#so I was like wait dollhouse builds would be perfect

[breezytrait]

I told y’all I was gonna do it!!!

[notacelestialbeing]

dollhouse (yunjin x f!reader)

synopsis: reader gets jealous of yunjin’s friend taking away all her attention on their anniversary celebration.

warnings: m0mmy issues/k!nk, str4p on, car s3x, jealousy, insecurities, angst, smut.

songs used: dollhouse by the weeknd.

word count: 1.5k

┌────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────┐

“Dollhouse, dressed up, perfect, messed up

Torture me to sleep, paint the air I breathe”

music fills your senses as you stare into the abyss. your life was oh so messed up, at least you had yunjin.

you and yunjin were out celebrating your anniversary at the new ramen restaurant. it had been almost two years since you guys began dating. it was almost unbelievable to you how you had gotten so lucky. to have huh yunjin as yours, yours to love, yours to cherish, yours to call mommy.

yunjin’s friend walked in and ever since that happened, you felt invisible. you continued to stare into the night sky as you reminisced your first kiss, first date, first everything. she had always been your first.

it felt as if the time was moving really slowly, you were getting impatient with the way your entire attention had been ripped off of you. so, you being a brat obviously meant you would try to gain it back.

you slowly inched your right hand forward and onto yunjin’s uncovered thigh. you were sitting across from her so her friend really couldn’t see what was going on beneath the table. yunjin just moved her leg away and you hand fell off of her.

you looked shocked to say the least. never had someone’s presence enraged you this much before in your life. you just wanted to rip off her friend’s head and stab her two eyeballs with the fork in your left hand. you took a deep breath and asked the waiter to get the bill.

having had enough of whatever this bullshit was, you began to think of why yunjin might be happier with her bitch of a friend than you. insecurities started to fill your heart, after all, yunjin could date anyone better looking than you, right?

yunjin looked up to see what was going on as she saw the waiter come by to give you the bill. she saw the way you aggressively took out your card and paid for the dinner. she had zoned so much into the conversation with her friend, she totally forgot about you being there.

yunjin quickly rushed after you as you stormed your way out of the restaurant. luckily, it was almost empty in the parking lot so she didn’t have to worry about being mauled by the paparazzi. guilt began to eat at her as she realized that she truly ruined your guys’ anniversary.

you waited in the car for her to get into the passenger seat so you could drive home. it had truly been a long night for the two of you.

yunjin opened the door and quietly got in. she knew better than to speak to you when you were pissed off. the silence between you two could be cut with a knife. surprisingly, even the radio was turned off tonight.

yunjin couldn’t take the silence anymore. so, she slowly moved her hand onto your thigh and squeezed it as a way to get your attention. but you weren’t going to cave in so easily.

you continued to drive until you found an empty secluded area to park the car in. none of you were making it home safely while being this needy. you parked the car in a place surrounded by trees and tall buildings.

yunjin looked over at you to see why you had parked the car. you stared at your hands for awhile until you snapped out of your daze. it was time for the two of you to behave like adults and figure it out.

“so, why did you park the car behind a building? we’re basically 20 minutes away from home.” yunjin politely asked you. you turned your head to look at her and dismissively responded with an okay.

“do you really think i’m going to forget about the way you treated me tonight? i sat there thinking this is going to be the best anniversary yet. you finally had a day off and you promised to spend it with me. i wanted all the attention on me tonight and vice versa. but what the actual fuck yunjin—.” she grabbed you by the back of you head and smashed your lips together while gently gliding her acrylic nails on the back of your neck.

all the air had been knocked out of your lungs. almost as if she had sucked it out of your veins herself. your mind was too drunk off of her lips to give a fuck about what had happened. you both knew the make up sex was all you both would need.

you pulled back and slightly smiled at yunjin as your eyes made their way from her eyes to down to her lips to back up again. you surely knew how to drive a girl crazy. she got undid the seatbelt and made her way into your lap, but what she didn’t know was; you had a little surprise waiting just for her.

she slowly sat down onto your lap and just admired the way your hands held her body up and the way your eyes stared into her eyes despite the resentment that had settled into you earlier.

“i’m so sorry for the way i made you feel at dinner. i had no intention of letting you sit in silence all alone especially on our anniversary. i love you so much, let me prove it to you my love.” she threw a toothy smile at you while running her fingers through your curls.

she continued to passionately make out with you as her hands made their way down to unbutton your dress shirt. as she went to unzip your trousers, she felt something. it was definitely not a plug of any sort. was it your strap on?

she pulled away from the kiss to discover what it was that you were hiding so well in your pants. she put her hand inside and felt her favourite strap on. yunjin could cry tears of joy right now. after a long night, she could finally show you her love.

there wasn’t enough space in the car for her to take off her dress, so the only thing she could do was move her panties to the side. she pulled out your strap and slowly slid down on it.

a low moan left her gorgeous puffy lips. “f-fuck, you have no idea how needy you make me.” the car bounced with the way she rode your strap. she wasn’t going to leave you unattended after what happened at dinner earlier.

moans and pants filled the air. the strap was stimulating your clit, there was no way the both of you were going to last. not after how much tension filled your pussies. yunjin continued to ride back and forth, up and down, round and round.

she was determined to show you how much she loved you. yunjin suddenly got up and turned around so you could enjoy the way her back muscles flexed every time she moved. it was truly something you enjoyed.

“I love it when you call me daddy

Am I? Am I?

Oh yeah

Know I love it when you call me daddy”

“could you imagine fucking someone that isn’t me? huh, mommy? could you imagine someone that isn’t me? could you—fuck me just like that, ugh— imagine being without me and my fucking strap?” your mouth spoke before your mind could register.

tears started to fall out of yunjin’s eyes as the pleasure was getting too intense for her. the sadness was also hitting her. she couldn’t imagine a world without you; a world where she wasn’t able to claim you as hers and make you hers at night.

you stopped her hips from moving, you weren’t gonna let her come so easily. “n-no please don’t stop, baby. i’m so c-close to cumming. don’t do this to mommy.” she whined until her voice cracked.

you felt pity for her, it was your anniversary after all. you were gonna show her that no one would ever fuck her the way you did, and love her at the same time. you started to move your hips as you reclined the seat back for more leverage. you hit her spots so well, she couldn’t help but let out a loud moan.

whimpering filling the dark night’s atmosphere as you both began reaching your highs. “f-fuck me so good. oh my god-d. baby, i love you so much. keepgoingjustlikethatdontstopatallohmygodimsoclose.” yunjin rambled as her back arched and she collapsed onto you.

you kept pumping to reach your own high as you triggered another one in her. yunjin came for the second time in the night. she passed out slowly as you climaxed. “f-fuck mommy, i came so hard just by seeing you pass out.” you groaned out.

you hugged onto yunjin’s body for a few minutes before getting out of the car and laying her in the passenger seat. you made your way home and realized that it’s way past midnight.

► aftercare

[periwinkle-musings]

The visceral queer sadness of the song "Lover"

When Lover first came out as a single I bawled my eyes out.

And I wasn't exactly sure why. It made me feel crazy: How could people think this song was so romantic and I'm over here having a breakdown?

In the music video, Taylor is running around this whimsical house with her lover experiencing all these intimate and personal versions of love. With its hyper-saturated colors and perfect outfits, this relationship was simultaneously presented as both real and surreal.

When that song came out in 2019 I was single and closeted — even to myself. I was just beginning my journey of realizing I was gay and accepting that I wasn't going to ever marry a man and have the heteronormative cookie-cutter life I had always pictured, and had been struggling for many years to hold onto the idea of.

Listening to Lover, the thought that kept running through my mind was, "I'm never going to have that… I'm never going to have that…"

Even though I had been a huge Taylor Swift fan since we were both teenagers, up to this point I had mostly just enjoyed her music and didn't think too deeply about it. But something about this song just felt off to me — I wasn't buying it. But I didn't have the vocabulary yet to express why. So when it came on the radio I would skip it or turn it off to prevent myself from tearing up.

A few months later the pandemic shut down the world, and I was forced to sit alone with my thoughts. I finally came out to myself and began the long and slow journey of figuring out how to change my entire life.

Then Folklore was released, and I heard Betty, and that was the first time my brain actively flared, "wait... is Taylor Swift gay?" and I began my deep descent into Gaylor and looking at Taylor's music through a queer lens.

Now I can look back at songs like Lover with my new understanding/beliefs of Taylor's struggles with queerness and closeting, and perhaps her desire to build up her own perfect dollhouse life when it wasn't that simple.

In Lover, the plodding waltz tempo strikes a dissonance with the lyrics that are trying to convey happiness and security. And while she presented this song to the public as a "wedding dance" song, Taylor still seems to be imaging something that hasn't fully happened yet:

We could leave the Christmas lights up 'til January

We could let our friends crash in the living room

The lyrics aren't confident, they are still asking a lot of questions as she pictures this life together:

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close?

And seems to be a desire to show this "inside" dollhouse love to the "outside" world:

Take me out, and take me home

At every table, I'll save you a seat

It's a song that seems to be just as much about fear as it is about love.

So maybe I was right to cry over Lover. Maybe Lover feels just as sad to Taylor as it does to me. While she was presenting this complete dollhouse life to the public, maybe this world was all still a fantasy and the song was longing for something that wasn't quite real yet.

[smallerplaces]

The floor installers effed up: kitchen AFTER

When I do the main bath next week, I need to dig out some double-sticky tape and get the back end of the floor flat, but the kitchen is provisionally sort of done.

In a burst of kitchen enthusiasm last Sunday, I went looking for scrapbook paper for the floor and found the perfect paper set, Park Lane "Sonoma," then listed for only $9.99 at Joann and miraculously in stock at my little local store.

That was the peak of my enthusiasm, as some sort of weird mourning "is it all right to make serious changes to this dollhouse?" mood set in.

Mind you, I participated in building this house. It's more "my house" than anything else from Mom's collection that I had the option of keeping. I genuinely like it, and it's a good fit for furniture I want to display.

I couldn't bring myself to glue down the kitchen flooring. Trying to lay it reminded me why we painted the floors. The kitchen and the bath above it have a bulge that's about 15" deep, or 3" longer than standard scrapbook paper. Trying to match the pattern on a section I can't really reach into easily, is a bear. It's not currently done right!

The house is too heavy to be lifting it up and down onto a work table, so certain kitchen items have to wait on my being in the mood to twist myself into an upside down pretzel. That room is not getting a tin ceiling after all because the ceiling is never visible from any angle I'd look from, and maaaaaan, reaching it would be a pain.

The blank wall forward of the pot rack still wants some art, but it looks like I'll need to print that. I'll do a run of printies when I have enough to fill a sheet of printer paper.

The room does not feel done. It's more a case of feeling less undone. My thought is that when I've got the whole house in order, it'll be more exciting to fine-tune it.

[7r0773r]

Girl’s Guide to Leaving by Laura Villareal

INSIDE THE FOXHOLE

My features are small, expressionless. My lovers say I look like a doll. Today I climbed into a black dollhouse & felt more at home than anywhere I've ever been. The wild in me stopped howling, stopped pulsing through my legs. Egyptians used mirrors to reflect light into dark spaces. As I walk to my apartment, the buildings fill dim streets with the last segment of sunlight. I begin thinking of how the wetness between my legs might spill out of my black lace panties & fill the gutter with quicksilver. The Gibbous Moon above Newark Penn Station watches me. I wait for her to call me, to say, Hide where I can't find you. She hasn't called me by name since I walked home with runs in my stockings. I heard her voice on the wind once say: If we believed in God, we'd both be damned. I told her I liked soft violence best, like a starling fallen into a foxhole. But didn't tell her I cried during a dream I had of holding my melting planet. Above me, a plane flies across the tangerine sky leaving a contrail. Instead of one long, perfect white streak, it comes out in Braille. The contrail reads: Never have I been so alone. With no way of feeling those words, I walk more quickly. In my apartment, I striptease for the woman I'm seeing. She pushes me on my bed. Her hands are cold. She licks quicksilver from between my legs. Stops. Says she can taste the champagne I drank— can hear giddy bubbles filling each & every one of my moans. Sometimes I want to say: If only your body was a home, if only I wasn't hollow like a doll.

MY WORRIES HAVE WORRIES

so I built little matchstick houses with large ceilings, a garden for them to grow

tomatoes, cilantro, & carrots their worry babies will eat

but they chew on the henbit of me anyway both my past & future entwined into disasters

I tell them I worry about their health that they're not eating properly

I mother them the way I do anyone I love

they ask if I love myself I tug the sleeves of my sweater

begin thatching a leaking roof water their garden at night

I can hear them dancing around a bonfire

all I've built burned down, a soot snowfall

tomorrow they'll wait for me & I'll reconstruct their home anyone would do the same

[pparkerpoetry]

Face Reality (Part 5)

Title: a Home for the Lost (why were they cast aside?)

Summary: None of it went to plan.

Ranboo never planned on facing it, Tommy never planned on leaving, Fundy didn't plan on losing the one place where he belonged. Sam didn't plan on opening his house to a bunch of traumatized hybrids that would worm their way into his heart.

And yet, here they were. Here they were, together. Maybe that was the best part of it all. Part 1 Part 6 Masterlist

_____

Ranboo started learning about everything that he’d missed, like how Tommy’s wings came to be and what people had been up to. Other things, he just noticed. He was very perceptive, and it only served to isolate him from everyone more. He could tell things that other people would rather not face, like how Tommy pretended that everything was fine with Phil and Techno and himself. How he pretended that they were a family, and as they relaxed together, how he would show his vulnerability. Ranboo would’ve bought the act that Tommy believed in wholeheartedly, if not for one thing.

Tommy never let them preen his wings.

So yeah, they could all pretend in their little dollhouse that everything was fine and that their relations were fixed, but it would never be perfect. They could believe it all they wanted, but subconsciously, they knew it’d never go back to the way it was before. Maybe that’s why they so desperately put on a show.

Ranboo noticed these things. All the time, to be honest.

He also noticed that slowly, after he had returned and told Tommy why he’d left, that Tommy drifted slightly from his old family. It wasn’t a bad thing, if a little sad, because he’d found another that believed in him and wanted the best for him instead of trying to make up for using him. 

On a different note in the same tune, Sam and Puffy were angels sent from heaven. Nothing could convince Ranboo otherwise. The way they had gently pushed Tommy in the right direction, understanding how messed up he’d been and knowing that harshness wasn’t the way to fix it. Maybe that’s why when they saw Ranboo accompanying Tommy on one of his visits, they recognized his unrest.

Ranboo knew they had a past, those three. He didn’t think Tommy realized it, but they’d adopted him. They’d decided that Phil wasn’t fit to be a father to anyone but Technoblade long ago, and he was amazed at the subtle way they’d taught him to be better. Maybe they were the reason, then, that he’d matured so much. Maybe they could be his family, too.

And they were.

Phil and Techno still received visits from Tommy every now and then, and Tubbo was over most of the time because at the end of the day they were still best friends, but in their own time they realized that maybe it was best to let bygones be bygones. They’d always be close, they’d always love each other, but maybe this time, the damage was done. In this case, it was okay. It was never mentioned, it was never brought up, but it was acknowledged by everyone. He couldn’t really cut them out, not that he wanted to, but he couldn’t have even if he did, not with the constant reminder on his back that he would always be Phil’s son.

Instead, Tommy spent most of his days at Sam’s base, and Ranboo spent most of his time with Tommy, so they ended up just hanging out with Sam and Puffy more than they intended. Maybe it was all part of the plan for the two older adults.

In any case, Ranboo grew closer and more comfortable with the other three, until soon, he wasn’t quiet and reserved anymore. He wasn’t scared of his own shadow, flinching at every footstep. He was Ranboo again, and he owed it to his family. Maybe, now that he’d healed, he’d be able to face the family he’d lost.

_______________

The summer afternoon found Tommy and Ranboo under a tree, half asleep and lazy, one writing and the other talking. It was hot, and muggy, but Sam had said that he needed to do some renovations and Puffy was away. Ranboo knew she was spending time with Niki, but he had yet to go with her to see his sister.

Did that technically make Ranboo Puffy’s sister-in-law? Or was Niki now his step-mother?

He didn’t want to think on it too much. It’d just make his head hurt.

Ranboo didn’t even completely know what Tommy was rambling about, but he smiled and nodded and he did truly enjoy it. Or, he enjoyed Tommy’s company. Was there a difference?

He zoned in when Tommy nudged his shoulder. “Hey, big man, you awake?”

Rolling his eyes, Ranboo responded. “I am now. What’s up?”

“Something I just remembered, Ranboo- I, now here’s a biggie-” Tommy paused for suspense. “I know how to fly a plane, but-”

“Hold on, you can fly a plane?” 

“Yeah,” Tommy shrugged. “I didn’t appear here, a 16 year old. I had other experiences. Anyway, I know how to fly a plane but I don’t know how to ride a bike.”

“A bike?”

Tommy mistook Ranboo’s confusion for mockery. “Yeah, big man. Phil never taught me. Who taught you, if you’re such a pro?”

“Tommy, I barely even know what a bike is.” Ranboo deadpanned.

So, now, the two young men, for that’s what they were at this point, stood outside of the base that they had been told to stay out of all day. Specifically, they were to stay out of it unless it was an emergency. Was this an emergency? See, that’s where it gets complicated.

“What kind of man my age doesn’t know how to ride a bike?” Tommy argued, “We need to learn and clearly, we haven’t got one. I think that Sam might. He strikes me as a bicycle kind of guy.”

“Neither of us are dying, though!” Ranboo protested. “He’ll probably get mad if we interrupt him, too. What’s he even doing?” 

Tommy groaned. “He’s just, I don’t know, building n’ shit. It’ll take two seconds, Ranboo, come on-”

The large door opened, and though neither of them were short, they felt incredibly small. And nervous.

“Can I help you?” Sam asked, looking at his two- his uh, his two mentees. Yeah, that’s it. Mentees. That’s the word he’s looking for. Definitely not something else. At all.

The two- well, now, they looked like boys, - stared at him, anxiously, suddenly at a loss for words. 

“Well?” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m done with building, it didn’t take as long as I thought it would. What do you guys need?”

“We don’t know how to ride a-”

Tommy interrupted, “What Ranboo’s trying to say is, neither of us had spectacular father figures in our early life, and we don’t- well, really, we were wondering if you happened to have a bicycle anywhere here? I’m sure we can figure it out on our own, but we don’t have any bikes, is the issue-”

Sam laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure I’ve got a bike around here somewhere, come help me look.”

So, Sam turned and left, leaving Ranboo and Tommy to trail after him. Not like little ducklings. Not at all. More like, uh… more like… something else. Not ducklings.

After rummaging around a bit, they found one, and after a little more searching, they found another. None of them were sure why Sam, who lived alone, had two bikes (could he even ride them? He pleads the fifth. Why? You’ll find out later.), but they weren’t going to complain. Now, Ranboo and Tommy had thought that Sam would hand them the bikes and let them be off, but, to their surprise, he didn’t. He took the handles of one and walked with it over to a path.

“Hey Sam, why are you going over there?” Tommy yelled, still standing by the main entrance.

“Well, you aren’t going to bike on the grass, are you?”

Wordlessly, Ranboo and Tommy jogged to catch up. Sam stood on the pavement, holding one bike, as Ranboo walked up with the other. He handed his to Tommy, and clapped, bringing the attention back to him. 

“Alright! So, get on the bikes.” Both of the younger men knew what he was doing. They didn’t say anything, though, and obeyed. “So, when you bike, you have to stay balanced…”

They spent the afternoon learning how to ride bikes, and though it maybe wasn’t the most productive way to spend an afternoon, it was a fun and relaxing one that they all needed. It ended with Sam sitting in the grass next to the road while Tommy and Ranboo rode their bikes up and down it. They all chatted, and laughed, and they barely even heard Puffy return. At least, not until she spoke up.

“Hey guys, I’m back! And, I… I brought someone with me.”

Ranboo stopped his bike and turned to where the voice was coming from, stopping all movements abruptly. Sure, Puffy was standing there and he was happy to see her back, but right next to her, looking nervous, was Niki. Not his sister. She’d made sure of that. She was Niki, nothing more.

“Hi, Ranboo.” She said, not meeting his eyes. “It’s been a bit.”

When had Sam and Tommy left? “Yeah. Hi, Niki. What’re you doing here?” It came out harsher than he intended.

“I thought- well, I figured, now that we’ve both had a little more time to, to think about things, I thought that I could come and… apologize.”

It was a little quieter then. Niki was waiting for a response, and Ranboo was thinking of one. What did he want to do? As much as he wanted to forgive her, some of the things that she’d done couldn’t be glossed over.

“I… I forgive you.” Ranboo started, “But, Niki… Niki, you’ve got to understand, you hurt me. You hurt me a lot.”

Niki sighed. “I know. I know I did, Ranboo, but at the end of the day, aren’t you still my brother?”

His chest felt like it closed. Was he? “I’m not sure I am anymore, Niki. I don’t even know who you are.” He looked away from her crestfallen face. “But… I think I’d be willing to re-start.”

He looked back up, and Niki looked a little happier. A bittersweet cheerfulness. He held his arms open, and she ran over to give him a hug. Maybe they weren’t family anymore, but they could be. They just had to hope. This time, neither of them pulled away from the hug. They didn’t want to, but at some point, Puffy told them that it was going to get dark soon, so they needed to head inside.

Sam and Tommy were in the kitchen, making dinner, although only one of them was really working. 

Niki and Puffy stayed for dinner before heading home. It went great, and it was a very relaxed atmosphere. They chatted, made fun of Tommy when he was clumsy with his wings, and laughed every time someone made a joke. Ranboo was truly happy, and he hoped it lasted this time.

That night, when it was dark and the noises of the forest had all settled, Ranboo was thinking. “Hey, Sam, where’s the renovations you were working on this morning? I can’t tell a difference here-”

“Forget that, Ranboo,” Tommy said while yawning, wings hitting the hybrid gently. “We’ve gotta head out if we want to make it back to the cottage in time for a good night’s sleep.”

“Well, about that…” Sam said, laughing a little. “Follow me.” They did, and they followed him down a hallway to two doors, right next to each other.  “Left is for Ranboo, right is for Tommy. I mean, you don’t have to use them, and obviously you can decorate them how you want to, but…”

They each opened their doors, and they were met with little bedrooms. Not too little, but not too large, each with a bed in a corner, a chest, and some other bits of furniture. “Did you make bedrooms for us?” Ranboo asked, and once Sam nodded, he grinned. “That’s great! Could we stay the night? Please?”

“That’s kind of what they’re here for.” Sam said, and he melted inside at the happy grins that Ranboo and Tommy exchanged. “I’ll let you guys get comfy, uh, goodnight?”

“Goodnight!” The other two cheered, nearly crushing Sam in a hug before going to their rooms.

By all means, it should’ve been a peaceful night, but when there’s a traumatized hybrid involved, you never know what to expect. That night, Ranboo’s dreams were plagued with nightmares, all violent and scary and loud- he didn’t know exactly what was happening, but he knew that he was there with Fundy, on the ground and bleeding. He could feel the tears rolling down his face, this time they burned again, with new vigor, and he was forced to look the fox in the eyes as they dimmed. He didn’t know why he started crying harder, but soon he turned to see who had killed his friend, and there stood Dream, hair long from his time in prison.

“It was only a matter of time until I escaped, Ranboo.” Dream taunted. “Ranboo!”

He was scared. Was he going to die?

“Ranboo, wake up!”

And, just like that, he sat up in bed, breathing heavily. Tommy was near, but that didn’t make sense, they didn’t share a room. What was Tommy doing here? Ranboo could feel wings circling around his body, comforting and warm, as he tried to calm down.

“You alright, Ranboo?”

He managed to nod, but it probably wasn’t convincing. He still couldn’t speak. Why couldn’t Dream just leave him alone?

“Am I okay to leave, or-”

“Can you stay?” His voice sounded small, even to him, and was hoarse from screaming in terror. Sam must’ve been a deep sleeper to not wake up.

“Sure thing, man.”

They went back to sleep, then, Ranboo curled in on himself with one of Tommy’s wings draped over him protectively. This time, they slept well, and when Sam went to wake them up the next morning, he did nothing but smile and walk away. He’d let them rest. They’d more than earned it.

When Ranboo’s eyes slipped open a few hours later, he let out a small sigh. He was warm, and he was happy, and he didn’t ever want to move. He was content to have stayed in bed for hours, but then he felt the blankets behind him shift. He let out a confused little warble that sounded remarkably like a cat getting its sleep interrupted.

“What was that?” Tommy groaned. “My ears aren’t started yet. Catch me in a few minutes.”

It was more than a few minutes before they got out of bed, hair wild and eyes still half-closed despite the sun that shone through the windows. Sam greeted them with a cheerful, “Hello,” to which they responded with a vague grunt. They were very articulate in the morning, it appeared. By all means, it should’ve been a dream. It should have been the best thing to happen to him in a while, and it was. But, Ranboo couldn’t shake the underlying feeling of dread that plagued his mind. 

“Ah, what do you want to do today, Ranboo?” Tommy asked loudly, sprawled out across the couch and head lolling back. 

Ranboo thought for a moment, the pit in his stomach growing. “I think that maybe we should go on a trip today, to… to uh, to visit Fundy.”

Tommy furrowed his eyebrows and lifted his head. “Fundy? As in, my nephew, Fundy?”

Nodding, Ranboo fidgeted with his hands. “Yeah. Is that okay?”

“‘Course it is, big man. You want to go now?”

Ranboo got up swiftly. “If that’s okay. I’ve got a bad feeling.”

They bid Sam goodbye, and went off towards Fundy’s house. It took them a while, because they had to ask Niki for the coords, but they found it eventually. Fundy lived in a village that had gone unnoticed, a peaceful haven that usually would’ve been somewhere for weary travelers to rest. Now, however, the air was thick with dust and there was no one to be seen. The first houses that Tommy and Ranboo found were nothing but ruin, the ashes still smoldering. It was only after a shrill horn could be heard that they realized what was happening.

There was a raid.

They broke into a run, swords pulled out. They yelled for Fundy, and the only response they got was the sound of the Illagers that they ran towards. 

Fighting seemed to go on forever as Ranboo and Tommy slashed at the enemy, backs to each other, until finally they got a chance to breathe. There weren’t as many, though still a lot. Ranboo tried to listen harder, trying to detect even a hint of life in one of the houses. When he heard a soft whimper, he grabbed Tommy’s hand and pulled him to it.

When they saw two Illagers standing over Fundy with their crossbows out, they didn’t hesitate to throw themselves forward. They looked up over the bodies, then, and their eyes softened when they saw how Fundy curled up into himself. He was so small, and he still had his eyes tightly shut.

Tommy got up and wiped his bloody hands on his pants before going over to Fundy. “Hey, Fundy. Is it alright if I touch you?” Tommy didn’t even really have to ask, because the minute Fundy saw the blond, he latched onto his arm. Ranboo hadn’t ever seen Tommy look so awkward, slowly putting his arms around the fox that really wasn’t all that younger than he was. 

They’d all had their childhoods stolen from them, it seemed. 

Fundy was inconsolable, and Tommy motioned for Ranboo to help. They seemed to have the same idea, when Ranboo gathered the fox into his arms and they walked outside to see the still-smoking ruins of all the houses. 

When Fundy stopped crying for a moment, and opened his eyes, he did nothing but utter a small, “Ranboo?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” Ranboo said, and was surprised when Fundy closed his eyes again to burrow further into his hold. 

Sam had to do a double-take when the boys got home. “Is that Fundy?” He asked, getting up quickly.

Tommy and Ranboo paused, like children who had been caught sneaking a pet indoors. Only, they were tall young men with a traumatized fox hybrid in their arms. Who, Sam soon learned, was now homeless.

“Please, can he stay with us Sam, please?” Tommy had pleaded, Ranboo standing near, still holding Fundy. “He’s got nowhere else to go, Sam, please?”

And, well, Sam took one look at his little brothers and had to concede. “Of course he can stay,” Sam said, already coming up for a plan for Fundy’s room.

Later that night, once Fundy had been told he was fine to stay and was sharing a room with Tommy (all three of the boys, for that’s how Sam fondly thought of them, ended up crammed into one bed by the morning, though, and neither of them knew which one of them had the nightmare. Maybe it was all three.), Sam let out a soft chuckle. 

He really was collecting a menagerie of fucked-up kids, wasn’t he? Only, they weren’t really kids anymore.

Well, he was growing his little family, and if no one else was going to let these kiddos heal, he would. They deserved the chances that war and adulthood had stolen from them. They deserved the love that he was set on giving them.

[justcourttee]

And They Were Roommates-Pt 2

Marinette woke to the piercing ring from her alarm clock. With a groan, she blindly hit her nightstand, trying to find the snooze. 

“Marinette! If you snooze, you’ll be late again! Professor Brookes may like you, but she did threaten that one more tardy to the meetings and you’ll be fired!”

Tikki pulled at a strand of Marinette’s hair trying to pull the girl from her bed. 

“Tikki it’s just five more minutes, please!” 

“Dupen-Chang, Tikki wanted to wake you the nice way but if you don’t get your ass out of bed in the next five seconds, I will dump a cup of ice down your shirt.”

Marinette’s eyes flew open as she sat straight up, scowling at the sight of Chloe and Tikki high-fiving. 

“I hate you two.”

“Mhm, now go shower. You look and smell like you just wrestled with pigs.”

Chloe’s nose scrunched up as she threw a towel at the girl. Marinette rolled out of bed with a heavy sigh, trudging to the bathroom. 

“Chloe, will you pick me out an outfit?”

“Already done, now hurry up!”

Turning on the water, Marinette noticed the dark ink covering her skin. A beautiful robin stretched from her wrist to her elbow, every last detail drawn with care. She sucked in a sharp breath as she allowed her fingers to trace over the artwork. As she stepped into the shower, her eyes never left the picture, scared her soulmate would erase it before she had a chance to photograph it for later inspiration. 

Turning off the water, she wrapped her towel around her body tightly before racing back to her room, almost diving for her phone. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth from the pure concentration of capturing the art at the right angle. Once she was sure it was photographed properly, she fumbled for the pen on her nightstand. 

“I love waking up to your artwork, would you mind leaving it for the day?”

She stared intently at her hand, waiting for his response that couldn’t seem to come fast enough. 

“Dupen-Chang! If you want a ride, you better be dressed in the next five minutes!”

Chloe's voice echoed through the apartment, snapping Marinette out of her trance. Within three minutes, she pulled on the dress Chloe had laid out and managed to pull her hair back in a messy bun, sticking a pen through it just in case. She was working on the heels when she finally felt the tingle. 

“Sorry Angel, important interview today. I’ll leave you something tomorrow though. Promise” 

Marinette let out a defeated sigh, but tried to push it out of her mind. After all, she couldn’t be mad, he had a life too, one he didn’t want to publicize and she could respect that. Putting the final touches on her outfit, she grabbed her purse, leaning down beside the dollhouse to allow Tikki to fly in. 

“Dupen-Chang!”

“Coming Chloe!”

Tikki let out a giggle as Marinette rolled her eyes. It was going to be a long day. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

“Ms. Dupen-Chang, can I see you in my office please?”

Marinette internally groaned as she plastered a smile on her face. She picked up her design book, throwing a cover over the mannequin before she turned to walk toward the professor's office. 

“What can I do for you Professor Brookes?” Her smile was sickly sweet as she stared down at the woman. 

“Sit, please.” Brookes didn’t even look up from her paperwork, just made a vague gesture to the seat in front of her desk. After several minutes, she finally looked up, making a show of clicking her pen shut. 

“Do you know why I called you in Marinette?”

“Because you were lonely and wanted someone to talk to?”

She offered the woman a pity smile, but Professor Brookes was not having it.

“You have refused every offer I have arranged for you in the past three months. Marinette, what did I tell you when you accepted this position in my work field for young entrepreneurs?”

Marinette let out a sigh, her eyes falling to the ground. 

“It’s easier to work under a big name and break away than it is to build your own empire. But Professor-”

“Exactly. So tell me, why exactly have you refused not only Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld, but now I hear that Audrey Bourgeois has been after you for years now and you’ve refused her as well!”

Marinette bit her lip, trying her best to level her breathing before she snapped at the woman. 

“With all due respect Professor Brookes, they don’t want my name on the designs. I can’t make a name for myself if everyone else is taking credit for my work. If there’s any way you can find me an internship under someone who will let me be myself I’d be more than glad to take them on.”

It was Professor Brookes turn to sigh as she slipped off her glasses, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

“You’re a talented girl Marinette, nobody is denying that. But you just don’t understand how the business world works. This work field is for entrepreneurs who will listen to my advice, not do everything in their power to ignore it.”

“I understand if you want me to relinquish my position Professor Brookes. I’m sure you could fill it easily.” 

The professor looked up, her face unreadable as she stared down the designer. Several minutes passed and a sinking feeling began to settle in Marinette’s gut. 

“Ms. Dupen-Chang, what you’re asking me to do is to find you a sponsor. They’ll put their good name on the line for you, allow you to take credit for your work, and in return you’ll give them a portion of your profit. That’s anywhere from 5%-25% depending on how the sponsor operates. If I do this for you, you are going to have to up your production levels from one outfit a week to three, which means you’ll need to be here for three days instead of just one. Is this something you really want?”

Marinette’s heart pounded in her chest as she felt her body flood with relief. 

“It is. I really want a sponsor.”

“Then it’s settled, I’ll need you to complete a portfolio including pictures of models wearing your designs and at least three test designs that I can send to possible contenders. The test designs allow them to view your work up close and personal to look at stitchwork and such. I’m assuming you already have models in mind seeing as you live with two of them?”

Marinette nodded, her heart feeling as if it were about to explode with joy. 

“I won’t let you down Professor Brookes.”

The designer stood hastily, practically running back to her workstation. 

“I’ll need all of that before the first day of spring semester Marinette!”

The professor's voice echoed in her ears but she was too stunned to care. She was getting a real chance and that meant she had to put everything into the next month. Sitting on the spinning chair, Marinette pulled out her phone to view the picture she had taken earlier. Admiring his sketch, an idea began to form in her head as she cleared the workstation, laying out her various pencils. 

After a couple minutes of sketching, her phone began to buzz. At first she ignored it, trying to focus on her design, but after the third time, she finally gave in. 

“Chloe, I’m sorry, I know I said 3 but it’s looking like 5 or 6 instead, I finally got the break I was hoping for.”

“Well that’s great Dupen-Chang, but you see, I have a guy here responding to the ad placed this morning and I just wanted to ask if we could interview him without you.”

Marinette sat down her pencil, her eyebrows furrowing in concern. She distinctly remembered emailing Julia for the spot, but she never sent in the ad. So either Julia’s newest boyfriend was applying or someone from the news team was.

“He’s not dating Julia is he?”

“I don’t know, let me ask. Hey! You! You’re not dating Julia, right? No? He said no.”

Marinette shook her head as she looked up at the ceiling, trying her best to send apologies to the boy. 

“So?”

“Go ahead Chloe, that’s assuming you haven’t chased him off already. I’ll be ready to go in an hour.”

“Great, you’re the best. Congrats on your break, I’ll order some food from that italian restaurant near our apartment to celebrate.”

Before Marinette could even respond, the line went dead, leaving her to stare at her sketchbook in slight despair. The poor guy would be scared senseless before she even got a chance to meet him. With a sigh, she returned to her sketch, determined to finish at least one design before she left for the day.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Marinette waved bye to Professor Brookes before she made her way up the stairs to her apartment. She had texted both Chloe and Adrien several times, but neither came to pick her up, something she was going to lay into them for. 

“Hey guys what’s the deal-”

She stopped in her tracks as her eyes couldn’t process the sight in front of her. Adrien was playing Ultimate Mecha Strike V, but that wasn’t the problem. No, the problem lied in the fact that some guy she had never seen before was battling him using her lucky controller. 

“Hey Mari! Meet Damian Al Ghul, our new roommate!”

The guy stood up, offering his hand, but Marinette’s eyes weren’t focused on his. Instead, she watched in horror as he tossed her control backwards onto the couch, the force sending it flying to the floor.

“Damian huh?” She pushed past his outstretched hand to pick up her controller, examining it for any cracks or chips in the paint job.

“Yes?” He moved his hand to awkwardly rub the back of his neck, trying to figure out what he had done wrong.

Marinette sent a sour look at Adrien who only shrugged. 

“Damian is a double major as well Mari, history and business, sound familiar?”

“I hear you are quite competent in both subjects.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, setting her controller on the coffee table before standing to face the man.

“I’m more than ‘competent’, I excel in both with a perfect 4.0 GPA.”

Damian scoffed sending a wave of fury through the girl. Just who did this guy think he was? Adrien watched the interaction, amusement clearly written on his face. 

“So Mari, you want to play the winner of this round?”

“No, thanks. I’m going to study. My first final is on Tuesday, just ask Chloe to leave my food in the microwave, I’ll get to it later.”

Without another word, she marched back to her bedroom, shutting the door harder than she meant to. She pulled out her sketchbook, opening it to her unfinished design from earlier. Her pencil hovered over the page as she tried to remember the feeling she had earlier. 

“Tikki, how did I manage to let him get under my skin in less than five minutes?”

She let out a groan as she fell backwards onto her bed as the kwamii let out a giggle. 

“He’s got a unique personality, very straightforward Marinette. He almost reminds me of Chloe when I first met her.”

“That has to be it. PTSD from when I was 13 and Chloe was still a menace. I just don’t think I’m going to be able to get back into this design tonight.”

“That’s okay Marinette, let’s work on the last essay for your Grad school application!”

Marinette sat up to reach for her laptop, pulling up her browser that never closed. The Metropolis University website was still up, her application reading 95% complete. She clicked on the textbox and attempted to zoom in on the final question that had been bugging her for a week now. 

‘How will you use your education to benefit the world?’

“Why does my degree have to benefit the world Tikki? I just want to do something I love, can’t that just be enough?”

“You’ll think of something Marinette, you always do!”

“Yeah,” the girl huffed out a puff of air, leaning forward to reread the question for the hundredth time. “I always do.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Around 10:30, Chloe stumbled into their room, tearing through her closest.

“Marinette, come clubbing with me and Adrikins! He needs a distraction for the night or two if you know what I mean.”

She let out a giggle as she pulled out her favorite dress, not even bothering to shut the bedroom door before throwing off her top. 

“Chloe! We’re living with another guy now!”

“Yeah yeah Mari, you’re the only straight one here so there’s no problem!”

“Just because you’re not straight, doesn’t mean he can’t oogle at you.”

Chloe stood up, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the girl. 

“Oogle? How old are you? 75?”

Marinette rolled her eyes as she stood up to pull her dress over her head. With her help, Chloe finished touching up her makeup. 

“So you gonna come with us?”

Marinette shook her head at her, earning a pout from the blonde. 

“Boo, you and Damian are both lame.”

Picking up her clutch, she opened it long enough for Pollen to fly in before shutting it tight. 

“You losers have fun tonight staying home.”

“I think I’ll just barricade myself in here instead.”

“Whatever.”

Adrien appeared in their doorway, equally tipsy as he offered Chloe his hand. Marinette watched with worry as they made their way to the front door, both stumbling over their feet at every other step. 

“Are you guys taking an Uber at least?”

“Yes mom!” They both looked at each other in shock before dissolving in a fit of laughter. Marinette rolled her eyes, waving goodbye as they slammed the front door shut.

With a sigh, she made her way to the microwave, hitting the reheat button for her pasta inside. 

“Is that an every weekend occurrence?”

Marinette jumped, whipping around to find Damian leaning against the kitchen counter, his face expressionless. 

“How about next time a warning like ‘Hey Marinette’ or ‘Whatcha doing?”

He didn’t reply, just remained stoic as he waited for her answer.

“No, it's not, just an occurrence whenever Adrien gets his heart broken. So try a monthly thing.”

He nodded in response, watching her carefully. Marinette shifted under his gaze, trying to keep her cool and not melt into a puddle. He may be a jerk, but he was still a hot jerk. The ding of the microwave severed the tension between them as she opened the drawer beside her, pulling out a fork. Sliding out her pasta, she didn’t even check to see if it had heated all the way through before she rushed past Damian and back to the safety of her room. 

He didn’t follow, but she heard him let out a thoughtful hum before he made his way back to his room, shutting his door. Letting out a sigh, she stirred through her pasta, reaching for the pen beside her bed. 

“How’d your interview go?”

She was halfway through her pasta when she felt the tingling. 

“Aced it. How was your day Angel? I apologize for not writing sooner.”

She rolled her eyes at his formalness, trying not to let her smile get the best of her. 

“I finally got my break. I’ll be getting a sponsor!”

Finishing the last bite of her pasta, Marinette weighed the risk of running into Damian again if she went to put up her dishes. Deciding it was too great, she set the plate on her nightstand, mentally preparing herself for the backlash she would get from hungover Chloe in the morning.

“That’s fantastic, I hope it works in your favor habibti.”

A shiver ran down her spin as her cheeks flushed red. She had used google translate a few times of the names he gave her and was surprised to find the Arabic traces. When she asked him about it, he just brushed it off to being from his mother’s side, never bringing it up again. Picking up her pen, she etched a small Robin on her arm, leaving a space beside it to write;

“Your pictures always inspire my designs. I can’t wait to see what you leave me tomorrow.”

A minute hadn’t even passed before he responded. 

“If you wash your arm off now, you won’t have to wait.”

Her heart picked up pace as she rushed into the bathroom, scrubbing furiously at her arm. She returned to her bed, toweling off the few wet spots as she watched in awe as pen strokes tickled her skin. 

“He’s so talented Marinette!”

Marinette smiled as she watched his delicate art slowly cover her arm, her mind drifting from the stress of the day. 

“He really is Tikki, he really is.”

Tag List:

@damianette-is-life @ladybug-182 @fusser90 @thestressmademedoit @dast218 @thezestywalru @jardimazul @olynix @dorkus-minimus @xahriia @kris-pines04 @urbanpineapplefarmer @moonlightstar64 @itsmeevie01 @little-lady-bird @alexandriamw @lozzybowe @emmdaenovice @loysydark @toodaloo-kangaroo @jessigurl-design @aegyobutpsycho2 @stark-morgoona @kris-pines04 @rebecarojas07

[the-marauder-corner]

Dollhouse

If there is any place on earth to fit the perfect description of dark, unwelcoming and dangerous it would either be a cave in the forbidden forest or my house. Malfoy Manor. A facade made of lies, corruption and despair, a facade that shows others a perfect life, full of riches, jewels and anything your heart desires but that’s just not the case. As much as I get those things they’re just for the pictures in the papers. They don’t bring me joy, not anymore.

I never used to fear my family until I went to Hogwarts. Being sorted into Slytherin made my family and pureblood society proud and I was never disliked by my Slytherin peers but my friendship group was highly expanded outside of my own house, my closest friends being Lee Jordan and Fred Weasley along with Fred and George’s brothers and sister, Harry and Hermione who I spend almost everyday with. My boyfriend being George Weasley. When my father found out my friends were ‘mud-bloods’ and ‘bloodtraitors’ he was furious. Never did I fear my father until the day he found out. Never did I stop fearing him since.

No one knows about my fears, no one outside of family that is. Managing to keep our pristine image amongst the public by pleading he was under the imperious curse throughout the first wizarding war my father was relieved of charges and back at his ministry job. The public eye isn’t fearful, it isn’t judging and it’s not on the fact that he is a death eater.

Instead the public eye is on our family. We’re in the press. Me and my younger brother Draco were in newspapers before we could read. Our births, school days, quidditch matches, sortings and Yule Ball dates were documented and released. No matter how big or small the matter it seems to always be put in the paper. The biggest matter so far is that alongside Harry, I’m seeming to be a chosen one. More keeps coming out about a Slytherin that abandons her life with her family to fight for what she truly believes in. So when Rita Skeeter and all of her colleagues found out that Y/n Malfoy had tried to run away. You’d better believe it was in the paper.

Running away was the easy part, staying hidden was the hardest. Since I didn’t want to put any of my friends in danger by going to them I just tried to stay hidden in different buildings until school started. Obviously it didn’t work. I was in my third year I couldn’t use any magic to hide myself and Father had sent out aurors from the ministry to look for me, pretending to be worried sick. When I inevitably was found the story to the papers was I was kidnapped. The Malfoys know the whole story. Let’s just say the punishment wasn’t as easy going as running away.

As far as I see it they aren’t my family. Instead my family dynamic lies with the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, my cousin Tonks and my uncle Sirius. So this time that’s where I’m going and this time they’re not going to find me. I walk carefully downstairs with a suitcase I charmed with reducio, to fit it in my pocket when I realise that I royally fucked up.

In the kitchen sits the death eaters, Voldemort at the head of the table. Father coughs and grabs my attention "Y/n I thought you were studying?" "I was going to get some air, Father" he looks skeptical "With your wand?" Shit "You can’t be too careful. Not with the aurors around and looking after students and all" at least I’m of age so I have an excuse. He still looks skeptical but turns back to the meeting. I rush out and down the street, quickly apparating to Grimmauld Place. "How many times do you need to be told?! Just because you can use magic does not mean you have to whip your wands out for everything!" Mrs Weasley looks surprised when she sees it’s only me "Hello y/n dear, sorry about that" I laugh "It’s alright Mrs Weasley"

"Please call me Molly" looking around the house I take in the atmosphere. It’s ancient, the wallpaper is peeling at every inch, the hinges are creaking and crying out for mercy. This wasn’t what I expected from ‘The noble house of Black’ at all. Maybe, if anything it’s a nice change of scenery from the pristine look that Malfoy Manor shows all the time.

"Y/n?" Sirius stands in the doorway and I hug him "I’m sorry. It’s just...you said I could come if I ever needed to and..." a sob escapes me and he pulls me to him "They were going to turn me into a deatheater" a look of shocked is painted onto his face "He was there when I left" "Who?" "Voldemort. They were all having a meeting. I just. I had to go. I told Draco to come with me weeks ago but he said no. I tried convincing him for ages, up until yesterday and he said no. I’m worried that he’s too far gone" he strokes my hair sympathetically "I understand y/n/n. I know" "Is...are they..." Fred and George appear in the hallway and I hug them "Hey blondie. What’s the matter?" "Malfoy Shit" they nod and return the hug.

George welcomes me with a hug and soft "Are you okay?" I nod and let him pull me closer. "I was worried about you" "I was scared they’d find you here. I’d wait and listen to their meeting to make sure they weren’t" he smiles "You didn’t need to do that" "I know but it made me feel safer, knowing you’re safe" "I love you" "I love you too"

I’m lead into a dining room which has a much lighter tone, like a weight was relieved from my shoulders and the bad memory of my old house could just all be washed away. Everyone welcomes me with smiles and recognition, sitting me down for a conversation along with a home cooked meal.

And for the first time in years I feel safe. That for once I could be happy around these people. This family. That’s all I ever wanted, not jewels or pretty dresses or pureblood respect. Isn’t that what matters? Love, compassion and just some emotion. I’d take that over my old dollhouse life any day. In a dollhouse the walls close and you never see what happens inside but the dolls do and if a doll doesn’t look perfect it gets thrown to the side, well I was a broken doll but I got lucky. Lucky enough to have people to catch me and start to put me back together.

[afictionaladventure16]

Remember Me (Bucky Barnes x Natasha Romanoff x Daughter!Reader)

Chapter 10

Remember Me Masterlist

Previously on Remember Me...

Warnings: angst and some fluff

Word Count: 2,175

A/N: A special thanks to @rae-is-typing​ for editing this fic for me! Love you so much!! ❤❤❤

“What do you think he’s going to do?” You whispered, looking at the screen. 

“You know the plan, J.J.” Roger focused on the screen. 

You couldn’t help but wonder if he loved his life because you couldn’t love yours. Every part of you wanted to scream and run, wanted to rebel against the orders but there was this part of you that didn’t let you have full control. Who would you be if you left? Where would you go? This life is all that you knew. You couldn’t leave even if you wanted to. 

“I’m gonna go on a walk,” you stated as you got up from the couch. 

“It’s late, J.J.” 

“Don’t call me that!” You let out a frustrated groan. “That’s not even my real name!” You yelled. Roger was stunned by your small outburst. He watched as you placed a light jacket on. Part of him wanted to lock the door, refuse to let you out and the other just wanted to give you the space you needed. 

“You can’t just leave, it’s not safe out there,” Roger tried to bargain. Yet, he stayed in the same exact spot on the couch.

“I’ve been a weapon for god knows how long, I don’t think I have to worry about the dangers of the city nightlife.” Roger knew you were right, yet, he knew the world is still a pretty dangerous place. 

“J.J., how about-” 

“No!” You exclaimed. “I just want to be alone, can I please be alone?” You requested.  Roger stammered for words, but you left the apartment. 

You took the elevator down to the lobby of the apartment, you didn’t know where to go, only that you had to get out of there. 

The harsh breeze stung your exposed skin as soon as you stepped out of the apartment building. Sounds of honking cars and people hailing taxis filled your ears as you trekked further into the sidewalk. It was crowded, pedestrians shoved their way through crowds with little regard for the well-being of the other.  You bumped into the strangers as you walked along the sidewalk. You rolled your eyes at the sixth stranger with a briefcase that you bumped into. 

“Why aren’t these damn sidewalks any bigger?” You mumbled under your breath. 

After walking for a couple more blocks, you spotted a park. Breathing a sigh of relief, you walked towards the park, settling for a nearby bench that overlooked a small pond. A duck and her ducklings waddled over to the pond, and you couldn’t help but notice how carefully the duck stood by the pond as each of her ducklings waddled into the pond. Once she was sure that every duckling was in the pond, she waddled in as well. Astonishment overtook you. Animals showing compassion was a foreign concept. Yet, there is was right in front of you. 

Turns out there were many things that you still didn’t know. 

Your own name and where you came from are perfect examples. All you knew was what they had taught you, tortured you to learn. A rush of heat surfaced at your palms, a gross reminder of the lack of control you had over your own life. You never asked for these. All they did is remind you that you’ll never be normal, you’ll never just be you; you’ll always be something to be controlled. 

Hatred for Zemo festered in your bosom, you fumed at the thought of what he did to you. You didn’t understand why he would do such a thing without giving any reason. 

“J.J.?” A familiar voice broke you out of your thoughts. Bucky walked towards you, shrouded in near-complete darkness walked towards you, only illuminated in the light of the street lamps. “Hey, kiddo, what are you doing out in the park so late?” 

You gave him a small shrug. Bucky frowns, immediately sensing that something was off. He gestured for you to scoot over. You comply a bit before glancing over towards the ducks once again. 

“What’s wrong?” Bucky gently asked. 

You couldn’t exactly tell Bucky what was wrong. Yet, for some reason, you wanted to. You felt like you could trust him, he had always given off this vibe that you couldn’t translate. 

Bucky assumed your silence meant that you were closing him off. “You know, you can always talk to me if there’s anything going on,” he began to say. “If there is anything at home that’s happening and you feel like you have no one to talk to-” 

“Home is fine,” you cut him off quickly. 

Bucky gave you a nod. “Does your dad know you’re out here alone?”

“Yeah,” 

“Is he okay with it?” 

“Probably not,” you whispered. “But he didn’t stop me.” 

“Did you want him to?” 

You stayed quiet, unsure of how to answer that. You did want Roger to stop you, but you also wanted space. 

“I miss my mom,” you blurted out. Bucky let out a soft sigh, placing his arm around your shoulder, pulling you in for a side hug. 

“I know, kid.” Bucky placed a platonic kiss on the top of your head. He fondness for you grew each moment he was by you. You reminded him of the past. “I miss my daughter every day.” 

“You have a daughter?” 

Bucky smiles sadly, breaking from the hug. “I used to.” 

“W-what happened to her?” You stuttered, fear sparking in your body at the risky question. You didn’t know if you were stepping over boundaries. 

“She Uhm,” Bucky cleared his throat. “We don’t know…” He felt tears begin to form in his eyes. “She was taken from us by some bad people.” 

“I’m sorry,” you whispered. “I know how it feels to have things taken from you.” 

Bucky gave a soft smile through the burgeoning tears. “You know you remind me of her sometimes.” 

“I do?” You asked, meeting his bright blue eyes. “How?” 

“You ask a lot of questions,” Bucky responded. “She was only a kid, but boy did she ask so many questions too. She had dark brown hair, like yours, and Nat’s eyes…” Bucky couldn’t help but notice how similar you two were. He almost considered you her doppelganger. Bucky cleared his throat once again, a gust of cold air bursting through the park. You curled more into your light jacket, desperately trying to escape the cold. “Come on, I’ll walk you home, kid.” 

You sighed as Bucky stood from the bench and walked out of the park. “So, where exactly do you live?” 

“Down Fourth street.” 

“Fourth Street,” Bucky repeated. 

“They need to make these damn sidewalks bigger,” you muttered as someone pushed passed the two of you, yelling obscenities over their Bluetooth earpiece.

“You sound like a 100-year-old person.” Bucky chuckled.

“And you act like one,” you retorted. 

Bucky laughed. “Well, I am one.” 

You both stopped at the corner of the sidewalk, waiting for the light across the street to allow you both to walk. 

“Hold my hand, hon.” Bucky glanced behind him, spotting a father talking to his young daughter. “I don’t want to lose you.” The little girl giggled as she held onto her father's hand, swinging it slightly causing the father to grin. 

Bucky held onto your small hand, cursing to himself every time someone had bumped into him on the sidewalk. “Papa, how much longer?” 

“We’re almost there,” Bucky said. He stopped at the corner of the sidewalk, letting go of your hand to press the Street Crossing button. You looked around as your father focused on the light across the street to change. The toys in the window of a store caught your attention. Intrigued, you slowly walked closer. You giggled as a train display drove around the dollhouse display. 

Bucky was relieved when the light finally signaled that they were allowed to cross, he reached out for your hand but quickly noticed that you weren’t there. 

“Y/N?!” Bucky called out in a panic as people began to crowd the area he was in. His eyes frantically searched for your dark brown hair as he pushed past the crowd. 

“Fuck!” He muttered to himself. His heart raced, even more, every second that he couldn’t find you. 

You could hear your dad yelling your name but you couldn’t see him, there were too many people passing by. You scooted towards the wall, your breathing becoming uneven as panic began to settle in. 

“Papa!” You whimpered as you slowly slid down the wall, bringing your knees up to your chest. Tears began to fall down your cheek as the sound of the cars passing by got louder, the chatter of people that passed you sounded like they were yelling and your father was nowhere in sight. 

Bucky continued to push his way through the crowd, he saw a small form next to the wall. He let out a relieved sigh as he recognized the outfit, he rushed over to you, quickly picking you up. 

“Thank god,” he mumbled as he placed his hand behind your head. You cried into his shoulder. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, baby doll.” 

“I’m sorry,” your voice cracked. You tried to speak your breathing was still uneven.

Bucky pushed back your hair before kissing your forehead. “You’re okay,” he mumbled as he wiped away your tears with his thumb. “That was scary huh?” You gave him a small nod, your sobs slowly decreasing. “How about we go get ice cream? I don’t think mommy will mind if we’re home a little late.” You beamed at the mention of ice cream, Bucky couldn’t help but smile at your expression. 

“Bucky,” You tugged on his arm. He jumped slightly by your action, letting out a sigh when he realized where he was. “You okay?” 

Bucky took in a deep breath, “Peachy.” He noticed the light signal change, “let’s go.” 

You shrugged it off, following Bucky across the street. “That’s my apartment,” you said as you pointed to the building that wasn’t too far. Bucky gave you a soft nod. 

“After you,” Bucky said as he opened the door. 

“You’re following me in?” 

“I’m making sure you get into your apartment,” He smiled. “Just because I’m old doesn’t mean that I don’t know any of you young kids tricks.” 

You rolled your eyes and lead Bucky over to the elevator. 

“How long have you guys stayed here?” Bucky asked casually as you both walked into the elevator. 

You pressed the button for the fifth floor as you contemplate your answer. “Um, I want to say like a year?” Bucky raised his eyebrows. “I don’t remember,” 

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor, you exited out of the elevator and began walking down the hall with Bucky a few steps behind you. You stopped at your apartment door, turning to Bucky who gave you a confused expression. “I don’t have a key,” you mumbled. 

“There’s this thing called knocking,” Bucky informed you as he knocked on the door. 

“Well, thank you, Bucky for dropping me off! I’ll see you at our next lesson!” 

“Oh, no, you’re not getting rid of me that easy.” 

You groaned to yourself as the door opened. Roger quickly took notice of Bucky but he focused on you. “Do you know what you put me through this evening, young lady?” He snapped.

You rolled your eyes, pushing past him and into the small space. “Whatever,”

Roger watched as you walked towards your room, slamming the door behind you. “Sorry about that, Mr. Barnes,” Roger said softly. 

Bucky smiled politely. “Teenagers. And please, call me Bucky.” 

Roger nods. “Thank you for escorting her home.” 

“It was no problem. Goodnight, Mr. Jones and tell J.J. that if she ever needs to go on a walk for some fresh air to just message me? I think she could use someone to talk to.” 

“Of course, that would be much appreciated.” Roger felt so angry with himself, he swallowed his anger, withholding the urge to throw the vase that sat on the kitchen counter. But he felt angry for keeping everything that he knew to himself but he had to plan it out. He couldn’t be reckless about it. If he wanted to tell Bucky and Natasha the truth he had to do it with a foolproof plan,  one that not even Zemo would see coming. Bucky turned to walk away. “Actually, I would like to invite you and Natasha over for dinner tomorrow, if that’s alright?” 

“Dinner?”

“As a thank you for everything.” 

Bucky felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, he quickly went for his phone. He knew he just couldn’t say no. “Dinner sounds nice,” Bucky said with a smile. 

“Is 7 O’clock good?” 

“Perfect,” Bucky stated. “I’ll let Natasha know.” 

Roger gave bucky a small nod before closing the door. Bucky glanced at his phone.

You need to come home. Now.  ~ Natasha

Bucky furrowed his eyebrows at the message before running out of the apartment building. Bucky knew something wasn’t right. 

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[ask-anti-cosmo]

The return of Anti-Cosmo part 2

Part 1

Anti-cosmo stayed in the suite, knowing you had to come back sometime, especially since you told him you were a day out to land. You dreaded coming back to your room but found him on the computer on a social media site.

“Is there a Anti-fairy Facebook page?” you asked sarcastically.

“Anti-Fairies, as well as Fairies, are very well connected believe it or not. You just need to know the right sites to look for. And even then, only magical beings can use it, if you’re mortal you only see a blank page.” He explained, not looking up at you. “Won’t be long now.”

“Won’t be long till what?” you frowned.

“Till my wand comes to me. My subordinates are going to help bring it back here, by magic or whatever means it takes.”

“Where were your subordinates when you were in the safe?” you folded your arms.

“I go off on my own a lot, they probably assumed I was following a chosen victim.” He shrugged and turned away from the screen for a minute to face you.

“Is that how you got in that safe in the first place?” you asked expectantly.

His eye twitches slightly. “Hunting requires risk, surely you know that. They had just set up an…elaborate trap I was completely unprepared for. A descendant from one of my victims. One of the only victims I left alive. No matter, I won’t make the same mistake.” He insisted with dignity.

“Why did you let them live in the first place?” you asked curiously.

He sat quietly before picking up a pencil and started doodling on a nearby notebook. He drew a young girl with ringlets and a frilly dress. She looked almost like a sweet porcelain doll.

“My perfect little Doll…in her perfect little dollhouse...” he said fondly.

“Why did she need your help if she was perfect?” you frowned.

“Her family was so painfully flawed, she was trying to save them from their own stupid actions.” He explained. “Then one day, she decided she was done cleaning up after them, left to make her own perfect house, and sent me away. Most of the time my victims call me back, whether conscious or in their hearts, but she never did. The last I saw her was at a ball she threw. I had a lovely time.” He said, looking at the pictures longingly before starting to sketch another woman.

“Who’s that?”

“She was my date to that ball…” he sighed. “I actually might have fallen in love with her…alas, she was human and it didn’t last. I probably could have granted her my immortality but…” he sighed and set down the pencil. He glanced at the computer screen, looking for a response or message for him.

“But…?” you asked expectantly.

He sighed at your persistence, but smiled. “She slit her wrists one night. Humans have such limited mental capacities, and Misfortune follows in my wake. It was probably inevitable.”

“You couldn’t bring her back with magic?” you asked curiously.

“I am not so cruel, I let the dead stay dead. After all, there are plenty of living to choose from.” He shrugged.

He stayed by the computer for the rest of the trip to the harbor. You found a trench coat to wear that you cut the bottom off to fit him better, and hide the fact that he wasn’t wearing pants. You felt he was your responsibility and lead him to your penthouse in the busy metropolis.

“My my my, not such a fancy pants that you own your own place eh? Just a simple flat?” he teased.

“It’s the best you can get in such a place jack*beep*.” You glared. “Besides it’s not my only one, and I do have a house, just not here.”

“Boring.” He rolled his eyes and checked the phone you gave him to monitor his messages. So far there was still nothing, making him huff.

“Alright now, what is there to do around here?” he asked carelessly.

“Why don’t you go check out my closet? You’d look lovely in one of my ball gowns.” You smirked as you greeted your cat.

Anti-Cosmo rose an eyebrow. “You’re just jealous cause I probably would.” He mumbled. “I doubt you have my color.”

“Why don’t you tell me more about yourself. Like, what’s with the Anti in front of everything?”

“We are Anti-Fairy dear, we are the equal and opposite forces of the regular fairies. Spelling our names backwards to prove that doesn’t always work. For some it does, but it’s often just easier to say Anti.” He stated simply.

“What, so there’s a regular fairy version of you?”

Anti-cosmo cringed slightly. “He’s an absolute idiot. A goodie goodie nuisance to all he meets. I want nothing to do with him.”

“So if you’re opposites, and you’re the annoying one…” you smirked as he shot you a glare. “Also, if you’re an all powerful magical being, why do you need to drink human blood?”

“Mostly to prevent a magic crash.” He shrugged.

“A what?” you frowned.

“Oh dear, do I need to explain what a crash is?” he sighed.

“No I know how drugs work.”

“Not those kind of drugs!” he insisted with annoyance. “I told you I am full of magic in my veins, correct? So are Fairies. Only they can only let so much build up before exploding. So it’s just called ‘magical build up’. They use the wands and become godparents to help expel the magic as well as do, what they hope is good, by making children happy.” He said with disgust.

“And you what? Use your build-up for evil?”

“Have you not been listening? I am the equal and complete opposite power that is my fairy counterpart! Meaning, my magic regenerates when used, but it is usually at max capacity, that’s normal for an anti-fairy. That being said, when I cast a spell, it takes longer to build back up. If I use too much magic, I will run out, causing a magical crash.”

“Do you explode from mortality?” you teased.

“No.” he huffed then stayed quiet for a minute. “…I implode. It is reversible so it’s not possibly to kill us that way.”

“And you drinking blood comes into play where?”

“I’ve discovered that nothing makes ones magic regenerate faster than human blood.” He licked his lips. “ESEPCIALLY the blood of the misfortunate. Just the thought of meeting a poor soul who’s never succeeded in anything makes my mouth water! Anyways, I always use magic, for everything, so it’s convenient to have a blood supply nearby. However I doubt you’ll have the same effect, so after I get my wand back I will be bidding you a fond farewell.”

“Sounds just fine to me.” You huffed.

“So, what to do till then?” Anti-Cosmo said thoughtfully. “Go to a rave? Go night shopping? Hunt for ghosts in the park~?” he smirked and waved his fingers at you.

“How about sleep? It’s been a long exciting day and I’m exhausted.” You huffed and started getting ready for bed.

“Oh, you can sleep when you’re dead!” he whined and pulled at your sleeve.

“Why don’t you get back online and catch up on the past 15 years worth of memes?” you said and got into bed.

“Oh please, nothing could be funnier than the troll faces that say “u mad?”” he waved his hand at you.

“Oh buddy, you’ve got a lot to learn.” You smirked and went to sleep.

He stared at your sleeping form, his eyes gleaming mischievously. “Soon my sweet…so I will have my way with you, you lovely immortal thing~” He licked his lips. He then checked for messages for his lackies and found nothing. “*BEEP*.” He pouted.

In the morning, you laid on your back and Anti-Cosmo was flouting above you. You frowned at the sight of his face and turned over. “Its bad enough I’ve had to deal with you till late last night, but now you have to flout over me while I’m asleep like a creeper?” you huffed.

“What can I say? You enchant me.” He said and started walking his fingers up your back. You shivered and swatted his hand away.

“Still nothing from your people?” you asked and sat up

He sighed and leaned back. “No…which is really odd.”

“Maybe you can try again? Post something else?”

“That would make me look whiny and desperate, then more of them would be less inclined to help me.” He huffed. “Besides, I’d much rather wait and possibly get some breakfast.” He said, looking at you hungrily.

“Oh for crying out…don’t even think about it!” you glared and got up. “You want blood, you’ve got to go to the fridge for a bloodbag.” You said as you walked to the closet.

“People healthy enough to donate blood rarely have enough misfortune to satisfy me.” He pouted.

“Boo hoo, you’ll have to have your cocktails AIDS-free then.” You rolled your eyes. “And if that’s the case, my blood would be nowhere near satisfying.”

“You think living eternally alone is a blessing?” he asked with his eyebrows raised. This did stop you in your tracks.

He drifted towards you, suddenly shrinking down and sitting on your shoulder. “Come on now, you got to taste my blood! I’ve never had Vampire blood before, I’m curious!” he urged.

You hesitated dispute knowing you’d get no benefit from this exchange, as well as you know darn well you owed him nothing. Before you could decide however, a ding came from the phone on the bedside.

Anti-Cosmo zoomed to it, growing to his original size as he snatched it up and read the notification. His mouth grew to a twisted grin, his eyes shimmering with joy.

“Ah, Anti-Juandissimo, you never fail me dear friend.” He smirked.

He suddenly stood up and held up his hand. A black wand with a star at the end appeared in his blue skinned hand. His face broke into a villainous grin as he spun it around and gave it a wave. Magic erupted from it and made his old clothes appear on his body, but they were new and pristine. His monocle returned, dangling from his earlobe before swinging up to it’s place over his eye. Small silver jewelry were placed on his clothes, ear, and wing. Lastly a bowler hat flouted above his hair.

He sighed with relief and stretched slightly. “Yes…perfect. I feel whole again~”

“You look like a Magical girl transforming.” You chuckled.

He looked back at you before waving his wand at you. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, smoke surrounded you, and your clothes changed into a vampire themed Magical girl outfit. Short skirt, a cape, even little bat wings on your head. Your costume was also adorned in silver jewelry and mirrored Anti-Cosmo’s black and blue.

“There, now we match.” He smirked.

You tried to pull the skirt down to cover your legs. “What the *Beep*?!” you yelled at him.

“What? You look cute~ oh yes, I have a wish to grant, be right back.” He grinned and vanished.

You huffed in irritation and immediately started stripping the cutesie outfit off. “What an *beep*!” you whispered angrily. “I thought he was awful before the wand…”

Part 3

[wait-there-was-a-plan]

𝐃•𝐎•𝐋•𝐋•𝐇•𝐎•𝐔•𝐒•𝐄

p•r•o•l•o•g•u•e

Words: 1686

Trigger Warning: Dolls, terrifying situations, missing people, kidnapping[kinda??? Could be read as such]

If I need to add more let me know, but note this is an attempt at some spooky horror

S•T•O•R•Y

It was supposed to be a joke. 

Just a fun trip to a spooky shop on Halloween. It wasn’t supposed to end up like this. 

Virgil had always loved the fall season. Perfect hoodie season, and of course the spooks. So when his best friend Remus suggested they get Janus and investigate a creepy looking shack that was parading as a toy shop. Janus loved the idea, but mostly cause it to let the 15-year-old sneak out of his house when it was dark. What his fascination was with sneaking away from his older sister’s care, Virgil would never know. 

Virgil was of course incredibly anxious. So he left a note on his bed in case anything did happen. 

Remus was standing with his hands on his hips looking extremely proud. Janus was the oldest but somehow Remus tended to take the lead. Virgil was never sure why, but he never really cared. It was just always like that. Remus would lead them all into adventure, Virgil got them out of trouble, and Janus made up any excuse they needed. They had a good thing going on. Things were always exciting with them.  

Remus was spouting ideas about how to break into the small shop while Janus was telling Remus that there was absolutely no way they were using fire. Virgil was looking at the shop window as the two behind him went back and forth. 

“Guys. The store is open.” The emo spoke up, pointing to an old-fashioned sign that read ‘Come in! We’re open!’ in bright colors. 

The other teenagers paused and turned to look at the front of the door. 

“Its midnight,” Janus said with a confused look. “What kinda toy store is open three am?”

“The Dollhouse apparently,” Virgil replied, looking up at the wooden letters above the door.

“Maybe it’s too lure in children so they can make toys out of them!” Remus chirped, all two happily. Virgil shuddered at the thought. 

“Oh, that must be it.” The snake-like teen said rolling his eyes. “Are we going in or what?”

Before the others could answer Janus moved forward, opening the door and holding it open for Remus who skipped inside, but when the emo hesitated the eldest paused for a second. 

“You okay?” He asked. “You don’t have to come with us. We can walk you home.”

“I’m fine,”  Virgil told him with a dismissive shrug, and when the other gave him a questioning look the emo rolled his eyes. Janus was always protective of him. Remus too, but the human rat didn’t seem to ‘need’ protection as much, at least by the eldest’s standards. Thus Virgil got the most ‘babying’ from him. Not that the emo always minded. It was nice to be reminded that he didn’t need to do something, or to be assured it was fine. Still, it wasn’t always needed. 

“Really. I’m fine. Let’s go.”

“Alright, if you say so.” Janus gave him a nod before going into the shop. 

Virgil followed behind, looking around the shop. It was almost like stepping through a portal back in time. He didn’t know the exact time period the shop reminded him of, but it was definitely something he could imagine seeing it in a black and white photo if that made sense. Shelves lined the walls, all filled with dolls to the point quite a few of them looked ready to fall off. Everything was made out of wood that looked extremely old and strangely enough, despite the unlocked door and opened sign no one was in sight. Remus was already behind the only counter in the room messing with the old metal til. 

“Remus! Quit playing with that!” Virgil told him, as Janus disapprovingly shook his head. 

“Remus! You’re going to trip the alarm or something!” The snake told him. “They’ll think we’re trying to rob them.” 

“I’m just looking!” The rat whined, rolling his eyes at the other’s worry. “Besides, no one’s here to see anything and this place doesn’t look like it has any alarms.” 

“You don’t usually see alarms, Rem.” Janus frowned. 

“If no one’s here, maybe we should go.” Virgil mumbled, mostly to himself. 

Remus’s head tilted to the side a bit and he smiled mischievously at the anxious boy. 

“Awwwww, Virgin.” He said. “Got a bad fweeling?”

Despite the mocking tone, Virgil knew if he really wanted to, they wouldn’t keep going, no matter how much fun Remus was having breaking into tils. 

So the emo rolled his eyes. 

“No. We just..came. Saw the shop. So we’re done here right?” He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

“Awwww, you don’t have to put on a big brave face for us! If you’re feeling like a pussy-”

“Remus.” Janus warned. 

“Whoops.” The rat shrugged slightly. “My bad.” 

The two mature teens sighed heavily. 

“Okay, what else do you want to do here?” Virgil spoke up looking between them, earning a wicked smirk from Remus. 

Oh dear. 

“Let’s go back here!” He said turning and gesturing to a doorway with those hippy string bead things in place of the door. Virgil didn’t know what they were called, but he did know that the sign above the door said ‘staff only’.

Janus paused looking at Virgil, who sighed and shrugged. 

“...Alright, remus. Just for a minute or two.” He told him. “Then we need to-”

Remus was already off exploring the back of the store. 

“Remember, Verge.” Janus spoke up before they went in after him. “You can leave whenever you want. We won’t get mad.” 

Virgil just nodded softly and followed him before Remus could break anything. 

The room was much larger than the store front. With a lot more shelves and on bookcases but various doll parts and supplies substituted the books. A small desk littered with tools was in the back corner. Running along the walls about waist level there was a long shelf built into the wall, with various completed dolls that must have been waiting to be put out front and be sold. Out of the corner of his eye, Virgil could see Janus move to a large human sized doll near one corner and Remus move to the back of the room. 

Virgil’s attention was caught by a completed doll. While there were many different types of dolls in the shop, porcelain, wooden, a few marinate dolls and barbies here or there, this was seemingly the only stuffed one. Or at least the only stuffed one Virgil could see. It had yellow yarn for hair and two blue beads for eyes. A small sweater around it’s blue shirt while the bottom of the doll was just black to infer it was wearing pants. 

The emo picked it up looking at the eyes. Why this one had caught his attention, Virgil wasn’t even sure. He normally liked the gothic things, and this was for sure not gothic. It looked like something you would give a three year old. Though, there was just something unnerving about them, like the doll was watching him somehow. Which was just absolutely crazy. Dolls couldn’t watch him. Dolls couldn’t watch anything!

“You’re kind of a creepy fucker, aren’t ya?” He asked with a nervous chuckle. Why was he talking to the doll? And why was the watching feeling replaced with disappointment? Was the teen going crazy? 

Virgil swallowed his own spit, setting down the doll. 

“Ooooookkaaay.” He mumbled. “That’s enough dolls for me. Hey, Rem-”

Just as the emo started to say his name, Remus let out a scream worthy to be in horror movies. 

Virgil turned around quickly seeing the human rat holding onto one of the sculpting tools that was laying on the desk, very tightly from the looks of it. But it was hard to tell with a bright light coming from the desk. Remus’s screams got louder and more horrified as his hand seemed to shrink and start wrinkling. It became stiff and shrank slightly, cracking before smoothing out into a pale color that could only look real on a doll-

Wait, no…

His hands were turning into glass! 

Virgil froze. Janus ran over to their screaming friend trying to pull him away from the light before it just got brighter and suddenly Janus was starting to scream too. 

The emo didn’t know what to do, the only thing running through his head was his friends’ terror and pain filled screams. It was only when something wrapped it’s hands around Virgil’s arm did he realize he needed to move. He spun to see who had grabbed him, horrified to find nothing but dolls there, one with its hand somehow holding onto his sleeve. He stepped back, feeling his chest grow tight, and his breathing quicken. 

“VIRGIL-”

Janus’ scream made him turn again, this time met with the large doll the screaming friend had been looking at before right in front of him. Virgil looked past him, locking eyes with Janus, where Remus was he wasn’t sure anymore. The teen couldn’t be seen anymore. But Janus...Janus looked terrified. The emo had never seen him so scared. 

Virgil could hear another scream leave his remaining friends, words,but he couldn’t make them out. The next thing Virgil even knew was he was running through the shop, hearing loud heavy footsteps behind him. 

The teen literally jumped out of the building, landing on the pavement hard. He turned himself over, scurrying back as he looked at the giant doll in the doorway. Frozen. Just staring at Virgil. 

Virgil didn’t really remember making his way home. But he woke the next day to his mom waking him up for school. So he went, hoping it was just a dream.  

But when he got to school, Janus and Remus weren’t there. They weren’t there the next day. 

The last time Virgil saw their faces was on the news as the news anchor talked about two missing kids, and asked anyone with any information to please speak up and go to their families or the authorities. 

Virgil never did. 

…….

And he never will.

[irrelevantwriter]

Yours

Pairing: Chief Jim Hopper x Female Reader/You

Rating: Explicit, NSFW

Warnings: Language, some dom/sub dynamics, thigh riding (b/c I feel like we all want to), hand job, fingering, unprotected vaginal sex, public sex, chocking, female ejaculation, mentions of bodily fluids, power/title kink, dirty talk for the masses (prepare to sin), dom!Hopper (can I get an AMEN?)

Word Count: 3.9K

Summary: You play by the rules and let Chief Hopper have his way with you.

A/N: Guess what? It’s a sequel to Raspberry! This is filth of the smuttiest kind so I hope you guys are ready to repent because I went in. I would recommend reading Raspberry before this just to give some context. I hope this was what you guys envisioned for dom!Hopper because I know I thoroughly appreciated it *wink*wink*. So, read and let me know what you think .Enjoy and share with your friends!

PS-Got some inspiration from this post. Credit to those who continue to support my thirst.

*Read Raspberry HERE

*Masterlist in bio.

 ********************** 

You heard him call your name before the door to the station had even fully closed. Your eyes shot to the clock on the wall. 6:00. On the dot. The man was punctual. You made your way to his office, trying to walk normally without the familiar sensation of your panties against your body. You’d felt naked all day. The material of your dress was smooth and soft against your skin. It made working difficult. Especially with the way Jim had been looking at you throughout your shift. You’d followed his orders from the day before and came to work without any panties, bare under the skirt of your dress. You’d been wet from the moment you’d stepped into the station, your body somehow anticipating what was to come.

You nervously shut and locked his door without him having to tell you. You were still technically in trouble for the stunt you’d pulled yesterday, so you were trying hard to make it up to him. He was waiting for you in one of the chairs that usually sat in front of his desk. This time he had it faced towards the small sofa near the door. He was sprawled out, the man dwarfing the furniture like a giant in a dollhouse. His pant leg had risen above his boots, the size of said boots making you tingle. He looked intimidating. He looked undeniably sexy. And you damn near swooned at the sight.

He pointed to the sofa wordlessly and you obeyed, sitting on the edge and waiting for instructions. “Did you listen to me this time?” He asked gruffly, face impassive and unflinching. You nodded but spoke at the same time, not wanting him to chide you for not using your words. “Yes, Chief.” “Let me see.” Heat flooded your body and arousal rushed your insides, seeping from your uncovered slit. You shifted back against the couch and moved your dress up your thighs. Jim’s eyes watched you closely, predator stalking its prey. You eased your legs apart, feeling self-conscious but knowing you had to continue. You spread your legs wide, letting the cool air of the room hit your sex. You bit your lip, fighting against the urge to pull your dress back down. You met Jim’s eyes and white, hot lust pierced your veins. His eyes were on your exposed lower half, his hips shifting against his seat at the sight. You could make out the stiffness in his pants, the response pleasing you. “You’re wet.” It was a statement, so you stayed silent. “You been like this all day, sweetheart?” He licked his lips and you couldn’t help the small whimper that escaped your throat. “Yes, Chief.” You answered, hoping the idea would satisfy him. By the way his hand rubbed against his crotch, you were guessing it did. “Touch yourself.” There was no hesitation in your movements as you obeyed. This wasn’t the first time you’d done such a thing with him.

 You traced a delicate finger on the outside of your lips, gathering the moisture that had collected there. You shivered against your own touch, wishing it was a thicker, more calloused one than your own. You teased your clit, rotating your hips slowly to the movements. You added a finger into your soaked channel, the appendage slipping in easily. The sound of your pleasure was obscene, but it sounded perfect against the heavy breaths of Jim Hopper.

 Your body was building fast, the need to release sitting at the edge. It had been like that all day. But you knew better. You knew he wasn’t going to let you get that far so soon. And as soon as the thought entered your mind, his commanding voice filled your ears. “Stop.” You dutifully ceased your fingers, pulling them out of yourself with a hiss. You waited, body already half-cocked and ready to explode. “Undress.” Butterflies filled your stomach to capacity as you stood and kicked off your heels, followed by your dress and bra. You were naked before him, the man who could make you cum and cower with one glare. “Come here.” He crooked a finger at you. You stepped towards him, feeling his eyes ravaging your body with every step. You felt like your skin was on fire, the delicious flames of desire overtaking the both of you. When you reached his spread legs, he stopped you. “Sit.” He pointed to his left thigh. You went to sit down on his lap, but he stopped you. “No. My thigh...sit on my thigh.” You gulped, feeling a rush of warm heat to your pussy. You lowered yourself onto his thigh, straddling the thick muscle with hesitation. As soon as you came into contact with his solid form, you fell into him. Your body relaxed, but remained taut with lust. The instinct to grind down and pleasure yourself was overwhelming, but you remained as still as you could. Jim’s hands gripped your ass, securing you to your spot. His thigh moved beneath you and you threw your head back and moaned. His body was warm and firm, perfect for creating that friction you so desperately needed. He knew that. Which was why he was torturing you.

 “Can you get yourself off on my thigh, sweetheart?” He began to rotate your hips, positioning you the way he wanted. You gripped his shirt, nails scraping against the gold plate of his badge. Your head began swimming, your body attached to Jim but simultaneously feeling as if you were floating.

 “Yes, Chief.”

 “Do what feels good.”

 You dutifully submitted to his order, feeling him lessen his grasp on your body so that you could move. You pressed down against him, crying out at the way he pushed back. His mouth found your neck, whiskers scratching against your skin in a familiar motion. You craned your neck, silently begging him to attach himself. He did.

 His lips sucked hungrily at your flesh in the way he knew you liked. You yelped as the force behind his movements made you flinch, his teeth joining the mix. He quickly lapped the area over with his tongue, soothing the flash of pain that had come. You began to quicken the pace of your hips against his thigh, the momentary sting on your neck making your muscles clench in response.

 “Fuck, I can feel you through my pants.” He growled into your collarbone, his lips ghosting down towards your breasts.

 You whimpered at his words, focusing on the wetness that now sat beneath you. You were ruining his pants for sure, but he didn’t seem at all phased by the notion. He buried his face into your breasts, mouthing at your nipples. His hands began forcing your hips to rock faster as you struggled to keep up. You let a hand wander to his untouched lap, instinctually grabbing at his aroused cock. He groaned into your chest, pushing his hips up and into your hand.

 “Do it.”

 You knew what he was demanding without him having to say it. You moved your hand against him, the pace in sync with your own hips. His throat released a low moan, his hands digging harder into your hips.

 It wasn’t often that Jim lost himself in the act and forgot about the game you two liked to play. He was usually very good about keeping the charade until the very end. But feeling the tension in his body and hearing it in his voice let you know that he was struggling with maintaining control. You were happy to pick up the slack.

 You could feel him start to careen towards his climax, your own on the cusp of appearing. You focused on Jim though, your hand continuing to caress him while your lips nibbled at his earlobe. His chest rumbled and vibrated beneath you as he cursed your touch.

 “Fucking hell, baby girl…don’t stop.”

 You couldn’t if you wanted to.

 He came with a guttural groan and iron-clad grip on your hips, one that was sure to leave bruises. You let him do as he pleased as he got thrown into space and then launched back down to earth. His forehead was pressed to your shoulder, his teeth latched to the top of your breast. Your pussy spasmed as his cum painted the front of his underwear, the heat warming your palm. You felt your own body start to reel and then the wire was snapping.

 You ground down on Jim’s thigh so hard you were pretty sure your pubic bone was bruised. It was your turn to cling to him as your body rolled with each electric shock, your pussy soaking his pants and leg beneath. You let your body take control, your mind too far gone to take notice. Every nerve was exposed and raw, each sensation too much and not enough.

 “Jesus, Chief…” Your cried out, nails digging into his chest as your orgasm continued. The tension of the day was culminating in this one moment and it wasn’t going easy on you.

 You could feel sweat peppering your skin as you drunkenly gained some semblance of reality back. You realized Jim’s hands were anchored around your waist, no doubt helping to keep you upright. You smiled dumbly at him, the game broken for the moment.

 “You okay?” He asked, smirk firmly planted on his bearded lips. His hands were caressing your naked back, easing you further into the brick wall that was his chest.

 “Hmmm, more than okay.” You lazily replied, tongue poking out to wet your lips. His eyes followed the action, the clear blue starting to cloud over again.

 “You ready for more?” His brow arched in question, but the rest of his face went back to stone.

 “Always, Chief.” The mood shifted back easily, the playfulness gone.

 You went for his belt buckle, hands undoing the button and zipper in record time. You shifted your hips so that you straddled both of his thighs now, your still leaking pussy settled over his fast-hardening cock. You pulled him out, caressing him to his full length. His cum aided your movements, the sight and sound making your swollen lips pulse.

 “You need me, sweetheart?”

 You groaned, his voice always able to set you off. You nodded in response, momentarily forgetting the rules.

 His hand slapped your pussy, the stickiness between you making the sound echo in the small space. You whimpered and jerked at the hit, your heartbeat feeling like it was centered within your walls.

 “Answer the question.”

 “Yes, Chief.” You responded quickly, wanting to feel the ache again but your willingness to please overpowering.

 “Stand up.”

 It took you a moment to comprehend his command, but as soon as you did, you pulled yourself up. Your legs were trembling, your skin dewy from your activities. He helped you stand and get on solid footing between his still spread legs. His cock was still out, but it was swelling with need once again.

 “The desk. On your back.” He demanded, eyes piercing through you as if he could see your inner most thoughts. Sometimes you felt like he could. How else would he have known about your need for him?

 You walked to his desk, trying not to stare too hard at the mess you’d made on his pants. You weren’t at all ashamed or embarrassed. If anything, the sight was just another spark to add to the blaze of arousal you felt. Your thighs clenched at the once-solid sensation of his massive thigh between your legs. You practically purred at the memory.

 You eased yourself onto the cool desk, careful not to disturb the things that littered the surface. Jim wouldn’t take kindly to you messing up his workspace. 

You knew what he wanted without him having to vocalize, like with most things. You leaned back on your elbows and spread your legs for him. Jim loved to see what he did to you. He loved seeing your soaked lips, obliterated by his mouth or fingers. He loved seeing his cum pouring from you, the proof that you were a marked woman always pleasing him. No one else may be able to visibly see that you belonged to Jim Hopper, but you both knew and that was enough.

 He stalked towards you, shirt untucked and unbuttoned while his hand stroked himself to the space between your legs. You knew your thighs were slick, the remnants of him and you painting your skin. You waited for him to push inside you. You waited to feel that delicious burn that always accompanied his entrance. It never came.

 Instead, you watched as Jim grabbed your legs and pulled you to the edge of the wood. He bent down, hooded eyes watching your expression as he licked your slit. You immediately jumped at the action, but he was prepared. His hands held you firm in a tight grip, pinning you to the desk and forcing you as his prisoner. His facial hair scratched at your skin, the gesture done with purpose. He knew you loved it. He knew you ached for it when he wasn’t around…you’d told him as much.

 “Oh, Jesus…” You moaned as he sucked harshly on your clit. He was using his entire mouth on you. His lips enveloped all of you, his teeth nibbled. Your back arched off the desk, nails clawing at the woodgrain. You felt that tingle just under the surface, its strength intensifying with each pass of Jim’s tongue inside of you. He licked hungrily at your pulsing walls, catching the motions with his mouth.

 “You know what I want you to do.” He said against your stomach once he’d come up for air.

 You nodded and went to reply when he suddenly shoved two fingers to the knuckle inside of you.

 “Fuck!” You cried as he curled his fingers and scraped the calloused pads against your walls. His mouth attached to your clit once again, the ferocity of his movements bordering on painful. Your eyes crossed and your legs closed, trapping his head against you. You pulled at his hair, desperate for him to ease up.

 The intensity was at maximum power now and you couldn’t stop it. You gave yourself over to it, knowing that was what he wanted. Coherent thoughts dissipated as your whole body became numb. The epicenter of your extreme pleasure made itself known as you felt the warm rush of release leave your body. That sweet rush of endorphins invaded your entire being as you writhed and moaned. You could hear Jim’s grunts and groans, an occasional mumble mixed in as his hands continued to move.

 “Goddamn, baby girl…” You were familiar enough with the touch of him that you recognized his cock at your entrance immediately. It’s as if your body was attuned to his, fully aware of the kind of bliss he could bring you.

 “Keep going. Soak my cock. Just like that.” He encouraged as he caught your spendings with his hardened flesh. He rubbed against you as your continued to coat him, your own body not even able to disobey the Chief of Police.

 “Fuck yeah, such a good girl…”

 You knew you looked manic. You knew your limbs were contorted and your back was arched a mile off the desk, but you didn’t care. As it was with every other time, you could only focus on the physicality of the moment. You couldn’t hear, you couldn’t see, hell, you couldn’t even smell. All you could do was feel. And you felt Every. Fucking. Thing.

 He entered you swiftly and sloppily, a telltale sign he was close. He didn’t give you a single moment to recover. His rhythm was punishing and bruising, your favorite. His hips slammed against yours harshly, his hands keeping your thighs open for his abuse. He was hunched over you, mouth by your ear. His moans sent shivers down your spine. His weight was heavy and welcoming atop you, his massive size swallowing you and making you feel helpless.

 You gripped at his back and shoulders, tearing at the shirt that still hung on his body. You felt your own body slide up the desk, head now dangling off the edge as he thrust into you. His heavy balls slapped against your ass and you flinched every time at the movement.

 “Fuck…this pussy…” He broke off with a slam of his hips up into you. You whined at the depth he reached, feeling him in your stomach. The sound of him fucking you mercilessly intertwined with the thumping of the desk across the floor. Background noises of objects falling off the piece of furniture could be heard, but neither of you gave a fuck.

 “Shit, you’re gonna make me cum already…”

 His hand found your throat and pressed down. You leaned into his touch, encouraging him. His forehead was pinned against yours, his eyes once again holding you captive. You held his wrist, feeling your walls fluttering again. He felt it too because he let his arms give out and collapse against you, succumbing to the pressure of your hold on him.

 His lower half moved with wild abandon as he came, his grip on your throat tighter. His crazed climax triggered your own as you struggled to take in air. Hot, wet heat filled you to the point of overflowing. Your body accepted, thanking him by widening your thighs.

 “Fuck, Chief…” You sputtered once his hand finally relented. His hips still moved lazily against yours, as if he was fucking his cum up into you. Your body shook with aftershocks, wanting to jerk away in oversensitivity, but not wanting to lose the contact just yet.

You clung to him, letting your heartrate slow and your body settle. He pressed his full weight into you, his chest heaving with your own. You let your fingers dance in his hair, aware of what the action did to him. As if on cue, he groaned into your neck and shivered. You cradled him between your thighs, feeling the abundance of liquid pooling on the surface beneath you.

 He pulled away and slipped from you. You watched as he took in your overused body. You let him play with you like a toy, fingers sliding against your flesh easily with the plentiful amounts of fluid. He massaged your lips, eagerly taking in the way he spilled from your body.

 “Shouldn’t waste a drop, should we?” His eyes danced as he spoke, but his face was stoic.

 “No, Chief.”

 “That’s right.” His fingers probed you unexpectedly, the force making you flinch away. He held you as he retracted his fingers, the digits covered in both of you.

 “Open.”

 You opened your mouth, letting him settle his fingers against your tongue. You tasted the combined sweet and salty flavors, sucking him clean.

 “Good girl.” He praised and you fluttered your eyelashes up at him, unable to resist what his words did to you.

 His fingers trailed from your mouth and over your naked body, stopping to dance around your still peaked nipples.

 “You like it when I fuck you raw, don’t you?”

 “Yes, Chief.”

 “You gonna let me do it again? Keep that pussy full?” He taunted, enjoying the way your body, though exhausted and thoroughly fucked, was coming alive at his words.

 You couldn’t control your hand as it traveled to your drowned pussy. You slipped a single finger in, needing some kind of physical stimulation. Jim wasn’t touching you anymore and his voice was awakening the neediness inside you again.

 “Yes, Chief.” You moaned, eyes fighting to remain on him and not close in pleasure.

 He didn’t admonish you for your unauthorized exploratory touches. He only watched in rapt fascination as you rode your hand, still spread out and bare.

 “My voice turn you on, baby girl?” He purposely spoke lower and you groaned at the way it washed over you. It was all smooth whiskey and heavy nicotine. The perfect combination in your eyes.

 “Yes, Chief.”

 “You gonna cum again? Cum on your fingers for me?”

 You watched as he dressed while he spoke, buttoning his shirt back up and shoving himself back into his pants. His khakis were still ruined, but just about dry. He smoothed down his facial hair, no doubt gathering some leftover wetness that had settled there. He studied you intensely as you continued to finger yourself lazily. You could feel your body working up to that crescendo again and you weren’t sure you could take it if you did.

 “Fuck yes, Chief.” You whimpered helplessly. 

 “Don’t.” He boomed suddenly, your hand stopping immediately. His hands were on his hips, his imposing stature making you feel so small.

 “Get dressed.”

 You wanted to whine, but you were also silently thankful for the reprieve. You moved slowly, your limbs gaining some strength back after feeling boneless. Jim sat down behind his desk and lit a cigarette, not paying much attention to you anymore.

 You dressed silently, unable to truly clean up the mess between your legs. He didn’t offer a tissue so you took that as a sign. You had to suffer.

 Once you were sure you looked somewhat decent, you waited. Jim had placed his hat on his head and was clearly thinking hard about something. He noticed you and blew smoke up into your direction. He put out his cigarette and then unlocked the bottom drawer of his desk. You couldn’t see what he was doing, but you could hear the clang of metal as he shut it.

 “Let’s go.” He said as he stood and grabbed his jacket.

 You looked on in confusion, not understanding. Jim had never taken you anywhere. The agreement was only at the station. It never extended beyond that point, besides the occasional phone call. Your relationship was a complicated one based off sex. It never went beyond that. He was your boss both at work and in the bedroom…that was the extent of it.

 It was on the tip of your tongue to question his words, but you were still unsure if this was a part of the game or not. He noticed your hesitancy and stopped.

 “Say it.” He demanded, recognizing your need to inquire.

“Where are we going?”

 He sighed and pulled something from his pocket. Your eyes focused on two circular rings attached by a chain.

 Handcuffs.

 Realization dawned on your features, but you said nothing. He still hadn’t answered your question.

 “My place.” He’d placed an unlit cigarette in his mouth, his chain smoking making a sudden appearance.

 “Okay…” You replied, still not catching the meaning of his words.

 He stepped towards you, practically glaring. You swallowed the lump in your throat, that addictive thrill of fear and lust rising in the air like a fog.

 “Use the safe word if you need to, but I’m not done with you today. I’m gonna fuck you till you can’t walk in those goddamn heels.” His eyes drifted to your feet and you felt your breath catch.

 It took you only a second to reach your answer. Hell, you may have even known before he explained himself. You’d learned a long time ago that you would follow Jim Hopper anywhere.

 “I’m all yours, Chief.” You showed the barest hint of a smile, biting your lip as you met his eyes.

 He smirked and nodded, lighting his cigarette. “Thought so.”

[greekletters]

... guess what?

I wrote another one shot! Also, I’ve decided that I’m going to move this collection of one shots over to AO3 and FF.net as well. I use the name GreekLetter on both sites. So keep an eye out for that soon! I will still continue to post here, but for anyone else that prefers to read elsewhere, they will be there too! Enjoy!

Prompt: “This one is on me.”

“I can’t believe you tricked me into this.”

“I didn’t trick you. I persuaded you to see reason.”

“We could’ve paid people to do this for us.” Weiss huffs out a breath, trying to blow the hair out of her eyes as the two of you continue to carry your mattress up the stairs of your new house. 

“But you will appreciate the move so much more if we do it ourselves.” You struggle to lift the bottom end of the mattress over the edge of the final step. 

“Whatever you say. At least all the living room furniture is getting delivered, so we don’t have to mess with that.”

“You mean the amazing furniture set that I alone picked out and you agreed was perfect?”

“Yeah. That one.” Weiss lets go of her side of the mattress and you follow suit, letting it fall into the frame evenly. 

“Yang helped with the difficult stuff. And if I remember, you were more interested in making sure every single one of the dishes was perfectly wrapped in that bubble wrap stuff than helping us.”

The two of you walk back into the kitchen and begin to unpack various boxes together. 

“You know I don’t care for manual labor. Which is why I suggested that we pay a company to pack and move our things. But you refused.” She puts her hands up defensively. 

“It’s a complete waste of money.”

“I told you, money isn’t an issue.”

“Having the money isn’t the issue. I am well aware that we are perfectly capable of affording it.”

“So, what is the issue then?”

“We could spend that money on something else. Like.. I don’t know.. donating it to a local homeless shelter or something.” You continue moving around the kitchen, placing items in their new home. 

“You do realize that you spent over a thousand lien on just the new couch, right? That doesn’t include the chairs, lighting and all the other stuff. And for one room.”

“Okay, fine. I get it. Well if we ever move again, I will let you pay to have everything packed and moved. Plus it’s a little weird to have strangers pack your things. I don’t know how I feel about that.”

“Oh, we are never moving again.”

“You think so?”

“If I have anything to say about it, you and I are going to grow old and die in this house.”

“Well that’s just morbid.”

“I think it’s sweet.” She nonchalantly shrugs her shoulders. 

“Good to know you plan on being stuck with me until you die.” You give her a smirk. 

“Oh hush. It was ‘as long as you both shall live’ if I remember correctly. And I plan on giving you absolute hell until the very end. And in this house no less. Not to mention it took almost two years for them to build it for us.”

“Only because you kept changing your mind and they had to go back and fix or rebuild nearly everything.”

“I wanted our house to be perfect. That’s all.”

“Weiss, you made them change the bathroom tile eight times.” She shoots you a glare. “But as long as you are here, it’s perfect to me.” She rolls her eyes, but gives you a small smile. “We could live in a grand fortress of cardboard boxes, but as long as they’re our cardboard boxes, I’m good.”

There’s a firm knock at the front door and you tell Weiss you will get it. Lightly jogging out of the kitchen and to the doorway. When you open the door you find the parcel delivery company man standing in front of you. 

“Hello.”

“Hi. Are you Blake Belladonna?” He looks up from the tablet in front of him to confirm the name. 

“That’s me.”

“Can you please sign here so I can release this item to you?”

“Sure.” You quickly sign the tablet and hand it back to him. 

He picks up the medium sized box beside him and hands it over to you. 

“Have a good afternoon, ma’am.”

“You too?” You don’t mean to seem so confused. But you weren’t expecting anything other than living room furniture to be delivered today. So you have no idea what’s in the box. 

Carefully carrying it back into the kitchen, you set it down on the island in the middle. 

“What’s that?” Weiss asks, just as curious as you. 

“I have no idea. I didn’t expect anything today other than the furniture, did you?”

“No. Just open it and tell me what’s in it.” She hands you one of the box cutters and you slice the tape open. 

After you pull all the packing materials from the box and get a clear view of the contents, you feel your soul drop to your feet. 

“Oh no.” It’s nearly a whisper. 

“What? What’s in the box?” She looks at you expectantly. When the two of you meet eyes, you try to look as sorry as possible. “Blake, what did you do?”

She prances over to stand near you and peers into the box from the opposite side and grabs the packing slip from your hand. You look off to the side, preparing to face the wrath of Weiss Schnee. 

“I know, this one is on me.” You try to start to apologize, but you never get the chance. 

“Oh, this is completely on you. And the money to pay for real ones can come out of your account, not the joint account.” She stomps off a few feet away from you before turning back around. “The chairs too?”

“Yeah. The whole set.” There’s nothing you can do but accept defeat. 

You hear her groan in frustration as she leaves the room. You stare down into the box for another few seconds. 

“I’m going upstairs to shower.” Her sudden return causes you to jump. “Then you can shower, there may still be hot water left for you, I haven’t decided. And then you’re taking me out to dinner. As part of your pain and suffering.”

“Sushi?” You ask apologetically. 

“Absolutely.” She turns again and once she starts walking up the stairs you hear her yell back out to you. “And get rid of those stupid things. I’m angry just knowing they exist.”

You listen in for another few seconds and hear her turn the shower on before you start to move around the kitchen freely. 

“How could I have been so stupid? I paid all that lien for this stuff?” You say to yourself as you pick up the box and carry it into the barren living room

Sitting down in the middle of the room, you begin to pull the contents of the box out. 

“I had no idea dollhouse furniture cost as much as actual furniture. Crazy.”

You can’t help but laugh to yourself as you arrange the tiny pieces as you would have if they had been full size. It looks completely ridiculous. But what else were you going to do with it all until you could figure out how to return it? Might as well make comedic use of it. 

As you reach the top of the stairs and walk into your bedroom, you give Weiss a small kiss on the cheek as she brushes past you. 

“I’ll be ready to leave in like twenty minutes.” You tell her as you wander into the closet to grab clothes. 

“I’ll just be downstairs on the couch.” Patiently you wait for her sarcastic continuation, which she promptly delivers. “Oh wait, I can’t because the couch you bought us is fit for a mouse!”

“Even if I said I was sorry, you would still be mad.”

“I’m not mad.”

“Sure you aren’t.” You say as she walks back downstairs to wait for you to finish getting ready. 

While you hang up your towel and set your clothes out, you wait for what you know is sure to come. After about a minute or so it happens.

“Damn it, Blake!”

Weiss must’ve wandered into the living room and seen your tiny display of dollhouse furniture. And you can’t help but laugh out loud as you turn the water on and hop into the cold shower. 

[thehelleniclunarwitch]

The Deadly Seven 01

Hi my loves,

Sorry I’ve been MIA I haven’t been very inspired lately until lately. Dark Desire will be updated soon, The Murder Academy, and Home will be coming back. This is an original story idea that came to me in a dream. The start is a little slow but please give a chance. I am still looking for someone to help make a story banner please let me know if you’re interested. Also, at the end of the chapter will be a list of actors that inspired each character. 

Much love,

Inky

Tagged: @justgrits   @charmed-asylum

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Running down the embankment, Y/n splashed through the river as she chased the toads that hopped away from her. She was giggling as the mud and muck went flying around her. Y/n slid slightly catching her balance and let out a giggle. Finally, she slowed down and as she reached down snapping up one of the toads. 

“Got you, you little sucker,” Y/n smiled.

The toad that she had caught was smaller than the other ones she has caught in the past. Which worked out perfectly for her. The smaller ones fit in her pocket better. She lived for scaring her mom with little critters in her pockets. Y/n noticed several other toads heading towards a large boulder. Sitting upon the large boulder was a large toad. 

Intrigued, Y/n made her way towards the large boulder. She knelt down in the muddy weather. She let the small toad wiggle out of her hands and go join the others. Six smallish toads formed a half-circle in front of the large toad on the boulder. 

“Now, what are you guys up to?” Y/n asked. 

This was all a little too weird for her. As Y/n sat there kneeling down in front of her started to flip through all of the weird stuff that she had read on the internet. Toads had been symbolized as a new change. They were also linked to greed and could lead to a bad omen. 

“Okay, this is going to be weird, but I know that toads can lead to a good change in life. So I’m going to use you guys like my wishing star,” Y/n said as she sat fully back sinking herself down into the river. 

Surprisingly, the toads turned to look at her. Her eyes widened in amazement. 

“So, um, well, I’m Y/n. I’m an only child. Do you know how much that sucks? My dad is pretty cool when it comes to things. But my mom, ugh, my mom is a different story. Sometimes I wish that I had brothers. I think having brothers would be cool because then I would have people not only to protect me but to take on some of the crap from my mom, you know?”

“And trust me I’ve tried convincing my mom to have another kid, but she just won’t budge. She says why should she have more kids when she has the perfect daughter. Gag. So I’m sure wishing for a brother wouldn’t work, but maybe some brotherly figures? Or some friends that are also my bodyguards? I mean whatever you can send would work for me.”

“Y/n!” Her mother’s annoying voice cut through the silence. 

Y/n sighed. “My times up, but any help you can send my way would be appreciated,”

Climbing up to her feet, Y/n took one last look at the group of toads before running back up the embankment. Her mother was shouting her head off as she frantically looked around for her daughter.

“Mom,” Y/n groaned in annoyance. “I’m right here,” 

“Where did you run off to?” She demanded. 

“To catch frogs,” Y/n said rolling her eyes. 

“Disgusting. You know how I feel about those little heathens,” Her mom said. 

“Yeah, I know, why do you think I like them so much?” Y/n asked. 

Her mother reached out to grab her by the arm, but Y/n was quick to pull her arm away from her. Shoving her hands into her pockets, Y/n quickly walked away from her mom and back over to the car where her dad was waiting. When her dad finally laid eyes on her, his eyes grew wide and began sparkling. 

“There’s my girl,” He beamed. 

Y/n gave him a half-smile before leaning against him so he could hug her. 

“You know you had your mom worried,” He started. 

“She’s always worried,” Y/n said. 

“Come on Robert let’s go home,” Her mother said once she caught up to her daughter. 

The three of them climbed into their car. Y/n leaned against the window and watched the scenery pass by. 

“Why don’t we stop by Roxie’s for a late breakfast?” Her dad asked. 

Y/n sat up straight. Roxie’s was her favorite little hole in the wall that was on their way home. 

“Robert, I said we are going home,” Her mother growled. 

“Well Melissa, it’s a good thing that I’m the one driving,” Robert said. 

Y/n smiled to herself. Her dad usually did whatever her mother said but those moments that he would do what he wanted were the best. When he pulled into an empty spot, Y/n didn’t wait for her parents she practically threw herself out of the car and ran towards the door. 

The bell chimed above her head and Y/n was greeted with a bunch of smiles and a chorus of her names. Roxie came around the counter and over to Y/n pulling her in for a hug. 

“You smell like the woods,” Roxie commented. “Let me guess you were out toad hunting?”

Y/n laughed. “Dad took me to my favorite spot,” 

“How many toads did you bring home today?” Collin, one of Roxie’s daily customers asked. 

“I saw seven of them, but I left them behind today,” Y/n answered. 

“And it’s a good thing I hate finding those little nasties in her pocket,” Melissa added as she and Robert finally entered the diner. 

“Oh, your mother is with the two of you,” Roxie said underneath of her breath. 

“Yeah, you really think she’d let me and dad have a day together?” Y/n grumbled. 

“Hey kiddo, our favorite spot is open,” Robert said. 

Roxie and Y/n headed over to their favorite booth in the corner. Her mother sat and patted the spot next to her, but Y/n was quick to slide into the opposite booth and then her dad followed suit squishing her before her mother could change sides. 

“Do you guys want the menus or the usual?” Roxie asked. 

“Usual.”

“Menu.”

Robert and Y/n looked over at Melissa. 

“What?” She asked snottily. 

“We come here easily three times a week you still need the menu?” Robert asked. 

“Maybe I want something different,” Melissa replied. 

Roxie smiled and handed over the menu. “I’ll put in your order and bring out drinks,”

“Something different, what a joke,” Robert whispered. 

Y/n had to cover her mouth to hide her laughter. Melissa glared at her husband before going back to look at her menu. Roxie came back out with their drinks and some homemade biscuits for them to snack on. Y/n cut open her biscuit and slathered on a thick layer of grape jelly. 

“Are you ready to order?” Roxie asked coming back over to the booth. 

Y/n watched her mother sigh, her father began to grin, as she ordered her usual. Y/n was quick to shove the biscuit in her mouth when a small giggle escaped and her mother’s cool glare settled upon her. 

Her mother began texting on her phone as Robert turned towards his daughter and kept up a conversation. When their food came both of them tried bringing Melissa into the conversation but she was too busy on her phone. Y/n only rolled her eyes and Robert ignored his wife. 

“You know when we get home we should go over your summer packet one last time before school starts tomorrow,” Melissa said. 

Y/n shot her mom a look. “Why do I need to go over the stuff? I haven’t forgotten anything. I’m not dumb,”

“Then you should have no problems with going over the packet then,” Melissa said. 

“Mel, Y/n doesn’t need it. Let her enjoy her last day of freedom before the new year,” Robert said. 

“Our daughter is the best of the best and I want her to stay that way,” Melissa replied. 

Y/n could tell that her dad was getting annoyed. 

“Fine, I’ll do it when I get home, but then I get the rest of the night off,” Y/n countered. 

“I don’t-” Robert was quick to cut his wife off. 

“That sounds like a great idea, honey. Roxie! Can we get the check doll?” Robert said. 

Y/n gave her mother a smug look. Once the bill was paid and they had said their goodbyes to Roxie the small family were back on the road heading home. As the family drove towards home none of them were aware of the seven dark shadowy forms following behind them. 

Later that evening, once Y/n had finished being tortured by her mother, Y/n spent some time in the basement with her dad. One of their little favorite hobbies they did together was to build dollhouses and furniture. Her dad was an amazing woodcarver and Y/n loved watching him work. She also enjoyed coming up with and drawing out her designs. Watching her drawings come to life were some of her favorite memories. 

Melissa walked into her daughter's room all excited to listen to her daughter read, but she froze in the doorway. Her clothes for tomorrow were already laid out on her dresser. Her bag was packed and ready to go. Her room was cleaned, her wet hair had already been brushed out, and there was her pride and joy jumping on her bed with her dad as they sang one of their songs that they had created. 

“Come on now, monkey, it’s time to calm down so we can go to bed,” Melissa said. 

Y/n and Robert both stopped jumping. Robert climbed off the bed and snatched up his daughter. He planted dozens of kisses all over her face. 

“Good night, brat,” Robert said. 

“Night dad,” Y/n beamed. 

Robert kissed her forehead one more time before leaving Melissa and Y/n alone. Y/n crawled under the covers as Melissa grabbed the chapter book they were currently reading. She sat tucked up next to Y/n as her daughter opened up to where her bookmark was and began reading. 

Y/n made it through a second chapter and then shut the book. Her mother looked down at her. 

“Done already, sweetheart?” Melissa asked. 

“Yeah, I’m tired,” Y/n lied she just didn’t want to read anymore. 

Melissa took the book and put it back on the nightstand. Melissa tucked her daughter in and kissed her goodnight. 

“See you in the morning, sweet girl,” Melissa said. 

“Night mom,” Y/n said before rolling away from her. 

Melissa gave her daughter one last look before flipping off the lights and closing the door. Flopping back onto her back Y/n let out a sigh. As she stared up at the ceiling thinking about her first day back at school, Y/n was unaware of the seven shadows slowly slipping out of her closet. 

“Are we sure the parents are gone?” A voice suddenly asked. 

Y/n froze in her bed. 

“I don’t hear them,” Another voice answered. 

“So what is the plan exactly?” A third voice asked. 

“We just need to scope the place out. Gather exactly what we will be dealing with,” A deeper voice answered. 

Y/n’s heart slowly began to beat a little fast as time passed by. 

“Ooh look she has a pet fish,” Somebody gushed. 

“Why are you surprised? She catches frogs for fun,” Somebody scoffed. 

Carefully, Y/n turned onto her side and pulled up her blanket so she could hide her face, but try and see the mysterious people in her room. She could see seven figures all standing crowded around the closet. They all stood at different heights but that’s all that she could make out. 

“Cute she has a nightlight,” Somebody laughed. 

“Shut up,” A voice growled. 

Y/n acted quickly her arm snatched out and she clicked on her lamp. All seven of those figures froze as Y/n stared them down. 

“Shit. She’s awake,” One of them cursed. 

“Watch your language!” Another growled. 

They were all terrifying looking. Y/n’s heart was racing and she did the only thing that she could think of. She opened her mouth to scream. 

“Mom-” One of them rushed forward and slapped their hand over her mouth to silence her.

“Y/n?” Her mother said from outside of her bedroom. 

“Sorry, mom I spooked myself,” The shortest one said as he perfectly mimicked Y/n. 

“Are you sure you’re alright, sweetheart?” Her mother.

“Fine. Just fine. Good night,” He said. 

“Night, honey,” Her mother said. 

The seven of them listened carefully for her mother to disappear again. 

“If you’re smart you won’t do that again,” He said before removing his hand. 

Y/n only nodded. She sat there with wide eyes. 

Slowly, he stood up and went to join the others. Y/n watched all of them carefully. As Y/n sat there staring at them the realization hit her. She sat up a little straighter and her mouth fell open. 

“You’re my wish!” Y/n exclaimed. 

“Quiet,” The tallest growled. 

“Sorry,” Y/n apologized in a whisper. 

"And yeah you could say that we are your wish,” Another spoke up. 

Y/n tilted her head as she looked at them. 

“What’s wrong?” The dark-haired one asked.

“I guess you’re not really what I was expecting. Much better than what I expected to be honest,” Y/n said. 

The seven of them looked at each other. 

“You can tell that already?” The blonde asked. 

“I have a good perception,” Y/n said. 

One of them laughed. 

“I’m Y/n by the way,” She introduced. 

“And I’m Abraxas. These are my brothers Livius, Titan, Azazel, Hale, Isidore, and Ezekiel,” Abraxas introduced. 

Y/n repeated the names as she tapped her fingers.

“Something wrong?” Titan asked with a chuckle. 

“The names sound familiar,” Y/n said. 

“You’re like six. I don’t think you know who we are,” Livius said. 

Y/n rolled her eyes. “I’m ten going to be eleven soon and I read a lot,” 

The seven of them watched as she climbed out of bed and made her way over to her bookshelf. She stood there with her hands on her hips as she looked through her shelves of books. 

“Aha!” Y/n suddenly exclaimed and pulled out a black book.

She whirled around and started to flip through the pages. 

“I knew it!” Y/n grinned. 

“What?” Hale asked. 

“Livius, Abraxas, Titan, Azazel, Hale, Isidore, and Ezekiel are brothers that represent the seven deadly sins,” Y/n said with a big grin. 

“Wow, she figured that out faster than I expected,” Isidore said. 

“You really are too smart for your own good, you know?” Ezekiel said. 

“Yeah, I’ve heard that a time or two,” Y/n said. 

“Parental unit incoming,” Azazel said. 

“Back to bed,” Abraxas said picking her up and tossing her down onto her bed. 

“But wait!” Y/n shouted. 

“What?” Abraxas growled. 

“Don’t leave me! I can prove to you that I need you guys,” Y/n said. 

“Hush, we’re leaving for now. We’ll be back,” Abraxas said as he pulled the covers over her. 

“Do you promise?” Y/n asked. 

“Yes,” Abraxas growled. 

“But how do I know?” Y/n asked with a worried voice. 

Isidore came over and pressed two fingers to her forehead. 

“We’ll be back tomorrow,” Abraxas told her. 

“But,” 

Isidore cut her off. “Sleep,”

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slumped backward. One by one the brothers faded out into their shadow and then disappeared into the closet. Abraxas took one last look at the sleeping girl before fading away. He had just slipped back into the closet when the door opened.

Robert stared at his sleeping daughter. A small smile tugged at his lips. As he backed out and closed the door, he had no idea that for the rest of his daughter's life she was going to have seven very deadly and overprotective brothers that were going to keep her safe, no matter what. 

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

Abraxas - Adam Driver

Titan - Chris Evans

Azazel - Matthew Daddario

Isidore - Zane Holtz

Ezekiel - Dacre Montgomery

Livius - Tom Felton

Hale - Tom Holland 

[zecretsanta]

Fic: Not Quite Santa

To: @agentshilonglang​ From: @erisofimladris​

Soooo I couldn’t resist the Kurashiki angst and my first-ever Christmas story happened! I hope you enjoy this fic as much as I loved writing it, and Merry Christmas!

AO3 link

For the first time since their parents died, Aoi Kurashiki didn’t know how to be Santa.

It had always been easy. Akane would write a letter to Santa, Aoi would swipe it from the mailbox, and there would be something on there that he could afford, even if it wasn’t what she necessarily wanted most - even with her huge imagination and love of the unreal, she also understood that they were poor.

And now they weren’t poor, or at least they wouldn’t be for long now that Akane knew how to get the money necessary to run that game again, which meant there was theoretically more of an opportunity for gifting. But Aoi couldn’t think of anything at all.

Whenever he tried to think of Christmas, all his mind returned to was the story Akane told him he’d say in the future, the one about the two Santas - the white-robed Santa killing the one in black, the black-robed Santa’s blood staining the coat a jolly red.

It gave a whole new meaning to the holiday, and after all, he was celebrating with a new Akane. In the last month, he’d barely recognized the Akane who he grew up with who believed in everything and everyone. Now, she only believed in a thin thread tying them to the future where every little thing they did for the next nine years could make her live or die. Everything from the setup of Building Q in Nevada to getting to Nevada to his acting skills and her hair bound in a pair of hair clips, not quite stars and not quite flowers, with little circles on the ends.

No matter how hard he wished for the old Akane back, for them to both live their lives without ever knowing something called a Nonary Game existed, Aoi didn’t believe in any kind of Santa. It was hard enough to believe that his sister stood in front of him alive (well, mostly) after what happened last month.

She hadn’t left a letter for Santa this year, and it wasn’t like what some of the other kids in school said when their little brothers and sisters figured out Santa wasn’t real. Aoi had no doubt that if not for what happened on the Gigantic last month, there would be a letter waiting for him, asking for a stuffed animal or a dollhouse or a pet.

The dollhouse wouldn’t have been a bad idea before the Gigantic, but now Akane was so attached to the doll Junpei gave her that she hardly let it out of her sight. Not to mention it was a creepy little thing that definitely didn’t belong in a cutesy dollhouse - just like all the babble about morphogenetic fields didn’t belong spewing out of the mouth of his little sister.

Pets were off the table as well, now that they’d need to move around. There was no good way to keep a pet if they might need to move to a different continent in the blink of an eye; they were technically still on the run from Hongou and his goons at Cradle Pharmaceuticals, and the last thing they needed was a snafu at customs or something else to part Akane from another thing she’d get attached to.

Without any further guidance, Aoi was lost. He didn’t know how to do Christmas without letters to Santa and presents under a tree.

And so, he didn’t get a tree. Akane never mentioned it, and neither of them pointed out the spot in the small apartment where they were staying that would be perfect for a well-decorated tree. He wasn’t sure he could even get her help in decorating, and they didn’t need a bare pine tree in the living room to remind them of yet another thing that had been ruined.

After a few days of hearing Christmas carols in the streets and garlands strung over shop windows, however, Aoi felt something missing. They had to do something for Christmas; they couldn’t let this be something else Hongou took away. Even without a tree, even without Santa, there had to be something he could do to commemorate the holiday.

He found himself in an American store one day after school, looking for something Christmas-y that wouldn’t bring up any old memories. A bit of an escape from all that had happened, something to lighten the mood of an apartment that felt more like a funeral home than an actual home some days.

In one of the aisles close to the end, he found something he’d seen, but never bought before - a gingerbread house kit with pre-cut pieces (no need to use the oven, the idea of which scared Akane for good reason), two gingerbread people and icing and candy to decorate. None of his friends ever had gingerbread houses before, and after their parents died and money was tight, it was hard enough to afford a small tree and Akane’s present without buying extras. Now, though, they didn’t have to worry about money. It would be no problem.

The kit sat unopened on their one and only table for a few days. Aoi wondered if Akane would even be interested until he found her sitting at the table on Christmas Eve, legs crossed, brow furrowed, trying to affix the roof to the walls with white frosting.

Aoi didn’t say a word. He just got a little closer, then closer still, until he could reach the walls. He gingerly put his hands on them, startling her into looking up and meeting his eyes. She lost her grip on the left roof tile, which fell in a sticky mess on the table.

“It’s okay,” Aoi said, picking it up and applying a new line of white frosting. “Here, you get this end, and I’ll get that end.” Prepared to hold both on his own, he was surprised when Akane leaned in, holding the slabs of gingerbread together.

They stayed in silence, not meeting each other’s eyes until more than the necessary time had passed and Aoi gingerly removed his hands. The roof stayed, and Akane’s hand pulled the rest of the kit closer in. She picked up one of the two gingerbread people and the white icing they’d used to make the roof stick together and drew some jagged lines (impressively straight, considering her dexterity still wasn’t what it had been before) on the head.

“Is that me?” Aoi asked.

“Yeah,” she said, the first sound he’d heard from her all day. That wasn’t like her, but after their fight the other day about forgetting and remembering and moving on, he’d almost forgotten the sound of her voice not angry.

“Want me to make you, or…?” His words trailed off as she put down the white icing and picked up the black, drawing a vague outline of pants on the cookie’s legs.

“You can start the sides,” she said, gesturing to the white icing and the assortment of colorful candies still on the tray.

Turning his attention away from the people, although he did notice Akane giving him a tank-top of sorts that he’d never wear, he looked down at the picture on the box. He noted the white windows drawn in and the small candy doorknob and the lane of candy running into the door. Without any further guidance, he tried to mimic the picture as best as he could, but the windows came out a little crooked and the door snapped just a tiny bit as he opened it, and he popped the snapped-off bit into his mouth before Akane could notice.

He tried to peek at Akane’s work along the way, but she hid the gingerbread people so well as she hunched over them that he simply worked on the rest of the house until it was time for him to put something together for dinner and try to get her to eat. He looked over at her a few times as he cooked, realizing that as she put the figures down and started to touch up his work on the house itself, the corners of her mouth twitched like she might smile.

Dinner was, as usual, a desolate affair; although there was finally enough food for both of them to eat, most of his time was spent trying to convince Akane to actually put food in her mouth. Whatever he ate didn’t taste good; he could barely even remember what they’d eaten as he did the dishes and Akane returned to her gingerbread project. She leaned over it so closely that he didn’t try to approach again, instead retreating to his room, frustrated.

Part of him wanted to run back in there and try to clarify what he’d meant in their argument the other day, that he knew she needed to remember and speak about every detail to stay alive, but he needed a life where the Nonary Game wasn’t the only thing in the world. The tension of it all ran hot under his skin, but he didn’t need her reminder that something was boiling inside her as well.

Aoi sighed. He was supposed to be the big brother, and he was the one who would have to do everything he could to help Akane. She was still a kid – hell, two months ago, she’d have still sent a letter to Santa even though she was almost a teenager. Now if only Santa would write to her instead, if only he could use that to explain…

Sliding into his chair, Aoi grabbed a piece of paper. Even if it didn’t help, it couldn’t hurt.

“Dear Akane,

I’m sorry,” he began, aware that he’d apologized to her so many times for things he hadn’t done over the last couple of weeks that it was starting to annoy her, “that you’ve had such a hard year. You are very good, no matter what anyone says.”

It felt so trite that he nearly tore the note in half, but it wasn’t like he could think of anything better.

“I didn’t receive a list from you this year, and the things you want cannot come true right now.” They would be real in Building Q in nine years, on the day that silly boy from her class who gave her the doll that got her killed in the first place would save her life. “It is beyond my magic to move the time closer.”

He sighed, pushing the paper away. It was almost too late to do anything at all, and it wasn’t a proper Santa’s letter without a gift. Exasperated, he got up and shuffled into the hallway and then to the living room, where he found the completed gingerbread house sat with the Akane and Aoi gingerbread figures standing outside by the door, with no sign of his sister.

Now that he had the chance to get a good look at the gingerbread Akane, he could see that she had drawn the outfit she described to him that she would wear in Building Q. It seemed overwhelming for her to get out all at once, but she did describe the purple dress with the black pattern (looking more like blobs of icing here, but still), the striped socks and brown boots, the stripes on the sleeves and there was even a little red and blue spot on the wrist that was probably supposed to be the watch (Aoi rubbed his wrist; he could still feel his sometimes). In her hair, there was a little pin that wasn’t quite a star or a flower.

A sudden pang of guilt swept over Aoi. He tried to get Akane to think about things other than what had happened, but he probably took it too far. She did need to get things out, after all, and he was supposed to be there to listen to her. He was supposed to be a lot of things, he thought angrily as he looked down at the cookie that could crumble as easily as his sister’s life.

Suddenly, an idea came into his head. A way to show Akane that he was listening to her, that he’d seen and understood that in nine years he was going to wear a silly-looking tank-top and black pants and she was going to wear the dress with a shirt under it for some reason even though she hated being too warm and couldn’t get cold nowadays, and the whole rest of the outfit that made no sense.

Aoi hurried out into the cold, hoping the nearest convenience store wasn’t closed. They were in this thing together, no matter what. And while there was no letter from Santa telling Aoi what Akane wanted, he knew exactly what she needed.

When he got back, present in tow, he rummaged through his papers until he found the note, then added a final line: “In the meantime, I hope this helps. - Santa” He set it under the gingerbread house, slipped the present through the hole in the door, and went to sleep.

Unlike in previous years, he wasn’t awakened at the crack of dawn by a squealing sister. The sun was in the sky already and he could smell the gingerbread house as he rolled out of bed. Belatedly, he realized there was no tradition for finding presents by the gingerbread house. Would she even know it was there?

He made his way into the kitchen, slippers sliding along the floor. There were no squeals of happiness, no clatter of excited footsteps. Akane sat at the table facing the gingerbread house, the little door open, her hand inside before she pulled his present out into the light.

In her hand lay a pair of hair clips, not quite stars and not quite flowers, with little circles on the ends.

She turned around, meeting Aoi’s eyes as he stood in the hallway. He was frozen silent, unsure of what to say. Had he done the right thing? The wrong thing? The kind of thing that would make her live in her own world again until he could pry her out?

A small smile spread across her face as she looked at the hair clips. “Merry Christmas, Santa,” she said, and for the first time in a month, she sounded like herself.

“Merry Christmas,” he replied, finally stepping into the room, warmed by the thought that he might be able to pull off the good Santa from her story, after all.

[fernwehbookworm]

Woke The F*ck Up- Chapter 30

March 6th, 2019

“How did the meeting go?” Kara asks as she looks over the paperwork. The office is half-finished, and a folding table is serving as her desk. Construction lights illuminate the main room and provide her only light. It’s getting late, but she wants to get through all this work before she leaves so that the general contractor can get to work first thing in the morning.

“Very good. They’re letting me sell my shares back to them. I’m just under a non-disclosure for a year and then a non-compete for another year after that.” Lena says over the phone.

“Two years is a long time for you not to produce music. Are you still sure about that?”

“Yes. I think it would be good to take a break. I’ve been going and going my whole life. Besides, I can still write and begin plans for my new music production company. I just can’t go public or look for clients until that window is up, but I can get everything ready.”

“As long as you will be happy with that, I will be.”

“How is your day going?”

“Good. Construction will officially start tomorrow. I’m just finishing up signing some stuff before they start. I’ll go back to your penthouse in a few minutes.”

“Babe, you have spent more time there than I have in the whole time I’ve owned it.”

“But it’s still yours.”

“What if it was ours?” Lena asks tentatively.

Kara pauses her skimming with her pen poised over a signature line. The silence fills the room. She can’t even hear Lena breathing. “Are you… Are you asking me to move in with you?”

Lena sighs out a breath, “Yeah, I think I am. Are you saying yes?”

Kara laughs out of relief. “Yes. Of course, it's a ‘yes’, Lee. It would have been a little more romantic in person. At least then I could kiss you.”

“Then why don’t you?” Lena says from the doorway.

Kara grins up at her in the soft light that illuminates Lena’s silhouette. Lena holds a bundle of flowers in one hand and a bag of take-out in the other. Kara climbs to her feet and cups Lena’s face to kiss her girlfriend. It’s been weeks since they were in the same city with Lena finishing her tour and ending her contract with Green Diamond Records. Then Kara was finishing closing this deal in Metropolis and setting up her National City gym to run without her while she established her second location.

“I’ve missed you,” Kara whispers, adding another peck to Lena’s lips after the much more passionate kiss.

“Hmmm… Me too.”

“Did you fly out as soon as your meeting was over?”

“Yes. I wanted to see you. I wanted to ask you to move in with me. Or, well… share property with me. I know our lives are a little crazy right now, but when this is over, and I am somewhere a little more permanently, I want to come home to you.”

“I think that may just be the most romantic thing you have ever said to me.” Kara smooths her thumb over Lena’s cheek.

“Really? Not the dozens of songs I’ve written about you.”

“Not even close. I want us to build a home together.” “Then let’s go home and eat this Chinese food before it gets cold.”

‘You had me at Home. Though Chinese food is a nice bonus.”

**

August 21st, 2019

Alex leans against the car next to Sam as they watch Ruby head into the high school. Alex tightens her grip on Sam’s hand as Sam wipes at tears escaping from her eyes. It’s been pushing it to get Ruby enrolled in time when Sam decided to move back to National City with Alex as she took over the director position. They had just three weeks to pack both houses and Alex’s apartment, enroll Ruby, get travel documents, and find a new place for them to live. Together. Lena was staying in London to oversee the sale of the house for Sam before she and Kara settled in Metropolis for the time being. Kara was adamant that she would not call Metropolis home and that this move was temporary.

“She’s going to be fine. She has you for a mother, after all.” Alex reassures Sam.

“I know. I’m a mess. I knew this day was coming, but it seemed forever away. Now I’ve blinked, and my baby girl is going off to high school.”

“Just wait, in four years, we get to do it all over again.”

“Yeah. We do. But would you want to do it from the beginning with me?” Sam asks.

“Like kids? And babies? With you?”

Sam nods.

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted. To be a mother. And to do it with you? That’s a dream.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Alex kisses her girlfriend. “But how will Ruby feel?”

“She’ll be ecstatic. She’s already bugged me about being my maid of honor at our wedding and how we need to get a bigger place because she refuses to share a room.”

“Shouldn’t one of us propose first?”

“Probably, but we’ll get there. No rush.”

**

December 10th, 2020

Kara drops her bag by the front door and kicks off her dirty shoes. It’s her third trip taking high schoolers to different countries for service projects. It has already helped eight of them get scholarships to colleges. It’s fun and a great learning experience for them all, but Kara is more than happy to come home to her girlfriend and indoor plumbing.

“Lee! I’m home!” Kara calls as she walks through their penthouse, intending on kissing Lena before showering and passing out in her own bed. Krypto meets her in the hallway with excited prancing until Kara Leans down to hug him and scratches behind his ears.

“In the living room!” Lena calls back.

Kara manages to stagger that way, only to be drawn up short by a dozen people and bright lights. Equipment takes up the living room space that hasn’t been rearranged. Lena weaves her way between people with her assistant Eve, who has left Green Diamond to follow Lena, right at her heels.

“What is this?” Kara asks.

“I’m sorry. With your flight delayed, I didn’t get a chance to tell you I’m having an interview done. Kind of a tell-all. We hope that it will keep me relevant enough that in the spring it will be easier when I start producing to gain business.”

“Uh… Okay?” Kara’s too tired to process this.

“Go shower and sleep, babe. We will try and keep it down.” Lena kisses her dazed girlfriend’s cheek.

“Will you be working later?”

“Yes, probably. I’ll probably take them in there too.”

“Okay. Talk later?”

“Yes, we can talk later. After you sleep. I’ll order your favorite.”

Kara grins sleepily and pecks her girlfriend on the lips once more before disappearing down the hall towards their room, Krypto at her heels. Lena watches after her a moment before taking a seat back on the couch. Cat Grant emerges from the balcony where she’s been taking a phone call and sits in the chair next to Lena, turned so that she can look at the musician. Streaky settles on Lena’s lap again as Lena settles against the back with her legs crossed. She’s trying to keep the interview as informal as possible. A look into her life that her fans will eat up. Lena has even dressed in jeans, though still designer, and a cashmere sweater.

“Okay, ready to roll?”

“Yes, but I still get to approve the final cut.”

“Of course.” Cat answers, indicating towards the cameraman to start recording.

“So, Lena, where do we begin?”

“I suppose at the beginning. As far as I remember, my life ended and began the day the Luthor’s adopted me. I was welcomed into a cold empty house that I wanted to flee from the moment I entered. It was all so fake, the picturesque family. I was miserable. My only friends were in a dollhouse in a forgotten wing of the mansion.”

Lena tells her story. All of it. The verbally abusive upbringing. The failed relationships. Even the cover-ups for her overdoses and arrests. It’s a long tale about which Cat asks very few questions. Lena has planned to tell everything, and she is going to. Well, almost everything.

“Then one morning, I was here, in National City, when this ray of sunshine asked to share my table outside of this little coffee shop where I was writing. She didn’t recognize me. Wasn’t even a fan. But she was listening to my music because her sister had tickets to see my concert.”

“Really?”

“Yes, front row in fact. Though I found that out later. Anyway, we started talking and lost track of time. I was actually late to the soundcheck. She asked for my number, and I said no. But boy, did I want to give it to her. The next morning, I was nursing a hangover and went for coffee. I thought it would be a good idea to stroll through the park that the beautiful blonde woman had told me she ran through regularly.”

“And did you find her?”

Lena laughs and scratches behind Streaky’s ear. “You could say that. She found me. Well, she ran into me and knocked my coffee to the ground. I did give her my number then. What can I say? It felt like fate.”

“Fate you ushered along.” Cat raises an eyebrow, but Lena just shrugs.

“It was nice, someone chatting with me about nothing really. She wanted to take me on a date, not Lena Luthor. It was then that I knew I was in trouble.”

“In trouble with what?” Cat probes.

“With falling in love with her.”

“And you did?”

“Yes, pretty fast too. She was charming and caring and pretty darn perfect.”

“So it was easy?”

“God, no. I was still on tour. It fell apart just as fast as it began.”

“How so?”

“I won’t get into the details of that. Only half that story is mine to tell. I was still a very broken person. When her life got busy and she missed a few flights and was lying to me about something kind of important, I overreacted a bit. Also my brother was arrested, and I was emotional. I broke things off with her over a phone message. Then I immediately went out and slept with my ex,. Veronica. Kara found us still together, and that started my journey into self healing. Turns out she had started it too, though I didn’t know it. We both had issues to work out.”

“And how did you do that?” Cat crosses her legs and leans forward, intent on getting the full juicy story.

Lena just chuckles. “Therapy. Lot’s of therapy. And before you ask, no, it wasn’t immediate that we got back together. After my kidnapping, we got back in touch and then started therapy together. We toed the friendship line for what seemed like forever. But, in the end, we crossed it. And I couldn’t be happier.”

“Before we dive into your life now, what about your kidnapping? Your family?”

Lena sighs, internally. “My family. The Luthor’s were legally my family but not much more. That story has been beaten to death. My father adopted me after my real mother died. He killed a bunch of people and himself. My brother and mother followed in his footsteps and are now serving multiple life sentences. But they aren’t a real family. The one I have now is. Kara likes to call it our ‘found family’. It’s the family we chose and pieced together. It’s warm and comforting like a patchwork quilt, she says.”

Cat let’s the room fall into silence as she scans her notes. A couple people shuffle and cough behind the bright lights and camera. Lena decides to stay in control of the conversation instead.

“It’s been two years now that we have been together. Even with me not working it’s been hard. Kara is working on opening her third gym and sixth apartment building. She literally just got back from another humanitarian trip with some of the kids. Well, they aren’t really kids, but that’s what we call them. It really helps with their college applications and also transforms how they interact with other people.”

“Kara seems to have kept very busy then. What have you been up to since leaving Green Diamond records?”

“Whatever I want for the most part. I spent the first few weeks doing nothing. It was wonderful. But then I got a little stir crazy. I started volunteering, then, at a couple of places. Started an Instagram for our pet’s that have more followers than us. @YinandYang for anyone not following it. Streaky and Krypto are inseparable and cute. They get into all sorts of mischief here at home. Don’t be fooled though, Krypto is very well trained. Streaky is just too smart for her own good. Then Kara and I decided to move in together, so I spent a lot of time house hunting while she worked.”

“This is a beautiful penthouse. It must have been hard to find and not cheap.”

“Actually, the building was slated for demolition when we bought it. I had it renovated and brought back up to code since it was empty for so long. These high end condos helped pay for some of our other ventures into the lower class apartments. And I was able to have everything here built to my specifications, including my own at home studio and Kara’s personal gym.”

“You have a studio here?”

“Of course. I am planning on starting my own production company once my two year non-compete is up. An actual recording studio is in the process of being purchased, but for now I write in my own.”

“Can we see it?”

“Sure. Let’s get moved over there. I can give you a quick tour before we finish up this interview there.”

“Perfect. Cut the camera’s” Cat directs the last part at the camera man. “Strike the lights and move them to the studio. Carl, I want the mobile camera to follow us on the tour so get it strapped on.”

The man Cat named gives a soft ‘Yes, ma’am,’ before doing as he is told. A flurry of activity fills the room as the crew jumps to do what they are told. Streaky looks annoyed at the noise. She yawns and stretches before wandering off, no doubt to find the warm body of either Kara or Krypto. The amount of photos Lena has of the three of them sleeping together is ridiculous. Streaky had taken on some dog like tendencies, like sleeping in piles and trying to bark at birds, while Krypto took on some cat like ones. He liked to help Streaky groom herself or chase the cat toys. Once, Krypto even caught a mouse that managed to get into their penthouse and nearly gave Lena a heart attack by leaving it next to their bed.

“I am glad you and Kara ended up together” Cat pulls Lena from her thoughts.

“Me too. We did have quite a laugh about you giving me her number though.”

“Yes, yes. Well, I was right, if not just a few days behind.”

“Sorry to keep you in the dark for those months. We really were trying to do it right the first time. But I don’t regret any of my decisions anymore. Both of us made decisions that led us here.”

“Oh please, I understand. The people I have dated would blow your mind, but I don’t parade them around. I’ve even been married to one man that never hit the papers.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yes. We had it annulled three days later.”

“You are a very intriguing woman, Cat.”

“I know.” Cat settles in her chair and watches equipment being moved towards the studio that Lena has indicated to. It takes a few more minutes before Carl is ready.

Lena just gives a simple tour, starting with the high end kitchen. Lena has taken up cooking and baking now that she has more free time. She moves on to the media room that’s more of a small movie theater that hosts a table for board games and Kara’s pool table. Kara has insisted it’s too much, but Lena has convinced her that they need it to host game nights. There are even popcorn and soda machines in one corner. Lena shows them the guest bedrooms and Kara’s gym. Lena pokes her head into their bedroom to check on Kara but smiles when she sees Kara isn’t there. Lena knows exactly where she is.

“Ms. Grant, we have an issue.” One of the crew interrupts.

“Yes?”

“Well, it seems Miss. Danvers is asleep in the studio.”

Lena shuts the door to their bedroom with a laugh. “It’s fine. Set up around her. She’ll sleep through it.”

Cat raises an eyebrow but is obviously waiting for them to be on camera again to ask it. They make their way into the studio, finally. Sure enough, on the couch in the sound booth, Kara is fast asleep. Krypto is on the floor next to the couch, and Streaky is curled on her stomach.

Lena had added the couch because Kara kept insisting on working on paperwork when Lena was working on her music. Kara said that even if they were both busy, it didn’t mean they couldn’t spend time together. So Kara would sit on the floor and work while Lena did. Many times Kara fell asleep because Lena still loved to work in the late hours of the night, going into the morning. That’s when she tended to hit her flow. Three in the morning was still a magical time. But for Kara it’s bedtime, so Lena added the couch.

There are two stools next to the microphone and Lena’s sound board. All of her instruments were in here too. Cat sits on one of the stools as easily as she did the chair in the other room. Lena sits in the other one. A red light comes on.

“So does this happen often?” Cat indicates Kara behind them.

Lena laughs. “Literally all the time. Since she just got home from, oh shoot. I believe she was somewhere in South Africa with some teens building houses. I like to work late, and she likes to work early, so this happens more often than not.”

“And she doesn't wake up?”

“Not usually. I just keep the bass off on playbacks and usually the percussion too.”

“So you are still writing then?” “Of course. I don’t know if I could stop.”

“But you’re not releasing anything?”

“No. I’ve probably written ten thousand songs over the years that never got finished or made it to albums.”

“And you play every part on your albums, correct?”

“Yes, I only use a band on tour. Otherwise, it’s just me.”

“How did you learn to do all of that?”

“When I was first adopted, Lillian had me specially tested in maths and sciences, which I scored high on, but the woman testing me noticed I had more of an aptitude for music and suggested to Lillian I might be a prodigy. Of course, that made Lillian happy. Then the bastard daughter could be useful. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that good at any one thing. But I was able to learn instruments easily enough. Since I wasn’t a prodigy though, Lillian thought music was a waste of time, so it was math and science for me. At least then I could help in the family company.”

“So how wide is your range?”

“Oh, anything really. I even lost a bet with Kara and wrote Take it All Back using a banjo and a mandoline. I’ve consulted on a few rap songs. I can play classical music too. I’m looking at pulling in more alternative, small time artist when I start producing.”

“I’m sorry. Did you say rap? I’m not sure I entirely believe that.”

“Oh yeah. That song, Chills by Down With Webster. They had a good hook but they were struggling with part of it and reached out. I loved the song. We worked together for a couple of weeks. It was great. Of course, I couldn’t be paid or be in the credits with my contracts still in place.”

“I’m still not sure if I believe you.” Cat raises an eyebrow, challenging.

Lena sighs. “All right. I’ll show you then.”

Cat grins, she wanted exactly this. Lena takes a deep breath and looks around a moment, looking for inspiration. Of course, it’s Kara who is still sound asleep. It’s been Kara who inspires her for so long now. Lena begins by using her sound board to record some looping vocals and instrumentals. Cat watches everything intently and makes sure her crew are recording everything.

Dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum

Dum, dum-dum, dum, dum, dum, dum

Beautiful, Mind, Mind, Mind

She's literally like 5 feet away from me

While I'm recording this, sleeping on the couch

This is for her, sleepy ass

I wrote this while I'm watching you sleep

You're behind me on the couch and in the studio

So I'm gonna make this all about sleep

And soft so I don't wake you up

You're smiling as you sleep so you dig it

Only I can make some soft shit and rip it

I knew you were dope from the jump like ribbit

Cuz all these other girls fall short like midgets

The Sandman gonna flip when he come through

While you count sheep I'll give him music to jump to

The Sandman gonna flip when he come through

While you count sheep I'll give him music to jump to

While you count sheep I'll give him music to jump to

While you count sheep I'll give him music to jump to

While you count sheep I'll give him music to jump to

I wrote this while I'm watching you sleep

Your hair is all over the place and I love it

I won't put the bass in this beat

If it knocks I might wake you up

You're smiling as you sleep so you like it

She just let me work cuz she know I cook diamonds

She know I'm paid but she still 9-5ing

That's why she allowed to hang while I'm writing

Hahaha

The Sandman gonna flip when he come through

While you count sheep I'll give him music to jump to

The Sandman gonna flip when he come through

While you count sheep I'll give him music to jump to

While you count sheep I'll give him music to jump to

While you count sheep I'll give him music to jump to

While you count sheep I'll give him music to jump to

Dopest musical breakdown ever, ready?

If I make this

Then maybe you will wake up and get naked

Girl I'm playing, girl I'm playing, girl I'm playing

Maybe not

If I make this

Then maybe you will wake up and get naked

Girl I'm playing, girl I'm playing, girl I'm playing

Maybe not

If I make this

Then maybe you will wake up and get naked

Girl I'm playing, girl I'm playing, girl I'm playing

Maybe not

If I make this

Then maybe you will wake up and get naked

Girl I'm playing, girl I'm playing, girl I'm playing

Maybe not

Dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum

Dum, dum-dum, dum, dum, dum, dum Uhhhh, look who finally decided to wake up?

Kara has sat up, disturbing Streaky from her sleep again, and she didn’t look happy about it. Kara rubs the sleep from her eyes and smiles at Lena. It was a sweet smile that reminds Lena of everything she loves about Kara.

“That was a wonderful little treat. A little rough but you are one very talented woman. Not that I ever had many doubts about that.”

“Thank You, Cat. Any more questions? If not, my girlfriend is ready for some dinner now.”

Kara hums the affirmative in Lena’s ear before kissing her cheek.

“No, I believe that will do. I’ll have the final copy for your approval next week. Then we can talk about a release date on our website.”

“Sounds wonderful. I’ll walk you out, Cat. Babe, can you feed the pets and pick somewhere to order from?” Lena says.

“Way ahead of you, love.” Kara is already scrolling through her phone.

Lena leads Cat back through the penthouse.

“So, when are you proposing?” Cat asks.

Lena stops dead in her tracks. “I— How did you know?”

Lena decides its better not to play dumb about it. Cat is very observant and can read people very well. She didn’t get to the top of the media world without being the best. Cat just raises an eyebrow while she picks up her purse off the kitchen counter. Lena can hear the kibble hit the bowls in the laundry room so she knows Kara isn’t close enough to hear the conversation as long as she keeps her voice down.

“I haven't figured it out yet. I just bought the ring three days ago.”

“Do it fast. I have a feeling that Kara is thinking along the same lines.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Call me when you have the video ready.”

“Have a good evening, Lena.”

“You too, Cat.”

And with that, Cat Grant is gone, and the crew is packing supplies back into the entry hall. Lena goes to find her girlfriend to give her a proper welcome home kiss. She really does have to figure out a way to propose so that Kara is her fiancée, not just her girlfriend.

**

March 31st, 2021

Lena is more than relieved that this day has finally come. A giant concert in the park showcasing a couple of her early talents and giving them their first taste of live performance in a large venue. Lena is also going to be performing a few of her own songs for the first time in two years. The concert has sold out in under an hour. Lena is directing behind the stage with the help of Eve, who has proven steadfastly loyal to Lena. Sam is also somewhere here, now working for Lena in her new company. El Mayarah Music. Lena thinks it’s nerdy, but Kara made a strong argument for the name, starting with Krypto and ending with how they are stronger together. More so than ever.

I've been searching for the right words

But I can't even find an echo

Don't you let go

There are only twenty

Six letters I can use

Just to tell you I won't let go

Don't you let go

I lose my voice when I look at you

Can't make a noise though I'm trying to

Tell you all the right words

Waiting on the right words

Just another lovesick afternoon

Black butterflies and déjà vu

Hoping for the right words

Waiting for the right words

I lose my voice when I look at you

Can't make a noise though I'm trying to

Tell you all the right words

Waiting on the right words

Just another lovesick afternoon

Black butterflies and déjà vu

Hoping for the right words

Waiting for the right words

Lena finishes her last song to the thunderous applause of the crowd. She bows to her fans, huffing and puffing while blowing a kiss here and there. Lena becomes confused when the lights don’t go down like they were supposed to. Sam appears on the stage with a chair and leads Lena to sit in it.

“What is happening?” Lena whispers to her friend.

“Just relax.” Sam practically pushes Lena into the chair and takes her mic off.

Lena’s band starts an instrumental track as five men enter the stage. Lena gasps. She had only met them once before and was slightly star struck because she was slightly obsessed with them. AJ, Howie, Nick, Kevin, and Brian start in on a very 90’s dance routine, but it’s a female voice that starts in on the song, and Kara emerges to sing and dance with the Backstreet Boys.

I've been to Paris, made my way down to Rome

Seen the sun setting on the beach in Mexico

But I could care less, 'cause I was all alone

And there ain't no way to touch your body over the phone

I've been all around the world, done all there is to do

But you'll always be the home I wanna come home to

You're a wild night with a hell of a view

There ain't no place, ain't no place like you

There ain't no place, ain't no place like you

It’s quite amazing and well rehearsed. Kara is playing to the crowd like a professional while also keeping her focus solely on Lena. Kara dances with the men and weaves her much more feminine voice into theirs. Lena begins to have an inkling of what is happening but she is powerless to stop it. She isn’t sure if she wants to.  

You're my daybreak, you're my California sun

You're my Memphis, New York, New Orleans all rolled into one

In the city, the country, the mountains or sea

Wherever you are, baby, that's where I wanna be

I've been all around the world, done all there is to do

But you'll always be the home I wanna come home to

You're a wild night with a hell of a view

Kara pulls Lena to her feet and begins to lead her through an improvised dance while singing. Kara swings Lena around, spins her, and Kara’s strong arms support her in a deep dip. The crowd eats it up.

There ain't no place, ain't no place like you

There ain't no place, ain't no place like you, no

There ain't no place (no place, no place)

Ooh, yeah, ain't no place

Wherever you are, baby, that's where I wanna be

I've been all around the world, done all there is to do

But you'll always be the home I wanna come home to

You're a wild night with a hell of a view

There ain't no place, ain't no place like you

There ain't no place, ain't no place like you

Said there ain't no place, ain't no place like you, yeah

Kara spins Lena off again, this time letting go of her hand. Lena loses her bearing a bit and has to steady herself.

There ain't no place (no place, no place)

No place

There ain't no place like

No place like you

No place, no place, no place, no place

There ain't no place, no place like you

When Lena manages to turn around, Kara is down on one knee with a ring sitting displayed in a little box, and Lena is sure now what is happening.

“Lena Luthor, you are the love of my life, and all I want to do is come home to you for the rest of it. Will you marry me?” Kara asks, slightly out of breath after giving it her all in the performance.

“That depends, is this you finally admitting that Backstreet Boys is better than NSYNC?”

A chorus of ‘Oooo's’ and cheers mix with ‘Boo’s’ as the boy band shuffle a little awkwardly, not expecting that reponse. Kara hangs her head in mock shame, a smile still fixed firmly on her face at their old argument. She laughs softly but the microphone taped to her cheek picks it up for all to hear.

“I will never listen to NSYNC again if that’s what it will take for you to say ‘yes’ right now. This did take several months to plan, and I’d rather not make a fool of myself in front of a hundred thousand of your fans.”

Lena laughs and shakes her head, her own microphone picking up every word. “Oh come here, of course it is a yes.” Lena grasps Kara’s wrist and pulls her up for a kiss. Kara eagerly obliges and nearly drops the ring box. It takes a moment for Kara to actually get it on Lena’s finger. It fits perfectly, Kara no doubt getting her ring size from Gabriel because despite their rocky start, he has actually grown very fond of Lena’s girlfriend. Though he still curses Kara’s preference for motorcycles and occasionally leaving visible marks on Lena’s neck.

“Well, that was quite a show. I hope it made your night, I know it made mine. And much better than an encore.” Sam’s voice shakes Kara and Lena out of their bubble. “All the artists you have seen here tonight have albums available for purchase at the merchandise tables or online. Keep an eye out for future El Mayarah releases and drive safely.”

Finally the lights go down, and Kara helps lead Lena off the stage, kissing her again much more passionately once they are away from all those eyes. Lena’s hands begin searching for the hem of Kara’s shirt. Kara’s hands stop her though.

“You’ll have to be a little patient, babe. There is an engagement party that we have to get to.”

Lena groans. “Really? You know how I feel after a concert. And then you proposed to me. What makes you think I can make it through a whole party?”

“I know. It seemed like a good idea when Sam suggested it.”

“How long do we have?”

“Twenty minutes?”

“My dressing room is that way.” Lena points over her shoulder.

Kara grins and practically runs down the hallway with Lena right on her heels.

**

April 10th, 2021

The Lightning round Mad Gab Tournament was in full swing. Kara and Lena were neck and neck with Ruby and her ‘best friend’ Rachel. Sam had her doubts about that title, but she was letting Ruby come to that realization on her own. Everyone else has been eliminated and are gathered around the table in Lena and Kara’s game room. Ruby counts down and flips the three minute sand timer. Kara flips the first card for Lena to read.

“Ease Ace Life Ox.” Lena reads out loud. Quickly saying it again, stressing different syllables and saying it faster and slower. Trying to work out the actual sentence.

“He’s a sly fox!” Lena shouts.

“Yes!” Kara shouts, slamming down the card.

Lena picks up a card from the deck in front of her, she had snuck her own card on to it as the group settled around the table for the final round. Lena holds it up, suppressing a grin. She had hoped to do this last game night, before Kara’s proposal but the custom made card was late in coming. That was fine, she has a feeling she and Kara have a lifetime of trying to one up romantic gestures.

“Wheel Yum Air Ream Me.” Kara reads aloud, then she goes through the same exercises Lena did to work out the true sentence.

“Will you marry me!” Kara shouts as she stands in her excitement. Then she realizes what she just read out loud and the ring now sitting in Lena’s hand. Kara sits back down in her chair and stares at Lena’s open hand, the ring glinting in the light. The diamonds are small, Lena had it custom made so that they didn’t stick out from the band. That way Kara didn’t have to take it off for most of her activities.

“Are you serious?”

“Are you saying yes?”

“But I already asked you.”

“I know. Turns out I procrastinated too long and you beat me to the punch. Still, I’m asking. Will you marry me?”

“Yes, of course, Lee.”

Cheers come from all around as there friends share in their excitement. And especially loud ‘Yes!’ comes from Ruby and they all look at her.

“Times up. We win!” Ruby shouts and then she and Rachel take off to the other side of the room to power up the Wii.

“Still want to marry me?” Lena asks, knowing how competitive Kara was.

“Only if this is a one time hijacking of game night.”

“I promise I will not intrude on the sanctity of game night ever again.”

“Then yes, I will still marry you.”

“This calls for champaign!” Sam announces, going to retrieve the bottle she snuck in while Kara was busy playing hostess.

“Bourbon for me!” Alex calls after her.

“Your next,” Kara teases her sister.

“Already planning.” Alex throws back with a wink.

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The End