulling out a can of coffee and an energy bar, gingerly playing them on his desk.

“we’re both on class duty this week and the chemistry kits need to be brought down to class by the time lunch ends. we need it for our next class.” he stares at his wrist watch. he would rather use the last fifteen minutes of his lunch break to nap but he really didn’t want to forfeit the coffee or energy drink. not that you looked like you wanted it back. “i tried to wake you up earlier but you were kind of like a dead man walking. saying things like ‘five more minutes mom’ and ‘i’ll get up in a bit’.” matsukawa can feel the back of his neck heat up, rising to follow you out of the classroom and towards the science building. “figured you must’ve had a long night or something.”

“there’s absolutely no way you caught me fucking calling out to my mom. you should’ve just woken me up before everyone heard me telling me mom to let me sleep in,” he sighs, matching the pace of your step to walk next to you. “like, dude, that is so embarrassing.”

you turn your head and smile at him, he thinks it’s a little teasing but thankfully filled with no condescend. “actually for the most part the classroom was empty during lunch today, it was just me and secretary-san. everyone else went to go eat outside since the weather was nice.” you stated reassuringly, brushing hair behind your ears. matsukawa removes the hand he placed on his forehead with a sigh of relief. two people hearing him call out to his mother is significantly better than the whole class hearing it. “i don’t even think secretary-san heard you since she was on the other side of the room, but she most definitely saw you hung over your desk sleeping.”

“you shouldn’t call people secretary-san that’s, like, super impolite. also, if everyone else went outside to eat why’d you stay back? did you wanna watch me sleep or something,” he states matter-of-factly. turning his heel into the chemistry classroom making a beeline for the chemistry kits. he could still feel his neck burning, but he knows it’s because you’re digging holes into his back with your eyes. “or do you just, like, not have any friends.” you snicker behind him.

“you have to check the kits before you grab them; we need twenty four of them. also i’m not sure what the secretary’s name is. i was in a different class last year,” you say beginning to look through the kits separating the usable from the unusable ones. “and my friends got detention together and left me behind. some traitors they are.” you feign offense with the back of your hand to your forward and head tossed back. he notices a small beaded bracelet adorning your wrist, right under a thin gold one. you laugh at his raised eyebrows as finish separating the kits. he’s surprised to say the least, everyone in class one was the book nerd type who spoke harsh words behind whispers. at least to his knowledge anyways. he definitely didn’t think you would be this cheeky or friendly, especially not to the six feet tall monstrosity he was.

“why didn’t you just get detention with them. it seems more fun than eating by yourself, i think. i like to eat with my friends but apparently my dumbass fell asleep. i’ll probably get my ear chewed out during practice for it.”

“the most fun about doing things you’re not supposed to is getting away with it. plus i had to catch up on some other things so it didn’t make sense to leave and do something stupid just to get caught,” you say with a sly smile, struggling to mange the twelve kits you had split evenly between the two of you. he grabs your twelve including his silently, he wasn’t an athlete at a powerhouse school for nothing. “oh i see you are nice.”

“did you think i was some megawatt asshole or something?”

“maybe not megawatt, but, like, a twenty four watt asshole?” he snickers at that, following you into the classroom. “due to your kind act of charity, i’ll take it upon myself to take the notebooks to the teachers after school so you can head to practice early to get your ear chewed out, how does that sound?”

“absolutely fucking terrible, but much appreciated,” he says, sliding into his seat and cracking open the can of coffee you gave him. “thanks for this too, i’ll get you bread tomorrow during lunch to make up for it.”

“nah don’t worry about it,” you say, turning your head to greet two girls bouncing into the classroom stopping at your desk to complain about detention. 

true to your word, you diligently collect and return the class notebooks that day after school. in fact you’re so dedicated to the task that you do it everyday for the rest of the week, never once asking matsukawa or complaining to him. matsukawa thinks you do it as to not bother him. he’s not entirely sure that’s the reason though, seeing as you’re pushing your desk next to his to share his literature textbook with him for the third time this week.

“sorry matsukawa-san, i forgot my literature textbook again. please do some charity work,” you whisper leaning over to look at the pages. you frown at his notes.

“you don’t sound like you forgot, also don’t judge someone else’s notes when they’re helping you,” he teases, looking down at you redoing his notes in a more orderly manner. small neat writing surrounds his messy illegible ones, highlighting what to look out for on the next exam. you’re wearing a gold ring with a jewel the same color of your beaded bracelet, small and dainty stilling on an even smaller middle finger. he sighs but he knows your notes have been helping him.

“between you and me? i definitely didn’t forget, i just hate carrying that heavy thing around.” you pause to look up from the notes, to his face and then back down. “maybe i’ll have you do it for me since you’re all big and tough, or whatever gender stereotype will benefit me.”

“you shouldn’t openly boast about being sexist.”

“what, you going to tell on me or something?”

“no but what’s the point in having me carry the damn book around if you have to walk home with it.” he’d rather you just not bring it seeing as no one else in his class talked to him and the most you talked to him was when you both were sharing his textbook.

“i do believe that is exactly why i don’t bring it, matsukawa-san,” you say dryly, returning to your task.

when the lunch bell rings you push your desk back and say your words of thanks, turning your heels to skip to your friends. he watches as the light hits your legs and the tights you always wear stretch around your thighs.

dirty bastard.

he turns and flees to takahiro, who makes fun of the blush creeping up matsukawas neck.

on friday afternoon, before issei leaves for practice he places two packaged rice balls and green tea on your desk. you open your mouth to say something but your friend beats you to it.

“oh? what’s this? a confession of love?” your friend pokes your cheek with a baby blue painted finger and shoots a smirk through her long eyelashes. she reminds issei of someone.

your other friend, one with dyed roots and glossed lips, pulls her back giggling saying, “hey c’mon now! you can’t scare him away, but it is an interesting approaching seeing as most people would just give a letter or something.” you sigh, shooting him a withering look of apology.

“na-chan, aya-chan, you can’t say things like that about people. it makes them uncomfortable. sorry matsukawa-san, what’s this for?”

“doin’ charity work i suppose.” you roll your eyes. “you should show gratitude when offered something, ya know?”

“oh? so this isn’t for the snacks i gave you the day i caught you slee-” he cuts you off by pulling up a chair to your desk. practice can wait.

“you are absolutely the fucking worst.”

“since you’re sitting here, share it with me i don’t like rice balls much.”

“i have practice.”

“you’re the one who sat down.” he blinks. your friends have already ran off yelling things about a part time job or something. you open both the rice balls and place one in front of him. “i don’t think you’ll get beaten if you’re a couple minutes late, at least i hope not. i think that’s illegal.”

“you’re just full of requests, huh? i might as well become make-a-wish with the amount of things i do for you,” he says mouth full of rice, towering over you even after sitting down. you sigh between small bites of the snack. “what? you don’t like umeboshi or something? why are ya looking at it like it’s defiling your throat.”

“not to sound ungrateful or anything, but i unfortunately am rather picky when it comes to food. but since the great matsukawa-san has blessed me with a rice ball i will thankfully finish it.”

“you’re so fucking annoying.”

“oh but i’m just  too cute for you to let that bother you, isn’t that right?” you grin picking up your trash and grabbing your bag. “bye! i’ll see you tomorrow.” you leave before he has the chance to reply.

he leaves a couple minutes after you, heading to the third gym. he notices a pair of all too familiar tights-covered legs ducking in between the third and fourth gym. against his better judgement he follows.

dude, what the fuck. first you’re eyeing up your friend’s legs and now you’re following a girl behind the gym? get laid, he berates himself.

he watches the girl turn behind the fourth gym and he recognizes you by the charm hanging on the side of your bag. now he’s really curious. he silently leans against the wall getting close to the edge, but remaining out of sight. maybe it’s a really weird confession. he wouldn’t want to impose.

minutes pass before he actually hears anything but it wasn’t the confession he wasn’t expecting. sounds of you’re gagging fill the air. he has to stop himself from turning the corner and asking you if you’re okay, only being able to turn his head to look at you. fingers down your throat and tears down your face.

knot of uneasiness ties at the pit of his stomach as he turns and flees, knowing he saw something he shouldn’t have. the butterflies in his chest burden him knowing that he’s festering a crush on someone who hasn’t shared any part of herself to him other than her kindness. issei doesn’t like that.

after practice that day he stays continuing to abuse the gym floors hitting one volleyball after the other, trying to focus on the burns on his palms instead of anything else. oikawa and iwaizumi head out before him leaving him alone with the gym keys to lock up when he’s done. he doesn’t finish for another two hours and he only stops then because his body is about to give out on him.

matsukawa begrudgingly makes his way to the teachers room when he sees you fumble around, barely able to walk straight. his eyes widen when he sees you drop your bag and fall into the wall. 

“fucking dumbass.” you hiss and pick up your bag.

“hey man, you good?”  your entire body freezes, almost as if someone hit pause on you. he calls your name, panic creeping into his voice. “do you want me to carry your bag? i can walk you home.” when he goes to step towards you you swing your head back to face him.

“i’m fine matsukawa-san. have a good evening.”

he watches as your small figure, drowning in a big cardigan, stumble away quickly, never once turning back. he returns the keys to wall excusing himself, thinking about the chilling tone of your voice as he walks home.

he has no idea how to approach you after that, as the weeks pass by he avoids mentioning it, questions piling up in his mind. he knows you can tell that he’s antsy (there’s no way you don’t) around you, but you still keep polite conversation and share his literature textbook with him. sometimes you leave snacks on his desk, he always accepts them. matsukawas latest hobby has been lying face down on his desk during lunch to eavesdrop on your conversations. he tries to reason that he’s just tired but he’s so far deep he knows he’s lying to himself.

“do you think guys like clips?”

“i don’t think they care enough to pay attention to stuff like that.”

“really? i can't speak for dudes since i don’t have a dick-“ matsukawa almost blows his cover by laughing at your words “but i think they would appreciate a cute hair clip. especially on a girl he’s into.”

“i feel like guys should get into clips. i think they’d look good in them.” all three of them hum.

“wanna see if they do?” you say standing up, he can feel you hover around his desk. your friends giggle already connecting the dots, even he connected them. “matsukawa-san, hey matsukawa-san. are you sleeping? psst” you whisper close enough to where he can feel your breath on his ears. he stays silent. he watches your feet turn around, he’s almost disappointed.

“dude, he’s sleeping. you sure he won’t beat you up when he wakes up?”

“that’s a bridge i’ll cross when i get there.” you turn back around, thin fingers grabbing tufts of his hair gently as to not wake him up and pins them down. one. two. three. four. there’s two on each side of his forehead, he can feel them. “so aya-chan? na-chan? what’s the verdict.”

“his head is down we can’t tell.” your friend says, he assumes is the blunt one in your friend group probably the one you call aya-chan. he sits up. “looks like you’ve crossed that bridge though.”

“good luck, but i was right guys do look good with clips,” your other friend laugh, but before you can turn around to face mastukawa he grabs you by your waist and pulls you down. you end up on his lap and if he wasn’t too busy tickling you, he would question the promiscuity of his actions.

“you know it’s super impolite to mess around with people when they’re sleeping. it’s probably considered bullying.”

“ah! mastukawa-san! i can't breathe, i’m sorry! i’m sorry!” you can barely get your words out, getting get off between loud laughs. people look over.

“are you sorry?”

“yes yes now stop please.” he stops tickling you but still holds an arm around your waist, you make no movement to get off his lap either instead turning and grabbing his face to do a one over. “oh my god, na-chan you were right!” letting go to turn your friends, who shoot him looks of apology. “guys look super cute with clips on! hey matsukawa-san if you wanna seem less scary you should wear clips, not that i think you’re scary.”

“i’m always right, i religiously study fashion magazines. that’s why you two always look so hot.”

“ah thank you for your diligence. maybe if you studied your math textbook we’d be able to hang out this summer but someone has to do summer classes.” you giggle at your friends banter reaching over to grab your phone.

“hey matsukawa-san, smile!” pulling and arm around him you bring the phone up. he smiles and throws up a peace sign and take a couple pictures. “you’re being oddly agreeable with this. give me your line ID i’ll send these to you.” you hop off and face him.

“you just want his line ID.” of course you do, matsukawa issei is a complete stud and you want him.

“and? he’s going to give it me regardless of my intentions.” you pass your phone to him and he takes it from your hand watching the cardigan slip through your arm revealing bruises trailing under your gold bracelet. he catches you staring and quickly you pull up your sleeves to you palms. “look! sweater paws.”

“you’re stupid, here.”

“she’s not that stupid. she’s top of our grade, you know?”

“why are you bragging when you have to do remedial courses,” matsukawa deadpans, trying to figure out what to call them since he didn’t know their names and he wasn’t about to call her na-chan.

“oh, this is natsume and that’s ayasaki.” you say catching his frown as you remove the clips. he nods. “do you want me to get you clips you looked really cute with them. we can match.”

“should we get him sparkly ones? like blue ones,” ayasaki questions.

“oh! and some white ones? so it matches his volleyball uniforms?” you add on.

“absolutely not, i only did it because she’s cute.” pulling you back down, you melt into him. i feel so small next to him, maybe it’s because his huge. i like it. a lot.

“no means no. hanamaki would not let me live it down.”

“well would you look at this matsukawa went and got him a girlfriend!” it was as if he was cursed, turning to see the shit eating grin plastered over hanamaki’s face as he steps into his classroom. oikawa and iwaizumi behind, following him inside. “and you let her put clips in your hair? what a simp.”

“im not a fucking simp, i was asleep and she’s not my girlfriend.”

“she’s on your lap.”

“it’s a punishment for messing with someone that was sleeping,” matsukawa states matter-of-factly. he hopes hanamaki will drop it, but of course he won’t. it’s hanamaki.

“so who is this girlfriend-chan? is she cute?” oikawa asks circling around his desk to get a good look at you. he bursts into a grin and he says your name, your first name. hanamaki repeats it.

“oh dude you scored. good for you.” hanamaki pats his back, turning to engage in conversation with you. “do you remember me? i was in your first year class. we never talked though.”

“ah yes i recall you almost got held back because of your math scores,” you say looking up from your phone, matsukawa’s phone rings in his pocket. iwaizumi laughs.

“it’s good to see you again! we haven’t talked since, like, middle school. hi natsume-chan! ayasaki-chan! you three still together?” they both look up from the magazine natsume was pointing at.

“oh but of course. you and iwaizumi still married?”

“absolutely not i would never-“

“yes! we’re going on a honeymoon soon.” iwaizumi smacks him.

“it’s good to see the three of you, though. i didn’t know you went here,” iwaizumi says smiling.

“well that’s because your head only thinks about oikawa and volleyball, no?” ayasaki raises her eyebrows, you and natsume hum in agreement.

“oh my how romantic,” you coon. “are we invited to the baby shower?” matsukawa laughs into your shoulder pulling you closer. he feels you’re small frame, the bulky cardigan doing nothing to hide the bones he can feel brush against him.

“you know for a punishment you both seem to oddly enjoy yourselves,” hanamaki points out. “but, dude, you were super cute before but you’re so pretty now! what’d you do? cocaine?”

“not all of us have debaucherous hobbies hanamaki-san.”

it only gets louder between the banter of his friend group and yours, but he can’t focus thoughts piling up on after the other. when the lunch bell rings, matsukawa has a headache and it’s not from the noise.

“first of all? fuck coach for making us do two practice games in a row, like, i get it we have inter-highs when we get back in the winter, but this is fucking brutal.” hanamaki proclaims, feet dragging. “second of all, he’s making us practice tomorrow too. i might as well jump off the tokyo tower.”

“do a flip on your way down,” matsukawa says pulling his phone out to check his line. he texted you about his practice matches  and hasn’t been able to reply since then.

“you said it yourself hanamaki, we have inter-highs coming up. we want to go to finals and to do that we have to practice,” iwaizumi reasons, but even his voice is drowned in exhaustion. oikawa whines and begins to complain about ushijima at finals and matsukawa tunes out, having already heard this seven times today.

[you, 12:13 pm] good luck at your matches today, hope u win straight sets so u can go home fast. -w-

[matsukawa, 5:11 pm] only won one of the matches but both went into a third set im so fucken tired.

you reply immediately.

[you, 5:11 pm] bruh that’s terrible make sure to grab something to eat. idk what nutritionists would say but i’m sure they would agree with me  

“do you guys wanna grab something to eat?” matsukawa interjecting oikawa’s vent, raising his eyebrows.

“oh my god mattsun, you’re absolutely genius,” matsukawa shoots him a shit eating grin. “let’s get ramen?” oikawa finishes. iwaizumi and hanamaki nod in agreement, the three of them dragging themselves towards the ramen shop on the main street.

[matsukawa, 5:14 pm] you should eat too, have you had dinner?

[you, 5:15 pm] no but ayachan and nachan want to grab food before we head home. we went to a cat cafe today look. (one image attached) cute right >///<

before he gets the chance to reply he hears loud laughing coming from the street crossing on to the one the four of them were on down. maybe the day wasn’t so bad because you walk out laughing at something ayasaki said. he’s stunned. bewildered. whatever the fuck kind of emotion he’s feeling he knows it’s because you’re just so pretty. he’s a lot for words as he gapes at you, eyes wide like saucers.

“look who it is! hi guys!” natsume shouts, dragging you and ayasaki with her, your arms are all linked. he can’t move.

“wow, it’s you three again! you’re always together,” oikawa teases, jabbing an elbow into mastukawas ribs. “there’s your little girlfriend,” he whispers, matsukawa can’t even respond, he’s just so flustered.

“whatcha guys up too, anyways?” hanamaki asks when the three of you arrive in front of them.

“oh we were hanging out and we wanted to grab some food before we head home, you guys just get out of practice? you look so fucking dead,” you ask shooting them looks of pity. oikawa sighs, about to respond when mastukawa reaches and brushed your hair behind your ear.

“you cut your hair.” and it looks good.

“in fact i did.” a blush covers your cheeks almost hidden behind the glow of the setting sun. maybe i’m talking to an angel, matsukawa thinks. “thoughts?”

“you look gorgeous.” matsukawa can’t even stop himself. when he catches what he says he coughs and turns away flustered. howling shouts come from hanamaki, iwaizumi and ayasaki.

“he’s right though, you look delightful. we’re going to get ramen do you guys want to join us?” iwaizumi asks, shooting a smirk to matsukawa. he doesn’t even have time to be panicking about the situation because ayasaki, of course, agrees.

when all of you are seated along the L-shaped bar in front of the cooks, you lean in to speak to matsukawa. you both are seated at the corner next to each other which was done intentionally by hanamaki and ayasaki. “why are you guys slaving away at practice anyways during summer break anyways? does the coach have a bounty on you or something?” you’re playing with your fingers, watching the server place your meal down in front of you.

“honestly dude,” he stops to let out the heaviest sigh you’ve ever heard. “i think at this point, irihata and oikawa teamed up to put us through hell and back.”

“homie you completely ignored my question, why?”

“oh shit my bad. we’re trying to get to get to finals, you know? inter highs start up right after summer break and oikawa has a bone to pick with the shiratorizawa captain.”

“so you guys are feeling the fruits of his planned revenge?” matsukawa nods, resting his face in the palm of his hand. you shoot him a look of pity, reaching over to pat his head, his hair is so soft. “don’t worry i’m sure you’ll get your revenge, if not you can call out for your mom again” matsukawa’s face flushes and he grabs your wrists pulling you in.

“you. i thought we agreed to never mention that again,” he hissed under his breath, looking around to see if any of the other third years were eavesdropping. they weren’t. “i thought we had an agreement. i thought we were comrades. i thought-”

“matsukawa-san, matsukawa-san shhh! i’m sorry it’s fun to tease you. i promise i’ll make it so only i can make fun of you for that.” you giggle. “since we’re comrades and all.”

“i don’t wanna be your comrade anymore.”

“here take my gyoza and stop pouting, you’re cuter when you’re smiling.” you reach over and place all your gyoza into his bowl shooting him a blinding grin. “but that’s not to say you’re not cute when you’re pouting.”

“if i’m cute, what are you?” you frown, is he calling me ugly. he waves his hand through the air as if to will away your thoughts. “not like that. you’re pretty, pretty fucking cute.”

“you know, you sound like you’re trying to convince yourself.” you watch him eat as you poke at your own meal. he eats well, you smile. as the seven of you finish up your meals, you excuse yourself to the restroom. matsukawa thinks it’s suspect considering most of your bowl is full, so he follows you.

you know man your reputation for a full on creep is just expanding.

as he steps into the bathroom he seeks you hunched over, cursing spilling past your lips along with the food you forced down. you freeze, turning to look at him as he locks the door.

“i’m almost positive breaking into a bathroom is some kind of crime,” you state as if matsukawa didn’t just see you force yourself to throw up.

“i’m fully aware i’m not supposed to be in here, but i got worried, sue me.” you raise your eyebrows as him resting your arms on the toilet seat. he grimaces realizing you’re sitting on the bathroom floors. in a public bathroom. “also if you’re going to go to the bathroom as least lock the door.”

“it sounds like matsukwa issei already knew about this.”

“stop talking about it like it’s a joke.” matsukawa says grabbing tissues to wet them and pass to you. ”at least get defensive or something. i had my suspicions, saw things i shouldn’t have. i’m sorry about that.”

“don’t apologize you didn’t do anything wrong. i’m sorry for worrying you, but i don’t see this as anything of your concern.” you reach over to take the napkins from him, but he instead cleans your face for you. wiping away the spit and tears gently.

“wash your hands.” his voice left no room for argument, so you wobbled your way over to the sink and finished cleaning yourself. when you finish and turn to face him he lifts you on to the sink, trapping you in between his arms. “it’s not my concern but i’m going to concern myself with it. you’re hurting yourself.”

“so what, i’d rather hurt myself then have other people hurt me because of the way i look.” you're eyes are glassed over avoiding his and your voice is shaking, the raw emotions spilling out in contrast to your deadpan face. you guess that’s why you’re attracted to matsukawa, you’re both hide behind laid back personalities storing away a barricade of feelings gently stirring and building up. “don’t involve yourself with me anymore. i know it’s just going to be another weight on your shoulders. you’re too caring to pretend like you didn’t see it.”

“you don’t deserve that, there’s nothing that warrants this and you know that.” matsukawa sounds desperate, you know that he probably is. “i won’t let other people hurt you, i’ll protect you i promise. so please don’t push me away.”

“you’ll protect me huh.” you lean back against the mirror to look up at him. “what does that even mean.” he blinks.

“well actually i don’t know yet, but i want to figure it out with you. i want to support you and help you because i don’t want you to be alone in this, you know?” matsukawa was fumbling his words, he was nervous he couldn’t make you stay but he hoped to every god that you wouldn’t walk away. “like, i know i don’t know what to do, but i’m willing to try and figure it out. i know it’s gotta be lonely especially when your friends are bent over backwards for magazine models, and like, dude, i like you so much and i just-”

“matsukawa-san”

“yes”

“are you confessing to me in the bathroom of a ramen restaurant?” matsukawa nods, shamelessly. you think this is the most matsukawa confession to exist, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. the boy you pined over since first year found out about your dirty little secret and didn’t turn you way. he offered his and and wore his heart on his sleeve for you, who are you to turn him away. “i don’t know where we would go from here either, but i’d like it if we figured it out together.” matsukawa leans in closer to you, grabbing you by the back of your neck gently and pulling your face into his before you can object. when you break away your frown deepens, “you just kissed me with vomit breath.”

“it’s okay you’re the person i’ll kiss with vomit breath since we‘re comrades.”

“you shouldn’t call your girlfriend comrade, it doesn’t give me butterflies.”

“oh? so you’re my girlfriend now?”

“what, you don’t wanna date me?”

“oh absolutely i do. i’m honored to have the pleasure of being your boyfriend.” matsukawa teases as he pulls you down. your reply gets shut down by a wave of texts that blows up matsukawa’s phone.

[hanamaki, 6:03 pm] ayo casanova wya dude ???? are you getting your dick sucked in the bathroom that’s dirty she’s too cute for that anyways we paid and we’re heading out >.< stay safe muah

[iwaizumi, 6:05 pm] we left but you’re going to have to explain yourself tomorrow.

[oikawa, 6:06 pm] mattsun!! tell us about your salacious bathroom endeavors tomorrow at practice <333

you follow him out of the restrooms, leaning over to look at his messages and laugh, point to your phone which shows a string of messages of similar nature from ayasaki and natsume.

as you and matsukawa walk hand in hand down the streets of miyagi you can’t help but notice the butterflies blossom from the pits of your stomach exploding towards your beating heart.

“i’m thankful you’re the one who found out i don’t think i would want it be anyone else.”

“i wouldn’t want it to be anyone else either.”

as the twinkling street lights cheered you on, you stepped forward towards the future knowing you had matsukawa to lean on.

[toffrox]

The Nico di Angelo Protection Squad

Read on Ao3

Summary:

Will must have known what Jason was doing, Jason was certain.

But at every move Jason made, Will simply took it in his stride. Sometimes he even had an understanding look in his eye like 'it's ok, I'm hitting on your little brother, I get it' or he'd back off for a little while with an easy shrug like 'whatever, I'm not relying on this one moment to make my move, I respect Nico's friend time'.

Jason wasn't sure whether to be infuriated or impressed.

He tried to explain this to Percy.

"Oh, no." Percy shook his head. "We are not backing down this easy." He grinned and held up a single golden drachma. "Time to call in an intimidation expert."

-

When rumours about Nico and Will start to spread around camp, Percy and Jason attempt to intimidate him. It doesn't go as planned.

Percy

It wasn't long after the end of the war against Gaia when the rumours started. Maybe two weeks, or three, at the most.

Even to Percy, oblivious as he usually was, they did not come as a surprise.

He was in the Athena cabin, dropping by to steal Annabeth away for a few hours, when he first heard them.

Jess and Daniel were sitting on the front steps, deep in the last couple of moves of a chess match when Percy entered the cabin. By the time he and Annabeth were leaving, they were resetting the board and gossiping idly.

"-no way they have a chance with Solace," Jess was saying. "He's totally got it bad for Nico."

"Nico?" Daniel said skeptically. "di Angelo?"

"Obviously." Jess huffed. "What other Nico is there at camp? Besides, have you seen those two together? They're as bad as-"

Annabeth tugged impatiently on Percy's hand, jerking his attention away. He threw her an incredulous glance as they stumbled across the green together, heading to the beach.

"Did you hear that?" Percy asked.

"Hear what?" said Annabeth, not looking back, still pulling him along.

"What Jess said. About Nico and Will Solace!"

"Not really. Was she saying that they need to hurry up and make out already?"

Percy spluttered in response.

"What? Are you surprised?" Annabeth shot him a look over her shoulder like, surely he couldn't be that stupid. Percy rolled his eyes.

"Well, no! Obviously not." Percy clarified. "Of course they would be adorable together. I just didn't realise it was like - camp gossip, already."

Annabeth shrugged. "The rumour mill works fast."

Percy sped up to a jog for a couple of steps so that they were walking towards the sea side by side.

"Should we be worried?" he asked.

Annabeth frowned at him, half amused, half puzzled.

"Why would we be worried?"

"I dunno, I just…" Percy scratched the back of his neck. "Nico doesn't really like being the centre of attention and like… Don't you think it's a little soon for them to be getting into a relationship?"

Annabeth barked out a laugh. "That is so none of our business, Seaweed Brain."

"What do you mean?" Percy complained. "I'm just looking out for him!"

Annabeth smirked and gave his hand another little tug. "You worry too much, Jackson. Leave the poor kid alone."

As she spoke, she reached up to tug her hair out of its ponytail, probably knowing that would distract him. It was irritatingly effective. She stopped walking for a moment to lean up and press her lips to his jaw.

Maybe she was right. He should stop worrying.

-

Except that a few days later, the worry crept back.

He and Nico were sitting at the Hades table together. Jason had already had breakfast since he'd been up early to go for a run, so it was just the two of them eating.

They were midway through the meal when a pair of Aphrodite campers breezed passed them. They were chattering excitedly, probably unaware of how loud they were being.

"Did you see them practicing archery together yesterday?" one of them was saying. "So. Cute."

"Oh my Gods, you have no idea. He is always finding excuses to ask for help in the infirmary just so they can spend more time together."

Percy watched Nico's shoulders stiffen and his eyes widen as they both realised who the Aphrodite kids were talking about.

Nico's head snapped up and he met Percy's eyes with something like panic. Percy tried to act casual, even as the blush overtook Nico's cheeks.

"It has been pretty busy in the infirmary lately." Percy blurted, attempting to absolve Nico of some of his mortification.

Instead, Nico's blush only deepened and he scowled down at his breakfast. He scoffed down the rest of his meal as hastily as he could and then stormed back to the Hades cabin without another word.

Percy's stomach sank.

-

"I just think that maybe we should talk to him, is all!" Percy was saying later that day. He was sat on one of the unused bunks in Cabin One, arms spread out in front of him as he tried to talk Jason onto his side. Jason sat on his chair, which he'd flipped around so his forearms were resting on the back.

"And say what?" Jason asked. "It's not his fault Aphrodite campers gossip."

"Duh." Percy agreed. "But like, don't you think we should be making sure that he knows that this kind of thing might freak Nico out? He probably doesn't realise that Nico's not ready for a relationship."

"Dude. What are you talking about? How do you even know that?"

"I just-" Percy sputtered helplessly. "I dunno. I just think we should say something!"

"Percy." Jason sighed. "We are not giving Will Solace a shovel talk. You are being ridiculous."

Percy huffed.

Looks like this is going to be a solo endeavour, then.

He had been so sure that Jason would be on his side.

-

Will

It was late in the summer and a slow week for camp injuries. Will pattered around the infirmary, making beds. He was the only one on duty that afternoon.

At around 3o'clock, he got an unexpected visitor.

"Oh, hey Percy." He called, smiling up at the son of Poseidon.

Percy stood in the infirmary doorway. He had a strange look on his face, like he was mad about something. His black hair was getting shaggy and his sea green eyes were darker than usual. He wore a raggedy looking camp t-shirt and swim trunks and Riptide was hanging at his waist in sword form.

Sword form? That was odd.

Will's smile turned curious.

"Hello, Will." Percy returned his greeting, oddly formal.

"How's it going?" Will asked cheerily and Percy's eyes narrowed in suspicion. There was a pause. "Are… you alright?"

He kept his tone light, waiting patiently for Percy to find his words.

"I'm fine." Percy shrugged dismissively. "I just came by to…" He glanced around the infirmary, shoulders relaxing when he found it was only the two of them. "I actually came by to talk to you about something…" Percy made his way into the room, gaining confidence. "About Nico."

"Oh."

Will felt a thrill of nerves run through him.

Not out of any kind of guilt. Instead he found himself trying not to blush at the way his heart thudded at the mention of Nico's name.

Oh Gods. Percy knew about Will's feelings for Nico. Or he'd heard the rumours and was coming here to tell him Nico wasn't interested.

The tips of Will's fingers burned with mortification at the thought.

Calm down. The rational part of his brain cut over his rapidly spiralling train of thought. If you freak out and he doesn't actually know about your massive, embarrassing crush then the fact that you're having a panic attack about it will make it super freaking obvious.

He forced his limbs to stay casual and hopped up onto the bed he had just fixed up.

"Sure." He said, voice still as breezy as he could manage. He gestured for the bed opposite him. "We can talk."

Percy kept his eyes narrowed as he glanced at the bed and then back to Will. He took a seat.

There was a long silence.

"Sooo, what about Nico did you want to talk about?" Will asked. He hoped that didn't come out too snarky.

Percy raised one eyebrow and then seemed to psych himself up. He straightened his back and adjusted his sword, looking broader than he usually did.

"Well." Percy cleared his throat. "I've been hearing some rumours about you guys."

"Right." Will said carefully. He waited for Percy to clarify. This seemed to annoy Percy a little. Will smiled, hoping to ease the tension.

"Right. And er- I guess I just wondered… if there's any truth to them? To the rumours, I mean."

Percy watched Will's face so intently that Will couldn't help but feel a silent laugh tug at the corner of his mouth.

"What rumours are you talking about exactly?" He asked, still ever so casual.

Percy looked irritated.

Ok, don't overdo it, Solace.

"If you mean the ones about us being a couple then-" Will shrugged. "We're just friends."

"Right." Percy said again. "But do you maybe wish that you were more than friends?"

Will's heart thudded.

Casual. Keep it casual.

"Sure." Will smiled. "I mean, Nico's awesome. Right?"

Percy remained suspicious. Will wasn't deterred.

"I wasn't planning on making any moves though."

"You weren't?" Percy blinked.

Will laughed. "Of course not. I don't think he'd be comfortable with that considering how much other campers have been gossiping about it." As he spoke Will raised one pointed eyebrow. Percy had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Right. Ok." He said. He nodded himself, like he was trying to reassure himself of something, then puffed himself up like he had done at the start of the conversation and put one hand on Riptide again. "Well. Good. I agree."

Will's eyes rested on Percy's sword hand for a second. He smirked.

There was another silence, in which Percy attempted to stare him down. Will just tilted his head in a question.

"Is that all?" He asked.

"Um." Percy jumped up, looking a little deflated. "Yeah. Sure. That's all."

Will grinned and jumped to his feet too.

"Ok, cool. Well, see you round, Percy." He reached out to clap Percy on the shoulder and then turned his back, heading to the infirmary storage to get another set of fresh sheets.

Once he finally he heard Percy leave behind him, he let out a long breath and ran a hand through his hair.

Ok, so Percy Jackson knows about your crush on Nico di Angelo. It's not that big of a deal.

He tried to get his heartbeat under control as he snatched up a pile of linen and returned to the infirmary floor. He tried not to think about how nothing Percy said implied that Nico might feel the same way. He tried to feel relieved that at least Percy hadn't told him that Nico was sick of spending time in the infirmary.

He felt a shy smile creep onto his face as he thought about Nico. He thought about how embarrassed Nico got whenever another camper made a comment about them. He thought about the cute way his eyebrows knit together in confusion when someone complimented him. He thought about silky ink-black hair and shattered glass eyes.

He sighed wistfully into the empty infirmary.

Gods, Solace. You need to get a grip.

-

Jason

Percy barged into Cabin One, Riptide in one hand and the other hand carding through his hair in frustration.

"Impossible! He is the worst!"

Jason glanced up from where he was laying on his bunk, letting the book he was reading fall closed onto his chest.

"What?" He frowned at Percy, who was now pacing distractedly around his cabin.

Jason checked the statue of Zeus warily, hoping the sudden appearance of an enraged son of Poseidon wouldn't result in another indoor thunderstorm.

"That guy is impossible!" Percy said through gritted teeth.

"What guy? What are we talking about?" Jason asked, sitting up.

"Will Solace!" Percy cried out right at the moment he pivoted, still pacing. "I went to the infirmary to tell him he needed to quit flirting with Nico-"

"You did what?!" Jason's eyebrows flew up.

"-But then I couldn't even get the proper words out because he was so friendly and reasonable!"

Percy capped Riptide back into ballpoint pen and shoved it in his pocket, looking thoroughly pissed off that Will Solace had had the nerve to be a decent person. Jason stared at him, nonplussed.

"Percy, you do realise you sound insane right now, right?" Jason said dryly.

Percy glared at him.

"What did you even say to him?" Jason asked.

"Well I asked him if the rumours about him having a thing for Nico was true." Percy said, ignoring Jason's eye roll. "And he said yes. But then before I could say anything else he said he wasn't planning on making any moves because he knows that the rumours make Nico uncomfortable and he thinks Nico is awesome."

Jason couldn't help but smirk at the utterly disgusted look on Percy's face as he recounted Will's words. This earned him another glare from Percy.

"Hey, don't laugh!" He complained. Jason tried his best not to.

"Why don't you ask Annabeth to talk to him?" Jason suggested.

Both he and Percy knew that Annabeth was the most feared person at camp.

"She won't talk to me about it." Percy grumbled. "Says it's none of my business."

"It is none of your business." Jason agreed. Percy glared at him again.

"But she also says she doesn't need to talk to him, because she says he's smart enough not to be an idiot about a camp rumour!"

"She's right about that too." said Jason. "Look, I told you not to talk to him. Will's a nice guy. Everyone likes him. I don't get why you're so worried."

Percy's eyes narrowed.

"I'm telling you, man. This is not a good thing." He insisted. "I went in there trying to express how I was worried about Nico, and instead he just laughed at me and I looked like a total dork."

"I mean, in Will's defence, you are a total dork." Jason pointed out.

Percy simply shook his head gravely.

"You wait. This can only mean bad things for us."

-

Over the next couple of weeks, as summer wound to a close, Jason continued to be unworried both by the rumours swirling around Will and Nico, and Percy's suspicious glances.

Every time Will and Nico arrived at the dining pavilion together, prompting heads to duck together and whispers to erupt at the Apollo and Aphrodite tables. Every time Nico blushed when Will waved at him at the campfire or called to him across the green in the mornings. Jason always heard a voice in his head, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Piper that said 'Will's a decent guy. And Nico can handle himself' or, 'This is cute. Nico deserves a friend like Will'.

It wasn't until after most of the summer campers had gone back to school and the Fall year-rounder season began that Jason began to see exactly where Percy was coming from.

Percy and Annabeth had returned to the city for school, both staying with Sally and Paul. Piper and Jason were staying at camp for a couple more weeks before heading out to search for Leo together.

In the quiet of the Fall season at camp, Nico and Jason had formed a daily routine together.

Jason woke up, went on a run, showered. Then he dropped by Cabin Thirteen and if Nico was awake they went to breakfast together. They trained together with the Ares cabin and whoever else wanted spar practice for most of the morning. Then lunch. Then, in the afternoon they'd split off for some kind of camp activity. Jason usually used that time to do research for his temples. Nico often hung out with Piper or helped the Athena cabin run mythology class. Lately, he'd been spending that time in the infirmary instead, helping the Apollo kids on duty.

And Will Solace was always on duty.

It was around the third or fourth day in a row that Nico arrived at dinner with Will and ate with Jason only to promptly leave the Zeus table and rejoin Will to spend the whole evening in the Apollo cabin that Jason started to realise that maybe this whole rumour thing wasn't just a rumour anymore. And that maybe Will's promise to Percy that he wasn't going to make a move had been forgotten.

Sometimes Piper noticed Jason watching the two of them walking together or planning a project on the deck of the Apollo cabin or sitting together at the campfire. She rolled her eyes at him, but never said anything.

One night, Jason was walking back to his cabin after an evening catch up with Thalia at the Iris cabin fountain when he spotted Will and Nico walking across the green together. Jason paused where he stood, in the shadow of the Hypnos cabin, so they wouldn't see him. It looked like Will was walking Nico back to his cabin for the night.

When they arrived at the steps to Cabin Thirteen, Jason noted how close together they were standing. At one point, Will reached out and put his hand on Nico's arm and Jason was shocked that Nico didn't pull back.

Nico leaned forward slightly to say something and Will tilted his head inward to listen, then threw it back in a laugh. Nico was grinning.

Jason saw Will give Nico a hug goodnight and then retreat across the green to Cabin Seven. Nico hesitated in the doorway of his cabin, watching Will leave.

Jason stood in the shadow of the Hypnos cabin, blinking dumbly for several minutes after Nico had disappeared behind the Hades cabin door.

His rational brain warred with a familiar protective instinct.

Nico seemed so smitten with Will. But why hadn't he said anything to Jason? Or talked about it with Piper, even? Why did he always change the subject whenever Will came up, even in the most innocent context?

Will clearly still had feelings for Nico, as he had confessed to Percy several weeks ago now. But why was he walking Nico home at night and inviting him to come and help in the infirmary all the time if he wasn't planning on acting on his crush?

Jason knew Nico could take care of himself. And he knew Will was a nice guy. And he knew that Nico deserved to be happy and loved.

And yet he couldn't shake the feeling that this was a risk.

'I'm telling you. This can only mean bad things.' Percy's words rang in Jason's ear.

From that moment, Jason resolved to be more attentive and more firm whenever he was around Will.

-

The next morning, Jason passed Will on his morning run. Will was just coming back from a hike with his siblings, fresh-faced and sunny as always.

As Jason passed the three Apollo kids he threw Will his best wolf-glare. Will raised his hand in a cheery wave, as if he hadn't even noticed.

-

At breakfast, Jason stared Will down across the pavilion. He was laughing and chatting with Kayla about something. He didn't look up once.

"Are you ok?" Nico asked. Jason nodded grumpily.

At the end of the meal Will jogged over and to chat with Nico. Nico's face lit up as they talked. Before he left, Will threw Jason a friendly grin.

"Hey, Jason." he said, before inviting Nico to hang in the infirmary with him that night.

-

At the next campfire, Jason made sure to be there early. He tugged Piper along to sit with Nico, taking Will's usual spot. Piper eyed him suspiciously.

When Will arrived, Jason watched him carefully, searching for a sign of disappointment that his seat had been taken.

Instead, Will barely seemed to notice. He gave Jason and Piper a breezy smile, then took up a seat beside Cecil and Connor, chatting with them. When Nico craned round to look for Will, he flashed him a quick smile too but didn't stop his conversation with the Hermes campers.

For some reason this comparative lack of attention to Nico made Jason even madder than the constant attention.

-

At Friday's head counsellor meeting, Jason was irritable. He shot down Will's admittedly good ideas for a new rota on music and archery training.

Jason could hear the pettiness in his voice as he spoke, but instead of arguing, Will just shrugged.

"Fair enough." He said easily.

Like it was no big deal at all.

-

That afternoon, Percy arrived at camp. He was planning to stay the night.

When he, Jason and Nico hit the arena to spar together, Jason noticed that Will dropped by to watch. He noticed how Will paid more attention to the matches Nico was in and cheered whenever Nico won.

Percy locked eyes with Jason at one point and Jason realised that Percy had noticed it too.

"You were totally right!" Jason said at dinner that night. Nico had left already with Will and the rest of the Apollo cabin for a music night in their cabin.

Percy looked at Jason in surprise.

"About what?"

"About Will!" Jason cried. "I've been trying to intimidate him all week because it seems like he's totally going to make a move on Nico, but it's like he's just ignoring me!"

Percy's mouth dropped open.

"I knew it!" He gasped. "See, I told you!"

"I know, I know." Jason dropped his head in his hands. "I just didn't get it when you said."

The thing was, Jason knew deep down that his actions to try and intimidate Will were immature. Especially without having talked to Nico about it. Except that Will's reaction didn't match up that way.

When Will grinned or waved at him after Jason glared or snapped, it wasn't malicious and it wasn't taunting. It wasn't ignorant either. Will must know what Jason was doing, Jason was certain. But at every move Jason made, Will simply took it in his stride. Sometimes he even had an understanding look in his eye like 'it's ok, I'm hitting on your little brother, I get it' or he'd back off for a little while with an easy shrug like 'whatever, I'm not relying on this one moment to make my move, I respect Nico's friend time'.

Jason wasn't sure whether to be infuriated or impressed.

He tried to explain this to Percy. Percy shook his head.

"Oh, no." Percy insisted. "We are not backing down this easy."

A curious gleam appeared in Percy's eyes. Determined and mischievous.

"So what do we do?" Jason asked.

Percy withdrew something from his pocket and held it up for Jason to see. It was a golden drachma. Percy grinned.

"We consult an intimidation expert."

-

Reyna

Reyna was hanging out in the Praetor's rec room when the Iris message came through.

Jason and Percy were sat on what looked like a bunk in the Poseidon cabin, their arms crossed and expressions serious.

Reyna straightened up immediately and frowned at them, alert and ready. "Hey guys. What's going on?"

"We need your advice." Percy said without preamble. Jason nodded.

"It's about Nico." Jason added.

Reyna quirked an eyebrow. Her battle instincts relaxed somewhat and she eased herself into a bean bag chair.

"Ok. I'm listening." she said.

The two boys exchanged a look, as if they hadn't thought this far ahead. After some kind of silent conversation, Jason took the lead.

"So we think that Nico might have a crush. On one of the campers here." He began.

Reyna blinked.

Ok. So that was… not what she was expecting.

Her mind ran quickly over the last couple of catch ups she'd had with Nico, scanning their interactions for new names Nico might have mentioned.

"It's Will Solace." Percy said, before she could land on that answer herself. "He's the head of the Apollo cabin."

"Right. That makes sense." Reyna said. When Jason and Percy looked at her quizzically, Reyna shrugged. "Nico never shuts up about him."

"Really?" Jason appeared momentarily distracted from his explanation of the problem. He leaned forward eagerly. "What does he say?"

Reyna narrowed her eyes at them. "Are you two trying to get gossip out of me? I didn't realise I was on the phone to two sons of Venus."

Jason and Percy exchanged highly insulted looks, which Reyna generously decided she would never mention to Piper.

"Why is Nico's crush on Will Solace a problem?" Reyna asked. "Does he not like Nico back?"

Reyna's stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought. From the stuff Nico had told her about how great Will was and the time they had started spending together, it certainly didn't sound like this crush was unreciprocated. But then again, Reyna had seen Nico's memories of his crush on Percy, and those early days had been plenty filled with romantic daydreams too. She hated to think that Nico might be in for another long stint of falling for a friend who didn't love him back.

Her uncertainty didn't last long however. Percy had scoffed at her suggestion and Jason was shaking his head.

"Oh no, he likes Nico. He likes Nico a lot. If anything we have the opposite problem." He said gravely.

"Your problem is… Nico has a crush on someone… and he likes Nico back?" she said slowly.

Percy nodded. "Exactly."

Reyna found her eyebrow quirking up once more. "I don't see the issue here."

Jason rubbed his palm against his face, knocking his glances askew and looking even more frazzled by whatever it is that was worrying him.

"The issue is that Will Solace is impossible!" He cried out in exasperation. Percy nodded again and threw himself onto his back on the bunk behind them in commiseration. Reyna tried not to laugh. She was still intensely confused.

"I thought that Will was pretty popular at camp?" She said. Her own memories of Will were positive. She remembered a warm smile and expert commanding of both the Greek and Roman medics, seamlessly coordinating the end of the battle against Gaia into a healing and rescue operation. She'd spent a bit of time with Frank in the infirmary after the battle and remembered being impressed with how calm and cheerful he had been with his patients, even though he must have been dead on his feet.

She also knew that Annabeth spoke very highly of him. That and Nico practically gushed about how nice he was whenever it came up.

Percy and Jason either did not seem to have these memories, or they did have them and they were somehow making all of this worse. Percy scowled and Jason's mouth twisted in distaste.

"He is popular." Percy growled out. "Obviously. He's impossible not to like!"

"Ok, so why is that a bad thing?" Reyna asked.

"Because he's been flirting with Nico!" Jason burst out, finally getting to the heart of the problem. "And everyone at camp is like egging them on which obviously makes Nico super uncomfortable, but then when we've tried to talk to Will about it he just ends up acting all reasonable."

Reyna frowned. Again.

"Reasonable." She repeated.

"Yeah!" Percy said, as if being reasonable was the very worst thing you could be.

"So uh… What exactly did you need my help with?" Reyna questioned.

Jason scooted forwards on his chair, all business.

"We need you to help us try and intimidate him." He said, clasping his hands together.

"Intimidate him?"

"Yes." Percy said eagerly. "We need someone to get through to him. Who better than Nico's toughest and most scary friend?"

"Thanks?" Reyna quipped.

"You're welcome." Percy said sincerely.

"You guys, why would I need to intimidate someone who is universally liked and who Nico also likes?"

"Because." Jason said, shaking one finger slightly manically in the manner of someone about to explain a conspiracy theory. "Because Nico is our friend. And he's been through a lot. Especially when it comes to his crushes-" He paused here to throw Percy a look, at which Percy had the decency to look guilty, "- and Will doesn't know that. And he said that he wasn't going to make a move on Nico when he clearly is!"

"Yeah!" Percy chipped in. "And we care about him so we need to warn him that if he does anything to hurt Nico we are going to kick his ass!"

It took a lot of physical restraint for Reyna to not roll her eyes.

"Jason, Nico is just as powerful as either of you. And way more powerful than me." She said. "Couldn't he just kick Will's ass himself?"

Jason shook his head and wagged his finger at her again. "Would he, though?" he said.

Reyna's first instinct was to laugh. But then she thought about it properly.

When Nico got hurt by monsters, or by assholes like Bryce Lawrence or Octavian, then sure, his tendency was to kick some ass…

But when Nico got hurt by people he cared about, well… He tended to blame himself. If Will Solace hurt him, it didn't seem all that unlikely that Nico might convince himself that he deserved to be treated that way.

After all, that's what he had convinced himself of in the past. That's what he was still trying to un-convince himself of…

Percy and Jason must have seen the shift of attitude in her face because they were both straightening up hopefully.

"Ok." She said slowly. "Ok, I see your problem. So what's so difficult about talking to Will about it?"

Percy leaned in eagerly. "Seriously, Reyna, this guy is literally impossible to psych out. Every time we've tried he either ignores us or laughs it off. He's like a wizard." Percy shook his head with a kind of starstruck look that Reyna had only seen on him when talking about Annabeth in combat. She fought another urge to laugh.

Jason wasn't laughing. He looked at Reyna through the Iris message with startling earnestness. Reyna pictured Will Solace in her mind and tried to conjure up everything she knew about him and other people she knew like him.

"Ok." She said, deep in thought. "Ok. Let me think on it. And the next time there's a visit from Camp Half Blood, I'll help you."

-

The next visit from Camp Half Blood turned out to be only ten days later.

Reyna, Frank and Hazel stood at the entrance to Camp Jupiter ready to greet them. When Hazel cried out and ran forward to wrap Nico in a hug, Reyna's eyes zeroed in on the blond kid who stood just behind Nico.

He didn't seem as relaxed as he usually did, which Reyna took as a good sign. But it could just be that this was his first visit to a new place.

Reyna and Frank greeted Chiron and the other campers. Almost all the year rounders were here, along with Percy and Annabeth who had tagged along to have their monthly Argo II reunion.

The trip had been arranged with Chiron to show the Greeks how things worked at Camp Jupiter, so for much of the first half of the day, Reyna found herself stuck firmly in Praetor mode. She and Frank sat with Chiron, Annabeth and Grover (the East coast's designated leader figures) at the welcome feast in the mess hall. Then, they led the entire camp on a highlights tour around Camp Jupiter.

The whole time, Reyna had one eye on Nico. He was usually wedged in at either Hazel or Will's side. In both cases he seemed relaxed and happy. Reyna did not miss the stolen smiles that Will kept throwing Nico's way, or the way he almost glowed whenever Nico laughed. At one of these moments, Reyna looked up to see Jason catching her eye. He nodded gravely.

Reyna knew she should be happy to see Nico so happy. And she was. Really...

But she couldn't get Jason's words from their chat ten days ago out of her head.

She watched the way that Will bantered with Hazel over the feast, making Hazel throw her head back with laughter, utterly charmed. She watched the way this made Nico grin dopily at Will over his cup. On Nico's other side, Percy narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

It should have been funny. And honestly, Reyna really did like Will. She fully intended for them to be good friends, eventually. But she needed to have a more serious conversation with him first.

After the camp tour, Frank announced that he'd be conducting a more thorough tour of the barracks and armoury. The Ares kids eagerly agreed and Kayla bounced along at Frank's side, enquiring hopefully if he could include a swing-by of the archery range.

Reyna turned to Will then, locking eyes with Jason and sharing a knowing glance before she did so.

"Will, would you like to see our infirmary set up?" She asked.

If her overly formal tone bothered Will, he didn't show it. His eyes lit up at the suggestion.

"Definitely!" He agreed.

"I'll come." Nico piped up from beside him.

"No, Nico, you should go with Jason." Reyna said firmly. "He said he'd show the others Temple Hill."

Nico frowned. "But I've already seen Temple Hill."

Reyna scrambled for a reasonable excuse to give him.

"I uhhh, wanted your opinion on the placement of some new Underworld God shrines." Jason cut in hastily.

Nico's frown deepened. Reyna forced a fake smile which prompted him to throw her a deeply suspicious look.

"Right, well we'll meet you at the gates to the city later then!" She said in a falsely authoritative tone. Nico scowled.

Reyna turned to Will, who looked perplexed.

"Ready, Solace?"

Will, bless him, smiled at her. "Sure." He shrugged.

-

In the infirmary, Reyna found it tricky to maintain her resolve.

As Annabeth, Percy, Jason, Piper and of course Nico had all pointed out to her, Will Solace was infuriatingly nice.

Will's smile was like sunshine personified. Which, she supposed, he basically was.

When they arrived, Will greeted his Roman half-siblings warmly. Rather than attempt to maintain the authority he had commanded in the Camp Half Blood infirmary, he quickly shifted into a polite and inquisitive guest, asking lots of intelligent questions and complimenting their storage systems.

He was excited to meet Pranjal again, the son of Asclepius and the head of Camp Jupiter's infirmary. Pranjal explained to Reyna that Will had been told by Apollo that he shared many of the powers of Asclepius, which was quite rare for a child of Apollo.

"Had to be some benefits to completely missing out on any music or archery talents." Will quipped.

Annoyingly, Reyna suspected that even this comment was simply Will being humble. At one point when one of the Apollo legacies threw a bottle of unicorn draught over for Will to inspect, he caught it in one hand effortlessly and later threw it back across the room without even looking. His aim was perfect.

He chatted to the Apollo and Asclepius children and legacies about Apollo himself and whether anyone had heard from him. When he talked about his father, Reyna saw genuine worry and care in his eyes. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen from a demigod towards their godly parent.

When Will spoke to Reyna he was cheery and unaffected by her military posture or Praetor's regalia.

Usually Reyna liked it when campers treated her like everyone else, rather than revering her in her position. But she couldn't help but think that in this particular scenario a little reverence would have been to her advantage.

They walked up the road to New Rome together, just the two of them, and Reyna picked her moment.

"Listen, Will." She said sternly. She drew herself up to her full height and straightened her cloak. Will was walking beside her, completely at ease. His body language did not change when Reyna adjusted her tone. "I was talking to Jason over Iris message last week." She began.

"Ah, is this about Nico?" Will asked. His eyes sparkled knowingly. He reminded Reyna of one of the older legacies that ran an intro to self-defence class for new campers: always one step ahead of everyone, but never flaunting his power.

"I-" Reyna scowled at him. "Yeah. It is actually."

Will laughed, though Reyna didn't miss his blush.

"Jason's been giving me his wolf stare for like a month now. I figured he'd maybe talk to you about it." Will spoke as if he was talking about the weather, or a camp chore schedule. "It's ok." Will chuckled. "Go ahead and give me the speech."

Reyna opened and closed her mouth, then steeled her resolve, refocusing. She wasn't going to let him psych her out.

"Look, I know you're not an idiot, Solace." She said brusquely. "And neither is Percy or Jason. They know you've been messing with them."

Will had the nerve to look curious at that.

"But I am not messing around here." She pressed on. "Nico is the bravest kid I know. Possibly one of the bravest demigods ever."

She glared full force at Will, daring him to respond. Will's face remained smooth and calm.

"I agree." He said softly, eyes not leaving Reyna's face.

"He doesn't trust easily." Reyna continued. "But you, with all your healing and diplomacy, have convinced him to trust you. And, I'm not saying you're not trustworthy. Obviously, the kids at Camp Half Blood all respect you. And I'm not saying that Nico can't make his own decisions, because we both know what he'd do to us if either of us tried to suggest that to him." Here, Will let slip an amused smile, looking a little lovesick in a way that further sharpened Reyna's focus. "But Solace, listen."

She stopped walking and grabbed Will's shoulder with one hand. Will was strong but Reyna turned him around to face her easily. She took a step closer. She was taller than him, just, and used the full weight of her Praetor authority as she locked eyes with him.

"You don't understand yet how much it means to have Nico di Angelo trust you. But if you're lucky, one day you will."

Will seemed to let that sink in. He still didn't look intimidated, though he was listening intently.

"Now, I'm not telling you what to do, Solace. But I am telling you this." Reyna ramped up the ferocity in her stare, channeling her training with Lupa as best as she could. "If you do anything- if you make one move that proves to me that you're not deserving of that trust. If you make one mistake and you hurt him, then Nico won't be the only one with an intimate knowledge of the Underworld. You got that?"

Will's eyes widened as she spoke. He leaned away ever so slightly. And for one glorious moment, Reyna thought she had succeeded.

And then, that sunshine sparkle returned to his clear blue eyes.

And Will Solace laughed.

The way he was was smiling at her… He looked almost fond.

"I can see why Nico likes you." He said warmly. His arm and shoulder was relaxed in Reyna's grip.

Reyna's jaw dropped even as she tried to scowl at him.

"You think this is funny, Solace?" She growled.

Will shook his head, still laughing. "No, no, of course not." He assured her. "I believe that you'll hurt me. I just really don't think you've got anything to worry about."

He looked so sure, so innocent, so smitten with Nico. It pissed Reyna off.

She glared at him again and stuck out one foot, pushing against the back of Will's calf and knocking him off balance. He cried out but Reyna maintained her grip on his arm so he didn't tumble to the ground with too much force.

Even so, he was on the ground. He looked around, disoriented, from his newfound horizontal position. Reyna towered over him.

"I told you I wasn't messing around." She said, one hand on her dagger hilt. Will instantly raised his hands in surrender, though his smile did not waver.

"I know, I know, I believe you!" He said quickly. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, but let Reyna maintain her position standing over him. His grin slowly softened. "Listen, you're a really good friend. But I promise, I'm not messing with you."

Reyna maintained her glare. Will remained unaffected.

"Seriously, Reyna. The last thing in the world I would ever do is hurt Nico. Swear it on the Styx and everything. Or on the Tiber, or whatever body of water it is that you make oaths to over here." His mouth twitched at the joke.

Reyna's resolve was slipping, though she was still annoyed that her intimidation tactic was proving so ineffective.

Will seemed to understand her dilemma. He leaned backwards, giving Reyna even more height on him, and held out one hand in a truce.

"I'll make you a deal." He said confidently. "If I ever hurt Nico, I'll report straight to you to get what's coming to me. I'll even swing by Hazel, Percy and Jason afterwards too, as a bonus."

Infuriatingly, he winked.

Despite it all, Reyna felt her frustration reluctantly ebb away. She leant forward to clasp Will's hand, hauling him up to his feet as she did so.

"Throw in a report to Annabeth, Solace, and you've got yourself a deal." She smirked.

At that, a kind of worry passed ever so briefly over Will's face. Reyna felt a brief stab of competitiveness.

Damn you, Chase.

Before she could think on that any further, the moment had gone. Will was smiling his sunny grin at her and firmly shaking their clasped hands.

-

Later that day, Percy and Jason joined Reyna where she was sitting with a mug of her favourite hot chocolate.

"How'd it go?" Jason asked quietly. He glanced surreptitiously around them to make sure no one was watching.

Reyna let out a sigh. Together, they watched Nico and Will chatting animatedly, walking alongside a thoroughly bemused Frank Zhang.

"I think it's time we gave it up, boys." She said, finally admitting defeat. "You were right. Will Solace is impossible not to like."

[diamondcamefromhell]

Cane

Kaz Brekker x fem!reader

A/N: play “guess whos back” on me because ayee, i am back, this time not with jaskier fic [sorry bby] but with... kaz brekker? whaa? so i am super late to the fandom but i read six of crows a couple of weeks ago and wanted to write an imagine with kaz x reader so.... vuioula?

oh and also HAVENT read crooked kingdom yet so no spoilers plz <333

Summary: y/n is part of the dregs, on good terms with kaz but when kaz gets a bit hurt things take a turn 

Warnings: swearing and leg injury [not grpahic at all]

word count:

FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED AND REQUESTS ARE OPEN BUT I MIGHT TAKE AWHILE TO GET TO THEM [open for all witcher and six of crows characters btw]

Kaz slipped on his gloves looking at me like I was a disgrace, but I began to wonder if that was is resting face. He seemed to look like that at nearly everyone. I flashed him my teeth in return.

“No need to glare, pretty boy.” He clicked his tongue at my nickname, which I knew for a fact he hated. Or pretended to hate.

“Get off my fucking wardrobe, Y/N.” I lift by brows in question, laying back down, or trying to do so as much as I could in the small space.

“I like it here.” I shoot a glance at Kaz, who just rolls his eyes, but I see a small curl forming on his lips. “I may be no Inej, but I like small spaces.”

“I know.” Kaz says almost softly, before he picks up his cane and pokes me in the legs. “But terrorize someone else, please.”

“Oh did our great Kaz Brekker just said please?” I tease, but however jump off his wardrobe. Kaz towers over me slightly, looking down now, leaning on his cane.

“Next time I will beat you with my cane.” I narrow my eyes, grinning.

“Ooh, scary.” I pat him on the shoulder, moving away before he actually beats me with his cane. His expression grows cold at the touch, but I ignore it. “Where are we headed?”

“I am going to see some friends.” Kaz says through his teeth, making it pretty clear I am not welcome.

“You don’t have friends, but alright, pretty boy.” I wink, heading for the door, but I stop for a moment before leaving. I shoot a glance at him and he raises his eyebrows. “Be careful, please.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.” He says nonchalantly.

“You know I always will.” I whisper, leaving the room and slamming the door.

I decide to make my way to Jasper, jumping down the stairs to catch him gambling at the table. I glance at the group, already guessing he will lose. He sees me approaching and flashes me a smile. I wink in turn, looking around the room for more familiar faces.

I wish Nina were here. We got along great, even if she was relentless and insisted I have a crush on Kaz.

She may be right. But it wasn’t about that. It was about respect. Gratitude. It was about family.

Kaz makes his way downstairs, limping more than usual. Inej appears from nowhere and they exchange a few whispers before he leaves and the Suli girl looks at me.

“He’ll be fine, you know.” She says, approaching me. I believe her, but still feel uneasy.

“Do you think he would kill me if I followed him?” Inej laughs because the answer is blaringly obvious. I flush red.

“He would one thousand percent catch you. And be angry.” Inej takes my hand in hers. “And he will be fine. You don’t have to worry. It’s Kaz.”

“Bastard of the Barrel.” I mutter, pulling away. Inej’s face shadows but she forces a smile. I don’t respond. “I’m going to sleep.”

“It’s early.” I glance at Inej, already walking away.

“I’m tired.” I respond, stepping two steps at a time, rushing into a room they got let me stay in, falling face down on my bed.

Moments later I roll down off it, in the small tight space between the bed and the wall. Tight places make me feel safe. Not exposed. Hidden.

I had to hide too much as a child. It’s now forever in me.

You only wont get hurt if they don’t find you. If they don’t see you. If you make yourself so small, you disappear.

I slip into sleep, not sure for how long, until my door flies open. I instinctively lower myself underneath my bed, until I recognize that the voice.

“Y/N!” Jasper. I roll from under the bed, meeting his gaze as he gets startled. Our eyes lock and he opens his mouth to speak. “It’s Kaz…”

I don’t wait for him to finish. I am on my feet, practically flying out of my room, my heart a few steps behind, lungs on fire, I go to his room, but he is not there. I slam the door behind me, sending myself flying down the stairs.

I lose my footing, falling ungracefully on my knees. My ankle seemingly catches fire but I don’t care, jumping on my feet, looking around, white noise ringing in my ears.

Kaz. Where is he?

I see Inej rush from the furthest corner of the room. Our eyes meet.

“Here.” She points, but as I try to rush past her into the other room, she catches me. “You need to calm down first.”

“Let me go.” I practically growl, but she holds me. I feel Jasper approach too.

“Breathe, for fucks sake.” Jasper says, shaking my shoulders from behind, and I let out a breathe that I didn’t even realize I was holding in.

“Kaz is fine.” Inej says, forcing me to look at her. “Just his leg got busted a little bit more. He will be fine. Nina is on her way.”

“Let me in.” I hiss, freeing myself from her grip, but she stands in front of the door.

“He said-“ I slam my hand next to her face. She doesn’t flinch and doesn’t move. We lock eyes.

“I don’t care.” I know she understands. I know she knows why I have to see him. She moves out of the way.

“Knock yourself out.” She says coldly. I give her a nod, before I twist the handle, pushing the door.

The room is lit up and I see Kaz in a chair, his leg lifted on another one. He has his eyes closed, holding his cane over his midriff. He doesn’t look at me when I close the door.

“I thought I made it clear I don’t want you hear.” Ouch. I cross my arms, glaring at him, even if he cant see.

“I thought you said you will be fine.” I respond and he looks at me, cold faced.

“I am fine.” I shake my head, approaching him. I sit on the ground, pulling knees to my chest. A comfortable distance away, so he doesn’t kick me if I piss him off.

“That scared the shit out of me.” I whisper, closing my eyes. “When Jasper came in my room and just said your name and when Inej stopped me. I thought you died.”

“Why should it matter if I died? It doesn’t change your debt. Your life.” I snicker at his words.

“Yeah. My life would totally be the same if you died, Kaz.” I hate that I cant hide the shaking. I hate that he probably sees me as a weak woman. As a weak person. Someone childish and immature. But I cant stop acting like that. Even now, when he is hurt.

“People would still take care of you.” I glance up at him just as he looks down to me. “If that’s what you worried about. The Dregs have your back.”

“There are no Dregs without you.” I say, but he scoffs.

“Whatever.” I sigh, standing up. My ankle kills me suddenly, and I grab his chair to steady myself. “Are you alright?”

“Whatever.” I say, looking at him. “Why should it matter if I am hurt? Your life is the same.”

“Not if you don’t pay your debt.” He says and I am taken back. I stare at him, stone faced, sitting there without a care of the world. Only kruge. All he needs is kruge.

“Fuck you, Kaz.” I breathe out, stepping back, limping.

“You too, Y/N.” Doors behind my back open and I can only assume it’s Nina.

I don’t say a word. I turn around, not even saying hi, I leave the room. I limp past Inej and Jasper. They don’t try to stop me. I limp out of the building into the dark streets of Ketterdam.

I breathe in the air, not sure where to go. I needed to air out my emotions. To be away from everyone.

I wanted to be alone. To hide. Make myself feel small. Invisible.

Seemed that is what I will always be. Only seen for what people need of me, not who I am.

But then again, who am I?

I go to the Fifth Harbour. I know its not safe. I know its dumb. But I don’t care.

Luckily, I get there without any trouble. I go behind some crates and fishing nets stacked against one of the buildings. I squeeze myself in, make myself invisible between two crates. I throw the net over the top.

Sky looks like its made from puzzle pieces now. Nothing is connected. All scattered, all a mess.

I close my eyes.

“Im such a fucking child.” I say to myself, quietly. “I cant handle rejection like an adult.”

I lean back breathing in the salty air. I can barely move. It makes me feel safe. I focus on that. How I am squeezed in. How I feel.

How it proves I am alive. I am real. I matter.

I don’t realize how I fall asleep, softly crying, but when I wake, the sun is already high in the sky. My entire body is stiff from being squeezed in one position all night. Everything hurts and I can barely open my eyes.

I try to stand, but the pain in the ankle stabs me and send me back to the ground, with the net tangling around me. A wave of panic rushes over me as I try to get it off, only making matters worse.

I stop and breathe, trying to calm down, until I hear someone knocking on a crate nearby. Something towers over me, blocking the sun.

I open my eyes to see Kaz looking down to me. A smallest hint of relief runs past his face for a moment, but then he is back to being cold.

“Need a hand?” He asks, tapping the cane on the crate again. I glare at him, tears burning my eyes. I shake my head. “Alright.”

He moves away, the sun blinding me again. I don’t hear him walk away, so I know he is still standing there. Probably mocking me. Great.

I get the net off myself this time. Lift myself despite my body screaming at me. Just a moment later I am standing in front of him and our eyes meet again.

I limp past him, he silently walks behind.

“Told you I am fine.” He speaks, and I hear him double tap his cane. “As good as I was before.”

“Good.” I say, not slowing down. “Glad to hear that.”

“Nina is back at Crow Club to help you.” Kaz says again and this time I glance back. He isn’t looking at me, but more at the people passing us.

“Okay.” I slow down as my ankle is killing me now, limping even more. I don’t want Kaz to see me like this. Everything hurt. “I know the way.”

“Just keeping you safe.” He says calmly, and I know he expected me to protest.

“I don’t need you to keep me safe.” I say quietly and the man just sighs.

I stop for a moment, next to some other crates, leaning against them. Kaz catches up to me, blocking the sun again. I look at him.

“Am I really just walking kruge for you?” I ask, breathing heavily. “Not a walking, breathing and feeling human being?”

“You are barely walking.” He says, glancing at my ankle.

“Don’t ignore my question.” I say harshly.

“Don’t ask stupid questions.” We glare at each other, and I push myself up and walk again, though visibly way more slowly than before. This time Kaz stays by my side.

“At least I wont bother you anymore. I wont be able to climb that fucking wardrobe anytime soon.”

“Nina will patch you up and you will be there in no time, Y/N.” Kaz doesn’t sound fazed yet again, as if he thought all of this out already.

“I’m clearly not welcome.” I whisper, looking ahead. Tears prick my eyes but I will break another ankle before I let Kaz see me cry over him. “And I need to work harder to pay my debt off.”

“Not being welcome never stopped you before.” I glare at him.

“Thanks.”

We walk in silence. Or move at a snails speed. I try to fasten myself, but it seems like I will eat dirt before that happens. Kaz doesn’t seem fazed.

He also doesn’t seem to be limping as much.

We make it away from the docks, and he stops, and I follow suit. I sit down on the ground, breathing heavily. He stares seemingly into the abyss.

“Why do you care about me?” He asks and I scoff.

“Not here to boost your ego, pretty boy.” I say, rolling my eyes.

“It’s not about that.” He responds with sadness in his voice.

“Because you are the first person who cared about me. Even if it was out of kruge. You are the first person who made me feel not small.” I say in one breath as he looks at me, his expression unreadable. “I want you to do that for yourself too. You wont allow anyone else to help you, I want you to help yourself. I want to be here when that happens. I want to make sure you are here to see that happen.”

“Thank you.” He says so quietly I almost don’t catch that.

I smile to the ground until his gloved hand reaches out to me. I take it, standing up. Then the unexpected happens.

Kaz gives me his cane. I stare at it as if it’s a bomb.

“You need it.” I say, but Kaz shakes his head.

“You need it more, Y/N.” When I don’t move, he shoves it in my hand anyway. “I insist.”

I use his cane, wondering if this is the closest I will ever get to him. His cane feels like an extension of him. And he lend it to me.

We make the rest of the way without stopping or talking, once we enter the building a few pairs of eyes shoot to the cane in my hands and to the empty handed Kaz next to me.

Everyone is smarter than to say something, though.

Nina rushes to me, getting me to sit. Then she proceeds to scold me for walking on my hurt ankle. I sit there, apologising and nodding and thanking her as everyone watches us.

I glance at Kaz who is grinning at the sight.

He leaves though, going back to his room. Nina finishes and only then I realize I am still clutching his cane. I excuse myself from her and go up the stairs while grisha stares at me.

My ankle is way better but I’m still limping and she told me to rest.

I don’t bother knocking, I just limp in and he lifts his head from the table, looking at me.

“Your cane.” I say, putting it on the table.

“Oh right.” He says, looking at it. “How’s your leg?”

“Better now. Thank you.” I say, smiling. “And sorry for being a child.”

“I am glad you are like that. Means you are more than just kruge.” I flush. “You are a person.”

“Does that mean when I get better I can climb your wardrobe?” He rolls his eyes, though smiling.

“Fuck off.” I laugh.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

[marvelgurl]

Off-Limits: Part 7

Characters: Tom Holland X Reader Osterfield (eventually), Harrison Osterfield

Word Count: 3270

Warnings: Language, Angst, Fluff, 

A/n: This is Part 7 of the Off-Limits series. I am going to start off by saying I am not a dancer, in any way, shape or from. That being said if the dance part of this fic doesn’t make sense I’m sorry, I did try my best to make it make sense. What I can say is that I love music, I am very passionate about it as well. Hopefully that will make up for the “dance” writing. (probably not though)

I used choreography from this video (not all of it but small bits)

Song: Inner Demons By Julia Brennan 

Tags are Open for this series.

As always Feedback is always welcome. Good and Bad, it really does helps me.

Also Sorry for the super late upload. I hopefully will have part 8 uploaded on time.

Tumblr Masterlist  Series Masterlist

“Tom…”

You looked around for him, but all you saw was your mother sleeping in a chair next to your bed. You could have sworn you heard his voice.

Great I’m hearing things. You let out a sigh as you thought to yourself.

You closed your eyes, throwing your head back onto your pillow. You brought your hand up to your face, as you tried to rub it across your face you realized that it was harder than it should be. You opened your eyes to see your hand was wrapped in gauze. You couldn’t remember what had happened. You started freaking out a little bit. The machine that was next to you started beeping loudly, which wasn’t helping you at all. You covered your ears as best as you could.

Your mother woke up to the noise, she looked over to see you grabbing your head. She came over to you, she put her hands on the sides of your face.

“Y/n, honey you need to calm down.”

The door opened, nurses and a doctor came rushing in. They were moving around checking everything. One of the nurses put something into your IV. You opened your eyes to see your mother looking at you, you focused on her and slowly your heart slows back to a normal rate.

“Mom…” You felt like a child again, tears welling up in your eyes. You grabbed her arm to pull her closer, she just held onto you.

Harrison and Tom came running through the door. They had seen the nurses and doctor run into your room. They were prepared for the worst. Once they saw that you were awake a sigh of relief washed over them. Harrison came up next to your mother and hugged the both of you. After a few moments you all let go, tears were threatening to fall from all of your eyes.

You looked up to see Tom standing close to the door. You made eye contact with him, only to realize he was on the verge of crying as well. Then you started thinking about what you had heard. Did he actually say those things or was it all in your head? What about Nadia? You quickly looked away from him once your doctor started speaking.

“Well, not exactly how I thought you would wake up, but I think I can speak for everyone when I say we are glad your awake.” Everyone agreed.

“You just about gave me a heart attack Y/n.” Harrison gently pushed your shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I woke up to…” You stopped yourself, you looked towards the door at Tom and back down again. “I can’t remember what happened. I saw my hand all wrapped up and I just freaked.”

Tom couldn’t help but think that you had heard everything that he had said. He really hopes that you did because he meant every single word. Now he just needed to figure out whether or not you would even allow him to come back into your life.

 “Y/n, there are somethings I would like to discuss with you.” Your doctor looked around at your family and Tom. “Is it okay to speak with everyone in this room?”

You looked over to Tom. He was about to leave when you spoke up.

“Ye… Yes.” You had a feeling you knew what this was about. It was time for it to come out. It’s time for the truth to come out.

“Okay.”

The doctor had Tom move over to where Harrison was, so that it was easier. He went over to his computer. Pulling up your file, before turning back to the four of you.

“You came in about a month ago for a checkup, all of your levels were where they should be. Yesterday we did some blood tests when you first came in, now they are way below where that should be. You are severely malnourished. I am also positive if I were to have you stand on a scale you would have lost quite a bit of weight. Not to mention the damage to your liver, from the alcohol.”

You had put your head down when he was talking to you. You could feel everyone was staring at you. You let out a shaky breath and you brought your legs up to you. You were trying to make yourself as small as possible. You could feel yourself starting to retreat. Trying to get away from this, but now it was time to talk.

“I lost myself.” You looked over to your mother, Harrison, Tom before looking back at your hands. “I haven’t been eating very much, some days not at all. I sleep too little or too much, not finding joy in the things I used too. I definitely not talking about my feelings when I should have.”

“Y/n.” Harrison put his hand on your shoulder. You didn’t look up, you just kept talking.

“I let my mental health deteriorate and it took a massive toll on me physically as well. I was starting to slowly pick myself the fuck up. That was until yesterday. I saw Luke and it all just started coming back.”

“Why didn’t you talk to someone?”

“I couldn’t. Not with how things were. I was trying to do it by myself. I’m sorry.”

Your doctor started talking to you about treatments and he strongly suggested that therapy would be helpful. He wanted to keep you for a couple of days, to make sure that you stay on the right path. He left you with your family and Tom for a while. He had other patients to go see but he would be coming back to check on you.

You called your boss to let her know that you couldn’t come into work for a few days. You let her know what had happened. She was more than understanding, she was happy that you were okay. She told you to take as much time as you need.

After you got off the phone with her, everyone sat there in silence. They were in shock and didn’t know what to say. Your mother had to go to work, she hugged you for a little while then kissed you on the top of the head. Tom got up to take her home, but Harrison stopped him once again. He whispered something to him before leaving with your mother.

“Y/n...”

You looked up to see him getting up to move closer to you. He stopped just before getting to your bed. He was looking down at his hands.

“Tom…” He looked to you. “I need to ask you something.”

“Okay.”

“Were you talking to me when I was out? I heard your voice, but I don’t know if it was really you or just my brain trying to mess with me.”

“Your brain wasn’t messing with you darling.” He moved a chair to sit right next to your bed. Once he was sitting down, he grabbed ahold of your hand. “I was talking to you. I don’t know how much you heard of what I had said, but I can tell you that everything I said was completely true.”

“Damn It Tom!” You took your hand back. “You can’t say things like that, you have a girlfriend.”

“No, I don’t.” He leaned back in his chair.

“What? What happened to Nadia?”

“We broke up the day after I helped you home from the pub. I was just so focused on you all the time. Like I said earlier I fell in Love with you a long time ago. That wasn’t fair to her, and I couldn’t do that to her. We talked about it for a while, and we decided to break-up.”

“Tom… I can’t do this.” You could see tears welling up in his eyes, and you could feel them in your eyes too. “I love you, but I need to figure things out. I need to get back to myself before I bring someone into this. It wouldn’t be fair to you at all.”

“Darling I understand.” He grabbed your hand again. “I’m not going anywhere. I don’t want to lose you again. Not in my life or…” You squeezed his hand.

“I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

You pulled on his arm to get him to stand up, you pulled him into a hug. You just held onto him. Eventually you let go, but just to move over. Tom laid down, pulling him into you. The two of you just stayed there long enough to fall asleep.

With the amount of damage, you had done to your body, you had to stay in the hospital for a week. You had a fair amount of visitors while you were there. Your boss came to visit you a few times, some of your coworkers came to see you as well. Your favorite visitors were the Holland boys. They were there the most. You hated that they had to see you like this, but you were happy to see them.

There were times that you were alone. Those were the worst moments; you hated the quiet. You could only watch so much television. You were going stir crazy by day three, but you knew that there was no way they were going to let you go home. You were able to talk your doctor into letting you go home at the week mark. He only allowed it if you had someone at home to help you and make sure you are staying on track. Harrison was more than happy to stay with you.

Harrison and Tom came to get you from the hospital. When you got to your flat, you were hesitant to even walk in. From what Harrison told you about that night, you didn’t know what to expect. The boys saw your hesitation.

“Y/n, Its okay. We are here for whatever happens.” Harrison put his arm over your shoulders before pushing open your door.

“okay…”

You slowly walked into your flat. Making your way through, there was an uneasy feeling coming over you. especially when you got closer to your bedroom. You stopped in front of the door, taking a deep breath before turning the knob and pushing it open. When you flipped the light on you were expecting the worst, but to your surprise it looked like nothing was out of place.

You looked at the dresser and you saw a different lamp, a new jewelry stand and a new bottle of your favorite perfume. You also saw scratch marks in the wood, you slowly traced along them with your finger. Your memory of that night started coming back, it looked like someone had cleaned everything up as well. The glass and the blood were gone. You started feeling the bubble slowly coming back. You stopped and just started breathing. It calmed you down enough to keep going,

You looked over to your bed where you had left the photos, but they weren’t where you left them. Instead, they were made into a collage. When you got closer, you saw some other photos, and notes in there too. Photos you remember throwing away when you were upset. You climbed onto your bed, taking it off the wall. You sat down and just stared at it, there were some photos in the collage that weren’t even in your box.

You saw the notes were from friends and family. Your heart was so full of happiness that once again you started crying. You can’t believe that someone would do this for you. you pulled the frame close to you, you just hugged it.

You didn’t notice was the boys standing in the doorway watching you. They were both smiling. Tom wanted to make you feel more comfortable when you were able to come back home. He talked to Harrison about it, then they put his plan in motion. Harrison was the one who cleaned up the blood and replaced the things on your dresser. Tom reached out to some of your friends and asked them to write notes to you. He also searched through a bunch of photos to find the right ones. He made sure to leave space around the edge for you to add more in if you would like. He was just so happy that you liked it.

You look up to see the boys, then set the frame down on to your bed. You got up and walked over to them, pulling them into a hug.

“Thank you.”

You guys spent the rest of the night talking and watching movies. It was like old times; you were glad to have them in your life again. You didn’t want this to go away. You were fighting to stay awake, instinctively you curled into Tom’s side.

“I think it’s time for someone to go to bed.” You felt a small chuckle go through him.

“No, I’m awake. I’m just resting my eyes for a second.” You could hear Harrison laughing too.

“Oh, is that what it’s called. What about the snoring?”

“Warming up my vocal cords?”

“Alright. Let’s go.” Tom stood up, grabbed your hands to pull you up. You let out a groan in protest.

“Tom, I want to stay out here.” You looked up at him trying to give him puppy dog eyes and you pursed out your lower lip ever so slightly.

“That’s not fair darling.” He looked over to Harrison. “A little help here mate.”

“Nope, I am staying out of this one.” Harrison put his hands up. He just smiled at the two of you.

“Fine, you win.” He let go of your hands, but he moved to a different seat. He just gave you a smirk.

“Rude.” You keep eye contact with as you moved over to Harrison and placed your head on his shoulder. “I guess us Osterfield’s need to stick together.”

“Y/n, you really should go to bed.” Harrison looked down at you.

“I guess I am a little tired.” You stood up sending Tom a smirk before walking to a closet and pulled pillows and blankets out for the boys. You placed a set on the couch next to Harrison and placed the second on Tom’s lap.

“Goodnight boys.” You walked to your room, closing the door behind you. Tom was right you needed to sleep. You were exhausted, it seemed like as soon as your head hit the pillow you were out.

Tom and Harrison just watched as you went to your room.

“Ugh. Your sister is going to be the death of me.” He just threw his head back.

Harrison just laughed at him. “Come on mate, just get some sleep.

After a couple of days, you decided to go to the studio. You needed to clear your head. Your boss had given you a key, so you could work on your solo piece. You don’t know how much you would accomplish tonight but you still needed to try.

Harrison and Tom tagged along. They wanted to make sure you got there safe. They also just wanted to hang out with you. After getting inside the building, you lock the door behind you guys. You didn’t need to turn on the lights, there were emergency lights along the hall. They were spaced out enough that it lit the whole thing up.

You went to the changing room, quickly changing into the clothes you had in your locker. You walked to the main studio and flipped on a few lights, before heading to the control booth. The guys just sat along the wall; they didn’t want to disturb you too much. Turning on the system and plugging in your phone. You still haven’t picked a song, which is the worst. That should have been the first thing, but nothing was sticking out to you. You decided to just let your music play, hopefully something would just come to you.

You walked out to the center of the studio and just laid down, laying your arms out to the side. Half of your body was in the light and the other half was in the shadows. You closed your eyes, breathing in and out, just listening to the music. You were trying to feel every beat. You wanted the music to do all the moving for you. You wanted to let go of all the control you had and just be in the moment.

The boys started recording you. This was the first time in a while that they saw you dance. They watched you closely to see what you were going to do next.

Slowly you began to move, you kept your eyes closed the whole time. As you sat up you kept your head back and slowly rolled it around till it was faced down. Your hair fell down off your head and surrounded your face. Letting your arms drag behind you, while pulling your legs in, making yourself sit Criss-cross. Your hands moved to cradle your head; you moved your head from side to side. Taking your right hand, moving it across your body to your left knee, pulling it up. Quickly letting go, you move your right hand behind you to prop yourself up. Then swinging your right leg around, causing you to pull yourself up slightly. Your body ended up in the dark part of the studio. Your right foot was now flat on the floor, causing your leg to be in a 90-degree angle, while your left knee was on the ground.

You put your elbow onto your knee and your chin into your hand, before throwing your head back. You bring your arms around to brace yourself, as you move your body to the ground. Once you hit the ground your left hand is extended out above your head, while the right is keeping you propped slightly off the floor. You move your legs up slowly so that you are almost in the fetal position, but before your legs could even hit your stomach you threw them out.

Moving onto your back. You planted your feet on the ground, lifting up your pelvis, while your hand grabbed at your shirt like multiple people were trying to pick you up by your shirt. Then you dropped your pelvis back down and lifted up your torso up and down, almost like you were doing half sit-ups.

You worked through the rest of the song. Just letting your body do everything.

You could hear the music coming to an end, quickly you ran over to the booth. You grabbed your phone and paused it, it had two seconds left in the song. You were just staring down at your phone out of breath. Your hand came up to cover your mouth, you could feel yourself getting emotional again. You backed up to the wall and sank down. You pulled your knees to your chest and buried your face in them, your arms just wrapped around your legs to hold them in place.

The boys came running after you. when they say you on the ground, they were worried that you were going to have another anxiety attack. Harrison kneeled down in front of you, he placed a hand on your shoulder. You looked up to see his concerned face. You smiled at him and placed one of your hands on top of his.

You sat there for a little while, eventually you just felt emotionally drained. You got up and took your phone, turned everything off. You went and changed again, then you left.

Off-Limits Tag list: OPEN!

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Just Another Class Trip :)  Part 3

You know getting dragged through a multi billion dollar corporations building to try and avoid your illegitimate father, a normal monday for most I’m sure.

First< Previous >Next

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

It’s official, I hate Adrien

Marinette groans, having been practically dragged out of bed for breakfast. Adrien was wisely backed up as far as he could in the elevator. She yawns, making it loud as possible and looking Adrien right in the eye.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed out so late,” Tikki giggles, hidden in her scarf.

Yeah it turns out that ‘just need to help out one person’ turned into a it is now 3am and I am halfway across the city beating up a gang.

“At least the box was safe,” Marinette whispers back, she had crashed in Adrien's room, no matter how mad Lila would be, or because of it who knows.

And indeed Lila was mad. The second they step foot into the hotel restaurant the entire class turns to stare at them. Crowded around a smug looking Lila with tears rolling down her cheeks. Marinette just turns a sharp left to the coffee. It isn’t until she has downed half a cup and refilled it that she tries to look for her friends.

Chloe looks just as dead as her, so she sits next to her. Let the morning people talk, they were ready to pass out together.

“Kagami?”

“Yep, Adrien?”

“Yep,”

“Morning people,” They both sneer.

“Were you planning on sleeping all morning?” Kagami asks, eating breakfast like a normal person, what a jerk.

“Were you planning on watching me all morning?” Chloe half heartedly retorts.

“You are adorable when you’re sleeping,”

“Fuck you, I’m adorable all the time,”

“Chlo, language, please,” Marinette implores, nursing her giant cup.

“Shut up Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe snaps, face planting back into the table.

“She’s not that cute actually,” Kagami whispers to Adrien, “Wore a face mask she got green all over the bed,”

“I’ll get green all over you,” Chloe mumbles absentmindedly.

"Marinette,"

"Ah the storm is coming,took them long enough" She takes a gulp of burning coffee, "Yes Alya?"

"You cant just say that to a person," Alya tries to explain, as if talking down to a child, "Lila was up all night crying,"

"She probably just put on a recording and went soundly to sleep," Chloe scoffs, sleepily looking up from the table.

"I was with her all night!" Alya turns to Chloe, seething rage coming to the surface.

"Thats some impressive endurance," Marinette mutters, downing more coffee.

"You think she's been practicing?" Chloe smirks.

"This isn't-"

"Make sure she get's plenty of water," Marinette turns away, hoping the conversation would be over.

"Marinette!" Alya looks down at her the way Marinette often looks at her, the look at a dear friend who changed, "Can't you see you're hurting Lila?"

"Can't you see she's hurting me?" She covers that honestly by gulping down more coffee, she has not had enough for this conversation.

"You used to be so nice Marinette," Alya dodges the question, pointing to Chloe and Kagami instead, "Then you started spending time with these two, and, and you changed!"

"Believe what you want Alya," Marinette motions for her friends to stay calm, "But they stand by me when no one else will, especially you,"

"Thats because!- Marinette if you had just gotten to know Lila instead of being jealous this would have never happened," Alya looks down at her sadly, Marinette was sure Paris would have been up in flames somehow if she had ever trusted Lila, "If you just didn't spend time around these bullies everything could be the same, you wouldn't have become a bully too,"

"So what?" She spits bitterly, looking over at the table watching them, Lila looking disgruntled it wasn't an all out fight, "If I got up and joined that table right now, would everything go back to the way it was?"

"... No,"

Marinette’s pocket buzzes in a familiar sequence. Akuma alert.

"Ok then, not much point in arguing about it, I'm going to stay with my friends, the ones I can actually trust," Marinette quickly shuts down Alya's protest, "Now go get Lila some water,"

Alya walks off back to the table, everyone crowding around her. Marinette waits for the door to be clear, she has to leave before Alya finishes or the whole class will be breathing down her neck.

“Forgot something in my room,” Marinette slings on her back pack, “Be back soon,”

She was not back soon, she was not back soon at all. Luckily she should only be three minutes late for the bus-and nope they left, great. She’ll just have to catch up with the tour later.

Well, I had stuff to do anyways

She talks with the receptionist; her assistant should have sent her a prepared motorcycle to the hotel the day before. It’s a quick drive to the location she had selected specifically to be close to the hotel.

She puts on a simple domino mask before entering the building, she didn’t want anyone to leak her identity after all. Walking in she’s glad to see everything is not in disarray.

“MDC,” Her assistant, Liam walks up to her.

Liam was someone she met through Penny. He’s older than her and also acted as her guardian on most of her trips as MDC. He does know her civilian identity, which she trusted him completely to keep. She likes him because-

“Is that mine?” She snatches the cup of coffee as he passes it to her.

“Figured you needed it,” Liam smiles, wincing as she downs the burning liquid, it's fine she has a strong healing factor, “You said your bag was stolen? This should replace it, it’s most of what you had plus more,”

He rolls forward a pre packed suitcase.

“I would die without,” Marinette says in all seriousness, “So what's the damage?”

“No major problems so far, the security we hired is enough to scare away the smaller thugs,” Liam nods to some security personnel guarding each door, “They won't be enough if any super villains try to attack the actual show,”

“Mm, give them instructions on the night of the show they are only allowed to intercept small time, anything bigger they are not allowed to engage,” Marinette studies the room, there's great places to hide, friend or foe, “If they see anything they are simply to report it directly to me,”

“They can’t engage?” Liam looks around, trying to see what she is.

“They won't be able to stop them anyway, and there is no reason for them to die,”

“If you say so,” Liam leads her through the room where lights are being set up and walls are being painted, “So what's the plan if we do get attacked?”

“I’m sure Batman is going to have his eye on any big events,” Marinette approves of the color of the back wall, it looking even better in person, “Besides I’m planning on trying to intercept before any violence,”

“In other words you're going to make my job a lot more stressful,” Liam sighs, making a note or rather on his tablet.

“Not if I can help it,”

“You can’t,” Liam sighs again at her grin, “Didn’t you have a tour with your class today?”

“They left me,” Liam seems equally unsurprised, “But I should probably head for Wayne tower anyway,”

“Don’t get into trouble,”

“I never get into trouble,” Marinette smirks from the door, “Trouble drags me into it kicking and screaming,”

“More like keen and skipping,” Liam closes the door in her face.

Marinette strolls into the Wayne tower an hour late with Starbucks, she sees is her class, being a nuisance arguing with a tour guide.

“You cannot just leave a student alone in Gotham,” The tour guide all but yells at Madame Bustier.

“Marinette is very responsible, she can handle herself,” Madame Bustier more defends herself than Marinette.

“I don’t care how responsible your student is, that won't stop them from getting shot!” This time he does yell, “You need to go back and pray to god she’s alright and hasn't gotten lost for some murder to find!”

Alright time to break the tension

“Hey, what did I miss?” Marinette asks casually, Already sipping at her straw when all eyes turn to her.

“Marinette! How did you get here?” Madame bustier demands.

“I-”

“I think you mean ‘are you alright, I’m so sorry for leaving you behind,” The tour guide glowers, apparently threatening enough that Madame Bustier actually repeats him.

“I’m fine, I borrowed a bike from my friend in Gotham,”

“You don’t have a licence in Gotham,” Lila sneers triumphantly.

Oh look who actually did some research, how much digging did you do when I learnt how to ride a motorcycle

“I didn’t say it was a motorcycle,” That shut’s Lila up, “But yeah it is a motorcycle,

Worth it for that face

“Also I got my licence approved in America before I came,”

So worth that face

Lila opens her mouth, better than the flood gates, when the tour guide interrupts.

“Now that everyone is here,” He sends a smile to Marinette and a glare to Madame Bustier somehow at the same time, she gets the tinglily feeling of  miraculous holder, or maybe its just the caffeine, “We can start, my name is Dick I will be your tour guide today.

They follow Dick through the tour Marinette's group right behind Dick. She scribbled designs and took notes as he talked, asking her own questions. This got her dubbed Dicks favourite, and easy title to gain as the rest of the class lagged behind. Most were listening to Lila, only Max and Alix were straining to hear Dick over the chatter. Marinette would occasionally pick up a mention of the Wayne's and knew it wasn't related to the tour. She'd have to guess Lila was lying about either dating someone or saving their life, or because it's Lila probably both. A gutsy move in the Wayne tower she had to admit. Marinette could tell Dick was listening and would probably have that rumour make it back to the Wayne's themselves. Would the wrath of some of the richest and most powerful people be enough to stop her? not likely.

They split up for lunch at the cafeteria in the building. She saw the coffee machine and was about to make a bee line to it when Kagami pulled her back to eat some 'real food' whatever that is. She makes a break for it after eating the so called 'real food', right before the tour was about to restart. She reaches it as a familiar figure is also waiting.

"Hi Tim," She greets, getting him to actually jump, "You work here?"

"Hi! um-yeah," He looks over to her, "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" She takes the biggest travel cup they have available.

"Sn-nothing," Tim still looks uneasy, then his eyes lock onto the cup, "tired?"

"Was up till three am last night, plus jet lag?" She yawns, "Yeah I'm tired,"

"Then you'll want to put that cup back,"

"Hm why?"

he gets her answer when Tim ducks down, opening a hidden cupboard full of travel cups at least twice the size of her current one,

"Tim I love you," She fills up the giant cup, "You're my favourite person in Gotham as of right now,"

"Not Dick?"

"Eh, his puns are lacklustre," She shrugs, Tim spits out his drink, "You know Dick?"

"Yep, give him a hard time for me!" Tim calls over his shoulder, walking away.

"You got it!" She hurries in the opposite direction, late for the tour once again.

“Did you get another coffee?” Dick asks as they enter the PR department.

“They were serving them at lunch,” Marinette could almost laugh at how quickly he had begun to fret over her during the tour.

“I know, that was my brothers idea, or rather demand,” Dick sighs, someone else approaching the group to direct the tour.

“Your brother works here?”

“Sure does,”

“But you don’t”

This makes Dick pause, looking down at her as she sips at the coffee.

“What?”

“I mean you don’t work this job at least,” She shrugs, it wasn't hard to figure out.

“Why's that?”

“You seem uncomfortable, your charismatic but still lack the smoothness of a rehearsed tour, plus you seem offended that they are in the back chatting,” Marinette nods towards Lila and her posse, “Regular tour guides would be used to that,”

“You found me out,” Dick chuckles, “I’m just taking over for today,”

“Well I think you picked a bad class to do that for,” She looks over at most her class ignoring the speaker trying to get their attention.

“I think I picked the right one,” Dick says cryptically, then walks off to help herd the class.

“Alright you have to give me the recipe,” Marinette overhears from a nearby desk.

Someone is sitting on it eating a cookie, while the other taps away at her computer.

“Sorry no can do,” She shrugs, “I don’t know it,”

“How can you not know it, you baked them right?” He asks, trying to steal another one and getting his hand slapped away.

“Nope, new vigilante came in, beat up someone robbing my house and baked me cookies,”

“This is Gotham so I believe the first two,” He looks between her and the container, “But cookies?”

“They also gave me free therapy,” She shrugs, before tapping on the container,“And do you really believe I could make these?”

“Touche,” He smirks leaning back on the desk, “So who’s the new guy? With the Batclan?”

“No they said they were just passing through,” She doesn't look up from her computer, focusing intently on the screen, “Names Starling,”

“Never heard of them,”

“Neither, and I tried looking them up,” She sighs, pushing back from the computer in defeat, “Found someone, but it’s not them, actually couldn't find anything on them,”

“Weird,” He gets up from the desk, “Can’t imagine Batman is going to take kindly to a new vigilante running around,”

“Unless he adopts them,”

“That… yeah he probably will,”

"Oh no-CLAIRE" The speaker trying to wrangle her class stops, "We have a problem!"

"Sorry to cut this short," Claire doesn't look sorry at all, "Seems we have important matters to tend to,"

She follows Dick out of the department, ushering her class as she goes. Claire looks over at her like she has two heads, a mixture of impressed and pity, and perhaps a bit of jealously.

They get to go further up the building, to the higher floors. They reach a space that is mostly meeting rooms. He class decide to take advantage of Dick declaring they are completely sound proof, or maybe they took it as a challenge. Marinette is walking past a hall when someone leaning against the wall catches her eye.

“Auntie Selina?!”

They look around, only spotting Marinette seconds before they collide into a hug, she feels the tingling buzz of a true holder.

“Mari!” Selina picks her up and spins her around, no different from when she was five, “Oh, my love it’s so good to see you, when did you arrive in Gotham?”

Marinette watches as her smile morphs into horror.

“Wait, what are you doing in Gotham!?”

“It’s a class trip and- hey where are we going?” Her Auntie grabs her arm pulling her down the hall.

“Marinette!” Dick calls, walking around the corner, Selina makes a sharp turn down another corridor, “Wait!”

Selina is two steps away from running as she pulls Marinette through the maze of hallways.

“Auntie where are we going?”

“Down here,” She opens the door leading to a staircase, too narrow to be a fire exit.

“That’s not really what I was asking,”

Selina inputs a key code, the door swinging open as she is pulled into the room.

“Wait!” She gets pulled through another door just as quick “Was that wall full of weapons?”

“Just a picture sweetie,” She says sweetly, “Down these stairs,”

“Aunt Selina what are we running from?” They are running now, floor after floor.

“We’re not running from anything sweetie,” Selina speeds up, “I just wanted to show you a cool spot in Gotham,”

“Right,” Marinette raises an eyebrow, “I was actually with the class so maybe we could go later?”

“It closes in five minutes,”

“Like you wouldn’t just break in if we were going somewhere,”

“I promise I will take you somewhere nice,” She smiles back at Marinette, they reach the end of the stairs, coming to a garage of sorts, “If you promise to hurry up,”

“Sure-” She does a double take, of the room, “Hold up are those costumes?”

“Collectors stuff, you know,” They are surrounded by bat themed... everything, “Rich people,”

“Right and how do you know this?”

“I-” She hesitates, eyes drifting, “Hey look, the exit!”

They all out sprint towards the exit. Selina reaches out to open the door a second after it swings open.

“Selina,” The man smiles at Selina as she runs into him.

“Hey Bruce,” Selina jumps back, trying to hide Marinette behind her.

“Where are you going?” Bruce looks behind her at Marinette, who gives a little wave.

“Out! Got to hurry!” She grabs Marinette's arm again, trying to pull her around Bruce.

“Is something wrong?” Bruce grabs Selina's shoulders to keep her still and looking at him.

“Nope nothings wrong,” She wriggles out of his grasp, trying again to pull Marinette away.

“Ok then,” Bruce still looks worried but turns to Marinette instead, “Hello I’m Bruce Wayne, Selina finance,”

“YOU’RE HER WHAT!?”

“Snitch,” He Auntie spits out venomously.

“Why didn’t you tell me!?” Marinette asks her with the biggest grin.

“Surprise,” Selina gives half heated jazz hands.

“Wait! Whens the wedding? Do You have a dress? I’ll make one!” She deicides, brining out her sketchbook, drawing different designs, “What's the theme? Never mind tell me on the way to the fabric store, I’ll sketch up some designs,”

“Darling, please-” Selina is now getting pulled along.

“Oh! I’ll call Papa! I’m sure he’ll want to make your cake! We have to hurry, come on lets go!” They're already out the door, Marinette waves turning back to Bruce, “Nice meeting you!”

“What just happened?” Bruce asks Dick as he runs up next to him.

“She kidnapped one of the students on tour,”

“Who is now making her wedding dress,” Bruce nods, not understanding anything

“Did I miss something?”

I think we all did

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

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[artificialqueens]

I Know the Sound (Of Your Heart) (Rosnali) - Athena2

Denali works the overnight shift at a diner, and has a crush on the woman who hosts the radio show she listens to every night.

A/N: I've been busy with school and work lately, but I finally finished this and wanted to share it! Please leave feedback if you'd like, I really do love reading your comments. Thank you to Writ for beta-ing!

Title from the Sound by the 1975.

Denali doesn’t hate the night shift at the diner.

It has its slow times and busy times, especially on the weekends. It has its regular customers—the group of college kids that comes every Monday for all-you-can-eat-pancakes, the woman from the local paper who comes in a few nights a week and gets a to-go box of pastries for her coworkers on deadline. It has its good points, like her coworkers and the free slices of cakes and pies the owner lets them take, and its bad points, like the rude customers and weekend rushes.

It’s pretty much a typical nine-to-five--just nine at night until five in the morning.

The night shift isn’t ideal, but it’s easier with her schedule. She gets home a little after five in the morning, collapses into bed, and sleeps until ten or eleven. Then she heads to the ice rink and trains for hours before teaching a few afternoon lessons and going back to the diner. She’s tired, of course, so often it’s just her default state at this point. But the full-time coach at the rink is planning to leave soon, meaning she can pick up his hours and classes, and then she can quit the diner and practice more and get a reasonable amount of sleep. She just needs to tough it out another month or two, and she can do that. She’s been toughing it out on the ice for months, pushing past her bleary eyes and weary limbs to keep her place on the competition team.

She’s in the kitchen tonight, dropping baskets of fries into oil and making grilled cheese for the occasional customer, business mostly a crawl after eleven. But it’s quiet, and she gets to turn the owner’s ancient radio to her favorite station.

“--if you’re just joining us, welcome to the Pink Hour! Not sure why they call it that, because I’m here all night, but whatever, I just work here. I’m Rosé, I hope all you gorgeous listeners out there are having a lovely night.”

Denali leans against the grill and sighs. She found the show months ago, flipping through local radio stations on a drive home after forgetting her AUX cord. The host’s voice had pulled her in, and Denali stayed in the car for five minutes after reaching her apartment’s parking lot just so she could hear the rest of the story Rosé was telling. Within days, that station turned on the second her car roared to life, and she didn’t even bother with the AUX cord if she was driving at night. Not when she could listen to Rosé.

Her voice does something to Denali, makes her calm and happy all at once. It helps that Rosé tells hilarious stories about gigs she’s played and takes callers in between her song picks, playing their suggestions or giving them a listening ear or sharing some advice if they want it. It brings some excitement to an otherwise boring shift, gives Denali something to look forward to. The show runs from nine at night to five in the morning, and Denali likes that they have that in common, that they’re out there doing the same shift, with Rosé’s voice and perfect song selections keeping her company.

“I’m in a dancing mood tonight,” Rosé continues through the speakers. “I’d dance myself, but I’m too damn tired--hopefully they don’t bleep that out--so I’ll let ABBA take over. My parents played them all the time when I was a kid, and this one is my favorite.”

The unmistakable first notes of ‘Dancing Queen’ pour from the speakers, and Denali grins through her exhaustion, letting Rosé get her through the night.

---

“--So I’m standing there on stage, singing and minding my own business, and then a rat, a fu--a freaking rat runs in the bar. I ran for my life and tripped on the amp plug, and that, my lovely little listeners, is how I sprained my ankle last year. I just wish the story was more glamorous.”

Denali’s so lost in the story she accidentally tips an extra chicken tender in the fryer. Whatever, a little midnight snack won’t hurt. She brings the order out to one of two occupied tables, then devours her prize the second she’s out of sight. The radio is playing a Fleetwood Mac song, and Denali sighs as Brooke, the only other person working with her, pops in. They usually work the night shift together because Brooke spends her days training with some ballet company, and though they’re not super close, that combination of exhaustion and dedication has created an understanding between them, and one of them will often pick up the slack when the other is too tired to even stand.

“Contraband?” Brooke asks, nodding to Denali’s chicken-tender-stuffed cheeks. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”

Denali finishes chewing and nods. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Still listening to that radio show? Why not just listen to a murder podcast like the rest of us?”

“Some of us aren’t obsessed with true crime, Hytes.” Denali rolls her eyes. “And why would I want to hear about people getting murdered on the way to their cars? I drive a car.”

Brooke snorts. “Fair.”

“I could probably kick their ass, though,” Denali says.

“You could,” Brooke agrees, then sighs. “I better get back out there. Enjoy the radio show.”

“Thanks.”

Denali turns it up a little after Brooke leaves, just in time to catch Rosé’s story about the song. Denali stands still as Rosé explains how she won her middle school talent show singing that song when she was just in sixth grade, how it made her want to sing all the time.

Denali can’t help but imagine Rosé singing, even if she doesn’t actually know what Rosé looks like. It would be easy to find her if she wanted to—the show has an Instagram page, and she would undoubtedly find Rosé there—but Denali likes the mystery of it. Likes keeping Rosé in her mind and behind her radio speakers. It’s ridiculous, probably, how much Denali likes hearing Rosé talk, but every word is so expressive, so passionate, and Denali feels like she’s gotten to know part of Rosé just through her stories, like how she got a guitar for her tenth birthday, or that she likes trying different fancy drinks when she goes to coffee shops, or that she had her first kiss in her car, hiding behind the high school gym--though that story makes Denali oddly jealous. It’s comforting, somehow, to know Rosé is out there, that she and Denali are occupying the same space and time, even if they’ve never met.

As long as Denali can hear her voice, things feel okay.

---

The nights continue, bleeding into days on the ice where the cold doesn’t even wake Denali up anymore because she’s so used to it. She’s tired, so tired she almost falls asleep in someone’s pile of leftover mashed potatoes, but she’s so close. The head coach is leaving in two weeks, and the rink’s manager already said the job is hers. Two more weeks and then she can sleep at night and be a normal level of tired like everyone else.

The song on the radio transitions into the crackling static of a caller connecting. Denali’s thought of calling in to request a song a few times, thinking that it would be like officially talking to Rosé--albeit over the phone--but she always chickens out before she can even type the first number. This is the most ridiculous crush Denali’s ever had, and she definitely has to call it a crush now, given all her fantasies of busting down the radio station’s door to ask Rosé out. She sighs and listens as the caller speaks. It’s a teenage boy, one trying and failing to sound older, telling Rosé about how he came out to his friends today, how they were so happy for him and want to throw a party this weekend. He had been nervous all week, the boy explains, and found Rosé’s show when he was up at night and used it to stay calm.

“Thank you,” Rosé says, and Denali can tell from how her voice is a little thick that she’s really touched. It’s not the first time she’s gotten calls like this, either. “I’m so happy things worked out for you. My friends and family were really supportive when I came out too, and I’m glad you’ll have that support. Be proud and be you, okay?” Rosé clears her throat. “Now, I hate to be that cheesy person--oh, who am I kidding, I love to be that person--but here’s a special song just for you.”

Denali laughs out loud as Diana Ross starts singing about coming out. This whole night, and how kind and genuine and sweet Rosé was, have only made Denali’s crush deepen. Maybe she should find Rosé, message her on Instagram. Denali can’t imagine seeing her in person, hearing that voice and that laugh so close. Finding out all the things about Rosé that she can’t get over the radio.

Maybe one day.

---

Denali’s almost home when she realizes she was so busy thinking about Rosé that she forgot her phone at the diner, and, tired as she is, she’d rather just go get it now than later. She trudges back in the place to hear a laugh--a laugh she knows for some reason, even if it doesn’t belong to any of her coworkers. And then she hears the voice, one excitedly reading out the pecan pancakes on the menu, and follows it to a booth in the corner. It’s coming from a woman with soft pink hair and a huge smile. She’s gorgeous, but it’s the voice that stops Denali in her tracks. Because she absolutely, unmistakably knows that voice. She listens to it every night, its smooth sound and cackling laughs flowing through the scuffed speakers of the radio.

The woman is Rosé.

It simply has to be. Even if Denali’s never seen her, she knows it has to be her. Who else could have that exact voice? Denali’s about to march over to the table when she slams into something, and looks up to see Brooke clutching her order pad in a death grip.

“What are you still doing here?” Denali asks.

“I was on my way out when that table”--Brooke nods to the corner--”came in. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a ridiculously beautiful woman at that table, and I’m gonna wait on her.”

Denali yanks the order pad out of her hand. “I’m waiting on her. Rosé is at that table!”

Brooke stares at her. “No, I think her name is Vanessa.”

Now Denali stares. What if she’s wrong and it’s not Rosé? She risks another glance at the booth and suddenly realizes there are two women there, and her eyes narrow. “Who are you talking about?” she asks Brooke suspiciously.

“The tiny one, with the brown hair.” Brooke crosses her arms. “Who are you talking about?”

“The one with the pink hair and the most amazing smile ever! She hosts that radio show I listen to every night!”

“Oh. Oh,” Brooke repeats, realization dawning on her. “Well, maybe we can both wait--“

“Excuse me,” a rough voice says, and Denali knows from Brooke’s deer-in-headlights-look that it’s the brunette. “Can someone show me where the bathroom is?”

“Brooke can,” Denali says, giving the blonde a gentle push, watching her trail with Vanessa out of sight and almost sprinting to the booth Rosé is now at by herself. She’s even prettier up close, with kind eyes and a perfect smile. Denali can do this. Except now that she’s here, she has no idea what she’s doing. Should she tell Rosé that she knows her? How creepy is it to admit that she recognized her voice?

“Can I help you?” Rosé asks, and hearing her voice close like this makes Denali surer than ever that it’s her. It sounds a little different in person, but it’s definitely her. It snaps her out of her thoughts, and she realizes she’s standing in front of the table in a waitress uniform with her mouth wide open.

“I should be asking you that,” Denali stammers, trying to recover. “Can I get you coffee or anything?”

“Can I get the caramel latte?”

“Of course.”

“My friend wanted coffee too, but I don’t think she’ll need it, considering how long she’s been in that bathroom with your friend.” She flashes a smirk, and Denali’s knees wobble.

“I don’t think she will either.” Denali snorts, but a rush of determination hits her. Things worked out for Brooke, so why can’t they work out for her too? And Rosé coming in here this morning—the morning Denali happens to forget her phone—feels like fate, like someone wanted them to meet. Screw it, Denali thinks. “Hey, uh, you have a show on the radio, right? Please don’t think I’m a creep, it’s just—I listen to it every night when I’m at work.”

“Always nice to meet a fan,” Rosé says. The smirk is still there, but it fades into a real smile. “But yes, I do have a show. I’m glad you like it.”

“I love you,” Denali blurts. “I--I love the show, I mean,” she says, her face on fire. “It’s kept me company at work. You’re really fun to listen to.”

“Thanks.” Denali might be imagining it, but there’s a hint of a blush in Rosé’s cheeks. “You probably know my name, but I’m Rosé.”

“I’m Denali.”

Rosé smiles again. “Denali, I think you’re pretty fun to listen to too. Would you want to go on a date sometime? Then we can listen to each other all night. I gotta warn you, though, I love to talk.”

“I’d love to. I can handle talking, believe me. Actually, you know what--” Denali slides into the other side of the booth, grinning at the excited look on Rosé’s face--”I’m off the clock. What do you say we have a date right now?” By the time she hits the ice she’ll be cursing herself for not sleeping, but she wants to talk to Rosé so bad, wants to spend this morning with her.

Rosé grins. “Absolutely. Do you think someone could get me that latte though?” she asks sheepishly. “I’m so tired.”

“Make that two.” Denali laughs and then flags down one of her coworkers, not wanting to miss a single second.