#so sometimes they’ll sit on the couch each independently doing their own work but still having conversations with each other

[theshadowrealmitself]

Still thinking about “Vulcan who’s sure they’re dating + pining Human who doesn’t know if the Vulcan likes them”

Rn thinking about them doing domestic stuff together, like the Human knitting on the couch while watching a mystery movie and the Vulcan sitting next to them, both of them telling each other their theories for the plot twist

And the whole time the Human is just anxious like “do they like me back? this could easily be a friends’ hangout that I’m overthinking :(“

(which is true, could be a normal hangout, and a valid concern)

But, the Vulcan’s thinking about how to ask them to move in together and is considering how to bring up the idea of bonding

[tf2-hellhole]

can we get some fluffy tf2 headcannons? giving you full creative liberty over this one! :)

Idk if you meant tf2 x reader headcanons or just general head canons, so I did two sections for each merc; the first point is a general headcanon, the second is X Reader.

sorry this took forEEEEEEEEVER, I was just experiencing burnout and working on a prize for a contest on my server (BTW WE HAVE A NEW DRAWING CONTEST GO CHECK IT OUT)

Scout:

Scout is actually really self-concious about his intelligence. He’s not very bright and he knows it, and it makes him feel horrible. He had flunked out of high school and struggled in most of his core classes. He honestly feels really stupid and he hates when people point it out. But luckily for him, a lot of the other mercs understand what it’s like to be looked down upon and empathize with him. Quite a few of them help him relearn the skills he never mastered in school. Engie helps him with math, Spy sometimes helps him with writing, and even Pyro has him read children’s books to them to improve his reading.

Scout absolutely loves little casual dates. Stuff like going out to eat lunch, going to the movies, maybe just cuddling up in his quarters and watching a movie. He tries to plan one every week. His dream date is taking you back to Boston to meet his family and go to a Red Sox game. But obviously, since you’re both in New Mexico at the time, he’s going to have to shelve that dream for a few years.

Soldier:

Soldier is an excellent raccoon dad. At first, the other mercenaries thought they’d all end up dead by the end of the month when he first found them. But surprisingly, they are are very well cared for. They’re all fed regularly and basically have his entire assigned quarters to themselves. He loves every single one of them dearly, even the ones that hiss and scratch him every time. The raccoons, at least some of them, are kind of like weird, quiet dogs, and actually get along pretty well with most of the other mercenaries.

Soldier is a surprisingly very physically affectionate partner, and he’s not at all opposed to PDA. He loves hand holding, cheek kisses, cuddles, the whole nine yards. Whenever he’s particularly excited, he loves to run up to you, scoop you up into his arms, and press a hard, sloppy kiss to your lips. Of course, he’s careful to not hurt you, but he’s a very intense, emotional guy and he needs to express all that love he has for you!

Pyro:

Pyro is and excellent listener, so they’re a person a lot of the other mercenaries depend on to vent. Demo often comes to them to vent about his emotions, Scout, Sniper, or Medic will rant about what’s bothering them, and even Engineer will talk about his stress. And of course, Pyro doesn’t understand a lot of what is told to them, but they’re still happy to help them feel a little better, and they would happily do it a hundred times over to make their friends feel better.

Pyro has a hobby of baking and making candy/treats, and they love sharing everything they make with you. When they first gave you a treat, you honestly thought it’d be burnt or bad in some other way. But to your surprise, it was amazing! They’re actually and excellent cook, but they just love making sweet things the best. They’ll make you just about anything you could ask for without hesitation, but they’re best at making anything sweet.

Demo:

Demo obviously has the potential to pretty emotional when he’s drunk, there’s no doubt about that. But on the off-chance that he’s sober, he’s actually pretty sweet and considerate. Though he still is a rough-housing joker, he’s much more considerate of his friends’ feelings and has deeper and more meaningful conversations with them. He often likes to go to bars with his friends and co-workers on ceasefire weekends, having lots of fun conversation, drinking together, and generally causing chaos around town.

Demo, to put it simply, doesn’t like himself. He’s critical of everything, from his skills to race, because people have always put him down about them. His mother told him he’s lazy and unskilled too many times to count, just everyone makes fun of his eye, and many have made fun of his skin color. But you make him feel so much better about himself. Just the fact that someone so kind and gorgeous is actually with him makes him feel like he’s not as horrible as he thought. There’s been a couple of times where you’ve accidentally almost brought him to tears with a sweet compliment or show of affection, because he never thought in a million years that someone would love him and care for him like you do. He feels so blessed that he has someone like you.

Heavy:

I know the fandom’s decided that Engie is the Team Mom and makes the food, but I also think that Heavy cooks a lot too. He makes all of his own food, so he often makes a lot of extras to feed the team because a lot of them just eat junk food and Medic’s always complaining about their eating habits. Heavy often takes like half the food for himself (he does have a huge appetite and loves food, so he likes to take a lot) and just boxes up the leftover portions and leaves them in the fridge for the team to take. He says he’s only doing it because they can’t work properly if they’re unhealthy, but he also does it because he cares about their health. A little bit.

At first, you wouldn’t think Heavy’s the most cuddly guy. But surprise, he actually loves giving and receiving physical affection. He just doesn’t show it often out of respect for your boundaries, and doesn’t do it around others. His absolute favorite thing is to cuddle you against his chest. Sometimes it’s when going to sleep, or cuddling on the couch, or maybe just a quick hug. He just loves the feeling of your head resting against his chest and your arms trying (and failing) to wrap around his torso. It makes him feel like you’re safe. Nobody could ever get you when you’re wrapped up in his arms.

Engie:

You’d think Sniper’s the only nature nerd on the team, but Engie absolutely loves the outdoors, as well as animals. It’s because his father would often take him out camping every couple of months. It was often the only time he would get 1-on-1 time with his usually very busy father. So he does love the great outdoors, especially that of his home state. He especially loves animals. He was raised on a farm and helped take care of lots of injured wild animals with his mother. He absolutely loves pets and would like to have many when he retires. His dream is to have is own ranch, with horses and cows and a bunch of dogs and the whole shebang.

Engie absolutely loves playing the guitar, so of course he loves playing for you. He learns all sorts of sweet love songs to sing to you. He’s an excellent player and actually has a pretty decent singing voice (think Johnny Cash, he kinda has that singing style). I hope you like country music, because that’s all he’s going to sing to you until you give him some requests or he finds out your favorite artists or genres. You can tell how happy he is every time he gets to surprise you with a new song he learned, and he’d be a giddy, laughing mess if you sang along with him.

Medic:

You’d think this guy takes horrible care of his birds because of the environment he keeps them in, but his birds are actually exceptionally well cared for. He buys them only the best and most expensive bird food, gives them super high-quality water with vitamins n stuff in it, takes them to the vet regularly, the whole shebang. Yeah they get a little dirty from sitting around in his lab, but he always gives them a little bath at the end of the day to get all the blood and guts off.

Medic is honestly such a playful partner. Of course, around his co-workers he’s a little more professional; he still gives you soft touches, a kiss on the cheek, or a big smile, but that’s about it. In private, however, he’s such a sweetheart. He’s always sweeping you up into big hugs, kissing all over your face, and calling you all sorts of adorable nicknames in a variety of languages. It comes as a surprise, because you’d think he’d be a little more formal, but that’s really only for special occasions. It honestly brings him so much joy to have someone like you by his side, and every day he’s going to make sure you know just how grateful he is to have you in his life.

Sniper:

Sniper is an incredibly independent and self-sufficient man, but he’s also secretly a real mama’s boy. He loves his parents dearly and has a particularly close relationship with his mother. As well as sending them money every month, he sends them all sorts of gifts, letters, postcards, and souvenirs. He also makes sure to call them regularly. He goes home every couple of months to visit them, and one could see that he loves helping around the house and chatting with his parents. His mother loved gardening, so his number-1 favorite thing to do is help her in the garden.

Despite Sniper’s obvious lack of knowledge on self-care, he takes a lot of time out of his day to make sure you are happy, healthy, clean, and well-fed. He doesn’t hound you like a helicopter parent but he likes to ask how you’re feeling, if you’re hungry, stuff like that. It feels nice to know you’re taken care of or take care of you himself. If you switch it around and try to take care of him, however, he’s honestly baffled as to why you would care so much as to make sure he’s doing well. He does absolutely love the affection and attention he gets out of it though, it makes him feel loved.

Spy:

I’ve mentioned this before, but I have a head canon that Spy has a dog. Her name is Charlotte, and she’s an elderly Chihuahua. One would think he’d buy a French breed, but he found her out in the pouring rain one day and fell in love with her fluffy ears and spunky personality. She’s now 17 years old, extremely frail, missing most of her teeth, and extremely aggressive to anyone other than Spy, but he loves her dearly and pays for all of her medical expenses without batting an eye. And of course, she expresses her thanks with lots of kisses.

Spy loves dancing, and knows all kinds of dances, from flamenco to ballroom dancing to the Charleston to, canonically, disco. So of course, he’s dying to share all of the most romantic dances he knows with you. He’d love to actually teach you how to dance, rewarding you with kisses every time you finally get a move right and laughing softly when you make mistakes. But in reality, he just wants to use it as an excuse to dance with you against his chest and smother you in affection.

[xreaderbooks]

Hidden (1)

Pair: Draco Malfoy x reader, Harry Potter x sister! reader, Platonic! Cedric Diggory x reader

Word count: 3.3k

Warnings: curse/swear words, fluff, soft Draco 

Summary: You and Draco have been in a secret relationship for 2 years already and he wants to go public but you don’t think that your brother is ready. 

Masterlist - part 2

If he were to ever find out; you would be dead. Or maybe he'd be supportive. It's always important to remain optimistic in situations like this, But then again how many people can say they are put in the position where they fall in love with their brother's enemy. Knowing Harry he'd probably be understanding, maybe, who were you kidding the rivalry between Harry and your boyfriend have been going on for years now and Harry would only ever see Draco for his past mistakes and... the more recent ones. The only reason he continues to bother your brother anymore is to keep up the charade of hating him. In reality he actually doesn't mind Harry anymore, at least that's what he tells you. In the end it'll all be worth it.

You were nervously wringing your hands as you were walking towards the room of requirements to meet your secret lover. You wanted Draco to ask you to be his date to the yule ball and publicly announce yourselves as a couple, you was tired of sneaking around and pretending to fake fight in front of your brother and your friends. You wanted to hold his hand as you walked through the halls and have him walk you to classes and sit next to you in the ones you did have together. You wanted him to kiss you good morning when you see each other in the great hall for breakfast and kiss you good night when you go to your respective dorms or houses. It was exhausting having to come up with excuses to see each other and hard trying to come with reasons to argue in front of people when all you wanted to say was that you loved him and thought he was perfect.

In the moments where girls would come up to him and shamelessly flirt with him because, for all they knew, he was single, You just wanted to come up to him right in front of the other girl and show that he was yours, and you were his. Unfortunately, Draco just had to go and mess things up without knowing the trouble it'd bring for your relationship. Not that you knew you would fall for each other.

Now you were trying to find a way of asking Draco to the Yule ball. For a year and a couple of months already you've been hinting at exposing yourselves and let everyone know you're a couple. However, every time you tried to make an actual conversation of it Draco would deflect and change the conversation or would shut down the idea completely. You knew it was scary and Harry's opinion mattered to you, way more than she'd care to admit but she loved Draco and wanted everyone to know it.

The room of requirements appeared itself to you; your reoccurring meeting spot. The anxiety of rejection making your palms sweat a little.

"Hello, My love." He leaned down to kiss you. "How were your lessons?"

"Boring as usual, I zoned out in Mcgonagalls class and of course she noticed and called me out." You huffed plopping down on the sofa that always appeared in the room. The room of requirements always showed up as a living area with a fireplace and couches with an assortment of fruits, snacks, and drinks. Sometimes even a bed for other times... "I had no clue what she was asking I guessed but I still got the question wrong. It was so embarrassing."

You let out a sigh. "Anyways how were yours?"

"The same as every other day, I missed you." He sat down next to you, pulling you closer to him so that you sat between his legs as he played with your hands. Your heartbeat sped up at his touch also knowing you had to bring up the yule ball. You inhaled and decided it was now or never. "Draco, How would you feel if we went to the Yule ball together?"

He got up, loosening his tie a little. You got up from the couch knowing where this was going.

"Y/N I don't think it's such a good idea." Your cheeks began to heat up with anger. You've been together for almost two years now and he wanted to reject You? Your mind was racing with all the bullshit excuses he would use, all the excuses he would bring up you were ready to rebuttle. Now your insecurities began to creep up. What if there was someone else? What if he was embarrassed by you?

"And why not?" Your voice raised a tiny bit, you tried to keep it in check to not start a screaming match.

"It's not safe for you, My father-"

"Screw your father Draco, When are you going to stand up to him?" She rolled her eyes.

"He hates your brother and if he finds out we're together who knows what he'll do to you."

"My safety is the least of my worries. Besides I'm not scared of your father."

"Your safety is my top priority Y/N, don't you understand?" He steps closer, grabbing your face in his hands.

You remove his hands and shake your head. "I don't believe that."

"You don't believe that I care for you, after all this time." His head tilts to the side, a look of hurt flashed before his face.

"No I do, I just dont believe my safety is your top priority, you're afraid of your father and what he'll do to you as well."

"You don't know what he's capable of."

"I have an idea but I don't care."

"Aren't you afraid of what Harry and your friends would say?"

"Yes and No, They'll have their opinions but nothing they say will change how much I love you." You raise your head to seem taller somehow.

He paced around the couch. "Just give me a couple more months to introduce the idea to my family."

"I've been bringing this up for months Draco and the yule ball is the perfect way to do it."

"I know we have it but just give me a little more time." He begged

"A little more time? really?" You laugh bitterly. "I can't do this anymore."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I love you, you know that, but I want to be able to tell the world how much I love you because I can't handle seeing another person flirting with you because they dont know that your mine or other guys approaching me when I'm not the slightest bit interested." You gently grab his face pulling him closer. "It's just not enough for me. I'm tired of this."

"I love you too but I can't."

You took your hands off of his face and stepped back. "I'm done."

"What would happen if your brother knew, you think he would just step back and let us be happy?" He shouted as you began to leave. Tears were forming in your eyes. "Or your friends, they'll try to separate us and you know it!"

"Don't you dare pretend you know anything about them! I already told you I don't care if they don't approve." You turn back to argue. "You're not even afraid of my friends, you're afraid of what your little pureblood buddies will say."

He stayed silent, you could tell he was trying to bite back his tears. "You're a coward, We obviously didn't think this through in the beginning." You look down refusing to show that you were about to cry.

"I-" You interrupted. "No Malfoy, I think I know what you want, its all clear now." You back away from him. "These past few years were amazing but I can't keep us a secret anymore. I think we need time to ourselves."

You walked out of the room of requirements with warm tears streaming down your face, but he wasn't going to let you go that easily. He ran after you shouting out your name in attempt to catch your attention but you didn't turn back.

Draco noticed Harry has approached you, engulfing you in a hug. "Y/N what happened?" Harry met Draco's eyes. "What did Malfoy do to you?"

"Nothing." You tried to force Harrys attention elsewhere. "I was just being emotional, you know? and I kind of just broke down in the wrong place."

"C'mon lemme walk you to your dorm."

~~~

It was breakfast time a couple days before the Yule ball. Since the argument with Draco, Y/N has been attempting to lift up her own spirits. Trying to convince herself that she was an independent person, she didn't need him. Besides, he seemed to be getting along fine without her now.

In Draco's mind however he was anxious to be with her again. He was sure she was going to get over it and come back to him in no time. This was an ongoing argument between them anyways and her and Draco always came to an understanding.

At least that was his thought process before he overheard a group of girls gossiping about Cedric Diggory. They were talking about a girl who they thought the popular Hufflepuff would ask the upcoming ball. Normally he'd be uninterested but Y/N's name was brought up to conversation. They were rating if they'd be a good pair and if she was even good enough for Cedric, as if they had any right to. Dracos mind became wrapped in jealousy.  'Prick' he thought. He never had any bad blood with Diggory til now when he suddenly showed an interest in Y/N. He couldn't stand the idea. He also thought that if he were to show up with a date you'd also be infuriated and come crawling back to him. And he knew just the person to ask.

~~~

Later when everyone was in Snapes class writing down notes, Hermione next to Ron who was next to Harry. You were across from Hermione. Ron was complaining about not having a date to the ball. "This is mad, at this rate we'll be the only ones in our year without dates." He said, while Snape was walking by and he snapped Rons head to his notebook.

He continues and leans towards Harry and breathes out a laugh as he says "Well, us and neville."

"Then again he can take himself." Harry laughs along.

You and Hermione share a look. You rolled your eyes and continues to do your work as Hermione tells them that Neville already has a date.

"Oh now I'm really depressed." Ron whines.

On the other side of the table Fred sends a note to Ron telling him to find a date before all the good ones are gone. Whatever that's supposed to mean.

"Who are you going with then?" Ron whispers to his brother. In response Fred chucks a paper ball at Angelina Johnson. Who looks annoyed when she looks back at him.

"Angelina-" Fred mouths while pretending to dance. "Will you go to the ball with me?" She agrees and Fred winks back at Ron.

Ron then leans towards Hermione starting off the conversation with "Why Hermione, You're a girl." 'Honestly Ron' you thought 'This boy couldn't be any more stupid.'

"Oh well spotted" she retorts. Harry taps Ron on his arm to warn him that snapes coming their way but its too late. Snape slaps Ron on his head with a book as well as harry and walks off, reading someone's notebook.

"C'mon it's one thing for a bloke to go alone, for a girl it's just sad." Ron makes a 'sympathetic' face at her.

"I won't be going alone because believe it or not someones asked me." She slams her book closed, hands it to Snape, walks back to respond with "And I said yes" she whisper shouts as she leaves.

"God Ron, you're such an idiot." You say.

"How was I supposed to know?"

"You could've said it in a better way, is all I'm trying to say." she puts her hands up in surrender.

"Well, what about you (y/n)?" He says suggestively. "Any eligible bachelors worthy enough?"

"No but I'm definitely not going with you."

"Why not?"

"Because she's my sister" Harry gives him a face as if it was obvious.

"Exactly it'll be embarrassing if I go with you-" You notice how he looked down. "It's not you, well, it is." You couldn't find the right words without making him feel worse. "It's just that if I go with you, it'll seem like I couldn't get a date of my own so I had to go with my brother's best friend type of thing."

"You understand don't you?"

"Yeah whatever" He responds and changes the subject.

~~~

The same topic is brought up again later that evening when you hung out with Harry in the Gryffindor common room. Nobody would shut up about it so you left. You were reading a book, trying to study for a defense against the dark arts test and you did not wanna get on Moodys bad side so you didn't see when you bumped into someone.

"Oops sorry, wasn't looking where I was going." You wanted to finish your last sentence before you looked up and saw that it was one of the champions. Cedric Diggory. You also recognized him from the quidditch world cup/port-key incident that happened before school. You didn't formally meet.

"No worries." He smiled. "You're Harry's sister, right?"

"I'm (y/n)." You put your hand out for him to shake. He shook her hand, "I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to properly introduce myself, I'm Cedric Diggory."

You chuckled and nodded your head. "I know."

He tilted his head then realized he was practically famous around Hogwarts now. "Right." He smiled again.

"Excuse me, Ive got to go, it's almost curfew and I definitely don't want to get caught out."

"Don't worry about it, I'm a prefect. I could walk you to your house if you'd like?"

"Sure" You accepted his offer, not being foolish enough to walk around without the proper authority to get you out of trouble.

~~~

After that night with Cedric, You had spent more and more time with him. It would always be a coincidence that you'd meet. In classes they never knew they had together, walking beside each other in a rush to get to any of their meals, etc. the only times you would both see each other on purpose was in the halls talking to your friends and going to say hi to one another or when you went to wish Cedric luck. You were friends, you thought it was a nice change hanging out freely with someone instead of sneaking around. And just hanging out with someone other than Draco in her free time in general. Not that you didn't still love him it was just nice.

What you didn't know was that the platinum haired slytherin saw every interaction. Every laugh, every smile, every that was innocent in the eyes of everyone else; was criminal in Dracos. He was pissed so as revenge he decided to make his "relationship" with Pansy more public in an attempt to make you jealous. His plan was futile since you weren't paying the slightest bit of attention to him. Or so he thought. You saw every interaction that he and Pansy had and tried to play it off cool, not let him see how much it affected you. He made his decision and you broke up with him, you can't claim him anymore.

The day before the Yule Ball came quick, you were walking around the lake and Cedric came running up behind you.

"(y/n)! Wait up!" He waved you down.

You turned around "Hey Ced" you smiled. "what's up?"

"So the balls tomorrow..." He suggested

"yes..." You urged him to continue, a slight smile was playing on your lips

"Would you- and I know this is an odd question to ask but I do think we've been getting closer..."

"Oh get on with it!" You yelled

"Would you like to go the ball with me?"

"Yes, Yes I would." You laughed, he let out a breath of relief and hugged you.

"Oh thank Merlin, I thought you were also going to reject me."

"No way somebody rejected you!"

"Remember that girl I told you about?" you nodded, "Cho said she already had somebody else."

"I'm sorry Ced" You rested your hand on his shoulder in sympathy.

"It's alright (y/n), now I get to go with somebody better." He playfully pushed you. "Hey! I just realized I was your second choice, you twat!" She joked and pushed back.

"I will never forgive you for this Diggory!" You said dramatically pretending to swoon. He played along, grabbing your hand, pulling you closer to him. "Oh, how must I redeem myself."

"It cannot be done" You continued the act by pretending to ignore him.

"How about butterbeer on me?" You glanced at him. "Done."

"Cool, I'll meet you at the stairs by the great hall before the ball starts, remember the champions walk and all that."

"Alright."

~~~

You were nervous as you walked down the steps to the great hall to meet up with your date. It was a magical moment, he had his back to you. He hadn't noticed you were coming down until Parvarti Patil pointed you out. He turned around and grinned, reaching out a hand to help you from the steps.

"You look stunning." He complimented. A light blush spread on your cheeks as she thanked him.

You joined the other champions in a line with their dates. You saw Hermoine and Victor Krum together, in your mind you applauded Hermoine for scoring a date with the Durmstrang boy. During the ceremonial dance, the champions had to do with their dates you secretly tried to look for Draco through the crowd of students who were watching, but you couldn't find him. ' With Parkinson' you thought bitterly.

When people started to join in on the dancing with their partners you decided to excuse yourself to get a drink and hopefully cool the rage you felt when you thought of Draco and Pansy together. 'They were probably in a broom closet snogging' you internally rolled your eyes at that. Cedric came looking for you a little while after, asking if you were alright. "As good as I can be." You responded.

Cedrics brows furrowed. "What's wrong? Did I do something to make you uncomfortable?" he asked panicked, "No, no you're great." You sighed. "You're practically perfect and I don't wanna make you think I didn't enjoy spending time with you or that you're a second choice..."

"But you'd rather spend your time with some other guy?"

"Not the way I would've worded it. But yes, there's this guy that I really like, we were dating for while actually and..." You sighed again. "Nobody knew,  I wanted to tell people and he didn't so we broke up."

"And now your here with me." Cedric gave her a small smile. "Hey, listen it happens I'm glad we're here together even if it's just as friends."

You felt your heart lift up, no longer weighed down with guilt for leading him on. He put his arm around you, you let your head rest on his chest.

~~~

The night was almost coming to end half of the students already went up to bed, the other half was still dancing the night away. You and Cedric included, you shouted and jumped and actually danced, enjoying this time. You forgot about Draco for a period of time, ignoring him as he danced with Pansy. That is until Cedric excused himself to go to the restroom. Draco came up to you with a determined look on his face.

"Ditching dates now?" You commented.

"I left her with Blaise, she'll be fine." He shrugged. "Where'd Diggory go?"

"Bathroom." You tried to be dry in conversation so that he'd leave you alone.

"You sure he didn't ditch you?" He replies with a smirk. You scoffed, "Like you care."

"Contrary to your belief I do actually care about you."

"Doesn't seem like it."

"I'm tired of this Y/N, I love you and this time away from you has made me realize how much I need you."

"Then prove it."

[cowboymirio]

They Want To Get A Pet - Headcanons

Summary: Your S/O wants a pet and adorable antics ensue~ 

Characters: Hizashi Yamada, Taishiro Toyomitsu, Aizawa Shouta, Eijiro Kirishima, Tenya Iida, Hanta Sero, Takami Keigo

Contains: Gender neutral reader, lotsa fluff, Reader has arachnophobia in Sero’s part! Crackheadery in Aizawa’s part

Hizashi Yamada - Cockatoo

📣 You guys totally didn’t plan on getting a cockatoo, or any pet for that matter. Y’all just moved into your new place for christ’s sake! 

📣 But after a visit to a lil exotic pet store downtown, your plans changed. And now you’re stuck with a bird with the intelligence of a toddler

📣 According to Yama, the bird just ‘called to him’ and by that, he means the bird literally screamed at him

📣 They’ve got the most bougie cage ever like MTV cribs hit them up. 

📣But he doesn’t spend too much time in there as you guys let him roam around the house all day until it’s time for bed or if you leave for a while

📣 If they’re not attached to Yama’s shoulder, you often find them waddling around the house, picking things up off of the floor and throwing them, and squawking at you when they want attention

📣 Sounds like someone else you know huh…

📣 Yama and the bird dance together so much omg. They do the lil head bobs together, he’ll blast some music for them and they go to town he even chirps along to the lyrics omg-

📣 He doesn’t even have to teach them words, they just pick them up on their own… and then never stop saying them… ever 

📣 ‘YEAHHHHH’ then from the other side of your home you hear another ‘YEAAHHHHH’

📣 Make it stop

📣 You taught them cuss words for the shits and giggles though

📣 Yama finds it funny too though because he’s got that 8-year-old sense of humor… you all do to be honest 

📣 But when the bird chooses to sit on your shoulder you bet your ass Yamada’s gonna fawn over the two of you for the next hour :’) 

Taishiro Toyomitsu - Pyrenean Mastiff

🍢 Really wants a pet 

🍢 But also really scared of crushing them so…

🍢 You guys settle for a big ‘ol Pyrenean mastiff!

🍢 And when I say they’re big they are big like… I mean knock you over if you’re not careful big

🍢 They’re literally perfect for each other

🍢 They’re both massive units, insanely adorable, and they for sure share the same appetite

🍢 Speaking of food, he makes sure he’s feeding them the best of the best foods even if that means y’all are making it yourselves

🍢 Not as afraid to roughhouse with them as he thought he’d be

🍢 Lots of fetching, frisbee throwing, ‘wrestling’ even?? They’re so rowdy and for what? My heart, that’s what <3 

🍢 The dog definitely sleeps on top of him I don’t make the rules

🍢 Mf just hops on up, curls up and they’re ready to go like--- Is that- is that not y’know,,, HEAVY?? 

🍢 I mean,,, you sleep on top of him too so I honestly don’t think Tai cares too much

Aizawa Shota - Cat

💤 You guys already know…

💤 If he were to get any kind of pet it’d be a cat.

💤 They’re chill, independent, and sometimes want attention. Just how he likes it.

💤 Well… that’s how he thought that things should be but-

💤 BOY was he wrong

💤 After living together for quite a while, stalking animal shelter websites for the perfect cat, and finding the right one, you bring them home!

💤 When you met them at the shelter, they were a sweet lil baby with an aloof attitude that you both fell in love with

💤 But when you brought them home… They became an absolute crackhead.

💤 Forget having ANYTHING on the tables or countertops. It’s on the floor now thanks to them. Fuck your water glass, fuck those papers you were helping Aizawa grade, they’re gone! Shredded! Positively destroyed :)

💤 Forget having free hands, they’re literally attached to his side and won’t stop rubbing against his hands while he’s grading papers and such

💤 If you’re not watching his little dude/ette will try and eat food WHILE YOU’RE COOKING oh my fuckingf god

💤 Heaven forbid this dude tries to leave the room. They’ll ‘cry’ until he comes back.

💤 ‘Go to your other parent, they’ll give you attention.’ ‘mEEEOWWW’ ‘Oh my god fine come here.’

💤 Honestly though he really appreciates when they’re down to sleep. Their purrs and their cuddles are very appreciated

💤 And literally just imagine seeing them curled up on his chest while they sleep on the couch ;; im so somft

Eijiro Kirishima - Bearded Dragon

🏮 This man wants to get THE manliest pet of all,,, a bearded dragon

🏮 He probably saw one on a movie or something and immediately came to you like

🏮 ‘Okay but we neeeeed one just look at their lil beards!! And their tongues!!!’

🏮 You tell him to put it off for a bit, do some research, and see if he still wants one later

🏮 Homeboy is DEDICATED so he puts in the time and ofc he still wants one after the fact

🏮 After a good amount of time, he comes back with a books worth of reasons as to why you guys should get one and you’re honestly shocked

🏮 You just can’t say no to those eyes </33 so you oblige and go out and get one from an owner who’s surrendering it (Because we don’t support chain pet stores in this household)

🏮 You guys can’t pick a name for them so for the longest time they’re just called ‘the lizard’ or ‘little fella’ or whatever else you guys come up with

🏮 Anyways- he’s infatuated with them it’s so funny. He spends all of his freetime watching them get used to their new habitat like,,,, all of it. It’s 1am and he’s just watching it hang out and you’re like ‘Kiri if you love it so much then why don’t you sleep with it’ (not in that way ya nasty)

🏮 HE TAKES IT SERIOUSLY

🏮 Next thing you know he hops out of bed, brings them back and puts them between your pillows.

🏮 Lil homie’s just vibin there.

🏮 You’re done tbh but if Kiri’s happy then you’re happy <33

🏮 Absolutely lets it sit on his shoulders when he’s walking around the house

🏮 He has a leash for them and he takes them out during the warmer months

🏮 Dedicates a good portion of his day to clean out their habitat when need be

🏮 Their relationship is just so cute you can’t help but melt every time you see them together

Tenya Iida - Tropical Fish

🌟 After a particularly rough finals season, you figure that Iida needs to have some sort of hobby that can help him chill out, but also has some sort of brainwork in there because that’s your boyfriend for ya

🌟 You suggest getting some fish!

🌟 He rly said ‘I’ll think about it’ then proceeded to do a shit ton of research on it because he literally does that every time you express interest in something. King behavior!!

🌟 You guys settle on getting a few tropical fish and a super nice fish tank for ‘em

🌟 He lets you name all of them and of course you have to name one ‘Iida junior’ like how could you not-

🌟 But seriously though he finds it so endearing and sweet ;;

🌟 You can’t tell me he doesn’t buy all of the nicest shit he can for their tank too.

🌟 Fresh aquatic plants, huge rocks for them to swim through, a nice ass heater, the WORKS

🌟 He’s gotta treat yall’s babies right like what did you expect

🌟 Constantly checking their water to see if it’s alright for them

🌟 He’s usually the one to feed them so whenever he comes up to the tank, they all crowd up by the top like doggies when their owner comes home omg

🌟 He finds the noises from the tank to be really good background noise when he’s reading or studying

🌟 Iida’s honestly glad that you suggested to get fish ‘cause taking care of them is such a relaxing hobby and lord knows he needs some of those

Hanta Sero - Rose Haired Tarantula

🧵 So he wants a Rose Hair Tarantula...

🧵 ‘Absolutely not’ - You, 2021 (sorry if you actually like spiders lol, if a singular person wants hcs where y’all both like spiders please @ me)

🧵 Lots and lots of begging and promises

🧵 ‘You won’t even have to clean the cage, I’ll do it!!’ ‘We can keep them in the spare room’ ‘c’mooon pretty please???’

🧵 He had to bust out the puppy eyes for you to say yes

🧵 And with that, you’re now the proud parents of a demon rose hair tarantula!

🧵 ‘We can keep them in the spare room’ your ass. He lets it climb all over him while he’s walking around the house!!

🧵 Not you actively avoiding him when you see them coming down towards you

🧵 ‘But I wanna kiss!!’ ‘Kiss your tarantula smh’

🧵 After he realizes he’s not gonna get any with his lil buddy (yes, that’s what he calls them) he tries his best to help you familiarize with em

🧵 I’m sorry but he’s trying so hard not to laugh as you freak out when they crawl up your arm

🧵 He takes things more seriously after that though. He’ll give you lil words of encouragement, back pats and such

🧵 He’s so happy that you become… tolerable after a while of you guys just hangin’ out that you can’t help but feel proud too.

🧵 You still can’t stand spiders though.  

Keigo Tamaki - Bunnies

🐤 Just like Aizawa, he wants something that’s quiet and can be independent since his schedule is a bit busy but he still wants to have a lil buddy to love on

🐤 You’re actually the one to bring up the idea to get a bunny, it’s part of a long list of ideas you had come up with, but for whatever reason, the bunny idea just stuck with him

🐤 You two hop (im a comedic genius hi <33) on over to the nearest rescue you can find, and browse through the enclosures looking for the perfect bunny for you guys 

🐤 Ok so like- here’s the thing,,,

🐤 You totally didn’t plan on getting two bunnies… But you guys found a pair that were literally inseparable and y’all had to have them

🐤 He’s already calling them ‘Our children’ straight off the bat like- y’all JUST got home and he’s already giving you baby fever UGH

🐤 He bunny-proofs the FUCK out of the house so they can roam freely ‘cause he didn’t just get these babies to stick them in a cage smh

🐤 Will lay on the floor and just watch them romp around cus he finds it relaxing and funny 

🐤 Also please get on the floor and watch them with him. Prime cuddling hours

🐤 They burrow under his wings… I repeat- THEY BURROW UNDER HIS WINGS

🐤 They WILL flop together don’t @ me 

🐤 They (and by they I mean all three of them)  flop on you when they want attention can I jst--- *cries*

🐤 Have fun trying to get up, this is your life now. 

🐤 But are you really complaining? You shouldn’t be smh 

[ciggylungz]

Miss Ginger

Miss ginger

Blurb night- 2.5k

(request: can you plz do something about Harry being all soft with his kids?)

 -----

Harry had always been a family man. Ever since he was a little boy he dreamed of having his own family, couple of kids, a nice family home with a big back garden for the little ones to run around in and him and his wife to attempt to grow some fruits and veg and maybe a few sunflowers or daisies. Simple, modest, pure and quaint but most of all, happy.

The day Harry met Y/n he knew she was special. She had this aura that he wanted to wrap himself in like a blanket. A laugh as pretty as song birds in the morning, a heart of gold, quick wit and full of talent. He knew she was going to be his wife someday, and he swears the day she said yes when he got down on one knee his heart grew 3 times its size.

The pair planned their wedding to be an intimate, beautiful event and with the help of Harry’s lovely mother Anne and Y/n’s combined work they were able to pull it off. They had decided to invite their parents and siblings, their closest friends- which included Harry’s former bandmates who made sure to embarrass the newly wed man during their best man speech- and all of Harry’s god children as well as their parents.

Harry wasn’t shy about crying when he saw his bride walk down the isle towards him, her dress was a simple silk fitted gown with delicate trimming of lace. Y/n chose to wear the same pearl earrings her mother had worn at her own wedding and a diamond necklace Anne had gifted her for the occasion. He really couldn’t help the waterworks making their way down his face as he took in her beauty, he stayed weepy through the entirety of their vows a huge smile across his dimpled face when he finally lifted the vail over her head giving her the first kiss as a married couple. She was his, and he was hers and the pair couldn’t be more smitten for each other even as they stand where they are now nearly 4 years into their marriage.

Over the last 4 glorious, joyful years of being fully committed to each other, sharing a surname and living as a unite the pair had welcomed 2 beautiful children into the world. Alfie who was nearly 3, he was conceived only around 6 months into their marriage yet they couldn’t have been more elated to find out they were expecting. The second was their little girl Rosana that they affectionally called by her nickname ‘Rosie’ and she was now coming up on 10 months old, she was starting to become increasingly mobile already such a bubbly happy little girl who had her dad wrapped around her tiny chubby finger.

__

Harry was currently on a break, just finishing his first solo tour finally getting some downtime to be home with his family and he couldn’t be happier. He loved every part of fatherhood, he enjoyed getting up in the morning and starting the little ones routines. First Harry would go downstairs, putting a kettle on while taking some breastmilk y/n had pumped from the fridge to warm up, when both of those were taken care of he’d migrate back upstairs into his sons room where he’d usually find his little guy sitting up in his new big boy toddler bed playing with one of the various stuffed toys on his bed as he waited patiently to be gotten up. Harry adored the way his son would perk up when he walked in, opening the toddlers curtains to let the sunshine in giving him a nice morning cuddle before taking him to the bathroom to change out of his pullup into his new big boy underwear since y/n and Harry are finally reaching the tail end of potty training their first born. It had been a struggle, yet every time their little boy danced around with a sticker on his shirt for going on the potty it was worth every bed wetting incident, and all the terrible two’s tears that came with the teaching. After he had him changed, he tried his best to tame the boys hair. The little tyke inherited his fathers chocolate curls unlike his sister who wore a head full of ginger ringlets.

After all of the hygiene tasks were complete, he’d serve the boy his breakfast, steeping his wife and him a cup of tea using the remaining warm water to heat the breastmilk in for when Rosie decided to greet the day. Harry didn’t mind giving his girl a bottle feed so his wife could get a little extra sleep in the mornings, opting to nurse during the day and before bed pumping whatever’s left to hold Rosie over till her mother wakes up.

Unlike some people, when Harry heard the baby monitor start to go off with the cries Rosie gives when she first wakes up he smiles instead of groans. He didn’t get angry when his kids cried, he was actually good at reading the cry’s instead of getting frustrated which always helped calm it down quickly and his little girl would always have a little cry when she’d wake up and think she’s all alone.

As soon as her daddy opened her nursery door the little girl stood up in her cot, balancing herself by gripping the railing to get a good look at who was coming towards her. once the morning light was shining in from Harry opening her curtains the tears stopped and a sniffling nose and big gummy grin was shining on her face, a contagious smile at that.

“Good morning sunshine!” the man raised his voice a few octaves, a big grin on his face as he picked her up from her bed giving her a nice hug as he swayed back and forth. “Did yeh have a good sleep, miss ginger? You look very beautiful this morning my girl, always take your shirt off when yeh sleep don’t ya’ silly girl? I get it girlfriend, sometimes you gotta let it breathe babe. C’mon think it’s time for a nappy change and a bottle hmm?” the little girl giggled at her father, bouncing in his arms and babbling incoherently whilst her dad cleaned her up and got her ready for her morning feed.

Harry set the baby in her bouncer, putting the milk into her bottle checking the temperature on his wrist before giving it to the still topless baby. It was easier to just leave it off during the morning snack, she was a rather messy little girl since she always wanted to hold her own bottle now often letting it dribble onto her tummy as she removed the nipple from her mouth to babble at her father. She always had a lot to say, even if no one but her knew what she was on about, no one had created a baby talk translation app yet so until then her passionate rants wouldn’t be understood.

Alfie was at an age where he wanted to be independent more, he reminds everyone how he’s a big boy, whenever he puts his own dish in the washer or screws the top onto his sippy cup by himself. Both his parents found it absolutely adorable and humorous as well.

__

When Harry heard the pitter patter of his wife coming down the stairs around 45 minutes after he’d got the kids up, a soft smile etched itself onto his face. He swears every time he sees her, no matter what state she’s in he still finds her breathtakingly gorgeous. Angelic even. Even when he had pulled Alfie out of her as she pushed, he still found her beautiful. Nothing would ever change the love and attraction he felt for his wife.

“Mornin’ love, sleep well?” the man brought his wife into his arms, giving her a warm hug and a kiss on the crown of her head. “Mhm, thank you for gettin’ up with the kids so I could get a few extra minutes of rest. Love yeh h.” she stood on her toes to peck his lips, this far into a relationship and being parents a slightly morning breathy kiss didn’t bother them in the slightest. After you’ve changed some ungodly diapers, smells don’t affect you the same anymore.

“no problem, had an easy morning Alfie was good about brushing his teeth and me and Rosie had a nice cuddle. She woke up shirtless again, I’m starting to get her vibe think I might start just being half naked all the time.” Y/n chuckled at her husband, sipping her tea slowly before responding. “At least it was just her top this time, last week when I got her up she had taken everything off. Had to do an extra load of wash after that one. Silly little girl.”

The couple could fawn over their kids for an infinite amount of time, but a thud from the living room disrupted their banter. The two wore matching raised eyebrows while venturing into the room, being met with the sight of Rosie’s bottle tossed at the wall and the girl herself holding her feet up with her little hands in a split position while still strapped into her bouncer chair.

“Hey missy, throwing things isn’t nice. C’mon time to get dressed, can’t have nakey babies crawling in the garden can we? Neighbors might think we aren’t watchin’ after yeh well enough.” Her mother unstrapped her, bringing her to her chest to kiss her cheeks, her father deciding to chime in, “I think with that chubby tummy and those chunky thighs they’ll know our girl is more than taken care of.”

y/n bounced the baby in her arms, cooing at her and mocking Harry’s words with a baby voiced ‘is that true?! Rosie are you a chunky lady?’ which got them a chorus of baby laughs from the infant.

 Once y/n got both of her little ones changed as well as herself cleaned up and changed for the day, she took them back downstairs where their father was sitting on the couch glancing between his phone and the tv screen as he shoveled some cereal into his mouth.

Alfie made a b-line for his dad, excited to show him the outfit his mother had dressed him in for the day.

“Daddy! Daddy look! I got clothes on, mummy says I look handsome! Look I got turtles on my socks, daddy look!”  the little boy was over the moon about his clothes. Y/n had chosen some toddler size sweatpants, Alfies favorite t-shirt- a Gucci one Harry had got him which his wife thought was insane to dress a messy 3 year old in a 250 pound shirt, but their son loved it because his father wore the same brand- and some socks with little turtles as the print on them. It was going to be a pretty chill day at home so there was no need for fancy clothes.

“Oh my gosh! Bud you look very handsome, look at my dapper boy! Gimme five, big guy” Harry held his palm in the air, his son jumping to smack his much smaller one to his fathers, beaming from all the praise he’d gotten from his doting parents.

When Harry looked over at his wife holding his daughter his smile got even bigger. There stood his beautiful bride, clad in a pair of his black socks she liked to steal, some comfy adidas sweats and a t-shirt Harry had given her years ago. Her hair was in a sloppy bun, lips slightly shiny with some lip balm and only one earring in since Rosie had snatched the other stud from her right ear and tossed it somewhere Y/n too caught up in her children to even remember to take the second one out even after 2 weeks going by now.

His daughter was in a yellow polka dot onesie and her hair was in a little whale spout on the top of her head. His girl’s looked stunning in even the simplest of clothes, they were his angels and he adored them.

“And look at you girls! Little red head, you look dashing in that onesie! Red carpet ready my girl. And you miss yummy mummy, are stunning today. C’mere I want kisses from my ladies don’t be stingy.”

Y/n couldn’t help but laugh at her husband, even when she looked like she lived in a alley behind a gas station he still made a point to make her feel beautiful. Of course, she adored the way her husband talked to their baby girl too, they had a long talk while she was pregnant with her where Harry vowed to always build up their daughter from infancy till the day he died. No matter how old she is, what she was wearing, if she was covered in gunk from the sandbox or in her future prom dress, he promised to always let her know she was beautiful and loved. Harry never wanted his kids to feel any less than supported, validated and loved.

 It was around 1 in the afternoon when Rosie woke up from her first nap, nursing while Y/n and Harry sat together on the couch playing with Alfie and his blocks. The family had a quick bite to eat, hanging out just enjoying each other’s company. Y/n handed their daughter to Harry for him to burp her so she could refill Alfie’s sippy cup and grab both her and Harry some water.

After distributing the beverages she sat on the floor, playing with both her kids and holding Rosie up by her hands so she could dance around in her mothers grip. She loved to dance, she was always on the move crawling full speed everywhere and always squirming whenever she heard her fathers music.

Today the little girl had more in store for her parents, taking them both of them by surprise when she hoisted herself up to cruse holding onto the couch before looking right at her mother suddenly taking her first steps towards her.

Harry and Y/n both gasped, eyes wide and mouths showing huge grins while starting to cheer their baby on waving their hands and praising her whilst the baby took wobbly steps to her mom flopping into her chest before she was lifted in the air and spun around, excited cheers from the entire family as they celebrated her milestone.

“You’re walkin’ now Rosie! My big girl! Oh my gosh I’m so proud of you princess!”

Y/n tossed her into the air gently, catching her then setting her back on her feet letting her walk to her dad who was now in full blown celebration mode hands waving in the air while he cheered. His little girl toddled towards him, squealing as he scooped her up and kissed all over her face.

These were the moments he dreamed about his whole life, and he swears the dream didn’t even compare to the reality now. He’s never been happier.

[sunflowersteves]

cheaters never prosper || ch. 2

Past Steve Rogers x Reader, Sam Wilson x Reader

summary || request for part 2 on AO3! After Steve signs the diverse papers, you're finally ready to move on. But Steve isn't. Based on the song “Purple Rain” by Prince. 

author’s note || Again, sorry to the Sharon fans! To be honest, this is happier than I intended but it’s basically Steve owning up to his mistakes and the reader being happy again. Hope you all enjoy it! 

P.S. I will not write a version with a happy ending with Steve, he was borderline physiologically abusive and was neglecting that ended up greatly affecting the reader’s mental health and trust in relationships. I honestly made it happier than it should’ve been.

warning || angst, cheating, swearing, fluff

m.list // ch. 1

I never meant to cause you any sorrow

I never meant to cause you any pain

Steve sighed and put down his pen. He couldn’t sign it. Early that day, you had sent him something in the mail. To say his heart dropped into his stomach was an understatement. He practically ripped open the mail in half to just have divorce papers scream in his face. Tears pricked his eyes as he read the statements on the papers over and over again. 

He really wanted to make amends but how could he do that? He lost your trust. He called you names. He was a hypocrite and blamed himself on you. He left you time after time alone, feeling unwanted and broken. He didn’t deserve your time. 

Your forgiveness.

And if he was being honest with himself? His relationship with Sharon wasn’t going so well. She would yell at him for being distant and cold. He would yell at her for the cause of the downfall of his relationship and being clingy as fuck. He couldn’t help but always think, she’s not her. 

He knew she was going to leave soon and she should. They want different things. She wanted a family. A house located far away from the bustling city. And what did he want? He just wanted you. But he knew he couldn’t have you. He had to move on like you were trying to do. Your relationship was just another bump in the road of life and you both could move on.

So, Steve picked up his phone and dialed your number. He figured you weren’t going to answer. The rings blared through his ear while he bounced his leg up and down. 

You answered the phone, sounding groggy. 

“Hello?”

Steve swallowed the lump in his throat. “Oh, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you-”

“Rogers, are you okay?” He swallowed thickly, mouth seemingly dry as ever.

“U-um, yeah. I- Is it okay if we meet up? Just to talk! I don’t like the way things ended and I didn’t want to sign the papers until-” He paused, taking a breath. “Until we made things somewhat amicable.” To his surprise, you agreed. 

You didn’t want every memory of this relationship to be the days he missed. The days he left you sitting there alone. The days he would yell at you for accusing him of cheating, regardless of you both already knowing the answer. You wanted some kind of closure so you can move on. 

I only wanted to see you

Underneath the purple rain

You both had agreed to meet at a coffee shop. You didn’t really want to do this if you were being honest. Steve cheated. He spun around his mistakes onto yours. He made himself the victim when you left. He ruined the safety and security of a relationship. He ruined you. The man you loved, cared for and practically worshipped had completely destroyed you. 

Bucky and Nat were honestly scared for weeks because you refused to eat or leave their apartment unless it was for work. You told Fury to transfer you to an office in Manhattan instead of being at the compound in upstate. You couldn’t handle seeing Steve with her, happy. You were at the lowest stage of healing so you knew that you couldn’t bear to see him. 

You sat down at an empty table, checking your phone and aimlessly scrolling. You heard the bell on the door ding. Steve sauntered in, taking a seat in front of you. He took the papers out of his bag and set them on the table. 

You opened your mouth to speak but he stopped you. “I can’t begin to describe how sorry I am for everything. For pushing all of my problems onto you, for accusing you, and for cheating. Honesty, I can go on and on. When it happened, I should’ve told you. I know I shouldn’t have done it at all but… It happened. And I should’ve told you.” Tears pricked his eyes. “But, I-I just…” He paused, raking his hands through his hair. “I want to know if you’re still going to be in my life. I want to k-know if we can at least be friends. I...I can’t l-lose you completely I-”

You sigh, not ready to say what you need to say. “Steve, I don’t know if I can ever be friends with you. It’s going take a long time for me to heal and I think you will need that too.” His head sunk but he nodded, understanding your position. You look at him with eyes glossing over. 

“I...I’m not saying it won’t ever happen but Steve, you hurt me. Destroyed me. Destroyed a life that I thought I was going to have for the rest of my life. And then it felt like you were just rubbing it in my face at the club one night. Healing from this won’t just be overnight.” He nodded, knowing that this was for the best. And who knows? Maybe one day, years from now, you’ll be good friends. 

He picked up the pen from his bag, sighing his name on the dotted line, and gently scooting the paper towards you.

He smiled but you could tell it wasn’t true. “Goodbye, Rogers.” “Goodbye, Y/N.”

I think you better close it 

And let me guide you to purple rain

Sam had been very understanding. You both agreed to take things slow. You had contacted him about 4 months after signing the divorce papers. You were finally training yourself to be happy. However, sometimes the remembrance of the past haunts your mind.

How can you trust Sam?

How do you know he won’t break your heart?

What if he cheats on you? What if he’s being unfaithful right now?

How can he just stay with you? You’re making him wait, for fuck’s sake!

Tears had rolled down your cheeks while you just shook your head. You knew Sam wouldn’t do that. He wasn’t Steve. You were so frustrated. Frustrated at Steve. Frustrated at yourself. Frustrated at life.

You didn’t want Sam to go through this kind of shit. He was too good and too pure for his own good. He was an absolute saint and waited for you. He had waited for you to be ready to date again. You were sobbing on your couch and a half-empty wine bottle on the coffee table that you were sipping on. You wanted to trust Sam so badly but how can you? You’ve only been together for 4 months. 

Sam walked into your apartment, “What’s up, buttercup?” But then his heart clenched. You didn’t even hear him come in, you were too lost in your mind. He leaned down in front of you and caressed your face with his palm. “Sam?” You whimpered. His heart shattered. How can someone do this? How can someone break this wonderful beautiful person like this? 

“Baby, it’s okay.” You shook your head as Sam wrapped you into his arms. “Why did you wait for me, Sam? Why are you here?” He sighed, lacing his fingers through your hair, fiddling with the strands. 

“Because you’re worth it. And I won’t let you tell yourself otherwise.” You sniffled. “I am?” He gave forehead kisses after each word. You’re beautiful, astonishing, strong, independent, energetic, sexy, confident, compassionate, captivating, and babe, I could go on and on.” You giggled, leaning closer into him. 

“Sometimes, I just feel like I’m holding you back. Like, if I keep waiting for myself to heal, you’ll run away.” He turned to you, cupping your cheeks so you had to look at him. “I will wait 400 years if I have to, Y/N. And honey, that’s a long ass time.” You giggled, sniffling at the end. So that’s what he did. He waited and guided you into pure bliss.

I only wanted to be some kind of friend

Baby, I could never steal you from another

Today you told the team you had something special for them to see. You were going to introduce Sam to the team. He had taken you to the cutest cafe in Little Italy and you decided it was time to show him off. You pushed the 4th-floor button on the elevator as Sam was practically shaking with nerves. 

“Babe, I am so nervous. You guys are the fucking avengers!” You laughed, squeezing his hands that were laced with yours. “You’ll be fine.” You gave him a little wink. “They’ll love you.” The doors opened in front of you and you both started talking towards the common area.

“Hey, guys!” They all greet you back. You noticed Sharon and Steve were cuddling up on the couch. Although, Steve had an unreadable expression on his face. 

Nat speaks up first. “Who’s the hot date?” Sam grinned at you. “Guys, this is Sam. Sam, this is the team.” You end up introducing him to each and everyone, even Fury. And they all were very polite—your surprise.

“So this is the man that Y/N gushes all the time, huh?” You immediately became flustered. “Shut up, Tony.” Sam settled a smirk right on top of his handsome face. “So you talk about me, huh?” Your eyed widened. “What? Uh, no. I, uh, I just talk about how you’re a pain in my ass.” He playfully rolled his eyes. “Oh surree, you do, sweets. Sure.” You squeezed his arm making him send a playful glare in your direction. 

“Jesus you guys are so grossly cute.” 

“Whatever, Clint, you’re just jealous.” He rolled his eyes at you but none the less smiled. 

You both stayed and had dinner with the Team when Tony offered. That night, it was Bruce’s turn to cook. He had made his mother’s spaghetti and you couldn’t pass it up. You had missed nights like those with the team.

You looked around at the dinner table, everyone laughing their asses off at something Sam said while Bucky just huffed and crossed his arms. He had undoubtedly made fun of something Bucky had done or said. 

You watched Nat coo at Bucky, making sure his ego was hurt just a little bit more. Clint and Tony were practically on the ground from laughing so hard. Peter and Thor just sat there oblivious to everything. They just looked like happy puppies that were glad to be involved.

Lastly, your eyes landed on Steve but his eyes were already looking at yours. You looked at him with a calm stare. His heart clenched as he saw it. You looked at him differently. It wasn’t filled with an everlasting love but with tranquility. You could feel Sharon’s stare so you fixated your eyes on hers as well. She held the scowl but you had nothing against her. Not anymore, at least. 

You had somebody who sincerely loved you and you absolutely loved him back. So, you smiled. You smiled effervescently at her which was met with her surprised face. 

You turned, Sam’s eyes meeting yours. “Everything good?” You nodded, interlacing your hand with his. Then Steve saw it. Your teeth showing smile, your shimmering eyes every time they landed on Sam, and your elevated heart rate. You were in love with Sam. You were happy, without Steve. 

Sharon yelled at him when he excused himself from the table but he couldn’t care less. Bucky came and knocked on the door but he locked himself in his room with his heads in his hands.  He couldn’t bear to see you. He couldn’t bear to see you moved on. 

But he doesn’t owe you that. If anything, he owes you that happiness. 

It’s time we all reach out

For something new, that means you too

It had been a couple of years since you both filed for a divorce and you seemed pretty happy with Sam. You hadn’t talked to Steve, only muttering quick hellos and goodbyes when you transferred back to the compound. 

So when you had invited Steve to your wedding his eyebrows could’ve fallen off they went so high. He then yelped in surprise when he saw an invitation for Sharon too. He didn’t think that an ex-husband should probably go to his ex-wife’s wedding where he completely destroyed the marriage. He also didn’t think that you would invite your ex-husband’s girlfriend that he cheated on you with. But regardless, he immediately sent an RSVP. 

He arrived at the venue, suit and tie in all. He walked over awkwardly to grab a punch from the free bar. “Hey, punk.” Bucky slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Glad you could make it.” Steve nodded solemnly when Nat had furrowed eyebrows. “Where’s Sharon?” Steve shook his head. “We broke up.” Nat’s mouth formed into an ‘o’ and Bucky patted Steve’s shoulder in comfort. 

Then, Steve had spotted you. You had looked iridescent. Your face just glowed with pride. Your dress flowed down making you look like a princess and your heels clacked onto the ground. Your wedding with Steve was smaller and had fewer people because you knew crowds made him uneasy. This wedding, on the other hand, was huge and classy and exuberant. Steve had always teased you for your dream wedding. 

He noticed that Sam was nowhere to be found but you made a joke to Bucky and Nat about locking him in a room with Tony and Clint. Steve chuckled, you were always a sucker for wedding traditions. “Steve!” You went to side hug him, a vivacious grin on your face. “It’s so good to see you! So, I can see you’ve gotten some refreshments and I’ll guide you to your table!” You both made small talk as you guided him around the venue. 

“There will be food handed out after the ceremony and here is where you’ll sit during the ceremony!” You guided him towards his seat to wait with the others before everything started. “You look good, Y/N.” Your lips formed into a small smile. “Thank you, Steve.” He just mostly kept to himself minus talking with Bucky and Nat. But he did watch you, getting yours and Sam’s guests situated with a lot of small talk with others. 

Regardless, you had that bubbly smile on your face.

Soon, they had to leave for the ceremony as they were best man and woman on Y/N’s side. Sam also had his best men on his side. The ceremony was touching, to say the least. He could tell you really loved Sam. And Sam really loved you. 

He knew this was different from yours and his wedding. It seemed as though you and Sam were both unconditionally happy. Steve loved you no doubt but when he was with you, he wasn’t exactly the happiest man on earth. He thought marrying you would fill that gap. Turns out, he still had a lot of issues with his own self to work out.

“You may now kiss the bride.” You practically pounced on Sam with giddiness and the audience laughed at your antics. Your mouths moved in sync and Sam wrapped his arms around you. “I love you.” “I love you too.” You couldn’t conceal your happiness and your smile shined like none other. 

Steve smiled brightly. This wedding made him realize more than ever that you both would still have a piece of each other’s heart. But you would both find others and love others. And that’s okay because sometimes love isn’t just relationships and marriages. Love flows. Love is distant and cold. Love is warm and filling. Love is friends and family. Steve knows that he will love again. And he will also make mistakes again. 

He stayed for the after-party, eating with his friends and family. Laughing with you and Sam. He was finally ready to make up for his mistakes and let you be happy. He was finally ready to move on.

[hypnomicimagines]

🌟Fluff Alphabet: A🌟

A – Affectionate (How affectionate are they with an S/O?)

BUSTER BROS

Yamada Ichiro

Ichiro tries not to constantly be in your space out of respect, worried about smothering you to the point you can’t stand being around him at all. He really likes to just sling an arm around your shoulder and pull you close to him, using the closeness to press a kiss to your cheek or temple when conversations go idle. He’s naturally affectionate to the point he doesn’t even notice he’s touching you or pulling you close half the time, simply liking to touch you in some way as it’s comforting to him. It’s gotten to the point where his brothers stick their tongues out at his behavior, making the eldest laugh as he tells them they’ll understand when they’re in love.

Yamada Jiro

Jiro wishes he was smooth enough to put the moves on you without second-guessing himself, especially in public when it could stop being from bothering you, but the bravest thing he can do is reach over to hook his pinky with yours. He generally hopes you’ll be the one to take the hint that he wants something more and grows frustrated if you don’t, trying to hype himself up to get to a full hand-holding session. He craves being more affectionate but he’s awkward about it, not knowing how to just admit that he wants it. He gets slightly better the longer you’re together but Jiro still prefers you just initiate so he can be reassured you want it, too.

Yamada Saburo

Saburo is the Yamada brother that values his space the most and isn’t as openly clingy as his older brothers. He likes existing in the same space as you and finds comfort in even the slightest touches like when you rest your head on his shoulder or hook arms with him. Cuddling or even asking for a hug feels like more advanced intimacy that he’s not fully prepared to ask from you, always fidgeting and glancing at you when he wants to do something but can’t bring himself to just act. It’s easy to read him to figure out when he wants some affection and even a simple kiss can tide him over for days.

MAD TRIGGER CREW

Aohitsugi Samatoki

Samatoki’s got an image he at least semi-attempts to keep up but generally fails around you as he can’t find it in him to deny you. If you pout enough he’ll give in and give you a quick kiss (heavily depending on who’s around) but he won’t do much more unless you’re in a more relaxed setting. If you’re in the VIP section of a club with the others in MTC he doesn’t care nearly as much since they both know you belong to him and often times you ended up on his lap, one hand on your thigh as he continued conversing with them like nothing happened.

Iruma Jyuto

Jyuto likes to keep a comfortable distance when you’re out in public together and he doesn’t feel the need to show you off like some others might, more affectionate with his words as your petname from him tends to slip out whether he intends it to or not. But in private there’s something about being cuddled up together that makes him feel at peace, arms solidly wrapped around you and refusing to let go unless one of you had something really important to do. There are some days where he comes home from work so exhausted all he wants to do is be held and to forget all the unfortunate things he’s gotten himself into.

Rio Mason Busujima

Rio goes back and forth but he’s always consistent with the fact he cares about you in his own way. He’s far better at taking care of your needs, like keeping you well fed and cleaning your clothes, compared to being physically affectionate just due to how awkward he is. He needs to be prompted to do anything even as simple as a hug and he’s always a gentleman, asking before he kisses or hugs you just to assure that’s what you want from him. It can be embarrassing how he always feels the need to call attention to it but Rio doesn’t like ‘reading between the lines’ preferring if you blatantly tell him what you want so he can be more efficient at fulfilling your needs.

FLING POSSE

Amemura Ramuda

Ramuda is more affectionate when he’s playing his ‘cutesy’ role out in public, constantly clinging to your side, showering your face in kisses (enjoying the jealous squeals of the other women at what a cute couple you were), and openly talking about all the things you did for him to Dice and Gentaro (also to make them jealous). Behind closed doors when he feels like he can act more himself he tends to like his space, enjoying being alone with his thoughts from time to time and given a moment to breathe even though it’s him trying to keep up this act. Granting him this space just leaves him ready to come curl up with you at night, mumbling sweet nothings and wondering how he’d managed to find someone this understanding.

Yumeno Gentaro

Gentaro is someone more independent, who doesn’t feel the need to see you every day and understands that adults have their own agendas to attend to. He can’t say he doesn’t miss you during these periods as being able to walk to a different part of the house that you’re relaxing in while he’s suffering from writers block just to exchange a few kisses can make a world of difference for his emotional state, but he doesn’t want to appear to reliant on you. But he loves quiet simple moments where you’re sitting on a couch watching a movie together, fingers interlaced as you turn to each other from time to time to offer up a comment.

Arisugawa Dice

Dice doesn’t notice that he’s constantly touching you or just incredibly close because he’s always been that way, even before you were dating; he just naturally finds himself drawn towards you and accepts that that’s where he’s supposed to be. He can be quite needy when you’re alone together, whining that he wants your attention if you’re too focused on some other task for a while, nudging you, leaning against you, doing anything he can to be a distraction to get the love he craves.

MATENRO

Jinguji Jakurai

Jakurai is awkward and bumbling with his affection, liking to brush hair out of your eyes or indulge in gentle touches, cupping your face, stroking your cheeks, showing his subtle doting care style. He wants to do so much more but he always talks himself out of it, worried it’ll be too much or that he’d be pushing some boundary that he didn’t know about. Openly communicating and letting him know he can, indeed, reach out to hold your hand or hug you from behind without having to ask permission first (situation permitting) will do wonders for the relationship and you’ll find Jakurai is actually far more affectionate than he’d originally shown.

Izanami Hifumi

Hifumi’s affection is a little more downplayed when he’s not in ‘host mode’ but not by much, his affection generally coming out more when he does things for you rather than physically (not that he’s lacking in that department either). Hifumi’s lovin’ can be quite sudden as he likes to come up from behind you suddenly, arms wrapping around your waist as he asks what you’re doing, sometimes even extending to him jumping on your bed to wake you up and ending up falling asleep with you again because of how comfortable it is to lay with you.

Kannonzaka Doppo

Doppo second-guesses himself a lot which stops him from doing some of the things he’d like to do but he tries to be affectionate, wanting to show you how you make him feel and also wanting to show he can be a good boyfriend (just in case you had doubts). He feels like he could probably do better, he could probably hold you or kiss you more, but you don’t seem unhappy with how things are. The easiest time for him to express his feelings for you are in the morning or at night after he’s finally home from work, so sleepy he doesn’t even care if he appears like a clingy nuisance, just wanting his daily dose of your love to help lull him to sleep.

BAD ASS TEMPLE

Harai Kuko

Kuko isn’t the type to hold back so you can guarantee that if he wants to do something, he’s gonna do it. He’s been scolded before for just going for it instead of acting and he tries not to just go off his instinct, carefully reading the situation to see what might be most appropriate. He doesn’t think you should lie to him either and if you want him to back off some he won’t mind; he likes being left alone too and has his moods where he also doesn’t want to be touched, having no issue with telling you he wants to be left alone.

Aimono Jyushi

Jyushi really, truly, just wants to shower you with all the love he has in his heart for you (which is a lot) but he can’t always bring himself to act on it, instead using his dramatic words to let you know how highly he thinks of you. He likes the cuter shows of affection and always seems stunned that you want to kiss or hold his hand in public, tearing up as you’re holding hands and loving when you give him that reassuring squeeze that lets you know even if he cries a bit you’re not embarrassed to be there with him. It goes a long way with Jyushi to be able to act loving towards you in public and though he seems to make a mad dash out of your personal space after giving you a smooch, you can’t say you don’t love it.

Amaguni Hitoya

Hitoya values his own space, he likes to be left alone and at night he gets too hot to constantly be cuddled up with you, but he knows how to take care of you. Cuddling is probably his favorite thing to do and he doesn’t mind it when you pull him away from a heavy case momentarily, arms draped around his shoulders as he leans back against you with closed eyes, simply enjoying the closeness. He’s the type to just like when you’re near him, in the same house, not really minding if you’re doing separate activities.

DOTSUITARE HOMPO

Nurude Sasara

When you’re alone you and Sasara could practically morph into one being with how often he wants to just be close to you, even if his job is partially to blame; there are so many nights where he comes home and you’re already out cold, or you’re working when he’s finally got a day off, so he tries to make it count. He jokes all the time about being clingy but you hadn’t realized the joke had plenty of foundation in reality until you’d moved in with him. He’s not above backing off when you want space but it seems like he’s always in the mood to cuddle, jumping into action when you get into cuddle position without you even having to say a word.

Tsutsujimori Rosho

Rosho loves when you’re sitting next to him on the couch when you’re either watching something or he’s just reading and you sling your legs across his lap, showing how comfortable you truly were with him; he likes resting a hand on your knee (sometimes feeling spicy enough to get slightly further up your thigh) and just feeling you, knowing you’re there even if you’re not talking bringing him immense comfort. He can’t say he’d reject cuddling ever either but he prefers keeping it toned down in public where his students might see him, knowing how invested in his personal life the nosier ones can get even with something as simple as holding hands.

Amayado Rei

Rei’s affection level heavily depends on the relationship you have and how much you actually want out of him. If you’re the type who needs to be loved constantly, who wants to have him holding you at every moment, he can work with that just as much as someone who doesn’t want to be touched at all. He doesn’t have a personal preference and finds fulfillment in the relationship either way though he’s notably more affectionate when you’re his actual significant other compared to someone he considers just a fling or a friend with benefits.

[vagarius]

domestic misukazu hcs

1. their kitchen cabinets are full of mismatched mugs and bowls and plates, in a rainbow of colors and sizes. there is exactly one matching pair of cups and plates, hidden at the back of the cabinet, that they'll use if one of them is specifically trying to be romantic.

2. the two of them probably have a lot of unsynchronised late nights but they always leave each other dinner wrapped on the counter and sleepily wake up when the other finally crawls into bed to say "welcome home" before falling back to sleep next to them

3. misumi is Super Ultra determined to not lose his keys and to use the front door when they first move into their place but he can only keep track of them for so long and when he confesses to kazu that he had to climb in through the window kazu just laughs bc he loves this man, dw i made a copy of our keys, as long as you shut the window after you come in i dont mind

4. consider: kazunari, glasses on and book in hand, sitting in the middle of the couch with misumi sprawled across his lap, fast asleep

5. they probably share a closet in a literal sense but also a metaphorical sense bc all their shirts and jackets are around the same size so unless it is Tailored Formal Wear there is no distinction other than the fuzzy feeling they get when the other wears one of their things

6. they never officially adopt any animals but cats constantly pass through to say hi to misumi and update him on the latest kitty gossip and occassionally drop off triangular objects. kazunari never is sure what's happening, but he's learned to keep cat food at the ready.

more under the cut!!!

7. their place is the one you show up uninvited to looking for cuddles and an impromptu movie night and onigiri with your favorite filling and leave the next morning with coffee and even more onigiri and maybe a sticker on your hand

8. they raise three succulents named san, ka, and ku

9. going off from that the reason they have succulents is because both of them travel a lot for work (hc sumi as an actor and kazu having his own art/graphics based independent business) and they know san, ka, and ku can fend for themselves if need be

10. pls consider kazu with a "kiss the cook" apron except misumi may or may not usually do the cooking so kazu will put it on and then go up and kiss misumi on his own at random times of the day

11. they have a giant bookshelf along one of their walls filled with kazunari's plethora of hyper-specific reference books, random volumes of manga, and a whole shelf dedicated to scrapbooks, photo albums, and triangle knick-knacks

12. every mirror in their house has a picture or two tucked in the corner. kazunari's favorite is one from one of those arcade/mall photobooths, where misumi may or may not have kissed him for the first time. misumi's favorite is one with kazu on his shoulders at the park.

13. NOT NECESSARILY DOMESTIC HC SO MUCH AS A FUTURE ONE BUT KAZUNARI LETTING HIS HAIR GROW OUT WITHOUT DYEING IT... pudding hair long haired kazu. misumi puts it into a bun for him while he makes coffee in the mornings and may or may not buy him too many triangle hair accessories

14. ONCE MORE A FUTURE HC MORE THAN A DOMESTIC HC BUT i think. misumi should get more ear piercings. and kazunari peppers kisses on all of them when they're fully healed. and finds a lot of joy in pushing misumi's hair back behind his ears.

15. they are dummies that wash each other's hair in their too-small bathtub and give themselves soap bubble beards and trace hair conditioner triangles on each others' cheeks.

16. they don't "slow dance in the kitchen" so much as "misumi picks up kazunari and spins them around and sings a random tune while they wait for the rice cooker to beep"

17. misumi nurses kazu back to health whenever kazu gets sick but he always kisses kazu while he does so so without fail he catches whatever kazu had as soon as kazu is healed up and kazu takes care of him in turn (misumi is as much less willing patient tho)

18. if they live an apt building... just. the aesthetic of them sitting on the fire escape in their pajamas while pressed together from thigh to shoulder and watching the stars... good

19. kazunari prefers to work in silence but he very quickly comes to love hearing misumi humming and lightly singing whenever he's at home

20. whenever someone comes to visit they give the guest their bed and sleep tangled together on the floor or the couch

21. thinking about them grocery shopping together and kazu has their list organized by what order would be most optimal to grab things except kazu's calculations are Wrong and when he offhandedly says he's a bit tired misumi lifts him and drops him into the shopping cart

22. kazu holding misumi after a nightmare. he walks them to the window so they can see the stars. misumi's eyes lock onto vega, shining brightly in the sky.

23. misumi still takes non-acting part time jobs and will sometimes get called in early in the morning and on those days kazunari will wake up to a warm mug of coffee and a couple onigiri on the nightstand, and an extra blanket thrown over him

24. on that note misumi leaving little "anonymous" gifts in general around their place for kazu to find as if kazu won't immediately know who they're from

25. their fridge is covered in doodles, from kazu and misumi alike. kazu usually leaves drawings/old thumbnails and misumi will add sankaku-kuns in when he isn't looking

26. "Kazu?"

"..."

"I really, really love you."

"..."

"Let's stay together for a long, long time, okay?"

27. birthdays are for breakfast in bed and homemade gifts and dinner with their precious friends

28. consider: misumi gently coaxing kazu into bed while kazu insists "on more chapter" while he practically falls asleep on the couch

29. (since it is softly raining here) one of them walking the other to the train station in order to share their single umbrella after their second one broke and sending them off with a quick kiss on the cheek

30. even years later, misumi still marvels at all the little things about sharing a living space - having both their toothbrushes in the holder, the extra plate in the sink, the scribbled half-doodles kazu sometimes leaves lying around - they're all very, very precious to him

31. when kazunari stays at his parents for a weekend early on in their domestic, living-together life, he calls up tsuzuru (+others, possibly) to go visit misumi on the nights he's gone

32. they always greet each other with forehead kisses, especially since they both usually have their hands full (with either art supplies or triangles)

[phoebehalliwell]

Pls write mini essays about phoebe + next gen and paige + next gen!!

word i’d said i’d to this then i forgot i’m doing it now i’m gonna start of with both phoebe & paige + their kids and then i’ll burn through the list

okay so for starters phoebe i think phoebe’s family wins like the “most functional” award it’s not like a landslide win y’know it’s not like piper and paige’s families aren’t function but this family is comprised of an empath advice columnist, a cupid relationship therapist, and three cupid-witches. like, they’re all kinds experts of communication and self-awareness and understanding and relationships and bond blah blah blah they being said of course they have their issues but in general it’s relatively smooth sailing there is of course the flipside when friction usually generate from the kids starts to spiral out of control and phoebe & coop will be like let’s use our words help us to understand you and where you’re coming from do some breathe exercises and the girls would be like no!! can’t we just argue like a normal family!!! can’t you just get angry at something!! but those are um few and far between. and of course like phoebe really really wanted to be a mom we all saw we all didn’t enjoy it but that’s very much canon she really wanted three daughters she got that so i think phoebe was very much like Prepared for motherhood (like as prepared as one could be). like it wasn’t like she thought it was going to be smooth sailing but like she was ready to face any challenges that could be thrown at her she was ready to put all of her love and effort into this one thing and i think for her like Mama Era from pj’s birth in 07 to peyton starting preschool in 2013 i think she really like almost exclusively worked from home she was really hands-in she was in all the mommy groups and the pta and the whatnot but like. y’know that’s like 6 years. and phoebe really loves her job. so i think she’d really have a career renaissance once all of the kids were in school i think she’d slowly start to dive back into column work i think this is when she’d start to write her book after the success of that one i think she wrote another one i think she has a fiction series posted under a pseudonym that is more of a ya magical adventure series (which paige designs all the covers for) i also think she and coop have a podcast together maybe run through the bay mirror maybe independent the point is she’s really popular (i also think she’d be the wealthiest out of the three sisters bc she makes bank and so does coop as a therapist for those not in the states therapy is like really fuckin expensive as i recently learned y’all do not know. it’s a bitch. but yeah they got money. but that’s not the point here. the point is she’s really popular). book tours, doing stuff with the podcast, guest appearances on a variety of tv shows, i think phoebe’s not like. at home a lot. or at least she’s home the least out of piper her and paige. and it’s not like her kids really mind like she is just a beam away and she always makes it to important events (and unimportant ones!) like she takes photos before every school dance and she throws birthday parties and she really dos try to make it to all of the kids soccer games but like. she’s not always just like. home all the time. and i think she’d really love to have a lot of emotional heart-to-hearts with her kids but that doesn’t always happen. if pj needs an emotional heart-to-heart, she’s gonna talk to her dad. is parker needs an emotional heart-to-heart, she’s gonna talk to pj. is peyton needs and emotional heart-to-heart she’ll position herself on the couch late at night when she knows phoebe will be coming home and just sorta sit there like waiting for phoebe to show up and go oh honey what’s wrong bc uhh peyton will not like. go to someone to talk about their problems. she has to wait to be asked. that’s just the type of person she is. lucky for her, phoebe’s an empath so she can like tell when baby peyton’s in distress but lbr she usually doesn’t need it because like peyton perches in such an Obvious manner like hi mom come comfort me please : ( even tho she’ll never like say it out loud. i think phoebe’s also like proud of her girls and their practicing of the craft bc she remembers how she felt about magic hell how she still feels about magic and she’s always telling them like follow ur heart and love is ur greatest strength (and the power of three will set you free, of course) bc her girls are cupitches y’know it’s more true than ever but like. lowkey tho. it fucking terrifies her. magic like takes, man. a lot of people she knows have died. and she just like. she doesn’t want to tell her kids no bc it was grams controlling nature that made her rebel so much so like she wants them to be able to come to her when they have a magical problem and she knows that if she tries to stop them or tells them they’re out of their league they’ll probably just stop telling her things so she doesn’t she tried to be supportive but jesus fucking christ he gets so scared sometimes. she gets so scared.

paige on the other hand had nowhere near the same experience with motherhood as phoebe bc well i think paige has the most complex relationship with motherhood set aside the fact that her kids are the only unplanned ones out of the entire next gen, she also like. she was a shit child. she was mean and violent and an alcoholic. she had committed so so many crimes before she was even 17. and she had a really good mom!! she had a mom who loved her and tried her hardest to support her and keep her from falling off the deep end who loved her unconditionally she had the best mom and she was still just a little shit! and i think that really fucks her up. like, looking back on it, she can’t imagine half the stuff she put her mom through. she was really cruel. and like!!! her mom was a good mom!! so paige doesn’t know she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do. how she’s supposed to stop her kids from turning out like her. what can she do so she doesn’t have kids who end up exactly like how she was. henry isn’t like a load of help her bc henry Also never knew his parents and he jumped around from foster home to foster home and like never really felt like had a family until paige. and then like in his whole parole schtick he was definitely a hard ass he was definitely an Authority Figure bc hell that was the only way adults could get him to listen to them when he was a kid so he just kinda emulated that. however after meeting paige and really getting a feel for her whitelighter side and how she handled these situations i do think henry switched up his vibes he made the necessary changes. i also think like henry like no he wasn’t planning on having kids but i think he was really excited to become a father like he was gonna have a family like god he always wanted a family he was gonna teach his kids to play catch and he would host birthday parties stupid birthday parties with themes and balloons from safeway and friends there and goody bags the full kit and kaboodle like henry would fuckin go to bed each night dreaming about how he’s gonna do all these familial things he never got to do. bc he didn’t have a family. but paige did. she got all those things. and she was still fucked up!! so i think the conkclooshun paige landed on was that her mom tried to hard to like. like her mom saw her potential and always strived to push her to be that perfect version of paige that she saw her wonderful little angel when paige really wasn’t that paige wanted to be seen for what she was not some vision in her mom’s head and maybe that’s why she would like get drunk and steal a cop car bc she wanted her mom to see the girl standing right in from of her not an angel just paige. so paige was like. okay. i’m no gonna project onto my kids. they’re gonna be like “charmed ones” (there’s only two of them but w/e they’re really powerful witches) but i’m not gonna. i’m not gonna see them as that. i’m going to try to see them as they are and i’m going to be their Mom. i’m not gonna be some distant ethereal figure which is kinda how she felt a lot of the charges she brought to magic school viewed her bc she was this mythic charmed one and she was this she was that i think paige didn’t want to be her daughters’ whitelighter bc she didn’t want a “professional” relationship with them. there was no way she could advise her own kids the way she could advise her charges, she’s simply way too close to the situation. and she doesn’t want her kids to view her like that. she doesn’t want to be their whitelighter, she wants to be their mom. and um this really does work for the most part like she & her kids will like sit on the couch and just like yuck it up you know like the mitchell clan really is a tight knit they do all love spending time with her but. like her method of parenting really works with tamora. not so much with kat. kat’s a lot more witchy than tam is she’ll actively go out and seek out trouble she pursues the craft with a very similar hunger to what we saw in paige s5 and paige kinda hates it. like. god okay she gets it she gets it she really does. but kat’s a kid!! she’s just a kid and if she keeps looking for trouble she’s gonna get herself killed and i think whenever out god knows where doing god knows what paige just remembers that time she had to watch chris bleed out on the bed with nothing she could do. and how she- how if that happened to kat- she- she couldn’t go on anymore. that’s basically the fact of the matter. if she lost a child, she doesn’t know what she would do. give up. probably. and it’s again sorta like the inverse we see with phoebe’s free range demon hunting where paige gets so overprotective about it that kat just stopped telling her things. this gets doubled by the fact that you’re not my whitelighter, so why should you even care! and kat does view it as like a lack of faith from her mother (which is one of the reasons why kat and chris are so close) and she just wants to. she wants to prove herself. she wants her mom to see her for all that she could be, instead of just the place she’s in right now. and i do think as time passes paige learns to sort of let go of this control i think her and kat have the most difficult relationship but paige letting kat leave to take a gap year and explore the world was like a major step and kat acknowledges this to an extend she gets it was difficult for her mom but she really has no idea how much paige panicked how much it took every inch of her self control not to go out and drag kat back home because yes baby birds have to leave the nest eventually but these baby birds have a very high stab rate. um jumping over to her relationship with henry jr i think she does encourage his studying of the craft he is the most well read out of any of the next generation with wyatt taking a close second hell henry jr even knows like a bit of latin this kid is wicked smart And bonus round he’s aware he’s mortal. like yeah paige can kinda sense that it does ruffle his feather, but henry jr knows when to step away. again, henry’s really well-read. he’s brushed up on the family history. he knows the warren line is close friends with death. as a bit of a bonus round but also to give paige some peace of mind, she did give henry a basic charm that grants him the same high resistance that all witches are born with as well as cloaks him from magic bc like paige and henry sr both knew this mortal baby was gonna have a wicked high kidnap rate so they figured y’know best do all they can to Stop That from happening. the enchantment that henry jr has is a necklace it’s the same one paige wore throughout the show. bc i’d like to bring that back.

okay next gen time wyatt i think wyatt likes paige more than phoebe it’s not like a competition or anything it’s just gun to his head that’s who he’d chose bc paige really is like this witchlighter she walks the line between being charmed and being a whitelighter that wyatt can really take a lot of inspiration from he just doesn’t have that with phoebe phoebe’s a little bit more of like a love guru and wyatt’s got a weird relationship with love bc he keeps flinging himself headfirst into it and keeps getting bruiser bc of it what wyatt actually doesn’t know is almost all of the advice that has gotten him out of these troubling times has almost all been sourced from phoebe piper usually goes to her with advice when it comes to all that i mean i don’t think wyatt would like to know that post-breakup wyatt is just like kinda embarrassing he doesn’t want to know that’s being shared with the family of course he already knows he just doesn’t want confirmation

chris surprisingly closer with phoebe probably bc she’s an empath and again she has this whole free range witchcraft style that she has going if chris has a question he needs to ask somebody he’ll usually ask phoebe bc she’s the only one who won’t report back to leo bc again she’s an empath she gets it she knows what’s going on and she knows he just needs time and he and leo need some good honest communication paige also gets that but paige also watched chris die so yeah no she’s gonna snitch

melinda about and even tie melinda gets a lot of witchlightering advice from paige on finding harmony there but she’s also an empath she she spends a lot of time learning her craft from phoebe and how to focus that and apply that power to her witch/whitelighter abilities in ways paige can’t really teach her bc paige’s power is more physical that psychic/emotional. but it is like paige who gives her the groundwork on like. getting it. i think gun to her head if she had to choose she’d choose phoebe just because of those times they’d go out and do “field practice” where they go somewhere interesting and crowded and sense the wave of emotions and go out and try to pick out people from the crown it’s an art of drowning out the din and finding one you need to find a way of not getting lost in the sea of everyone else’s everchurning emotions which is nice bc it grants melinda a much wanted and needy control over empathy but it’s also nice bc it’s like. fun. phoebe always makes it fun they can always have a laugh.

tamora’s not like hella close with phoebe there’s really no reason for her to be however she is baby peyton’s favorite cousin (don’t tell the rest) simply because tamora’s both like studious and cautious and baby peyton’s tired of everyone running around trying to fight demons like what about normal life irl and stuff so i think tamora would definitely like tutor baby peyton this that and the other and so like phoebe really has like a sense of respect for tamora and tamora likes being over at phoebe’s y’know it’s not like peyton’s some snot nosed kid it’s fun she likes the vibes

kat has an appreciation for phoebe bc she definitely knows phoebe had a hand in helping her mom let go of her y’know that being said it’s not like she loves to spend time with phoebe phoebe’s both an empath and paige’s sister so like she knows that anything of note’s gonna be passed onto her mom (which isn’t like. entirely true. but it is kinda true). if kat’s gonna hang out with an empath she wants it to be one on her side so she’ll always pick melinda

henry jr okay so phoebe’s actually the opposite with henry it’s kinda like her and paige swapped places here bc paige trusts her son she knows he’s really well versed in magic blah blah blah and that he’s got y’know. common sense. he’s not gonna run into some situation half cocked and get himself killed he’s aware of his mortality. phoebe on the other hand did not raise henry so she doesn’t get him the way paige gets him; a large part of her free range ideology is the fact that her kids are basically little power loaded god their charmed and as an added boost they’re also half cupid they’ve been raised in the craft they’re insanely well trained so like. she knows that they’re capable. henry does not have their advantages. so i think phoebe really tries to hold him back isn’t quite the right word but like. it kind is. she doesn’t want him doing anything magical.

pj’s in the 07 baby squad even though she’d at the younger end of the scale so she was a grade behind mellie kat and tam but that little barbershop quartet’s p tight knit i don’t think she has like insane exposure to paige as i think cupids and whitelighter work very differently like at the most basic magical level and therefore paige’s halfling experience really doesn’t do that much to help her i think she likes paige alright but like. it’s nothing compared to like wyatt relationship with paige

parker always like runs towards danger she’s got an insane amount of energy and like a fire within her i think she’s always trying to push boundaries and break the rules eg with her cupid ring becoming an athame i don’t think she straight up asked paige bc like parker definitely views all adults as narcs but with this of that ilk parker bounces questions off paige which paige just always answers like really honestly like if parker asks a question that’s like really complex and strange paige won’t give her a roundabout answer she’ll just tell her what’s up and for that parker respects paige

peyton i think sees paige the most through tam i think she likes paige i think she’s definitely privy of the whole paige/kat situation bc like who is the family isn’t but i think she really kinda takes paige’s side her peyton thinks the real worlds insanely dangerous she doesn’t like looking for trouble and her heart lowkey goes out to paige bc she knows the whole thing with kat is a matter of love it’s just something that’s hard to work with

[kiwisbocetos]

I’ve always been more interested in Spamano more than I have been other pairings and I’ve finally figured out how to put why in words which is too much of a dramatic phrase for this subject. So I’ve always and only seen this pairing in the way I’m about to describe. It’s a little long so bear with me

I like the thought of them meeting when they’re younger. The Roman Empire feels a connection with these two young beings like him who aren’t quite human. He decides to find them friends and Iberia has just found two other children running around on the land over there. He sets them up to meet and the Italies know something is off about these two other beings. They don’t feel a connection to them like they do with each other and the Roman Empire. They just stare and eventually Rome has to accept that they’re not going to start laughing with them like other human children do with each other. It’s almost as if they know that these other children are bad omens.

They grow up surrounded by humans. They enjoy their games and food and clothes and songs. Spain loved them and Romano knew something wasn’t right. That humans somehow caused the Roman Empire pain. They grow up and start learning about the reality of them. How short their lives are and how they waste their time on hate. They see them kill each other for believing in one God and later killing each other for not believing in one God. They’re terrified of them and what they do. Romano takes refuge in avoiding humans whenever he can and sometimes that means running away to the countryside to just breathe. He doesn’t trust anyone so he hides from them before they could hurt him. Spain surrounds himself with them more and becomes a greedy charmer who punishes himself by grabbing another drink. He doesn’t trust them either so he works on finding ways of having the upper hand.

They meet again and they hate each other. Their bodies now make them look like they’re in their early twenties, but Spain had evidently grown faster than Romano. Or maybe Spain only looks 15 and Romano 12 so it’s hard to take the other seriously despite the centuries behind their eyes. Romano doesn’t like being controlled by an overgrown toddler. Spain doesn’t like having his authority questioned because he’s too prideful for his own good. They’ve already decided that humans are despicable and don’t know what they’re doing anymore since nobody listens to them anyway. Spain has since accepted that humans live their lives to make their pouches thicker. Romano doesn’t want to trust anyone still. So he keeps to himself and Spain continues smiling and bragging. It takes a while but suddenly they don’t remember how they ended up just watching the sun go down on some random hill. There’s a bottle of wine in each of their hands and Spain doesn’t remember when he started crying. Romano doesn’t remember resting his head on his shoulder. Neither of them remember feeling so at peace and cared for.

Nothing gets better but it becomes more bearable. Spain can just breathe around someone and Romano knows there’s someone who may be miles away but who’s still staying. Romano continues to live in South Italy and occasionally gets a letter about a new Spanish artist or one from the Flander regions. They take time to just walk around old villages and share a laugh with the old men who stand outside their homes. They gossip about what Spains heard about in court and Romano tells him what the wealthy Italian families have been commissioning. They laugh about it and share more gossip about ladies in towns whose names they’ll forget about. Spain tries to do his best to keep South Italy because life has just become bearable. When South Italy decides to be independent Spain rages. He feels like everything he’s become is about to be destroyed. He thinks he’s about to disappear. He’s still so prideful even when he knows it’s better this way. He needs everyone to stay where they are but Romano needs to think about his people. About himself. He feels as if Spain is only seeing him as a piece of land that he owns and he wants to be taken seriously. Spain feels as if he just started being taken seriously and now everything was falling apart and he doesn’t understand why this is what’s breaking him. He doesn’t know how to keep someone at his side without control or presents.

They don’t talk for a while and start beginning to be wrapped up in their worlds of politics. Time passes by so quickly and yet so slowly. Romano thinks Spain doesn’t want anything more to do with him and Spain doesn’t know how to befriend someone who he only wants to sit next to. It takes a while until they’re forced to meet again for political reasons. Seeing each other feels different from seeing other nations. They love talking to Belgium and others but seeing each other just feels different. They break down and suddenly they’re watching the sunset again over other bottles of wine. They finally let down their walls and just breathe next to each other. It’s just Lorenzo and Antonio sitting on a hill and watching mother nature paint. They start to reconnect and continue holding each other close so that the world could be bearable again.

Now they have phones to make it easier and they’re top on each other’s list for who they first call in the excitement of technology. They quickly make time to go on a lonely road and speed down it in a race to see whose car is faster. Romano shows off the culinary skills he learned in America and Spain shares what he’s missed while he was gone. They don’t remember falling in love. Romano remembers seeing Antonio snoring as he halfway falls off his couch and reaching for a pillow for when it inevitably happens and stopping for a second at the concern and giddiness. Spain remembers watching Lorenzo flirting with other girls and feeling weird about it even when he’s watched him do it so many other times before. They’re everybody’s worst nightmare when they’re paired up for country meetings. Romano’s watching the door while Spain messes with the seating arrangements because England pissed him off and that means they’re both mad at him now. They get to any of their homes and just fall on the couch and breath because life has finally become more bearable. It’s just Antonio and Lorenzo just being humans.

It’s a nice dynamic I think. This is only how I see them and I understand if others don’t see it that way. I just thought I’d share what I feel whenever I create for it or interact with it. It’s just two old men who desperately need to sit down and debate their favorite Renaissance artist. I like the thought of centuries going by and still looking at someone with so much tenderness. I love the thought of love being people who just like existing next to each other and sharing oranges with them. And I love when people let their guard down around someones who’s had their guard up for so long as well. Loving and knowing flaws and growing together! It’s really sweet, but I guess that’s how most people like interacting with historical country romances in this fandom, right? Having a love you can return to sounds very nice. I hope this made sense.

[semperama]

Verbs: 4, Pinto!

I apologize, this got a little too long, and I probably should have posted it to AO3 instead, but I’m too lazy to think of a title and all that jazz right now. So hopefully it isn’t too much of a pain to read here!

pinto, convalesce

"So how many 'break a leg' jokes have you heard in the past few days?" Zach asks as he follows Chris into the house, close on his heels in case he trips. He wanted to rent a wheelchair to bring Chris home in, but of course Chris wouldn't hear of it. He always seems to think he has something to prove, even when sporting a cast that extends from foot to thigh and a bulky boot to go with it.

"I lost count," Chris says, leaning for a moment against the wall in the foyer and looking over his shoulder at Zach. "But you know what? I didn't mind it."

"You do love a corny joke." Zach drops Chris's duffel on the floor, then goes to his side, hands hovering in the air as he tries to decide how best to help. "Not sure what that says about your sense of humor. Alright. Too bed now, right?"

"The couch?" Chris says, turning wide, pleading eyes Zach's direction. "I've been laying in bed for days. I don't want to shut myself away in the bedroom until I have to."

Zach purses his lips, but he can't think of a good reason to refuse him. "Fine," he says, "but you aren't going to go hobbling around the house every time you want something. Once you're on the couch, your ass is staying on the couch."

Chris doesn't argue now, but Zach guesses there will be arguments later. And really, it's not like Zach blames him. He can imagine how frustrating it must be to have your mobility limited, to need someone else to take care of you. Chris has always been independent. He doesn't like relying on others--not for anything. Even as Zach leads him to the couch and helps him prop up his leg on a stack of pillows, he wonders how much Chris is bristling at him, how much he wishes Zach would just go away.

Still, Zach has to ask, "What can I get you?"

Chris sighs. "Water, I guess. And hand me the remotes? They're over there next to the TV."

Zach knows where the remotes are. He knows where everything in this house is, and he knew it long before he moved in two months ago. But Chris is still adjusting--they both are--and this whole mess with his leg has only thrown a wrench in things, so Zach lets this one slide and goes to retrieve the remotes.

On the way back from the kitchen with Chris's water, he digs two prescription bottles out of the duffel. Painkillers and antibiotics, both of which need to be taken on a regular schedule. One more thing for Zach to keep track of, and one more thing for Chris to potentially resent him for. Maybe it would be easier if he set alarms on Chris's phone, so he isn't bugging Chris himself, but even that feels like it might be too invasive.

"Here," he says as he sets the water down close enough for Chris to reach it. "And here are your meds. You're about due for more oxy now, if you want."

Chris waves him away absently, his eyes fixed on the TV screen as he flips through the channels. "That stuff makes me feel awful. The doctor said I could switch to ibuprofen whenever."

Zach sighs. Chris has three pins in his leg, but trust him to try to play the tough guy now. Who doesn't want to take the good shit when they have it? But he bites his tongue. "Do you want ibuprofen now then?"

"Nah, I'm good. I'll wait until dinner."

Nodding, Zach looks from Chris to the TV to Chris again. What is he supposed to do now? How is he supposed to help? "I guess I'll go start a load of laundry then. Mind if I get your clothes out of the bag?"

Chris looks at him then, eyebrows pinching together. "You don't have to do that. I can wash them later."

"Chris." Zach throws up his hands. "How are you going to do that, huh?"

"Right." The troughs in his forehead deepen. "Okay. Sorry."

Sorry? Zach frowns, but he finds he isn't in the mood to unpack all that baggage in that one word now, so he goes to unpack the physical baggage instead. It's a relief, in some ways, to go through the motions of sorting the clothes in the hamper and tossing them into the washer. He feels far more useful now than he did hovering over Chris in the living room, or back at the hospital, where friends and family came and went and all Zach could do was sit and watch Chris's pale face for signs of fatigue. He thought he was going to cry when Chris's dad offered to have him come stay with them while he was recovering, but luckily Chris shut that one down quickly. But was it because he trusted Zach to take care of him, or because he didn't want to put his family out? Is he only putting up with Zach now because he has to?

Zach realizes he's spiraling and takes a deep breath to rein himself in. This is all too new. He moved in with Chris just a couple weeks before filming on the new Star Trek started, and though it seemed like a good idea at the time, it's been a big adjustment. Going from a long-distance relationship to a live-in one--plus filming twelve-plus hours a day--hasn't been easy on either of them, and Chris's injury has made things that much more awkward. Now he knows Chris feels guilty for delaying production and guilty that Zach almost took the poor stunt coordinator's head off after the fact and guilty that he screwed up the stunt in the first place. And what's Zach supposed to do with all that? He can't fix Chris's leg and he can't fix all the emotional shit surrounding it either, so all he's good for now is fetching Chris water and making him feel uncomfortable in his own damn house.

Back in the living room, Chris is still scrolling through the channels, though his eyes look unfocused, like he might not really be paying attention to what he's seeing. Zach wishes they hadn't taken the dogs over to Mark's. Maybe if they were here, they would cheer Chris up better than Zach can. 

"Hey," Zach says, leaning against the door frame and offering a tentative smile. They used to be able to communicate so much to each other with just smiles, and Zach has no idea what he may be communicating now, but he hopes it's something. He hopes Chris can still read him like this.

Chris clicks the TV off again and tosses the remote on the coffee table, and only then does he look up at Zach's face. "Hey," he says wearily. Then, after a double-take, he stretches out his hand. "Hey," he says again, softer. "Come here."

Zach goes to him and slips his fingers into Chris's, a hopeful nervousness unfurling in his chest. Before he can protest, Chris tugs at him and sends him sprawling into his lap. He only barely manages to catch himself and avoid falling against Chris's injured leg.

"Careful!" Zach digs his fingers into Chris's shoulders. "They'll have us both killed if you reinjure that leg, you moron."

"Relax," Chris says, offering up the first real smile Zach has seen in days, then hiding it in Zach's neck. "I mean it. You need to relax. You're acting like I'm on my deathbed."

"I'm not--" Zach huffs and tries to rearrange himself, get some of his weight off Chris's stomach. "It's not that. I know you're going to be fine."

"Then what is it?" Chris reaches up and brushes a few strands of hair off Zach's forehead. And God, Zach loves it when he does that. He used to be so neurotic about his hair, would duck instinctively out of the way whenever anyone reached for it, but something about Chris doing it, the intimacy of it--it makes his stomach flip over every time.

"This isn't exactly how I thought living together would go," Zach says, and then it's his turn to hide his face, pressing his mouth against Chris's temple. He still smells like hospital, but he doubts either of them want to think about the work it'll take to get him in the shower right now. "Doesn't this feel like...I don't know, some kind of bad omen?"

"Bad omen? Jesus." Chris chuckles and snatches up one of Zach's hands, brings it up to his mouth and kisses the edge of his palm. "Look, I know I've been really fucking cranky. We were both sleep-deprived even before all of this, and now I feel like I've let everybody down, and I hate being..." He gestures down the length of his body. "Helpless."

"Yeah, I know," Zach says, because he does. Of course he does.

"But none of that has anything to do with you and me," Chris says. "There are no bad omens, Zach. Only bad luck."

He turns his head to the side and captures Zach's mouth--a quick peck first, then a harder one, the kind that has them both drawing an anticipatory breath. Not that they have anything to anticipate at the moment. Chris is out of commission in every possible way.

"I just don't want you to regret this," Zach says when they break apart. He is painfully aware of how it sounds--almost childishly needy, not at all like a man who's spent most of his adult life in therapy for his abandonment issues.

Luckily for him, Chris only grin at him and shakes his head. "The only thing I regret right now is not asking you to move in with me sooner." He rubs his thumb across Zach's bottom lip. "We shouldn't have had to spend the first months of our relationship to tired or too--injured to fuck."

Zach barks out a laugh at that and swats Chris on the stomach. "One-track mind," he admonishes. 

Chris's eyes sparkle, even as the smile fades from his lips. "But seriously, do you think I don't worry about the same thing? Don't you know all I can think about is how unfair it is that you'll have to wait on me hand and foot for the next few weeks?"

"But I'm happy to do it, Chris," Zach says, brushing his fingers across Chris's cheekbone. "I'd do it even if you weren't bedridden, if you wanted me to."

Chris crinkles his nose. "Yeah, no. That sounds like a nightmare."

"Why's that?" Zach tries not to sound too hurt.

"Because I want a partner, Zach." Before Zach can argue, Chris puts a finger to his lips. "And yes, I'm aware that partners sometimes have to take care of each other, which is why I'm going to try to get over myself and let you take care of me and not be grumpy about it." He presses a loud, smacking kiss to Zach's cheek. "But in return you have to stop acting like you have to earn your right to be here, okay?"

That sentence has another ten years of therapy packed into it, but Zach pushes it away for now and focuses on the important part: that Chris wants him here, and not just for what Zach can do for him. 

"Deal," Zach says, and presses his mouth Chris's temple again. He'll do his best, anyway--which is all either of them can do. It helps, at least, that their issues are complementary. 

"Good." Chris kisses him on the mouth. "Now get me my phone, so I can order us burritos, because you are not cooking. And then you are going to sit here with me and watch a dumb action movie. And then--and then we can figure out how I'm going to shower with this thing on."

His mouth twists on that last part, and Zach can't help but smile. He scratches his fingers along Chris's scalp and then gives the back of his neck a gentle squeeze. "Maybe I can make the shower part worth your while," he says, brushing his mouth against Chris's jaw. "Provided it's safe enough, that is."

"Hmm," Chris hums, clutching the back of Zach's head to keep him there. "In that case, maybe we'll do the shower first."

[heli0s-writes]

We’ll Come Too

Pairing: Steve x Reader x Bucky Summary: They surprise you with a question. A/N:  5 of ?? Snapshots between you, Steve, and Bucky. In the same canon as Mystery of Love– check it out first :)

On a Thursday, you wake up to an empty bed.

It’s the middle of the week, and you have completed your second semester at Union, finishing out the year with a curated undergraduate exhibit and another talk in the Art Building. You haven’t responded to the contract renewal yet, still deciding on whether it might be a good time to take a sabbatical and focus on your own work.

Although being surrounded by your contemporaries and seeing the changes that photography has undergone in the past few years has been great, not to mention staying faithful to a schedule has helped your life immensely… there is just a certain freedom that you are lacking. A freedom you really enjoy having.

You are reminded of this freedom as the sun cascades through the open blinds and over your eyes. This past year, you’ve been up before sunrise most weekdays. You smile, eyes still shut, reveling in the fact that on a Thursday, you can stretch and yawn and remain in bed for another hour if you wish.

You do just that, squeezing your hands into fists as you crane your neck upward and stretch your spine. Then, grabbing the pillow to fluff it a little more, your hand lands in something silky. Perplexed, you slap your palm around and wipe your eyes with your other hand. Another silky thing touches you. And then another.

When your eyes finally open, you see that the bed is covered in BLOOD WHAT THE FU—

Oh. Your heart settles when you realize it’s not blood at all. The bed is layered in red rose petals. Both your hands fly to your face as you take deep breaths, scolding yourself to calm down because you nearly just had a heart attack.

“Bucky?” You call cautiously, sliding off the mattress and brushing off the bits of red on your shirt. “Steve?”

When nothing answers you back, you follow the trail slowly from where your house shoes are to the half-open door. It leads you further, down the stairs, past the walkway, and through the kitchen until finally, you stop by the couch where two men stand in the middle of the living room, arguing.

“You are so stupid!” Bucky hisses, showing Steve his middle finger.

“Real mature, Buck.” Steve responds, pinching his nosebridge, “Will ya just ---”

They pause when they see you leaning on the couch, rubbing your eyes. “What’s happenin?” You ask, picking up a petal and sniffing it. “I rolled over one of these. I think—think there’s a stain. I thought it was the horse scene from The Godfather.” Turning, you try to point your nose to a damp spot on the small of your back. Bucky’s t-shirt indeed had a light pink smudge. “Is this gonna wash out? I love this shirt.”

“Babe,” Bucky calls.

“And who had to tear off all these petals? Who’s hands are red?” You ask, flinging the petal in your hand down.

Steve sighs your name but hardly gets a syllable out before you interrupt again.

“And who is going to sweep all of these up?!” You cry.

They call your name in unison and you snap out of your moment. It’s then you see that Steve and Bucky have dressed in matching trousers and dress shirts. The curtains are all drawn. There are candles lining the perimeter of the room and they balance on their heels, bashful and quiet.

“Guys?” You ask, feeling a sudden pitch of your heart as they stare at you lovingly. You, with a sloppy night-time bun, bunny slippers on, wearing nothing but Bucky’s oldest shirt, threadbare and crumpled, drool-stained and all.

Steve smiles first, taking Bucky’s hand in his as he steps forward. You reflexively back up, but Bucky’s short chuckle makes you pause, and he takes the opportunity to reach out to grab your hand, too. “We got ya somethin…” He murmurs.

You blink. “Is it… breakfast?” You ask, peeking over to the dining table where two more candles flicker. Sometimes they’re not sure when you are joking and when you are truly oblivious. Their girl, always independent and headstrong, sometimes became so silly in their presence.

“No.” Steve laughs, slapping the hand holding Bucky over his face. His other hand, you notice, is behind his back, and your heart suddenly drops into your stomach and feels like it’s about to fall out of you completely. “It’s better than breakfast.” He grins.

“C-C-candy?” You ask, trying to steer the conversation somewhere stupid—somewhere else. “D-did you—ge-get me—oh Christ.” Your eyes fill up with tears when he pulls the velvet box forward. “There’s a Jolly Rancher in there, right?” You whisper.

Bucky wipes a tear from your eye when Steve gets down on his knee. “I’d do it too, but these pants can’t contain this ass.” Bucky snarks. It earns him a laugh before another tear drips down your face.

“Honey,” Steve says quietly, looking intently at you even though he’s not much more than a blurred shape of sandy hair and two blue marbles. “We love you so much. You mean so much to us, sweetheart. We’re so happy to have you…” He pauses, “I just… I can’t think of another way to show you how much… Let’s get married, baby.”

“He had another speech, but I told him it was stupid.” Bucky comments. “Lots of references to World War II—can you believe?” But you can hear the shudder in his voice, the threat of a faltering last word, as his throat closes up with emotion while he waits for you. His hands are clammy and squeezing tightly, and you almost pause to comment because Bucky, nervous? You would have never imagined it.

Turning to face him, you see Bucky chewing on his lip, nostrils flaring just a tad to keep himself from crying. His nose is tinged pink, and you nearly jump into his arms to soothe him if it wasn’t for Steve peering at you with such earnest.

“C’mon, doll. Don’t make two old men wait.”

You can’t help but let loose a happy sob and nod your head because it is all you can get out now as your face and chest feel nothing but salty wetness pouring out. Steve slips the ring on your finger and you take a second to wipe your eyes and look at it.

A simple silver band shines like gold under the candlelight. Encrusted on top by a delicate smooth setting sits a clear blue diamond, a little green, a little grey, a perfect reminder of their loving gaze.

Steve finally stands up, brushing his knees as he holds your trembling hand up to his lips and kisses each knuckle in reverence. “What do you think?” He asks, thumbing the jewel on your finger.

You place your hand over your chest, taking Bucky’s fingers in tow. With a damp smile, you reply, “I think I need to brush my teeth before I kiss either of you.”

—

You announce the engagement over a group text to Tony and the others. Soon enough, a caravan of Avengers arrives with champagne tucked under their arms and you are scrambling to arrange some kind of fruit and cheese plate for all the guests. Natasha finds you in the kitchen and slaps your hand away before ushering you into the living room.

Pepper is there first, pulling you into a firm hug, sweeping your still wet hair to the side and placing her hand on your cheek.

“I’m so happy for you. It’s a wonderful feeling.” Her voice is wavering and gentle, and you return her hug with enthusiasm, hoping to convey to her all the gratefulness you feel for her.

Tony springs open the champagne bottle, and because there are no flutes in your new home to house them, he pours the bubbling liquid into ceramic mugs and wine glasses instead. An array of mismatched objects you’ve collected.

“What is this, a cabin?” He mutters with a little smirk as he sips champagne from a Kermit the Frog mug. They laugh and cajole, Sam is shoving his elbow into Bucky side and rubbing him about being a taken man, even though he’s been taken the very second he met you. Across the room, where Steve is being pat on the shoulder by Clint and Bruce, he sends you a smile.

All three of you, basking in the glow of the afternoon, surrounded by clinking glasses and laughter, rose petals crushed under your feet, share a sweet second of silence together before returning to the world.

—

The new ring on your finger still feels out of place and you can’t help but twirl it round and round, finding the jewel on top with your thumb repeatedly. Bucky and Steve are stacking mugs into the dishwasher as you take a minute to yourself. There are so many things to consider, so many technical aspects of a marriage, planning and pondering, where to have it, what to serve, who to invite, what you’ll wear and what they’ll wear, and how it will work with three.

Your mind wanders to only one thought, and it chews relentlessly deep in your gut.

A hand settles softly on your shoulder and you look up at Steve’s kind eyes. “Baby,” he calls, “We’re with you.”

“Yeah.” You say with a deep breath, placing your hands over his. “Yeah, I know.”

“Whenever you’re ready, we’ll come too.”

Bucky peeks over his shoulder, patting his hands on the back of his trousers and offering you a sympathetic lift of his mouth. You reply with a cagey smile of your own and then shake your head, letting loose your hair before leaning back onto the cushions.

“Let’s go on my birthday,” You summon the courage to plan the first step, “It’ll take the edge off hearing the news.” And you don’t mean about the engagement. You are talking about the relationship—the Binding-- altogether.

The two men nod, letting you steer. It’s been nearly a year since they’ve been with you, since they met you, and became Bound to you. Now, there is a new chapter with a home decorated and filled with love, and an approaching celebration to mark the blessed union. It’s been nearly a year now, and Steve and Bucky have not yet met your parents.

Steve leans down to kiss you, hand cupping your jaw, mouth pressed firmly on yours in a promise:

We’re with you. Whenever you’re ready. We’ll come too.

[elisaphoenix13]

Normal Is Overrated

It was no secret that Peter stole Stephen's sweaters, but then Harley started taking Tony's shirts. It got to the point that Tony and Stephen wouldn't even bat an eye if they saw the boys wearing their clothes. Things only escalated from then on. Tony and Stephen were known to take each other's clothes, Peter and Harley had a sweater they constantly stole from each other (which was definitely Peter's) and would be seen going into the other's room just to get said sweater, and Diana? Even she stole clothes but it wasn't any of theirs. No, she always stole Cassie's clothes.

The first time she did, Cassie wasn't even home. Diana just went down to Scott and Quill's floor after getting an okay from FRIDAY that it was okay to do so, and went into Cassie's room. Both men shrugged it off because they thought maybe Diana had forgotten her crayons again, and returned their attention to the tv show they were watching. At least until the little girl yelled for the celestial.

"UNCLE QUILL!"

Quill sighs and sets his bottle of beer on the coffee table. "Why is it always me?"

"You spoil her and Cassie. This shouldn't be a surprise." Scott says with a snigger.

Quill just rolls his eyes as he moves to his feet and climbs the stairs up to Cassie's room where he finds Diana in the closet.

"What's wrong kiddo?"

"I wanna look at Cassie's clothes. Can you pick me up please?" She holds her arms out to him and the celestial raises an eyebrow.

"If you take anything and Cass finds out, I will deny having any part of this."

"Okay."

And that was that. Quill picked Diana up and held her so she could go through her honorary big sister's clothes and grab a couple of shirts and a sweater. Once she told Quill she was done, he set her back down and she skipped away with an armful of clothes and disappeared onto the elevator. FRIDAY took her back up to the family floor without having to be prompted, and when she stepped off, she walked right past Harley who looks down at her.

"What have you got there Dia?"

"Sissy's clothes!" Dia struggles to walk up the stairs with her arms full of clothes and Harley sighs.

"Come on." He picks her up by her armpits and Diana giggles as her brother helps her to the top of the stairs.

"Thank you Harley!"

The teen sniffs. "Yeah, sure."

Stephen steps out of the master bedroom just as Diana walks by and he raises an eyebrow when she disappears into her room with the armful of clothes. He looks to Harley for some kind of explanation but he just shakes his head with a look that said 'don't ask'. Stephen didn't. Dia was as independent as a five year old could be, and as long as she didn't get herself into trouble and respected the rules, Tony and Stephen let her. The boys were independent as well but they got into trouble on a weekly basis.

"Where's your father?" Stephen asks as he descends the stairs with Harley behind him.

"Downstairs in the lab. Said something about upgrading my suit." Harley replies. "Tibbs went with him."

Stephen chuckles. "They'll be down there for an age and a half then. How do you feel about shawarma for lunch?"

"Sounds like food!" Peter calls from the living room.

"Victor, the usual shawarma order please."

"It'll be here within the hour Doctor." The AI replies.

Stephen nods as he and Harley walk into the living room and the sorcerer swipes the bag of chips off the coffee table just as Peter reaches out to get some more chips. He complains loudly as the bag is returned to their cupboard through one of Stephen's gateways, but huffs when the man gives him the cliched line of "you'll ruin your lunch". They all knew it wasn't true because Peter could eat as much as three grown men, but it still wasn't healthy to eat an entire bag of chips.

"Hey Harls, wanna play?" Peter points at the tv that shows the menu screen for Mario Kart.

"Might as well." Harley thunks onto the couch next to Peter after he grabs a controller and Stephen goes into the kitchen to make himself some tea.

The next half hour passes somewhat quietly, with the boys game playing on the tv and the teenagers themselves either shouting at the game or whooping in excitement. Diana came down shortly after the boys started the game with a coloring book and wearing a sweater that most definitely wasn't hers, and Stephen momentarily forgot about his tea to look at the scene. To look at his kids. He had a life without them and his past self was content without children. He was a successful neurosurgeon that wanted for nothing and could come and go as he pleased.

Then he had the accident. He studied the Mystic Artes, and then met Tony. That was when his life was truly turned upside down. They had barely started dating when Peter became a permanent part of their lives, married for just a few months when Harley came next, and Diana came a month after. It had been a crazy year and a half for them all. Whenever he watched the kids like this though, the Ancient One's words always came back to him.

"I never saw your future, only its possibilities. You have such a capacity for goodness."

There were times he wondered if this was one of the possibilities she saw, but then he always came to the conclusion that it didn't matter. This was his reality now. The Stephen of the past lived happily without children or a relationship. The Stephen now couldn't picture his life without his husband or his kids. Not just them either. The Avengers too. They sometimes fought, made a mess, drove each other crazy...but they also had each other's backs. They took extra care to make sure Peter didn't ingest anything with mint, helped Harley train in and out of the Rescue suit, and the women took Diana out on occasion for a girl's day.

They were always considerate of Stephen's hands as well. If his hands shook and Tony or the boys weren't around, one of the members thay knew how to handle the massages helped him. The rare times he was sick? They stayed quiet and either Bucky or Wanda made dinner (and soup for Stephen). Tony had once stayed up for three days straight, and Quill noticed how Stephen and the kids tried to get him to go to bed. He made his own executive decision by knocking out the engineer and carrying him up to bed. Tony was not amused when he woke up, but Stephen had simply said it was his own fault for not coming willingly.

The point was, Stephen would choose his current chaotic life over his old one any day.

"Dude! That's so not cool! We said-" Peter stops midsentence, but Stephen couldn't see what he stopped to look down at from his angle in the kitchen.

He grabs his tea and takes a sip from the mug as he walks back into the living room to see what got both of the boys attention, and he actually dropped his mug in surprise. Peter and Harley had a very good reason to be staring, because it was at Diana. She was coloring with two crayons but only using one of her hands. The second crayon was floating as it filled in certain parts of the page she was working on, and not even the mug that Stephen dropped disturbed her. Things being broken was unfortunately a normal occurrence in the tower, so she just kept on coloring.

Even when she finally looked up when she noticed that Stephen wasn't cleaning up the mess. "What's wrong Mommy?"

"Y-You're using magic." The sorcerer stammers. "Diana...how long have you been able to do that?"

"I don't know." She says with a small shrug as she returns her attention to her coloring.

The train in the sorcerer's mind immediately derailed as he tried to wrap his head around what he was seeing. His daughter was using magic and making it look as easy as breathing. Maybe it was. Maybe she used it so easily because she came from it. It would make sense, Stephen would just need to keep a watchful eye on her. She seemed to have enough control of her abilities that he didn't have to worry just yet, but he still had questions.

He cleans up the mess he made and asks Harley to go downstairs to grab their lunch, as well as pull Tony out of the lab when Victor announces the arrival of their food, and then calmly sits on the couch next to Diana.

"Diana...is there anything else you can do?" He received a shrug for an answer. "Do you do this at school?"

"No."

Well that was a relief. "Good. Will you please tell me if you can do anything else or if you feel funny?"

"Yes, Mommy."

End of conversation. Stephen and Peter shared a look before the teen returned to his game, and the sorcerer gets up and returns to the kitchen so he could pace. Tony never mentioned anything strange happening during the five years Stephen and the boys were snapped, and neither did Cassie. Was there a certain age that magic could be used? All student that studied the Mystic artes were at the youngest, teenagers, so little was known when a person's magic could actually be used. Maybe there was a block until a certain age? Diana wasn't a good example to study though because she was created by magic. Things could be different for her.

Besides the obvious of course.

"...phen. Tesoro."

Stephen snaps out of his daze as Tony pulls his hand away from his mouth. "Tony, she used magic. Diana used magic."

Tony gently takes Stephen's face in his hands. "First of all, breathe. Second, was it anything dangerous?"

Stephen takes a shaky breath and then shakes his head. "No, no...nothing like that. She was just coloring-"

"Then stop worrying so much." Tony says gently and Stephen stares at him.

"What if she loses control? Or actually does do something dangerous?"

"What if she doesn't? For all we know she has natural control." Tony kisses away the younger man's retort and releases his face to join the kids at the table. "If she does, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. You're more than capable of taking care of that scenario."

Stephen blinks. "How can you trust me to do that?"

Tony smiles. "Because I watched you go one on one with Thanos when he had four of the infinity stones."

Harley's eyes widen at his father's words. "You did what?! Badass!"

Tony had a point. It wasnt worth worrying about something that may not come to pass and he even brought up another good point. Diana could have natural control of magic, and if she did, Stephen would worry endlessly for nothing. He was better off taking care of anything that happened when or even if it happened. So he joins his family at the table (the kids obviously gathered while he was lost in his own mind) and Tony pushes the bag of food over to him.

"Eat. You did your mom thing and made sure everyone else got their food so now it's your turn."

"Tony..." Stephen sighs out but doesn't continue as he pulls his food out.

"You know, I just realized something." Harley says in between bites. When he swallows his next bite he looks up at his parents. "Dad's now seventeen years older than Mom..." Tony's eyes widen and he almost chokes on his mouthful of food at that new bit of information. "...and he also gets Mom whatever he wants or needs right? Doesn't that make him Mom's sugar daddy?"

Stephen was the next to choke on his food.

[vagrantblvrd]

Rock and a Hard Place (1/1)

Summary: The first time it happens is shortly after the Vagabond joins the crew.

Notes: Prompt fill for Anon who sent me the most amazing Ask:  I’ve been having a good time imagining the first time the Big Bad Scary Vagabond™ manages to doze off leaning against Gavin, who at first is quietly panicking because he doesn’t know Ry well yet and he’s still a creepy assassin and now Gavin is trapped by him and they’ve never seen Ryan sleep before and he’s trying to silently get somebody to help him escape, until Ryan starts doing very quiet lil snores and maybe mumbly sleep-talking and Gav starts to soften to their insane murderer a bit

...and then shenanigans happened, idk.

(Read on AO3)

The first time it happens is shortly after the Vagabond joins the crew.

========

He’s just returned from one of those seek and destroy missions Geoff’s grown wary of handing out to the crew because there’s no knowing how out of hand they’ll get.

Could be a quiet(ish) little affair they’re meant to be. Property damage and all that confined to whatever building their target’s chosen to set up shop in. Could be a slighter louder event, something that makes the evening news while the culprits sip their beer and bicker over who gets the first slice of pizza while Geoff angrily sips his diet soda and (quietly) regrets entering into a life of crime.

More often than not, however, it ends up as a city-wide disaster. Flashing lights, screaming siren, and live footage of the car chase through Los Santos’ streets and freeway system with Jack setting up a betting pool while Geoff (loudly) regrets meeting any of them, let alone recruiting them.

Looks a little singed around the edges like Michael and Jeremy while Ray looks untouched by whatever disaster they must have caused. Waves the three of them off when they ask if he wants to go out for bevs to celebrate not dying horribly yet another day.

Makes his way over to the couch where Gavin’s fussing with the brace on his left ankle resting on the coffee table. Injured it on a botch job a few days ago and it itches something fierce. Sits down next to him making these noises like a man three times his age and just.

Sits there.

Doesn’t say a damn thing, not even about the way Gavin’s frozen like a prey animal hoping to remain undetected as a predator goes prowling past.

Several minutes pass by without a peep out of him, and Gavin relaxes. Gets restless, bored, after    another handful of minutes tick by and pulls out his phone.

Contacts to keep up with, business to deal with that doesn’t wait, and his bum ankle slowing him down enough to get the chance to catch up on things for a change. He gets through a hefty chunk of it before he realizes he’s leaning to the side a touch?

Definitely not sitting upright the way he had been when he first tackled the mess of an inbox of his, and there’s this slight cramp along his side making itself known.

Gavin glances over, sees the Vagabond’s closer to him than before. Might be due to the state of Geoff’s couch, all the shenanigans it’s endured over the years (Roughhousing and the like, one of the other dive-tackling Gavin for some slight or inexplicable whim. Simple age catching up to it, cushions becoming compressed and all that, forming dips here and there where they sit most.)

“Er,” Gavin says quietly, too startled at the situation to do much more than that. “What?”

The Vagabond makes this odd little grumbling/snuffling noise, shifts about and let out this annoyed sounding sigh until -

“Um?!”

- he tosses and turns and contorts himself until he’s on his side, head pillowed on Gavin’s lap and dear God what does he do now?

Gavin stares down at the Vagabond in silent – it’s not terror, not that dramatic, just.

Dread?

Uneasiness?

The man’s this terrifying figure around the city, and Gavin’s seen some of it himself. In person and over the various camera feeds he uses to keep track of the others when they’re out on jobs and whatever else, just in case. (Adds to his workload like nothing else, but the peace of mind it gives him is worth it.)

Doesn’t know him all that well even though he’s worked a few jobs with the crew before this, but...Gavin’s mind is going in circles now, isn’t it.

Tripped up by the damn Vagabond snoozing away on him like it’s no big deal.

And that’s another thing, isn’t it? The Vagabond’s worked with them several times in the past. Mostly quick little one-off jobs. Minor bit of prep work before hand – if any at all – and out the door with his cut the same day.

A few longer jobs, things that took more time and resources to manage. Some reconnaissance and all that. Had him loitering about the penthouse with everyone else or wherever they were working out of at the time. Long days, hours. Michael the others finding somewhere to nap if they didn’t have the luxury of going to their own places for a few hours.

Gavin can’t remember a moment in all that time where any of them come across the Vagabond hidden away somewhere for quick snooze.

He’s so focused on his predicament that he almost doesn’t hear the door to the penthouse open.

Almost doesn’t hear Michael and Jeremy and Ray shushing each other and laughing at something before all three of them go silent at almost the same moment.

Almost thinks one of the bastards will help him out of this awkward situation before the Vagabond wakes up and thinks – well, who knows really, but Gavin’s sure it won’t end well for him.

What he definitely hears is Jeremy’s quiet, “What the hell am I looking at here?” Ray’s “Aw, they’re adorable.”. Worst of all, however, is Michael’s mean little laugh before someone takes a picture of Gavin and the Vagabond with their damn phone.

“Don’t just stand there, do something!” Gavin hisses, freezing in place when the Vagabond makes that  snorting-snuffling noise again.

Snoring, Gavin realizes.

The Vagabond is snoring.

Tosses and turns a bit until he finds a comfortable position and lets out a quiet sigh as he settles down again.

Michael’s grinning, wide and delighted as he takes another damn picture before doing something on his phone. (Gavin hears Ray and Jeremy’s message notifications go off, so there’s that mystery solved, and Gavin sighs.)

Knows Michael won’t help him now, and by the way the other two are giggling to themselves they’re not about to either.

Michael just gives him a jaunty little wave as goes over to the kitchen counter to snatch up the wallet he must have left behind earlier. Pauses on his way back to Ray and Jeremy to take yet another picture of the sight Gavin and Vagabond must make to deserve so many pictures to commemorate the occasion.

“You’re the worst,” Gavin says, because he is.

Absolute bully, along with his cronies in Ray and Jeremy and just. Just awful.

“Yeah,” Michael says, like he’s proud of himself “I really am, aren’t I?”

That grin of his softens when the Vagabond mumbles something in his sleep. Goes all fond because Michael knew the Vagabond before this, didn’t he. Worked the odd job with him a time or two. Vouched for him when Geoff first floated the idea of bringing him into the crew on a full-time basis.

“Be nice”, Michael mouths, as though Gavin’s lunatic enough to bully the damn Vagabond of all people, and then he’s out the door with Ray and Jeremy on his heels.

Gavin can hear their quiet laughter as they walk away leaving him still solidly stuck where he is.

Lovely.

========

Michael thinks Gavin’s being stupid when it comes to the Vagabond. Insists the man’s just as much of an idiot as he is, if not more so.

“Seriously, Gav. Guy puts on a good front, but he’s dumb as hell.”

It’s reflex at that point to try and shush Michael, what with the Vagabond just across the room from them.

He’s frowning over the staggering amount of knives he carries on his person as he goes about sharpening them on by one. Nasty looking things, all shapes and sizes and while Gavin is no stranger to the practice of carrying weapons and so on, the Vagabond is one of those overzealous sorts.

Those damn knives of his and various guns he secrets on his person, walking arsenal and all that, which just makes him more unsettling to Gavin.

And yes, he knows Geoff would never have hired the man on if he felt he would be a threat to the crew,   but that doesn’t make him any less intimidating. (The things he says sometimes. Side comments or jokes that make everyone else pause for a beat or two before moving on? Yes.)

“Michael, no,” Gavin hisses, hunching down when the Vagabond glances their way as Michael laughs at him for being an idiot. “He’ll hear!”

Michael just keeps laughing though, like Gavin’s being silly and the Vagabond won’t murder them in their sleep one night just because.

(Well. They’re an annoying bunch, which is good as reason as anything to kill them all and be done with it when you think about it.)

========

There’s a heist soon, all kinds of prep jobs and assignments.

Geoff and Jack take on the dubious honor of dealing with Lester and Agent 14 while they sent the rest of them out to handle the rest. Have clearly lost their damn minds because they insist on pairing Gavin up with the Vagabond up, send them on the more sensitive jobs.

Which.

To be fair, the Vagabond’s a better hand at stealth than Gavin expected, but it’s still the Vagabond, isn’t it? (Gavin may not live in terror of him anymore if he ever did, but he’s still an unknown to Gavin, and if there’s something Gavin’s not a fan of it’s not knowing things, so.)

Michael and the rest of the Lads do the heavy lifting, as these things go. Michael and Jeremy feet on the ground type feet on the ground types while Ray keeps an eye on things from above.

Lindsay and her cabal of B-Team misfits are operating in the shadows. Trevor reaching out to Alfredo and other independents like him to make sure Agent 14 is being as honest with them as expected from someone like him.

All hands on deck sort of situation because there’s no trusting the government to deal fairly with them if they expect to come out of things (mostly) unscathed.

“Er,” Gavin says, because the Vagabond is staring at him, head cocked just so. “Can I help you?”

The Vagabond’s been watching Gavin work. Hovering over his shoulder and making these little noises that sound like quiet approval as Gavin finesses the files they’re looking for out from behind encryption after encryption and passwords that are far too easy to crack.

Not the best time to have a leisurely conversation, what with the guards trying to break back into the room the two of them have barricaded themselves into. Angry guards and all their yelling and threats and shrieking alarms enough to give him a headache.

The Vagabond snorts, and turns as the guards break through the door thanks to the battering ram they’ve hauled up here.

Gavin watches as the Vagabond’s arm snaps up, sees him switch his aim from center of mass on the guard in front to the more difficult to hit target of his unprotected neck. Hears the gun go off and a moment later the guard swats at his neck and the red-tufted dart embedded there.

Eyes wide behind the visor of his helmet before the tranquilizer takes effect and he collapses.

Two more shots in quick succession and the guards that follow him into the room go down as well, and finally the yelling stops. There are more guards on the way, but if all goes well the two of them will be long gone by the time they get here.

“Oh, nicely done,” Gavin says.

Personal request from Agent 14 for them to keep the body count to a minimum, and these shiny tranquilizer weapons he brought them to make it more likely on their end.

The Vagabond looks back at him, seems bemused as though Gavin’s the odd one out for offering a compliment on something like that.

“What?” Gavin asks, feeling a bit defensive even though it was a lovely bit of marksmanship on the Vagabond’s part.

“Are you done yet?” the mas asks, strange note to his voice Gavin can’t quite place.

Not anger or annoyance, but clearly something to it, so Gavin decides to leave things well enough alone and checks to see if the files are down downloading.

========

There’s a fair bit of running after that.

Some skulking going on when they make it to the parking garage and have to sneak past armed guards on high alert.

The Vagabond’s hand on his back when one wanders a little too close to their position, quiet murmur of ”Easy, easy. He doesn’t know we’re here,” and Gavin’s heart beating rabbit-fast in his chest.

He’s no novice to situations like this. Started out as a bit of a thief and all, but back then he was smart enough to avoid moments like these, didn’t he? Kept away from the more dangerous jobs knowing there was no one to watch his back if he did, pull a daring rescue if he got caught.

“Okay, now,” the Vagabond says, and gives Gavin a gentle nudge towards a maintenance door they can use to reach the outside and safety.

========

The second time it happens, Gavin (almost) sees it coming.

========

It’s a long, grueling week. All heist prep and planning and so on. Mistakes and missteps and other little snags here and there which are all part and parcel of things for the crew.

Gavin and the Vagabond visiting sites and facilities to grab more files, intel for the heist itself while the others acquire vehicles and other lovely things.

The Vagabond moves on to help Michael and the others while Gavin stays at the penthouse to untangle the files and other interesting bits of information they’ve gathered. Pieces it all together so it makes sense, will help when they move on to the heist itself.

Spends long, tedious hours at it, the others moving around him as he does since he’s in the main room of the penthouse. (Summer and this perfect bit of light that comes through the windows, lets him soak in the warmth more than he would in what Michael likes to call the nerd lair.)

Dropping off energy drinks and takeout and reminding him sleep is a thing human bodies need, so maybe give it a try sometime, dickhead. (And he will, just a little longer.)

“Hey,” Gavin hears. Soft, quiet. “Maybe you should call it a night.”

Gavin looks up to see the Vagabond looking down at him.

He blinks, and winces when he realizes someone’s closed the blinds, pulled the curtain and all that due to the late hour. Everyone else gone home and Geoff off on a dinner date with Jack the two of them are passing off as a business expense Agent 14 will have to put on his report. (Can’t let the bastard think they’re thrilled with him using them like this.)

His eyes feel hot, dry, and his back aches. The coffee table is covered in cans of energy drinks. Mugs with coffee and tea and a smattering of empty takeout containers.

A damn mess, and sure sign Michael has been too busy to stop by the penthouse to yell at him for being a disgusting animal.

“Oh, uh,” Gavin says, brilliant rejoinder. “I will soon. I just want to get through this first.”

Annoying bit of encryption, stubborn as hell, although that could be the lack of sleep talking.

The Vagabond makes this grumbling noise that trails off into a sigh as he watches Gavin a moment more. Slips out of his jacket and tosses it over the arm of the couch as takes a seat next to Gavin with a tired little sigh.

Gavin watches him from the corner of his eye, sees him carefully scoot a coffee mug aside here, energy drink can there before he unlaces his boots and kicks his feet up on the coffee table. Wriggles his toes a bit as he picks up the remote and turns the television on, clicking through the endless channels Geoff gets with the cable package of his and settles on what looks like an old science fiction show.

Dated special effects and overdone acting, the sort of thing that’s so bad it circles back around to good. Turns the volume down low out of consideration for Gavin, which is nice of him but unnecessary.

“You can put the volume up,” Gavin says, “it won’t bother me.”

He was good with tuning out distraction before he joined the crew, and just got better at it once he had, given the insanity that runs rampant with them. (Prime target for good-natured bullying they get up to and all that.)

The Vagabond laughs, this quiet little chuckle sort of thing.

“Nah,” he says. “Makes it easier to do interpretive lip-reading.”

That -

Gavin doesn’t know what to make of that, so he leaves the Vagabond to it and goes back to his own work.

Smiles to himself when the Vagabond laughs to himself as the show goes on, quiet little chuckle of his again or this odd croaky thing that speaks to the sort of exhaustion where the smallest thing is hysterical as all hell.

After a while even that tapers off, and Gavin glances over when he hears a soft thump. Sees the Vagabond listing to the side, clearly asleep, and the remote on the floor he must have dropped.

At some point he’d taken off that mask of his, tossed it onto the coffee table as an afterthought. Too tired to bother with it, or maybe felt he didn’t need it.

Either way, there’s quite a bit a bit of trust behind that small gesture of his, even if he’s still got his face paint of his.

Gavin watches as gravity and the worn out couch of Geoff’s do their thing, Vagabond slumping over to lean against Gavin, head tipping onto his shoulder.

Goes so very, very still when the Vagabond makes this noise in the back of his throat that sounds like something caught between a cough and a sigh, and wriggles about until he’s comfortable.

Makes little noises now and then, mumbles too quietly – and garbled – for Gavin to make out what he’s saying, but whatever it is doesn’t seem to be part of an unpleasant dream or the onset of a nightmare.

Gavin tries to focus on his work, but the Vagabond’s snoring and quiet mumbling are proving to be far more distracting than a full-fledged gunfight or any other form of chaos he’s been introduced to since joining the crew.

Loose strands of his hair that have come loose from his ponytail tickling Gavin’s neck, brushing his face. Steady sound of his breathing so close to Gavin’s ear, warmth of his body bleeding through the t-shirt he’s wearing, and it really has been a long week hasn’t it?

Gavin might have been cooped up in the penthouse the last little while, but he’s been working almost non-stop himself. Hunched over his laptop and squirreled away in the nerd lair for most of it.

Not enough time to stop for a proper meal or even remember to drink something without an indecent caffeine level.

Gavin sighs – seems to do a lot of that lately, doesn't he? - and squints at the screen of his laptop. The files he has up are so much gibberish at the moment and experience tells him it won’t get better if he keeps on as he’s been doing.

Another one of those clear signs, this one telling him he should pack it up for the night. Sleep, maybe, if he can get his brain to slow down enough for that.

He glances down at the Vagabond, big scary bastard that he is all snuggled up to him like the strays Lindsay’s always mucking about with.

Adorable, scrappy little balls of fluff and feisty as hell. He tries not to laugh at the thought of the Vagabond being much along the same lines at the moment because with his luck the bastard will just know about it somehow, but honestly? There’s a marked resemblance.

After the week they’ve all had he’s loathe to wake the Vagabond. Doesn’t begrudge him the chance to get sleep while he can.

He can feel his own exhaustion welling up like rising fog as he fully acknowledges it. Fights back a yawn as he considers the situation.

The Vagabond doesn’t seem such an imposing figure like this, and while he’s still unsettling and a bit creepy, he’s also -

Well.

Gavin’s not sure what he is, other than a little odd.

Not unlike the rest of them with their quirks and such, mismatched idiots the lot of them. More terrifying than the others, perhaps, but Gavin’s gotten to know him better this past week and he’s not the monster the rumors make him out to be.

Far from it, actually.

Gavin scratches his chin, grimaces at the untamed scruff he finds there and makes a mental note to clean that up a bit in the morning. (Morning, afternoon. Whenever.)

The Vagabond snuffles in his sleep, dragging Gavin’s wandering mind back on track.

Geoff’s couch is getting up there in age, sure, but it’s still comfortable. Strikes a balance between fashionable décor and simple human comfort, even with the sagging cushions and all.

The suite Geoff’s set aside for him here at the penthouse is a few floors down, assuming Gavin could get out from under the Vagabond’s not inconsiderable bulk without waking him. Not impossibly far away, but the logistics of it all are too much for him at the moment. (Can’t be bothered and all.)

So.

Gavin sighs (again), and saves his work before powering his laptop down. Finagles his laptop down to the floor and scoots it under the couch where it won’t get stepped on, and wriggles around himself until he’s comfortable enough he (probably) won’t end up with a crick in his neck.

Laughs as the Vagabond grumbles to himself, face scrunching up at being bounced about a bit in the process, and closes his eyes. (Just resting them, that’s all. Quick little break and then back to it.)

But he’s got the Vagabond’s quiet breathing in his ear, warm weight against him and Geoff’s damnably comfortable couch underneath him, and it’s not long before he falls asleep himself, too tired to fight it anymore.

========

The third time it happens – well.

To be fair, Gavin stops counting after that second time. Doesn’t see the point anymore when it all gets tangled up together with the times he falls asleep on the Vagabond.

This whole give and take thing they get caught up in to the amusement of the crew at large and Ryan in particular because he’s just that kind of bastard.

“You’re laughing at me again, aren’t you,” Gavin mutters, tired after a very long day of running and hiding and terrified yelling because Ryan is quite possibly the worst driver Gavin’s ever met in his life, including himself.

Ryan chuckles, and tugs Gavin’s laptop out of his hands to set it down on their coffee table. Picks up Gavin’s phone and turns it off before pocketing it, slowly and methodically divests Gavin of the various gadgets and whatnot he’s surrounded himself with while working.

“Just a little bit, yeah,” Ryan admits, looking down at him with his head cocked just so.

Familiar gesture after all this time, one Ryan saves just for him.

No mask or face paint, and his hair is out of the ponytail he keeps it in while he’s out and about. Looks soft and approachable in an old shirt and pair of sweatpants, and Gavin -

“Rude,” Gavin mutters, fighting a smile at the one Ryan’s giving him.

Quiet little thing full of fondness and affection and Ryan knows for a fact Gavin’s weak against it, cheating bastard that he is. Comes at Gavin with the big guns right off and so damn smug about it afterwards.

“Come to bed?” Ryan asks, holding a hand out to him as though he thinks Gavin’s answer will be anything but yes.

[losersweregoingclownhunting]

The One with Greta’s Sonogram

So I did it again, both as a stress relief and because my dashboard is full of sad Losers and needed something more positive. 

Bill was talking to Marsha about the newest article he planned on writing for the magazine’s next issue. Marsha was the secretary in his office and a bit too friendly if you asked Bill. He was leaning against the wall nearest to her when he saw Greta walk by the window.

“Speaking of issues,” Marsha interrupted. “Isn’t that Greta, your ex-wife?”

“Nope, never seen t-that person before.” Bill turned so Greta wouldn’t see him. He started to walk towards his office when the bell chimed.

“It is! Hi Greta! I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Bill groaned internally turning around with a fake smile on his face. “Marsha, isn’t it time for your morning break?” Marsha rolled her eyes before grabbing her coffee cup and walking out of the office. “I hate that you l-look g-great… Anything new? How’s the family? Are you still…”

Bill leaned against the counter edge, trying to be casual. “A lesbian, yes. But, thanks for checking, I guess? Marty’s still paranoid. Oh, I ran into-”

“Greta, stop. Why, why are you here?”

“I’m pregnant.” Bill’s arm slipped off the counter and he stumbled forward.

All the losers, except Bill, were at Ben and Stan’s apartment watching Three’s Company. Mike made a comment that he thought he’d seen the episode before. Eddie turned it off saying that every episode was essentially the same, just misunderstanding after misunderstanding.

“Are you done?” Bev asked, taking a half full cup from Richie’s hand. “Who’s balled up paper is this?” Bev moved to fluff pillows on the couch. “Ben, thanks again for letting me host dinner here. I get so nervous around my parents and having dinner at my place would just give them too much ammunition.

Bev kept running around fluffing Ben’s pillows, picking up the most obscure things she could find, and fixing things that were fine. Her entire demeanor could be described as chaotic and twirly, but not in a good way. “Bev,” Eddie stopped her. “Why do you always freak out when they come? Bill never does.”

“Well first of all, Bill is their birth child. I feel like I have to compete with that. Plus, he can do no wrong in their eyes. He’s the prince, you know? Apparently, the ceremony happened before I was adopted.”

Richie and Stan were standing by the window when they both shouted ew. The others ran over to look at what was happening. Someone across the street always left his blinds open. It wouldn’t be that big of an issue, but he never wore clothes. Today, Ugly Naked Guy was using a thighmaster. Everyone groaned as Bill entered the apartment.

“Hi,” was all he said. He sounded miserable. The others turned around, abandoning the window. “Greta’s p-p-pregnant.” Nobody knew how to respond. Bev was just stuttering out the word what. “Yeah, that’s all I could say for about two hours.”

“But thank god the pillows are fluffed,” Richie said. At the same time Stan asked, “How do you fit into that?”

Bev helped Bill walked to the couch, guiding him slowly. “She said both her and Sally want me to be involved. But I don’t even know what that means.” Bill sank to the couch. Bev rested her hand on his arm and half hugged him as she sat next to him. “They want me to go to the s-sonogram thing t-tomorrow.”

The others gathered around, except Richie. He was pulling spaghetti noodles out of the pot and eating them when nobody was looking. “Are you going to go?” Stan asked.

“No idea. It’s not like I c-can j-just not g-go, right? No matter what I d-do, I’m still going to be a dad.”

 Bill poured wine in his mom and dad’s glasses before setting the wine bottle on the table. Bev grabbed the appetizer that Ben had made off the counter. She couldn’t thank him enough for helping her prepare for the Denbroughs. Don’t get her wrong, she loved them. Her mom just tended to be a bit flighty and make hurtful comments without thinking. And her dad had the best intentions, but sometimes it came across rude or inappropriate.

“Oh, Bev! Martha Ludwins’ daughter is going to call you.” Sharon grabbed one of the appetizers. “What’s that curry taste? It’s very curry tasting.” Bev turned to look at Bill, exasperated. Sharon hummed, clearly not enjoying the appetizer. “Bill you remember the Ludwins, don’t you? The eldest had the biggest crush on you.”

“All of them had a crush on Bill!” Zack announced.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Bev said at the same time Bill said, “Stop it mom.” Bev shot him a look before continuing. “Why is Martha calling me?”

“She graduated recently and wants to start a business, so I told her you owned a coffee shop.”

Bill sat down on the arm of the chair next to Zack, eating the appetizers. The two of them didn’t speak, just listened to Sharon and Bev. Sharon was turned around so she could face Bev. Bev’s frustration was evident on her face as she prepared dinner.

“Mom, I don’t own the coffee shop, I work there.” Sharon turned around muttering something under her breath as she started fluffing pillows. “Bill! Could you help me with the spaghetti?”

Bill nodded, standing to help. Bev dropped the cheese grater and parmesan on the table. She put her hands up. “As selfish as this sounds, I’m wondering when you’re bringing up the whole my wife is a lesbian who’s pregnant with my child?”

Instead of answering, Bill put the silverware on the table. Bev had already finished getting everything ready and the plates of spaghetti looked really good. He looked up to see Bev waiting. “Maybe during d-dinner. They’ll b-be calmer,” he said softly before announcing, “dinner’s ready!”

Sharon and Zack sat at the table, eating the spaghetti Bev had made. “You know, you should learn to make something more challenging! Men love a good meal and spaghetti doesn’t always cut it.”

“Mom, B-bev doesn’t need to cook to find a husband. Stanley said his ex-fiancée couldn’t c-cook.”

Sharon took a drink, not hiding her eyeroll. Zack’s eyes lit up. “We ran into his parents at the club. I’m not going to tell you what they spent on that wedding, but forty thousand dollars is a lot of money! Don’t worry about your mother either. You’re independent Bev. Even when you were just reading alone in your room doing puzzles.

“Take Bill. He is someone who needs to shoot for the stars. He’s getting published, making waves. Then there are people satisfied with not achieving things. And those people never get cancer,” Zack continued. Bill and Bev didn’t say anything, just tried to not make facial expressions in response. “And now all these women are trying to have it all and I’m glad our Beverly doesn’t have that problem.”

Bev turned to Bill, resting her elbow on his hand. She pressed down, smiling. Her eyes pleaded for help. “Bill, you haven’t said anything all night. Do you have any fun stories you’d like to share?”

Bill jerked his hand out from Bev’s elbow, shaking feeling back into it. He stood, pacing behind his parents. “Alright. I know you have b-b-been wondering what happened b-between G-g-greta and me. Here, here it is. G-greta is a lesbian. She moved in with Sally and is p-pregnant with my child. They’re going to raise the child together.”

The Denbroughs didn’t respond. Sharon and Zack looked at each other, blinking. Sharon grabbed her wine glass and downed the rest of it. Bev mouthed thank you to Bill when he looked at her.

The Losers were back at the coffee shop. The place was closed, and Stan was sweeping. He’d gotten a second job at the coffee shop since he was only working part time at the accounting firm. Bev had helped get him the job. The others were sitting on tables and lounging around their favorite spot.

“Are your folks really that bad? I’ve never had a problem with them.” Richie swung his feet to rest on the coffee table.

“Oh they’re pros. They really do know how to make you feel like you wish you could choose your p-parents. I’ve got to pee,” Bill said, standing up.

Bev sighed, “if I could, I would want Bill’s.” Bill pointed at Bev before leaning down to kiss her forehead and retreating to the bathroom. Mike laughed, rubbing Bev’s feet.

Eddie leaned against Richie, resting his head on his shoulder. “At least you’re not a twin.” Stan looked at Eddie ready to clarify. “Oh, we don’t speak. He’s really weird and crazy eccentric. He works as a masseuse and sings these weird songs.”

“Two Eddies, seems like a dream,” Richie smiled. Eddie poked him in the stomach before leaning away from him. Stan started walking to the back room to put the broom away. “Is that our signal to leave Stanley my boy?” Stan waved without a word.

The others stood up and started walking to the room. Ben dropped an arm around Bev’s shoulder as she asked him question. “So, you’re an only child, right? You don’t have any of this?”

“Nope. I had an imaginary friend though. Pretty sure my mom would have liked him more if she could have feed him. Looks like Mike is the lucky one.”

“Yeah, although siblings would have been nice when we were working on the farm.”

They exited the coffee shop and Bev flipped the light switch, knowing Stan would have asked. Stan walked out from the back, wiping down the counter where Ben had been sitting. Bill rushed out from the bathroom, stopping when he saw the dark, empty room.

“How long was I in there?” Bill asked. Stan stopped to look at him before laughing. “D-do you, uh, d-do you need any help cleaning?”

“No, no, that’s alright,” Stan said. He looked around the almost clean shop before sitting on the couch to stack the magazines.

Bill sat down next to him, clasping and unclasping his hands nervously. “So, are you nervous about seeing Patty tomorrow?”

Stan stopped stacking the magazines. He’d almost forgotten he was meeting Patty tomorrow. She’d called to say she wanted to return the engagement ring since it was an Uris family heirloom. “I am. I mean what do you even say in this situation?” Stan looked at Bill. “You probably feel the same when you’re with Greta and Sally. Why can’t we be back in high school when things weren’t complicated.”

Stan’s head rested on Bill’s shoulder, closing his eyes. “I mean, didn’t you think you’d meet someone, fall in love, and the rest would just fall into place?” Bill looked down at him fondly. “Bill?”

“Yeah, I definitely never thought I’d end up here.”

 Bill burst through the door at the doctor’s office. Greta was sitting on the chair, waiting for the doctor. Sally walked through the door after Bill. An unpleasant air settled between the two, something they were all to familiar with.

“Sorry I’m late Greta. There was a problem with the editor.” Bill shook Sally’s hand before speaking in a bitter tone. “Always great to see you Sally.”

“That’s fine Bill. We’re just waiting for Dr. Harkavay. And don’t worry, she’s familiar with our…special situation. She’s also very supportive.”

Bill took the cup out of water from Sally before passing it to Greta. He started playing with the models the doctor had sitting on the shelf. This whole situation was hard. How would it work, how would they make important decisions? For instance, how would they even choose a name?

“We were brainstorming baby names,” Greta said, as if reading Bill’s mind. “Marlon, if it’s a boy. Minnie for a girl.”

Bill stood there, making faces as he tried to process the names. Greta couldn’t be serious. “Marlin? Like the f-fish? And Minnie, as in mouse?”

“Marlon, not Marlin. And Minnie as my grandmother, Bill.”

Bill tried not to roll his eyes. When he heard Minnie, he thought Mouse. He would guarantee that anyone who heard it would too. “What about Julia?”

Greta repeated Julia, clearing entertaining the name. Sally, on the other hand, was not pleased. “We already agreed on Minnie.”

“Oh, weird. Greta and I agreed to spend our lives together, f-funny how things change? Learn to roll with the punches Sally.”

“Okay, fine. What about Dani? Nothing wrong with Dani!”

Bill scoffed, his voice rising when he spoke. “Dani Denbrough? It’s a bit too alliterate don’t you think? Who is she, a superhero?”

“It’s not going to be Dani Denbrough,” Greta yelled. Bill made a gesture as if to say, thank you, it is a ridiculous name. “No, Bill. It’s not going to be Denbrough. We were thinking Bowie-Mueller.”

“I’m sorry. Why is Sally in the title?”

“Because their my baby too. Look we all know how difficult this is going to be.”

“Oh that’s weird. I don’t remember you being there when they were made! If she get’s credit, I should too.”

“Dani Bowie-Mueller-Denbrough? That’s utterly ridiculous and borderline child abuse.”

There was a knock. The three of them all fell quiet. Dr. Harkavay entered with a smile. “Hi! How are we feeling today? Any nausea?”

“A bit, yeah,” the three answered in various ways.

Dr. Handor looked around. “I was just wonder about the mother-to-be, but sorry to hear that. If you could just lie back Greta.”

Bill started walking towards the door. “You know, I don’t, I don’t think I can b-be involved with this right now.” Bill stopped when he heard the heartbeat from the sonogram. He turned back, walking up to Greta and Sally, transfixed by the monitor. The three of them looked in awe. Sally held Greta’s hand and Bill placed his hand around theirs.

 When Stan had got to Patty’s office, he wasn’t sure what to expect. Bill had suggested that he not look too great because Patty might feel worse about being left at the altar. Stan wasn’t sure what that meant, but he wore a pair of jeans and a polo shirt.

The receptionist pointed him towards one of the back rooms stating that Patty would be there. Patty stood when she saw Stan walk in. She looked great. She’d always been beautiful, but there was a lightness about her energy now that Stan hadn’t seen in a while.

“Are you sure it’s okay if I come in?” Stan asked.

“Oh, yeah. Robbie’s going to be here for hours,” Patty explained as she took off her surgical mask. Robbie jolted when he heard, looking surprised. “How are you?” Before Stan could answer the receptionist called Patty’s name over the intercom. “Sorry, I’ll be back in a moment.”

Stan looked at the door as Patty walked out. He turned around to see Robbie staring at him. Stan ran a hand through his hair. “I dumped her.”

“Okay?” Robbie mumbled.

Neither of them said anything while they waited for Patty to come back. Robbie looked at the posters on the ceiling. Stan adjusted the light over Robbie’s head. He picked up one of the instruments off the counter and checked his reflection. He jumped back when Patty opened the door.

“Sorry about that. What have you been up to?” Patty asked, sitting back on her chair and sliding towards Robbie.

“Nothing much, started working at a new accounting firm.” Patty nodded and smiled before moving to get something out of the drawer. “So, why are you so tan?”

“Oh, I went to Aruba,” Patty answered, looking over her shoulder. She picked up an instrument and moved back towards Robbie. “I actually went with, um, this might hurt.” Patty didn’t look at Stan. Robbie jolted again, pointing at himself and mumbling something. “Not you, don’t worry. I went with Matthew.”

Stan walked up to Patty, trying to process that. Robbie huffed either in annoyance or surprise. “Matthew? You went with my best man, Matthew?! And you dyed your hair and got contacts. Two things you said you’d never do.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind sticking my finger in my eye for him. But Stanley, listen, I want to say thank you. A month ago, I wanted to hurt you, more than anyone in my life. And Stan, I’m an orthodontist. But you were right! We weren’t happy.”  Patty rolled to the other side of the office and grabbed something out of the drawer. “Anyway. I guess this belongs to you. Thank you for giving it to me.”

“Well, thank you for giving it back,” Stan said. He backed out of the office feeling confused, angry, and almost satisfied. He felt ready to close that chapter of his life, almost.

 The Losers were sitting in Stan and Ben’s apartment. They were watching a video of Greta’s sonogram. Bill kept asking everyone if they found it as amazing as he did. He wasn’t too happy with the comments that it looked like an attack on the Enterprise or an old potato. Beverly blinked rapidly, trying to clear away her tears.

“Are you going to cry Bev?” Bill crossed to her. She was standing behind the couch, watching the video. “You are! You’re going to be an aunt!”

“Shut up,” Bev choked out, tears flowing freely. She shoved Bill, walking towards the sink.

Stan walked towards the window, dialing Matthew’s number. He picked up after the second ring. “Hi Matthew. Hi, it-it’s Stanley…Oh, I’m fine. I’m calling because, because I saw Patty today… No, no, she told me about everything…No, it’s okay. I hope you’re both happy…I really hope it works out. You know marriage, kids. I just hope they have her giant ears and your receding hairline!” He slammed the phone down.

He’d never thought he’d say that to someone. It really wasn’t him, but boy did it feel good to say something to Matthew. Stan looked up seeing the others staring at him. “Fine, it was a cheap shot. But I feel soooo much better now.” He dropped onto the couch next to Mike with a smile.

Again (I feel like I should put this) the characters are Stephen King’s and the story + some of the quotes are not mine, but property of Warner Brothers. 

[loljulie]

flicker; {002} it echoes a spark

(here’s the next part of my deviant!connor x reader fanfic. you can read part 1 here if you’ve missed it. things start to pick up here and will continue to do so in the next part! feedback is appreciated as always and i hope you guys enjoy! love you!)

genre: detroit: become human

deviant!connor x reader

word count: 1860

Empty boxes of Chinese takeout littered your coffee table as your eyes scanned through the article on your tablet. It was almost 10pm, and since you had gotten off work only an hour and a half earlier, the cheap dinner would have to do. Outside, a gentle rain poured against your apartment window, making you feel even drowsier than usual.

A sudden knocking at your apartment door broke the comfortable silence you were cloaked in. You slowly placed the tablet on the table in front of you and cautiously approached the door. There was nothing that sounded good about someone knocking on your door at 10 o’clock.

In the time you had taken to approach the door, the outsider knocked again, and spoke.

“Lieutenant (Y/L/N), it’s me, Connor,” the voice called. You let out a breath you had been holding, glad to find that it wasn’t some serial killer, and unlocked the door.

“Connor, what are you doing here?” You asked, the door cracked just enough for you to be able to make eye contact with the android.

“I came by to discuss the investigation. I know we discussed it days ago, but new developments made this meeting urgent and necessary.”

You had to suppress a groan. When Connor hadn’t showed up three days ago to discuss your personal notes on the deviants, you were full of relief. You were hoping that his own research and investigation would’ve been enough to work with.

“Alright, come in,” You opened the door to let him in and made sure to lock it behind him. “You can have a seat on the couch.”

You had to stop yourself from asking Connor if he wanted anything to drink as you watched him sit down on your worn couch. By the way his eyes moved across the room, you could tell he was piecing together tiny bits of information about you.

As you made your way to the couch, you suddenly realized the clothes you were in. The oversized shirt you usually threw on when you got home was stained with orange sauce and bits of rice, and your pajama shorts were too inappropriate for a colleague to see you in.

“Uh, just a moment,” you exclaimed hastily before disappearing into your bedroom. Drawers were flung open as you quickly pieced together a more appropriate, but still casual, outfit that consisted of a blank tee and black athletic pants. On your way out of your bedroom, you grabbed your journal from atop the desk.

When you joined Connor on the couch, you gave the both of you a comfortable distance from each other, and began to flick through the pages of your journal.

“You didn’t have to change, Lieutenant,” Connor remarked as you silently read your notes.

“Please, (Y/N) is fine. We aren’t at work,” you replied, your eyes still scanning your handwriting on the pages. “And I definitely had to. Human or not, impressions still matter.”

Connor didn’t argue and instead let you read. You furrowed your eyebrows as time ticked by, wishing you didn’t have to impart your hard work to Connor. While it may not be much to him, the journal had been your focus for 9 months. Most people don’t take their work home like you did, and it was unfair and frustrating to have to give it up.

“You know,” you finally spoke after a few more moments of silence, “these notes are kinda all over the place. If you want, I can work on a summary and give it to you tomorrow.”

“(Y/N), I don’t mind the state they’re in. Anything would help with this investigation,” Connor declared, matching your stare. He continued, his voice sounding lower and more desperate. “Another deviant escaped from me today. It was either chase after him or help Hank up, and I had to help Hank.”

Connor lowered his gaze, as if unable to look you in the eyes. Was he ashamed? “I just need any information you have that can help me. I can’t fail this mission.”

Your mouth was dry as you processed what he said. You didn’t know much about how androids worked, but you would’ve guessed that Connor would chase the deviant regardless. If Connor really was at a loss with the investigation, then maybe it was time for you to impart some of your knowledge onto him. Besides, he saved Hank, so you thought of it as a sort of  reward for the android.

A long  breath escaped your lungs before you spoke again.

“Before I tell you what I think, I have to be honest with you,” you claimed. Your fingers idly ran over the cover of the closed journal. “These… explanations I’ve been coming up with over the past few months have taken a lot of time and devotion.”

You paused, trying to find the right words to say. “I was hesitant to share any of this with you because, well, I don’t want it to be stolen from me. I was actually hoping this work would get me on the case with Hank, but, well…”

You shook your head, as if to empty it of the thought, and continued. “I’m going to tell you what I know, in all honesty, okay? I may be completely wrong about all of this, but there is a chance that I could be right about some things. If I am… I hope that it helps your investigation. For the public’s sake.”

Connor nodded, signalling you to proceed. You took a deep breath before you went on.

“Deviancy is… well, it’s hard to understand. To the world, it’s random and unpredictable, and that’s what scares the public. I personally don’t think it’s that difficult. Keep in mind, I could be entirely wrong about this, but I think deviancy isn’t random. It can happen to every single android out in the world.”

Connor raised an eyebrow at you, but stayed silent.

“You make a machine in the perfect image of a human, make it talk and act like a human, and let it live amongst humans. Eventually, they’ll feel like humans. I think sometimes it occurs in an instant, sort of like the android reaching a breaking point. In some cases with the deviant homicides, you usually find that there was a struggle initiated by the owner and the deviant defended itself.”

“But… other times, I think it’s gradual. Small moments here and there that shape an android’s experience with the world. They choose to do something they really shouldn’t do according to their programming, and little by little, they become independent from their code.”

You paused to let Connor process what you’ve poured out. His LED flashed yellow for a few moments before he spoke again.

“Androids can’t feel like humans, because they can’t feel anything, not even pain. Emotion is a human capability,” he finally commented.

“A lot of people think that emotions are a big thing that separate androids from humans, but I disagree. Emotions are largely physiological and really aren’t that complicated to stimulate. Just smiling can make a human feel happier, did you know that? I mean, androids are so complex and created to serve humans and essentially be a - a different version of humanity, that it doesn’t seem impossible for them to feel the same things humans do.”

Connor stayed silent, his LED flashing yellow. Taking a chance to hopefully demonstrate your point better, you reached out your hand and placed it on Connor’s cheek, causing him to stare into your eyes.

“You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, but think about what you’re feeling right now,” you articulated, your soft hand taking in the feel of his synthetic skin. You had never actually touched an android before, and the sensation was more pleasant than you assumed it would be.

“I feel your hand on my cheek. It’s warm.” Connor affirmed. You smiled.

“Yes, physically that is what you’re feeling. But is it unpleasant? Uncomfortable? Comforting? It doesn’t take a human to understand those emotions, lesser animals have experienced the same things.”

Connor didn’t say anything. Your smile softened as you let your hand slowly leave his face. Before it could drop, however, Connor’s own hand wrapped around your wrist and brought your hand back to its spot on his cheek.

You must’ve stayed like that for an eternity, the both of you staring into each other’s eyes as your hand cupped Connor’s cheek. The only sound that could be heard was the soft drops of rain hitting the glass windows. You didn’t know who moved first, but there was a part of you that believed your actions were synced as the distance between you and Connor lessened and lessened.

When his lips collided onto yours, your hand instinctively moved to the back of his neck. You felt a hand rest on your waist, keeping you both locked in the embrace. His lips were soft and felt real, and his actions perfectly matched yours. You almost forgot he wasn’t human. When you had to break apart to catch your breath, you instantly wished you were like him and didn’t have to.

Your chest rose and fell with the hurried puffs of air you were inhaling. When moments passed and the only sound was still your inhaling, you decided to speak. “I, uh… is it okay if we do that?”

Maybe it was a dumb question to ask, but you didn’t know if Connor could get in trouble for something he wasn’t programmed to do.

“As long as you want it, I can do whatever you wish.” He addressed.

“What?” You asked, the smile on your face slowly fading.

“I mean that I am designed to serve. If that is how I can serve you, then I am allowed to do it.”

Your heart stopped at that answer, and your blood ran cold. Connor’s voice was so matter-of-fact and devoid of any emotion that it stung. A moment ago, you could’ve sworn you had felt something entirely different in his actions. But now, he seemed even more guarded and distant. More… like a machine. You felt instantly embarrassed. Had you read the situation wrong? Did your own feelings project onto him?

Hot tears threatened to leave your eyes. “Connor, I think you should leave.”

“Are you sure? If there are still more notes you have regarding -”

“Just go. We can talk tomorrow, at work.” Your tone was cold and sharp, demanding that nothing else be said on the matter. As Connor stood and left your apartment, you kept your eyes trained on the thread lines of your couch.

The door closed, and with it, a new silence filled your living room. It was far different from the comfortable, warm one you had enjoyed before Connor came by. This silence was lonely, cold, and felt as if it was suffocating you. The more you stayed in it, the more it fed your guilt and shame. Its terrible void was deafening. Finally, unable to bear any more of it, you retreated into your bedroom and let sleep’s embrace save you.