#sorry for bad um quality?? i was half asleep

[aaalfie]

I've had a stupid idea this night so... Another Taylor Swift list with my otps, enjoy

Almost all of them based on my Spotify playlists!

Avatrice

Dorlene

Villaneve

(swanqueen doesn't have one, but you can listen the playlist made by valeria!! I like this a lot)

[hanazuma-inactive]

Hi, I love your writings ❤. I really enjoy reading them.

Um, can I request Oikawa Tooru with virgin!reader who is (sub, bottom); (praise kink, but doesn't know he has and kinda shy when he knows it); (has shy, soft, and really submissive personality) (3rd year student) ? Reader with Oikawa is a couple of lover, and a roommate. They usually do some cuddles in their bedroom that always started with Oikawa teasing the reader. One day, when cuddling, Oikawa asked reader if he wants to do something more intimate than cuddling and really feels good.

Sorry if that is too much. Thank you

king and his prince, (nsfw) oikawa x bottom!reader

pronouns: he/him (FEMALE ORIENTED DNI!!)

warnings: creampie, praise kink! flirty oikawa

a/n: oikawa is probs my least favorite character in haikyuu, im pretty sure i hated him at one point cuz of his personality. i later found out from many website i am unfortunately a oikawa kinnie (even tho i dont really think so but idk) explains all the self hatred lmao, again for the anon that requested it im sorry for the bad quality cuz i stayed up to write this at 6 am so undoubtedly there will be some mistakes

:(

_____

"y/n, my dear prince~ doesn't it feel good like this?"

"t-tooru…it feels good, i-it really does!" you said, messy hair and looking directly at your boyfriend.

"you look so beautiful when you enjoy it, keep up that pretty face won't you?"

oikawa tooru was too popular for your comfort at school. everyone liked him and they all had a good reason to, and that doesn't make you any different. you were shy and didn't catch a lot of attention so you were incredibly surprised that someone as popular as oikawa even wanted to talk to you.

you were smart and in fact smart enough to compete with oikawa. in fact the first time you caught his attention was when you corrected an answer, making him embarrassed in front of the class. he wanted to "settle this" only to find you harmless. later on he talked to you more and more. the contrast of personality of you two complimented each other pretty well. a cocky bastard who doesn't know how to shut up and a shy boy who likes to listen. inevitably the two of you grew closer as friends, so much to a point where you moved into the same apartment unit.

you didn't mind getting closer to oikawa, emotionally or physically with him being your crush and all so this was pretty much what you wanted, you just didn't think he would be the one to offer instead. being enclosed in a space together made oikawa get a lot more comfortable with you. random hugs here and there, maybe a little head pat, and sometimes leaning on each other's shoulders. it was practically a dream come true and you didn't think this could possibly get better until the man pulled something else out his sleeves.

one day you fell asleep watching the tv in the living room. the weather was a little chilly so falling asleep without a blanket near you wasn't the best idea. oikawa came home to find you shivering in your sleep so of course like the genius he is, he didn't decide to throw a blanket or carry you back into your bedroom and instead cuddled with you on the couch, leaving you wrapped around his arms basically unable to move when you woke up.

both of you would be lying if you said you didn't enjoy it. therefore, this whole cuddling session became a regular thing between you two. oikawa being the big spoon and you being the small one. it went on for a while until both of you realized this might not have been the most normal thing that "friends" did. at this point you're pretty sure oikawa had feelings for you, or else he wouldn't have done a lot of the things he has. after a lot of urging from his friends, he finally decided to confess to you. despite him being the playboy he is, he was quite nervous this time, due to the fact that he had to say it to someone he actually has feelings for. so just like that, the relationship between you two finally became official.

another day you guys during your normal cuddling session, oikawa proposed an interesting idea, and to be honest you saw this coming.

"babeeeee, why don't we try something more interesting this time~?" oikawa said, staring at you with his arms around you.

you knew exactly what oikawa meant, you weren't stupid, but you know that he likes it when you act all innocent so you decided to do just that.

"hm? what do you mean tooru-kun? i don't think i understand?"

"oh…baby boy i know you know what i mean alright~" just as he said that the brown haired man grabbed you in for a kiss.

your tongues started to intertwine immediately. this was very much oikawa's style, aggressive and dominant, but soft and caring when he wanted to. the kiss was generally messy but you could tell that oikawa was putting effort into this with all his tiny and intricate movements. a string of saliva connected you after he broke the kiss. leaving you panting and gasping for air while he's on the other side with a sly grin.

"you ready for the next part now?"

"t-there's more ah-!" you gasped as your boyfriend pulled down your pants at once, leaving your hard cock to bounce out.

"of course there is~ we have to tend to this guy don't we?" he said, holding your dick and positioning himself to suck your dick.

yet again attacked by oikawa's mouth you just couldn't keep it for long anymore. it's like his mouth is heaven made or something and it will continue to turn you on and make you cum without fail.

"a-ah! tooru..i'm gonna cum! mmghm!" you said, shooting all your load straight into your boyfriend's mouth, which of course he gladly swallowed right after.

"t-that's it right? i don't think i'll be able to handle more, you know…" you said out of both fear and excitement.

however all you got in response was a smirk from oikawa as he slid off his shirt to reveal his perfectly toned abs.

"almost done, pretty boy."

something about that word, made your half flaccid cock immediately rise up and become as hard as your boyfriends again.

"heh? what a strange reaction, could this mean…" oikawa leaned in closer, enough so that all the hair near your ears would stand up and said,

"my prince likes to be praised?"

you've heard about this so-called praise kink before but didn't exactly think you'd be into it this much. your face turned redder than they already are and you just wanted to cover your face and run away.

"aw, c'mon, it's cute! and if you like it-' oikawa said, spreading your legs open, exposing your asshole and angling his cock head to the entrance of it.

"i might just praise you a little more than usual, hm?"

your boyfriend was hot but this was undoubtedly the most attractive he's ever been. towered over you whispering praises in your ear as he prepared you with his fingers for something bigger that's about to come next. without a warning oikawa began to inch his way into your ass, moving and adjusting his cock to fit your tight asshole.

"you're taking me so well baby...keep doing just that alright? i know you're so good for me aren't you?" oikawa said, leaning closer at you.

at a loss for words due to how flustered you are, you could only give your boyfriend a little nod and covered your face with your arms while flashing a little red on your cheeks once again.

"y/n, my dear prince~ doesn't it feel good like this?"

"t-tooru…it feels good, i-it really does!" you said, messy hair and looking directly at your boyfriend.

"you look so beautiful when you enjoy it, keep up that pretty face won't you?"

the praises that he showered you with were too much. you were already so sensitive since it was your first time and all. now with all these lustful words turning you on, you couldn't hold it in anymore and came onto your stomach while your boyfriend continued to make slow but deep thrusts onto your prostate.

your head was still a little fuzzy but you could still feel your boyfriend jerking his hips faster and faster, ending with a long thrusts at the end which wasn't hard to assume that your boyfriend came inside you, just like how you wanted it. before passing out from bliss, a hand cupped your cheek followed with a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"you did so well baby…i know you're tired so rest now, i'll be here alright."

you couldn't be more happy, with such a loving and caring boyfriend. that being said, you fell into his arms once again and slipped into your dreams even thought they have already become reality.

[suituuup]

pandemic shenanigans

Chloe discovers TikTok and decides to do a bunch of pranks on her girlfriend

rated: T

word count: 3k

ao3 link

*

It’s the pandemic’s fault. 

Chloe was bored af one day at the start of quarantine, and decided to download TikTok, the app Gen Z has been raving about. Little did she know five minutes on the app could turn into four hours without her being aware and brought procrastination to another level. 

She quickly becomes addicted to cute animal videos (duh) and couple pranks. So addicted that the temptation of trying a few on her girlfriend is too great. 

i. Did you forget what today was

“Morning,” Beca mumbles, rubbing her eye with the heel of her palm as she shuffles towards the coffee pot. While Chloe’s an early bird, Beca rarely makes it out of bed before ten on the weekends, and Chloe is usually already showered and dressed by the time she does. 

She and Beca live in that same studio which they used to share with Amy, until their Australian friend inherited some serious money and moved out. 

It’s been really nice to have an actual bed instead of that crappy pull-out couch. 

“Good morning,” Chloe chirps, craning her neck to accept the kiss Beca brushes to her lips. Beca slides in the chair across hers, pouring some milk in the bowl Chloe’s set out for her, followed by cereals.

(yes, she’s that weirdo who puts the milk first.)

“What?” Beca pauses with her first spoonful halfway to her mouth, finally noticing Chloe staring at her. 

“Did you forget what today was?” She asks with a raised eyebrow, cradling her mug in her hands.

Beca blinks, and Chloe can nearly see the fuck popping up in her brain as panic flashes in her eyes. “Uh, Saturday?” 

Chloe purses her lips, both to appear annoyed and to keep her bubbling laughter in. “Beca.” 

Beca’s nose scrunches up. “I know, I know, gimme a sec. This is not our anniversary, or your birthday, you’re not working today so there’s nothing important regarding your job,” she lists off, her eyes lighting up a beat later. “Oh! Is it this weekend Aubrey’s coming up?” 

“No,” Chloe sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I can’t believe you forgot.”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Beca rushes out, standing up and crossing the distance between them to sit across Chloe’s lap. She kisses her softly, looping her arms around her neck. “I’m sorry. What’s going on today? I promise I’ll make time for it. And I’ll give you a massage tonight to make up for being a bad girlfriend. And we can eat whatever you like.” Smirking mischievously, she adds in a lower tone, “And, I’ll let you do whatever you wanna do to me later.” 

Chloe grins, unable to hold it any longer. “Nothing’s going on, babe. I was just messing with you.” 

Beca’s jaw falls open as she pulls back, glaring. “Not cool, dude!”

Chloe simply giggles, nuzzling her neck and pressing an apologetic kiss to Beca’s skin. “You’re cute when you’re panicking.”

A huffs puffs free and Beca pouts. “Whatever.”

Chloe tightens her hold around Beca’s waist so she can’t get away. “Can I still do whatever I want to you tonight?” 

The whimper that rises from Beca’s throat shoots a chill down her spine. Beca’s cheeks redden and she squirms a little in Chloe’s lap. “Yeah--yes.” 

Safe to say Chloe won’t be uploading that video on TikTok. She also won’t tell Beca this was a Tiktok prank, because this turned out to be a lot of fun and she’s got more up her sleeve.

ii. climb on their lap while they’re busy doing something else

Friday nights are Chloe’s favorite. As none of them work during the weekends, it means they get two whole days of quality time with each other. Tonight though, her highly professional girlfriend needs to take care of a few work things to make sure she can spend a stress free weekend, but it’s been hours, and Chloe is kind of craving some attention. 

Beca’s working on her laptop while sitting on the couch, and after changing into her PJ’s, Chloe unceremoniously curls up sideways on her lap, looping her arms around her shoulders and resting her forehead against the side of Beca’s neck. 

“Oh,” Beca breathes out, setting her computer aside before her arms loosely wrap around Chloe’s body. “Hello.” 

“Hi,” Chloe murmurs back, brushing a kiss to Beca’s neck and releasing a soft sigh of contentment. 

Beca’s hand runs up and down her thigh as she pushes a kiss to Chloe’s hair. “You alright?” 

Chloe hums, forgetting all about her phone propped against one of the shelves capturing the moment to make a TikTok, instead basking in the instant comfort being in Beca’s arms provides. 

Beca peppers her face with soft, featherlight kisses that make Chloe warm from the inside out. She really is a slut for Beca’s affection. “M’sorry I had to work tonight.” 

Chloe smiles. “It’s okay.” She pecks Beca’s lips and brushes her nose against hers. “I’m heading to bed. Don’t work too late, babe.” 

Beca nods, winking softly. “Right behind you.” 

True to her word, Beca slides under the covers less than five minutes later and tugs Chloe’s body against her own. Chloe releases another happy sigh, which is cut-off by a yelp when Beca runs her freezing toes along Chloe’s bare calf. 

“Becs!” She cries, moving away and slapping her arm. “Your feet are freaking icicles!” 

Beca snickers like a teenager, seemingly very proud of her act. 

“Put some socks on.” 

Beca’s nose scrunches up adorably. “Ew. No way.” 

“Then stay on your side,” Chloe grumbles, tugging the covers higher around her as she rolls away from Beca, settling on her opposite side. 

“Sorry,” Beca whispers into the dark, shuffling closer. “I won’t do it again.” 

She feels her resolve break as Beca’s lips trace a trail from her exposed shoulder blade to the side of her neck. She hates her traitorous body for not having any willpower when it comes to Beca’s ministrations. “You better not, or I’ll kick you,” she half-jokes. 

“Kinky,” Beca breathes along with a soft laugh, pressing one final kiss to Chloe’s cheek as she drapes her arm around her middle. “I love you.” 

Chloe laces their fingers and squeezes. “I love you too, weirdo.” 

iii. walking out naked while they’re in a zoom meeting 

“Well what doesn’t he like about it?” Beca’s voice carries from the living-room as Chloe stands in their bedroom, a towel wrapped around her naked frame. 

That video of her and Beca cuddling on the couch blew up, hitting 3 millions views and about 400k likes. The few homophobic comments that popped up were quickly drowned out by thousands of people gushing over their relationship or crying about wanting the same kind of relationship. 

Beca was of course aware Chloe would post that video on the internet and weirdly wasn’t opposed to it. 

“Again?” She hears her girlfriend sigh and steps out, losing the towel as she rounds the corner. “I mean, yeah, sure. I’ll see what I--” 

Beca’s words die on her tongue the second her eyes flicker up from her computer screen. Her jaw drops and her mouth gapes wordlessly for a few seconds. 

Chloe is briefly concerned she might have broken her girlfriend.

“Beca?”  Her boss’ voice carries through the speakers, snapping Beca back to her meeting. 

“Yes, yeah-- um-- sorry, I…” She stammers as her cheeks burn, and clears her throat. Her eyes quickly glance back to Chloe, who is fighting against a string of giggles. “I’ll-- I’ll work on something else, no problem.” 

“Alright, keep me posted.”

Beca nods. “See ya.” She shuts her computer so fast Chloe’s concerned she might have damaged it. “You’re evil,” she mutters, shaking her head. 

“Are you complaining?” Chloe husks, strutting over in her birthday suit and tossing her phone on the couch.

Beca visibly swallows, bracing on Chloe’s waist as she settles down her lap. “Never. But next time try not to give me a heart attack?” 

“Deal,” Chloe murmurs, bending down to capture Beca’s lips in a searing kiss. 

iv. Ask them what they would do if they were at a party and a hot girl came up to them

“Hey Bec?” 

“Mm?” 

It’s a rainy rainy afternoon, the ones Chloe loves as they don’t have anywhere to be, and she gets to chill on the couch with her favorite person while listening to the rain pelting against the window. 

Chloe’s head is on Beca’s lap as she lies on the couch, reading a book while Beca messes around on her phone. Beca has absentmindedly been scratching her scalp, and Chloe was about to fall asleep when she got a prank idea. She discreetly propped up her phone against her mug on the coffee table a minute ago, pressing record. 

“What would you do if you were at a party and a hot girl came up to you?” 

Beca lowers her phone, peering at Chloe over it. “What do you mean?” 

Bending her knees, Chloe shifts to sit up and faces Beca. “What would you do if a hot girl flirted with you?” 

“You know I don’t know when people flirt with me, right?” 

Yes, Chloe does know. She lost count of how many times she’s flirted with Beca over their four years of friendship pre-getting together without Beca having a freaking clue. 

“Okay, but still,” Chloe clears her throat and straightens a bit from her slouched position, tucking her legs underneath her. “Let’s say you’re at a party, and I’m a random girl, not your girlfriend, alright?” 

Beca rolls her eyes but nods anyway, setting her phone down and angling her body towards Chloe a bit more. 

Chloe props her elbow on the back of the couch and cradles the side of her head in her palm as she smiles softly, getting into character. She reaches out to run the tip of her pointer finger along Beca’s forearm while keeping her gaze locked on hers, her teeth racking over her bottom lip in an over-the-top flirty move. “Hi.” 

“Hey you,” Beca murmurs with a small smirk, leaning closer a little. Chloe swats the back of her head. “Ow! What was that for??” 

“It’s not me,” she reminds Beca as the brunette rubs the spot with a glare. 

“Sorry, it’s just hard to remember that with those eyes of yours,” Beca laughs. “I can’t focus, they’re pulling me in.” 

“Aw,” Chloe beams. She leans in to peck Beca’s lips, raising an eyebrow when Beca pushes her away. 

“Dude, I’ve got a girlfriend.” 

Chloe rolls her eyes, shoving her as Beca laughs. “Touché.” 

v. ask them if they still get butterflies

“Bec?” 

“Mmm.” 

Spring morphed into summer. A hot, sticky and humid summer. The pandemic is still very much a thing, and Chloe can’t even tell you what day of the week it is anymore. To make things worse, their AC is down, which is why they find themselves on the rooftop of their apartment building that evening, laying on a couple blankets as they stare up at the night sky. Chloe misses the hundreds of stars she would gaze at when she was a kid in Oregon, but she sort of finds the steady sound of cars passing by in the street below them soothing. 

Or you know, maybe it’s the joint she smoked twenty minutes ago with her girlfriend that is finally hitting her. 

“Do you still get butterflies?” 

Beca’s head rolls to the side so she can look at her. “Still?” She asks, smirking softly. “They never left.” 

Chloe giggles, shoving her lightly. Beca is known to grow sappy and affectionate when she’s high, and Chloe absolutely loves it. “Dork.” 

“Felt them just this morning when you were singing in the kitchen while making breakfast and almost pinched myself because I still have to wrap my head around the fact that I get to marry you.” 

Chloe does a double-take as she registers Beca’s words. “What?” Her voice is barely there, hidden under the layers of emotions seizing her throat. 

“Well… yeah,” Beca shrugs, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re like, it for me, you know?” 

Moments where Beca splits herself open like that are rare, and they never fail to make Chloe’s heart soar. 

“Are you going to say something Beale or keep staring at me like a weirdo?” Beca eventually quips, chuckling softly. 

Chloe shakes her head a little, then leans forward to push a lingering kiss against Beca’s lips. “I love you, future wife.” 

She feels Beca sigh contentedly as she curls up against her side, her arm wounding around Chloe’s back. “I love you, too.”

vi. sigh loudly in front of them

“What’s wrong?” 

It’s day two hundred something of quarantine. Chloe is bored out of her mind. 

“Nothing,” she whispers, keeping her tone unconvincing on purpose. She’s lying on the couch while Beca sits at the end working on her computer, a Friends rerun playing low on the TV. 

Beca shuts her computer and sets it on the coffee table before crawling up Chloe’s body and settling on top of her. She presses a light kiss to the side of Chloe’s neck. “You sure?” 

“Mhm,” Chloe hums, looping her arms around her girlfriend’s waist. 

“I can stop working,” Beca suggests softly, placing another kiss to her chin, then to the tip of her nose. “Wanna go grab some Chick-fil-A? Then we can watch one of those cheesy rom coms that you like.” 

“M’okay,” Chloe agrees quietly. “Can we just cuddle for a bit?” 

“Yeah,” Beca breathes. “Course we can.” She settles her head on Chloe’s chest, lifting it a second later. “Wait, is this a TikTok thing?” Upon Chloe nodding, she groans. “My reputation is taking a blow with each one of those, you know that right?” 

A giggle bursts past Chloe’s lips. “I’m sorry, your what?” 

That earns her a glare. “Bite me, Beale.” 

vii. wipe their kiss away

“I hate this fucking pandemic,” Beca grumbles as she makes it inside, kicking the door shut with a little more force than necessary. “I hate those Karens who don’t wear masks,” she continues as she hoists her two grocery bags on the kitchen counter. “Scratch that, I just hate people in general.” Beca eventually takes off her mask, heaving out a sigh as she drops it onto the counter. “Finally.” 

Chloe smiles in amusement, walking over to start putting the groceries away. “Thanks for going out, babe.” 

“No problem.” She pecks Chloe’s lips on her way to store the yogurt in the fridge, doing a double-take when Chloe wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “Did you just… wipe my kiss away?” 

“What? No I didn’t,” Chloe replies innocently. 

Beca stares at her, cocking an eyebrow. “Was it not up to your standards or something?” 

“I mean…” Chloe shrugs nonchalantly. “It was just a peck.” 

“Mmm.” She resumes her task, closing the door to the fridge behind her before making her way over to where Chloe is standing, setting her hands on her hips from behind and coaxing her to turn around. 

“What are you--” the rest of her sentence is cut off by a moan as Beca’s lips capture her own. Chloe’s knees wobble from the heat of the kiss, its intensity sending shockwaves throughout her body, all the way down to her toes. She’s left in a daze by the time Beca pulls away, blinking twice in slow succession as she rolls her swollen lips together. “Holy shit.” 

Beca puffs out her chest a little, smirking. “That’s better.” 

Groceries forgotten, Chloe slides her hand into hers and drags her to the bedroom. 

viii. call them your spouse during a phone conversation

“I’m home,” Chloe calls out as she steps inside their studio apartment. She pauses in the doorway, taking in her surroundings. 

Their small kitchen table is beautifully set, two candles lit on each side and a gorgeous bouquet of flowers sitting in the center. Soft acoustic music is playing through Beca’s portable speaker. “Hey, you.” 

“What’s all this?” Chloe asks, smiling brightly as she slings her purse off her shoulder, setting it down. 

Beca approaches, a sheepish smile spreading across her features. “Well… because of this freaking pandemic, we haven’t been out in months, so I thought we could just do a home-date. I ordered from your favorite sushi place, should be here any minute.” 

“Aww.” Shrugging off her jacket, Chloe steps up to place a soft kiss to Beca’s lips. “You’re sweet. And very sexy,” she adds with an eyebrow waggle, taking in Beca’s fancy jumpsuit and hairdo. “I’m gonna go change real quick.” 

Chloe hurries to the bedroom and opens her closet to pick something; she can’t remember the last time she wore a dress, her main outfit having consisted of a hoodie and sweatpants for the better part of the year. Plucking her navy blue, knee length dress out, she changes into it and takes ten minutes to arrange her hair and put on light make-up. 

Beca is on the phone as she steps back out into the kitchen, grinning when Chloe appears. “Yep, got it. Listen, I gotta go, my wife and I are about to eat dinner.” 

Chloe freezes mid-step, her heart stuttering as she registers the term Beca used. 

“Sorry about that,” Beca says once she’s hung up, casting Chloe a smile as she sets her phone down. 

“You just called me your wife,” Chloe murmurs, her eyes shrinking suspiciously a beat later. A gasp follows when it hits her. “Wait, are you TikTok pranking me??” Her gaze quickly sweeps the room. “Where’s the camera, Mitchell?” 

Beca simply grins, shaking her head as she reaches for something in her pocket. “Not a prank, babe.” 

Shocked eyes lifting from the square velvet box nestled in Beca’s palm, Chloe watches as Beca steps closer and lowers herself on one knee. Her heart trips dangerously and she stops breathing altogether. “Bec, you better not be lying.” 

The way she seems nervous all of the sudden tells Chloe this is definitely not a prank. “Chloe--” 

“Yes,” Chloe croaks out, tears pooling in her eyes as her head bobs up and down in a frantic nod. 

Beca’s chuckle comes out strained as she blinks back the moisture in her own eyes. “Dude, let me ask the question at least.” 

“Sorry.” Chloe clamps her lips together and squeezes Beca’s hand to wordlessly let her know she may keep going. 

“Chloe,” Beca repeats, her voice wavering slightly. “This year has been weird as fuck, and the most challenging one yet, but despite everything, I had a near constant smile on my face because of you. You’re my best friend, and the most beautiful person I know, inside and out.” She sucks in a deep breath through her nose, letting go of Chloe’s hand to open the box. Chloe gasps softly at the sight of a simple, yet elegant oval cut diamond set on a rose gold band. “Will you make me the happiest person on earth by accepting to become my wife?” 

“Yes.” She tugs on Beca’s hand, capturing her lips in a searing kiss as soon as she straightens. “I love you so much.” 

Beca grins against her mouth, backing away just enough to seek out Chloe’s eyes. “I love you, too.” 

As she stands there basking in this new, overwhelming wave of feelings, Chloe decides that 2020 wasn’t that bad, after all. 

[script-nef]

Interview Time | Oikawa Tooru

Category: fluff

2k words; an eventful interview with Oikawa and his girlfriend

Today we are joined by the phenomenal setter of Club Athletico San Juan, Oikawa Tooru, and the manager of the team, [Name] [Surname]. They are the iconic couple who have brought laughter and joy to many matches by their interactions. 

“Hello, [Name] here!”

“Hi, I’m Oikawa! And [Name]-chan, is that a reference to Zuko?”

“It most certainly is. It’s good to see you finally recognise some of my pop culture references now. I was wondering when you’d finally get a hobby outside of volleyball.”

“I have one!”

“Searching for alien conspiracy theories is not a hobby. Tooru, you’re weird as hell.”

“But you still love me.”

“Unfortunately.”

“Hey!”

You guys are so cute and lively together! Today’s interview will be focused on your relationship, but feel free to reject some of the questions if you’re uncomfortable. Is that okay?

“Sure!”

Q. How did you two meet?

“Oh, I was working for San Juan as one of the managers when he was brought in. Since I’m fluent in Japanese, the head coach asked me to help him around because his Spanish and English was atrocious.”

“Eck, [Name]-chan! I wasn’t that bad!”

“You were terrible, who are you trying to kid? Literally no one could understand half the things you were saying. I was basically your translator for the first year.”

“[Name]-chan!! You’re breaking my heart!”

“As long as your body works for volleyball I don— Okay, okay, I was kidding! Don’t pout, Tooru. You learnt it quick enough and now you don’t have any problems! Besides, it’s thanks to your previously horrible language skills that we got to spend more much time together, right?

“I guess that’s true… Was I really that bad though?”

“Absolutely horrible. Everyone can back me up on this.”

Q. What is one quality about each other that you admire and love the most?

“Tenacity, I guess. In volleyball and everything else. He stays behind all the damn time for hours, none of his teammates can keep up. I once had to conk him on the head and drag him out so he would rest.”

“It hurt! You’re stronger than Iwa-chan sometimes, I don’t even understand how that’s possible.”

“You think I’m stronger than the arm-wrestling champion Iwa-chan?”

“Yes. Anyway, what I love most about [Name] is her perceptivity. Did you know that I once had a small kink in my leg muscle which was uncomfortable and she caught it in a second? No one else noticed except her! And this was before we started dating!”

“Yeah, well. I did spend the most time with you and you constantly tell me things about yourself. Even when I didn’t ask.”

“[Name]-chan is so shy. It’s okay, I know you loved me since the moment you laid your eyes on me.”

“Eh…”

“Hey!”

“I didn’t fall in love with you at first sight, I don’t believe in that. You slowly grew on me because you incessantly hit on me.”

“That’s the best kind of hitting!”

“...hm. Do you, um, like any other sort of hitting—”

“[Name]-chan, we’re on camera! Stop that!”

I’m sorry, please keep this PG, there are young fans who might be watching. Moving on!

Q. What was your first date like?

“First date, huh? It was like, ages ago…”

“It was 6 years ago, in August. We went to the Tango festival in Buenos Aires. I had such a fun time with you then!”

“You had fun stepping all over my feet. It’s honestly appalling how much you sucked at dancing back then. You were bad at a lot of things, huh.”

“She complained about it all night, but even then she was so cute and brilliant. She led me for the second half, stating that she had enough of her feet getting trampled on.”

“Thankfully you picked it up fast. You’re pretty fast at learning new skills.”

“Aww, is the ever-so stoic [Name]-chan praising me? How rare!”

“Well, if you don’t want me to, then…”

“Wait, no don’t stop! I was kidding, praise me more!” 

“Ah, don’t latch onto me, this is on cam— Tooru!”

Now, now, please calm down. Straight onto the next question!

Q. Do you have any memorable dates or events?

“Oh, there was this one time.”

“I already said sorry for that!”

“That doesn’t mean it never happened! My jaw still hurts when I think about it!”

“I said sorry every single time!”

“Still! Okay, the story is that I wanted to surprise him when he came back home but it went horribly. The first part, at least. “He didn’t know I was coming over because I wanted it to be a surprise, which in hindsight was a bad idea. I made dinner and turned the lights off when I heard the door unlocking. In my head, it was like ‘pop and and surprise him’, but when I did, he got spooked and hit me in the jaw.”

“It was reflex! [Name]-chan, you popped out screaming ‘surprise’ right in front of me!”

“Yeah, but still. That’s how I now know he has a great right hook. Nearly knocked me out. But his crying and screaming stopped me from falling unconscious.”

“I thought I really did knock you out!”

“Yeah, but you kept on screaming even after I said it was okay. You’ve probably heard of it too, there were news articles about how he came into the emergency room crying his eyes out.”

“I really am sorry about it, [Name]-chan…”

“Hey now, no need to be sad. It’s just a funny memory to tell everyone now.” 

At least you can laugh about it now.

Q. 6 years is a long time. You must have a lot of anniversaries. What do you do for them?

“Nothing special, we just get presents for each other and spend the day together. I used to just tell him what I wanted but he can figure out what I want now.”

“That shows what an amazing and observant boyf—I mean fiancé I am! Have you ever been disappointed with anything I gave you?”

“Well, no, not yet.”

“See? And you get me all the things I want and need. We’re a perfect couple.”

“We sometimes go on trips to neighbouring countries, visit some tourist spots. I bought him a camera for the anniversary last year, and now he takes tons of photos everywhere we go. There’s a huge stack of polaroids in our bedroom.”

“[Name]-chan, don’t ignore me! Aren’t we a perfect couple?”

“I think we’re the best we can be. Perfection doesn’t exist, but we can strive to be the best we can be, right Tooru?”

“Yup! You’re so wise when it comes to things like this.”

Q. What do you do in your spare time?

“We recently started watching TV shows like Umbrella Academy and Doctor Who. Tooru likes them because of all the aliens and superpowers.”

“They’re all so creative! Like the Weeping Angel, that makes me freak out whenever I see a statue now. Some of them give me nightmares.”

“Weeping Angels are messed up. Wait, why do you watch it if it gives you nightmares? You need to take care of your mental state as well, national representative!”

“But you hug me when I sleep if I have night terrors! I would sit through a hundred horror movies if it means you would hug me.”

“…”

“Are you… blushing?”

“No.”

“Aw, [Name]-chan, you’re blushing! I love you so much!”

“Tooru, stop! I’m going to fa—”

*Technical difficulties please hold*

Q. You recently announced your engagement, congratulations! How was the proposal, if you don’t mind me asking?

“I took her to her favourite restaurant! It’s this fancy place in a building near the training centre and she loves the pizza there.”

“It is delicious. He can’t see how good it is, this uncultured child.”

“It’s not my type! I like other pizzas, just not that one. Her face absolutely glows with happiness when she takes a bite but I can’t understand it. They have those really salty fish—”

“Anchovy. And I usually don’t like it either, but they make it taste amazing!”

“No, it still tastes like clumps of salt. Thankfully I like other dishes on the menu. We go there so often that the owner has a special spot reserved for us. It’s by a window and since the restaurant is in a tall building, it looks over the lights of the city. It’s very beautiful.”

“He was looking skittish than usual, so I was worried for him. I actually thought he wanted to break up with me. But instead, he showed me the ring and asked me to marry him.”

“Why would I ever break up with you?”

“Couples split apart! It’s what happens to a lot of them, I have never heard of someone who lived forever with only one person.”

“Tobio-chan did!”

“Are we considering volleyball as a person now?”

“[Name]-chan, we went to their wedding!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m just kidding! He was pretty cute, all twitchy and red. His wife was even cuter though, so shy and embarrassed. Very beautiful as well.”

“You’re going to be even more radiant at our wedding. I can see you in your dress already.”

“Wow, you must be able to see into the future, since I haven’t even looked at the catalogue.”

“It’s a figure of speech!”

Now, now, please calm down! Onto the next question.

Q. You guys had been dating for quite a while before getting engaged. When did you realise you wanted to spend the rest of your life with each other?

“Oh, you never actually told me this.”

“It was actually when I was away for a game! [Name]-chan couldn’t come because she had to work back in Argentina, so I was all alone in a foreign country.”

“Literally everyone else on the team came to the game, you weren’t alone.”

“But none of them were you! Let me be romantic and tell my love story!”

“Alright, alright, no more interruptions. Proceed.”

“Thank you. It was the first day there. I finished the practice for the day and did our daily night call, because we always talk before falling asleep. I dozed off to her talking, so I thought she would be there when I woke up. But when I opened my eyes in the morning, and she wasn’t there, this wave of panic came over me until I realised I was overseas. “That moment was probably it. I thought there, lying on the bed, that I would never be happy unless I wake up next to her every morning and see her sleeping face. Unless I could start off my day by kissing her and holding her in my arms.”

“…That— that’s what you thought when you woke up?”

“Yeah? And I thought that every morning since the— wait, are you blushing?”

“No, shut up and go away, Tooru.”

“AWWWW [NAME]-CHAN IS BLUSHING AND TRYING TO HIDE FROM ME!! YOU’RE SO CUTE AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I WANT TO SQUISH YOUR WIDDLE FACE AND CUDDLE YOU FOREVER MY AMAZING AND PRECIOUS WIFE!”

“Ack, Tooru, I’m going to fall agai—”

*Another technical difficulty, please hold*

Well, I think this has been a very cute and informative session. Quite eventful as well.

“If by eventful, you mean him trying to hug me so tight my ribs break and I get concussions from falling all the time, then yes, eventful.”

“Sorry, [Name]-chan, you were just too cute!”

“Not another word, volleyboy.”

Well, I’m sure your fans will be thrilled to see how cute the two of you are!

“His fans do seem to like knowing little stupid stories we have.”

“They’re our memories and I wouldn’t ever trade them for anything else.”

“…Me neither.”

“Aw, you’re so affectionate today, [Name]-chan. Maybe we should come again next time so I can see you blushing even more!”

We are completely on board with tha— 

“Okay, this is the end of our interview and I hope it was fun for the viewers! Bye-bye now!”

“Ah, she’s escaping! Wait for me, [Name]-chan! Thanks for watching! Bye!”

[thehermitcraftqueen]

Love Will Chase the Nightmares Away - Fluff, Etho x Tango

It's a routine night for Tango. He's just protecting his base from the mob of monsters that come, like usual. Only this time, he has another visitor. When the monsters are gone, Tango's task changes to comforting the injured and distressed Etho who showed up at his home.

~~~~~

Placed in a Hermitcraft AU of mine.

Slight blood and mentions of death warning.

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Swords slashed and flames flickered as a battle raged between Tango and the onslaught of monsters surrounding his base. The half-demon flipped back his golden hair and wiped the sweat off his brow, before tossing another fireball at an incoming zombie. Defending his base every night was no new thing to him, but it was becoming worse. The monsters kept returning, getting stronger each time. From what he'd heard, the others were having similar problems, and no one knew what was up with the monsters. It was bad enough already that traveling anywhere at night, alone, was a death wish.

After what seemed like another hour, the monsters finally retreated. Tango watched them go, breathing heavily. He glanced around, his tail flicking in annoyance as he realized how much of the grass and surrounding area he'd managed to scorch, as well as the monsters. That was the one downside to having fire powers--things got burned too easily. The moon was still up, though, and Tango would rather not be fixing his yard if the monsters decided to attack again. He'd fix it in the morning.

With one last glance around to make sure no monsters remained, Tango entered his nether-themed base. Though he'd built it in plains, Tango had decided to make his base out of nether blocks, since they reminded him of home. Even if the nether didn't hold all of his best memories, it still held some good ones; enough that he would be constantly homesick if he didn't do something. So, his nether brick fortress was the result. The soul fire lanterns hanging from the ceiling and the shroomlights carefully hidden in the walls gave it enough light, and various decorations throughout the place were made of different nether blocks to give it some color.

The blackstone couches, covered in black wool to give them some softness, were where Tango headed. He stretched out on one of them, ready to just chill after that fight. Naturally, with nothing else to do, his thoughts drifted to Etho. Tango knew Etho's abilities with his powers, along with most any weapon, were incredible. Theoretically, he'd have no problem defending himself. But Tango couldn't help worrying about him. The monsters were unnaturally strong, and getting stronger. Etho was strong too, but he tended to get closer to them than he should to use his sword more. Get too close, and one mistake was all it took for the monsters to drag you down.

An explosion suddenly sounded from outside. Tango shot up and rushed to the door. Were the monsters back? But if they were, why would creepers be blowing up long before they ever saw him?

As he stepped outside, it took Tango a moment to realize what he was seeing. At first, it looked like the monsters were fighting each other. After a second, though, he realized it was a person in the middle of them--a very familiar person at that.

"Etho!" Tango yelled, shooting a burst of flame at the mob. Some of them fell back, opening a path for Etho. Etho raised his sword and slashed at a few monsters holding him back, then hurried over to Tango, though limping badly. "Get in there!" Tango ordered, quickly gesturing to his base before returning to shooting flames at the monsters. He didn't stop to see if Etho listened, continuously attacking the monsters with his fire until they fled. Once he was sure they were gone, Tango turned back and returned to his base. He faced Etho, who was leaning against the wall in the hallway.

"Sorry about that, Tango..." Etho said quietly.

"What were you thinking?!" Tango demanded. "You know how risky it is to travel at night! You could have been killed!"

"I know," Etho whispered. He sank to the floor while clutching his leg, which was bleeding heavily. Tango couldn't stay angry as worry flooded over him at the sight of Etho's wounds.

"Wait here," Tango told Etho. He headed to his storage room and grabbed a healing potion, then returned to Etho. Etho took the potion gratefully and drank it, sighing as his wounds began to magically heal.

"Thanks," Etho murmured.

Tango nodded a bit. "What happened?" he asked.

Etho didn't meet Tango's eyes. "The monsters attacked me?"

"I know that part," Tango said. "I guess I meant like...what brings you here in the middle of the night?"

Etho didn't respond, his gaze fixed on the floor. Tango realized he must be uncomfortable about something, but he didn't know what it was. Tango set a hand on Etho's shoulder.

"Etho...is everything okay? You know you can tell me anything," he said reassuringly.

"I-I..." To Tango's surprise, Etho's voice was cracking. "You'll think it's stupid..."

"Etho." Tango's tone had a firmness that made Etho look up. His heart broke when he realized Etho was crying. "If it's something that makes you this upset, I won't think it's stupid at all."

Etho took a shaky breath. "Y-you know I don't sleep and...w-when I do it's usually nightmares." Tango nodded slowly, and Etho went on. "T-this time...it was awful. T-they killed everyone...I had to watch everyone die...I-I had to watch you die. I couldn't do anything...and it was so, so vivid. T-that's why I came over. I-I needed to know...that you were okay..."

Etho choked up at the end, hugging his knees to his chest as tears poured down his face. Tango's heart clenched to see him so sad and vulnerable like this. He sat down next to Etho, wrapping his arms around him. Etho buried his face in Tango's shoulder, and Tango pulled Etho close, holding him as he cried.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm okay. We're all okay," Tango said soothingly.

Slowly, Etho began to calm down. After a moment, he raised his head, blinking tears away. Tango met his eyes and smiled. "Better?"

"Yeah," Etho murmured. "I'm sorry-"

"Nope, nope," Tango cut him off. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I won't hear it."

Etho sighed but rolled his eyes. Tango grinned and brushed a thumb over Etho's cheek to wipe away the last of his tears.

"Hey, Tango, I...I hate to ask any more of you, but..." Etho bit his lip nervously. "Can I stay with you for the rest of the night?"

"Do you think I'd say no?" Tango replied. "Of course!" He suddenly thought of something and felt his face get a little warm. "Oh, I uh...only have one bed though. So we'll have to share...not that that's a problem! I, um, it could be fun! Or, wait--I-I mean-"

Tango was cut off by giggles from Etho. "I know what you mean, it's fine."

"Oh, okay, good." Tango knew his face was red after all that. But at least hearing Etho happy again was worth it. "It's about time I got some sleep anyway, now that all the monsters around here are gone. Do you wanna try to sleep too or...?"

"I'll try, I guess," Etho said.

Tango nodded and stood up, offering a hand to Etho. He hesitated, then accepted it, letting Tango pull him to his feet. Instead of dropping Etho's hand afterward, Tango intertwined their fingers before leading Etho to his bedroom.

The bedroom was located in the center of the fortress. There were some chests against the walls with valuables that didn't belong in the storage system, like old pictures. The red carpet floor matched the double bed, and soul fire lamps stood on the blackstone shelves next to the bed to provide some light.

Tango released Etho's hand to slip under the covers, motioning for Etho to do the same. He was only slightly hesitant, soon joining Tango. Tango wrapped his arms around Etho once more, and Etho snuggled close to Tango.

It felt good, being this close to Etho. They had both been so busy lately that they never got much quality time together, and moments, where they could just cuddle like this, were rare. A smile crossed Tango's lips as he glanced at Etho nestled in his arms, with his eyes closed. He was finally peaceful, cute even. Tango admired everything about him. He got the sudden urge to kiss Etho, but eyeing the mask, he wasn't sure if he wanted to bother Etho about it. He settled for a kiss on the forehead instead. To his surprise, Etho's eyes fluttered open, and he pulled his mask off. His hand rested on Tango's cheek, and Tango wasted no time in connecting their lips.

They lingered like that for a long moment before breaking apart. Etho's soft smile only caused Tango to fall for him more, if that was even possible at this point.

"I love you, Etho," Tango smiled.

"I love you too," Etho murmured, lightly nuzzling Tango's neck.

They both soon fell asleep, arms wrapped around each other as they cuddled. Both slept well for once, comforted by the other's closeness.

[read-ahead]

Coffee// Spencer Reid One Shot

Spencer Reid x Reader

Word Count: ~1k?

Requested? Yes! By @waddiwasi44​ “Can I get a one shot about a early 20s computer science girl joining the team as a second Garcia, and Reid cant help but fall for her? You know, pretty and full of life, but a nerd that likes robotics and star trek tng etc”

A/N: I understand that this took months to get back to, and I can’t promise that I’m trying or that I will in the future. The whole JJ and Reid thing threw me off and I stopped watching even though I wasn’t caught up. I still like the show and writing. This is probably the pique quality of things I write, and especially in quarantine I SHOULD get back to it, but this was nearly completed and I felt bad for the asker and that’s primarily why this is happening. I implore y’all to continue to send asks, but I can’t say that I’m back. 

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

“Garcia, we’ll introduce her to the rest of the team tomorrow, it’s been a long case. You think you can get Y/L/N set up?” 

“Oh, gosh, of course! When is she-”

Penelope was cut off by the soft ding of the elevator, the new arrival stepping out. 

“Oh my god! You are gorgeous and I love your cardigan.” 

The girl laughed, “Penelope Garcia I assume,” She shifted the boxes in her arms, leaving her hand open for a hand shake, “Y/N Y/L/N” 

“You assume correct, lovely person, follow me!” The blonde turned on her heels. 

Hotch nodded kindly as Y/N followed Garcia down the hall. 

The door creaked open as Penelope presented the room, one half full of glowing bobbles and gadgets, the other half empty and ready to be decorated.

“So, as you can tell, I cleared this part of the room so that you can make it your own.” Garcia turned quickly to her, “Not that you need to, it’s just, it gets dark, I find that the toys help.”

“Thanks, Penelope.” 

“Of course, of course.” She smiled, obviously giddy, “You can set up tonight, or tomorrow, it’s late you don’t have to stay here. The rest of the team will meet you tomorrow.” 

“I think I’ll stay here for a bit.” 

“Well you have fun, girlfriend!” She smiled, making her way out of the room.

“Garcia,” Y/N turned to the blonde, “Thanks so much.” 

“Anytime.”

The door creaked closed once more, leaving the new girl to unpack her things. A small lamp in the corner glowed throughout the room. Y/N sunk into the cheap arm chair at the empty desk. She reached into the box, pulling out a light-up initial, a couple polaroids from old friends, and a yet-to-be-filled candy bowl. It wasn’t much, but she was way more interested in setting up her computer. She browsed through the system, learning the ins and outs, the back doors, changing her screensaver. Minutes flew by, and turned into hours, and soon enough Y/N was slumped over the table, asleep. 

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

Light filtered into the FBI Headquarters Building as the sun rose. Hotch settled at his desk and waited for his team to arrive, sifting through case files. Morgan arrived next, then Emily, then JJ, then Garcia, who got busy talking with the team. Finally Rossi and Spencer walked through the elevator, seven coffees in hand. Spencer had everyone’s order, but since they hadn’t met he had to grab all the sugar, creamer, and flavor shots he could bring for the new addition. But she was nowhere to be found. 

“Hey, Garcia?” Reid finally spoke after setting all the drinks down.

“Mhmm?” 

“Do you still have those organic sugars in your office?” He realized that the coffee shop didn’t carry any.

“Oh yeah, yeah, it’s next to the thing. The- uh, jelly- the blue jellyfish.” She thought, waving her hands a little as she did. 

“Alright, got it.” Spencer said. 

He walked down the hall, opening the door and moving towards the ‘blue jellyfish’ totally oblivious to the desk with a sleeping girl at it across the room. He grabbed five sugars, turning around and stopped dead in his tracks. In front of him sat the figure of a girl, one he quickly assumed had to be the very girl he was trying to make coffee for. His eyes darted around the room, trying to piece together exactly why she was here. The boxes, the almost empty cup of cold coffee, she slept at her desk last night. 

He took a shaky breath stepping towards her, and quickly turning the other way and walking out. Spencer nearly ran down the hall, technically a very fast speed-walk, but nonetheless. He dropped the sugars next to the small mountain of creamers, and pivoted towards Garcia, pale. 

“What? Oh my god was I hacked?” She reached out to him. 

“No- Uh, girl. She- slept- um-.” 

“You mean Y/N?” Garcia asked. 

“Uh, yes.” 

“oh, OH.” Garcia took down the hall, leaving the rest of the team to examine the blushing mess that was Spencer Reid. 

Penelope gently shook the new techie.      “Y/N? Y/N!” 

She jolted awake, her face immediately turning the color of a tomato. “I- I am so sorry.”

“Oh no sweetie it’s fine, you’re fine.” Penelope laughed. 

Y/N shuffled up from her seat, smoothing out her clothes and pushing hair from her face. 

“What time is it?”

Garcia looked down at her bright purple watch, “About 8:30 am.”

“Wow I really crashed huh.” Y/N laughed 

“Yeah but you woke up just in time, we’ve got a case!” Garcia went for a high five, thought better of it, and gently patted Y/N on the head. 

She promptly strolled out of the room, the new girl following her. They walked into the bullpen to find Spencer Reid at a desk with his head in his hands and JJ clearly teasing him. He looked up at the sound of Penelope’s heels clicking on the floor. 

He stood and made his way over to the new hire, his face still red, “Hello, I’m Spencer Reid.” He held his hand out, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Uh, hi, Y/N Y/L/N.” She smiled taking his hand, she had no idea of the interaction he had with her earlier. 

For some reason Spencer seemed startled by the reciprocation. “Right yes, nice to meet….” he trailed off as JJ nudged him slightly with her elbow. 

“You already said that Spence.”

Y/N laughed slightly at the interaction, causing Reid to redden further. “It’s fine.” she turned to Garcia, “So we have a case?” she asked, trying to pull attention away from the boy genius. 

“Yes!” Penelope responded giving case files to the others and starting the briefing.

It was typical, simple and straightforward, but Spencer couldn’t focus for the life of him. Seeing how basic the case was, they were “wheels up in ten” just a few minutes later. Y/N stood up, going to make her way back to her joint office. 

“Uh.. Y/N!” Spencer panicked slightly as the girl turned back to him. “I… I like your pin.” he smiled pointing out the Starfleet Insignia on her cardigan. 

“Thanks.” she smiled gently, turning back to the hall. Spencer watched her walk away, silently kicking himself. But he knew this wasn’t his last chance, and he knew where to find her. 

[madtype]

Cabaret Club Czar Training - YUKI (Part 4)

yuki’s training continues! this time she and majima discuss personal improvement, unsuccessful job hunting, and how yuki ended up as a hostess.

highlights: - majima being very kind and supportive to yuki regardless of the option chosen - yuki still being too nervous to even theoretically sit a job interview - majima making brazen assumptions about yuki’s love life...

full transcript under the cut!

---

MAJIMA: Okay, ready for another round of talking?

YUKI: Yes, please!

M: Wow, Yuki-chan. You've got those battle butterflies all sorted out, don't ya?

Y: Well, it is just you, Majima-san.

M: Hey, we'll have none of that, thanks.

M: Alright! I'm the customer, you're the hostess, same as always. Are ya ready?

Y: Yeah! Of course!

Y: Welcome to Club Sunshine, Yuki! I mean, customer!

M: ...We still ain't there.

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

Y: Majima-san, thank you for requesting me. It's pretty cold today, isn't it?

M: Hey, Yuki-chan. You're lookin' cute as ever today.

Y: Haha... Hahahahaha...

M: Yo, what's with the giggles? I'm tryin' to talk to you like a customer would.

Y: Oh, I'm sorry! Majima-san, when you're the one telling me I'm cute, I can't help it... Hahaha.

M: Well, whatever works. At least you're doing okay when it's me you're practicin' with.

Y: Y-Yeah. I used to get nervous even talking to you, Majima-san. But with your help, I feel like... I'm getting it now.

Y: Even the conversations with my customers are getting longer lately. I'm actually starting to have fun at work!

M: That so? What ya been talkin' about?

Y: Everything and nothing. What they've done recently, what they ate... Oh, and hobbies!

M: Hobbies? Yeah, I seem to recall yours was...

> Writing in a diary.

M: ...Writing in a diary, right?

Y: That's right! I've recently started keeping a log of the customers I get each day, and I note all of their unique qualities and conversation topics.

M: Ah, that's some nice dedication to your customers. Way to go, Yuki-chan.

Y: I know my customer service skills aren't that great yet, so I thought I'd do what I can to get better.

Y: Well, I'm still working at it. I know I've got room to grow.

M: Hey, that's some good stuff right there, Yuki-chan. You've come a real long way.

> Bonsai.

M: It was bonsai, right?

Y: Wow, Majima-san, you actually remembered I raise bonsai? That's amazing! I only mentioned it briefly, didn't I?

M: Heh. When you're working at a cabaret club, a steel trap memory is half the battle.

Y: That's true. I found myself forgetting little things, so I started keeping a log of my customers' unique qualities and conversation topics in my diary.

M: Ahh, so now you've practically got a case file on your customers. Way to go, Yuki-chan.

Y: I know my customer service skills aren't that great yet, so I thought I'd do what I can to get better.

Y: Well, I'm still working at it. I know I've got room to grow.

M: Hey, that's some good stuff right there, Yuki-chan. You've come a real long way.

> Reading self-help books.

M: ...Reading relationship self-help books, right?

Y: N-No, it isn't! I mean, I guess I did read one. Once.

M: Yeah, what was the line you fed me? “Meat and potatoes are the quickest way to a man's heart!” Somethin' like that?

Y: Ahhhhh! Seriously! Just forget about that, please!

M: Heh heh heh.

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

M: So, the club's come quite a long way, hasn't it? And you've been here since the beginning to see it all change.

Y: Yes, right. I've only been here for six months, though. I graduated from college just this year.

M: Yeah, remember when this place had three girls in it, including you?

M: So tell me somethin'. Why's a girl like you working in a club like this, anyway?

Y: Th-That's because...

M: Last time I asked, ya clammed up just like this. Maybe it's time ya cleared the air.

Y: ...... (uehh..)

Y: I... I couldn't find a job.

M: Eh?

Y: After I graduated from college, my job search was going nowhere, and I couldn't find anything!

M: Really? In this day and age? Companies are practically hirin' bums off the street, and you couldn't get a bite?

Y: I-It's true! I'm a pathetic woman who couldn't get an offer from a single company!

Y: I do pretty well on written tests, but I get nervous easily, so I'm terrible at interviews. I'm not a good liar like most people are, either.

Y: *sighs* I'm a real loser, aren't I?

> They were clueless.

M: Lettin' someone like you slip through the cracks was a mistake, Yuki-chan. Those fool companies were clueless.

Y: What?

M: Look around ya. It's the times we're in. Everybody's dressed to the nines in lies and vanity, tryin' to one up the competition.

M: But you don't do that. You just put yourself out there the way ya are, honest almost to a fault.

M: I wanna work with people I can believe in. I'd hire an awkward gal who can't tell a lie over a buncha smooth-talkin' succubi any day of the week.

Y: Majima-san, you've made me so happy. I... faced a lot of rejection, but in the end, I'm glad I got to work here.

M: Really?

Y: Yes. Otherwise, I never would have learned to talk to people like this. And I met you, Majima-san, along with everyone else here.

M: Well then, I'm glad ya got rejected too. If you weren't here at the club, who knows what woulda happened.

Y: I'm glad I'm awkward.

> Honesty is a talent.

M: I'd say bein' unable to tell a lie is actually a pretty positive quality, Yuki-chan.

Y: What?

M: Look around ya. It's the times we live in. Everybody's dressed to the nines in lies and vanity, tryin'to one up the competition.

M: But you don't do that. You just put yourself out there the way ya are, honest almost to a fault.

M: I wanna work with people I can believe in. I'd hire an awkward gal who can't tell a lie over a buncha smooth-talkin' succubi any day of the week.

Y: Majima-san, you've made me so happy. I... faced a lot of rejection, but in the end, I'm glad I got to work here.

M: Really?

Y: Yes. Otherwise, I never would have learned to talk to people like this. And I met you, Majima-san, along with everyone else here.

M: Well then, I'm glad ya got rejected too. If you weren't here at the club, who knows what woulda happened.

Y: I'm glad I'm awkward.

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

M: So how'd it happen? I imagine ya musta met Youda-chan somehow, eh?

Y: Yeah. I was spacing out at a park by myself. I shudder to think what would've happened if he didn't approach me.

M: Interesting. I wonder what possessed Youda-chan to roll up on you.

Y: I remember him saying, “There's something brilliant within you! You're the kind of girl that only appears once in a decade!” That's Youda-san for you.

M: Oh. Uhh... I see.

Y: Youda-san is a really bad judge of character, isn't he?

M: Nah, nah, I disagree.

M: So, Yuki-chan, if you could get a normal day job now, would ya still wanna go do that instead of the cabaret club?

Y: I don't know. Until recently, I really wanted to quit this job, to be honest.

Y: But now, I want to see what I can make of myself at this club for a while.

M: I see.

Y: Of course, at some point I'd like to resume my job search and try to get an office job.

Y: But, this club is a comfortable place to be, and I learn so much every day. So I'm thinking maybe I should grow up a little more here before I start looking again.

> You gotta get sexier.

M: If that's the case, your next goalpost's gotta be sexiness.

Y: Me, s-sexy? Why's that?

M: Considering the world we live in, bein' sexy is a great way to land an interview. Women got some tools men don't, so ain't no harm in usin' em.

Y: I-I see. That makes sense. Maybe I failed my interviews because I wasn't sexy enough.

M: Yeah, maybe that was the problem. And maybe a bunch of other things, too...

M: Nothin' better than an interviewer flustered by a sexy woman, though. He's tryin' to ask ya questions when all he really wants to know is the color of your damn underwear!

Y: O-Okay! But I wouldn't want to answer that question...

> You can network here!

M: Ya never know, one of your clients could turn out to be a corporate manager.

Y: What?

M: If he likes ya, he might offer you a job right there on the spot. Haha.

Y: Whaaat? Though I guess that does happen in manga!

Y: Wh-What would I do? I'm getting nervous just thinking about it...

M: Hey, relax, Yuki-chan. Lay your best line on me.

Y: Wh-What can I do for you Mr. President... My name Yuki... It nice to meet you...

M: Oh man, you sound more nervous than a foreigner on her first day at a shady bar.

> I'll work ya hard!

M: Nice. But fair warning, I'm gonna put the screws to ya!

Y: Y-Yes! I'm looking forward to it! I'll work hard!

M: Heh. You've changed, Yuki-chan. Look at that confidence. I bet you'd ace a company interview now.

Y: R-Really? Heh heh... Hahahaha.

M: ...Just make sure ya don't laugh like that at the interview, or they'll boot ya right out.

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

M: Alright, let's call it a day. Good job, Yuki-chan.

Y: Sure. Thank you very much. Whew... Now I'm getting sleepy all of a sudden, now that I can relax. *yawn*

M: You gettin' enough sleep at night, Yuki-chan?

Y: Oh, y-yes. I just had an unexpected guest over last night, so...

M: Oh, I see. A late night guest, eh? Well, now.

Y: Huh? What is it?

> A lady needs sleep.

M: Nothin', nothin'. Just get your beauty sleep, Yuki-chan.

M: Lack of sleep's bad for the skin! And it's doubly bad if ya fall asleep on the job.

Y: Y-Yes! Thanks for your concern. They say nothing's more important to a woman than her skin, after all. And it would be rude to the customer. I'll be careful!

M: Yeah, nothin' wrong with going out for a night on the town. Just don't overdo it, right?

Y: Huh? Going out? I don't really understand, but, anyway, I'll get more sleep!

> I wish ya the best.

M: Well then, Yuki-chan, I wish ya nothin' but happiness.

Y: Huh? Wh-What are you talking about? I don't understand what you're getting at!

M: It's okay, it's no problem. A bit of a shame, I guess, but if you're happy, I'm happy too.

Y: Um, uh. Thank you? Well, I am happy. I guess I'll keep on being happy!

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

M: Okay, I think that'll do it.

Y: Th-Thank you for the lesson.

M: Sure thing. Good job.

[laurawritesandgames]

For Beetlelands Week 2020

Title: Write Like the Wind

Fandom: Beetlejuice (Musical)

Rating: T

Ships: Beetlejuice/Adam/Barbara

Prompt: One Bed

Summary: Adam wants to do something for nerd-kind now that he has ghostly powers. Beetlejuice and Barbara help out. Spoilers for The Winds of Winter.

When Beetlejuice returned from the Netherworld, he came back powerful. Barbara wasn’t exactly sure how—the story changed with each telling. 

But he returned with enough power to teleport her and Adam pretty much anywhere he could visualize. Thanks to Google Street View, he could visualize quite a few things.

Being able to teleport was very helpful when Adam had a specific request.

The ghosts and demon appeared inside a very fancy home, with sunlight streaming in the windows. Beetlejuice was hovering between Barbara and Adam, holding their hands. Barbara suspected this wasn’t strictly part of his teleportation ability, but it was a nice excuse to hold hands.

The demon shimmered in and out briefly, wincing.

“Everything okay?” Barbara asked.

“Teleporting all the way to New Mexico is a lot. We’re definitely gonna need to stop by a bolt-hole on the way back.” According to Beetlejuice, undead travellers could recharge in places with a lot of “death energy”—graveyards, usually, or famous battlefields.

The clicking of a keyboard drew the three of them to an office where a large, grey-haired man sat in front of his computer.

Adam sucked in a breath. “There he is,” he whispered.

Beetlejuice rolled his eyes. “Sexy, you’re dead. He can’t hear you.” Sure enough, the writer hadn’t turned around at the sound of Beetlejuice’s voice.

“Oh.” Adam looked a bit disappointed. “I guess I just assumed that he’d be attuned to the supernatural. He’s a master of the sci-fi/fantasy genre! Anyway, let’s go see what he’s working on.” He crossed his fingers as the three of them huddled around the author’s computer screen.

Barbara felt a bit awkward reading over someone’s shoulder, and looked politely aside. She’d never gotten into sci-fi and fantasy the way Adam had; he’d know better than she would what they were looking at.

Her husband’s face fell. “Wild Cards?!” he spluttered. “Wild freaking Cards! I know he only edits the anthologies, but they’re a distraction!” He ran his hands through his hair. “Just write the books, George!”

“I can take over his computer and threaten to start deleting files until the books are done!” Beetlejuice crowed. “Make it seem like he’s got a computer virus!”

Adam’s gaze flicked between Beetlejuice and the author’s computer a few times.

Barbara cleared her throat.

“No, of course not,” Adam said quickly. “Thanks for saving me from myself, sweetie.” He kissed her cheek. He focused on the author, holding out his hand. “Sorry about this.”

The author stopped what he was doing. He saved then exited out of the document. Adam searched through the computer files for a moment then made the author open up a document titled The Winds of Winter.

The document opened after a few moments. ‘Want to pick up where you left off?’ Word asked helpfully, and the author clicked on it. There were a bunch of unfamiliar words and names on the page that showed up.

No sense in me reading this. Barbara decided to look around a famous author’s office. She’d expected him to have a bunch of memorabilia from the TV show, but the furnishings were really quite ordinary. Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of bookshelves filled with books.

There was silence from the author, whose fingers were poised over the keyboard.

“C’mon, Sexy, get writing.” Beetlejuice hovered in mid-air, bobbing slightly. He was also eyeing the author’s office, but he was probably wondering where to put spiders.

“Er, there’s no way I can give him partial control, can I? I can’t write the next book!”

“Not how it works, newb.”

Adam sighed. “Okay. Um, my thoughts definitely won’t be his, but maybe I can make a start. Barbara, you took that course in creative writing in college, right? Do you have any tips?” Adam was an amazing man with many good qualities, but pure creativity wasn’t one of them.

“I can try, but I wasn’t writing award-winning fantasy novels back in college.” Barbara dredged up some memories of the TV show. “Maybe you should make the White Walkers show up! You know, inject some tension.”

“It’s an Arianne Martel chapter.”

Barbara had no idea what that meant. “Um…have a dragon show up?”

“I appreciate the thought, but Arianne is going to treat with Young Griff, and the entire point is that he’s a supposed Targaryen that doesn’t have dragons.”

Beetlejuice spoke up. “Have some brothers and sisters bone. Shove a little smut in there.”

“Not only does that not work in this chapter, I’m also not comfortable with that.”

“Or skip to a Dany chapter,” Barbara suggested. “I just want good things for her. How’s she doing, anyway?”

“Not well.” Adam made the author pull up a Dany chapter. He watched the blinking cursor for a few moments, frowning in thought.

Beetlejuice added, “You could write a bunch of dialogue in what’s basically a white room and see where it takes you. That’s an A-plus writing strategy, right there.”

Adam sighed, rubbing his forehead. After a few more moments of intense concentration, he looked away from the computer screen.

The author shook his head, blinking a few times.

“Maybe just having the document open will prompt him to write?” Adam asked hopefully.

The author closed out of The Winds of Winter and went back to a document called Wild Cards_edits.

Adam’s shoulders slumped.

Beetlejuice hovered closer. “Just casually mentioning that we can take out the phone, snap some pics of these new chapters, and threaten to leak them if he doesn’t write the books.”

“Photos of chapters over his shoulder?” Barbara said. “That’s pretty terrifying.”

The demon chuckled darkly.

“Ah. And that was exactly the point.” Beetlejuice might have changed a lot since his return from the Netherworld, but his love of fear and chaos that wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“No, Beetlejuice,” Adam said. “It wouldn’t work anyway. What kind of writing would you get if someone was bullied into it?”

“Bleh, you’re no fun. Where to next, Sexy? That Rothfuss guy?”

“Let’s just go home.”

“Have to make a quick stop first, but okay.” Beetlejuice grabbed their hands and teleported them away.

They landed in someplace pitch black. Beetlejuice lit a match of neon green fire, revealing a small underground crypt barely large enough for the three of them. Every surface was draped with dust and cobwebs. A half-open coffin showed patchy, stained velvet. If there was a door to this crypt, the match didn’t reveal it.

Beetlejuice tilted his head. “Ahhh, that’s better.” He frowned slightly, as if listening to something. Barbara couldn’t hear anything. “Yep, think it’s still sandworm free! Lemme just recharge for a while.”

“You’ve been here before?” she asked.

“Nah, but I saw drawings from some ghost hunters back in the Netherworld. Ghost hunters can go topside to bring ghosts back, and they need places to rest, too.”

“So, ghost hunters are ghosts who hunt other ghosts?”

“Yeah, and they’re the worst. The Bureau of the Dead won’t let anyone go topside unless they’re a boot-licker. But it was good to know a few of their tricks when I got banished up here.”

Barbara glanced at Adam, who normally would’ve loved Netherworld lore. It wasn’t every day that Beetlejuice opened up about a place that was, in his words, “total Meh-ville.” But Adam wasn’t even listening. The gloomy atmosphere of the crypt fit his gloomy expression perfectly.

“Hey,” Barbara said softly. When Adam turned her way, she squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out the way you wanted it to.”

“I guess art just has to happen at its own pace. You can’t force it. I just feel bad for all the other dead readers who’ll never get to read the end of the series. All they’ll have is the TV show’s ending.” He snorted in disgust.

“Maybe you planted a seed. Who knows? Inspiration is a funny thing.”

“And there’s always fanfic,” Beetlejuice added.

“It’s not the same,” Adam said with a sigh.

“Heh, speaking of fanfic….” Beetlejuice hopped into the coffin. “Oh noooo. There’s only one bed!”

Barbara and Adam stared at him. She had no idea what he was talking about.

Beetlejuice huffed. “Oh, come on. None of you ever read a romance fic? Hell, a romance novel?”

“No,” Adam said.

“Not really my thing,” Barbara added. She was a fan of biographies and autobiographies of famous people, personally. “And, also? Not a bed. It’s a coffin. And sleeping in a coffin is also not my thing.”

“Jesus, so picky.” Beetlejuice snapped his fingers, and the coffin became their bed at home. “Get over here.” He hesitated then said, “Please.” Barbara and Adam had had conversations with him about asking instead of demanding; happily, it looked like those conversations were sticking.

Beetlejuice had just done them a huge favour, and a little cuddling might cheer Adam up. Barbara went to join Beetlejuice, shooting a questioning glance at Adam. He followed them, though he was still brooding.

She and Beetlejuice let Adam slide between them as the three sorted themselves out. (Sometimes, Beetlejuice would throw in extra limbs or a few clones just for the added challenge.) After some scooching and wriggling, Barbara’s cheek rested on Adam’s shoulder as she stroked his chest gently and held his left hand. Beetlejuice had one arm over the two of them and was, for some reason, nibbling on Adam’s hair, which sometimes became kissing the top of his head. After a while, you got used to a certain amount of weirdness.

Gradually, Adam began to relax. First, the tension left his shoulders. Then, he cracked his neck and his jaw untightened. (He’d needed to wear a mouthguard when he slept when he was alive. He was always grinding his teeth.)

“Maybe…” he murmured. “Maybe I could write the ending to the books. It’ll be fanfic, but it’ll be something, at least. I can work on that project while the Deetzes are asleep. I’ve never written fic before, but I could try. It’s not like I need to eat or sleep. And I’ve been looking for a new project ever since I finished the model.” His model of the town had a place of pride in the attic, which the Maitlands had cleaned out and repurposed into an arts and crafts room. They still kept up with their hobbies, but they had fewer now that they were busy rehabilitating Beetlejuice and parenting Lydia.

“I’m sure it’ll be great, hon.” Barbara kissed his cheek. “I’ll help however I can.”

“And I can tell you all about what fic tropes you can put in!” Beetlejuice said. “Or what fic tropes we can do ourselves.” He must’ve been thinking about some sexual ones, for he chortled and squeezed Adam’s butt. “Gotta keep the rating PG-13 for Beetlelands Week, but…you know which ones.” He winked at no one in particular, it seemed. Sometimes, he pretended he had an audience; Barbara and Adam just ignored it.

Beetlejuice moved to nuzzling Adam’s throat. After a few moments, he began patting Barbara’s hair.

Barbara giggled. “Aren’t you supposed to be recharging?”

“It’s called multitasking, baby.” Idly, he commented, “Shit, fluff is hard to end. How do you even end something that by its nature has low stakes and minimal conflict?”

What was he talking about? Barbara shrugged.

Adam thoughtfully said, “Maybe with a kiss?”

“Hah!” Barbara couldn’t help but grin when Beetlejuice laughed like that. This wasn’t an evil cackle or a dark chuckle, but an open, cheerful sound that she’d been hearing more and more since they’d started dating. “Perfect! You’re so ready to be a fic writer, Sexy!”

Beetlejuice kissed Adam on the lips, and the cuddling in a false bed in an underground crypt continued.

Not for the first time, Barbara reflected, My afterlife is so weird.

But it did have its perks.

[thewritewolf]

In Due Time Chapter 28: Lights Out

Adrien and Marinette go on a stay-at-home date.

@marichatmay

Enjoy!

First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Read on Ao3

Weeks passed. Akumas were fought - none of them came closer to beating the two of them, but Marinette could tell that this only made Chat more anxious. That feeling in his gut that something bad was about to happen hadn’t gone away, not fully.

Marinette didn’t pay much attention to it, though. After all, Chat Noir was the expert on all things Hawkmoth between them and there were other things for her to focus on. Things like pushing herself harder - doubling down on expanding her online store and all the while applying for a number of fashion shows and internships.

Her personal life was hardly suffering either. How could it when her friends were doing great and when she had gotten to go on more dates with Adrien?

Adrien…

He had really started to open up to her and the more he did the more she found to like about him. His wit always kept things interesting and had her laughing all the time, but what really got her was his gentle kindness. It was a quality that she had admired in Chat Noir for all these years, a quality that she had gotten to know personally over the last few months.

Her heart did a little flip at the thought of him. She couldn’t deny that she’d started to feel something for the feline hero, but she couldn’t regret her decision to pursue Adrien. After all, how would that have even worked if she couldn’t know his identity? And besides, Adrien was hardly a second place prize himself.

She drew her coat closer to herself as she opened the car door and stepped out into the cold. It wasn’t much of a walk from Adrien’s driveway to his front door, but she’d never liked the chill.

“Sorry if it isn’t much,” Adrien said with an apologetic smile, his hand on the doorknob, “I’m not much of an interior decorator, despite how much time I spend in here.”

“I live in a shoebox, hot stuff, I’m sure it’s fine.”

“And I’m sure it's a beautiful shoebox,” he said with a smirk. He opened the door, and she got her first good look at his living space.

All in all? It was basically what she expected of a rich, bored bachelor - extra space, fancy appliances, a bunch of forms of entertainment from game consoles to books. It was tidier than what she had expected, with one exception.

“What’s with that pillow pit thing?” She asked as she hung up her coat at the entry.

His face was adorably confused and he followed her eyes until he saw the pit in question. He swallowed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Uh, don’t worry about that, I’ve been meaning to tear it down and run the stuff through the washing machine for a few days anyway.” He laughed nervously.

“O...kay then?” She smiled in confusion. Why was he embarrassed about it? “Can we make one for the two of us to watch movies from?”

He looked at her with wide eyes. “Sure! I have some in my hallway closet.”

True to his word, Adrien took the pile of soft things away - which looked almost like a cat’s nest, but she didn’t think he had any pets - and brought out fresh pillows and blankets. A few minutes later and they were cuddled close together as they began to watch some movies they’d been meaning to get to. Which proved to be a good idea as the night stretched on and the cold February night began to sink into even the house itself.

She knew it was time to call it quits when Adrien could barely keep his eyes open to make sly remarks anymore.

“I think it’s time for bed, mister model,” she said, stretching out her arms. She glanced out the window to confirm her suspicions. “And it looks like we’re snowed in for now. Mind if I stay the night?”

“No problem,” he said with a yawn. “My bedroom’s at the end of the hall. Feel free to take my bed for the night.” He stood and stretched, very clearly barely on his feet.

“What? I can’t do that.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I washed the sheets and everything this morning.”

“No, I mean I’m not about to kick you out of your own bed,” she said, crossing her arms as she pulled herself onto the couch. “Where would you sleep? A guest bed?”

Adrien smirked, but there was a touch of sadness behind his eyes. “You’re the first guest I’ve had in ages, why would I need a guest bedroom? Anyway, you’re sitting on my bed for tonight.”

She glanced down at the couch with a frown and a shiver. “It’s way too cold in here for you.”

“Same for you.”

There was a long moment of silence between them. An idea occurred to her, and a warm blush spread across her cheeks.

“There… might be a solution here,” she began hesitantly.

“Oh?”

“We could, you know, share the bed?” She bit her lip. “I’m assuming it’s pretty big, right?”

“I-” He cleared his throat. “Yes, the bed. Very large. King sized.”

“Well, there we go.” She stood and suddenly realized she didn’t have anything to change into. “Um…”

“I have a shirt and some shorts you can borrow, if you want.” His face was beet red as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“That’ll do.”

Half an hour later and Marinette laid in complete darkness, wearing borrowed clothes and listening to Adrien’s breathing become deeper and more rhythmic as he drifted off. She had expected to feel awkward with his set up, but if anything she just felt… comfortable. Secure.

She fell asleep easily that night, feeling warm despite the biting cold and driving snow just outside.

[hartigays]

#61. "We're stuck in here." Thank You in advance!!

61. “We’re stuck in here.”

(merry chrysler and happy holidays everyone!!!!🎄)

steve pushes at the door again, a little rough in his desperation, hoping that maybe if he tries hard enough the door will somehow unlock itself.

no such luck.

“would you quit banging on the fuckin’ door, harrington? jesus. ‘s not gonna unlock itself,” billy sighs, all but reading steve’s mind.

he’s stretched out on one of the church pews, lounging casually with his head resting on his jacket. steve has no idea how he’s being so calm about all of this. it’s billy, the same person who nearly beat todd stevens’ teeth in simply for telling him he liked his jeans.

steve would’ve thought that between the two of them, billy would be the one raising hell.

“we’re stuck in here. trapped in fucking church on christmas eve,” steve reminds him. looks at him like he’s grown a second head, a little bug-eyed. “you’re telling me that doesn’t bother you even a little bit?”

billy just shrugs, still staring up at the ceiling while one hand toys with his necklace. “not like we can do anything about it. no point in making a fuss.”

“right. because you’re definitely known for not making a fuss,” steve snorts.

he makes his way to the pew billy is lounging across, plopping himself down at the end and heaving a sigh.

“not everyone gives two shits about christmas,” is all billy supplies him with.

steve chews on his lip, considering that. he supposes it makes sense. he’s met billy’s parents, and he’d probably feel the same way about the holidays if he had to spend every one of them with neil hargrove. the guy is a dick and a half. steve decided a long time ago that if assault were legal, neil would be at the top of his list of potential victims.

and no, that has nothing to do with the little flip-flop his stomach does every time billy catches his eyes during mass. nothing to do with the way steve’s palms sweat when billy makes a point to sit behind him during the service, whispering jokes about pastor dan into his ear.

nothing to do with the permanent flush that makes a home on steve’s cheeks every time he’s in the presence of his favorite person.

it’s simply because neil is terrible and billy is his - his friend. steve would do anything for his friends. and if anything includes beating their shitty fathers’ asses up and down the street, then so be it.

“i was supposed to go to nancy’s christmas party,” steve sighs, defeated. “i had…plans.”

plans to maybe get billy under some mistletoe, if he could give himself enough liquid courage.

billy props himself up on his elbows, arching a brow at steve. “that snooty cow dating the byers freak?”

“she’s not a cow!” steve insists, his mouth dropping open in surprise. “and jonathan is my friend. they invited you too, you know.”

“only because they think we’re friends,” billy mutters, gesturing between the two of them before flopping back down. “didn’t byers steal wheeler away from you anyway?”

“can’t steal someone if they wanted to go. and we are friends. fuck off.”

“we’re friends, fuck off. merry christmas to you too, harrington.”

steve stays quiet for a moment. if he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought he’d detected a hint of jealousy in billy’s voice.

unfortunately, he does know better.

steve is the furthest thing from billy’s type. based on empirical evidence, gained by steve himself, billy’s type is attractive older women. married ones, at that. steve most certainly does not fall into that category.

“if we could get out of here, you’d get to have some quality time with mrs. wheeler,” steve comments. tries to keep his voice even.

billy doesn’t answer for a long moment. when steve looks over, billy is peering at him with an unreadable look in his eyes.

finally, he says, “who the fuck says i’d want to spend the holidays with wheeler’s menopausal mother?”

steve snorts out a laugh, looking over at billy in mild surprise. “i’d think you, after everything this summer. or did you forget that shit at the pool?”

“that shit at the pool had nothing to do with me,” billy tells him, rolling his eyes. “can’t help it if the bitch’s husband won’t fuck her. doesn’t mean i have to.”

“your behavior said otherwise, but sure. let’s go with that. you were just putting tanning oil on her back to be nice.”

“what, you jealous harrington? thinking about me getting some old snatch get you all riled up?”

steve feels his cheeks flush bright red. “i’m - no - that’s not…i’m just. looking out for you. friends do that shit, you know?”

“looking out for me and criticizing me for not outright rejecting some old hag’s advances in front of half the town are not synonymous,” billy says. stretches his leg out, shoving steve with his bare foot.

“gross,” steve whines, smacking billy’s foot. billy just gives him a toothy smile.

“c’mon, harrington. give it a kiss. you know you want to.”

“you’re an idiot,” steve laughs, successfully shoving billy’s foot away this time. “and that’s disgusting. i dunno where your feet have been.”

“not anywhere near karen, that’s for damn sure,” billy mumbles. props his feet up on steve’s lap.

“oh, so she’s karen now?”

“something wrong with that?” billy asks, cocking his head.

steve stays silent for a long moment. he has to admit, he does sound like a jealous boyfriend. only problem with that is billy is most certainly not his boyfriend, and steve has no right to be jealous.

doesn’t change the fact that he is, though. he never thought he’d see the day where he’d have to compete with nancy’s mother. nor would he have thought he’d lose.

“nope,” steve finally says, folding his arms across his chest. “nothing at all.”

a heavy silence falls between them after that.

the hours pass slowly, moonlight soon filtering through the frosty windows of the church. billy has long since fallen asleep, snoring softly with his hands tucked under his head.

it’s probably the cutest fucking thing steve has ever seen.

he hasn’t been able to catch any of that unconscious bliss, the churning of his stomach keeping him awake.

not to mention, the church doesn’t keep the heat on when it’s (supposed to be) unoccupied. steve’s teeth started chattering about an hour ago and have yet to stop.

steve is pretty sure this is one of the few times when he’s been a little less than grateful for the soft, fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky, giving them another white christmas.

“would you quit makin’ that goddamn noise?” billy grouches suddenly, his voice thick with sleep.

steve looks over at him, only to find that his eyes are still closed. he wonders, fleetingly, if billy is just talking in his sleep. but then he cracks open one eye, glaring over at him.

“sorry,” steve says, another shiver running down his spine. “you’re the one with two jackets. it’s fucking cold.”

“then get over here and shut up.”

steve blinks at him, his heart leaping up into his throat. “you want me to…what?”

billy’s eyes are closed again, his body still curled up in that same position. “i’m asking you to get warm so you’ll shut the fuck up. not asking you to go steady.”

steve considers that. he wishes billy would ask him to go steady. but, well. he’ll take what he can get.

he scoots over, tentatively. wriggles his way into billy’s space, beyond grateful that billy runs as hot as a goddamn radiator. billy slings an arm over him immediately, pulling steve close. he doesn’t know if it’s an intentional move, or if billy is just doing it out of instinct.

it doesn’t matter either way. steve isn’t about to question it.

“you smell like strawberries,” billy mumbles after a moment, his face buried in steve’s hair.

steve shivers again, this time definitely not from the cold. “that a bad thing?”

billy is quiet for a long moment, making steve squirm. and then, “no. definitely not.”

steve’s heart rate kicks up at that, and he swallows around the lump in his throat. billy’s arm just tightens around his middle, curling into the fabric of his shirt.

“so,” steve starts, chewing on his lip. “you don’t like mrs. wheeler.”

“nope.”

“you don’t like anyone?”

another long silence. billy’s breathing is slow and even, and steve starts to wonder if billy is asleep again. when he finally speaks, it makes steve jump a little in surprise. “i never said that.”

steve’s heart crumples, just a little bit. “oh. anyone i know?”

“why’re you so interested?” billy asks, just as he tucks his chin in the space between steve’s shoulder and neck.

“who says i am?”

“you. with all your goddamn questions.”

steve falls silent, wanting to curl in on himself. he’s trying not to pry, it’s just. if billy wants someone, steve would simply like to know who it is. doesn’t want to direct his distaste towards someone who doesn’t deserve it.

“i’m sorry. i’ll stop.”

billy sighs, but it’s more exasperated than irritated. “you didn’t even ask me their name.”

“what?” steve asks, twisting a little in billy’s embrace.

“my crush. you didn’t even ask me who it is.”

steve rolls his eyes. “i asked if it was anyone i knew. that’s the same thing.”

“take a guess. i’ll give you, hm. let’s say three guesses?”

“what, are we making a game out of it?” steve asks, snorting softly. he feels billy shrug. “okay, fine. is it…candice walker? that cute girl from the movie theater?”

“take another guess.”

“um, okay. what about…gina taylor? from homeroom? she always got real giggly around you.”

billy actually laughs out loud at that one, then sobers. “noticed that, huh? well. you’re barking up the wrong tree, harrington.”

“i don’t know what that means,” steve confesses, his brows knitting together in confusion.

“you’ve got my type all wrong,” billy tells him, and steve can feel him shaking his head. “you’re actually so far off base that you’re practically off world.”

“can you give me a hint, then? and quit being so damn smug about it, asshole,” steve says, but he’s grinning like an idiot.

billy doesn’t acknowledge that steve even spoke, not for a long time. but a few beats of silence later, steve feels billy’s lips press against the soft skin of his neck.

a gentle kiss, if steve has ever felt one.

he jumps up in surprise, whirling around and staring at billy with wide eyes. “what? that’s not funny, hargrove.”

“do you see me laughing?”

steve stutters a bit, still wide-eyed with his heart hammering in his chest. “you…you just…and i just…and we just…it’s me? as in me?”

“unless you’ve got a hotter twin that i don’t know about,” billy says. he’s looking up at steve with a blank expression, but steve can see it for what it is. a mask.

“you never said anything.”

“neither did you.”

steve raises his brows. “who said i felt the same way?”

billy tilts his head to the side, searching his eyes. “you really trying to tell me you don’t?”

“i…maybe. no. i don’t know,” steve says, gnawing on the inside of his cheek. “i - like you. or something.”

“or something,” billy repeats, giving him a small, amused smile. “i can work with that.”

“you want to?”

billy rolls his eyes. “no, i’m just confessing my stupid feelings for the fuck of it. ‘course i do, dumbass.”

“you’re such a romantic,” steve faux-swoons, smacking billy’s shoulder.

“c’mere and i’ll show you just how romantic i can be.”

steve’s heart feels like it’s about to hammer out of his chest. he’s feeling several things right now, the main ones being confused, shocked, nervous, and excited. it’s a lot to take in.

but he finds himself laying back down, this time facing billy so they’re spooning chest-to-chest, crowded together on the small pew. he reaches out a tentative hand, touching billy’s cheek with his fingertips.

when billy presses a soft kiss to his palm, it’s game over. steve lurches forward, sealing their mouths together. he kisses billy like he’s a 5-course meal and he’s been starving in the desert. billy kisses him back just as desperately, his hand cradling the back of his neck like he’s something precious.

billy’s lips are just as soft as steve imagined, and he’s imagined them a lot, mind you. he’s dreamt about this moment for so long, he can’t even remember when he’d started. steve tries to capture that in his kiss, wanting to convey just how long he’s waiting for this precise moment.

because it’s been a really fucking long time.

“so you were jealous,” billy teases when they pull apart, running his fingers through steve’s hair. “noted.”

“oh my god, shut up,” steve laughs, tucking his face into billy’s neck in an attempt to smother his giggles.

“i have a better idea,” billy tells him, his nails scratching over his scalp. “why don’t we break that door down and go find some mistletoe to fool around with?”

“with, or under?”

“why not both?”

steve just laughs again, tossing his head back. he presses a gentle kiss to billy’s lips, then pulls back to give him a soft smile.

“i think that’s an idea i can get behind,” he says, poking the tip of billy’s nose.

billy just captures steve’s hand in his, giving each fingertip a soft kiss, followed by a mischievous smile. a moment later, he’s shoving steve right off the pew, laughing loud and bright at steve’s shocked expression after he busts ass on the ground.

“after you, princess.”

send me a number + a pairing!

[st-crylo]

Rebound

Part 11

A/N: Not much to say this time, but I hope you guys enjoy!

Warnings: mentions of a hangover, minor swearing

Word Count: 4.5K

Tagging: @haylaansmi @thomasscresswell @maybe-your-left @nankstasty

Masterlist

In the morning, the smell of coffee filled your senses, but you kept your eyes closed, remaining close to the source of warmth beside you, at least, until that source of warmth began to stir, and climbed off the mattress of the pull out couch. You then begrudgingly opened your eyes to see Kylo stretching and yawning before heading into the kitchen.

"Morning sleepyhead. Feeling better?" You heard Sami say. You sat up yourself, rubbing your eyes before letting out your own yawn.

"My head hurts as all fuck. I'll take a coffee, though," you heard Kylo say before the sound of pouring coffee brought silence between the two of them. That was when you decided to stand up. 

"Good morning (Y/N). Are you in the mood for waffles?" Sami asked as she spotted you heading into the kitchen. You examined the homey little kitchen, your eyes lightly passing over Kylo who was drinking his coffee black. You looked away quickly though, remembering last night.

It wasn't but five minutes after Kylo had kissed you that the two of you had fallen asleep. You had snuggled in perfectly to Kylo's chest, and he'd had his arms wrapped around you all night. It felt amazing in the moment, but now that you were well rested and sober, you wondered if it had simply been an impulse of Kylo's drunken mind. So, in order to keep yourself from hurting, you decided not to bring it up until Kylo did. 

"You didn't ask me if I wanted waffles," Kylo said with a frown before turning to look at you. "Morning." He was smiling at you, but it had that awkward quality to it. 

"Because you'll probably throw it back up. (y/n) didn't have nearly as much as you to drink. Also, Phasma just went to get your car, she said she was gonna get Pat to help her." 

"That's nice. I'm thankful for Phasma, but I don't know that I'll be talking to Pat for a while," Kylo admitted before taking another sip of his coffee. You could definitely understand where he was coming from. After all, his ex probably wouldn't have shown up without Hux, and Pat had invited Hux, knowing his and Kylo's history. It was honestly a pretty shitty move. 

"Can't say I blame you. I told him it was a bad idea to invite that ginger bastard. He doesn't want to ever listen to anyone, though," Sami said, drinking her own coffee. You stepped forward and poured yourself a cup, opting for a little milk and sugar before taking a sip, savoring its warmth. The caffeine felt replenishing to your body. 

"So, waffles?"

"Yeah, I can definitely go for some waffles right now," you responded with a smile. Sami then smiled and got to work making the waffles, pulling out a waffle press and mixing the waffle mix. 

"Can one of you put the pull out couch back in?" Sami asked as she mixed. 

"Yeah," you and Kylo both said in sync, looking at each other, but then both looking away. Sami looked between the two of you suspiciously. 

"We'll both do it," you said, placing your mug on the island before heading back to the living room, Kylo following behind you. Once in the living room, you pulled off all the blankets and pillows from the pull out couch, and placed them on the loveseat. Kylo then began folding in the bed, placing the couch cushions once he was finished. 

"Hey, can we talk outside?" Kylo said softly once the two of you were done folding the blankets.

"Yeah," you responded, following him out the door. 

Once outside, Kylo looked anywhere but your face, as if he was trying to find the right words to say. Your heart was pounding so furiously in your chest, you were worried that Kylo could hear it, and you were afraid of your rapid heartbeat breaking the silence.

"So, um, about last night, when I...kissed you. I was so drunk, and I couldn't stop myself, I'm sorry. I promise it didn't really mean anything, though," Kylo said, and your heart stopped.

For a moment, you were frozen in time, breathless, ready for tears to burst out your eyes at any moment, but you composed yourself. No, you weren't going to be like that right now, and you had to remember that you weren't interested in Kylo like that, you couldn't be, especially since he apparently wasn't interested in you. 

"Oh, it's no problem, I was really drunk, too. Besides, you had a rough night," you said, trying to play it off.

"That doesn't mean it was good of me to do. I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Kylo explained. You shook your head, giving him a smile.

"Really, there's no need to be. I get it," you said, trying to ignore the aching in your heart. You instead smiled up at him, and he gave you a half-smile back. The two of you looked away when you heard cars pulling into the driveway, Phasma driving Kylo’s car, and Alan driving Phasma’s car.

The rest of the morning was spent enjoying the waffles Sami made, but you couldn’t deny the sadness that had settled like a dark veil over your heart, giving everything the slightest touch of gray. Sami definitely noticed, as she gave you a look, as if to silently ask, Are you ok? You had simply shook your head.

I’ll tell you later, you mouthed to her when Kylo wasn’t looking, too busy in his conversation with Phasma. 

After breakfast, Kylo stretched out before letting out a yawn. “I’m gonna go ahead and head home, (y/n), do you want a ride?” He asked you, turning to look at you.

“No, Phas is gonna take me home later. I’m gonna hang out here for a while,” you responded, only keeping eye contact with him for the necessary amount of time before he turned away, looking at Alan expectantly. Alan nodded before standing up, standing beside Kylo. 

“Well, I’ll see you guys later,” Kylo said. Alan waved goodbye to all of you before following Kylo out of the house. When the door shut, you let out a shaky sigh.

“Ok, so what’s wrong?” Sami asked, her and Phasma both turning to face you from their spots on the couch. As soon as Sami asked, tears began to prick at your eyes. You quickly tried to wipe them away before beginning to explain. 

***

In his car, Kylo kept tapping on his steering wheel, and it was beginning to annoy Alan.

“Alan, I have a question for you,” Kylo said, making Alan groan internally. Kylo was always annoying to deal with when he was antsy like this, and Alan wasn’t sure he wanted to indulge in whatever question Kylo had, but he was stuck in the car with him for at least another ten minutes, so he might as well.

“What?”

“Now, be honest. Do you think (y/n) likes me? Not as a friend, but as...more,” Kylo said, a blush rising to his cheeks.

Alan had to keep himself from scoffing. Even if it wasn’t obvious to the two of you, it was obvious to everyone else how the two of you really felt for each other. The fact that Kylo even had to ask was a little ridiculous, but he humored his friend.

“It seems pretty obvious to me that she does, but have you tried asking her yourself?” Alan said, looking out the window.

Kylo was silent for a moment as he pulled up to a red light. Then, he turned to Alan again.

“Wanna go see Milo?”

***

“He said he didn’t mean it?” Sami asked incredulously. You nodded, trying your hardest not to cry.

“He blamed it on the fact that he was drunk, but when we kissed it felt...good. I’d never even felt that way kissing Shawn,” you explained, the aching in your heart just increasing the more you talked about it.

“There’s no way he didn’t mean it. From my experience, drunk people are the most honest,” Phasma said with authority. 

“I don’t know. He seemed to really regret it,” you said, rubbing the back of your neck.

“That doesn’t make any sense. You might not see it, but Kylo is definitely into you. He looks at you the same way Milo looks at Sami,” Phasma said.

“I don’t know about that…”

“Oh come on, you guys act like you’re a real couple. Even we can barely tell the difference anymore, and we knew about Kylo’s plan from the beginning,” Sami started. “He probably only said that because he thought you didn’t feel the same way about him. Kylo is a very emotional person, but he does everything he can to keep himself from hurting again. It doesn’t make him any less of a fool.”

“Here’s my advice. When you get home tonight, talk to him, and tell him how you feel,” Phasma offered.

“But I don’t want to ruin the friendship we have. Being friends with him again has been amazing, I don’t want to risk that on the chance that he doesn’t feel for me romantically,” you said, laying back on the couch and looking to the ceiling. That was your biggest fear of all. If you could accept your feelings for Kylo and actually manage to talk to him about it, and he didn’t reciprocate your feelings, would he even want to continue being friends with you? 

***

“I think I fucked up,” Kylo said, plopping down on the couch inside Milo’s dorm room. He’d somehow managed to get a room to himself, something Kylo was grateful for right now. Alan plopped down beside Kylo, biting into a brownie his brother had given him. 

“What did you do this time? Nothing illegal I hope,” Milo said, seated at his desk. 

“No, it’s about (y/n),” Kylo said, running a hand through his black hair. 

“Did you finally tell her?”

“I did the fucking opposite.”

Milo sat there for a while and pondered before grabbing a pillow from his bed and throwing it directly at Kylo. It hit Kylo directly in the face, then fell onto his lap, leaving him with a look of exasperation towards Milo.

“First off, you’re an idiot. What exactly happened?”

“Last night I was crossfaded as fuck, and so I stayed over at Sami’s last night. Well, she decided to stay with me and so I...kissed her.”

There was silence over the room, as Kylo hadn’t even told Alan yet during the hours-long drive. Milo looked as if he was deep in thought. 

“Is that it? Seems like you let her know how you feel.”

“That’s the problem. This morning I told her I didn’t mean it like that.” Kylo felt stupid even just repeating it. He should have told you, should have brought you close and let you know exactly how he felt, but he didn’t, and now he was paying for it. 

“Wow, you really are a fucking idiot. Why’d you say that?” Milo said, standing up to grab a t-shirt and cover the smoke detector. Once he’d done that, he sat back down, cigarette in hand. 

“Because I thought it might be too soon for her, but as soon as I said it, the look in her eyes said otherwise, even though she tried to hide it.” Kylo couldn’t pretend to be oblivious to the hurt in your eyes as soon as he said his kiss didn’t mean anything. He felt horrible for making you feel that way, but he also couldn’t deny how terrified he was. 

He knew you were nothing like Stella, you were kind and considerate, but you also let him be himself. It didn’t prevent the fear in his heart about entering another relationship, though. He didn’t doubt that you would be an amazing girlfriend, but he was afraid of failing as a partner. Kylo knew he was a fucked up person, and that there was no fixing him at this point. He just hoped that you wouldn’t mind all the broken pieces. 

***

When Phasma drove you home that night, you noticed Kylo’s car wasn’t parked in the driveway. You felt worry settle into your stomach, but you ignored it as you climbed out of Phasma’s car. 

“Talk to him when he gets home,” Phasma said sternly.

“No promises,” you said. Phasma rolled her eyes in response before driving away. You then proceeded to walk into your house, making a beeline for your room to avoid any questions from your mom. You were at least glad that you’d decided to take a shower at Sami’s house, or you would’ve smelled like stale weed and alcohol. 

As soon as you got to your room, you were about to pull up your messages with Kylo when you saw headlights. Rushing to the window, you watched as Kylo’s car pulled into the driveway next door. Once the headlights were turned off, you watched as Kylo stepped out of the car, running a hand through his disheveled hair. You watched until he stepped into his grandparents’ home. 

With a sigh, you moved away from the window and then ambled over to your bed. Picking up your phone, you noticed you had just received a message from Kylo. 

Feel like skipping tomorrow?

You felt your stomach churn, but not necessarily in a bad way. You’d never skipped school before without being sick, so it made you nervous, but you were definitely open to try. 

Why not, was your reply.

In the morning, you got ready for school as usual before coming down the stairs to grab your lunch and meet up with Kylo. Once you were outside, the chill of the September morning seemed to be sent through your bones as you trudged across the grass to Kylo’s car, your shoes becoming slightly damp from the morning dew. 

“Morning,” Kylo said, smoking a cigarette as he waited for you. He was wearing his leather jacket, and you could see his box of cigarettes poking out from the front pocket. 

“Morning,” you started, smiling up at him. That aching in your chest was still present as you looked at him, though. “So, where are we heading today?”

“Well,” Kylo said, “I figured we could get some Waffle House, and then we can maybe go to Endor?” He offered as he opened up the driver’s door. You opened up the passenger door and climbed into the car, throwing your backpack into the back seat. Kylo settled into the driver’s seat, closing the door behind him and turning the key in the ignition.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” you responded as Kylo pulled out of the driveway. Soon, the two of you were out of the neighborhood, and heading to downtown Mos Eisley. Within minutes, the two of you were pulling into the Waffle House parking lot. 

When you walked into the Waffle House, the cold air hit you hard, and you instantly felt like you were freezing. You tried your hardest not to shiver, though, as the two of you walked over to one of the two-person booths. 

“You cold?” Kylo asked the moment you sat down. At that point, you had your arms wrapped around yourself to keep yourself warm.

“Just a little,” you admitted. After you said that, Kylo, without hesitation, removed his jacket and passed it to you over the table. You gratefully took it and pulled your arms through it, the inside still warm from Kylo’s body heat. 

“So, are you glad you’re here and not at Mos Eisley Hell School?” Kylo asked, leaning back in the booth. 

“Definitely. Any day I can go without having to hear someone gossiping about me is a good day,” you said. 

The waitress soon came up and took your drink orders while putting down your silverware. Kylo ordered a black coffee, and you decided to go with a coffee as well, but actually asked for cream. 

“So, what prompted you to want to skip today?” you asked, interlacing your fingers and placing them on the table. 

“I thought it might be nice to not go to school today. Besides, I wanted to spend the day with my best friend,” he responded. Your heart should have soared, but instead it sank. Maybe he did only see you as a friend after all. 

“You, of course, had to have a reason to accept, no?” he asked, breaking you from your thoughts.

“I just didn’t feel like going to school. Also, I’ve never skipped school without being sick before, so this is definitely a new experience for me,” you admitte. Kylo took a sip of his coffee and hummed sagely. 

“I thought so. My prescription is to have some fun for at least your senior year.”

“Well, I’ve already started having more fun since hanging around you and your lot, so I guess you could say I’m taking my prescription responsibly,” you said with a smirk as the waitress walked back over to you. You ordered some eggs, and Kylo ordered a waffle.

“That’s good that we’ve allowed you to walk on the wild side, which reminds me, we need to go to a thrift store today,” Kylo said.

“A thrift store, why?”

“So we can get you a leather jacket! You’re part of the crew now, and it’s about to start getting cold, as it’s almost October. Sami will do the embroidery, she did it for all of ours,” he said enthusiastically. This time your heart did warm up. You were so thankful to have become such good friends with everyone in such a short amount of time, and so glad they accepted you immediately. 

“Or I can just steal yours,” you teased, pulling the jacket closed, causing Kylo to frown. 

“I quite like mine, thank you, but if I must,” he responded dramatically. You started laughing as the waitress laid your food in front of you. The two of you dug into your food, Kylo offering you a bit of his waffle, which you gladly took. Once you’d finished up your food and coffee, you were about to pull out your wallet, but Kylo held up his hand, shaking his head.

“I got it,” he insisted, and you knew there was no point arguing with him, so you waited for him to pay the check before the two of you headed out. Soon, the two of you were headed for Endor. 

The ride there was peaceful as always, as you watched the trees become thicker, and the amount of cars on the road become sparse. You tried your hardest to keep your eyes on the scenery, but every once in a while, you’d glance over at Kylo, watching his face as he focused on the road ahead, tapping his fingers along to the music he was playing. You felt your breath leave your lungs the more you thought about how beautiful he really was, but you had to subtly shake those thoughts from your mind. You were just friends, you had to remind yourself. You couldn’t risk that, no matter how you felt. 

Soon, the two of you were pulling up to the booth. Kylo rolled down his window, pulling out the five dollar bill to pay for parking. 

“Ah, hello again you two. Shouldn’t you be in school?” Mr. Antilles said with a grin on his face. 

“Senior skip day. We decided some time out in nature would be good for us,” Kylo said with a matching grin. Mr. Antilles simply shook his head before taking Kylo’s dollar, and then handed him the dashboard paper for his daily parking. Kylo then smiled and waved as he proceeded into the parking lot. Once he was parked, he cut off the engine, then stepped out of the car, you following in his lead.

Like last time, you let Kylo, even though you knew exactly where you were going this time. It was nice to let Kylo lead you away, to watch as he ambled through the ferns and other brush on the barely visible path. It almost felt like something from a dream, especially now that some of the trees were starting to show the early signs of fall, their leaves yellowing slightly, a few littering the ground and creating a satisfying crunch each time they were stepped on. Soon, the two of you were at the boulder, and Kylo heaved himself on, staring out at the gorge. You sat down beside him, breathing in the fresh air as you looked at the treetops, admiring the mix of green, yellow, orange, and red. Something about this place always gave you an immense sense of calm.

“Hey, (y/n)?” Kylo said from beside you. You turned to look at him, and he was looking down at his hands. “What I said yesterday? I was lying.”

You felt your hold body freeze. “What do you mean?” Surely he couldn’t mean what you were thinking? 

“When I told you that kiss didn’t mean anything to me. It meant so much, and I wish I had just told you outright that it did, but I was scared,” he admitted. You felt your heart begin to beat faster, and tears began to gather at your eyes, but not from sadness “I was worried you’d only want to be friends, especially after Shawn, but I saw the look in your eyes, and then I wasn’t sure.”

You couldn’t help yourself as you wrapped your arms around Kylo, practically sobbing onto his shoulder in relief. Kylo was shocked for a moment, but then he wrapped his arms around you as well, though he was laughing instead of crying. 

“I guess that means you don’t want to just be friends?”

“No, you fucking idiot,” you said before letting go of him, and then grabbing his face in your hands, bringing him in for a kiss. When you did, Kylo slipped his arm around your waist, pulling you in closer, then resting his hand on the small of your back. Every moment of his lips on yours made your heart feel like it was soaring in the sky and over the gorge, and you never wanted to come down again. 

Once the two of you pulled away from each other, you looked into each other’s eyes, and you were mesmerized as you saw the glossy sheen of tears over Kylo’s beautiful brown eyes. You ran a hand through his hair before coming in again to hug him, wrapping your arms around his waist, taking in his warmth. 

“I was so afraid you just wanted to be friends, too,” you admitted, sniffling from your tears. 

“So we’re both idiots?”

“Yeah, we are.”

The two of you held each other as if, if either of you let go, the other would disappear forever. You were so lost in the moment, the only thing to break it was the buzzing of your phone in the jacket pocket. With a sigh, you pulled away from Kylo, and then pulled your phone out.

Where are the two of you? Sami had sent. 

We decided to skip today, Details to come later, you responded. 

“Sami?” Kylo asked, looking down at his phone. “She texted me, too. I’m supposed to be in class with her right now.” You chuckled, and then the two of you settled into a comfortable silence. You laced your fingers in between Kylo’s, and then laid your head against his shoulder, staring out to the scenery.

“So, I guess you’re officially my girlfriend now?” Kylo asked, resting his head atop yours. 

“Yeah, I guess I am,” you responded, unable to hide your grin. 

After a while more at Endor, the two of you decided to go ahead and go to the thrift store, and then grab some lunch. Now that the two of you were official, a heaviness seemed to lift from the air. You felt free, as if allowing yourself to be interested in Kylo was the catalyst to finally letting yourself do whatever the hell you wanted. You’d allowed yourself to be so caught up in what everyone else wanted, and now that you were doing things for yourself, you felt free, like a bird floating on a summer breeze. It was probably the best feeling of your life.

When you got to the car, Kylo turned up the music loud, singing along and encouraging you to do the same. You couldn’t keep down your laughter as you watched him enthusiastically sing along to the music.

The thrift store Kylo took you to was in downtown Mos Eisley, in a shopping district. Around it were a couple of cafes, and a nice little bookstore as well, all quaint little stores. This time of day, there were only a few cars passing by, but you imagined it would be busier once school let out. Kylo pulled into the public parking, and then paid to park for thirty minutes, and then the two of you headed to the thrift store, your fingers entwined. Now that the sun was shining, and it was closer to noon, you were getting a little warm in Kylo’s jacket, but you were hesitant to take it off, mostly because you didn’t want to carry it, but also because you enjoyed wearing Kylo’s things. 

When the two of you entered the store, you looked around, in awe of the different vintage clothes on display. Kylo took you out of your trance, though, as he tugged on your hand, pulling you towards the jackets. 

“Ok, black is traditional, but if you want to get a flight jacket, I won’t judge,” Kylo teased, causing you to push him gently. 

“Black works fine, thank you,” you said as you skimmed, trying to find a jacket in your size. It didn’t take long before you were pulling one off the rack, showing it to Kylo. He smiled and nodded, bringing you over to the cash register, where he paid for the jacket. You insisted on paying for it yourself, but Kylo refused.

“The person who tells about the jacket buys the jacket. For example, I bought Milo’s, and he bought mine, because we first thought of the jackets. Then, Milo bought Sami’s, and then he bought Alan’s, and I bought Phasma’s. It’s tradition, one that you’re a part of now,” he said, handing some cash to the cashier. You smiled as she handed you the paper bag with the jacket inside. 

As you walked out the thrift store, you were about to head towards the car when Kylo stopped you, pulling you back and bringing you in front of the window to the thrift store. You looked at Kylo, who was facing you, as if purposely trying to face away from something. When you made eye contact, he pointed to something behind him. As you tried to subtly look around him, you noticed why he’d stopped.

Sitting at one of the cafe tables was Pat, and he was sitting with Shawn and Stella. 

[xxx-cat-xxx]

Just a Bend in the Road

Something is wrong with Tony, Peter is sure. 

At least they’re only three hours out from the lakehouse now; Pepper will be able to figure out whatever it is that’s going on with him. Just a few hours, Peter thinks. They can do that. 

Turns out, that was a bit optimistic.

Happy Birthday to @ravenclaw-lair, who asked me for a carsickness-turned-worse fic with the Iron Family. This is set in my favourite post-Endgame AU where Tony lives and Peter finally gets to meet Morgan and Pepper.

A million thanks to @whumphoarder for beta reading and coming up with an ending :) And special thanks to @heyjupiter for the East Coast university expertise.

_____________________

“You know Pete,” Tony starts for the nth time this weekend when they pull back onto the road after a rest stop, “you could still go for MIT. I know the person in charge of the admissions office. And when I say know, I mean”—he glances through the rearview mirror at Morgan, who is contentedly listening to audiobooks through her tablet before lowering his voice—“we had some pretty  intense late-night study sessions in the physics lab together back in the day. And by intense, I mean -”

“Stop, please stop,” Peter protests, rapidly shaking his head to get rid of the mental image. “I don’t even wanna think about that. And besides the fact that May would never let this happen, I don’t want to get into MIT just because you know someone there. That would be unfair to everyone else who had to apply. Plus, I really liked Culver.”

“Whatever you say, kiddo…” Tony sighs. “But let me know if you change your mind.”

Peter is sure he won’t. His grades are good, but, due to his nightly superhero activities, not quite outstanding enough for MIT, and he’s actually fine with that. He did like what he saw of Culver University during their open day - it’s not as top ranked as MIT or the Ivy League schools, but the quality of teaching and their hands-on research approach sounded cool. Plus, it’s Bruce Banner’s old university, and he comes there to give guest lectures from time to time, something Peter would be thrilled to witness.

Peter just hopes that Tony isn’t too disappointed in him for not trying out MIT - he’s seemed a bit distant throughout the whole trip.

“Do you want some trail mix?” Peter offers. Food is usually a failsafe way to lift his mentor’s mood.

“Nah, I’m good,” Tony declines. 

“I WANT TRAIL MIX!” Morgan shouts from under her headphones, about six times louder than necessary.

“Morguna, keep your voice down,” Tony scolds. 

“Sorry,” Morgan stage-whispers. “Can I have some now?”

(Needless to mention, food works wonders on her, too.) 

Peter holds out the bag and Morgan reaches into it with both of her hands, grabbing so much at once that half of it spills back into her lap. Grinning, Peter turns back to Tony and offers the bag once more. “You sure? It’s the good stuff - half M&Ms and no raisins.”

Tony seems to pale a little bit. He shakes his head tightly. “Not hungry.”

Peter frowns. There is no way Tony can’t be hungry. He skipped breakfast that morning, claiming that he’d rather have a long and undisturbed shower, but by the time Peter and Morgan came back, stuffed full of hotel food delicacies, he’d still been in bed. And, thinking back to last night, Peter recalls that Tony barely finished the small pizza he’d shared with Morgan. 

Now that he’s paying attention, Peter notices the thin film of sweat forming on his mentor’s forehead despite the almost too-cold temperature in the air conditioned car. “Are you alri-”

“What’s that shrieking noise?” Tony interrupts, nodding at the radio playing something from the local station. “Doesn’t even deserve to be called music,” he grumbles, passing Peter his phone. “Here, play something decent.”

Peter connects the device and pulls up one of Tony’s playlists, but the worry in his gut only increases at the man’s not very subtle attempt at changing the topic. At least they’re only three hours out from the lakehouse now; Pepper will be able to figure out whatever it is that’s going on with him. Just a few hours, Peter thinks. They can do that. 

Turns out, that was a bit optimistic.

Forty-five minutes later, Peter is idly texting with Ned about their current Lego project when Morgan suddenly takes off her headphones. “Daddy, are we almost there?” she asks, her tone just bordering on a whine.

“It’s at least another two hours,” Tony replies, glancing at her through the mirror with a frown. “What’s bugging you, Morguna?”

“My tummy doesn’t feel good,” Morgan complains, bending forward and wrapping her arms around herself. 

“Do you feel carsick?”

Morgan nods, pressing her lips together. 

“Okay bud, hold on a second,” Tony reassures calmly, already taking his foot off the gas. “I’ll find us a rest stop and we take a break.”

They reach the rest stop without incident, much to Peter’s relief. He used to get carsick a lot as a kid and remembers just how awful it felt. Tony makes Morgan walk around the car a few rounds to get some fresh air and then coaxes her into drinking half a bottle of Sprite. 

Tony is kind and patient as always when he talks to Morgan (something Peter still isn’t used to, despite having had a few months now to get used to Dad Tony™), although Peter can’t help but notice that his mentor seems a little out of it. 

After ten minutes, when the colour has returned to Morgan’s cheeks, Tony moves gingerly around the car to put her back into the booster seat, his lips pressed together almost as if he’s in pain. Both his real and prosthetic hands are shaking slightly when he clicks the seatbelt. 

“Break’s over, back to the road,” Tony’s voice knocks Peter out of his thoughts. He tosses the car keys to Peter, who catches them in confusion. “Your turn, Underoos. I’ll sit in the back with Morguna until she feels better.”

“What? No!” Peter protests. “I can’t drive!”

“What do you mean, you can’t drive?” Tony rebuts. “Do you have a license or not?”

“Well, yeah, but...” Peter does have a license, and he’s definitely come a long way since the day he nearly wrecked Flash’s car, but that still doesn’t mean he feels comfortable behind the wheel. “This car is crazy expensive! What if I break something?”

“Then I’ll buy a new one,” Tony says simply.

That was definitely not the answer Peter was looking for. He lets out a sigh and Morgan giggles a bit from where she’s pressed against Tony’s arm. 

“Come on, kid, please?” The tone is joking, but there’s a hint of desperation under the surface. Something is very, very wrong. 

“Okay,” Peter gives in. “But no comments about me driving below the speed limit.”

Tony gives a half-hearted grin. “Deal.” 

“Deal!” Morgan echoes, which makes Peter smile a little.

Peter is so nervous as he steers them back onto the highway that he hardly dares to draw a full breath. But after a few minutes, he realises that this car runs much smoother than May’s old Toyota Corolla. It’s almost as intuitive as navigating his Spider-Man suit, and after a while, Peter feels himself relax to the point where he is nearly enjoying it. 

Then, he hears a cough from the backseat that quickly turns into a hitching gag. Peter glances in the rearview mirror, fully expecting to see Morgan throwing up. But instead, the girl is staring at her father with a mixture of fear and surprise. It’s Tony who is now white as a ghost and pressing a sleeve-covered hand to his mouth, visibly trying to keep himself from being sick. 

“Pull over,” he says through gritted teeth. 

Peter is flabbergasted. “I can’t just -” 

“Daddy?” Morgan asks, her voice wavering.

“Pete, pull over,” Tony urges, his voice sharp. 

“Okay, okay...” Peter mumbles. He forces himself to concentrate on the road. He indicates to the right to change lanes and then pulls off onto the highway shoulder. 

The car has barely come to a stop before Tony throws the door open and stumbles out of sight behind the vehicle. Peter hears a painful-sounding retch, then the sound of liquid hitting the asphalt. 

“Daddy?” Morgan asks again in a small voice, starting to unbuckle her seatbelt. Figuring the audience of an anxious six-year-old is the last thing Tony wants at the moment, Peter stops her.

“Morgan, wait. Stay here with me,” he says. “Just give your dad a minute, okay?”

She looks at him, her eyes wide. “Is Daddy okay?”

“I- I think he’s a bit sick,” Peter admits. “But he’s gonna be fine,” he adds when he sees Morgan’s eyes fill with tears, irrespective of the worry tightening in his own stomach. 

“Can you look for a water bottle and tissues?” he asks, mostly to give her something to do. 

Morgan nods earnestly and then starts digging in the back pockets of the seats. She finds a packet of tissues and has just pulled out a water bottle when Tony returns. He climbs back into the car rather unsteadily, and sinks down into the seat with a heavy sigh.

“Sorry for that,” he states, his voice hoarse. He looks pretty bad, his face almost grey now and with a feverish gleam to his eyes that makes them stand out even more.

“Daddy!” Morgan exclaims. “Are you okay?”

Tony puts on a forced smile as he turns to face her. “Yeah, I’m okay, sweetie. Sorry I scared you.”

“Did you get carsick?” Morgan asks, mimicking his adult tone.

“Yeah, um, I was carsick,” Tony replies without looking at either of them. 

Peter doesn’t buy it for one second, but he doesn’t want to freak Morgan out. “Morgan, give him the tissues and some water, okay?” he instructs instead.

She holds the items out to Tony. 

“Thanks, munchkin,” he says softly, then takes a sip of water to rinse out his mouth. He leans out of the door to spit it out and can’t suppress a pained groan when he comes back up. “Okay, let’s just get home.”

Morgan snuggles against her father for the rest of the ride, her eyes half-closed, but she doesn’t really fall asleep. Tony seems to be barely holding it together. He is breathing shallowly, wincing slightly every now and then. More than once Peter can hear him gulp as if trying not to puke again. 

“Tony, seriously, tell me when to stop,” Peter whispers when he hears his mentor draw in a sharp breath after a curve. 

“Let’s just get to the house,” Tony mumbles before burping sickly into his sleeve.

Peter has never been happier to turn onto the forest road that leads them off the highway and towards the lake. The moment they stop, Tony is out of the car again, shuffling - almost limping - towards the house as quickly as he can. Peter parks the car and tells Morgan to go find her mom before following Tony to - who would have guessed - the bathroom. 

Peter can hear him throwing up from outside the door. He knocks, but the only response is another retch. Worry takes over, his spider-sense humming in his ears, and he opens the door without waiting any longer. 

Tony is hunched over the bowl, his left arm braced on the toilet seat and the prosthetic one wrapped tightly around his abdomen. He’s in the middle of heaving up bile, his whole body shaking from the strain of it. Peter waits until the current round is finished before tearing off some toilet paper and handing it over for Tony to wipe his mouth with, which the man does clumsily with his left hand. 

“Don’t kill me,” Tony rasps, not looking up at Peter. “I just didn’t wanna freak out Morgan - she’s just always so worried since I lost my arm and all.” He drops the paper into the bowl and reaches up to flush the handle, his face contorting into a painful grimace as he does so.

“And that’s why you didn’t wanna tell her that you got a stomach bug?” Peter asks incredulously. 

“Um...actually…” Tony swallows. “I think it might be appendicitis.”

Peter blinks. “What the hell, Tony? You should be in a hospital.”

“Morgan is really scared of hospitals - it would have terrified her if she'd seen me get wheeled off to surgery again. I’m sorry, kid, but what was I supposed to do?” Tony tries to sit back carefully but then just sort of collapses against the wall, his right knee pulled up to his chest.

A hundred possible answers to this question spring to Peter’s mind, all of which include Tony telling him what was going on about three hours ago. But he swallows them down - now is not the time.

“C-Can you get Pepper?” Tony asks in a sort of pitiful voice.

He’s looking a lot worse than he did just ten minutes ago, and despite his anger, Peter feels a pang of sympathy when he realises just how much Tony must have been holding it together in front of Morgan. 

“Sure.” Peter nods. “But don’t think we’re done talking about this.”

Despite the misery he’s in, Tony manages a weak grin. “Yes, Dad,” he teases.

Peter just sighs.

He almost bumps into Pepper when he opens the door to the living room where Morgan is watching TV.

Pepper takes in the look on Peter’s face and frowns. “What did he do this time?” she mouths. 

“Appendicitis,” Peter whispers back. Pepper’s eyes widen a bit in concern, but otherwise she doesn’t seem nearly as shaken as Peter feels. Two decades of life with Tony Stark seems to have brought her anxiety threshold to an entirely new level. She steps out into the hall and pulls the door shut behind her.

“Are you sure?” she asks. 

“Tony seems sure. And the symptoms match - I think he’s been feeling sick at least since yesterday, and it’s just getting worse.” Peter bites his lip, suddenly overcome by guilt upon thinking about how long it took him to figure out that something was off. 

Pepper seems to catch on to this. “Hey, enough of that. It’s not your fault, okay? Tony is a stubborn idiot who’d rather have the whole world believe that he’s a class-A asshole than admit to being sick.” 

Peter swallows, thinking back to the little he knows about the palladium poisoning period of Tony’s life. His admiration for Pepper instantly increases tenfold.

“I’m gonna drive him to the hospital,” Pepper continues. “I know we were supposed to drop you back with your aunt later, but do you mind staying with Morgan until Happy can get here?”

“No problem,” Peter reassures. Pepper nods gratefully and then walks briskly past him to the bathroom, where, from the sound of it, Tony is being sick again.

Peter’s enhanced hearing picks up Tony’s croaky, “Hey, Pep,” when she enters.

“Oh, Tony,” Pepper replies. “You’re burning up. You’re a hot mess, you know that?” 

Tony chuckles weakly. 

“Do you think you can get up?” she goes on. “We need to get you straight to the hospital...” 

He’ll be fine, Peter tells himself. He’ll be alright.

He straightens up and opens the door to the living room. “Hey kid, what are you watching?”

*

Several hours later, Peter and Happy are sitting in front of the TV, Peter pretending to study his chemistry notes and Happy pretending to watch Grey’s Anatomy while mostly being caught up in their own thoughts. It took Happy a while to get to the lakehouse, and then Peter decided against driving home. It’s exam season and he can just as well study here. Plus, he wants to be able to visit Tony in the hospital the next day.

Morgan has finally succumbed to sleep after Happy read her four different picture books. She was cranky all evening, first asking for pudding and ice cream for dinner and then demanding extra TV time, but no one had the heart to stop her. Both Happy and Peter realised that that was just her way of dealing with the worry they’re all experiencing. 

Happy has almost fallen asleep on the couch when his phone starts to ring. He startles, then reaches out to pick it up. “Pepper,” he informs Peter. 

Peter shamelessly eavesdrops when Happy answers the call. 

“Hey,” Pepper greets on the other side. “It’s over. He’s awake now.”

Happy lets out a small exhale the same moment Peter feels the tension leave his own body. “Everything went well?” Happy asks. 

“Yeah, the operation went as planned. He was kind of out of it when he came around just now, sort of confused and anxious. Seems like Morgan isn’t the only one carrying around bad memories from the snap.”

Yeah, Peter thinks, you don’t say. 

“They gave him a light tranquilliser and he’ll probably sleep for the next few hours. I’ll stay here overnight if that’s alright with you, and if everything’s fine, you can bring Morgan here first thing in the morning. Peter too, if he wants to come.”

Happy raises a questioning eyebrow and Peter nods emphatically. 

“Yeah, he’ll come with us,” Happy reports. 

“Great.” Pepper lets out a sigh. “Tell Peter thanks for getting him home safely. Tony was asking about them - Morgan and Peter.”

“I will,” Happy says. “Try and get some sleep, boss.” 

“You too.” Peter practically hears the tired smile in Pepper’s voice. “Good night, Happy.” 

“So,” Happy turns to him after setting down the phone. “I suppose after today I should extend an official invitation to the official ‘Stark’s a Stubborn Idiot’ support group. We meet every other Thursday from seven to eight,” he deadpans. “Activities include dragging his ass to the hospital, dragging his ass to bed, dragging his... actually, mostly just a lot of ass-dragging.”

Peter laughs a bit at that. “Do I get a free t-shirt?”

Happy snorts. “I think that could be arranged.”

______________

If you liked this, you might also enjoy my 13k Irondad Endgame fix-it.

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Taglist: @toomuchtoread33  @yepokokfine

@badthingshappenbingo This is my fill for the ‘Appendicitis’ square.

[watchmegetobsessed]

“We can’t be friends anymore.” (Shawn Mendes)

i had this thought about this story this morning and just had to write it. please keep it in mind that this is just fiction! don’t come at me after reading this lol

5.2k angst and fluff at the end

drabble list masterlist

You feel betrayed. Like you’ve been just stabbed in your chest, multiple times by the person who is the closest to it. Sorrow takes over your body in waves as you stare at the screen of your phone that’s flooded with pictures of the guy you’ve been in love with since forever and the girl he always said was just a friend for him, holding hands, smiling at each other in a way that makes your stomach churn.

Texts keep popping up from your friends, checking in on you. The picture just got out and they are all concerned about how you are taking the news that Shawn and Camila are kind of official. It’s not even the fact that they are together. Well, it is, it’s making you want to scream till you lose consciousness, but there is something that’s just making it worse. He didn’t even tell you.

You had to find out about it from some damned paparazzi pictures on your Instagram feed. The guy who has been your best friend for almost a decade didn’t take the effort to let you know that he is dating someone. That’s what hurts the most.

A hot teardrop rolls down on your cheek as you finally make yourself exit the app and locking the phone you throw it to the couch as you take some deep breaths, trying your best not to totally break down. You tell yourself it’s not even that serious, it doesn’t hurt that bad, but it does. It’s making your chest feel like it’s about to burst, your limbs numb, vision blurry from the relentless tears in your eyes.

Your phone buzzes again, it’s another text from someone with the same “u okay?” message, but you don’t want to talk to anyone right now. You just want to mope all day with ice-cream and chocolate under your hands, stuffing yourself. Unfortunately, you have the whole day ahead of you and you can’t afford to disappear and not do anything.

It’s sometime after three in the afternoon when Shawn calls you. You’re in the middle of Walmart, your last stop before you head home and finally rest. Standing at the dairy aisle you hesitate as you stare down at the photo of you and him on the screen. It was taken on your eighteenth birthday, he surprised on your party, telling you that he wouldn’t be able to make it but then out of nowhere he just walked into the backyard with the widest grin on his face. Your mom took the picture, he hugged you from behind, pressing his face to yours as you laughed happily. A nice memory that feels tainted right now. The two of you talked about a lot that evening when the guests were long gone. Sitting by the pool, legs in the water.

“What if I never find the one?” you remember him asking. He was moping about some girl turning him down in a restaurant.

“Don’t say that,” you nudged him with your shoulder. “We have time.”

The way he smiled at you that moment made your heart skip a beat. You wanted him to tell you that he wants to be with you, that you are the one for him. Your mouth felt dry as you thought about telling him how you feel, something you’ve been thinking about for so long. But you couldn’t make yourself do it, again. Instead, this is what came out of your mouth:

“We’ll have each other even if we are still single at thirty.”

There was something in his smile, something you couldn’t really put your finger on, but it made your whole body shiver. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you closer to him as the two of you stared at the rings on the water your legs created on the surface.

“I know. I’ll always have you and I’m so lucky for that.”

That night made you feel like there was hope, that he might feel the same way, but it has been two years since then and today made you give hope up totally.

You stare down at the phone and answer the call last minute probably, before he could have hung up.

“Hey,” you softly say, your whole body tensed up, afraid of even hearing his voice.

“Hey!” he greets you delighted. “So what are you doing tonight? I’m having a few people over and you could come over as well.”

Your hand turns into fist next to your side as you grip hard on the phone. It’s making you feel sick how carefree he sounds, like nothing really happened. For him, nothing did, but for you… the world has changed.

“Um, I don’t know,” you mumble under your breath. To be honest it’s the last thing you want to do, face him when you just want to cry yourself to sleep.

“Oh come on! I haven’t seen you in weeks, I want to hug my best friend!”

His words feel like a punch in your stomach. Tears are dwelling in your eyes, threatening to make you break down in the middle of the store. Covering the mic of the phone you sniff a few before replying to him.

“Sure. I’ll go over,” you say knowing well he wouldn’t leave you alone until you say yes. You’ll just go there, hang out for an hour and then leave saying your headache is killing you, which is kind of true.

“Amazing! Come any time after six.”

Ending the call the tears keep rolling down on your cheeks, making people stare at you, some of them confused, but most of them give you a sympathetic look as you wipe your face and continue shopping with red puffy eyes, sobbing to yourself while grabbing all the stuff you need.

 ***

 Shawn and you kissed once. It happened about one and a half years ago, when he was about to leave for his festival tour. You were over at his place a few days before he was supposed to leave, just spending some quality time together. You ordered Chinese and watched Netflix, at one point he popped a bottle of wine… and then another one. Getting drunk together was never a problem, you just messed around, talking about the weirdest stuff, but that time was different. Maybe it was the weight of his leaving, or something else, you can’t recall. You were sitting on the kitchen floor, drinking the lasts of the wine. You were extremely emotional, talking about your deepest fears as he had an arm around your shoulders, listening to you.

“I’m just… I’m so afraid I’ll end up alone,” you sobbed, wiping your face with the palm of your hand.

“Don’t say that, you won’t end up alone. You’ll always have me, okay?”

“But you’ll end up marrying some amazing girl and then I’ll be forgotten.”

“Hey.” Lifting your chin up with his fingers he made you look into his eyes. “I’ll never forget about you. I can never do that. Understood?”

You just nodded your head, staring up into his beautiful eyes when you realized that he is leaning closer. You didn’t move, completely frozen as his lips slowly touched yours. They tasted salty from your own tears as he gently took your bottom lip between his. It took you some time to make yourself move and finally kiss him back. It soon turned into something more passionate and raw as you pushed yourself up and let him deepen it, his tongue slipping into your mouth. You made out on the kitchen floor like two teenagers, shutting the whole world out.

That night you slept in his arms in his bed as he didn’t let you go home drunk. When you woke up in the morning he was still fast asleep. Your heart was aching as you told yourself that everything that happened last night was out of pity. You didn’t think he would have done it if it wasn’t for you pouring your heart out about fearing loneliness. You left before he woke up and it was never discussed, strengthening you in your belief that he didn’t really mean it.

As you pull up at his rental home and park in the line of cars on the driveway this memory keeps playing in your mind over and over again until you step your foot inside and it gets lost in the voices of the people in there.

You are greeted by a lot of familiar faces as you know most of Shawn’s friends. Brian and Connor hugs you tight upon seeing you and while Brian rushes out to get you an alcohol free drink Connor gives you a look.

“How are you holding up?” he asks. He knows how you feel about Shawn. You didn’t tell him, he figured it out sometime when you were traveling with them on the European leg of the tour. One night he came over to your room and asked you straight forward if you had feelings for Shawn. You were so surprised you couldn’t even get out a proper answer and it gave him just the perfect reply to his question. Luckily he promised to keep your little secret and he has been your support ever since whenever it came to your feelings for Shawn.

“I’m trying,” you sigh with a tired smile. He squeezes your arm gently.

“I’m sorry you had to find out like this, I already told him it was an ass move. I think he will want to talk to you about it. I wanted to tell you myself but I felt like it’s not my territory.”

“It’s alright,” you tell him, but your stomach churns thinking about having to face Shawn and talk about Camila. You don’t feel like you’re ready for that.

It makes you angry that he always told you how he is just friends with her. You asked him several times if he had feelings for her but he always denied and yet he is still together with her now. He wasn’t honest with you and it’s just making everything worse for you.

Brian returns with you drink and the topic is dropped since he doesn’t know about your feelings. You have a nice chat with them, listening to their updates about what has been happening to them when you see Connor’s eyes look over your shoulder and the expression on his face tells you that Shawn is somewhere behind you.

When a large, familiarly warm hand touches your bare shoulder you curse yourself for not changing your tank top to something that covers more of your skin.

“Hey, when did you arrive?” he smiles down at you embracing you in a hug and you force yourself to wrap your arms around his torso.

“Not long ago. I was just catching up with these two,” you say nodding at the guys.

“Mind if I steal her for a little?” Shawn asks his friends.

“You’ll be fine,” Connor mouths to you as him and Brian leave and Shawn leads you to his bedroom so you can talk privately.

Your grip onto your drink hard, thanking Brian that he got you a glass not just a red solo cup that would have been already butchered by your nervous fingers. You don’t sit down, just stop somewhere at his dresser and turning around you wait for him to talk.

“Listen, I know I messed up. I should have told you about me and Camila earlier. But it all happened so fast and I didn’t have time to adjust.”

“You could have called me or something, a little heads-up would have been nice,” you tell him, anger and jealousy building up in you. “I had to find out that my best friend has a girlfriend from Instagram.”

“I know, and I’m sorry!” Taking a few steps towards you he stops just a couple of feet away from you, regret all over his beautiful face. “I was stupid, okay?”

“Yeah, you were,” you mumble crossing your arms on your chest.

“But you’re still my best friend and I’m telling you now. I’ll tell you all about it, filling you in on everything you want.”

You shake your head, tears forming in your eyes once again and you just hate yourself for being so emotional. Why can’t you be just cold and not care about it that much?

“Don’t,” you whisper, still shaking your head. You see his face drop as he realizes you are about to cry. Closing the distance between you and him he puts his hands on your arms and tries to look into your eyes, but you are avoiding his gaze with everything in you.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Did it upset you this much? I’m sorry, I didn’t know it would hurt you so bad,” he rambles, trying to find out what’s happening and you can’t stop your sobs. He tries to pull you to his chest to comfort you, but you push him away, almost spilling your drink on him. You don’t need his arms around you, that would just make it even more painful and you had enough for today.

“Stop it, Shawn,” you plead turning away as you wipe your cheeks.

“Talk to me, Y/N! I’m your best friend, I want to help you.”

“I can’t do this anymore.”

“Do what?” he asks confused.

���We can’t be friends anymore.”

The words almost burn your throat, never in a million years have you thought you would be saying this, especially not to Shawn. But your heart has spoken and this is the only way for you to heal. To stop acting like you’re fine, like nothing is wrong.

“What are you talking about?”

“You, I’m talking about you,” you choke out. “I can’t be friends with you because it hurts too much.”

“Is this still about me not telling you in time? Because I swear to God it wasn’t anything against you, it just slipped my mind!”

“It’s not about that. It’s about… Camila,” you say, not sure how to express yourself. Your thoughts are racing and your head is about to explode.

“You don’t like her?” he asks running his fingers through his hair and you shut your eyes closed. Why doesn’t he understand what you are trying to say?

“I don’t like her because… Because I want to be her, Shawn! Because I love you!” you exclaim, tossing your glass to the dresser and making your way past him, but he grabs your wrist and pulls you back.

“Hey, where are you going?”

His fingers wrap around your wrist desperately as his eyes widen on you.

“Home. I don’t want to be here,” you simply say.

“Wait, you can’t just say that and then leave! Let’s talk about it!”

“But I don’t want to talk.” You yank your hand out of his grip and slip out of the room before he could grab you again.

You hear him call your name, running after you but you are keen on leaving, slaloming between the guests until you make it to the door. Luckily someone holds him up, you hear him trying to excuse himself, but you are out of the house just in time, making it to your car before he could catch up with you.

He stands in the door, staring at you as you drive away, holding yourself up until he can’t see you anymore. Once you are out of his sight you let everything out. You don’t stop crying even after you get home. Shawn is blowing your phone off, but there’s no chance you are talking to him so you just simply mute it and put it to your nightstand with the screen down.

It takes some time, but all the crying and anxiousness works magic on your body, tiring you out enough to fall asleep sometime around midnight. When you wake up you feel like you’ve been ran over by a damned tractor, exhaustion is still ruling your body, but checking the time on the clock on your nightstand you see that it’s already one pm, meaning you slept for more than 12 hours straight.

Taking your time in the shower you wash your hair and condition two times before getting out from the steamy cabin. Towel wrapped around your head and a fluffy robe on you, you make your way into the kitchen when the doorbell rings.

You freeze completely. You forgot to check the texts from Shawn last night and now you are pretty sure it’s him. The bell rings again and your heart jumps. Quickly taking the towel off your head you throw it to the couch as you step to the door.

Just as you thought, a concerned and tired looking Shawn stands on your doormat, staring down at you worriedly. The dark circles under his eyes makes you think he didn’t have much sleep last night.

“Do you know how worried I was? You didn’t even let me know that you got home safely!” he scolds you, pushing his way into the house without you even inviting him in. “I was worried sick something happened to you!”

“Why would have anything happened?” you ask sighing.

“Because you left so upset, you shouldn’t have driven like that!” he growls and you almost start feeling guilty for causing him a sleepless night.

“Stop pretending like you’re my dad,” you mumble making your way into the kitchen and he follows you behind.

“I’m serious, Y/N! You can’t drop a bomb like that and then leave and not answer any of my calls!”

He is seriously mad at you, anger boiling under his skin as he towers above you. But you don’t feel like he can hold you accountable for anything at this point. You made it clear you want nothing to do with him for your own sake.

You put on some water to boil while you make yourself busy with looking through your tea filters in your little box. Shawn steps next to you, his large hand placed on the counter top.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” he asks, the anger is gone from his voice. It’s soft and comforting this time.

“And what would have I said, Shawn?” you snap at him dropping the filters from your hands and finally daring to look at him. “We were best friends, it’s not something you can just casually discuss.”

“Why are you saying that in past tense?” he asks, pain tainting his hazel eyes.

“I told you. We can’t be friends anymore, it’s too painful for me and I’m done pretending like I can deal with being around him and act like nothing is wrong.”

“If you… If you told me, we could have figured something out!”

“Figure what out, Shawn?” you ask with a sad smile. “There is nothing to figure out. You are with Camila and I’ll be fine too. Not now, but one day. I just need you to respect that I need time and distance.”

His staring down at you intensely, lips pressed together into a thin line. You wish you could read his mind, get into his head and see what’s going on in there. His lips part and you hold your breath, waiting for his reply.

“Is that really what you want? Time and distance?”

“Y-Yes,” you nod, eyes turning away from him as you can’t stand his gaze on you. You’re not sure this is what you want, fuck, you know you will suffer if you can’t talk to him and can’t see him anymore, but this is the only way you feel like you can ever get yourself over him.

He nods, clearly pissed by your decision, but he has to respect you. If you mean anything to him he’ll accept your will.

“Fine,” he simply says before just walking out of the house, slamming the door behind him, leaving you in the painful silence with your thoughts. You hold onto the edge of the countertop as you slowly process that you just lost your best friend.

 ***

 It has been the worst month of your life. Since Shawn walked out of your house he went radio silence. No texts, no calls, nothing. When you read back his desperate texts from the night before you broke down in tears again, the thought of losing him eating you up alive. But you had to move on.

There has been several times you almost called or texted him without even thinking about it, him still being the first person you want to share anything major with. But realization hit you hard every time.

You went offline for your own sake, not able to bear seeing him happy with another girl, or just seeing him at all. You have no idea what’s been happening to him and it’s been killing you, but time started to heal you slowly.

Connor hit you up a few days ago, he has been back from school and you agreed to have lunch together. He is basically the only one you kept in touch with from Shawn’s circle. Not long after Shawn’s last visit he dropped by as well, checking in on you. He stayed and listened to you for hours, crying about everything, offering support that you really needed in that moment.

“Hey, you look great!” he compliments you as you arrive to the restaurant, hugging you tightly.

“Thanks, you too!” you smile back at him taking a seat.

“So, how have you been?”

You shrug, fidgeting around with the empty wine glass on the table.

“Fine, I guess.”

“But you miss him, right?” he says your thoughts out loud. You don’t answer, just nod your head. “You haven’t talked to him since then?”

“No. Not at all,” you sigh leaning back in your seat.

“And you don’t even know what’s been going on with him?”

“Connor, can we stop talking about him?” you plead, keen on changing the topic. The thought of Shawn still makes you feel uncomfortable.

“He and Camila broke up,” he then says, making your eyes go wide.

“What?”

“Yeah, about two weeks ago. Everyone has been going nuts about it, saying that their relationship was shorter than Kim Kardashian’s shortest marriage.”

“That’s rude,” you mumble.

“Yeah, but kind of true. They didn’t even last for two months.”

You’re aching to find more out, but you’re not sure if you should ask him. Luckily, he can feel your hunger for more information so he decides to file you in.

“I don’t know exactly what went down, but I think Shawn was the one who ended it. He is not talking to us about it and I think they are done for good. Camila refuses to even talk about him, so we are kind of in the dark.”

“And how is he doing?” you ask concerned about his mental state. Even though you are in a weird place with him you still care about him a lot and love him.

“Not too good. He is mostly at home, doesn’t hang with anyone, just keeps going to the studio, recording a bunch of songs he doesn’t show to anyone.”

You are totally confused about what to think of it. His breakup with Camila took you by surprise, it’s not something you were expecting at all, seeing how happy they looked. And knowing that he is isolating himself from his friends is breaking your heart.

Shawn doesn’t get mentioned for the rest of the lunch, but your mind keeps drifting away to him from time to time. When you get back home later that day you are burning to check in on Shawn and just see how he is doing. You decide you’ve had enough time to be able to handle seeing him again so you get into your car and head over to his place.

Your nerves are burning up as you get closer and closer to him. When you park down on his driveway you need a minute in the car to collect yourself before seeing him for the first time.

“You can do this,” you peptalk yourself before heading for the front door.

The door opens before you even reach it and a messy haired Shawn appears, in a pair of sweatpants and nothing else as he stares at you like you’re a ghost.

“Hey,” you greet him shyly, his bare chest making it hard for you to focus.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

“What a nice way to greet an old friend,” you chuckle a little hurt by his tone. Realizing his not so warm welcoming he invites you inside.

“You want something to drink? Tea or coffee?”

“No thank you,” you smile politely as you sit on a stool at the kitchen island and he leans against the countertop across the room, still shooting you confused looks.

“I um… I talked to Connor today. He told me about… About you and Camila.”

“So you came here to talk about my breakup?” he asks a bit sassily.

“No! I wanted to check in on you. He said you’ve been isolating yourself.”

“So good to know my friends are going around, talking about my personal life,” he scoffs.

“It’s not like he told to some stranger, it’s just me,” you say defending Connor.

“It’s you, and you don’t want to be my friend anymore, if I remember correct.”

He is angry and you can’t decide is he is angry at you or just at the situation in general.

“Don’t be like this. You know why I said that. I needed time to—“

“Yeah!” he snaps. “You needed time and space to move on, but you never even listened to me! You just shut me out without hearing me out!”

His outburst surprises you, not knowing what to think about his anger. Hopping off of the stool you walk around the kitchen island and stop a few feet away from him, his hands gripping onto the edge of the counter furiously.

“Because I was hurt, Shawn. You have no idea what it felt like to me,” you explain. “I couldn’t just go and pretend like I was okay.”

“But this whole thing could have been avoided if you just talked to me earlier or let me talk that night, but you ran off!”

“What would have been different?” you chuckle in disbelief that he is so delusional and you continue with a raised tone as you are growing impatient with his reasoning. “I don’t think you would have ran to Camila and broke up with her because you realized you were in love with me!”

“I didn’t have to realize because I already knew it, damn it!” he snaps, voice ringing through the whole house as your stomach drops. “I’ve been in love with you for years, Y/N! And then you break down when I get together with Camila, telling me that you love me and I was so shocked because I’ve been wanting to hear you say that for so long, but that was not how I imagined it.”

You stare at him with lips parted, eyes widened and you think you’ve stopped breathing for a couple of seconds too. He takes a few deep breaths as he tries to contain his anger and then he continues in a calmer, more low-key tone.

“You didn’t even give me a chance to tell you how I feel, just wanted to get rid of me. You have no idea what I went through since then. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat for days. Camila got so mad because I told her that I can’t do it anymore. She said I was just playing with her and I swear that’s not what it was, but once I found out you have or had feelings for me I was screwed, no one else existed but you for me. She hates me now, but I couldn’t even care about it because you weren’t talking to me. I wanted to call you so many times, go to your place and tell you everything but I didn’t want to upset you. You said you needed time so I wanted to respect you. I was planning on talking to you once it was over with Camila but then I thought that what if you’ve already moved on? I didn’t want to hurt you.”

You’ve never seen him so broken, so lost and it’s all because of you. Those damn tears are back and you don’t even bother to wipe them off as you wrap your arms around his torso hugging him tight. His skin feels hot on your face, but in weeks this is the first time you feel like everything is going to be alright.

Shawn wraps his arms around you hesitantly, cheek pressed to the crown of your head. You can feel him shaking and you just want to turn back time, make yourself shut up and let him speak, sparing the hurtful time for both of you.

“I missed you so much,” he whimpers into your hair pressing a kiss to the top of your head. Leaning back you finally look into his eyes.

“But… How? When?” you ask, your mind still racing from his confession.

“Literally for years, Y/N. How can I not be in love with you? You are beautiful, funny, nice and caring, everything I’ve ever imagined about. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I always chickened out. Then… I finally built up the courage to kiss you that night. I felt like it was a turning point, like everything is about to change but I woke up and you were gone. I took it as a hint that you regretted it and wanted nothing to do with me romantically. So I never brought it up and tried to move on.”

“You dumb shit, I thought you kissed me out of pity!” you say slamming your hands on his chest, your palms staying there as you let out a shaky chuckle.

“Pity? I was literally a puddle that night, so whipped for you and so happy when you kissed me back! There was no pity in that!”

You shake your head in disbelief. So much could have been different if only you and him talked.

“So… What now?” you ask, your fingers gently stroking the base of his neck.

He tugs your hair behind your ear, leaning down and resting his forehead against yours.

“Have you moved on? Or do you still love me?” he breathes out.

“Of course I love you. It’s not something that changes over night.”

“Over night? It has been a month,” he chuckles.

“One month is nothing compared to the years I went through loving you,” you whisper as you cup his cheeks in your palms.

“Then let’s start with this,” he replies and his lips are pressed against yours.

He kisses you hard and passionate, putting every emotion into it and you return it just as enthusiastically, arms wrapped around his neck as his lips work perfectly against yours and then his lips part from your, but only to kiss you again and again and… again.

[rosethornewrites]

Fic: Love Language, ch. 6

[stahlop]

Once Upon a Time 2x07 “Child of the Moon” Review

Reviews 1x01 1x02 1x03 1x04 1x05 1x06 1x07 1x08 1x09 1x10 1x11 1x12 1x13 1x14 1x15 1x16 1x17 1x18 1x19 1x20 1x21 1x22 2x01 2x02 2x03 2x04 2x05 2x06

We get some more backstory about Red and see why she and Snow are such good friends. And Spencer goes off the rails by murder Gus Gus, in order to make David look bad. Looks like some old grudges can’t be let go of even after the curse.

Summary: Red meets a pack of werewolves led by her thought to be dead mother. In Storybrooke, when someone from Ruby’s past is murdered, she thinks she has killed him as the wolf.

Opening: Red walking in the woods.

New Characters:

Anita: So Red’s mother is… something. Apparently, Granny stole Red from her as a baby. No word as to what happened to Red’s father. Also, not sure if Anita is Granny’s daughter or Red’s father was. Granny and Ruby share the same last name in SB, but that doesn’t mean anything. So, Anita is the leader of a pack of wolves that finds Red. Anita doesn’t seem to have a lot of motherly qualities. She is certainly a good leader, telling her pack what they want to hear. She tells Red that if you give into the wolf you can be in control of it when you change, but if you feel like the wolf invades you, then you’ll black out and just be the wolf. Good advice. Red follows it and remembers her time as the wolf that night.  But Red sees Anita’s true nature later on. Anita considers herself a wolf above being a human. Granny had taken Red away to try and keep her human, rather than deal with being the wolf. When Snow finds her way into the lair, Anita wants Red to kill her because that’s what wolves do (this after Red is still traumatized over killing Peter). Red kills her mother instead (on accident). Snow is the only one who saw her as both a human being and a wolf, which is what she is. I get that Anita feels that the wolf is part of her the whole time, but trying to get the daughter you just reunited with after 20 some odd years to try and kill her best friend, is not the best way to get her to accept you as her mother.

Character Observations:

Red/Ruby: This is Red’s journey from fearing the wolf that is inside of her to accepting the wolf that is inside of her, and not accepting that she has to be one or the other. She and Snow are running from the Evil Queen’s guards when Red tears her cloak. She’s afraid that it might not work with the tear so she asks Snow to leave her for the night and find her at the stream the next morning. Snow doesn’t want to leave her friend and Red questions why Snow is so nice to her after the Peter incident. Snow says being a wolf isn’t who she is. There’s our theme for the episode Oncers! Red awakens the next morning and doesn’t seem to have changed, so now we know that her cloak is fine even when torn. She goes to the stream to meet Snow and takes of her cloak to clean up a bit when a random guy runs by and steal it! Red is freaking the F out because she doesn’t want to change and put anyone in danger. Random guy threatens to burn the cloak (who raised this gay, a pack of wo…, oh, never mind), and says he recognizes her as a wolf, which causes Red to knock him down. She wants to know how he knows that. He knocks her onto her back and says he can always recognize a child of the moon (is that really what they call themselves?), and then his eyes glow. Red realizes he’s a wolf too. His name is Quinn and he realizes no one taught her how to be a wolf. Red backstories that her parents were killed by hunters. Quinn tells her she can be in control as the wolf so he takes her to a secret underground lair where other werewolves hang out. Their leader is a woman named Anita, who also happens to be Red’s mother!!! Red now realizes Granny, the person who raised her, lied to her her whole life. First about being a werewolf, and then about her parents being dead. Anita tells Red Granny stole her away when she was a baby. Anita tells Red in order to control the wolf the first thing she needs to do is get rid of her cloak. Red is scared to, but eventually she drops it and gives her mom a big ole hug. Anita explains the ins and outs of how to control the wolf (complete with footage of Red and the other wolves running in the forest) and Red is ecstatic that she remembers everything from that night the next morning. Snow tracks Red to the lair, because she was worried when she didn’t meet her. Quinn thinks she’s a spy until Red tells them Snow is her friend. Quinn says they’re part of Red’s pack. Snow wants Red to leave with her, but Red wants to stay, especially since her mother is there.  Snow completely understands, and then an arrow randomly shoots out of nowhere and hits Quinn in the chest. The Evil Queen’s guards followed Snow there. The wolves take them out easily. Anita wants to kill Snow since she lead the guards to them, and she wants Red to do it. Red is horrified. The whole reason she wanted to control the wolf is so she wouldn’t kill anyone, and now her mother is basically telling her to murder her best friend. WTF Anita? Anita says she’ll kill her instead and Red attacks Anita (both in wolf form) and accidentally impales her. Anita tells her she chose Snow, but Red says she chose not to be a killer. Big difference there, Anita. Red buries her mother and Snow says she’s sorry, because she knows what it’s like to lose family. But Red informs Snow that she didn’t lose her family, she protected it, because Snow is her family. Awww. Snow is her family because she’s the only one who won’t make her choose between being the wolf and being Red, because Snow knows she is both. 

Ruby is having a tough time. She’s afraid that, because her wolfiness has been suppressed for 28 years, she won’t remember how to control the wolf in her and she’ll hurt someone. Um, Ruby, wasn’t that the first thing you learned, don’t fear the wolf, let it take you over and then you’ll be in control? I’m no werewolf, but that seems pretty cut and dry. Billy, from The Price of Gold comes by to tell her he was Cinderella’s mouse, Gus, back in the EF. He’d like to take her out on a date that night. Dude, play it cool, never ask out for that night. Ruby tries to think of an excuse as to why she can’t without revealing she’ll be howling at the moon. Belle saves her by saying they’re going to have a girl’s night. Belle wonders why she doesn’t want to go out with him as he seems nice, but Ruby, checking the clock, says it’s complicated. Granny is welding a cage for Ruby in the back in the freezer? It looks like a storage area, but they ask David if he knows anyone who wants 37 frozen lasagnas, so, i’m not sure where they’re making her cage. Either way, they’re making it in the kitchen for some reason. I guess all the stainless steel. Doesn’t seem very hygienic. David wonders why she doesn’t just use her cloak, but neither she nor Granny have seen it. Ruby assumes it didn’t come over in the curse. She goes into the cage. The next morning the cage door is off its hinges and there are claw marks all over the kitchen and Ruby is missing. David and Granny find her asleep in the woods. Ruby doesn’t remember anything because she was too afraid and let the wolf control her instead of the other way around. David brings Granny and Ruby with him to check out a double parked car. Ruby smells blood. They find half of Billy under the front of his car and the other half elsewhere. Ruby is screaming that the wolf killed him. Ruby wants David to lock her in jail. David assumes it’s because she thinks she killed Billy and tries to convince her otherwise, Ruby wants to be in jail to protect the town from herself. Ruby ends up moving herself to the library because Spencer brings a mob to the sheriff’s station. She chains herself to the fire hose. They thank Belle and Ruby calls herself a monster, but Belle doesn’t believe that. Ruby tells Belle she should leave when she transforms, but Belle doesn’t want to. She reiterates to Ruby that everyone sees the good in her and she needs to see it too (listen to her Ruby, she’s dating the Dark One). Ruby looks like she’s going to hug Belle but chains her up instead. Ruby wants the town to catch her and kill her and Belle can’t stop her. What? A minute ago Ruby just wanted to be locked up so she didn’t hurt anyone else and now she wants the town to kill her? David and Granny figure out who actually killed Billy so David goes to save Ruby, who is now in wolf form, from Spencer and the angry mob. He calms her down enough to put her cloak on her. Ruby and David run off to find Spencer. She tracks him down with her wolf scent. And then has to tell David not to become a killer when Spencer goads David into trying to kill him. Back at the loft, Ruby lifts up David’s spirits by telling him he can do anything he sets his mind to and then asks him to go rescue Belle in the library. She’s not afraid of the wolf anymore, so she’s going to go run.

David: The dwarfs have finally found the diamonds they need to make fairy dust so hopefully, David can get the hat working by the next morning. But he’s going to have to deal with Spencer first. Spencer wants to expose David so no one will follow him. He bad guy monologues a bit more, telling David he’s not fit to run the town, and David disagrees because the townspeople seem to like him. Plus, he doesn’t keep secrets from the town. David basically lays down a challenge to Spencer to hit him with his best shot. He’ll win. David goes into the back and sees Granny making a cage for Ruby. He’s confused as Ruby had a handle on her wolfiness back in the EF. He tells her that he and Snow trusted her and she should trust in herself. The next day Billy is murdered and Ruby thinks she did it as a wolf. David continues to tell her she didn’t do it and not to blame herself until he figures out what happened. Basically, David keeps telling Ruby she didn’t do it, Ruby doesn’t believe him and makes stupid decisions, and Spencer keeps goading David. He is also stupid because he doesn’t lock up the damn magic hat. Granny and David eventually find Spencer’s car and find that he has so thoughtfully kept all the tools for framing Ruby in the trunk of his car so that David can out him. I’m getting the feeling David doesn’t understand basic police procedures because you can’t just pop someone’s trunk to look for evidence. And considering Spencer is the District Attorney, David has no probable cause, because I don’t think Granny smelling Billy will hold up in court. Of course, this is Storybrooke, so I’m sure they have to have some type of magical court of law now that magic is back in town. David finally convinces Ruby, in wolf form, that she didn’t kill anyone and that it was Spencer, and David also figures out that Spencer framed poor Ruby just to make David look bad and so Spencer could rile up the town and garner support to be the town leader. Ruby and David track Spencer to the beach where he has a nice little fire going and burns Jefferson’s magic hat, preventing David from using the fairy dust to fix it so he can get to Mary Margaret and Emma.  David’s about ready to kill Spencer, but Ruby tells him not to, and that calms him enough. David laments to Ruby about how he’s going to have to tell Henry that he won’t ever see his mother and grandmother again, but Ruby says he’ll find a way.

Spencer: He’s an ass. Plain and simple. He’s a classic villain in this episode. He’s pissed because David had defeated him in the EF and now that he’s free, he wants to bring David down. And he almost does it. Luckily, for just being a shepherd, David exposes Spencer and brings him down. Spencer is stupid enough to just leave all the damning evidence in the trunk of his car. Seriously, he has the foresight to try and frame Ruby in a variety of ways and somehow finds her cloak and keeps it from her, but he just leaves it all in the trunk of his car? Unfortunately, David doesn’t save Jefferson’s hat from Spencer burning it. So, Spencer does win on that front.

Snow: We see that Snow is a very good friend to Ruby. It’s not certain how long after we saw Red in Red Handed that this episode takes place, but it’s at least one moon cycle since Snow discovered Ruby’s a werewolf. And given that Ruby is now calling her Snow (instead of Mary),Snow happens to have much better fighting skills, and there are now wanted posters of Snow up in the forest, I’m going to assume it’s more than just one moon cycle. Anyway, they separate because Red cloak tore and she’s afraid the magic won’t hold. We don’t see Snow until a day later when she tracks Red to the sunken castle. Unfortunately, the Evil Queen’s guards followed her, but the wolf pack kills them right away. Snow is totally on board with Red staying with her mother because she would give anything to have more time with her mother. But, because Snow unwittingly brought the guards into the wolf's lair, Anita tells Red to kill her. Red is unwilling to kill her only friend, especially one who believes in her, so she stops Anita from killing her and accidentally kills her mother in the process. Snow is genuinely sorry that Red had to kill her family, but Red insists that Snow is more her family than Anita was because Snow didn’t make her choose between being a wolf and being human. Snow just accepts that she is both.

Henry/Aurora: They again see each other in the Burning Red Room. Henry actually wakes up with a burn on his hand after being there, so Regina brings Gold over to find out what’s happening. Gold explains what actually happens to people in a sleeping curse and that it is, in fact, a real realm between life and death. Sometimes people still find their way there in their sleep. Gold gives Henry an amulet that will help him control what happens in his sleep. The next time he’s there he comes across Aurora and is able to keep the flames at bay. Aurora wakes up screaming for Snow. She tells Mary Margaret and Emma that she talked to the boy in the Burning Red Room and his name is Henry.

Questions:

Why did some animals become human (Gus), but others stayed animals (Pongo)? Was Pongo in the EF, or is he just something provided to Archie during the curse?

Granny freezes her lasagna.

Is there a certain point of the moon rising that Ruby turns into a wolf? She’s freaking out about her cloak being torn when it’s already dark out. If she was going to turn, wouldn’t that have happened when the cloak was torn?

Why is there a wanted poster of Snow hanging randomly in the forest? It’s not even on a path or road.

Why didn’t Granny watch the cage like she used to watch Red’s room in the EF? Also, we see lots of examples of Granny’s super hearing, did she seriously not hear Ruby escape in the middle of the night?

Has David really come to trust Regina enough that he leaves Henry in her care?

I realize a double parked car is not pressing sheriff business, but is it not unprofessional to bring civilians on official sheriff business?

If all magic comes with a price, how come Gold says that there won’t be one for Henry? Does he have control over what the price is?

Was Red’s dad a werewolf too? What happened to him?

The wolves live in an abandoned sunken castle. What happened to the kingdom that castle once belonged to?

A walk-in freezer didn’t hold Ruby in wolf form, how does she think a metal pole in the library would?

Aren’t wolves supposed to have super hearing? How did they not hear the Evil Queen’s guards come in?

How long after Red finding out she’s a wolf does this take place? Because Snow seems to be much more adept at fighting by this point.

What happened to the rest of the pack when Red killed Anita? They were just there helping to tie up Snow.

How did Spencer know where David hid the hat? Did he just search David’s office?

What did David do with Spencer? Is he in jail now?

How did Ruby make it from the loft door to the outside of the apartments without turning into a wolf? I thought once the cloak was off it was automatic werewolf mode. Also, her howl is really far away after she closes the outside door.

Observations:

When Ruby looks at the clock it is 8:20 PM. Depending on when in April or May it is (see timeline below), she has anywhere from 2 minutes to an hour before sunset. Considering she goes into the cage almost immediately, I’m going to say it’s sometime between mid April and the first week of May.

Henry is drinking coffee to try and stay awake.

The false lashes on the women this season are insane. I thought Red was going to fly away on hers they were so long.

The wolves live in the former grand hall of a castle that sunk underground.

How convenient that Ruby happened to get out of her cage when Spencer decided to kill Billy and make it look like a wolf had done it. What if she hadn’t gotten out of her cage, what would he have done then? 

The symbol that Red puts on her mother’s grave is the same symbol on the charm Gold gives Henry to be aware of and control what is happening in his dream.

Aurora calls Mary Margaret, Snow. 

Timeline:

Small thing, but Snow says she went looking for Red after she failed to meet her at the stream that morning. But Red went through the whole remembering while the wolf revelation, so it’s technically been two days since Snow and Red were supposed to meet.

David says it’s been a few months since Mary Margaret was accused of killing Kathryn, so let’s see how that matches up. Mary Margaret was accused about a week or so after Valentine’s Day, in early March at the latest. The 5-6 episodes that went with Kathryn’s death and then finding her alive were only about a week to a week and a half, maybe 2 weeks if we really want to stretch it. The 4 episodes after that might have taken 2 weeks to a month. At the most, we’re 2 months past when Mary Margaret was accused of killing Kathryn. It’s only been about a week since the curse broke and Emma and Mary Margaret went in the hat. So, David’s kind of right. That would make it about April or May, even though Granny had pumpkins out 2 episodes ago.

An okay episode. The wolf pack really seemed like a cult, and I really didn’t like that that’s the direction they took with it. They’re only a werewolf 3 times a month (I think they’re doing the nights before and after the full moon as well when they change), so that’s 36 night out of 356 that they are actually a wolf, so why is that all they believe themselves to be? At least we found out how Red learned to control being the wolf. Is this something Granny never learned? Spencer is just a villain with no depth and I really hope we don’t have to see him again. And, we now know that Aurora and Henry can communicate in the Burning Red Room, so this can be the way that Mary Margaret and Emma get home.

Please leave comments and reblog! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future reviews.

@searchingwardrobes​​ @thisonesatellite​​ @justbecauseyoubelievesomething​​ @laschatzi​​ @profdanglaisstuff​ @mariakov81​

[onthepageoftears]

Sick Day (Otis Milburn x Reader)//Sex Education

A/N: This was supposed to be posted tomorrow, but I just got to 100 subscribers! So, as a special (really small) celebration, I thought I would post it today! Enjoyyyy and thank you all for showing support!

Request: Hi! I love your stuff can I please get an Otis imagine where he is sick and reader takes care of him. Thanks 😇😇😇😇

Warnings: fluffffffff Im gonna choke on all the fluff

Words: 1,062

Please Do Not Plagiarize My Work!

(there are not enough otis gifs i swear)

Your face was filled with concern as you walked to Otis’ door, holding a basket full of food by your side. With a deep breath, you lightly knocked on the door in front of you, “Otis?”

All you heard was a groan in response.

“Otis, I’m coming in.” You turned the knob slowly and opened the door to near complete disaster; you almost didn’t see the floor from all the tissues thrown on it, and in the middle of Otis’ bed was a huge pile of blankets. Taking step in the room, you looked for your boyfriend. “Otis?”

A gasp escaped your lips as you heard mumbling coming from the pile on the bed. Slowly, you made your way over to it, tapping gently on the big mass. “Otis.”

“What? ”

“It’s Y/N.” Suddenly, the pile of blankets moved, and after a few seconds of commotion, Otis’ head emerge out of the mess. He had a very red nose and peaked at you through sleepy eyes; his hair was sorting out in every which way, and you smiled at his frazzled face.

“Y/N. What are you-“ he frowned, and you tried to not swoon at how hoarse his voice was. It took him a second to understand what was happening, but once he did, his eyes widened, a look of horror filling his face. “Our date. Oh my god. I completely forgot.” He starting pulling the blankets off himself, but you shook your head and pushed his body back into the bed.

“Otis. It’s okay. You need to rest.”

“But we planned this for weeks.”

He was right. You two had talked about having a gorgeous picnic in your favorite park for quite some time now. But with everything going on on your lives, it was hard to find the right time to do it. Eventually, you both decided that this weekend would be the perfect getaway, and you would finally have some quality time by yourselves.

But now, looking at the boy in front of you, it was obvious that those plans would have to wait. He could barely keep his eyes open, and he looked even more frail than usual.

“You look like you’re about to pass out and sneeze at the same time.” You said, smiling at the defeated look in his face.“Besides, today feels like more of a chill day.”

Otis went to speak, probably to try and convince you to leave him to suffer, but he stopped once you placed the back of your hand on his forehead, eyes widening at how warm it was. “Jean told me you were sick, but not how sick.” Noticing the basket still in your hands, you turned towards the door. “I’m gonna put this downstairs, and then I’ll help clean up this war zone a bit.”

“Wait-“ Otis tried to argue, but you were already out the door. You heard his groan of frustration behind you, along with the echo of a sneeze. Soon you were shoving food into Otis’ fridge, trying not to drool at the goods you cooked for hours on end. Not going on the picnic was a bummer, but it wasn’t like you couldn’t see Otis at all. Besides, he had a good reason; you knew if you were this sick, you probably wouldn’t even want to do anything but sleep.

Plus, Otis felt bad about being sick, which is the last thing a sick person needs. The best you could do was help him while he was sick. Luckily, you had made some soup for your picnic (though your friend said that was a dumb idea, you were glad you did it now) and you heated it up before going back up to Otis’ room.

He was in the same position you left him in, but his eyes were closed. You quietly put the soup on his side table and began cleaning up the mass of tissues.

“Is this from the picnic?” He asked after a while, and you sent him a smile as you threw away the last of the tissues.

“Yeah. It should still be warm.” He took the bowl and slowly sipped at the edge. He let out a satisfied hum and drank some more. “I’m guessing it came out okay?”

“More than okay.”

For the rest of the day, you lay next to Otis on his bed and let him get his rest. He would snuggle into your side and fall asleep, leaving you to watch the TV and try not to have your heart explode by how cute he was. Occasionally, Jean would come in to check on you two, and Otis would either be dead asleep or too tired to be embarrassed by the fact you were in the same bed.

It was nearly 7 pm when Otis pushed half the blankets off his bed and stretched his long limbs out. He was finally well rested, it seemed, and he turned to you with a smile.

“I’m already feeling better,” he said, and he was right: his nose was not nearly as red as it was that morning, and his eyes weren’t as heavy or glossed over.

“Good.” You smiled and played with his hand, tracing small patterns on his palm.

He tapped your arm lightly with his other hand, and when you looked up at him, you saw the regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry we couldn’t go on our picnic.”

“That’s okay.” Your smile widened as you took his hand in yours, blush rising in your cheeks. “Spending time with you is always great. No matter what it is we’re doing.”

A shy smile formed on Otis’ face and he leaned forward to plant a kiss on your lips. But right before he did, you pushed him away softly. “Um.” You grinned at the confusion that clouded his face. “You’re still sick.”

“Oh.” He moved away from you, cheeks growing redder than before. “Right. Sorry.”

“That’s okay.” You nudged him in the shoulder, a sigh escaping your lips.

“Thanks for taking care of me, by the way.” Otis spoke sincerely and you wished you could kiss him so bad.

“No problem. I want you to know that…if i….” You sneezed, nearly knocking the wind out of you. As soon as you recovered, you sent Otis a glare.

He smiled guiltily. “Bless you?”

“Otis, I swear to god-”