#so i think he just ate too much kibble

[savethepinecones]

woke up to the sound of jack throwing up on the bed aughh

[deanstead]

Unknown Threat

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader

Requested: no

Summary: When Y/N walks in on a horrific scene in her own house, Jay is determined to find out who's responsible and keep her safe.

Square Filled: Facing Fears for #resa.3kfiestabingo

Word Count: 4.7K+

Tags/Warnings: mentions of sexual assault, explicit mentions of blood, panic attack

A/N: This is a fic no one asked for lol. Thanks to @creativepromptsforwriting for the confession prompt which got me out of a rut lol. Also, this got a stamp of approval from @sheetsonfire so im posting it, thank you bestie! Any mistakes are all mine.

JAY HALSTEAD MASTERLIST

You stretched as you climbed out of your car.

It had been a long day running around the city meeting clients and today was just one of those days when you wanted to put your feet up and not move any longer. You’d even regretted putting your make up on because that meant you had a longer shower process before you could finally stop for the night.

“You just getting in too?”

You turned around at the familiar voice, giving Jay Halstead a smile as you watched your best friend sidle up the driveway that the both of you shared, holding a pizza box in his hand.

You’d kind of known Jay all your life, even though you’d fallen out of touch somewhere in between. But by some stroke of luck, you’d found a perfect little house within your budget only to realize that your new neighbor was that friend you’d never totally gotten out of your mind.

At first, you’d been a little worried that it would be awkward, but somehow you and Jay had jumped right back into being best friends, the six years you’d spent without contact almost seeming to fade into the background so much that you’d wondered if those six years had even happened.

Jay noticed your eyes shift down to what he was carrying and smiled. “You haven’t eaten, right?”

You didn’t answer him immediately. You kind of wanted to go right to bed but the temptation of food was a little too overwhelming.

“Can I feed Luna and get into sweats? Please?” You asked, turning your eyes back towards him.

Jay let out a tinkle of a laugh. “Get comfortable. I’ll wait.”

You were quick, sliding Luna her bowl of kibble as she wagged her tail and ate, before you let her out into the back garden while you quickly washed up. As your empty stomach egged you on, you cleaned Luna up, patting her head gently with a “I’ll be back soon” before heading next door to Jay’s.

Jay looked up as you let yourself in, pushing a glass of wine towards you as you slid yourself in the seat across from him.

“Long day?” Jay asked, helping himself to a slice as you took a sip from the glass.

“Don’t even get me started.” You said in a low voice, gently putting the glass back down.

There was a small silence before Jay looked up. “The kid called me today.”

You glanced up. “Dylan?”

Jay nodded, taking another bite. “I think he’s just worried about his sister.”

You nodded quietly. “I’d love nothing more than to get enough evidence to sue that asshole out of his entire fortune and then let you throw him behind bars. But you know these things take time.”

Jay had met Dylan Stevens during one of his cases. He hadn’t even been a person of interest, just a witness that had helped point the team in the right direction. But there’d been something about this kid that made Jay take a second look.

And Jay’s hunch was proven right when it finally got too much for Dylan’s older sister and she’d finally asked for help - her mentor and boss couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

Other than the fact that Leah desperately needed this job so that she could support both herself and Dylan, her boss was getting more aggressive and other than the anger that was always eating at her, she was also getting a little scared.

Cases like this ate at you. All you wanted was to throw the dickbag to the DA but a case like this was complicated. There were repercussions for going forward with a trial, and being embroiled into a he said-she said situation wouldn’t help Leah. But you’d promised her that you’d help her as best as you could and that you’d be with her, every step of the way.

You held back from releasing a sigh. “I’m trying.”

Jay nodded, leaning forward for your hand, squeezing. “I know.”

It was about two seconds later that he realized he was actually holding your hand. Jay cleared his throat pulling his hand back and you reached for your wine glass to take a sip, both of you trying your hardest to ignore the sudden awkwardness in the air.

You stole a glance at Jay who wasn’t looking in your direction, before you looked back at the clock. While the both of you had spoken at length about the Stevens, time seemed to fly by and you were hours behind your intended sleep schedule for today.

“I should go. I have another long day tomorrow.”

Jay nodded. “Leave it, I’ll take care of this.”

You shot your best friend a grateful smile before standing.

“Let me know if you need any help?” Jay asked as he walked you towards his front door.

You turned and smiled. “You know it.”

Jay leaned forward for a hug that felt a little more awkward than normal before you smiled and slipped out the door, shoving your feelings for Jay Halstead back into the small secret box tucked away in your heart.

The next few days passed in a blur as you threw all your efforts into finding some form of evidence for Leah. So when you arrived at your driveway tonight, you were wiped. You hadn’t even dared to drive home, leaving your car in your regular parking lot and taking a cab from the front of your office building. You figured you could see if Jay could drop you off the next morning or you’d just call a cab again.

The fact that your door wasn’t locked or closed properly only registered after you’d stepped inside and you froze.

The moonlight streaming in through the windows illuminated the darkened interior of your house, where everything seemed to be turned upside down.

Your eyes raked the scene in front of you, where it looked like a tornado had literally ripped through your house and you took another step forward until you froze again.

The tip of the flats you had on grazed the edge of what you were now looking down at - you could see the dark color of red even with just the sliver of moonlight, the viscous pool right at your feet that could only be blood like something right out of a horror show.

You could hear your ears start ringing, feel your breathing pick up, and somewhere in the trenches of your mind, the horrific memories that you’d tried so hard to pack away seemed to be spilling out, starting with the scream of a woman right in your mind.

And then a hand slid over your eyes, interrupting the hold that the pool of blood seemed to have on you for just a second, even though your lungs still felt like they were constricting. At the same time, an arm went around your shoulders.

The rational part of your brain was screaming at you to move but you seemed to be literally frozen, until you heard his voice. “It’s me. Keep your eyes closed.”

Your heart felt like it was pounding in your head and closing your eyes only made it harder to breathe because now the traumatic memories were playing like a reel in your head, as if it was happening in front of you all over again.

You felt Jay turn you around now. “Y/N, it’s okay.”

But it wasn’t. The memory seemed to have taken a hold on you, even though you could hear Jay’s voice, feel his warm hands on your shoulder.

“Y/N!”

Your eyes snapped back open.

“Breathe. Just look at me and breathe.” Jay said, his voice calm.

You took a short breath and Jay nodded. “Alright, just focus on me, okay?”

Jay studied you as he stood close to you, watching the expressions flash across your face. You’d started having panic attacks back when the both of you were still in school, after you’d walked in to your mother lying in a pool of her own blood. So this wasn’t the first time that Jay had been here for one of your panic attacks, far from it. Even so, you hadn’t had one since you and Jay had reconnected.

Your body shook a little and Jay reached forward and swept you into his arms, your breaths so shallow that it almost sounded like you were gasping for air.

“Just focus on me, alright?” Jay said quietly. You trained your eyes on him and nodded, looping your arms towards the back of his neck for balance before he turned heel and headed out your door and towards his place.

As gently as he could, Jay lowered you onto his couch now, his eyes not missing the beads of sweat that lined your forehead.

Your arms didn’t move from where they were locked around Jay’s neck, even though you felt your body make contact with Jay’s couch.

“Y/N, it’s okay. Shh, I got you.” Jay whispered, not trying to pull away but instead leaning in further to gather you deeper into his arms.

The action seemed to calm you, even just slightly, as your breathing regulated. Before it hit you again.

“Jay… Luna…”

Jay pulled back gently to look at you, nodding his head. “Will has her. He came to get her for the vet appointment this morning, remember?”

You nodded now, slightly calmer, your arms falling gently to your sides.

Jay cast another worried glance at you, but pulled a blanket over your legs. “I’ll be right back.”

Reflexively, your hand shot out, grabbing his. “Jay.”

“I’ll take care of it, alright? Try to get some rest. I’ll be right back.”

You gently let go of Jay’s hand and nodded. Jay gave you a small smile and after a small hesitation, leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of your head, before he headed out the way he’d come as if he hadn’t noticed your surprise at the action.

“Jay, what happened?”

Jay glanced up as his older brother headed up towards him, Luna by his heel and shook his head. “She’s on my couch. Can you just check her out then put her in my bed and give her something to sleep it off.”

On any other occasion, Will wouldn’t have let Jay get away with a “put her in my bed” without some teasing or a raised eyebrow but his eyes swept across the police cars and crime scene vans before he nodded. “Luna’s gonna be in your place for a while then I guess?"

Jay just nodded. “Can you stay with Y/N?”

Will nodded, raising the bag he had in his hand. “I came prepared.”

Jay nodded his thanks, his eyes resting on his own house before he turned back around to your place and flipped a switch in his head to focus, heading towards Voight who’d just arrived.

Voight nodded at Jay. “We swept the place. The lock has obvious signs of being jimmied and they ransacked the place. There’s a pool of blood in there so the crime lab will take it back for testing but there’s no sign of where the blood came from. I think whoever did this brought it with them.”

Voight nodded quietly as Jay spoke before he looked back at his senior detective again like he was waiting for an explanation. “Sarge, she’s… she’s a good friend of mine. And it could be linked to a case we were working.”

Before either of them could say more, Hailey jogged right up towards them, glancing at her partner before she started speaking. “We’re pulling cam footage, and the crime scene guys have gone over the house twice. We’ve gotten all we can from the scene.”

Voight looked back at Jay. “Talk to her and see if there’s anything helpful she can provide for us. We’ll see you at the district tomorrow.”

Jay glanced up, knowing that Voight was giving him the night to look in on you and make sure you were okay.

Hailey nodded. “We got this, Jay.”

Jay nodded his thanks with a small smile before he turned and left, his eyes flicking towards your house just once more before entering his own place to check on you.

Will was sitting on the couch when Jay walked in, Luna curled up on the floor at his feet.

Luna got to her feet as Jay walked in, wagging her tail as she greeted him and Jay bent down to pat Luna gently on the head like a habit, even though he was distracted.

Will glanced at his brother. “I gave her something to help her sleep but you should check on her.”

Jay nodded quietly. “Thanks.”

Will smiled. “I’m gonna crash. If you need me…”

Jay nodded, reaching out to flip off the main light in the hall for his brother. “Yeah, thanks Will.”

Quietly, Jay headed up towards his room, where there was just a small dim light still on. Your eyes were closed as you lay curled up in his sheets and Jay lowered himself quietly towards the floor as he reached out and pushed a section of hair off your face, his worried eyes grazing over you.

Your eyes fluttered open and Jay registered a sliver of alarm before you recognized him and he smiled, reaching down for your hand to squeeze. “You’re okay.”

You smiled. “Sorry about this.” You whispered, your voice low.

Jay shook his head with a smile, raising his hand to stroke the top of your head. “Get some rest, we’ll talk in the morning. Will and I are not going anywhere.”

You let out a small smile, which put Jay’s heart a little more at ease. “I get both Halstead brothers? No one has been safer.”

Jay exhaled gently, glad you were at least okay enough to start making jokes. At the same time, your hand curled reflexively around Jay’s.

“I’ll stay until you sleep.” He said, reading your mind in that weird little way he’d been doing for almost all your life.

You nodded, letting your eyelids droop closed again.

When you opened your eyes to the sunlight streaming in through the small gap in the blinds across the windows, it took you a while to gather your bearings, your eyes slowly widening with alarm when you realized you were sleeping on an arm that wasn’t yours.

You glanced behind you as slowly as you could without jostling too much, even though you were pretty sure your heart was thumping loud enough to wake him. Deep down, you’d already known the quiet even breathing right behind you was Jay, one arm under you and another draped across your waist effectively putting you right in his embrace.

You wondered for just a second why you’d found yourself in this position before the memories hit you again, the fragmented memories of the night before hitting you like a punch in the gut - from what you’d found in your house, the panic attack, Jay offering to stay until you fell asleep and then the long night plagued by nightmares of screaming women or blood.

You remembered Jay pulling you out of each nightmare as gently as he could and maybe a vague feeling of Jay climbing in behind you.

Of course, that was probably why you’d finally been able to get some restful sleep. But now, you were embarrassed. Well, maybe mortified was a better word.

You felt Jay stiffen a little from where he was squeezed in behind you now and you realized he’d probably woken as well.

You knew someone had to move first so you shifted but instead of getting up, impulsively turned to face Jay.

Jay looked a little startled, like he was surprised and then confused.

“Hey.” Jay offered with a smile, taking your cue and not moving, one hand still draped under you. “You seemed like you were having some trouble sleeping last night, I didn’t mean to…”

You smiled. “Thank you.”

Jay’s smile widened a little like he was relieved but neither of you had moved yet.

“Jay, last night, I…”

Jay reached out to cup your face gently. “I’ll always be here. As long as you need… or want.”

Your eyebrows lifted slowly as you tried to read what Jay was trying to tell you.

“You will never lose me. I will always be right here beside you.” Jay whispered.

“Jay… you…”

Jay’s eyes moved across the expressions on your face like he was trying to figure out what was going on in your mind.

You didn’t know what to say, mainly because you really hadn’t expected to find yourself in this situation. Half of you wondered whether you weren’t really awake yet but all this was too real.

Sensing hesitation, Jay pulled backwards, both literally and figuratively. “Y/N, you don’t have to… I just wanted to…”

You didn’t know what to say so you snuggled just a little closer, reaching for his hand. “You can’t take it back, Jay.”

Jay paused for a bit and then smiled, before he moved closer towards you and when you didn’t move away, Jay pressed a gentle kiss on your lips. “Promise.” He whispered, as he pulled his lips away from yours.

“You ready?” He asked.

You weren’t, not really. You knew that when the both of you got up, you’d have to talk about what had happened in your house and you weren’t sure you were ready to relive it.

Jay reached for your hand and squeezed.

“I’ll be with you. All the way.”

That seemed to be enough to get you moving. Jay swung his legs out of his bed before stretching his hand out to you and you fit your hand into his, like it was meant to be there all along.

Even if Will hadn’t already gone up to check on you in the middle of the night only to find the both of you huddled together in one bed, he didn’t need to be told that things had changed between the both of you.

He just smiled because if he didn’t know any better he would have thought last night had just one of those normal pizza and beer nights. Whatever, he was just relieved that you seemed to be doing okay, considering everything.

“I gotta get to Med, alright? You’re in good hands.” Will said, smirking.

“Shut up.” You growled, punching Will on the arm but leaning in as he gave you a hug.

Will ruffled your hair gently. “Call if you need me, alright? Although I doubt it.” He couldn’t resist another gentle tease.

You just smiled this time before Will headed out Jay’s door.

Jay gave you a smile as he handed you a cup of tea before sliding into the seat opposite you. “Let’s talk here and then we can go to the district, alright?”

You swallowed and nodded.

Jay reached over, putting his hand over yours and squeezing. “I’m right here.” He reminded.

You smiled, nodding once again.

You don’t know how long you and Jay sat there in his kitchen, going over the cases you were working on recently, or had recently wrapped up. The list wasn’t small, but at least it was exhaustive.

“Alright, come on. We’re going to the district.” Jay got up, swinging an arm around your shoulders before the both of you left the house, but not before you assured Luna you’d be back as soon as you could.

“What do we have?” Jay asked as he closed the pantry door behind him where he’d left you.

Voight nodded and the team took turns speaking. Jay had sent the list of names ahead of them, so both Kevin and Kim had managed to get a preliminary look at them.

“Jay, any idea if we can narrow this down?” Kim asked, even though she kind of knew it was a long shot. “The perp doesn’t seem to be an expert at this, so we got an image to run facial recognition on.”

Voight glanced at Jay.

Jay paused for a moment, thinking. “There’s two people on that list I’d push to the top. Lucas Russell and Jake Lloyd.”

Kim nodded, heading for her computer as Jay turned towards Voight. “Remember that case we handled with the kid? Dylan Stevens’ sister later came in with the harassment accusation and Y/N took her on as a client. They’re smack in the middle of trying to get some evidence to prove their case against Russell.”

Jay paused before continuing. “Lloyd was one of Y/N’s clients but he was hopping mad that he didn’t manage to get full custody and made threats but that case wrapped up months ago. I figured we should look into these two first.”

From where he was standing at his desk, Adam put down the phone.

“That was the lab.” Adam said. “It’s pig’s blood, which is why there was nothing else but blood. They can get those at some butcher shops, I’ll get a list of places in the area.”

Voight nodded, as Adam and Kevin headed out to try the butchers they had on the list who would have and sell a large enough quantity of pig’s blood.

“I’ll scour the pods again to see if I can find anything new.” Kim said, heading back down as Hailey and Jay stayed at their desks and delved straight into both Russell and Lloyd. At least they were starting somewhere.

The monotony was only broken the few times that Jay had gotten up to go check on you. You’d reassure him that you were okay and that you couldn’t feel any safer than you felt now before Jay had thrown himself back into what he had to do.

No matter what, he was going to solve this crap.

Despite his determination, they were still at pretty much a dead end. Facial recognition had come back with a hit but they still weren’t able to connect either Russell or Lloyd directly to the man who’d broken into your house.

Adam and Kevin had gone to pick him up immediately, but he wasn’t telling them anything useful and Jay was losing his patience.

“Go on home.” Voight warned, stepping out of his office. “Take her home.”

“Sarge…” Jay stood, ready to argue but Voight gave him a look.

Jay knew Voight well enough that considering Adam and Kevin’s progress, Voight was going to go into the interrogation room himself.

Jay glanced into the pantry where you’d dozed off on the couch before he looked back at his sergeant and nodded, giving in.

Stepping into the pantry quietly, Jay roused you as gently as he could. “Y/N.”

You jumped, your eyes snapping open. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s me.” Jay whispered. “Sorry.”

You blinked and then shook your head. “Sorry. What is it? Did you get someone?”

The look on Jay’s face told you everything you needed to know. You reached forward to take his hand and squeezed. “I’m okay.”

Jay gave you a small smile. “Come on, let’s go home.”

The word ‘home’ made you smile.

“We’ll grab some food on the way.” Jay said with a smile as he took your hand, the both of you heading out of the district.

You’d had had a quick bite in Jay’s living room together before he’d curled up with you on his couch.

“You should get some sleep.” Jay said quietly, even though he didn’t seem to have any intention of letting you go, his arms still wound around you.

You smiled. “But I love it here.”

Jay let out a little chuckle, even though his mind was still racing through the information he’d gone through earlier. There had to be a connection he was missing.

Just as the thought formed in Jay’s mind, the power went off, the lights and television all shutting off at once.

Jay felt you stiffen in his arms as he sat up.

Jay reached for your hand. “Come here.” Jay reached for the drawer and pulled out his gun as you climbed off the couch as well.

Jay led you back towards the kitchen. “Stay low, stay hidden. Don’t come out until I come and get you.”

You didn’t let go of Jay’s hand.

“It could be nothing. Let’s just be cautious, alright? I’ll be right back.” Jay said quickly, pressing a kiss to the back of your hand.

A little unwillingly, you let go and nodded, crouching low behind the island counter that you’d sat at with Jay countless times for drinks.

You tried to focus on your breathing, focusing on the rhythm and making sure it wasn’t too loud. You’d breathe evenly and softly and just wait for Jay to come back and get you. Everything was going to be okay.

You’d counted to about 80 in your head when you heard the sound of shuffling footsteps.

A part of you hoped it was Jay but you also knew that if Jay was being careful, he wouldn’t walk like this. No way in hell.

The footsteps stopped and you glanced up, the terror gripping you as you looked up into the face of Lucas Russell.

Fuck.

Russell leaned forward and tugged you roughly upwards and out of where you’d been crouched. The scream was stuck in your throat but you needed to let Jay know someone else was here.

But even before you unstuck your own voice, Jay came out of nowhere, tackling Russell towards the ground.

The sudden lift in pressure from Russell's grip on you caused you to lose your balance and you tumbled onto your side, feeling the pain of crashing onto the floor resonate throughout your body.

“Get out of here. Now!” Jay yelled, as he wrestled with Russell, landing a punch across his face before Russell pushed Jay off him.

You didn’t have time to think, stumbling out of Russell’s reach.

But all you knew was that you couldn’t leave Jay behind. No matter what.

“Y/N!” Jay yelled, afraid you hadn’t heard him.

As if pushed out physically from your trance, you started moving but a crash from behind you made you turn.

“Jay!” You yelled, as your eyes registered Jay on the ground a little way away and trying to get to his feet.

Russell pulled out a knife, the blade glistened in the moonlight but before the fear could even register, you heard a chorus of voices that finally made you breathe.

“Chicago PD!”

You let Kim gently pull you towards her as Voight and Adam headed straight for Russell, Voight’s gun hovering dangerously nearer to Russell’s temple than normal as Adam forced him down to the ground to slap the handcuffs over his wrist.

Jay was already by your side. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He demanded, his eyes roving across you.

You shook your head even though the tears were already gathering in your eyes and Jay pulled you gently into his arms. “Alright, I got you. I got you. It’s over.”

You shook gently even as you were wrapped in Jay’s arms and your legs finally gave way. You felt yourself sinking but Jay merely pulled you tighter against him, a protective hand wrapped around the back of your head. “I got you.”

The team had filled you and Jay in once they’d brought Russell back in - the guy they’d arrested had finally cracked and given them the information they needed. Even so, they’d almost sped off to his house but not before Hailey had found a message on Russell's phone that hinted at him ending things tonight. So they’d detoured back to Jay’s.

Now, after things were mostly settled, you lay in Jay’s arms, the both of you squashed into his bed that had clearly been meant for one person.

“I shouldn’t have let you get pulled into this mess.” You whispered, your fingers gently tracing his face.

Jay shook his head. “I will always be between you and a threat. I promised and I’ll deliver.”

You scooted closer towards Jay and Jay laid a protective hand on the back of your head again. “It’s over.”

“You know what?” You asked him after a short silence.

Jay raised an eyebrow as he looked down to meet your eyes.

“At least there’s one good thing out of all of this.” You said quietly.

“What’s that?” Jay asked. You could hear the smile in his voice without even looking up.

You shifted. “I get to do this now.” You leaned up to press your lips to his.

Jay chuckled even as both your lips were still pressed together. “No arguments there.”

THANK YOU FOR READING!! PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS!!

If you want to support me, buy me a coffee!

[ringchollyandfriends]

Elliot is still a foster, but he's a part of my life and I like to think that the people who follow me are aware that one 1) it might not work out, 2) there will be grief if it doesn't, and most importantly: 3) that it's okay, that I can still share parts of my life even if they might be temporary.

Note: Elliot is coming to work with me and I'm aware that it's early, but because of his anxiety alone, he can't stay home for 9 hours at home and he genuinely seems happy at work, so, no pushing on his boundaries there and we make do.

-

Silly/good things of the day, dog édition:

- Elliot somehow decided that after a week, the sun umbrella in the yard was Suspicious and needed to be Yelled At, which was quite funny because the other dogs were confused and he got over it quickly.

- That boy is ridiculous. A dog kicked kibble out of his kennel, so Elliot decided Snack Time. This dog was barking, growling, etc. from inside of his kennel (he's super friendly if the door is open) and Elliot Did Not Care. Just num num num snack time.

- He found a piece of ice and was playing with it, completely oblivious to the fact that dogs were bumping into him and jumping over him. He's so funny.

- I was able to use him as an intro dog (!) (a calm, friendly dog we use to introduce a new dog to the group) and he did pretty good. He got a little too humpy out of excitement, but otherwise was friendly and gave that dog space when needed. Proud of this little man.

- So far, Elliot has fallen in love with every single person he has met. Sees a person from the car window? FRIEND and I love it so much.

- Bean thought I was taking too long in my car before getting inside the house, so quiet Bean decided it was Yelling Time and her whole body was wiggling when I came home. It warms my heart.

- She ate a chew, stole Elliot's (thank god Elliot didn't mind) and decided to roll around on the floor because, why not?

- Bean doesn't do much, but I just love her so much. She exists and that's all I need to love her.

- Elliot, I don't think, hasn't been groomed before (or at least, he's not making the connection with me) so I've been brushing one stroke, marking and giving him a treat and it's going great so far. I'm not brushing his whole body yet, but we'll get there. (If he becomes my dog, I'll probably shave him because daily brushing is too much for me, but since he's not mine yet, I'm caring for his coat as is.)

- Spouse suggested Wallaby for his name if he stays and I like it, it's on my list. He will be Elliot for a while, but I like to think of names for fun anyway. I was looking for unique names and Spouse suggested Wallaby and... Trobausorus, so she has... ideas 😂

[elvencloud]

I sorted my dog's kibble today - A reflection on 33 years of life

Meet the crew, Left to right: Rex, Dabbs, and Nanaki. Dabbs is the subject of this morning as he is a picky eater. I've never really had a dog be picky beyond wanting different food or their sibling's food instead.

Growing up myself, I wasn't picky. I ate my vegetables, my fruit, I disliked sugar as a rule ("It will get me in trouble." was my response, but truthfully things were too sweet for me.) I discovered two things I didn't like as a kid, okra and rye bread. Honestly, sometimes I didn't really have much of a choice. My family didn't have a lot and my dad would joke "Eat it... or wear it." Except fish. Gods almighty, I try and try - and you culinary geniuses that can turn aquatic life into delectable culinary art, I applaud you. Food poisoning from a fishy smelling piece of fish has tainted the thought in my brain. Fish makes my body rebel, revolt. It's POISON it screams. Even worse, fish was a favorite of his diet. My dad tried everything. Have you ever had Ceviche? Ever hear of it?

It's a peruvian dish. I'm going to quote the recipe I grabbed the image from:

"...usually served as an appetizer. It’s generally made from raw fresh fish or shrimp, that’s marinated in lemon and/or lime citrus juices. The acidity in the citrus cures the fish causing it to denature the proteins and become firm and opaque while absorbing flavor.

After the seafood has sort of cooked in a way other ingredients are tossed in such as onions, cilantro, peppers and tomatoes."

This was one of the many ways my dad tried with me. It didn't smell fishy, and I loved fresh pico/salsa. I'd eat it with a spoon. He tried shrimp, tuna, cod, salmon, shark. No go. Eventually we came to an agreement after fighting for years about it: "You have to try it once a year, otherwise I won't push the issue. You must give it an honest try, and if you still don't like it, we'll move on."

If there was one thing my dad did right: He kept his promises the best he could. It must be in the blood. *********************************************************************

So over time, Dabbs has been eating less and less. Fighting about eating his food, throwing kibble in his kennel around - and over time we realized he doesn't like the flavor. "Eat it or wear it." I replied. Sometimes I don't realize how much of my dad is in here. *taps my head* Over more time, we discovered it's specific kibble he doesn't like. The orange ones.

***********************************

- "I like the yellow ones." (Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet, Stargate SG:1) *******************************************************************

Again, we stood strong, not sure if there are different nutrients in each piece. "You're not getting any different food." He ate less and less to our frustration. Until this morning, staring at his mostly full bowl of food from the night before it clicked: Dogs are really just toddlers anyway, right?

Imagine: If every time you put a pizza roll in my mouth there was a 1/5 chance you would get sardine flavor. Would you eat? I would eat enough to survive, maybe. After a bit of encouragement, Dabbs tried the mixture. Initially, he rolled it around in his mouth, pretending to eat to placate me. I could see his eyes as he ate a fourth, then a fifth piece - "I haven't tasted the orange ones." He emptied the bowl. Enthusiastically once he realized he was hungry. And I was proud. ********************************************************************

Not to get too deep, but I lost my dad 20 years ago this year. I forget how many lessons he taught me in 13 years including: The kid will be all right. You just have to trust in him and talk to him. And he's right - I think I turned out all right. I might even be a great dad one day. When and if: they'll be all right too.

I think I owe fish another chance: It is my birthday after all... and I made a promise.

[ammiemarie]

Lily Ann Sprowls (2010-2022)

Lily "Lil Lil" Ann Sprowls unexpectedly passed away on January 26, 2022 from undetected bone cancer in her hips, which caused her to have a debilitating stroke.

Lily was born on December 15, 2010. While we didn't know her true birthdate, we celebrated her birthday on December 15th every year.

She was dainty and spiritually a cat. She would often cross her legs and behaved like a cat, often licking her paws and wiping her face. She would comfort Allie by tending to her face and ears, a habit she started early in life. She loved to lay on the back of couches or recliners.

She did not like getting her nails done and preferred to do them herself. She would whine and essentially scream when getting her nails groomed or clipped, being an ultra drama queen for the whole zip code to hear. Instead, she would bite her own nails down whenever she felt like they were too long. She was very independent in that way.

She was very finicky about food at times. When she ate kibble, she would scoop out one piece at a time and eat it. She loathed any form of seafood except for shrimp, which she would only accept on occasion as a peace offering.

She loved to hunt small animals outside, often catching mice, moles, and birds that unfortunately their way into her domain. She would leave them as little headless or severed head gruesome gifts for us to find at the backdoor… 😃

She loved to ride in the front passenger seat, often looking out the window as we went from place to place. In the early days, she would get car sick and vomit everywhere, and be just fine afterward, eager to have the wind blowing on her face once again.

Labor Day one year, I took her for a walk around Aunt Berta's pear tree. She started to scream and whine, showing signs of an injured paw. We thought she was bit by a snake the way she was carrying on as if she were dying. We searched for any open vet on the holiday, but started to get suspicious when we realized she wasn't bleeding anywhere. We filled up the sink with warm water and stuck her paw in it, moving it around… and out came a single pear seed. She immediately acted like nothing happened and was eager for her personal space again. Always the drama queen.

Penny drove her crazy and she would often act like a crotchety old lady whenever Penny was running in the house or squeaking her toys too much. "No fun allowed!" She was very protective of Allie, but warmed up to Penny secretly and loved her when it mattered the most.

She had an incredible bond with Aries, our cockatiel (2015-2020). Aries loved to be around Lily, and would often to sing directly to her. He would jump on top of her and serenade her, or lay his head against her and sing into her fur. Sometimes, we caught Aries riding on her back as she walked around. We think he was secretly in love with her as he was never too far away from her. She was his senorita.

Allie and Lily were inseparable. We lived in Mount Washington when we adopted her from our neighbor's daughter in the apartment below ours around June 26, 2011. She was staying with our neighbor for the week or so while her family went to Disney World.

Allie would play with her in the yard and they developed a strong bond that week. We knew we had to keep her with us forever, and we were fortunate to learn that her family was searching for her to have a new home. They spent years together playing, adventuring, and loving each other.

I'd like to believe my girls are together again, caring for each other in the great beyond, forever. I'd like to believe Allie, Lily, and Aries have found their way to each other. I just wish it wasn't so.

There is never enough time in the world. Never.

I love you so much, Lily.

Rest in Peace 🦋

[leavemealonetomusic]

I am upset, as always. Sitting here with my thoughts, I’m thinking… do I create such an uncomfortable, walking on eggshells environment that no one wants to engage in a conversation with me? Is it really that difficult to talk about the things I actually care about? Or no, yeah, let’s talk about shit that you could search up on Google. Yes, I really care about how many pieces you want to cut that fruit. No. I don’t give a damn, and at the same time, why. Why not cut the fruit however the hell you want? Why are you always trying to be considerate, but being inconvenient by asking questions. The real issue isn’t the fruit.

The issue is how everyone tries and determines the way I raise my dog. My ex did it, and when she broke up with me for it. I should have let her go then and there. It’s the feeling I get when I’m told what to do, what’s best for my dog. Talking at me, but not helping me raise the dog. My dog pukes because he doesn’t eat his kibble. I add some of my food. “No, you have to starve him.” He’s already puking. Ok. Fine. I mention it at the table, and no one said a word. Not ONE WORD. Ate in silent. Put my bowl into the sink, and went inside the room leaving them the mess to clean. Sometimes, I feel like I do everything. And, I feel that way because I get shit done. Shit done faster than average people.

On the surface, I want to scream- talk to me! Deep down though, these people who’s supposed to love, care, and understand me… hurts my heart- their lack of comfort is beyond me. It’s numbing. I’m upset, yes, and by the end of the night, I really just, don’t care. I simply hate these people… until I don’t, until the feeling fades away.

“He ate all of his kibble.” Is that supposed to make me feel better? It’s me. I’m the bad pet parent. Of course, how could I be so silly. It’s me. I expect too much. I demand too much. I want too much. Haha, disappointment. Leave me alone. Let me sink into my feelings and thoughts, because none of you fuckers know or want to talk to me. Congrats. He ate his fucken kibble.

[rek1s-headband]

Hello! May i request Cherry and/or Joe with a s/o who has a pet snake? You can do with this whatever you want, feel free to ignore this if you dont want to write it, have a good day/night :D

➯ A/N: Hi!! Thanks for requesting, hope you enjoy and have a good day!

➯ With a s/o who has a pet snake

➯ Characters: Joe and Cherry x gn reader

➯ Warnings: none:)

Joe

Loves it

No seriously he thinks its the coolest thing ever

Mf brags to EVERYONE that he’s held a snake, and whether or not they asked to see he’s whipping out photographic proof, showing them that yes, he actually held one and no, y/n it DIDNT take 20 minutes of convincing-

Whenever he comes to your house he’ll spend at least ten minutes staring at it in its little home, watching in wonder as it does quite literally nothing except flicker its tongue every once in a while

He’ll give you attention in a few minutes, he swears-

Everyone was convinced at one point that it was his snake from how much he talked about it, so they were quite surprised when they came to your house once and watched as Joe barrelled inside, declaring he had to see his “little buddy”

Has bought hats for it on multiple occasions, it literally has a box beside its cage for all its hats

When he first found out you had a snake, he thought it just got to slither around in its cage, and the lid only got taken off when it needed to be fed. So you can imagine his excitement when he found out it could leave the box

This grown ass man sat on the floor with that snake for HOURS, letting it slither up and down his arms, his back, EVERYWHERE

Gets jealous when others hold it. He’ll start whining to you, saying “they’ve had it long enough, it’ll get agitated” as if he doesn’t just wanna hold it again

When it flickered its tongue at Joe for the first time, he let out the biggest gasp, turning to you with wonder as he whispered “how did it do that”

Wanted to bring it to S so he could skate with around his neck

He couldn’t understand why it wasn’t a good idea

He thought it ate the same thing as other animals do. So when you told him it was time to feed it, he shot up, asking if he could feed it. The poor man really thought he was gonna get to put a little bowl of kibble in with the snake and watch it nibble at it

So you can imagine his reaction when you pulled out a live mouse and handed it to him

“....HES A MURDERER???”

He wouldn’t look at the snake for a solid hour

“Ive befriended a murderer”

Has unironically taken selfies with it

Idk if yall have seen that video of the man sharing a lollipop with a snake(if not ill link it here), but he absolutely WOULD

He would literally never shut up if your snake was green

“We match, t’s meant to be, y/n!”

Has made multiple jokes about how he has a snake too, in his pants-

Please unblock him, he thought it was funny

Cherry

Absolutely hates the thing

Literally jumped the first time he came into your room and saw it in the cage, because what the fuck is that thing???

Refuses to touch it, he will literally curl inwards on your bed as he watches you take it out of its cage for a slither around

You have one(1) picture of him holding it, and by holding I mean dangling it from his fingertips at arms length. You have the picture saved as your wallpaper, because his face is just so utterly disgusted that you cant stop laughing at it

Asked you to bring it to S so he can throw it at Ad*m to poison and kill him

When you explained that your snake wasn’t poisonous, he threw it a dirty look

“Why is it there then, it just exists??”

Will actively drag you to his house instead of yours just so he doesn’t have to see the thing

Literally jumped about fifty feet when the snake flickered its tongue at him for the first time. You’d finally convinced him to go near the cage, and it pulls that shit? Get it out of his face

Refuses to fall asleep before you anymore after the time you dangled it over him while slept

Never calls it by its name. I mean ever. Mf calls it “the thing” “the wiggle” “the overweight worm”, anything that its not supposed to be called, hes calling it

Has flipped it off multiple times. He’ll literally sit there and just🖕😐🖕from where he sits on the bed, as if he knows it cant do shit

Literally had to leave the first time he saw it eat a mouse. Poor boy thought it was a vegetarian snake, so when he saw you throw a mouse into the cage, watching as the snake suffocated the poor thing and swallow it whole, he simply got up and walked down your stairs, claiming he’d had enough

He wouldn’t go into your room for at least two weeks

Now any time you need to feed it hes fleeing the room as if a bomb has been planed there

It tried to come near him once and he was so surprised by it he slapped it out of sheer panic before jumping up, terrified it was going to retaliate

He barely even tapped it considering he was jumping off the bed as he did it, but at least he was concerned for himself

Bought it a jumper for Christmas once, claiming that if it was going to be there, it might as well look cute(you knew he was starting to warm up to it)

He makes you double check the cage is locked every night he sleeps over. Poor boy is terrified it will slither out while hes asleep and suffocate him

You seem happy with your little pet though, and if you’re happy, so is he

It wont stop him being terrified of the slithery fucker though-

[whumpurr]

Adrien and Sawdust pt9

cw: pet whump, unreliable narrator, male whumpee, male caretaker, whump recovery, pet whumpee in public, disordered eating

It didn’t take Adrien long to whip up something simple to eat and to dish out some kibble for Sawdust. Granted, Adrien didn’t have much of an appetite after witnessing what he just had, but he knew that he had to eat something, if only to set an example for Sawdust.

“There’s ah- have you ever been in a store?” Adrien asked down to Sawdust, who was knelt at the side of the table, “There’s a big box store in town, we can get some stuff for you there.” He checked his watch with a quick turn of his arm, “I think they’re open pretty late, so we can go after this, probably.”

Sawdust blinked up at him with big eyes and a mouth full of kibble, but he nodded slowly.

“When we go, you have to stick close by me, okay?” Adrien didn’t have a leash so he couldn’t exactly keep track of Sawdust that way, though it wasn’t like he wanted to do that anyways. He didn’t expect that somebody would try to snatch Sawdust, he was more concerned about something catching the pet’s interest, and Sawdust wandering off to investigate. Even with the tall, pointed ears on top of his head, Sawdust was rather short, and Adrien didn’t want to test how good he was at spotting him in a crowd.

--

Sawdust continued to eat his food, finishing up the chow that was left in his bowl. It crunched between his teeth, in the satisfying way that made his whole head tremble just a bit with the feeling of each piece crumbling. He kept thinking about how he was going to help his master, how he was going to repay him for taking such good care of him.

Paws moving against the floor, Sawdust moved closer to his master and sat down next to his seat while Master was on his phone. Carefully, without permission, Sawdust let his head rest against the side of Master’s thigh.

He knew that it was a risky move, that it could end badly for him. Even if it ended badly and he was punished, at least he could take his punishment gracefully and allow Master to hurt his body. That could be repayment.

But no pain ever came. Instead, he felt Master’s leg tense up a bit before relaxing, then a large, warm hand on his head, petting his now short hair. Sawdust wished he could wag his tail to let his master know how good the pets felt, but this wasn’t what Sawdust wanted.

He pulled back and resumed sitting next to Master, but Master’s hand followed him. It was almost like Master didn’t realize that Sawdust had moved back, he kept petting him. He heard Master take a sip of his drink. Sawdust couldn’t help but jump at every little sound, waiting for the blows to come.

But they didn’t.

And Master pulled his hand back from Sawdust and stood up, stretching his arms above his head before looking back down at his worthless pet.

--

“Do you want to ride in your carrier? Or would you rather just be in the car seat directly?” Adrien asked as he started putting on his shoes and grabbing his keys. He paused as he looked Sawdust up and down. Sure, he was clothed, albeit the clothes were baggy, but he didn’t have any shoes. A quick dip into his room and Adrien returned with a pair of socks Sawdust could at least wear, though he didn’t know if it would really matter that much, since Sawdust was a pet.

Sawdust managed to put on the socks himself before crawling over to Adrien.

“I think the- the car s-seat’s fine, sir.” He murmured. Adrien gave him a pleased look then extended a hand to help Sawdust stand up. Shakily, the pet took Adrien’s hand and rose on trembling, unaccustomed legs. Sawdust kept close to the walls as he was led out of the building towards the car.

Adrien opened the door for him and Sawdust clambered into the vehicle, straightening his back against the passenger seat as Adrien buckled him in and got in from the other side.

The sound of the car starting up made Sawdust jump.

“Sorry,” Adrien laughed sheepishly, “It’s kind of old, it’s not especially quiet.” He put on something soft on the radio, just to drown out the rumbling of the engine. The dark trunks and leafy plumes of the trees passed by the car as they left Adrien’s home, the automatic gate closing behind them. Sawdust kept a watchful eye out to the forest, as though he expected something to come charging at them from the expanse of green.

Slowly, the trees faded away as Adrien approached the city. Getting closer to other buildings always made his hair stand on end. He hated it, but he had to go out into town every now and again out of necessity. Sawdust didn’t seem too keen on it either, shrinking away from the window once he spotted more people and houses along the street.

The car rumbled as it pulled into a parking spot outside the large store.

“This place has pretty much everything,” Adrien said. He reached into the compartment between the two seats and pulled out a beanie and a face mask, putting them both on. Sawdust stared at him with wide eyes. “You don’t have to wear this stuff, I just prefer to.”

Adrien got out and helped Sawdust out of his seat, taking his hand to assist him out of the car.

--

“Can you walk in the store?” Master asked. Sawdust looked down at his legs. He didn’t use them upright very often, he wasn’t allowed to before, and it felt weird to be doing it now. The silence seemed to be enough for Master, “That’s okay. I want you to try though, but you can sit and take breaks if you need to.”

Master led Sawdust up to the entrance of the store before instructing him to hold on to the metal cart Master picked as they entered.

The store was massive. Sawdust had never been in anything like it, with aisles that went on forever and lights that were almost blinding. It was loud in there, too. People were walking around, carts were being pushed, conversations were being had. And lots of people were looking at Sawdust.

The pet tucked himself near Master, trying to stay as close and as hidden as possible while Master navigated the store flawlessly. The first stop was for clothing, it seemed.

Master pulled a couple of shirts off from a shelf and unfolded them, holding them up to Sawdust’s chest and looking at him. Next were pants, measured in quite the same way. Master stuck to neutral colors, ones like gray and brown, ones that he mostly wore, himself.

“These should all be comfortable enough,” He muttered as he threw things into the cart. “Loungewear’s mostly what you need, sorry I don’t go out much.”

Why was Master apologizing to his pet? That wasn’t right, it made Sawdust feel bad inside. But he couldn’t just tell Master that what he was doing was wrong, so he grit his teeth and kept holding on to the cart.

Master kept pushing the cart until Sawdust came across a familiar scent. He raised his head and sniffed the air. It smelled like food here, like dog food. His eyes went wide and he looked around for the source, and Master only kept getting closer.

Turning around a corner, Sawdust was greeted by aisles and aisles of pet supplies. Chow, canned food, toys, treats, and all kinds of gear. He was excited, he couldn’t help but let out a little yip as Master pushed the cart over to the bags of food and started looking at them.

While Master stood and inspected the small bag he had in his hand, Sawdust was kneeling and pushing his nose against the big, crinkly bags of chow at the bottom shelf. He sniffed them, moving down the aisle and smelling each one. Some smelled meatier, some almost smelled like the greens Master ate sometimes.

Sawdust kept moving and sniffing, not even noticing that he was leaving Master’s side.

--

Adrien was looking, inspecting the bag of dog food and trying to think about if he needed to buy more for Sawdust yet, or if it was time to try to start weaning him off of it and onto normal human food.

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t realize that Sawdust was no longer next to him until he heard a bark and a gasp coming from the next aisle over.

taglist: @starnight-whump @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @neuro-whump @whump-me-all-night-long @cupcakes-and-pain @whumpzone @whumpcreations @dancinglifeboat @pinkraindropsfell @looptheloup @cowboy-anon @meetmeinhellcroutons @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @firewheeesky @maracujatangerine @it-will-all-whump-out @theydy-cringeworthy @kim-poce @bluetheautisticrat @whump-in-progress

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Monday-

The dog heard a sound™  at 6:28am and LAUNCHED into an all out five alarm bark alert, so I shot out of bed thinking that there was an intruder poised to break down the door. There was not - the sound™ was actually just my neighbor leaving his apartment. (how dare he, right?) So I inform the dog that he was mistaken, that we are not under attack and that there is no need to alert the authorities with his wolfdog shouting. He seemed to agree and went right back to bed. 

But the cat then noticed that I was awake, and took her opportunity to scream at me for food because *GASP* she could see the bottom of her bowl (only because she ate straight down through the kibble in the middle. there was still plenty of food pushed to the sides of the bowl, but that food becomes inedible the moments that the bottom of the bowl is visible. obviously.) So I go into the kitchen to feed her and that’s when I step in the puddle. 

The puddle that formed because unbeknownst to me the sink was dripping overnight, and there was a small round tupperware lid the exact diameter of the drain that was covering it so no water could drain. Four sopping wet bath towels later, the floor is dry and the cat’s food bowl issue has been addressed. 

Alas, at this point the dog has decided that the excitement of the nonexistent intruder, the starving cat and the flooded kitchen are just TOO MUCH to be able to go back to sleep. So it was walk time. 

Anyway, I just hope that you all have less Monday of a Monday than mine has been so far. 

[duskkodesh]

I don't remember if i asked this or not, so in case i didn't, here it is:

Can you write Morbius watching vampire movies (preferably bad) and his thoughts on them/the vampire representation, please?

M: "Bad movies? I must be a terrible judge of movies. Between my sleep habits and my lab work I really don't have a lot of time for recreation so what I get to watch is always at least entertaining to me... if I don't fall asleep during it." "When I was working on Monster Metropolis we'd actually have movie nights. Jack or some of the werewolves would go topside because they can, bring back snacks and drinks, and... I would simply hack into someone's network we'd see what sorts of films they had. I think Jack and Manny liked picking things with vampires to sort of poke fun at me... this is some sort of ritual with the wolves in particular. They like to insult you and laugh, it's just their way, I've long since learned to brush it off, and I very much was not the one who made his smartwatch play a Kibbles and Bits ad for three hours on loop." "So, I have seen Twilight. I get asked that a lot, and yes. I saw it. I don't know what type of vampire that was supposed to be. I thought maybe just a bit idealized at first but the more the movies went on the less sense it made. We all lost it about the time that the werewolf... which we were already teasing Jack about because Jacob, Jack... so close! Anyways the werewolf likes the... baby, infant, and honestly we all turned it off it raised such a debate. Canceled movie night for two weeks, Jack ate my remote, it was just a mess." "I liked Nosferatu, seemed rather like a few vampires I'd met. Ironically some of the nicer ones. Any film version of Dracula is just all wrong, completely wrong. The real one is a living toadstool, absolute pond scum. He's like a scab that talks far too much and you are incapable of peeling off. Actually scratch that, the scab is far too pleasant to be compared to him..." "So, we also watched the Underworld movies and I'm not a fan. Again, the vampires are just too civil, too human. I've met so many near-demonic entities perhaps my view is tainted. I mean I did work with Hannibal King peacefully. Mostly peacefully. Tried to kill each other a couple of times, that's all. I might have... liked the love story in Underworld a bit. I should stop talking." "There was a movie called Vampires by John Carpenter and that was not bad, we all agreed it was a good movie to have a drink to. For that matter the crowd favorite vampire movie? Vampire's Kiss. We just could not stop laughing. Was that movie meant to be hilarious? Because honestly even I was laughing and I have what Manny calls resting bi... wait I shouldn't say that. I apologize. It was a good movie, we rewatch it every so often along with Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the nineteen ninety-nine version of the Mummy. N'Kantu likes that one. Actually we all like that one."

[detroit-become-hurt]

Sweets and Harbored Feelings

Summary: You meet the new neighbors and needless to say, your smitten. Just your luck, they’re quite taken with you too

You sigh as you opened your front door, setting the empty milk bottles on the porch and stretch, taking in the morning air. Despite the sun being high in the sky already, it was fairly cool, and there was a nice breeze that came by every now and then. The door in the house next to you opens, and you see a young man come out. He’s wearing what looked to be a uniform that the milk men wear, and was holding a pie tin full of kibble. As he shook it you watched as cats came out of the bushes, purring and rubbing along the mans legs.

“Hello!” You greet, startling him slightly. Turning to look at you he gives you a curious look. “I haven’t seen you around here before, did you just move in? I knew Mrs. Abbey had a room for rent, didn’t think anyone would take it with all the cats she had. Or at least that’s what everyone around here suspected. I’m y/n.” By the time you finished speaking two more men who look just like the first appear next to him. The tallest one with a scar on his eye gives you an intense stare, while the other tilts his head. After a moment of silence one of them introduced themself and the others, “Axel,” He says, his accent thick, “That’s Otto,” the tall one, “And this is Oscar.” The one holding the kibble.

“Nice to meet you all! Hopefully we can chit chat some more some other time, I have to get going to work. But welcome to the neighborhood!” You bid them farewell before making your way down the street. The three brothers stared after you, quite intrigued by the way your hair blew in the wind. 

It was about 7 p.m. when Axel heard a knock at the door. Looking over at Oscar and Otto he gets up, making his way towards the front. Otto and Oscar had a gun and knife at the ready, in case it was someone trying to attack them. Although they weren’t very good at attacking if they knocked on the front door, Axel thought. Opening the door he sees you standing there, holding a basket of blueberry muffins. 

“Howdy! Hope I’m not bothering ya too much, but I made some muffins for you guys!” Upon noticing Axel wasn’t wearing pants and just his boxers you blushed, trying to keep your eyes on his face. Taking the basket Axel nods to you as a thank you, and he was about to shut the door when Oscar’s favourite orange tabby darted out the door. Oscar lunges forward, trying to stop him but he ended up tripping, sending his knife clattering to the ground with him. Luckily for him you had managed to scoop the cat up in your arms. Your eyes travel down to the knife, before looking at Oscar. “Are you okay?” Reaching a hand out to help him up, you then bent down and grabbed the knife before returning it to him. However, you weren’t very careful and ended up knicking your finger. “Ow! Chicken feet,” you say almost dropping the knife again. 

Axel quickly passed the basket of muffins to Otto, before taking your hand in his. Gently grabbing you by the wrist he leads you inside and sits you down at the kitchen table. Letting the orange tabby go you watch as Axel came back with a first aid kit. Otto and Oscar had started on eating the muffins you brought, watching the two of you. “You don’t have to do that,” You say feeling bad for intruding more than you meant to. Axel waves your words away, “You are hurt. We cannot let a lady leave bleeding.” His calloused hands are quick to wipe the cut with antiseptic, which caused you to hiss at the sudden sting. However, it was soothed by Axel blowing air on it gently, his eyes boring into yours. Your face heats up yet again at the intense look he gives you, before he wraps some gauze and medical tape around it. “Not deep. Doesn’t need stitches.” He says giving your knee a gentle pat before standing up.

“Thank you,” smiling you stand up, “I’m sorry to have intruded so much. I should get home. Don’t worry about the basket, I have plenty!” You say before showing yourself out. The three brothers felt themselves missing your prescence already. Something about you just lit up the place, you put them in a good mood. Axel walks over to his brothers, taking a muffin that Oscar had held out for him to try. Sniffing it he takes a bit, surprised at how good it was. The three swedes ate in silence, wondering when they would see you next. Otto and Oscar were also hoping you’d come by with more sweets.

And to the boys luck, you did. Every few days you would stop over, bringing over cakes, cookies, muffins, or other things that you baked yourself. They had come to find out that you owned a bakery in town, no wonder why your treats were so delicious. Besides delivering treats, you had taken to spending time with the boys on their off days. They never really told you what their job was, merely saying that they dealt with issues related to the law. That explained the weapons to you. 

Otto asked you shyly one day to show him how to bake something, and of course you agreed, excitedly showing him how to make your famous oatmeal raisin cookies. Oscar and yourself would play with the cats, and you’d watch with a smile on your face as Oscar worked on making sweaters for the hairless cats in the house. Axel usually read the newspaper, or would be cleaning the guns they owned. When he was doing this, you would sit and watch, occasionally asking questions about what kind of gun it was, and what he was doing. Most of the guns were ones you had never heard of. Occasionally Axel would ask if you wanted to help, and eagerly you would nod. He’d give you pieces of the gun to wipe down, before taking them back from you and sticking the gun back together. He would show you how the gun worked, how to load it and explained that some of their guns had bigger recoils than others. 

You had formed a type of bond with the three brothers, one that most people didn’t understand. They thought the triplets were odd, and that it was especially strange that they rarely talked. However you didn’t mind. They talked to you, and you talked to them. You knew them quite well, you liked to think.

The swedes knew that they were playing a dangerous game, falling in love with you. With their line of work, there was no way that they had time for things such as relationships. The commission would never allow it either. But for now, they would enjoy spending time with you while they could. At the end of each night, when you left their home, they would watch you walk next door. Giving them a wave you head inside, unaware of the inner turmoil the brothers felt. One day, they would have to leave you, and that day was coming up sooner and sooner. Until then, they would cherish every moment with you.

[korissideblog]

[sings a really emotional song about how much I love @you-may-call-me-meme ’s sillie little catboy that ends with a sick guitar solo after which I smash the guitar into a million little pieces bc my love and adoration for this little guy is so powerful] anywho! This fic has Konekomaru and Jiji in it <3 (and also Aito, obviously <3)

Konekomaru was walking to his dorm, trying to remember if their next math test was tomorrow or the day after, when he heard footsteps coming down the hall. He looked up to see Takao-kun barreling around a corner, seemingly recognizing Konekomaru, and running towards him at top speed.

“Konekomaru!!!” Takao-kun yelled, running down the hall and waving frantically. Konekomaru held his hands up to show that she had his attention when…

It… it felt like a breath of fresh air, seeing Takao-kun, even if he… couldn’t exactly see her, per se.

But that wasn’t what he was focused on right now. Right now all Konekomaru could recognize is the sharp smell of the air, like early morning on a winter’s day, crisp and fresh and cold, but pleasant as you tugged your big fluffy coat impossibly tighter. It wasn’t till Konekomaru saw Takao-chan adjust her bangs that he realized why he was feeling so nice.

“Takao-chan?” Konekomaru mumbled, still feeling a bit confused. “Did you… like was that-“

“My charm? Yes.” He responded quickly, but distantly, as if he had a million other things on his mind besides this conversation. “It was an important question! And I didn’t want you to lie.” She huffed, poorly justifying the use of her quirk.

“What was the question?” Konekomaru asked, noticing how upset Takao-chan was and wanting to help.

“It’s Jiji!” Takao-chan whined, her hands covering her face as she continued to worry. “He hasn’t eaten all day! I don’t know what to do!” Her hands lowered just a bit, letting her see Konekomaru from behind her bangs “I wanted to see if you could talk to cats- but- you said you couldn’t- and-“

Konekomaru was well aware of Aito Takao’s reputation, and knew that this was likely a trick or the beginning of some kind of prank but… he’s never seen Takao-chan so upset before, and he just couldn’t help the feeling of pity as she explained herself. He just needed help, and didn’t know how to ask- and either way! Takao-kun’s cat was in need! Konekomaru couldn’t just ignore this, even if it was a prank.

“I can still help, Takao-chan.” He offered, Takao-chan immediately perked up and nodded his head.

“Yes! Please!” Takao-chan grabbed Konekomaru’s hand and dragged him across the dorms and down two flights of stairs, somehow never losing steam as he crashed into his dorm room.

“Mama’s here sweetness!” Takao-kun cooed, immediately falling to her stomach next to her mattress, her kitten lost in a sea of pillows and stuffed animals. “Konekomaru’s here too! He said he’s gonna help you!” She continued, letting Jiji sniff her hand so he knew where she was. Konekomaru was still catching his breath by the doorway when Takao-kun waved him over, Jiji barely moving from his spot, curled up on a pillow with a sad look on his face. “He’s been like this all day, I don’t know what’s wrong!”

Konekomaru kneeled by the mattress and let Jiji sniff his hand. When the kitten buried his head back into the pillow under him instead of his usual begging for attention, Konekomaru knew something was up.

“Ok… did you or Jiji do anything differently today?” He asked, carefully petting the black kitten’s forehead.

“Ah- no? I don’t think… Um-“ Takao-kun wracked her brain as He watched Jiji lazily accept Konekomaru’s pets with a weak meow. “Oh! I was napping with Ikuto and I made him feed Jiji for me! Normally I do it though!” He said, pointing to the kitten’s food bowl, still full of kibble.

Konekomaru stood up and grabbed the bowl, emptying it into the nearby bag of food and handing it to Takao-kun. “Try it again, make sure he knows that you’re the one getting the food.”

Takao-kun immediately followed Konekomaru’s directions, snapping a bit before filling the bowl up again. “Hey Jiji! I’m sure you’re hungry, you want some food?” He asked carefully, making sure to put the bowl back exactly from the place Konekomaru had grabbed it from.

Jiji stood up lazily from his spot, but made his way over to the food and, after sniffing both it and Takao-kin’s hand, happily started eating.

Konekomaru was going to explain that cats were very schedule oriented animals, and any change in their environment would have them pretending to be sick till it was fixed, but before he could even open his mouth, he was tackled by Takao-chan.

“Konekomaru!” He shouted, not for the first time today, nearly crushing Konekomaru’s ribcage in a vice-like hug. “I was so scared!!! But you were right!” He giggled, roughing up Konekomaru’s hair as he thanked him. “I’m so smart for coming to you, you're the greatest!” He cheered, finally letting go and returning to Jiji’s side as the kitten ate hungrily. Jiji lifted his head as Takao-chan sat next to him, and bumped his head into her hand, before immediately turning and running up to Konekomaru, crashing into his ankle before looking up to him and meowing annoyingly. Yep, he was back to normal.

Konekomaru laughed as he sat down as well, lifting the kitten into his arms and scratching his ear. “Such a picky little guy, I’m glad I could help!” But… it seemed to have gone right over Takao-kun’s head.

“I haven’t slept since this morning, I was too nervous.” He admitted, laying across Konekomaru’s lap- something he’s seen Takao-chan do to a bunch of other people, but a new experience for himself. Before he could finish his half baked explanation, Takao-kun had already fallen asleep, leaving Konekomaru essentially trapped on the floor with a kitten in his arms.

Well, he decided as Jiji also yawned and curled up in his arms, there were worse ways to spend an afternoon…

[chaislatt]

WAYV AS HOGWARTS STUDENTS

QIAN KUN

ravenclaw , head boy, muggleborn

excels in every class he takes

when he first discovered he was magic, he flipped out

he had a matilda episode in his room one night

he was staring intently at his toy planes, wondering how it would be like to fly one someday

then suddenly it just?? levitated??

as an eight year old, he did the only thing he could do in such situations—scream bloody murder

first year : in his newly pressed robes and neatly gelled hair, sat at an empty compartment and started reading his textbooks

until the compartment door opened and a cat just walked over him

“oh sorry, leon doesn’t behave very well” says ten who he did not think would stick around but guess what? his cats liked him

being sorted into ravenclaw, he quickly became famous for being the smartest and wittiest most sensible? wizard of his year

he was especially great at charms got so surprised that there was an incantation to make things float, since all he has been doing is just think it (flitwick got a shock at his first year doing wandless magic)

as he grew older, almost everyone depended on him for help in everything

he couldn’t go a day walking in the corridors without someone asking to meet up at the library or thanking him because they aced their tests

but of course, this little ravenclaw had a limit

he didn’t mean to, but one day he just snapped at a poor gryffindor who kept bugging him to meet at the courtyard to practice spells (everyone finally left him alone, too scared to face the wrath of a wizard who knows all the spells for duelling)

OWLS year—the most memorable year for him, as he and ten spent nights in the library (and sometimes in the kitchen but if anyone asks only ten was in there) studying their bums off

that summer, ten just received a holler from him (surprise! he got all o’s)

naturally, he had been picked for prefect and head boy

the first years LOVED him

he taught them all the secrets to their tower and even handed them a parchment full of riddle answers, because let’s be real, even though you’re a ravenclaw doesn’t necessarily mean you want to use your head all the time

eats at the hufflepuff table because they have better breakfast items

adopted a whole assortment of kids with ten (winwin kinda just sticked around because yangyang was his buddy)

would be the boys’ go to— from pesky spells, ink blotts on their robes, th right grams for mandrake powder, they all depended on him for it

hendery was once asked why he wasn’t scared of him (knowing what happened before)

“he’s not dumb enough to duel someone because they’re bugging him. that’s why he’s in ravenclaw”

overall 9/10. minus one point because he still feels the need to get the last remark in everything.

LI YONGQIN

hufflepuff, pureblood

loves hanging out at the common room

doesn't really care much for grades, but does his best when studying

his housemates call him a sloth

moves so slow, especially in the mornings

likes taking walks along the corridors because it's fun to see other students rush and run to their classes while he walks a leisurely pace

always has his tie loosened

sometimes, he doesn't even tie it, he just wraps it around his collar and hope no one notices everyone does

has a talent for transfiguration

will turn anything into cat snacks

he once turned his homework in kibble and his excuse was "my cat ate it"

befriends all the cats in hogwarts

sometimes he lays down at the courtyard and they all just gather around him

one legendary moment (as lucas likes to call it) was when he was walking down the corrider and a train of cats just followed behind him in a single file

sweet wizard boy, befriends humans as well

he's so likeable, everyone just feels drawn to him

has this laidback energy that feels like a breath of fresh air when things get hectic in the castle

speaking of fresh air

he likes to stroll around outside, most of the time dragging yangyang and winwin out with him

"winwin could use the fresh air and your voice doesn't echo" - ten to yangyang

his sister is friends with yangyang's sister, so growing up he kind of babysat the three whenever their families would be together

he didn't imagine that it would continue during school, but poor winwin looked like he just wanted to get his head bitten off

despite having a lot of friends, he sticks with kun most of the time because he's not as chatty when he's focused (and kun is focused all the time so)

his favourite thing to do anywhere is lay down on his back and play with his wand, sending wisps of magic swirling around in the air, creating beautiful artwork

received pencils and a notebook from kun so he could just draw because "your magic might hit someone and i do not want to be involved with any of that"

doodles all the time

he likes to draw butterflies and magic them off of the paper and makes them follow his friends around

doesn't really say much when no one's talking to him, but will keep the conversation going casually

wanted to become a prefect so he could have his own bathroom

would patrol around at night with his cats (hendery jokes how he looks like filch and now he takes his filch impersonation seriously)

when catching students, he makes obvious remarks like "oh wow good to know that there aren't any gryffindors in this corridor! it would be an awful hassle to report them. good thing everyone's in their chambers!"

very lenient on students he doesn't know, but will threaten those he does and ask for something in return

accidentally gave yangyang the idea of becoming a prefect so he needn't have to worry at night

also accidentally gives yangyang dare ideas to give to hendery

he doesn't mean it! most of the time

overall 10/10. everything is cancelled out by the fact that he goes around the castle with atleast 2 cats following him around.

DONG SICHENG

slytherin, pureblood

mr frowns-a-lot, mr don’t-talk-to-me, mr i-want-to-go-back-to-my-dorm

the most stereotyped slytherin

first years believe that slytherins are scary because of him (but they immediately get debunked by hendery “you’re scared of a tall dude who gets tired from talking and likes to eat chocolate? yeah okay”)

but yes this not so little bean finds talking draining

it’s not that he doesn’t want to, but why would he have to talk about his day when as far as he knows, everyone just did the same thing he did??

you can barely get a sentence out of him

will reply with nods or shrugs and just point or look at things

only talks during class when the professors ask him questions

yangyang bugs him the most

when he got assigned to take care of this chatty, full of energy first year he almost cried

ended up just following him around and yanking the back of his robes to stop him from getting into trouble

because of this, yangyang’s friend are his friends

first got introduced to xiaojun, lucas, and hendery

ended up becoming a babysitter for four

when he met ten, he almost cried again, but now out of happiness  because he got yangyang to shut up

met kun last, and immediately took a liking to him for no reason at all

no one knows how, but suddenly mr-i-dont-want-to-do-anything started getting more mischievous and talkative

the whole hall got surprised when he laughed at lucas’ lame joke

this may be an exaggeration but the boy doesn’t even smile

after this incident, lucas just kept talking to him and he just kept replying, and pretty soon the four little troublemakers would joke around with him and he’d just sit back with kun and ten when he got too tired

this made him attractive

but unlike lucas who got confessed to everyday, there was no one who confessed to him

he didn’t really talk to anyone else and just minded his own business when he was alone, so everyone was too scared to confess to him

which is a huge relief to him because the not so little bean is actually very awkward

proven when hendery accepted yangyang’s dare of going right up in winwin’s face omygod when i tell you his whole face turned red

he avoided hendery for a week until he realized it was too hard since they have most of their classes together??

speaking of classes, it’s a miracle how he just passes everything since no one actually ever sees him studying or doing homework

it’s like everything he does is magic well

overall 7/10. doesn’t really try that much and will only voluntarily hang out with kun.

HUANG XUXI

hufflepuff, halfblood

was tiny, like a little bug

no one knows when he got so tall (summer of second year, he had to buy new robes for third year because they were already too short)

spends breakfast half awake, focusing on eating his meal and listening to yangyang complain about how hard his transfiguration classes yesterday were

he’s never around for dinner because he’s always at the pitch and no one has the energy to talk to yangyang in the mornings so he’s the poor guy

everyone loves him, no one can find a single thing to hate about him even if they tried

loves care for magical creatures with hagrid (he measures his height with the half-giant)

other classes? not so much

sure he tried a little bit, but why would he need to transfigure something into a pen when he could just look for one, and why would he need to concoct a drowsiness potion if he can just will himself to sleep

speaking of sleep, he does that a lot

he likes to wait for xiaojun during fourth period because they had arithmancy next, and he would lean against the corridor and sleep

learned how to sleep hunched over so it looked like he was focusing on class (begs whoever he’s sitting with to wake him up)

why does he do this?

“i’m saving up my energy for later”

he’s a quidditch beast

part of the quidditch team, originally tried out for seeker but they realized he couldn’t go fast enough without loosing his balance on his broom

he switched to being a beater, which the team found out he was very good at aha great power comes with great biceps

everyone falls in love with him when he’s on the pitch

he looks big and scary and ultra focused

and they realized after 3 games that he focuses so much because he aims the bludger to hit the player’s upper thigh only (this prevents player from taking a fall and just bruise, not break a bone)

once he accidentally sent his bludger flying too hard and knocked the chaser off, but he was faster than the seeker and caught them (followed the poor chaser for a week saying sorry and giving them semi burnt cookies he made with xiaojun)

gets confessed to every other day and just says “thanks”

but why don’t you ever reject them? 

why deny that i’m handsome?

that makes no sense

as with rejecting them! 

but truly is an angel

he even got winwin to actually converse with him

he makes everyone feel comfortable, talks to everyone and just hangs around when they don’t want to, offering company

overall 10/10. his cockiness about his looks just makes him endearing since everyone knows he can’t break someone’s heart.

XIAO DEJUN

ravenclaw, halfblood

kun’s reincarnation

but there’s one problem

he’s still immature

you would think he’s the prime example of a ravenclaw

practices his passions all the time

likes doing brain-productive things

reads about anything he finds interesting

goes in and out of their tower because he thinks solving the riddles is fun

but ho ho ho oh oh no

he’s a little devil

makes snarky comebacks under his breath that takes a little bit for you to understand

makes things harder on purpose just for fun and because he’ll be the only one able to do it

has a joke for EVERYTHING and never repeats them so i guess he can get away with that

he’s a little menace to the society but he can get away with it because it’s all just minor inconveniences

but we all know minor inconveniences are the most annoying things

likes to annoy kun the most because he understands and reacts immediately

doesn’t like to annoy the hufflepuffs because they just smile at him in confusion

despite that, he’s also a little sweetheart

remembers everything his friends say, so he’s always there to remind them

reminds kun about a test he has to retake, ten about his changing patrolling schedule, winwin’s meeting with a professor, lucas’ need to polish his broom after dinner, hendery’s homework, and yangyang about that incoming howler from his parents

when he realized he’s such a great asset, he became a bit nosy too

likes to meddle with all of his friends’ business

so if someone wants to find any of the six, he can tell you a vague description where they are

because of course he’s not gonna tell you lucas is by the lake practicing his swinging, he’s gonna tell you he’s brushing up on his quidditch skills so you’d go running to the pitch

this way he’s not technically doing anything wrong to both parties

one day, kun asks why he likes doing this

“it makes me feel like a king maker. feeding things into their tiny brains and knowing exactly what they’ll be doing”

“that’s not exactly what a king maker does”

“yeah but does it look like i want them to be more powerful than me?”

co-parents a dog with lucas

aka lucas asked him to take care of bella while he’s in practice but he forgot to take her back with him for 2 days so now bella thinks she lives in the ravenclaw tower too

does random errands for his friends as a way of apologizing (but really just as a leverage so he can cause more trouble)

his ultimate goal was to brainwash everyone so they couldn’t live without him and he succeeded????

now they’re the receiving end of all the sermons his professors give him (you wouldn’t expect it, but he causes quite a ruckus in class)

but still, at the end of the day, they choose to sit next to him at the ravenclaw table during dinner

overall 7/10. he’s annoying, but he’s good at everything he does and helps his friends out in different ways. which makes him more annoying because why? why not

HUANG GUANHENG

gryffindor, muggleborn

does not understand magic. like at all

the only reason he’s still managing is because he refuses to be beaten by xiaojun

he doesn’t know why he’s in gryffindor but anyone who’s ever met him can vouch for the sorting hat

he’s courageous in the way he faces learning magic (it won’t hurt me, i’m magic) he's brave to speak up to anyone and ask for help when he needs it, and most of all, he has the nerve to get right into winwin’s face

surprisingly good at harder spells than that of his year level, so he’s in a few higher level classes

the reason being he wants to save face when with upperclassmen so he actually focuses real hard and actually understands 

because when he’s with his friends, his mind goes wandering and he can’t focus his magic 

a very strange wizard indeed

imagine getting help from xiaojun to levitate a piece of parchment but can explain to ten how to brew an advanced potion

he’s very confident in his abilities

why would he be nervous to stay after curfew??

if filch catches you

then don’t i just have to avoid him??

but has realistic fears

will not go near a broom

yeah okay the broom can fly, but can he?? he can’t even levitate a piece of parchment, how can he levitate himself?

also very practical

lucas kept struggling since he kept spilling his ink pot so he handed him a pen

“dude i forgot these existed!” “who writes with feathers??”

the most laid back yet extra ordinary wizard ever

you can start a conversation with him and he can keep it going for hours on end

very friendly, will talk to anyone but the downside to this is that he talks to everyone like they’re his friends asdkjshjkd even mcgonagall

overall 7/10. uses magic to solve trivial muggle things and still makes bets with yangyang up to this day.

LIU YANGYANG

slytherin, pureblood

a force to be reckoned with

spend a day with him and your ears will bleed

why?? does?? he?? talk?? so?? much??

his friends always complain but everyone else in the castle can’t see why

in the eyes of a stranger, he’s actually cold and reserved, hard to approach

but if you actually knew him

oh boy you’d want to not

can talk for hours

he and hendery wanted to know just how long he could talk

so they timed it

talked for 9 hours straight, no one knows how they managed

good thing this talking is actually useful

he likes to recite during class, always has a lengthy explanation for his answers

people aren’t the only one he talks to

he talks to the ghosts and to the paintings, greeting them a lovely day or whatever

besides talking, he also has another passion–quidditch

he plays as chaser for his house, often times taking his time to freshen up, so he goes back at about midnight during thursdays

good thing ten patrols during thursdays

speaking of ten, he’s been a brother figure for him all his life

so when he was introduced to winwin, he got so excited because he had another brother

by the end of the night, fourth year winwin knew everything about first year yangyang

he loooves his buddy

tries to do everything with winwin but he doesn’t let him

despite being too much to handle, winwin actually likes him too (but don’t let yangyang know)

likes to do dumb dares with hendery

isn’t really into pranking and getting all up into other’s business, so they manage their mischief between the two of them

and the whole of hogwarts just enjoys and guesses which of the two would be the one running around the great hall in their pajamas

yangyang actually encourages his fellow slytherins to stop sticking among themselves

mostly because he’s tired of them bugging him to “go ask your gryffindor friend if there’s homework on-”

at the end of the day, all his slytherin friends have been adopted by ten, took a liking to kun, and watches lucas, xiaojun and hendery fool around for entertainment

that being said, he loves his friends

thankful that he has classes with at least one of them for all his classes

all his professors have learned to sit him next to them, otherwise he’ll just slack off and stare into oblivion

he’s actually more productive when he has someone to remind him to be

okay maybe sitting him next to hendery wouldn’t result to school productivity

overall 9/10. it would be an 8 but he actually does acknowledge he talks too much.

[be-ace-write-crime]

Too Many Kitties!

“I had six cats… Now I have six nearly naked men in my house…” you summarized out loud, rubbing your temples.

The cats you adopted turn out to be magic hybrids and they are so glad to be adopted by such a sweet mistress! You're not sending them away are you?!

Reader x Cat hybrid Bucci gang!

Wish fulfillment, fluff, cat hybrids, poly ships, surprise adoption, reader insert.

You were driving home after a long day at work. Nothing was going right at all. You had received a promotion at work a while ago, which you were initially excited about, but it really just meant you were handed off a complete dumpster fire for a small pay raise and your cat was your only salvation in these dark times.

You were actually thinking of getting a second one to keep Leone company. You’d get one from the pound when you had a little more free time. You weren’t really picky about breeds or things like that, but you wanted something cuddly.

Leone you had found on a rainy day under a dumpster. You had carefully kneeled in the filthy puddle around it and reached out to him. The look in his eyes broke your heart and you ran home with the big, soaking fur ball. He’d not even struggled when you bathed him, although he certainly howled like he was being murdered. It took him a long time to want to be touched after that first night, but now he greeted you when you came home with a rub against your legs, headbutts when you fed him, and he slept on the foot of your bed.

Thinking about it, it was raining just like that day now. Only by now you had a car. You looked into the grim alley you had found Leone in nearly steering off the road when you saw what you thought was a crate full of cats there. You blinked at yourself, thinking that had to be some kind of mistake. Who would leave a crate full of cats in this weather? You needed to check.

That U-turn you made could have landed you in prison if anyone was around, but you drove back up to the alleyway and heard the unmistakable yowling of cats. The bottom of their crate had filled up and the wet, mangy looking little gremlins were pawing at the bars, begging to be let out of the small basin they were sitting in. You slapped a hand over your mouth, shaking your head.

“Oh, no, babies. I’m not letting you out into the street, but I’m not leaving you here,” you said, grabbing the crate and tipping it over until the water was mostly if not completely out. It was hard to tell with the wet, furry sponges inside and the pouring rain that had soaked your hair and clothes as well now. It wasn’t just a drizzle, it was bad. You moved your car closer and hauled the crate the rest of the way and by some miracle got it into the trunk.

You turned the heat up for all of you and drove home, cooing soothingly at the soft meowing in the back.

When you opened the door Leone was there, joining the chorus of meows all around. You were all kinds of tired though, kicking the door shut and opening the big crate. You tore off your wet clothes down to your underwear, because it was freezing and examined the cats more closely for the first time.

They were a mixed bunch. One was white with black spots all over and bright blue eyes, almost snow leopard like, but it was most certainly a kitty. It was the first to tentatively step into your apartment and let out a less offended or scared sounding meow.

There was another white one, this one looking like one of those fancy, purebred, long haired ones, and it had bright red eyes. That one in particular was pressed as far back as possible, hissing even. You couldn’t really blame it. Your transport here had been less than gentle.

Then there was the small back one with little patches of orange. It was small and scrawny, you could tell it would be even when it was dry, but it had the brightest, most adoring purple eyes you had ever seen. It stayed cuddled close to the spotted white one, getting it all wet again trying to shake off.

Then there was a very exotic looking one. It was long and slender, with bronze fur and elegant spots and tiger like stripes. It had cheerful brown eyes and was the first to start looking around, under loud, meowing protest from Leone.

The last one was a small, fluffy one with gold fur and a slightly lighter patch in the shape of a heart on his chest. It’s green eyes studied you inquisitively, before getting out of the cage and bolting deeper into the apartment, getting a loud yowl of protest from Leone, who gave you an accusatory glare.

“Sorry for the surprise, Leone floof… I couldn’t leave them out in the rain, could I? And I do feel bad leaving you home alone all day now, so maybe you can get along? I’ll put up lost cat posters and call in with the local shelter, but I don’t think they were left out by accident…” you explained sadly, scooping the big, silver grump into your arms. He was so warm against your rain chilled skin and he didn’t even protest, just kept staring down at the other cats imperially from his place in your arms.

First order of business was getting the cats and yourself dry and warm. You toweled off the spotted white one, the exotic one, and managed to give the black one a cursory ruffle with a towel before it bolted. The blonde one had hidden under your couch, looking at you quietly with its tail twitching restlessly. You decided to leave it. You also didn’t dare get near the long haired white one.

Next was food and you wanted to be sure they all ate so you split them into different rooms, as much as possible, with a bowl of wet food each. White one in the crate, Leone in the kitchen as usual, gold in the living room, spotted white in your bedroom, exotic in your spare room, and black in the bathroom. In the minute or two they were all eating you quickly changed into something warm and dry and comfy. Dry and comfy being the dumbass giant onesie in your favorite color that you only ever wore around Leone.

You ran around to let the cats out of the rooms and checked to make sure they had eaten. They had. You collapsed on your favourite spot on the couch. You threw your electric blanket over your lap and turned it on and laid out the other over the free space on the couch where Leone liked to nap. As expected, your oldest cat curled up on it, purring happily, and the other cats caught on quickly, flopping down on either Leone’s blanket or you while you browsed your phone and decided tonight was a takeout kind of night.

The long haired white one came trotting over eventually and you slowly held out your hand to it until it dared come close enough to be lifted onto your lap. It was still kinda wet, but you could ignore that for now. The gold one peeked out from under the couch, still damp and sad looking as well, and you tried to reach, but it already hopped onto the couch and laid down on the backrest, watching you with its big, bottomless emeralds for eyes.

“I’ll probably have to name you all something, huh? Hmm…” You mused, holding the hissy baby still in your lap. It needed to dry up a little and you knew you’d never be able to pin him down with a hairdryer, so this was the best place for it. “You can be Pannacotta. Like the desert~” she told him.

The exotic looking one meowed as if to say they wanted to be named next. “Alright, you… Guido? Do you like that?” The cat meowed affirmatively and looked at the gold one.

“How about Giorno?” you asked the blonde kitten. It showed no outward response, but it didn’t seem to object. About what you could expect from a cat.

“You can be Arancia, with those bright orange spots~” you told the black cutie. Right away it seemed to meow something like the name and you laughed. “Narancia? Would you prefer that? Okay, it actually sounds cuter that way. Good call!” you laughed.

Last was the spotted one. You struggled with a name for a bit, thinking of a few and dismissing them. “I really like the name Bruno, but you’re a white kitty,” you eventually said. You’d already gotten kind of fixated on the name for him, assuming he was even a boy. You hadn’t checked. The spotted cat purred and came to cuddle up to you, which had to be the clearest consent you could get from any feline. “Alright, Bruno it is!” you agreed, snuggling with your new cats until the food arrived.

You didn’t feel like staying up late or doing much the rest of the evening. You checked a few missing pet sites and set a reminder in your phone to call the pound during your lunch break tomorrow. You were starting to hope no one was looking for them, because these kitties made you happy beyond belief in just one night, even if you felt a little bad for Leone now. However, strays don’t end up in a giant travel crate together and most of these cats looked like very expensive breeds.

You left the heated blankets on the couch on a low setting and quietly went to bed while the cats slept. Only Leone got up to follow you, as he normally did. You got in bed and he made a soft mewl that drew your attention.

“What’s wrong, Leone?” you asked softly, smiling as he rolled onto his back and exposed his soft little cat belly submissively. He’d never done this before and you giggled and rubbed his belly in slow reassuring strokes. “Don’t worry, baby. Someone’s probably busy looking for them right now. I don’t think I can take care of that many cats anyway. I’m too young to be an old lady with six cats, right? You’ll always be my favorite, Leone. Just don’t tell them, yeah? Kitty promise?” you whispered softly, smiling wider when he purred and cuddled up against your side.

The next morning you tried to feed all your new cats their wet food the same way you had the day before, but Giorno had somehow made it to the top of your bookcase and was not coming down. Panna had taken his spot under the couch and was similarly unmovable, and Narancia and Guido were both hovering by your door, ready to make a break for it.

You had a kibble feeder set up, so you fed Leone so he wouldn’t get grumpy and set out a bowl of special cat milk your first cat didn’t care for. It did catch the attention of your other cats, who were more interested in it and satisfied you hadn’t left out the new kitties food wise you got showered and dressed for work.

“Be good babies! I love you!” you called out, already excited to come home to your sweet cats tonight. You forced yourself not to get too excited. You also forbade yourself from shopping for an extra big litter box and collars and cat beds, because you already knew that the second you got a call about the owner being found you’d be heartbroken.

During your break you called a few of the shelters near you, reporting what had happened. They all recommended you take them to the vet to check for a chip, which you agreed to do. You booked an appointment at the vet and with gritted teeth you begged for the time off from your boss. He was not happy, since you were still in charge of a shitshow from hell and your predecessor had left a mountain of work to be sorted out for you. You were entitled to that time off though, so you got your vet visit, under the condition you worked some overtime again, which you already expected.

It was getting dark by the time you were on your way home and while you were happy there was the slight underlying anxiety your new babies might have demolished your home in your absence. You had no way of knowing if any of them had spraying issues or if they might need a special diet. Leone was a very clean and neat cat, who’s only messes were his litter box and some shed fur that couldn’t be helped.

There was also the chance they might have fought for whatever reason and you quickly forced that thought out of your mind.

You would come home and there would be six lovely kitties meowing hello and wanting food and you’d all cuddle on the couch together and you’d be alright.

You opened your door and were shocked by the smell before anything else. It wasn’t the smell of cat pee or blood, which you were happy about, but it smelled like food. Like pasta with red sauce, to be precise.

Okay… maybe your mom had come over and let herself in and made you dinner? It was unlike her to do that, especially unannounced, but it was the only semi-reasonable explanation you could come up with until a stranger came walking out of your kitchen.

“Mistress, you’re home! Bellissimo! Leone said you’re usually home sooner, so we were getting worried-”

“Who the fuck are you and why are you in my house?!” you yelled. You didn’t want to be rude, you really didn’t, but you did not know this man and he was standing in your hallway, wearing nothing except your girly white apron that you rarely ever used. The man was of medium build, tan skin and a black bob cut, with two black cat ears perched almost cutely on the sides. You weren’t sure if the not knowing or the almost naked part disturbed you more.

A few seconds later you would discover it was in fact neither of those things that bothered you most, it was that apron man wasn’t the only under dressed intruder in your house! “You don’t have to yell. You invited us in,” a tall, lean, brown haired male with leopard spotted cat ears said, coming out of your living room wearing a pair of your hipster panties with a leopard print that matched his ears and at this point you were groping behind you for the door handle.

“Vecellio is next door...” you said, thinking these guys were probably friends of your neighbors who let themselves in. Did you not lock the door? Did they find your spare key? Did they not realize they were in the wrong house?

“That’s… nice? But I don’t think that’s got anything to do with us,” apron man said.

“You’re home~!!!” a small, black haired boy yelled, coming down the stairs in a bright orange mini skirt that you had only worn for Halloween once. He looked like he wanted to come up and hug you, but your indignant yelp stopped him.

“Why are you wearing my clothes?!” you demanded, tucking yourself way back into the corner.

“Chill, you didn’t have any guy clothes. Just thought it’d be more polite to put something on than to greet you with our dicks out. We’ll take ‘em off if you want,” leopard print said, already hooking his thumb into the panties he was wearing.

“N-No, keep that on! That is not what I meant!” you said quickly.

“If she’s home, does that mean we can have dinner now?” the black haired boy in the skirt asked.

“Not yet, Narancia. I think our new mistress needs a little more explaining,” the first said, beckoning you further into your apartment. By now two more guys had appeared. One was wearing the bottoms of your strawberry print pajamas and more egregiously, holding your laptop! The other only had a white sheet around his waist like he belonged in a renaissance painting, which quite frankly, would not be wrong.

“You're damn right I need a fucking explanation!” you snapped, already at a point where you were willing to overlook the mistress part of that statement when you realized something that had you ready to escalate this situation from potential battery to potential murder. “Where are my cats?!”

Around the corner at that very moment came your big, silver fur ball and you exhaled a sigh of relief, getting down on one knee to pick him up quickly.

“Hey, Leone,” you said, considerably more calm, only for the sweet but distant tomcat you’d had for over a year to transform before your very eyes into a tall, naked, silver haired man with an impatient scowl, with you still kneeling at eye level with exposed groin as he cocked his hip and crossed his arms.

“Now will you make them leave?!” he asked.

[soldiermom1973]

N7 Month, Day 17 - Hamster

Ok, this one’s sad, so buckle in for some feels.  You can head over to AO3 to yell at me about the tears you may or may not shed.

. . . . . .

Squeaks passed away before the Normandy could get back to earth.  Kaidan did everything he could to keep the little guy alive and return him to Allie.  While he knew the planet they were stranded on had vegetation that was suitable for the crew, he didn't know what it might do to Squeaks's tiny digestive tract and he didn't want to risk feeding it to him.  Fortunately, Allie kept a stockpile of food for him in case the ship was away from supply lines for any extended periods of time.  He also didn't feel right leaving the poor bugger alone, so he moved Squeaks's pen to his room in the Starboard Observation lounge.  Kaidan took him out to exercise him frequently and let him stay perched on his shoulder as he made his rounds in the ship.

Squeaks quickly ate through any fresh fruits and veggies Allie had in the fridge in her room.  Kaidan took great pains to make sure the crew didn't know about the fresh stuff and he certainly didn't eat any himself.  The little guy packed away almost as much food as a biotic did, though, comparatively speaking. The kibble he knew would last a few months, but with any luck, they'd be back in the air and on their way to earth before then.

They'd only been on the planet for about two weeks when Squeaks passed.  Kaidan woke up one morning and went to retrieve the hamster so he could put him in a hard plastic ball to run around the room while Kaidan changed the bedding.  Except Squeaks didn't wake up.  He was just gone.

Kaidan was wracked with guilt – did he do something wrong?  He never had a small animal as a pet and worried incessantly the he might accidentally kill Squeaks because he didn't know what he was doing.  Dr. Chakwas assured him repeatedly that he did everything right.

“Kaidan, hamsters only live between one and three years,” the doc explained.  “Squeaks was at least two.  Trust me, you didn't do anything wrong and I don't think Shepard is going to be angry or think you killed her pet.”

Kaidan wanted to believe her, but it was hard to not beat himself up about it.  The last thing he wanted was for Allie to have another reason to hate him.  He carefully placed the little guy's body in a small box and put it in her freezer.  He didn't know if she might want to say goodbye or bury him, so he thought it best to leave that decision up to her when they got back to earth and found her.

One day, James and Kaidan were busy pulling wire from one system to install in another.  Kaidan was wondering what to do with the hamster food that was still left, hoping maybe it would still be good when they returned to earth.

“Knowing Allie, she'll want to donate it,” he mused.

“You know, jefe, there's a real chance Shepard didn't make it,” James said quietly.  “We don't even know if we won.”

Kaidan paused for a moment, clenching his jaw as he counted to ten.  “Yes, lieutenant, I know damn well there's a chance she didn't make it,” Kaidan replied.  “But you don't know her like I know her.  You don't know the things she's been through, the shit she's had to deal with.”  <i>Even the shit she had to deal with from me,</i> he thought to himself.  “She beat death once, James,” he continued, his voice a little softer. “She fought too hard to end this war, hell, she fought to even keep it from happening in the first place.  I know she made it, if for no other reason than to spite all of the people who thought she couldn't do it.”

James gave his friend and temporary CO a steady gaze before just nodding and returning to the task at hand.

Kaidan shouldn't have been angry at James for saying what he did – the young man was just being realistic.  If the situation was reversed, Kaidan would probably be thinking the same thing.  Still, he couldn't bring himself to give up hope that Allie somehow managed to pull off the impossible again.

It was another two weeks before they could get the Normandy airborne.  EDI wasn't quite back up to snuff yet, but thanks to a bunch of redundant systems, Sam had restored many of the crucial programs the AI needed to control the Normandy and help get them back to Alliance territory.  Reaching their first working comms buoy gave the crew a much-needed morale boost, not only because they made contact but because they also found out the war was over – the Crucible did what it was supposed to do and, on top of that, Allie survived.

Kaidan allowed his composed professionalism to drop enough to celebrate with the rest of the crew.  Once he got back to the observation lounge and was alone, however, he dropped to his knees and cried.  He wasn't a religious man, but he thanked whatever deities had a hand in making sure Allie lived because her survival had to be a damned miracle.

One more week and the Normandy was back on earth.  The fanfare was incredible – news crews and crowds as far as the eye could see.  Admiral Hackett personally met every single person as they stepped off their shuttles, shaking their hand and telling them how thankful he was for their help.  Once everyone was off the ship and accounted for, Kaidan pulled the Admiral off to the side.

“Sir, what news of Allie?  I mean, the Commander?” he asked.

Hackett gave him a warm smile.  “She was seriously injured, son, I won't lie.  It was touch and go for a while and it might be some time before she's out of the hospital, but she's out of the woods and well on the way to making a full recovery. She's been pestering me for news about the Normandy and her crew ever since I got the fleet back to earth from the rendezvous point. I had to make sure you all landed here.  If I put you any further away from this hospital, well, let's just say my rank might not have saved me.”

Kaidan nodded, pressing his lips together and fighting back tears.  He nearly failed when Hackett put his hands on Kaidan's arms and said, “It's ok, son.  I know what she means to you.”

Then he did what could arguably be the most unprofessional thing Kaidan had ever seen the man do – he pulled Kaidan into a hug.  Kaidan did his best to keep his tears to a minimum, but when he stepped back to salute, Hackett's epaulets were wet.

Everyone on the ship was ordered to undergo medical evaluations, given they had spent over a month on an uncharted, unexplored planet.  Hackett assured them Allie was eager to see all of them and the hospital waived their visiting hours.  He reminded them that she was still healing and tired easily but he trusted them to use their best judgment.

Kaidan fought the urge to push to the front of the line for his check-up.  He desperately wanted to see Allie, to make sure for himself that she was really ok.  He tempered his enthusiasm by reminding himself that she might not necessarily want to see him.  He remembered the way she touched his face when she sent him away at the beam in London.  He would swear on his grandparents' graves that he heard her say she loved him over the comms.  Still, he wanted to give her whatever space she needed to heal not only physically, but emotionally.  The war took its toll on her and she lost a lot of friends, but he would let her take the lead and set the boundaries for whatever relationship they might have.

By the time Kaidan got through medical, Joker was already on his way back from seeing her.  “She looks good, Kaidan, considering she got shot by Harbinger's laser.”

“She what now?” Kaidan asked.

“Let her tell you the story,” Joker grinned and shook his head.  “Can't believe she cheated death a second time, though.  And yes, she asked about you.”

Kaidan's heart soared and he hurried to the hospital she was being treated at.  Garrus was still in the room, but Allie motioned for him to come in, too.

“Hey,” he whispered, sitting on the edge of your bed.

“Hey yourself,” Allie replied.  She reached out her hand and touched the side of his face.  “I can't believe you're here.  That you're all here.  When I woke up, no one knew anything and at first I thought the worst and they just didn't want to tell me.”

She recounted, for what was probably the millionth time, everything that happened after the Normandy left the field – her push to the beam, Harbinger's laser, somehow getting through the husks and marauder to get to the beam, and then she got quiet and played with her fingers.

“Anderson didn't make it,” she whispered.  “But the Illusive Man is gone.  I watched him put a bullet in his head, so there's that.”

Garrus and Kaidan didn't say anything, but Allie took a few moments and a deep breath, and smiled.  “And we won.  And you guys are all safe.  My fish probably all died, though, right?  I should have that tank taken out...  I always had the worst damn luck with the fish.”

Kaidan swallowed and glanced at Garrus, who just shrugged.  “No, the fish didn't make it,” he finally said.  “I had no way to feed them by hand and the ship's power was out for a few days.”

“Yeah, doesn't surprised me,” Allie nodded.  “And Squeaks?  Everyone said you were taking care of him for me.  Is he still on the ship?”

Kaidan cleared his throat and shifted on the edge of the bed a little.  “Squeaks didn't make it,” he said quietly.  “I tried, Allie, I really did,” he added quickly when he saw her eyes fill with tears.  “I gave him the fresh fruit and veggies you had in your quarters, I exercised him, changed his bedding...”

His voice trailed off when her tears spilled down her cheeks.  “The doc said I did everything right,” he whispered.

“I'm sure you did,” Allie said, looking at her lap.  “I think I want to be alone now.”

She shifted down on the bed a little and rolled onto her side.  Kaidan's heart broke and he wondered if he should have lied, maybe tried to find a replacement hamster or something.  After everything she'd been through, the people she lost, she was probably looking forward to seeing the little guy again and now that was taken from her.

“Allie, I'm sorry,” Kaidan said as he stood.

“I know,” she murmured and sniffed. Kaidan watched as she took a tissue from the tray next to her bed and wiped her cheek.

He didn't say anything more as he turned and followed Garrus to the door.

“Kaidan,” Allie called after him.

When he turned back around, she was looking at him over her shoulder.  “I don't blame you.  I know you did what you could,” she said.

She rolled back on her side and Kaidan slipped out the door, his heart heavier than it had been in a long time.

[bbdaydreams]

Mayday Parade//Hisoka Mikage

Pairing: Hisoka Mikage x Reader

Summary: Hisoka’s partner is out of town visiting their family and he’s apartment sitting for them which makes him realize how much he misses them.

“Thanks for sending me off, Hiso. I’ll see you in two weeks, okay? Here’s the spare key to my place. I love you,” you said with a sad smile on your face.

“Love you,” Hisoka responded with the same expression.

You two were currently at the airport, Tasuku a few feet away, saying goodbye as you were leaving to go visit your family. Hisoka was about to go in for a hug until a voice came on over the intercom announcing that it was time to board your flight.

“I’ll miss you! I’ll text you! Bye!” you told him while kissing him goodbye and then turning around, grabbing your luggage to go head towards the gate, leaving him behind.

“Miss you...”

“Ready to go, Hisoka?”

“... yeah.”

The car ride was pretty quiet. It was late in the evening so there weren’t many people out. Tasuku kept his eyes on the road and glanced occasionally at Hisoka who would come in and out of his sleep. To him, Hisoka looked a little off but not enough that it was a real concern. “You okay, Hisoka?”

“Marshmallow...” he voiced while looking out at the beach where he confessed to you, probably his favorite memory he shared with you.

“What do you mean ‘marshmallow’? You gave them the rest of your bag that you brought during the car ride there after they said they were nervous.”

“Hmmm. Can you drop me off at their apartment? I’ll walk home.”

“If that’s what you want, alright.”

Once Hisoka gave Tasuku his thanks for giving you a ride to the airport and dropping him off at your place, they bid farewell. Hisoka made his way up the steps and opened the door to be greeted with silence.

He’s been at your residence multiple times, but it was his first time by himself for a long period of time which made him feel a little nervous. He promised he’d apartment sit for you while you were gone which meant he’d have to take care of your plants and just make sure no one broke in.

“Meow!”

And of course, feed the stray black cat that likes to come to your balcony on a routine basis.

“Hello, Glitter. Up, time to eat.” Hisoka greeted the feline while holding a cat bowl that contained wet food and kibble mixed with water like you had specifically shown him how to do that morning to make sure Glitter was well fed. He voiced about the process being a little over the top for a stray cat and not a pet. You brushed it off and told him you wanted what was best for them, even if they were just a guest.

Hisoka went back inside and left the door open since you sometimes let Glitter stay overnight. He made his way to your kitchen and grabbed an already open bag of marshmallows from your cabinet and walked around the apartment to make sure everything looked okay as he snacked. Walking room to room, Glitter followed him until he reached the guest room which is where Hisoka bid the cat farewell and decided to go lock the doors and make his way back to the dorms.

A week went by and he felt normal but everyone else could tell something was off.

“He’s not sleeping as much, he’s actually struggling to even take naps.” Azuma stated.

“Are you sure? I feel like I never see him around so I assume he’s been napping,” Tsumugi continues.

“That’s because he’s been spending most of his time at y/n’s apartment during the day,” Tasuku adds on until they hear the front door unlock.

“I’m home,” Hisoka yawns as he makes his way inside.

“Hisoka! Where’ve you been? I was worried and was ready to leave a trail of marshmallows for you!” Homare exclaimed clutching a bag of said sweets to his chest.

“Y/n’s and it’s ok, I’m not hungry. I’m gonna try to sleep. Good night,” he said while making his way out of the room. Once he was out of sight, his troupe mates went back to discussing how to help their friend come back to normal.

Once Hisoka reached his bed and settled in, he took out his phone and started scrolling through your texts. “Pretty...” he mumbled looking at the pictures you had sent him of yourself with your family wishing he could’ve come with you. His favorite was a picture of you with your family pet simply because he could tell how happy you both were. He saved it and decided to make it his lock screen before rolling over and falling asleep.

“Hiso-... -soka...Hisoka.”

“Mmm.”

“Wake up. The sun is about to set,” a familiar voice called out to him.

He opened his eyes and looked down to see you resting in his arms looking up at him. “Y/n?”

“Who else would it be silly?” you giggled and blew cold air at his bangs to get some out of his face. “Look!”

He raised his head and looked straight ahead where the sun met the horizon and gradually went down. As much as you wanted him to look at the sunset, he kept sneaking glances down at you, feeling how at peace and comfortable you were while entangled. Hisoka decided to hold you a little tighter and felt you slowly get softer and softer.

“Y/n?”

“Yes, Hisoka?”

“Y/n, you’re disappearing!”

“Goodbye Hisoka. I love you.” Those were your final words to him as a gust of air blew you away as your body turned into sand. He tried to grab onto you but he’d just slip right through you.

Hastily, he got up and looked in every direction around him in search for you. The sky had turned darker, rumbling with thunder and lighting. He was so invested in searching for you he didn’t notice the giant tsunami headed towards him until the water reached his knees. He opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out as he faced the monstrous wave about to engulf him.

“Hisoka! Awaken! You’re having another night terror!” Homare yelled while shaking his roommate. Hisoka woke up with a gasp and a tear stained face before sitting upwards. “You’re okay.”

He took a look around the room and calmed down his breathing before speaking, “Sorry.”

“Do you want to chat about it?” Homare asked in a concerned tone.

Hisoka continued looking around the room until he saw the time on the wall clock. “It’s okay. Thank you. I’ll be fine.”

“Thats the fourth one this week but it’s alright, I won’t pressure you. Goodnight, hopefully you sleep better and I’ll see you when I awake.” With that Homare went back to sleep but Hisoka was left awake in his bunk trying to make out his dream.

“Everything’s an illusion...”

Hisoka was never one to look at himself in the mirror regularly but today was the day that you were coming back and so he wanted to look presentable. As he was trying to dry more of his hair with a towel he gave himself a major stare down in the mirror. Dark circles had formed under his eyes, he looked a little thinner, and his face looked lighter than he remembered. “This isn’t good, Y/n’s gonna be upset,” he told himself while rubbing his face. With him sleeping less he can understand the dark circles but him looking sick he couldn’t let slide. When you’re around, you always made sure he ate at least one meal that wasn’t marshmallows, most of the time cooking extra just to save a plate for him since he pops up like your stray cat sometimes. “Omi, can you make me breakfast?” Hisoka asked after he got himself dressed and made his way to the kitchen.

“Sure! What do you want to eat?”

“Anything.”

“Hiso-Hiso!” You happily greeted him over the phone.

“Y/n,” he responded so fondly. His troupe mates and director were with him in the lounge waiting for the call to go pick you up from the airport so once Hisoka said your name they all perked up their heads.

“Hisoka I’m so sorry, but could you apartment sit for me for one more week? Other relatives heard I was back and they want to come see me so I’d like to stay another week,” you asked him, guiltily since he was already doing so much for you.

A small frown etched its way onto his face and he felt his chest immediately tighten up. Another week without you? The first week he felt fine but the second week you were constantly on his mind due to his nightmares. It didn’t help that he was really looking forward to finally seeing you today. To finally wrap his arms around you and feel the warmth radiating off your body was all he wanted. All he wished for was for you to be by his side but unfortunately you were so far away.

“If you can’t, it’s completely fine! No worries it-“

“I can do it. It’s for you,” Hisoka says cutting you off.

“Hiso, are you sure? You really don’t have to.”

“I want to. It’s just another week, how hard could it be?” Hearing this, his troupe mates grew concerned. They’re the ones that had to deal with him acting gloomy and ill. So far, they’ve concluded you were the center of his attention for all of his daily thoughts.

“Hiso... thank you so much I owe you so much. I forgot to tell you before I left but feel free to stay the night and stuff. Make yourself at home, I want you to be comfortable. I don’t mind if you use anything that’s mine either, help yourself to the fridge too,” you told him hoping he would take you up on your offer.

“I can sleep in your bed?” he asked without thinking which made him immediately start blushing which wasn’t unnoticed by the people in the room. Azuma threw him a sly smile causing Homare to laugh into his hand.

“Of course. What’s mine is yours.”

“Ew, what’s wrong with your face? You look like a tomato!”

“Shut up! Get out!“ you yelled before grabbing a pillow and chucking it at your sibling.

“I love you,” Hisoka told you with a smile on his face after hearing what was said in the background.

In the time that you two have been together, it was rare whenever Hisoka would say those three words first. You know he means it, and it’s priceless. “I love you, too. See you soon.” With that you both hung up the phone.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Hisoka asked once he looked up and his troupe mates and director.

“Hisoka-kun, I’ve never seen you like this before!” Izumi stated.

“Like what?”

“In love!” Tsumugi answered. In all honesty, it was the happiest they’ve seen their friend in the past two weeks. It was surprising to them how quickly his frown turned into adoration the moment he expressed his feelings for you.

“You should bring them around when they come back! I’d love to meet them.” Izumi continued. You two have been dating for a little over six months now and Hisoka was still thinking on how to introduce you to everyone in the dorm without making you feel uncomfortable. The only information they knew of you is whatever they heard from Hisoka and the only other person that’s met you.

“Tasuku what are they like? I’d love to know more about Hisoka’s partner,” Azuma asked.

“They’re nice. They can keep Hisoka awake without marshmallows. Honestly, seeing them together just makes them look like kids in love.”

“Hisoka, where are you going?” Homare asked noticing him getting up to leave.

“Anywhere but here,” he responded with a shy smile before exiting the room.

“Glitter, up. Hey, no fighting. Be patient,” Hisoka said speaking to not only Glitter but a couple other strays as well. In the time that Hisoka was apartment sitting, he grew a fan base of cats that started following him to and from the apartment. “Go to bed,” he told them leading them to the guest room.

Hisoka ended up taking you up on your offer of allowing him to stay at your apartment. He enjoyed staying in your bed and sleeping under your blankets that smelled just like you. He definitely felt a lot better staying at your place compared to the dorms because it was the closest he could currently be to you. He still needed to go to the dorms and shower and change his clothes though.

Everyone at the dorms was still worried about their friend but he did seem to be doing better. He was still a little sad but at least the bags under his eyes had disappeared due to all the sleep he was getting from sleeping in your bed.

Once he got there he looked at the time and date. It was a little past eight and you were coming back in two days. As he exited the shower he decided it was best to stay the night in his own bed and he’d start tidying up your place in the morning.

“Goodnight, Hisoka-kun!” Homare called out.

“Night...” Hisoka responded before tossing over in his bed.

“Mmmm... smells nice,” Hisoka mumbled only for a lump to form in his throat after he opened his eyes.

Your head was resting on his chest, sound asleep while a blanket covered the both of you. He didn’t recall seeing you last night or you even saying anything about coming home early. All he remembered was waking up around midnight and deciding he’d rather be at your place so he got dressed and walked to your apartment in the middle of the night. He brushed some hair out of your face to make sure it was really you which caused you to try to bury yourself deeper into him. Once it registered it really was you he wrapped an arm around your back and had tears well up in his eyes. You were back.

“Y/n, when’d you get here?”

“Mm, I got here a couple hours ago. I’m surprised you didn’t wake up when I opened the front door since you’re always on such high alert. Saw you in my bed and didn’t wanna wake you so I just climbed in carefully.” After a while you slowly raised your head to greet him. “But good morning- Baby, why are you crying?” His eyes were soft and he was smiling as the tears were rolling down his cheeks. You quickly decided to shimmy yourself higher up on the bed so you could put his head into your neck as he cried. “What’s wrong? Talk to me,” you pleaded.

“I was miserable at best without you,” he told you while wrapping both his arms around you as he breathed in your scent. “I missed you so much. I couldn’t sleep, I had so many nightmares and in one of them you just disappeared, it was so scary. You leaving was so scary.” He was sobbing at this point.

“Hiso, it’s okay. I’m right here. I’m not leaving for a very long time.”

“No, don’t leave again.”

“You can come with me next time. I promise.” You responded while using your fingers to comb through his soft hair. “I missed you a lot too, ya know? That’s why I came back early. I wanted to surprise you and spend time with you. Just like this, in bed as you hold me.”

He slowly pulled his head away from your neck to look at your face. Oh that loving soft look he missed that you would only give to him. He was glad he let you into his heart. “I love you, a lot. I know I don’t tell you directly a lot but-“ you were quick to cut him off with a kiss. When you both pulled away, you wiped the last of his tears away from his face.

“Hiso, I know you do. I love you too. Now, calm down. I’m here okay? You’re rambling and I wanna cuddle. Can we do that?” you asked him, already knowing the answer and rolling off him onto your side so you could cuddle facing each other.

“Yes,” he spoke softly as he brought you closer to him and began to slowly peppering your face with kisses.

“By the way, you have some explaining to do. Why is there more than one cat in my guest room? Glitter started pawing at the door the moment I came home asking to be let out and then they all started rubbing on me.”

“You weren’t supposed to find out,” he responded burying his face back into your neck.

“Hisoka... it’s my apartment? What do you mean I wasn’t supposed to find out?“

“It’s bed time, Y/n. Zzzzzzz...” And with that, all of Hisoka’s negative thoughts ceased as he spent the rest of the morning sleeping in with you.