#the window blinds were open and i uh forgot

[panb1mbo]

flashed the entire neighborhood my titties but not on purpose jkfsdfs

[base0h]

Meeting his parents

a/n - can we please take time to imagine what meeting corazon would be like 😭

Warnings ⚠️ - g/n reader, modern au, (dragon is out getting the milk so garp is here instead)

- garp told him to wait until he was 30 to start dating

- he didn’t listen

- “Luffy I don’t know if I should meet your grandpa if he was against you dating..”

- “Oh trust me! He’s gonna like you! Hehe :)”

- you were nervous- all Luffy’s told you about him was that Garp used to beat him up ALL the time (and he still does)

- as you guys walked up towards his house, you could see two people scurrying away from the window, a blonde guy, and a black haired one

- you were concerned- but didn’t pay much attention, maybe those two were Luffy’s older brothers

- as Luffy unlocked the door, the two boys were waiting there with crossed arms, “Luffy?? Who’s that??” The black haired one asked with an eyebrow raised

- “don’t be mean ace.” The blonde one pushed him away before outstretching his hand with a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you! I’m sabo, that’s ace, and we’re Luffy’s older brothers.”

- Aw, sabo seemed like such a polite guy! Very different from Luffy.. Someone cleared their throat, a large figure looking down at you, a shadow covering you. Oh god. Your fate was sealed. Luffy’s grandpa was going to punch the shit out of you, and you weren’t even 18 yet!

- Sabo and Ace looked fearful as they stood off to the side, staring up at their grandpa. The atmosphere was dark, so heavy and intimidating.

- even Luffy wasn’t talking… It seemed as though their grandpa was quite the scary guy-

- you contemplated running away, but from the looks of it, you knew that the man would probably be able to catch you within two seconds

- “Uh… Hi? I’m- y/n… The one that’s dating luffy… Nice to m-meet you.”

- you were stuttering, your hands shaking as your eyes begged his grandpa not to kick your ass to the moon

- “LUFFY.” His voice echoed throughout the neighborhood, you turned around to see the neighbors running into their homes, shutting all the doors and windows

- WHAT THE FUCK? WERE YOU GOING TO DIE??

- Sweat beads formed on your nose and forehead as you clenched your hands into tight fists, praying to god that you wouldn’t get to meet Jesus today

- “Why didn’t you introduce me sooner?! Y/n seems like a very polite person! UNLIKE YOU!” Garp smacked the shit out of your boyfriend angrily before smiling at you, holding his hand out for a handshake

- You were going to faint, you hadn’t been breathing throughout this entire interaction out of pure fear. “It’s a pleasure to meet you y/n! You’re welcome to come inside!” Garp said with a grin, beckoning for you to come inside

- omfg you swore you almost shit your pants. But as the night went on, Garp was actually a very friendly grandpa! (But he beat up ace, sabo, and mostly Luffy the entire night)

- Law was hesitant to bring you over to his house, but you weren’t sure why..

- Was his house messy? Were his parents mean? Or maybe he was embarrassed of bringing you over??

- the thoughts circled your mind, and soon enough, you heard the doorbell ring. You were surprised Law didn’t just open the door himself, but maybe he just forgot his keys

- you swore you heard something breaking apart inside, as well as a thump against the floor that shook the entire house

- um… that wasn’t normal, right?

- law looked annoyed, sighing as he rested his disappointed face in his hands. The door opened, revealing a literal GIANT??

- you had to crane your neck up just to see this man’s face! He bent down to the doorway, and his smile almost blinded you with kindness

- “Ahh! You must be y/n!!! Oh my gosh! I’ve heard so much about you!!” He said, almost bouncing up and down in the air

- oh my gosh- this guy was SO excited. It made you so happy to see that Law’s dad was this happy to see you :)

- “Cora-san, did you break the oven again?”

- “Uh. No.. It was already broken! I swear.”

- poor law, maybe this was why your poor boyfriend was always so stressed. You smiled awkwardly at the tall guy, introducing yourself even though he already knew who you were

- “Law’s been telling me ALLL about you. He talks about you a lot.”

- “SHH! No I don’t!”

- “Oh come on! You said y/n is the most amazing person you’ve met!”

- “CORA-SAN SHUT UP!”

- Aw, Law talked about you?? That was enough to make you blush, “Awww you talk about me???”

- You and corazon were going to be the death of this man, and throughout the night, Corazon asked all about your hobbies and stuff. He wanted to know EVERYTHING. And I mean, literally everything about you

- “Oh my god. So- law still sleeps with his germa figures, you didn’t hear it from me!”

- “OMG REALLY?”

- law will chase Corazon around with a pan to get him to shut the fuck up. But it never worked, you learned many secrets about law that night

- “ALSO HE REALLY LIKES IT WHEN YOU SEND HIM THOSE MUSIC PLAYLISTSSS!! LAW DONT KILL ME!”

- “THEN SHUT UP IF YOU DONT WANT ME TO KILL YOU!”

- “YOU LIKE MY PLAYLISTS?!”

- also quick reminder that Doffy was there and remained quiet the whole time, watching chaos unfold while he sipped his wine 💀

- Ace was so excited to bring you over, he ALWAYS talked about how cool his mom was. He never talked about his dad, but referred to someone as “pops”. Maybe that was his dad?

- “My mom’s going to love you y/n, don’t be nervous!”

- how could you not be nervous??? Ace told you he had 1666 brothers?! Wtf??

- as you two walked up the pathway to his house, you noticed a beat up white van in the driveway… It looked especially good for kidnapping kids- and giving away free candy..

- Ace opened the door, and literally a MOB. I mean a MOB of people crowded around you two with giddy smiles. They were definitely expecting your arrival..

- “Hi y/n! We’re Ace’s brothers :))” -all of them

- ….wtf

- Ace could tell you were overwhelmed, you looked like you were about to faint! “Ok guys- maybe some space would be nice??” They listened to Ace, and backed off, a woman stepped forward, and she had the same freckles as ace! Must be his mom :)

- “Ah! Y/n! It’s so lovely to meet you.” His mom was so pretty!! She had long pink hair, brown eyes, and the same freckles around her nose and cheeks like ace

- You smiled politely and introduced yourself to Ace’s enormous family. You didn’t see Ace’s pops, but maybe he was just busy

- “I never thought- that someone would fall in love with ace.” *dramatic sniffle* -Marco

- “Huh?! What’s that supposed to mean Marco?!” -Ace

- Ace’s mom took you aside as the two kept fighting, and had a nice little chat. She asked about how you were doing, and what you liked to do in your free time.

- “I’m so glad Ace found you! He really cares about you- and he talks about you all the time! He kept telling me how amazing, kind, and talented you were :) also I’m super grateful for you helping him to stay awake in class… I’ve gotten many parent teacher conferences because of it..” Rouge was such a kind person, and you were so happy that Ace thought you were that amazing

- and yes, Ace did fall asleep a lot in class, so it became your job to wake him up before the teacher did.. It’s helped his grades a lot 👌

- overall, you mostly just chatted with Rouge while Ace’s brothers bombarded him with questions about you

- roger is out getting the milk with dragon btw

a/n - Corazon is totally your law gossip bestie now

[mncxbe]

Hiii !! Can you write an akutagawa x PM!fem reader smut where reader is his and gin's friend from the slums that survived and never left their side?

Omg I love this idea♡ ok so basically they all live together in a nice little apartment that's it. enjoy♡♡

°☆●

Angelina? Is that you?

𝑨𝒌𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒘𝒂 𝒙 𝒇𝒆𝒎! 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: smut♡/ subby Aku manspreading

It's been years since you've moved in with the Akutagawa siblings in that pretty apartment complex in the heart of Yokohama. The condo you shared wasn't big, but there was enough space for everyone to do their thing. Or so you thought-

Akutagawa would beg to differ. One would say that living with two girls is bound to be bothersome, but truth was that only you were the problem. Every time he passed by your room the faint smell of cheap cigarettes and perfume trickled deep into his lungs, making his head spin.

What was worse was your habit of always scattering your belongings all over the place; a lipbalm and a hairtie on the kitchen counter, half-read books annotated with purple note tabs under pillows on the couch, unpaired socks and lacey gloves on the ground somewhere near the entrance hall and empty cups of saccharine coffee- smeared with your signature dark red rouge at the brim.

Still, no matter how many times he asked you not to smoke inside, to stop leaving your clothes strewn all over the place or to wash the dishes you just wouldn't listen to him.

For a while, Akutagawa resolved to be the better man. He pretended not to notice your untidiness, turned a blind eye for a while; but when he found one of your bras hanged prettily on the bathroom knob he just couldn't help but snap.

Stomping off to your bedroom he flung the door open and stepped inside, holding your lacey lingerie in his hand.

"Care the explain this?" he spat, brows furrowing in annoyance.

From your place on the windowsill you turned your head to face him, lips curling into a sly smile when you noticed his expression.

"Oops. Sorry, I forgot about that" you shrugged, rolling the filter of your cigarette between two slender fingers.

The light autumn breeze that entered the room through the open window sent a chill down Akutagawa's spine. How could you sit in that cold wearing only a tank top and some shorts?

"Don't apologize again, idiot" he huffed, discarding the bra on your ruffled bedsheets. "You always do that"

"Look, I had a shitty day so give me a break." you replied nonchalantly as you held his cold gaze. Your attitude made Akutagawa's blood boil and it took all the willpower he had not to shove you out of the window right then and there.

Instead, he gritted his teeth, clenching his fists until his nails left crescent marks on the calloused palms of his hands; the familiar tingle of pain soothing his nerves.

"And do I look like I care about that? If you wanna complain about your day go talk to Gin"

"She's not home though" you noted, beckoning him to come closer. "Would it hurt if you spent some time with me?"

"I uh... Have some plans" he replied plainly, gaining a soft giggle from you.

"Yea, yea sure. I bet you do. Now come here"

Although he didn't appreciate your mocking tone, Akutagawa closed the distance between you and took a seat on the wide windowsill. For a few moments you stood in silence, unfocused gaze following the flow of glowing vehicles outside. It was only 8 p.m but the sun was long gone, seemingly swallowed by the dark night sky.

"So..." you eventually spoke "How was your day? It's been a while since we spent some time like this, just us"

Akutagawa rolled his eyes and coughed dryly when a coil of smoke from your cigarette reached his nostrils.

"Fucking hell... I wonder why" he cursed, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

You flicked the fag out of the window with a sigh before leaning your head against the frame; seemingly unaware of Akutagawa's gaze on you. His sharp eyes traced the line of your neck down to your collarbones, pale skin standing out against the black fabric of your tank top and... a chuckled rolled past your lips.

"You're staring"

"No, I'm not." he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes you are" you pressed, smile widening.

"You're so annoying I swear. I wonder how you haven't gotten yourself killed in the Mafia with that attitude of yours"

You simply shrugged in response, shifting closer to him to run a finger down his bare forearm.

"I may be annoying but you still like me and you can't deny that. I mean, you wouldn't let me live with you if you really hated me that much"

Akutagawa flinched under your touch, a soft blush tinting his face when he became aware of the closeness between the two of you. The room seemed smaller, heavy air pressing down on his chest- causing him to inhale sharply.

"I let you live with us because you pay your bills"

"Sure, sure. Keep telling that to yourself."

Somewhere in the distance a siren echoed through the night; a short pause that allowed the man to collect his thoughts. He stepped away from the window and flopped onto the bed, eyes fluttering shut.

"Look, I've had a shitty day too and I'm in no mood for your jokes. So do us both a favour and shut up"

You ignored the last part of his comment and walked in front of him, a smile plastered on your face. He looked so precious like that, limbs spread on your bed like a starfish; but still you could sense the exhaustion and frustration oozing out of him.

Akutagawa only opened his eyes when he felt your hands resting atop his thighs, nails softly grazing the fabric of his pants.

"The hell are you-" he whined, propping himself up on an arm but was quickly cut off by your shushing.

"You said you're stressed, I can make it better" you smiled from between his legs and Akutagawa swore he could feel his erection throbbing.

"I told you not to play around" he hissed again but you only chuckled in response. You tilted your head to the side, slightly rubbing your cheek on his inner thigh; doe eyes searching for some sort of confirmation in his.

Akutagawa's mouth felt dry, words stuck in the back of his throat. And what could he say? How could he even say anything when you were this close, when he could breathe in that sweet, sickening perfume of yours and see his reflection in your eyes? No, there was nothing he could say, so he simply turned his head to the side, focusing his eyes on one of the books on your nightstand.

"Just do your thing"

You hummed a low thank you before slowly sliding your hands up his legs to his belt. He let out a content sigh and lifted his hips off the mattress to allow you to take off his pants; fingers squeezing the sheets into a crumpled mess when you palmed his erection.

"Oh wow you really are in need of a helping hand" you teased, earning a half smile from him.

Akutagawa's hand came to rest on the back of your head, fingers combing through your hair with a gentleness he didn't know he was capable of. He was doing his best to hold it together, not to show how flustered your touch made him when you pulled down his slacks and rubbed your thumb over his sensitive tip.

And truth was that each touch or little sound you made as you took him in your mouth made his composure crumble. If it were anyone other than you he'd push them away- but you? you were too familiar and inviting, a luxury he secretely craved yet never afforded.

Gazing down at your pretty lips wrapped around his length as you bobbed your head up and down, hands neatly squeezing the pale skin of his thighs; he could feel a familiar warmth pooling in his core.

The hand that rested on your head pressed down lightly, forcing his dick down your throat and you choked, earning a chuckle from him.

"Sorry pretty you just feel too good" he groaned, lust clouding his eyes as he kept working your head up and down his length.

Akutagawa felt his high slowly building up, lashes fluttering shut from the pleasure; mindless praise and groans rolling past his lips as you coaxed the orgasm out of him. And when he came he came hard, hips bucking upwards, spilling his cum down your throat. He opened his eyes just in time to see you swallow, tears starting to dry on your flushed cheeks and he felt his heart sink. You looked so pretty like this.

Before he got the chance to say anything you swiftly climbed on top of him on the mattress, caging him between your arms.

"So, feeling better sweetie?" you smiled with sparkles of mischief in your eyes and he couldn't help but smile.

One of his hands traced the outline of your body up to your jaw, thumb gently tapping your bottom lip.

"You know, I do like it better you when you shut up" he added and you parted your lips, allowing him to slip his finger into your mouth. Akutagawa felt himself getting hard again just at the sensation of your tongue rolling around his thumb.

Hooking a finger under the waistband of your shorts he pulled them down, sliding them off your legs before dipping two fingers into your sopping cunt.

"Jesus Christ you're so wet f'me aren't ya? What would Gin say if she knew how desperate you are to fuck me?" he chuckled, mimicking your playful tone but you only hummed in reponse.

His thumb finally left your mouth and moved between your bodies to draw lazy circles on your puffy clit, making you shudder lightly.

As he alligned himself to your entrance you leaned in and pulled him into a passionate kiss, sliding your fingers through his hair; and you sinked low until he bottomed out.

Akutagawa gasped from the tight squeeze of your velvety walls, nails sinking into the plush of your thighs to help ground himself. By the time you actually started rolling your hips against his he was already on cloud nine, all thoughts blurring into a honeyed mess that spilled from his lips in moans and sultry groans. You felt like a sweet heaven, clenching on him more and more with each of his sloppy thrusts.

And that, that was a feeling he could get used to. And if it meant he had to put up with your messy self for it, he would gladly do so.

[mara-and-its-the-same]

It would appear that I've had this posted to AO3 for 5 months but I just forgot to post it here. Part 2 to Smile

CW: Swearing, almost kidnapping but she changes her mind and goes with them anyway even though they tell her she can go. I dont know man, i wrote this in the summer, the heat was getting to me But i think its good so have fun

You’d been driving for longer than you cared to realize with Tangerine’s foot pressed all the way to the floor. Lemon seemed much friendlier without the mask, and when he wasn’t trying to restrain you for your kidnapping on behalf of your ill-begotten best friend. And Tangerine seemed…much more attractive under that mask.

It was strange, looking out the window, far enough from the city that the stars had finally started to return. You’d been in a very stolen car, for what was about to become a very long time, with two very strange men. Not to mention you had at least 15 million on you in jewelry alone, and the fact that your father had no limit to what he would pay to get you back. All things considered, it made for a very interesting impromptu trip into the countryside, especially since you had a strange respect for them, though it seemed undeserved.

You looked out at the stretch of road ahead of you, then at the fuel gauge. You pushed up using the front seats and the corners of your lips betrayed you when you were closer to Tangerine than you anticipated. You took a second to compose yourself, a second longer than you would have liked and one he absolutely noticed. “You can get off at that exit.”

“As you wish, love.”

You smiled on purpose this time and flicked his earring as you lowered yourself back into your seat. Lemon looked at you then nodded up. “You’re a James, maybe a Thomas, but I’m thinking James. What’you think, mate?”

“Definitely a James,” Tangerine nodded like he’s been considering it thoroughly the whole drive.

“Is this some type of code or something?”

“Nah, you know Thomas the Tank Engine?” Lemon reached into his jacket to get something.

“I’ve heard of it, yeah.”

He pulled out a book of stickers and found the first one of a smiling red train. “You’re a James.”

Tangerine made a train sound from the front, “Hoot Hoot.”

Lemon stuck it on your chest and you had to laugh at the juxtaposition. “Hmmm, Lemon, you’re an Aquarius. Tangerine, you’re a Scorpio.”

“So certain.” Tangerine scoffed in front.

“Ahhh, that’s where you’re wrong, bruv. Close, but we’re twins.”

“I’m sorry?” You looked back and forth between them.

“You got something to say about it?” Tangerine asked.

“No, not at all. Just, surprising.”

“Is it?” Lemon leaned back with his arms crossed.

“You don’t look very…twinish.”

“Semantics, luv.”

“Try not to get too caught up in it. But I’m an Edward, Tan’s a Gordon.”

“What does that mean?”

“Edwards, kind, wise. Gordon here, strongest, most important, but doesn’t listen to others.”

“Not true, I’m takin directions right now. Turn where, darling?”

“Left. So I’m a James, he’s a Gordon, you’re an Edward? And you’re twins.”

“Right-o.”

“Exactly, and care to tell us where we’re going?”

“We’ll see.”

“You don’t know where we’re fuckin going?”

“I know where, I just don’t know if it’s still open.”

“This it?” You were nearing the end of the road and had to crane your neck up to see the top of the building. The light pouring out of every window was almost blinding.

“Huh, they must’ve expanded.”

“Clearly.” Tangerine huffed then drove around to the side to park.

“Right then, let’s go.” You went to open your door before Lemon grabbed your other wrist and Tangerine looked back aghast.

“You’re going in like that?!” He looked down at your dress.

“I don’t have many options.”

“Fucking-uh,” Tangerine looked around like he’d be able to find something in the impromptu getaway car. “Lemon,” he hit his seat with the back of his hand, “give her your jacket.”

“What?”

“It’ll be like a dress. People do that.”

“‘People’ yes. Me, no.”

“You’re really fuckin doin this now.”

“Not much of a choice, mon ami. Allons-y.” You got out and had to spin to get the last of your skirts out the door before you slammed it.

“She’s fuckin French.” Tangerine raised an exhausted hand towards your closed door.

“Her doll house as a child was a mansion, bruv. Of course, she speaks French. Let’s go.”

Tangerine slapped his hands on the steering wheel as soon as Lemon got out. He pushed his hair back then followed you in.

You got a few looks once the doorman let you in, Lemon and Tangerine caught up to you sooner than expected since they jogged to catch up. More concern was raised at the blood and bruises rather than anything else, but the Twins looking even more disheveled did not help your case.

“Bonsoir, madame,” you spoke to the woman at the front desk, asking for 3 rooms just for the night.

“Je suis desolée, madame. Il y a une chambre libre. Cela vous dérangerait-il d'en partager un?”

“Euh, un moment, si-vous-plait.” You turned back to the Twins, “I asked for 3 rooms, but there’s only one available.”

“So we…”

“We can share, or we can keep looking.”

“Ask her if there’s somewhere else we can look.”

“C'est le seul hôtel de la région. Mais il y a une auberge de jeunesse à environ une demi-heure au sud.” The only other option being a hostel, a half hour back towards the city.

“Merci, nous prendrons la chambre. Euh, c'est peut-être une demande étrange, mais puis-je payer avec…” You took off your other teardrop diamond earring, the largest in the center being the size of your thumb nail. “Ça? Et Nous gardons cela secret?”

She stared down at the gleaming diamond staring back at her. “Euuhhhh, oui, absolument.”

She gave you the key and told you the room number.

“This was the only option.” You led them to the elevators and took it up to the top floor.

You pushed the key in, the thick metal kind with the wooden tag on the end, and didn’t bother looking around before you went right into the bathroom. “I’m taking a shower!”

It took you 5 minutes of struggling with the back of your dress before you went back out to get one of them to help you.

Lemon had already passed out on the couch, flat on his back with his mouth open and one ankle thrown over the armrest.

Tangerine had his back to the headboard of one of the two double beds and was trying to find an English channel on the TV.

“Tangerine?”

“Yea?”

“Could you help me with the back?”

He nodded and you turned around, standing in front of the bathroom door. Your necklace, rings, and bracelets on the counter, obnoxiously catching the warm yellow light. It seemed like he was confused by the ties, either that or he was taking longer on purpose.

“You put yourself in a dress you couldn’t get out of?”

“I didn’t do it myself, I had a whole fuckin team. It was ridiculous.”

“Done.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything else, love?”

“No, thank you.” You held the dress up to your chest when you turned to face him. “Actually, could you call the front desk and ask for extra blankets?”

“How many?”

You shrugged, “As many as you think.” He nodded and you stepped back into the bathroom and closed the door.

During your shower, you were only focused on the absolute insanity of your situation and the growing aches in every place you were struck. You couldn’t bring yourself to mind that you were in a room with two complete strangers who just tried to kidnap you a few hours earlier. You were fully aware that they could still do so and get the very same ransom from your family, or save themselves the trouble and kill you anyway. They have the 10 million dollar necklace and who knows how many thousands of dollars of other jewelry in the same room, what more would they need. You lost focus and got soap in one of your cuts. “MMMmmph!” you bit your lip to keep quiet. “Holy fuck.” It didn’t help much.

You realized as soon as you shut off the water that you had nothing to wear. After wrapping yourself in the fluffy white towel hanging on the other side of the glass door, you crossed your fingers and hoped there was a robe in the closet. Opening it, you found nothing so you tucked the towel tighter and tried the one right outside the bathroom. Right as you turned the corner, your eye was caught by Tangerine again. Laying right where he was before, but this time looking much more comfortable and much more shirtless.

Your hands reached for the big white robe but your eyes kept straying to him. He wasn’t what you were expecting, thinking most men in his line of work were all dark and mysterious, lithe and acrobatic, thin and scarred. He was no such thing.

“You alright, love?”

“I’m not your ‘love.’”

“It’s just a phrase. But still–”

“I’m fine, just getting a robe.”

“Right.”

You went back into the bathroom to try and fix your hair into something reasonable and get yourself ready for bed with your currently limited means.

“You’re wearing that?”

You pulled the covers back on your bed. “You forget that I showed up here in a full ballgown.”

“That you did.” You laid down and tried to relax. “We can get you something tomorrow, if you want.”

“Like to wear?”

“Yea, so we can get out of here.”

“Where are we going?”

“Wherever you like.”

“No, it’s your turn.”

“Italy then. Fake names, sell off all your shit,” he waved a hand in the direction of the bathroom. “Buy a farm or something.”

“A tiny little island.”

“Exactly. And you probably speak Italian.”

“Not fluently, but I could learn.”

“Perfect. We’ll get you something to wear, head there right after.”

“If,” he turned to you again. “You pinky promise not to kill me.”

“That’s what you’re counting on? A pinky promise?”

“I find them sacred.”

“And if I break it?”

“I’ll kill you.”

“But you’d be dead if I killed you.”

“Only if I say so.”

He rolled his eyes and stuck out his hand to you. You linked your pinky with his and shook it.

“I promise not to kill you if you don’t kill me.”

“I promise. You sure you’re comfortable in that?”

“I’ll be fine, it’s soft enough. You’re fine sleeping in slacks?”

“Don’t worry about me, love. Good night.”

“Good night.”

***The next morning***

You woke up to an empty room, windows open letting the air in and fluttering the curtains.

There was a striped cotton wrap dress laying on the end of your bed. Tags and hanger still on, with another note on top of it.

We left the necklace and the dress, but we needed the bracelet for cab fare. Find us in Italy, you know where we’ll be.

From the shadow on the other side, it looked like there was something else written on the back.

Tangerine thought you’d guess, but we have a friend in Linosa, I’m sure you’ll find us there. Easy.

(pssssttt, please comment and reblog so I don't keep writing just for no one to tell me what they like about it. I'm also open to all sorts of feed back so if your fingers are itching to say something just go for it babes)

[rogue-durin-16]

SUNGLASSES AND LIPSTICK STAINS (part II/III)

Summary: After his punch-up with Billy, Steve is in need of medical attention. Going to the hospital isn't an option, so the kids take him to the closest thing they know to a doctor. Funny how the girl who mended his heart back at Tina's party would be the one mending his body.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Genre: angst-fluff (hurt/comfort)

Tags:

Sunglasses And Lipstick Stains: @shycupcakealissa

Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog @amourtentiaa @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @comfort-reads

Warnings: blood, injuries, head trauma, brief mention of smoking, language

A/N: not so fun fact! I didn't have to do much research on head injuries because I've had my fair share of experiences. It's literally a miracle that I'm still completely okay lmao. Anyways enjoy<3

Part I

Part III

Rogue-durin-16 masterlist

Something was not right. I noticed straight up as I climbed off Samantha's car when she dropped me off —I just couldn't pinpoint what exactly was not right.

There were clear signs, though. The shed's door left ajar; a freshly dug patch of land that lacked grass; the storm cellar's gates wide open.

"Dustin?" My tone was wary when I called for my little brother from our front door.

No response.

"Dustin!" I tried again, setting one foot after another into our home.

Nothing. I felt my nerves beginning to rise. He should be home by now.

I stalked to our landline and picked the phone handle, pressing the number I had so many times called to when Dustin forgot his curfew.

That was probably it, but since Will's disappearance, everyone was on edge. The eerie screeches Samantha and I had heard on our way to my house hadn't helped either.

It didn't take long for a gentle motherly voice to greet me from the other side of the line. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Wheeler! Y/n here. I know it's late but uh..." My leg bounced as I tried to sound as casual as possible. "I was just wondering if Dustin was still there by any chance?"

"Uhm... Dustin wasn't here today, Y/n."

"He... wasn't?" My brows furrowed, the cable of the phone being anxiously twisted on my index finger.

"I... think he might be staying the night at the Byers'?" I hummed at the information, a light relief settling inside me —though it was swiftly torn out by her next sentence. "I don't know what's wrong with these kids today. Billy dropped by a while ago looking for his sister."

"Billy... Hargrove?" My heart nearly stopped at Karen's confirmation, followed by a little ramble about how charming the boy was.

Charming. Well, now, I personally wouldn't have used that word to describe Billy Hargrove.

Thanking Karen for her information, I hung up and trotted to the door. I would walk to the Byers' if I had to.

Just as I got a hold of my set of house keys, the sound of a rear was heard in our quiet street. A peep through my window was enough to make me freeze, because that was Billy Hargrove's car.

Billy Hargrove's car had just mowed down our mailbox.

In the span of five seconds in which I lost sight of our yard in order to open the front door, the scene turned even more bizarre. From the crashed Chevrolet Camaro's driver seat, a petite red haired girl climbed off. To further shock, Dustin, Lucas and Mike scrambled out of the vehicle right after, practically dragging out a semiconscious Steve Harrington.

What the fuck was going on.

One Hour Earlier

DUSTIN'S P. O. V.

I had barely registered Steve's wince after the headlights' overcurrent had blinded us, so seeing the eldest of us stumble to the car for some kind of support, only for his legs to give in once he got to the vehicle, nearly put me under cardiac arrest.

"Shit— Steve?" I called, taking a tentative step towards him while I signaled the others to stay put. "Are you good?"

"Yeah, Dustin, I'm great." The sarcastic response left his lungs in a strained grunt. Before any of us could throw a carless comeback at our assigned babysitter, his torso contorted to the side, allowing him to not throw up on his lap.

There was a colorful variety of panicked gasps, spit as a rapid fire by the four of us who remained standing while I rushed to kneel besides Steve.

"Oh my god..." I exclaimed, tugging Steve's arm to drag him further from his vomit whilst trying not to stare at it. I would so puke myself if I spared the puddle a single glance.

"He has to go to the hospital." Max took a step forward with a concerned frown darkening her gaze.

"No!" Mike made us all jump with his negative. "We just went into the tunnels. Bet if they run tests on him, they'll know something's off."

I heard a very much lost 'Wait what?' coming from Steve as I raised to my feet, hands thrown on the back of my head. "Holy shit."

"Okay but we gotta take him somewhere." Max insisted with urgency. "I mean, look at him."

"Guys I think... I think might pass out."

"Shit..." I cursed under my breath, crouching down momentarily to make sure Steve's back stayed laid on the side of the Camaro. "Shit shit shit. Okay, let me think."

No hospitals. Okay, but he needed medical attention. We needed a doctor. Or at least something close to it. Maybe a medic or...

"She's gonna kill me."

"Who's gon-" Lucas mouthed a quiet 'oh'.

"She's gonna have to suck it up." Mike stated, picking up on who we were talking about and how she felt about people like Steve. Or Nancy, matter-of-factly.

"Who's gonna have to suck it up?" Max exasperated begging for an explanation fell on deaf ears.

"Can you drive us to my house?" I inquired.

She sighed, a determined yet exhausted look lighting up her irises. "Put him in the car."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

READER'S P. O. V.

"Y/n!" I could barely process Dustin abandoning his friends to run to me, hands raised in surrender and an apologetic smile dancing on his face. "Y/n, hey. Have I told you how much I love you today?"

"What the fuck's going on?" I managed to question, my pitch as high as it could get due to the surreal situation before me.

"You remember what you learned in that first aid course, right?" He decided to ignore my inquiry as he moved my flabbergasted frame aside so Lucas and Mike could carry Steve inside.

"What?" My horrified eyes clocked the older teen's bloodied, swollen face. "The hell happened to him?!"

"My brother's an asshole, that's what happened to him." The ginger girl I finally recognized as Billy's little sister rumbled behind Dustin with folded arms. If I was not mistaken, it must have been the same girl my brother had a crush on— Max, I believed. "I... I think he might have a concussion."

"I'm sorry, how old are you?" She shuffled, sneaking my brother a begging side glance.

"It's okay, she's cool." Dustin whispered.

"Thirteen."

"THIRTEEN?!" I yelled, making them both flinch. "YOU DROVE THEM ALL THE WAY FROM—"

"Y/n! I'm gonna need you to calm down." Dustin's words were slow and clear. "We can't fill you in right now, but I promise—"

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"I PROMISE" he reiterated over my words, a bit louder this time. "That I'll tell you everything, but now I need you to fix up Steve." I opened my mouth again, but no words came out of it before Dustin cut me off once more. "I know what you're thinking. 'Dustin, you know I wouldn't touch Steve Harrington with ten-foot pole', but he's a good dude." the oblivious confidence in his words was actually funny, but I couldn't find it in me to laugh.

"He saved our lives." The girl added.

"Is that why he's—"

"Kinda."

"Yeah!" Dustin shouted, though by the readhead's face, it must have been a half truth. "Now please, can you help him? Please."

A silence reigned among the three of us for a couple of seconds, in which I tried to assess the situation with the little information I had.

In all fairness there wasn't much of a choice to make. Casting my head down for a second, I re-entered the house, now with the pair of kids trailing after me.

"Alright, give him some space." I commanded Mike and Lucas, who were struggling to keep Steve sat still on our largest couch.

My heart clenched the moment I kneeled before my classmate, as I finally had the chance to fully take in his swollen face, peppered in purplish black bruises. "Holy fuck," I muttered, lifting my hand to move a rogue strand of hair out of the way. "He sure did a number on you, didn't he?"

"Henderson." There was some kind of surprise gleaming in his bloodshot orbs at the sight of me. "I'm alright. Just need a bit of sleep."

"You sure? 'cause a little birdie told me you might have a concussion." I whispered, taking my hands to the back of my pocket in order to fish out the half empty pack of smokes inside if which I kept my lighter.

"You smoke?!" Dustin screeched behind me, earning a chastising nudge from Lucas. "What."

"Yes, Dustin. I smoke." I confirmed in a hiss, rotating in the spot to throw daggers at my brother. "And if you tell mom, I'll slit your throat."

Dustin nodded rapidly at my deadpanning warning.

Once I was sure he had gotten the memo, I spun back to look at Steve. "Let me know if I hurt you." With a nod from him, I took a tender hold of his face, the pad of my thumb pressing on the skin beneath his left lower lid in order to open his eyes.

"Woahwoahwoah- what are you doing?" Steve slurred, trying and failing to slip away from my grasp by wrapping his digits around my wrist when he saw the lighter's flame moving close.

"I'm just— Stay still!" He winced at my loud tone, but complied nonetheless. "I'm just checking something. Keep your eyes on me, okay?"

There were a few seconds of expectant silence while I tested Steve's pupils' reaction time to the bright light of the tiny flame before him. It took the boy no time to break it with a soft whisper that surely made my cheeks flush.

"You have like, the prettiest lips." I should have seen something like that was coming by the look on his face.

"And you have a concussion." I declared in response, hoping in vain none of the kids had heard his statement, nor his enchanted tone. "Guys, he needs a hospital."

"No hospitals." Mike's statement held a finality that left me even more confused.

"What do you mean 'no hospitals'?"

"It's okay, Y/n." Steve agreed, which made it all more suspicious. "Just patch me up and I'll go home."

"How? Walking?" I countered, tilting my head to try and meet his avoidant gaze. I soon gave up on him, turning to the kids behind me instead. "Was he unconscious?"

"Yeah but for like, a couple of minutes?" Max asked with a tinge of anxiety in the back of her throat.

"How long's a couple of minutes."

"I don't know, maybe five?" I widened my eyes at Dustin's levity trying my best not to fume.

"Five?!"

"Then he was on and off." Lucas finished, his demeanor closer to Max's than it was to Dustin's.

I gathered all the patience I could find in me to not yell at the kids, and instead chose to return to Steve. "Listen, you need to see a doctor."

"Y/n, it's alright."

"No, it's not alright. What's wrong with you all?" I huffed, attempting to get up, only to be secured in place by Steve's lazy grasp. "I'm gonna call an ambulance."

"NO!"

"Y/N, PLEASE!"

"NO HOSPITALS!"

"Jesus Christ my head..." Steve groaned, bending over with the balls of his hands pressing against his eyes.

"Stop that!" I scolded him, taking his hands in mine. "Everybody SHUT UP!"

I immediately muttered an apology under my breath to Steve for the noise, whose forehead had come to rest on my shoulder.

"I'm gonna clean you up, and we'll... we'll move on from there." The boy nodded, messy hair bouncing at the movement and tickling my cheeks. "C'mon, Harrington, upsy-daisy. Wheeler! a little help here, please."

As soon as I began to pull him up with me, both Lucas and Mike appeared on either sides of my peripheral vision, scooping Steve's arms over their shoulders.

"Take him to the bath— actually no, take him to my room." I commanded them, walking over to the kitchen sink in order to wash my hands. "Dustin, go check if mom's still asleep."

At the lack of movement, I spared the two remaining kids in the room a look of urgency, only to be met by Dustin's baffled face.

"What."

"What was that?" He inquired in an accusative tone.

"I genuinely don't know what you're talking about." I lied, choosing to play stupid, keeping myself busy with filling a bowl with warm water and, right after, digging in our freezer for ice to avoid meeting Dustin's inquisitive eyes.

"You know what I'm talking about." I did my best to look clueless, which only seemed to exasperate my brother more. "The sexual electricity!"

"The what?" Max questioned, pulling a face at Dustin while my eyes widened because who the fuck taught him that.

Before I could get a word in, the two taller boys that had carried Steve to my room came back.

"Just check if mom's asleep, okay?" I insisted, taking backwards steps into the hall to reach the bathroom. "I'll be right back."

STEVE'S P. O. V.

The silence of Y/n's room was filled with the buzzing going on my head. As much as I would have loved to take a look around to hopefully catch a more solid grip of her already visible personality, keeping my eyes open with the light on was an effort I couldn't afford.

Due to being laid down on my back across the mattress with my forearm over my eyes, I didn't acknowledge Y/n's presence until she spoke.

"Hey."

"Hey." I reciprocated the greeting in the same soft, careful tone without changing my position. I was tempted to peek from under my temporary light shield when I heard her pacing around the room, moving from one corner to another, but I ended up waiting for her signal.

Soon enough, a two switches were flipped and a hand was patting my thigh. "C'mon, pretty boy."

I opened my eyes to see the room's ceiling light had been replaced with a warm toned night lamp by our side.

Without a word and some struggle, I propped myself forward and attempted to sit upright. The not so genuine smile I spared the girl before sitting on a chair earned me a sympathetic look.

She seemed to want to say a thousand different things, but stayed quiet instead, soaking a cotton cloth on an undersized bowl which rested atop her lap.

"Y/n?" She hummed, prompting me to go on. "You okay?"

Her irises shot up from her lap with incredulity. "Me?" She huffed, reaching to carefully remove the couple of colorful band-aids the kids had placed on my temple. "I'm peachy. You, on the other hand?"

"I'll be okay."

"I know." She raised the wet cloth to my forehead, and distractedly whispered, "Let me know if it hurts." before squeezing the piece of fabric above it, letting the lukewarm water run down the cut.

Instinctively, I raised the hem of my shirt to dry the droplets, but Y/n's expertise hands were much quicker. With a dry piece of toilet paper, she made sure the now dirty water wouldn't drip on my clothes, whilst beginning to ever so gently tap on the cut with the wet cloth.

I didn't realize how tense I was until the girl halted her actions, furrowing her brows at me. "Am I hurting you?"

"No- shit, not at all." I'm just not used to people taking care of me, my heart wanted to confess; my brain barely refrained it. And, had I kept my eyes on Y/n's for an instant longer, the sentence would have slipped anyway.

"Let's get you more comfortable, okay?" She suggested, moving the first aid items from her lap to the nightstand.

I simply nodded at her suggestion, chin still downcasted even when her grip secured my forearms to help me turn and slide backwards. An inpatient, mildly frustrated curse escaped her lips due to the struggle, stealing the ghost of a laugh from me when she had to abandon the chair and plant her knees on the mattress.

"I think I can do this myself." I teased, digging my heels on the blanket to push and help with my relocation.

"I think it's too late for that." She snapped back, releasing one of my forearms to cup the back of my head before it could hit the headboard. "Careful now." She muttered, only letting her fingers slide out of my hair when the back of her palm was pressed against the wooden piece of furniture.

I had to repress a mewl at the loss of touch, though I couldn't hide my pout when the warmth of her skin abandoned mine —nor could I avoid how I instinctively reached to hold her thigh in place when she attempted to retreat back to the chair.

Don't leave.

Instead of moving away, she lowered her own hand on mine, rubbing soothing circles on top of it with her thumb.

I'm not going anywhere.

After readjusting the lamp besides us and taking back the bowl and cloth, she repeated in silence the process carried out on the cut splitting my temple, this time on the one in my swollen lip.

"Did he only go for the head or...?" She questioned once she was done cleaning the open cuts.

Truth was, I didn't really know. After the third punch, everything was blank, but Y/n was worried enough as she was; adding that to the mix wouldn't do any good. "Pretty much."

"He's a fucking tool." She seethed, grabbing the antiseptic lotion to apply it on my temple. "Should've let Sam run him over at Tina's party."

"That would've made my night." I realized too late that the amused smile twisting my lips reopened the slit, and earned me some lighthearted chastising from Y/n.

"As if I didn't make your night." She taunted me, paying extra attention to my lips to make sure the bleeding was cut short before she brushed in the lotion with her fingertip.

The scene was too reminiscent of that one night, and I wondered if Y/n's intense stare on my mouth meant she was feeling the same urge to kiss me now that I had felt then.

"So uhm... Does Dustin know—"

And just like that, the spell was broken.

"Jesus, no." She snorted, straightening up her position. "And he's never gonna find out."

"Because you're embarrassed?" I furrowed my brows at the senior before me. She immediately mirrored my visage, and I felt the need to explain myself. "In the car, Dustin and Lucas were going on about how you despise me. And I mean, I got a complete different impression at Tina's party, but maybe you— I don't know, are ashamed of what happened?"

"What? No! No." She gulped, suddenly finding the clean gauze on her folded thigh very interesting. "I mean, I might have— I might have mentioned you weren't my uhhh favorite person to Dustin a couple of times, but— yeah, no." She shook her head to emphasize her words.

"Then why?" I hated the neediness in my tone; the way my voice broke. I blamed the lack of sleep and the adrenaline rollercoaster the last couple of days had been.

"First off, my little brother has no business in my love life." She fairly pointed out with a quirked brow. "And second, he'll tell Mike, and I bet Mike will tell Nancy."

"We broke up." I blurted out. With what intention? I didn't really know, and by the look on her face, neither did Y/n.

"You know it'll still piss her off."

"It was just a kiss."

She stared blankly at me for a second.

'No, it wasn't' was the sentence read on her expression —and she was right, it hadn't just a kiss. It was the best kiss I've ever had.

"And that's why no one needs to know." She said instead, with deluded resignation in her words. "Listen, Steve." Sigh. "We got more important... Matters to attend. Don't you think?"

"Right."

The following few minutes elapsed without a word. We drowned in the quietness of the room while Y/n finished patching me up. Hadn't I know better, I would have said she was lingering.

"You could use those sunglasses right now." She observed, taking my chin between her thumb and index to move me around.

"I'm pretty sure they're at the Byers'."

She gave her head a couple of slow shakes. I had earlier wondered if she would interrogate me any further about the events leading up to this moment, given how little she had asked about it, and the time had come. "How did you end up babysitting these assholes?"

"Your little shit of a brother got me mixed up in some dangerous business 'cause no one else was around." I explained, trying my best to give away nothing apart from the necessary. "It kinda kept escalating from there."

She dropped her hands on her lap, opening and closing her mouth a couple of times before finally asking, "what's going on, Steve?"

I didn't have time to say a single thing before the door was shoved open, making us both jolt on the spot.

"I'M NOT LOOKING!" Dustin yelled from the entrance with covered eyes.

"Dustin, what the fuck?!" The girl turned to hysterically gesture at the kid, whose hand fell limply to his side with a relieved exhale when he was met with nothing but his sister handing me an ice bag. "What is it."

"Can Lucas, Mike and Max stay the night?" It took a hot minute for Y/n to give her brother an affirmative response. She probably wasn't a fan of Billy showing up at her doorstep looking for Max like he had done at the Byers'.

"I'll get Max pj's in a moment." The eldest sister relented, shooing her little brother out shortly after.

"This kid."

"I know." She agreed with a breathy laugh, giving me an up-and-down. "Okay, you're all good. Or as good as it gets."

"I'm all ready to go home?"

Y/n's slack jawed expression made it really hard not to throw a fit of laughter. "And how the fuck will you go home, Steve?"

"I'll walk to the Byers'." I began to explain in a Self-assured manner. "My car's there and—"

"So is Hargrove." She cut me off. "And then what, then you drive?"

I threw my hands up in surrender between us. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Stay the night." The girl before me put that out there as if it was the most logical response; as if we had been friends for so long that not crashing in unprompted wasn't even up to question. It certainly wasn't the case. "Take the bed. I have to watch over and see if I gotta rush you to the hospital anyway." She nonchalantly explained, trying not so subtly to reassure me.

"I don't wanna be a bother."

"I'm inviting you." She responded, rocking herself slightly forward.

"Why are you so sweet to me?" It was more of an out loud thought than a real question, but I obtained a reply nevertheless.

"It's called minimal decency, Harrington." Flashing me a quick half smile, Y/n abandoned the bed and walked to the barely lit dresser at the foot of the bed. "I think I have... Ah, got it." She wiggled a piece of clothing I could barely discern and threw it at me. "You'll be more comfortable in that."

"Thanks." I mumbled after unfolding the item and realizing it was a big soft t-shirt.

"No worries." Y/n's body was back to being folded to fish out something else from the drawers, which i figured would be sleepwear for Max. "Alright, I'm gonna go arrange the gang of toddlers I have camped in the living room." I nodded at her, not missing the way her eyes slipped down to my torso once I had discarded both my jacket and shirt. "I'll... be right back."

In the last couple of days, I had had a lot of bizarre experiences, but one I certainly did not expect was sleeping in Y/n Henderson's bed. In her shirt. What was life even.

I had just barely accommodated myself under Y/n's covers when the door was once more shoved open, nearly giving my a heart attack. Unsurprisingly enough, the figure entering the room was not the girl who had just patched up my wounds, but Dustin.

"Everything okay?" I questioned, sitting up again, but the kid did not respond — not until he was sat on the chair by the bed anyway.

"Steve."

"Dustin."

I gave the kid a puzzled look when he took a deep breath, as if he was about to break some horrible news to me.

"Do you have a thing for my sister?"

"What?" It came out in a high-pitched, panicked tone, which definitely did not playing in my favor.

"I'm not gonna be mad," Dustin on the contrary spoke calmly, like a parent who was about to scold their child. "I just want to know."

"Jesus, Dustin. No. I do NOT have a thing for Y/n."

I felt myself getting smaller under the thirteen year old's scrutinizing glare, praying for him to be convinced because I didn't have the strength to have that conversation with anyone, let alone a child.

Eventually, the youngest Henderson caved in and spared me, choosing to get up and leave instead of questioning me any further. Maybe he himself didn't really want to know, or maybe he thought I had been put through enough already.

With one last squinted, unconvinced look from the room's entrance, Dustin closed the door, leaving me alone with just the warm colored night lamp to illuminate the space.

Releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding, I slid back into the silky sheets permeated with Y/n's perfume, which lulled me to sleep faster than I would have ever imagined.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

READER'S P. O. V.

It took me longer than expected to set up a proper sleeping place for the middle schoolers, but not long enough for someone to fall asleep in the meantime.

Yet there he was, sound asleep, lightly snoring in my bed when I got back to the bedroom. The mere thought of having to wake him up again was breaking my heart a little, but it was imperative.

With a quiet whine, I dragged my feet to the side of the bed before plopping down on the chair. God, even after fixing him up, he was in an awful state.

'Billy hit him pretty hard.' Max had confided me in a whisper, face full of guilt. 'I thought he was gonna kill him.'

"Steve." I called for him in the most gentle voice I could. Nothing. "Steve." I tried again. Again, nothing.

He was completely knocked out.

I resolved to try from a closer distance, so I leaned on until my lips were inches away from him and... Nothing came out of me. How could someone look so beautiful all beaten up?

I didn't fully register my movements until my lips were lightly pressed on his cheekbone. The positive side is that that seemed to do the trick to wake him up. The negative was that he had definitely felt the kiss.

His initial confusion, however, was quick to melt into an entranced expression I couldn't fully decipher.

"Hi." He whispered under his breath, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Hi." I greeted back with what I was sure it looked like a smitten smile. "I brought you Tylenol." He muttered a relieved 'thank god', propping himself on his forearms to take first the medicine and then the glass of water I was offering him. "I'm gonna stay put for a little while." I informed him, taking back the now empty glass to place it on the cramped nightstand. "If I'm sleeping and you start to feel like you're dying, wake me up."

It was a half joke, but Steve only furrowed his brows. "Wait are you gonna sleep on that?" He pointed at my chair with disgust while going back to his previous position.

"Where the hell do you want me to sleep?" I asked rhetorically with the intention of pointing out the lack of free sleeping places in the house, but I got a response.

"Lay down with me?"

I would be lying if I said I wasn't tempted by the offer, but it just seemed wrong, so with a halfhearted smile, I shook my head no.

"Had to try." Steve clicked his tongue, poorly hiding his own disappointment. "Night, Henderson."

"Night, Harrington." I mumbled back, folding my arms over the mattress and resting my chin on them.

"Thank you." Had we not been in complete silence, the dozed off boy's words would have been inaudible. "For everything." He added, finding my fingers with his own and lazily intertwining them.

My heart skipped a bit at the touch and I silently cursed myself, because I was definitely crushing on Steve Harrington.

[kmhnsecretexchange]

Title: Kokkuri, Kokkuri

Author: psychodive

For: katspawprint

Pairings/Characters: Komaeda/Hinata

Rating/Warnings: Gen

Prompt: Hinata invites Komaeda to stay over with him the first night of the killing game (i.e. before they know they’ve lost their memories etc) because he’s scared but still trusts Komaeda (and he’s probably a little worried about Komaeda’s safety too). Komaeda has never stayed over at a friend’s house, so Hinata tries to show him what it’s like (playing games, sharing snacks, deep talks). At some point things get a little more romantic than friendly.

Author’s notes: Hope you enjoy reading it!

After Monokuma’s appearance and the game he’d set for them, Hinata had gone back to his assigned cottage in a daze. He wasn’t sure what the others on the island were doing — maybe discussing things or eating dinner — but he was simply curled up in his bed, feeling cold. He hadn’t even taken off his shoes.

The sun was beginning to set now, beaming in through the wooden blinds over his windows to turn the interior of the cottage into gold. It had been such a beautiful day, and everyone had been mostly nice if a little weird. Hinata felt nauseous. There was a dark pit in his stomach, a yawning void that he feared he might stumble into at any moment.

He grabbed one of the pillows on the bed, buried his face into it, and screamed.

If he thought about Monokuma’s game logically, it would be ideal to kill as soon as possible, when none of them knew each other that well. What was the alternative? They all stayed on this island, forever? He couldn’t stomach the idea of giving into either of those options — but if he was having these thoughts, then there was no doubt that at least some of the others were doing the same. All it took was one person and…

There was a knock on his door.

Hinata froze, his fingers still digging into the pillow. He didn’t have any weapons to defend himself with — all he had was this stupid pillow! Would anybody really try it on the first night? If so, why him?

…He’d fainted earlier. He couldn’t remember his talent. He was the only who’d refused to go along with Usami’s charade. He was weak, he was an outsider, he was boring, he…

“Hinata-kun?” a worried voice called out from behind the door. “Are you alright in there?”

Hinata sat up. “Komaeda?” he replied cautiously. “Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me!” There was obvious relief in his voice. “I heard you screaming from outside.”

Hinata flushed, getting up to open the door. Here he was worrying about looking like an easy target while screaming bloody murder for no reason. “Hi Komaeda,” he said sheepishly, meeting the other boy’s eyes. “Sorry, I was just…” he trailed off, unsure of what he was even supposed to say in this fucked-up situation. Another scream threatened to rise from his throat.

“It’s fine, I understand,” Komaeda said, though he still had a concerned look on his face. His hair had gone frizzy from his brief time in the ocean earlier. Had that really just been this afternoon? It felt like eons had passed since then. “You’re hurt.”

“Huh?”

Komaeda motioned to his own cheek. “You’ve got a cut here,” he said. “It’s bleeding.”

Hinata lightly touched the area, startling when it began to sting. His fingers, when he pulled them away, were bloody. “I… I forgot about that,” he said, and then realized just how close of a call that bullet had been. His fingers began to tremble in front of him.

“Hinata-kun, would you mind if I came in?” Komaeda’s voice cut through his sudden panic.

“Uh, sure,” Hinata mumbled, stepping back to let the other boy in.

“Sorry to disturb,” Komaeda said politely as he stepped inside. Then he put an insistent hand on Hinata’s arm and steered him over to the small couch in the cottage. “Here, sit down.”

Hinata did as he was told, the panic giving way to numbness. Komaeda sat down next to him, reaching into the pocket of his jacket to pull out a disposable alcohol wipe, which he used to gently wipe at the bloody cut on Hinata’s cheek, and a plain band-aid that he carefully placed over it.

Hinata blinked at him. “Thanks,” he said. “You’re really prepared, huh.”

“Hah, it’s nothing,” Komaeda said, waving his hand in dismissal. “I have to be, with my luck.” He handed Hinata another wipe, which Hinata used to clean off his bloody fingers, and then stood up. “I’ll leave you alone now. Apologies for intruding.”

“Wait!” Hinata grabbed his sleeve, then quickly let go in embarrassment. “Um, I mean…” He didn’t want to admit that he was nervous about being left alone. He wished Komaeda would just figure that out himself without Hinata having to say anything, but the other boy just waited patiently for him to go on.

“Do you want to… sleep over?” Hinata finally forced out. “I mean, it’s kind of dangerous to be alone right now, right? Safety in numbers and all that?”

Komaeda looked somewhat stunned. “Really?” he said, grabbing Hinata’s hands. Hinata flushed. “Of course I will!” He paused. “Though, I don’t know if I’ll actually be able to sleep. That’s why I was out taking a walk. I have terrible insomnia.”

“That’s fine,” Hinata said quickly. It made him uneasy to think of Komaeda wandering around alone in the dark despite everything. He couldn’t help but feel like the guy was just a little too carefree for his own good. “Sleepovers aren’t really for sleeping, anyway.”

“Is that so?” Komaeda tilted his head. “I’m afraid I’ve never been to one before.”

“It’s more like just playing games and chatting and stuff?” Hinata said. “Though, the last time I went to one was in elementary school, so maybe people do something more exciting nowadays…“

“Playing games sounds fun!” Komaeda said. “As long as there’s no element of randomness, or my luck might cause some problems.”

“Uh, yeah, your luck…” Hinata said. Komaeda had mentioned it before, but Hinata still couldn’t really wrap his head around how luck could be a talent — not that he had much right to talk when he couldn’t even remember his own. “In that case, why don’t you pick the game?”

“Hmm,” Komaeda looked thoughtful. “How about Kokkuri?”

“Huh?!” Hinata yelped. “Why something like that right now?!”

“Oh, is it no good?”

“N-no…” Hinata wilted under Komaeda’s disappointed gaze. “It’s fine. It’s just… a little morbid, don’t you think?”

“Haha, really?” Komaeda instantly looked cheerful again. He stood up to open the window next to the couch, letting the night air blow in gently and cool the room down. “I thought you would think it childish. I personally find comfort in games that claim to tell your future, especially when the present is so precarious.”

“I guess so,” Hinata said hesitantly. He couldn’t say he agreed, necessarily, but he sort of understood where Komaeda was coming from. He watched as Komaeda wandered over to TV console, rifling around in one of the drawer before triumphantly pulling out a blank notepad and a couple of pens.

There was a garish, tacky-looking logo stamped on the items that reminded him of Monokuma’s red eye. He felt vaguely nauseous when he thought about it.

Komaeda sat down next to him again, then frowned. “Ah, I forgot. We need a coin.”

“Oh, right. I guess one of these would probably work?” Hinata reached into his pocket and pulled out of the weird coins he’d found while exploring the island earlier.

Komaeda took one of the coins and inspected it, grimacing at the engraving of Monokuma’s face that stared back at him. “Well, it’s unorthodox, but I suppose it’ll do,” he muttered.

Hinata watched as he drew the simple shape of a shrine gate in red in the top center of the paper, wrote out the words YES and NO on either side of it, and then drew out the letter grid underneath it.

“You know,” Hinata said. “I can’t remember the last time I played this game.”

He had meant it as a light-hearted remark just to fill the silence, but after he said it aloud, he realized how true it was. The harder he tried to recall the memory, the faster it seemed to slip away, like sand falling through the sieve of his mind.

“Hinata-kun,” Komaeda said softly. Hinata startled, his eyes darting up to meet Komaeda’s own. They were gray in the dim light of the room, kind but calculating. Hinata was relieved when Komaeda chose not to prod further. “I’ve only played Kokkuri once before,” he said instead. “I was about ten years old, then, and I played it by myself.”

Hinata’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” he said. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

Komaeda let out a quiet laugh. “Only if you’re susceptible to self-suggestion,” he said, placing the paper on the coffee table in front of them and the coin on its starting position within the shrine gate. “Or believe in spirits. Which one are you, Hinata-kun?”

Hinata frowned. “Neither, I think,” he said. “But after today, I really don’t know anymore.”

“Well,” Komaeda said. “Perhaps we’ll find out.”

They both placed their index fingers on the coin and said the childish chant in unison.

“Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, come and play. If you’re here, then please say.”

It took a moment, but, slowly, the coin slid over to YES.

Hinata felt a shiver run through him, but he blamed that on the open window right next to him.

“Seems like we’re not alone, after all, Hinata-kun,” Komaeda said teasingly, his mouth twisted into a grin. Hinata rolled his eyes and they slid the coin back to the shrine gate. “Would you like the honor of the first question?”

“Sure, why not,” Hinata muttered. The first question was typically an easy yes-or-no question that he already knew the answer to, so they could gauge whether the spirit was feeling tricky or truthful. “Kokkuri-san, and I forgetting something?”

The coin slid to YES.

“I guess we can trust Kokkuri-san tonight!” Komaeda said as they returned the coin to its starting position once again. “Kokkuri-san, is there any hope to be found in this situation?”

YES.

“That’s… actually weirdly comforting to hear,” Hinata said.

“Much better than the alternative, that’s for certain!” Komaeda smiled at him. “That’s the point of the game, no?”

Hinata pouted a little. “Hey, Kokkuri-san, is Komaeda always right or something?”

NO.

“I guess we can’t let your ego get too big,” Hinata said.

“I would hardly claim otherwise, Hinata-kun!” Komaeda took a moment to think over his next question. “Kokkuri-san, what — or who — is Monokuma?”

The coin moved to spell out BEAR.

“I was hoping for a little more information than that,” Komaeda sighed. “Your turn again, Hinata-kun.”

It felt a little silly to ask, but what could it hurt? “Kokkuri-san, what’s my talent?”

The coin wavered in place for a long moment. “Figures,” Hinata muttered, unable to help his disappointment.

Komaeda’s left hand, the one he wasn’t using to touch the coin, moved to rest over Hinata’s free right hand. “I’m sure whatever talent Hinata-kun has is something dazzling,” he said. “So much so that Kokkuri-san can’t even say it!”

Hinata stared at Komaeda’s hand over his, feeling that increasingly familiar flush creeping up again. “That’s ridiculous,” he snorted, but he didn’t brush Komaeda’s hand off. Instead, he turned his hand over, so that their fingers intertwined.

“Hmm, maybe you’re the Ultimate Tsundere?”

“That’s the last talent I’d want to have!” Hinata flared up. “Anyway, it’s your turn!”

“Haha, alright!” Komaeda said. “Kokkuri-san, do you think Hinata-kun and I can ever possibly become friends?”

Hinata glanced at him. Komaeda’s face was as relaxed as ever, but Hinata was holding his hand and he could feel how clammy the other boy’s palms had suddenly become.

Hinata didn’t bother waiting for the spirit to answer for him; he just pushed the coin against the stillness of Komaeda’s finger to the YES position.

Komaeda let out a laugh, but he didn’t sound terribly amused. “You cheated, Hinata-kun,” he said. “Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, please go away.”

The coin agreed, and Hinata and Komaeda both lifted their fingers from it.

“It’s not cheating when you should have asked me that question in the first place and not some random spirit,” Hinata said.

Komaeda shook his head. “Fortune is not as fickle as people claim, Hinata-kun,” he said. “Some things are out of our hands.”

Hinata felt frustration course through him. “I don’t see what the problem is,” he said. “If we want to be friends, then what the hell is stopping us?”

Komaeda pulled away from him. He picked up the paper they’d been playing with and began to expertly shred it to pieces. “It’s the nature of my luck,” he said. “It’s the reason I hate playing games of chance. Things always turn out so ugly.”

Hinata waited for him to explain further, but Komaeda didn’t continue. “I still don’t get it,” Hinata said finally. “It’s not like I’m any expert on friendship either, but Komaeda, I was already beginning to think of you as a friend anyway.” Like his memories of leaving childish games behind, Hinata couldn’t exactly explain how he knew loneliness; he just knew that he did. The more he tried to recall the reason, the wider he could feel that void inside of him begin to grow. He took a deep, shuddering breath. “What I mean, Komaeda, is that you’ve been so kind. You guided me around the island all afternoon, and you kept me company tonight when I asked. You’ve already been an amazing friend to me, and it’s barely been a day. Seriously, thanks.”

“… Hinata-kun,” Komaeda began. “I…”

“Hey, you kids!” came a loud, obnoxious voice.

Hinata jumped. Komaeda’s eyes widened slightly, whatever he was about to say cut off by the interruption.

Monokuma was peeking in through the open window. “Don’t you two know that you’re supposed to close the window when you’re done playing so that other creepy spirits don’t get in? Unless you want everyone to see you getting naughty on the first night!” The stuffed bear burst into cackles.

Hinata shot to his feet. “G-go away!” he shouted.

“Watch it, young man!” Monokuma huffed. “I’m still your principal, you know! I can’t just tolerate loose morals on a school trip!”

Hinata felt his face heating up in a messy mix of rage and embarrassment. “Y-you—!”

“There’s nothing in the rules about being outside of one’s assigned cottage after dark, or sharing a cottage for the night,” Komaeda cut in smoothly.

“Hmm,” Monokuma said. “Hmhmhm… Okay, fine! I’ll let you get away with it this time! But still, close this damn window already!”

He disappeared as quickly as he had come, and Hinata slammed the window shut immediately.

“I’m sorry,” Komaeda said.

“What are you apologizing for?” Hinata bit out. “It’s not your fault there’s a stupid stuffed bear terrorizing us.”

Komaeda still looked guilty. “Even if you say that…” he said. “I was the one who suggested we play Kokkuri, and I was the one who forgot to close the window.”

Hinata shook his head, slumping back down on the couch. Their knees brushed against each other. “I could’ve remembered to do that too,” he said. “It’s fine. God, that thing scared the shit out of me.” Hesitantly, he reached for Komaeda’s hand again, gratified when the other boy didn’t pull away. They sat like that in the tropical silence, not speaking, until Hinata felt his eyes begin to drift shut.

He tried to fight it at first, until he felt Komaeda’s other hand come up to run his fingers through Hinata’s hair, nudging him to rest his head against Komaeda’s shoulder. “Go to sleep, Hinata-kun,” Komaeda murmured. “Tomorrow will be day of hope, I’m sure.”

It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but Hinata felt so much better than he had earlier that evening, curled up by himself in a strange bed. He felt safer.

He let himself succumb to sleep.

Komaeda hadn’t lied about his insomnia. Regardless of how exhausted he felt after such a long day, his sleeplessness persisted. He continued to pat at Hinata’s spiky hair long after the other boy fell asleep, his cheek squished against Komaeda’s jacket.

It felt good to be useful, especially to someone like Hinata, who shined so brightly. Yes, if there was one thing that Komaeda was certain of, it was that such hope should not be confined to this island of despair.

They would have to start playing Monokuma’s little Killing Game soon.

[yoditopascal]

Where The Sky And Ocean Meet Part 2

CHAPTER 2 Chapter 1//Chapter 3

That was almost a year ago and to this day she couldn't get the thought of those deep brown eyes out of her head. She was practically obsessed with finding him, so much so she was kicked from the foreign exchange program and almost removed from her studies altogether, but that never stopped her from looking for him. In fact, she often sought out her best friend from Chicago to help her which was how she found herself hurrying to Riri's room to share the latest news she had found on the man.

Rushing to get in Kailani hits the door as she forgot to check to see if it was locked. With a sigh, she rummages around in her jacket pockets before pulling out a key and finally entering the room before she’s pushed in from behind. Pulling out her pepper spray ready to mace the person who had bum-rushed her into Riri’s room she turned to find her face to face with the Princess of Wakanda herself. 

“You’re the prin-” Kailani starts but was shushed as the princess closed the door behind her. “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked peeking out the dorm window before closing the blinds as if the people on the terrace below them could see up into the room

“I’m here about the vibranium detector,” Shuri started closing the distance between the two. 

“You're in grave danger.”

“What?”

“We dont have time to-”

“Is this about the kid in Belize cuz I already told the GE office everything!”

“Riri listen-”

“Hold up, I'm not Riri.”

Just then, the dorm door opened again, but this time, the girl Kailani was looking for walked in. “Kai I told you to stop just dropping in outta- the girl started her back to the women in the room just as she turned to face them her keys hit the floor as she started at them awestruck “Oh shit its the Princess.”

“Right?!” 

“Am I being recruited?” Riri asks excitedly as she comes further into the room, coming to stand by her friend on the opposite side of Shuri. 

“No” Shuri answered as she shook her head and looked on incredulously, Riri shrank back a little with a sad frown.

“Wait a minute what were you saying about danger? Is Riri in trouble?!” Kai began to panic.

“Bro what the fuck did you do?!”

“I didn't do shit!” Riri shouted back, starting to become equally as panicked as her friend.

“Ladies we don’t have time for this!” Shuri shouted causing the two to stop their arguing 

“Sorry, your highness.” Kai apologized as she looked down at the floor feeling like a child that had just been scolded

“Please just call me Shuri.”

“Can you please just tell us what’s going on?” Riri asked as she closed the distance between herself and the Princess.

“Like I was telling your friend here, I'm here about the vibranium detector you built for the CIA”

“Nah I ain't build no detector for the CIA, I made that for my metallurgy class.”

“A school project?”

“Yeah,” she started, “My professor said I’d never be able to do it. To be young gifted and black though right?” She smiled at the princess who chuckled back, Shuri liked her.

“I’m sorry can we get back to the dangerous part of this, please? Who’d Riri piss off?” Kailani asked snapping the two back to the situation at hand.

“Wait, was it Wakanda? D-did I piss off Wakanda?” Riri stuttered nervously, she wanted more than anything to impress the princess and hope she wasn’t there because she had fucked up somehow.

“Not just us, this place is no longer safe for you Riri, gather your things and come with me”

“I-I got Differential Equations class in like 15 minutes”

“Riri really?! There’s someone after you! We gotta go like now!” Kai warns unable to believe her friend’s excuse as to why she couldn’t leave.

“We?”

“Yes, we! The fuck you think I’m gonna let you go by yourself with somebody we don’t know, no offense Princess,”

”None taken” Shuri waved her hand dismissively 

“I told you we ride or die together. I’m not letting you go on the run by yourself!”

“Okay, Okay J-just uh gimme a minute you guys wait here,” Riri says as she goes to pack a bag just as she leaves for the next room a tall lithe figure stalks into the room startling both Riri and Kai in the process. “I had it under control Okoye” Shuri sighs

“I said five minutes. I gave you six.”

“Get out of my dorm!” Riri shouts as she picks up a speaker and holds it over her head ready to throw it at the mysterious woman at any moment. 

“Oooh see how they teach the American children to treat their guests?” She tsked as she continued to approach Riri. Just then Riri hurls the speaker aiming to hit the woman in the face, but just before impact a spear martialized in her hand cutting the speaker in half before returning to its smaller pocket size.

“You bought a spear in here?!”

“Oh shit, she’s got a spear!”

“Listen,” the woman began, “Small small girl. You have two options for how you will come to Wakanda. Conscious, or unconscious.”

“Whoooa hold up that's not really neces-”

“You need to be conscious of how you look, walking around with all of that ash on your head!”

“Oh my god Riri”

“See! I Told you!”

“You look fine Okoye!”

“You know what? We’ll head out. And you can deal with the merman with winged ankles who wants to kill you by yourself. I’m sure your math class will be real helpful with that.” Shuri and Okoye turn to head out before they're stopped by Kailani grabbing onto Shuri’s hand softly. “Wait, please” she pleaded holding up her hands between the three women as if to calm everyone down. In truth, the mentions of a merman had frazzled her down to her bones as if she had some sort of idea of who it could be but she swallowed her nerves and continued on for Riri’s sake. “Please, don't leave her.”

“Then come with us.”

After much convincing, mainly on Kai’s part, they finally got Riri to agree to go with the princess and her general, the three wait till dark approaches before they set off toward Riri’s secret off-campus lab to check out the equipment she used to create the detector.

After arriving the group watches Riri enter an impossibly long code before they’re able to enter the space, once inside it looks like just an average run-of-the-mill truck garage with a few modern tech-looking upgrades here and there.

“What exactly is this place?” the general who the girls had learned was Okoye asked as she looked on in disgust, clearly she was not impressed by what she saw, next to her Kailani could not contain her awe as she looked around. Behind them both Shuri flicks through some blueprints of Riri’s latest experiments.

“I fix up a few trucks for sanitation here, so they let me use this place.”

“This is impressive” Shuri smiles over her shoulder at Riri causing the girl to shyly look away only peeking at the princess from under her lashes as she blushed at the compliment. 

“T-thanks.”

“I just have to grab my laptop then we can go,” Riri said moving papers around on her desk until she uncovered a laptop and stuffed it into her bag. “You just leave it lying around here?” Kai asks visibly cocking her head to the side in confusion, anyone could break in her and take it. “I got 2065 byte encryption on this thing! Once I got locked out it took me a whole semester the break back in.” Riri boasts proudly as if Kailani knew what that meant.

“Damn.”

“Damn indeed.”

“Great, now let's get out of here.” Okoye rushed not wanting to spend any more time than they needed too. Just as the group was getting ready to leave an AI voice interrupted them.

“Princess, American law enforcement has arrived at your location.”

“Shit” Shuri swore as she began to mess with her kimoyo beads on her wrist

“Who was that?” Riri asked looking around as if the owner of the voice would materialize in thin air.

“My AI GRIOT.” Shuri answered pulling off a bead and sending it flying out the window closest to her, it morphs into a fly and started to survey the area before attaching itself to one of the cars outside.

“They are surrounding us” Okoye announces grimly as she shows their movements on a projection from her own kimoyo beads

Peaking out of an opened window Riri cursed under her breath at the black cars surrounding the building. “I thought you said a merman was after me. That's the feds!” She quickly sweeps papers off of her desk and into an empty oil drum.

“I don’t believe this shit right now!”

Kai is oddly silent as she is trying to process what exactly is going on. Why were the feds here? Were they after Riri too or the princess? Should they turn themselves in? If the feds were here, who else was here? This was all too much at once and her mind was racing. A hand resting on her shoulder broke Kai out of her trance. Shuri stared at her worriedly before turning her attention back to Riri who was storming around tearing down papers and blueprints before tossing them into the oil drum and setting them on fire.

“I think I might take my chances with the merman because he never brought the FBI to my garage!”

“Namor sank an entire ship of CIA operatives because of your little machine so those popo out there are the very least of your worries.” Okoye scoffed ready to leave the young girl to fend for herself at this point.

 “Listen we need to work together to get out of here.” Shuri tried to defuse the situation as the FBI warned them to come out with their hands up outside. 

“No I need yall to get Kai out of here, she ain’t got shit to do with this!”

“Bullshit! I’m not leaving you Riri!”  The girl screamed back, she must have been outta her mind to think she’d abandoned her, especially now. 

“You really think the feds won’t come for her if they can’t find you Riri? She’s in this now. We all are” Shuri spoke with authority in her voice telling the girls she meant exactly what she said. 

“General, should we split up?” Shuri asked as she began to calculate the group’s best move to ensure everyone’s safety. 

“Out of the question. Does this vehicle work?” Okoye asked as she walked around a tarp-covered car inspecting it. 

“…no” Riri answered hesitantly but everyone could tell she was lying. 

“Everything in this lab works, including this bike” Shuri hinted at subtlety but Okoye already knew what she was thinking and shut her down as she pulled the tarp off of the car pushing Kailani into the back seat as she goes into the front.

“Don’t even think about it, besides there are four of us the car will do just fine.” 

“Three of y’all I’m taking this” Riri said as she began to lower some kind of metal suit from the ceiling just as the power had been cut enveloping the four in total darkness. Peep the subtle Shuri/Riri moments &lt;;3 @namorslit @mariaxxxxx @h34rtsformilli @lavnderluv

[racmune]

a sweater - scout x pauling fic

general audiences, 2,195 words (jan 10th, 2022)

ao3 mirror here

Plastic curtain rings rattled as Scout pushed aside the blinds to peer through the kitchen window.

No sign of her yet...

It was only around five o’clock and the streets were already cold and dark. The only light in the streets was the snowflakes being blown around, carrying the artificial glow of a porchlight; which had been turned on, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Miss Pauling.

She had made plans for dinner with him and his family earlier for her Christmas off.

Scout propped himself up against the wall and crossed his arms. Miss Pauling was late, which was unlike her...

The decor and the smell of peppermint scented candles (Ma’s favourite) had everyone in a festive mood. Jazz softly played from an old forty-five. Scout fixed his eyes onto the spinning record in hopes that it would take his mind off the wait, but it drifted easily.

The doorbell rang and Scout rushed out of the kitchen, anxious to check through the door’s peep-hole. Miss Pauling stood nervously on the porch, fixing her hair and toying with the strap of a small pleather purse slung over her shoulder.

Scout licked his fingers and attempted to slick back his hair.

.

The lock clicked and the door opened. “Uh, hey Miss Pauling!”

“Hey Scout.” Miss Pauling said, letting her hands fall to her side.

Scout let her in and closed the door behind her.

Miss Pauling’s glasses fogged as she came in.

It’d been a while since they were face to face. At least that’s how it felt. It had been a little over two weeks that Mann Co. gave the mercenaries time off for winter break. ..It was surprisingly lonely at work without his constant pestering. She sighed and leaned in to tightly hug him, to his surprise. Her body was cold from the outdoors and her jacket crinkled as he squeezed it.

Miss Pauling sighed, pulling apart from him.

The journey from Teufort to Boston was long and treacherous, especially on a tiny moped during a blizzard...

Miss Pauling rubbed away a tear that had somehow welled up in her eye. “..Sorry about that.”

 “Ay, anytime, Miss Pauling. I missed you.” I missed him too, but I can't say that out loud, he'd probably annoy me even more at work..

Scout looked down. “Hey, your hands look cold.”

“Oh, that’s okay, I could just—” Miss Pauling sputtered as Scout grasped onto her hands.

Her chest tensed up at the innocence of the gesture.

His hands were a lot bigger than Miss Pauling’s. They looked even more so while wrapped around hers like this. She warmed up quickly. Scout looked up at her and grinned.

Miss Pauling’s eyes widened. “Oh, I almost forgot. - My moped’s still outside.”

“Don’t worry about it, Pauling! I’ll get it.”

Miss Pauling rolled her eyes and tossed him the keys. Scout almost lunged out the door, barely keeping from slipping off the porch.

She unbuttoned her scratchy jacket and hung it up. Small specs of ice caught in the loose fibres began to melt and disappear. She pulled off her purse and stared at it for a moment. It contained her Dillinger and extra ammo. She probably won’t need this either.

She heard laughs and inaudible chatter and walked further into the foyer. 

Scout’s family was seated at a long table which was adorned with red cloth and white table-runners, along with intricate embroidery which depicted snowflakes and wind on the ends. Empty plates accompanied half-emptied glasses of wine and beer and untouched cutlery in front of the men loudly exchanging stories.

Miss Pauling pulled out a chair from the end of the table and sat down. Everyone quieted and turned to her.

“Hi, I’m Miss Pauling.”

An old man at the back of the table took a sip from his mulled wine and cleared his throat. “Ay, you work with Jerry, right?”

Scout’s grandpa spoke in a gravelly undertone, as if he was gurgling from the alcohol clinging to his throat.  

“Uh, yeah.”

“Well it’s a pleasure to finally meet ‘cha! I’m Jerry’s grandpops!” The man grinned, holding out his hand, which was as big as Scout’s... I guess it runs in the family...

Miss Pauling leaned in and shook Scout’s grandpa’s hand.

I wonder what Scout’s said about me... It’s against protocol to talk about jobs off the clock, but it’s no use trying to stop Scout’s big mouth.

“So, you need anything? Coffee? Water? .. Wine? ” The old man asked.

“Coffee, please.”

The man got up and walked into the kitchen to flick on the coffee maker and the rest of the table went back to drunkenly conversing and Miss Pauling’s mind wandered.

The kitchen had black and white checkered tile and it was where Scout’s mother and his brother were hard at work preparing dinner. A Christmas tree was lit up beside the counter, complete with ornaments and trinkets, along with a moderately sized plastic nativity scene which sat at its foot.

Scout came back into the room and straddled an empty chair to the left of Miss Pauling.

 “Thanks for the help, Scou- Err... Jeremy . ” Miss Pauling said.

“It’s no problem!”

“Hey, if we’re on a first name basis, does that mean I can call you Fa-- Mmph!”

Miss Pauling clasped her hands over Scout’s mouth bashfully. 

Scout sighed as she took her hands off him. “Alright I geddit..”

Snowflakes had gotten caught in Scout’s eyelashes and his cheeks were red from the cold. Miss Pauling shook her head, shifting her gaze back to Scout’s grandfather - who was walking toward her with a coffee pot and mug in hand.

The pitter-patter of the hot drink hitting the bottom of the ceramic cup was refreshing to hear. Miss Pauling couldn’t make time for coffee at work these past few weeks, and made do with syrupy energy drinks found in Mann Co. brand vending machines across Teufort.

“Thank you.” Miss Pauling said, holding the filled mug.

The heat rising from the coffee rolled along her face.

“D’you take it as is?” The old man asked.

“Eh, yes, thank you.”

Scout’s granddad lowered himself into his chair.

“Well, looks like dinner’s just about ready. Hope you’re not a vegetarian.” He said, chuckling heartily.

Miss Pauling hid her smile behind her coffee.

This was nice.

Scout’s ma stepped out of the kitchen, holding a roast turkey, and then set it down on the middle of the table.

It was garnished with parsley and lemon and the skin was brown, crispy and shiny.

Scout’s ma and brother laid out the rest of the meal. – Bread pudding, mashed potatoes, boiled vegetables, gravy... It smelt delicious. 

Scout’s mom sat at the side of her father, gently caressing his hand, as one of Scout's brothers sat down next to her.

.

Scout picked up the utensils laid out before him, cushioned with folded napkins underneath. He’d spent a lot of time setting everything up fancy tonight, thinking Miss Pauling might notice.

Joey had been working on the turkey with Ma for most of the afternoon, so figures he’d want to do the honors. He leaned over and began carving the turkey with a bread knife.

Ma covered her eyes and laughed.

Everyone got up to grab a plateful of turkey and mashed potatoes and sat back down.

The turkey was soft and sweet. Scout expected nothing less of his ma and Joey.

Previously everyone was talking but now everyone's heads were down and the only sound that could be heard from the table was screeching forks and knives against ceramic. Scout liked the take-out in Teufort but it could never compare to Ma’s cooking.

“Uh,” Miss Pauling blurted out.

“Mmph?” Scout replied; humming through the soft mashed potatoes he was stuffing into his mouth.

“...I actually shouldn’t stay too long if I want to get back to Teufort before midnight...”

Ma lifted her head from her food. “Oh... but don’t you want to stay for dessert?”

“I really can’t. My job is...”

Miss Pauling averted her gaze. “...demanding.”

Her hair fell into her face and she tucked it back behind her ear.

Ma stood up. “I’ll box up a slice of cake.”

Ma went to the fridge to take out the chocolate cake she’d prepared the day before.

“Uh, hey Miss Pauling, there’s actually something I wanted to give you...” Scout said.

“Um, sure. Just make it quick.”

Scout guided Miss Pauling up the stairs to his room and closed the door behind them. Emptied Bonk cans littered the area. Scout tried to reassure himself that Miss Pauling wouldn’t notice or care, but it didn't work.

Miss Pauling sat down on Scout’s bed and folded her hands in her lap, looking around at all the music posters on the walls.

Scout rummaged through his things and pulled out a box wrapped in sparkly Mylar and ribbon. He spent a lot of time trying to make the package look presentable, so he hoped she'd like it.

Scout sat next to Miss Pauling and handed her his gift. “Uh, here.”

Miss Pauling held the present and studied it.

“Can I open it now?”

“Eh, yeah, sure. Totally.”

Miss Pauling unwrapped the box and took off the ribbons. She was completely methodical. Scout kinda liked how serious she took this, like how serious she took everything else. She was always so determined and hard-working.

Miss Pauling took the gift out of the box silently and held it in front of her face.

 “It’s a sweater.” Scout said, stomach filling with butterflies.

...

“Uh, sorry, d'you not like that kinda crap? Sorry. It’s stupid. I...”

“I like it.” Miss Pauling said.

“You do? Yeah, I knitted it myself. My ma taught me how to do it a couple years back so I figured whadda-heck, right? Uh, she actually knit me the one I’m wearin’.”

Miss Pauling looked away. “Your mom seems.. nice.”

Something about her seemed different than her usual detached demeanor.

Scout sat awkwardly in the silence.

He looked around for something, anything , to talk about.“Um, so, uh...”

“Hey Jeremy?” Ma’s voice came from behind the door.

“Come in!” Scout said.

Ma came in and handed a Styrofoam box to Miss Pauling.

“Here’s that cake by the way, didn’t want to forget it before you left.”

“Thank you.” Miss Pauling said.

Ma waved and went back downstairs, closing the door behind her.

Miss Pauling sat the cake aside and put on the sweater. It was baggy and fell just below her hips. They were Scout’s measurements, but it seemed to fit her alright.

“It’s a little baggy...” Miss Pauling said.

“Hey, it’s cute!”

Miss Pauling stood there smiling for a few seconds but quickly looked away.

…

“Uh... I should probably get going now.”

“Oh, yeah sure.”

Scout opened the door and waited for Miss Pauling, who was picking up the cake Ma gave her.

“Thanks for dinner, guys. It was really good.” Scout said, walking down the stairs.

Ma waved cheerfully. “You’re welcome! And Miss Pauling, feel free to come by anytime!”

Miss Pauling nodded and went to the coat-hanger and put her things back on, leaving her coat unbuttoned. Scout picked up his bulky jacket and they both went back outside to the freezing cold.

It was snowing really hard now. Gigantic flurries clouded view of the pitch-black streets.

Scout looked over his shoulder. “You sure you wanna go all the way back to Teufort with weather like this Miss Pauling?”

“You could stay the night here if ya-”

Miss Pauling shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

“Honestly I shouldn’t even be here anyway… but for what it's worth, it was actually kind of fun.”

Scout smiled.

“Hey, As long as you’re happy, Pauling.”

“Oh! Right,” Scout said, rushing to get Miss Pauling’s moped from the garage.

Scout grunted, struggling to pull up the garage door by its handle until it flew up.

He rolled the moped out and handed Miss Pauling the keys.

“Thanks again, Scout.” Miss Pauling said, putting her cake away in a spare compartment.

Scout smiled. “Anything for you.”

Her eyes had a glint in them he'd never seen before, but she turned her face out of sight.

 “By the way, since you're going you might need this. It's pretty dangerous out here at night.”

Scout handed Miss Pauling a knife with 'jeremy' engraved on the handle.

Scout snorted. “Boston represent.”

“I actually got it for my birthday, so maybe you could give it back once I get back to work?”

"Of course."

It fell silent again. It was as if the snow blocked out any sound.

Miss Pauling moved forward and gave Scout a quick kiss on the cheek.

She pulled back with her eyes widened.

“Uh, well, bye then!” Miss Pauling said, waving and hopping on her scooter.

Her silhouette quickly disappeared from sight and Scout stood still breathlessly.

Her lips were soft and warm. Though it was awkward and only for half a second, it made him want to do anything he could to feel that again. He'd travel to the ends of the universe if he had to.

Scout took a deep breath.

I love that girl.

[easypeasylindyvesey]

APRIL 2027- PART 21

The elevator doors open and we make our way out and into the lobby, looking for the doors. We’re met with the chilly morning air. I should be lucky that I decided to wear something somewhat warm. We find our Uber parallel parked right in front of the hotel. The driver lifts the trunk for us to store our suitcases. I shut it and both of us make our way into the backseat.

I take a few seconds to observe our driver. He’s a man, of course, with brunette hair and scruffy facial hair. He’s wearing a baseball cap and is evidently enjoying the music playing on the radio. He looks at the rear-view mirror and smiles. “Morning,” he says. “I’m Ryan. Where to?”

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

“Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, please,” Jimmy requests, as he buckles his seatbelt into place.

“You got it,” the driver says. “If there’s any pit stops I gotta make, just let me know.” He looks over the seat. “You okay, miss?”

I’m zoning out on the seat in front of me. “Uh, yeah, I’m fine,” I say, reaching my seatbelt over my body. 

“Alrighty, then,” Ryan replies. “Buckle up and we’ll be on our way.”

Once I click it, he reverses out of his parking spot, and down through the parking lot, before finding the exit. We merge onto the highway, the hotel occurrences becoming more of an unsettling memory.

I stare out of my window, watching the early morning sky show off to the world. The sun is still low in the sky, but I can focus on the light blue intermingling with the high thin clouds. It’s a pretty sight, I’ll admit. I have never been a morning person by any means, but I guess it’s not so bad when you have a nice view.

I side-eye my way toward Jimmy. He’s on his phone, doing I-don’t-know what because I can’t get a good look. He’s probably texting Lavi about how I’ve been quiet for a little bit, and oh, should I be worried? Should I try to talk to her? God, why does he feel the need to feel like he has to fix everything?

I lean my head back on the seat and shut my eyes, listening to the tires drive on the road and the sound of the music coming through the back speakers. It makes me relax. I feel as if I’m being transported into another universe, where it’s calmer and nothing has changed and the people that I love love me back. Well, at least I can confirm two of those things were true. 

I hold onto my purse for dear life, feeling the bulges and bumps. I can feel the outline of my wallet, my phone, hand sanitizer, pen.

Pen.

The pen I wrote my speech with.

The speech I forgot for the funeral.

The same speech I forgot in the nightstand drawer.

The same speech I forgot to put in my suitcase.

This can’t be some sort of sign, can it? Leaving everything here and letting it go once we get back? I don’t know if I can fathom that. It’s not like I would take that well. I guess it was a blessing in disguise.

I take my hands and separate my fingers from each other, stretching them out, as a way to silently express my frustration. I don’t want to talk right now. Hell, I don’t think I should ever talk again. It’s not the end of the world, Abby. We’ve already reached that.

My eyes slowly squint open when I see the sun has started to rise, absolutely blinding me through the cracks of the front passenger seat. Guess I won’t be able to fall back into my previous state now.

We’re still on the highway, it looks like, as I concentrate on the Uber driver. I silently thank him for not being a huge talker. I’ve never been a fan of people who constantly suck the daylights out of you by continuously running their mouth. I get if they’re talking about something they’re passionate about; that’s one thing. On the other hand, if it’s constant bitching and moaning about the same old thing, I’m immediately over it. Of course, no one wants to be brave and tell them to be quiet because we want to avoid hurting their feelings, but a good reality check isn’t always the worst idea. Just like what Jim got.

I can feel him looking at me. I focus on the rising of the sun. It hurts my eyes, but it’s a better distraction than having to look into his. The silence is somewhat comfortable, but it’s giving the idea of the person that opens their mouth will regret it. And it’s sure as hell not going to be me.

“I forgot to ask this, but what brought you folks to Minnesota?” Ryan pipes up from the driver’s seat. “It’s a beautiful state to be in this time of year.”

“We, uh, we attended a funeral,” Jimmy says, his voice doing a good job at conveying the dissatisfaction with having to say that sentence out loud.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ryan replies. “DId you know the person well?”

“We did,” Jimmy responds back. “He was, uh, he was a very important person in our lives.”

Very important? He was everything.

“At least you got to offer your condolences. I’m sure he was happy both of you showed up.”

I mean, I’d be happier if he was riding along in the car with us right now, but okay.

“Yeah, we, uh, we could definitely feel that he was in the room with us,” Jimmy admits. “His family lives here, so that’s why they decided to hold the services in a different state.”

“Where you folks from?”

“I’m uh, I’m from Boston, and she’s from Long Island. We both live in Manhattan right now. We’re taking a flight back to the city.”

“Hey, both of you share those East Coast roots!” Ryan realizes. “I gotta tell you, some East Coasters are so, so nice, and some of them can be incredibly nasty. I’ve driven a lot of people from there, and you could just tell by their demeanor if they were up for a conversation or didn’t want to be bothered. Y’all are quiet, but definitely on the nice list. Now, I understand the quiet given the circumstances. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Jimmy replies.

The car falls quiet again. There’s no perfect way to deter the topic of conversation after mentioning death. I’m not pouring out my heart and soul to some stranger who just happens to share his name.

We seem to be halfway through our drive already. I’m becoming more eager to get on this plane. I just need to go home. Should I even consider the apartment home yet? It still feels a little unfamiliar to me. I’ve adjusted to my room and the living space, but the only vast difference is that there’s someone in the next room. My privacy has been limited in so many ways. So far, he’s not doing a good job at maintaining it. Of course, it’s too early to confront him, both literally and logically, but he better take the hint soon. Or maybe he already has and I just don’t know it.

I close my eyes again and listen to the music buzzing in the background. The chilly morning air starts to infiltrate its way through the car, making me shiver.

“You cold?” Jimmy asks.

I stare straight at the passenger seat in front of me. “No.”

“Do you want my jacket?”

“I literally just said I’m fine,” I hiss.

“Alright, then,” he remarks. “Suit yourself.”

I roll my eyes, biting my lip to prevent myself from saying something I might regret. There’s already a good amount of stuff that I wish I never did with him right there.

After what feels like an infinite amount of time, we finally merge off the highway and take the exit to the airport. I’m so close to unbuckling my seatbelt and opening the door while the car’s still moving. Hell, if an Uber can’t get there quick enough, I think walking would serve as a more advantageous alternative. Sure, the car would chase after me, but at least he wasn’t going to follow me around like he always does. Even being trapped in the backseat with him makes me feel confined and unable to get my own space. I thought he, out of all people, would understand that. We didn’t have to take the flight to Minnesota together. We didn’t have to share a hotel room. We didn’t have to share an Uber. I didn’t even need to call him.

But I did. I guess this is what I get in return.

Of course, life can never continuously be kind to us, because the road leading up to the airport entrance is at a complete deadlock. I check my phone. It’s 7:20. The flight’s not until 8:30, but they tend to start boarding around half an hour beforehand. God knows how long when, or if, we’ll move at all.

I can see the faintest image of the runway peaking out from behind the airport. There’s a plane sitting there, perhaps getting ready to take off. It’s in that moment when I realize that I am probably never going to come back here with intent ever again. I guess you could count me visiting his family if I so wish, but what’s the point of doing that when he’s not even there?

I unbuckle my seatbelt and reach for a $20, reaching forward and dropping it in the front cup holder. “Thank you,” I elicit, and open my door, shutting it before I even get to hear a response. The trunk pops open and I reach for my suitcases, motioning over to the sidewalk and beginning my journey inside.

There’s the sound of another car door shutting. “Abb!” a familiar voice yells. “Where are you going?”

“Can’t fucking sit in there forever!” I yell back. “If we miss the flight, then, oh, well. We saw that coming.”

“The traffic will move! You gotta be patient!”

“I don’t have any more patience left in me! Either sit there or get your ass up and walk! I really don’t care!”

I respond to him without even looking back. I’m surprised he could hear me all the way from back there. Heck, I’m surprised I could even hear him. It was more of a shout than a yell. I do know there will be a time in the future where he will yell and it will sure scare the hell out of me.

There’s another sound of the trunk shutting. Of course. I mean, what were the odds, right?

I cherish this time without him by my side to finally breathe. I can walk into that airport and feel as if I’ve been traveling alone, like I’m embarking on a solo expedition around the country. I can walk in there and for a few moments, no one will recognize me or know my name. Maybe I should hide in the bathroom so that he doesn’t come and find me. However, he’ll probably be able to pick up on the fact that I’m purposefully avoiding him. One thing’s for certain: I want him to be done asking me questions. I don’t have the answers.

It looks to be a blessing in disguise when I walk through those double doors because there’s not as many people as I would’ve thought. I guess I got lucky in terms of flight time. Yeah, you can thank me for scheduling it in the early part of the day. I didn’t want to stay here any longer than I needed to. Of course, Jimmy would think that’s ‘rushing.’ I call it ‘logical reasoning.’

I approach the TSA line and scan my ticket while letting my suitcases run through security before they make their way to the baggage claim. I receive a card with my gate number and walk over to baggage claim, watching the suitcases spin round and round on the conveyor belt. I look around and see all of these strangers making their way through. Isn’t it weird to think that everyone you see at an airport is here for a different reason? Some people might be going on vacation, others are studying abroad. Heck, there’s a 1% chance someone had to watch their loved ones be laid to rest. Oh wait, that’s me.

Still waiting, feeling a little bit annoyed, because really, how long does it take for bags to go through baggage claim? When we travel to away games, we take a private flight immediately to the nearest airport and go straight to the hotel. We don’t get our bags checked. Of course, that would take too much time, and we’d be stuck there longer than we need to be. This is one of the times where I don’t get that luxury. But hey, curiosity killed the cat, right?

I hear the faintest footsteps approach from behind me. I already know it’s him, I don’t even need to look. I keep my eyes on the baggage claim. I’m starting to think it destroyed my suitcases because where the hell are they?

“Just wanted to say you took my things out of the trunk,” Jimmy pipes up. It’s quiet, but he gets his point across.

Oh. That’s why.

He steps out into my peripheral vision and grabs two navy blue suitcases with the manufacturing logo ingrained at the top. “Your stuff’s just about to make its way around.”

I give him a quick nod. “Sorry.” Even I feel brave for mentioning that five letter word I don’t even seem to believe.

“No worries,” he replies. “It was an accident.”

Was it, though?

“You wanna get breakfast real quick before we board?” he asks.

I ponder the idea of having to spend another meal with him. I ponder another idea of starving for the next 2 and a half hours in the air, where I’d have to resort to crappy airline food. Then again, airport food isn’t even much better.

“Yeah,” I mutter, finally seeing my belongings make their way to the front and reaching out to grab them. I lift the handles and roll the suitcases down the airport floor, looking like a lost puppy trying to find its way home. I look further down and notice a Starbucks located in its own little area. Bingo.

Surprisingly, there’s not a long wait. I order a spinach, feta, and egg white wrap with a grande cold brew with cream, and Jimmy’s sticking to his Boston roots with a plain bagel and grande black coffee. With nothing else. No cream, no sugar, no espresso shot, no cold foam. Damn, he really is bland with his food and drink choices as he is with his nonstop presence.

We find a table to sit at and quickly munch on our overpriced breakfast. Not much conversation ensues, but that’s not necessarily an uncommon factor. I can tell that if he attempts to start something with me, he’ll be met with an attitude, or straight-up ignored. You’d think he’d know better. 

“Oh, uh, just to let you know, we’re taking a commercial flight back to the city, so we’re gonna be with other passengers,” he pipes up after sipping his coffee. “Also, there’s not enough space for the entire team to take just one flight, so there’s gonna be two. Both are scheduled for 8:30. So if you don’t see everyone right away, then that’s why.”

I raise my eyebrows. “You comin with me?”

“Why wouldn’t I come with you?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

I don’t answer.

“Abb?”

I don’t answer again.

“Do you actually want me to take the other flight? If that’s what you want, that’s fine with me. You gotta tell me, though.”

My brain wants to say yes, but my heart’s telling me no.

“You can stay with me,” I let out. “It’s fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, Jim, I’m sure.”

“I mean, if you really-”

“Just don’t piss me off and we’ll be fine.”

“Haven’t I done that already?” 

I look up at him. His lips are moist from his coffee. His eyes tell me that he was sincere when he asked that. Crap. He actually meant that.

I guess I don’t need to answer for the third time. Maybe he’s not as oblivious as I make him out to be.

We finish our breakfast and make our way to our gate. We wait in line until we make our way outside and onto the plane. I find my seat and store my purse in the overhead compartment. I expect Jimmy to move in right next to me, but instead, he shuffles into the row behind him, occupying the middle seat. Is that the seat he was assigned on the plane? Did he purchase that one on his own? I thought it was paid as a group flight.

And then I remember that it was.

And then I remember again that there are no assigned seating arrangements on a group flight.

I would totally thank him right now, but my space is taken up by Goody and Braden, who take the seats on my left. We exchange our facial gestures before we sit down. I see Vinny and Jacob surround Jimmy. A little more room to breathe is nice. Of course, it can’t last forever.

I turn my body to face them. “How are you?” I start the conversation.

“Good,” Braden says. “Tired, but good.”

“What did you think of everything?”

Braden opens his mouth again. “I thought it was nice. They really did a great job organizing everything. I mean, yeah, it’s obviously very sad, but it was a good way to honor him.”

“You got that right,” I agree.

“Yeah, you had a great speech, Abb,” Goody chimes in. “It really came from the heart. We all knew that when it came to you, we wouldn’t have thought to find it anywhere else. Truly, it was one that you could tell everyone had to listen to. They’d see it as one of the most important ones.”

I smile. “I mean, I don’t know if it was the most important one, but I’ll take it. Thanks.”

“Of course. How are you holding up?”

I shrug. “Well, I’m still here. That should count for something.”

“Are you okay? You know, after what happened last night?”

Oh my fucking God. 

I play dumb. “What, uh, what happened last night?”

“Oh, sorry, I, uh, I meant to say earlier this morning. Jimmy told us you woke up panicking, like screaming for help and stuff. I wasn’t sure if he told you that he told us. I wanted to wait until I saw you to ask if you were okay in case you didn’t know.”

I didn’t.

I’m gonna fucking kill him.

“I’m fine,” I say with my voice lowered so that he doesn’t hear me. “Just a one time thing. That’s all.”

“I know you see Jim on a regular basis, but if you ever want to talk to us about anything if you don’t feel like opening up to him, you know we’re always here.” Goody gives me a sympathetic look. I can see it in his eyes.

“I know,” I remind him. “Thank you.”

“He’s not busting your balls, is he?”

“More like imploding them, but same equivalent.”

“Is that sarcasm?”

“You seriously didn’t pick up on that?”

Goody laughs. “No, I did not. You still got that sense of humor.”

I playfully roll my eyes. “I learned it from the best.”

Oh, what a good thing he didn’t pick up on it. Because it’s a lie.

The sound of an intercom makes its way across the plane. It makes announcements about safety procedures and basic rules before the voice tells everyone we’re about to take off. I stare down at my shoes, dangling my feet on the floor of the plane. My heart rate is a little elevated, but steady. When I first joined the team, I had so much anxiety about away games because we’d have to board a plane and be stuck on there for God knows how many hours. I was only on a plane twice in my life as a kid, so I was incredibly nervous about the long flights. Luckily, it got easier with time. It was also easy when your boyfriend would distract you with cards and conversation. I will say that one of my favorite parts about pregame flights is playing UNO with some of the guys. Not to brag, but most times, I reign victorious, even if we’ve played for 7 rounds. Everyone thinks I’m cheating, and I swear that I’m not, but they seem to think that I have a trick up my sleeve. I do have a trick: it’s called luck. As for postgame flights, everyone is completely exhausted, so the majority of the team sleeps or quietly plays cards. I’d use Ryan’s shoulder as a pillow, which I felt bad about because he wouldn’t have been able to move, but I wonder what I’m gonna do now once preseason rolls around. Maybe I’ll have to buy my own.

As the plane ascends into the air and off the ground, leaving Minnesota, I clench my hands on the armrests. Of course, I’m extremely sad, but I have to remind myself that he can rest now. He is free from any harm, any danger, any uncertainty about the future. According to my “dream,” he wasn’t free from it at all. It’s just my mind distracting me from the actual reality that is even more extreme and consequential than I thought it would’ve ever been. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I’ll see you later. I love you.

[queerdiazs]

wip wednesday (on a thursday!)

forgot i can literally do whatever i want so here's a snippet from a long way from your heart which is not published but, uh, soon?

Chim hums, contemplative and quiet, and drinks more of his champagne. Eddie leaves him to it and continues to watch Buck as he makes an absolute fool of himself, attempting to swing Athena and Chris and Maddie all around in a messy circle.  It’s endearing, terribly so. Eddie’s heart warms, and beats and beats, and swells, encompassing his whole chest till there’s no room left for anything else. He’s been in love before—once, with Shannon—and it was all-consuming and mind-numbing, rich and decadent and intense in the way it ate the both of them up, but it’s different this time. Calmer, safer, secure and lingering like fingers of sunshine through wide-open windows.  They were fire, both he and Shannon. They raged and smoldered until they burned one another up, taking from each other but never giving in return. It’s part of the reason why Eddie felt the need to enlist the second time, part of the reason why Shannon left when Eddie was home for good and never returned even after things with her mother were settled.  Everything Eddie loves about the world, Shannon loved, too. They were the same in the way you’re only the same with few people in this life—the way you don’t have to finish your thought because you know they’re already thinking it, as well. Thick as thieves and the best of friends, but not the greatest teammates.  He loved Shannon, and he always will, but it hurt. In the end, when he was burned and she was charred, both beyond recognition and so far away from the kids they were when they fell in love, and neither one of them could help the other, it hurt. He grieved her before she died, and long after she passed, too, because he was never able to cool her fire.  He’s sure she felt the same way and realized it before he did, especially when Frank had him work through their conversation at the restaurant when she asked for a divorce. He sobbed, ugly and messy and red-faced in his kitchen while Chris was at school, and laughed so hard his stomach hurt after. She was always quicker on the uptake than him.  When he thinks of her now, he doesn’t hurt. His memories are fond and bittersweet, yellow at the corners like a faded photograph, and he shares as much as he can with his son. He can’t quite remember the shade of her eyes anymore, but Chris has her lopsided grin and sometimes his skin still tingles when he remembers her, a physical reminder of her burning love.  Buck isn’t fire. He’s water—he’s floods of crooked smiles, rushes of caresses on sore muscles, flows of laughter even when Eddie’s not being very funny at all. He’s warm showers after a bad day and thick blankets in the morning when the sun’s shining through the curtains and listening to the rain fall outside during the night. He’s calm. He’s peace and he’s trust and he’s faith. He’s shitty attitudes and bad times and tears and cold feet on Eddie’s back in the middle of the night just because he can. He’s acceptance and stability and promise and magical and a brightness so vivid, so blinding it lights up Eddie’s entire world, and he doesn’t burn. He doesn’t hurt.   Loving Buck is so easy because it doesn’t hurt. 

something something i like to explore the particular brand of queerness i've slapped on eddie by delving into the complexity of his emotions for his wife and the simplicity of his emotions for buck because nothing is strict black and white and eddie's working it out in his brain, okayyy??

anyway <3

[maribricklove]

Trapped Under Ice – Part eight

Pairing: Sam x Reader, Dean x Platonic!Reader, John Winchester (mentioned),

Summary: Imagine being an old hunting friend of Sam’s (and something more) from before he went to college that he thought was dead, and while coincidentally working on the same case you were, you run into each other again. Astonished to see you after almost twenty years, Sam tries to figure out how you survived, but you don’t want to relive the pain and terror of how you were separated.

Word Count: 949

Warnings: Implied PTSD (No disrespect to people with PTSD. Just something for the character), fluff, angst, eventual blood, gore, death, mild swearing.

Prompt: None

Disclaimers: I do not own anything from CW,  Warner Brother’s, any of the photos in this collage, or you. This is a work of pure fiction -obviously.

Sam’s POV

The second I opened my eyes, I was blinded from the light peering through the window. I half expected to hear Dean's snoring, but it was quiet. I felt something move under my arm, and I realized there was someone else in the bed.

“Wait. No. It wasn’t a dream. She’s really here. Holy shit. Y/n’s really here, and I’m holding her in my arms.”

The way her hair caresses her shoulders is mesmerizing. Her slow breathing  under my embrace, enchanting. The way the sun hits her y/h/c brightens her face. She seems much more peaceful than when she had that nightmare earlier this morning. The scar on her arm stands out to me. “Damn. That must have hurt,” I said to myself. I got lost in thought for a second before I heard a voice say, “It did.”

She startled me. I thought she was still asleep. “It hurt like a bitch for months,” she continued. “What time is it?”

“Uh…” I looked at the bedside clock “Almost 8.”

“Ah, crap.”  She slipped out from under the covers and started walking to the bathroom.

“What’s up?” I asked, thinking she might have forgotten about something.

“Nothing,” she replied, waving a hand as she walked into the bathroom, closing the door.

“O-okay.” I got out of bed, walked to the kitchen sink, and grabbed a glass of water. “That was weird.”

As I walked back to the bed to grab my pants, Y/n walked out of the bathroom with her hair up and her shirt off, wiping her face with it. As she finished and opened her eyes, she saw me and jumped. “Oh, Jesus!” she exclaimed. She held her shirt to her chest, panting. “I’m sorry. I forgot you were here.”

“Are you okay? You seem really jumpy. Was it because I cuddled you in my  sleep?”

“What? No, Sam. I-I mean, that was a little odd to wake up like that, but it wasn’t bad.” She said. “I just have a routine in the mornings, and I have things I need to do, and I usually am up and moving around 6:30, so I had to jump out of bed.”

She looked nervous, like she was hiding something. She did that thing where she rubbed her hands together. “No, no. It’s okay,” I replied. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spook you like that. I’m uh… I’m not used to girls hopping out of bed like that.” She gave me a quizzical look. “I mean, I don’t sleep around a lot. Dean used to do that. I haven’t been with as many girls as he has. I just- What I’m trying to say is, if you’re worried about something, you don’t have to hide it from me.”

That seemed to calm her down a bit. “You don’t have to explain anything, Sam. I haven’t slept with a guy since,” she paused, “ well, since 2007? I think. And we technically didn’t even sleep together, we just shared a bed, you know, because you were being nice, and”

“Yeah,” I stammered.

“And I do appreciate it. I did sleep well,” said calmly as her hands dropped down from her chest to her stomach. “You don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve slept that well, even for a few hours.”

“Yeah, uh, no problem.” I said. “ I know what it’s like, with nightmares. Trust me, I’ve had a few myself over the years.”

“Yeah, what hunter hasn’t?” she quipped with a chuckle. She’s starting to come out of her shell.

“Look, um,” I started, “if you ever want to talk, I’m here. I know sometimes it helps, if you just get it off your chest.”

“Thanks, Sam,” she said rather quickly, “ but I’m okay. Really.” As she was nodding her head, I couldn’t help but notice that the scar on her arm was right next to her chest, where she was wearing nothing but her sports bra. “Look, Dean’s probably curious about where you’re at. You should probably head on over there, and we can grab some breakfast later.”

“Yeah. Yeah, uh, good idea.”

READER’S POV

Sam left my room, and I laid back down on the bed, his scent lingering on the sheets.

“Goddammit. Why did I have to tell him I only slept with one guy in the last 15 years? What the hell was that? Talk about cringey info-dump.” I looked up and grabbed my phone off the bedside table. There was a text from Dean.

“Off to get breakfast. I’ll be back in 30.” Timed 13 minutes ago.

“Okay, Y/L/N. Time to get into gear. Gotta figure out who this Okuri-inu is, gotta put on a brave face, and face down another day.” I told myself. Sam hadn’t come back yet. Probably grabbing a change of clothes. “Probably should change my clothes.”

“Why was Sam asking me if I was okay? It’s not like he still cares about me like that. Does he? No, he couldn’t. You heard him. He’s been with other girls. Probably met some cute girl in college that swept him off his feet and made him feel like he could do anything and everything.”

I could still taste the bathroom tap water on my the back of my tongue. I had to do it fast. If I stepped out of my routine too much, it could really screw with me.

Should I tell Sam what’s going on with me? Should I tell him where I’ve been, what I’ve been doing for the last 20 years? There’s no way he could save me from what I’ve been fighting with since that day. The monster in my head.

Chapter 9

[all-for-the-simps]

“I Can’t Sleep”- Harry Kim x male reader

Star Trek: Voyager 

{ONESHOT}

Word count: 1100 Trope: Established relationship, domestic bliss, slice of life, comfort, fluff Pronouns: He/him Context: You’re an Ensign on Voyager… also it’s not completely canon… I guess. A/N: I think there should be more x male reader fics for Harry Kim because man, is he very bisexual-coded– But also because he also deserves a bit more love. 🚫female-aligned people DNI🚫

-----

The stars shone brightly through the windows, the faraway dots glowing as they shot passed– I can’t do this anymore. These fancy descriptions will never capture how bright the stars shone. They were practically blinding you as you tried to get at least a little sleep. You tossed and turned in bed for hours, hoping to finally settle down. You sadly couldn’t, however. You just ended up staring at the windows again, watching as the stars whizzed past. You shook your head and rubbed your eyes, your head throbbing slightly. You would’ve thought that a person working on a starship would be used to the stars moving so rapidly through space. No, you just got dizzy because of the movement. You had always wondered why starships’ didn’t have curtains in the crew’s quarters but you couldn’t exactly do anything about that.

After an hour or so of pure restlessness and frustration (not to mention a headache coming on), you finally give in and get up. 

“Computer. What’s the time?” You grunted, slowly sitting up. 

“3:38 am.” The computer responded. You groan and rub your eyes again, getting up, and taking your blanket with you. You wrapped the blanket around yourself and walked out of the doors and into the hallway. 

“Guess I’ll just go bug Harry about it.” You grumbled to yourself, tripping over the corner of the blanket and stumbling for a second.

Voyager was so quiet at night, almost peaceful in contrast to the normal panicked state the crew was usually in. The lights were dimmed to simulate nighttime. You thought about how the people on the ‘night shift’ coped with the lights being this dimmed. 

You arrived at Harry’s door and pressed the chime, waiting outside the door, slightly shivering in the blanket. You forgot how cold this place could get, but then again, it’s deep space.

The door opened to reveal a rather sleep Harry Kim rubbing his eyes. 

“It’s like 4 am, what’s the problem?” He paused and looked you up and down, blinking a few times to get the sleep out of his eyes.

He chuckled, put his hands on his hips, and said, “Y/N… You look terrible.”

“Thanks, honey.” You grunted and pushed past him.

“Hey!” He said, hurrying after you, the doors automatically sliding shut after you. “Come on, man. What's wrong?” He sounded worried as you just flopped onto his bed.

“I can’t sleep.” You muttered.

“Is it the stars again?” He asked, sitting on the bed beside you. You nod and Harry sighs, thinking of what he could do.

“My head is spinning because of those damn stars.” You said, sitting up and rubbing your forehead, keeping your blanket around your shoulders.

“Uh…” Harry sighed and played with his fingers. “You want a drink or something?” He asked, almost awkwardly. You looked at him, a deadpan and exhausted expression on your face. He usually made you smile the biggest smile every time you saw him, but with nights like these, you could barely focus on who was in front of you. You knew it was Harry and you wanted to smile, but you couldn’t get your weary self to do it. Harry knew this and felt sorry for you. He knew how hard it was for you out here. So many lightyears away from your family back home. Your siblings, your parents, your pets, whoever was waiting for you. Harry knew that the crushing weight of the knowledge that there was a possibility you would never see them again was heavy on you. The stars were a reminder of how far away your family was. Not only did the constant movement give you a headache, but the thought made you sad, even if you didn’t want to admit it.

Harry gave you a side hug as you two sat on his bed. You leaned into his touch, signing contently as he held you close. A smile did threaten to appear on your lips but it faded when Harry let go.

“I’ll get you a tea. Something warm usually helps me when I can’t sleep.” He said, getting up and walking over to the replicator. 

“No sugar.” You said as Harry pressed a button.

“Of course. Two teas, no sugar.” Harry said and the drinks materialised. He brought them over to you and gave you one. You took it slowly and blew softly over the edge of the cup. Harry hummed slightly as he drank from his but then spasmed a bit, screwing up his face.

“You okay?” You ask, tilting your head at him. He nodded and swallowed, coughing slightly. He stuck out his tongue and smacked his lips, his face still scrunched up.

“I burned my tongue.” He frowned, looking at his tea. You chuckled for the first time that night and Harry smiled at that but looked a little hurt.

“What?” You laughed, looking at his expression of mixed feelings.

“I like that you’re laughing and feeling a little better, but laughing at my pain? How dare you?” He chuckled with you. 

“Sorry, sorry.” Your chuckling trailed off as a completely different vibe settled over the two of you. You definitely felt better and Harry could sense that, feeling happy he made your night a bit better. The two of you continued to sip your tea in comfortable silence.

“I like this.” Harry said after a while, putting his cup down on the bedside table.

“The tea?” You questioned, also putting your cup down.

He chuckled and shook his head, “No, Y/N. I like doing this with you. I like giving you a reason to smile. I like making you feel better.”

“And I like that you’re trying.” You smiled for a second before yawning. 

“Finally sleepy enough to fall asleep?” Harry asked as you lay down on the bed, gripping the blanket that was still around your shoulders. Harry puts his hand on your head, slowly stroking your hair. 

“Can you lie down and do that?” You said in a low tone, shuffling over so he could fit in beside you.

“Alright, Mr. Grumpy.” Harry chuckled, earning him a tired glare. He shrugged and lay down, getting comfortable within the blankets. He moved closer to you and you gladly welcomed his warmth. He smiled at you as he continued to run his fingers softly through your hair. He started humming quietly, knowing that it helps you fall asleep. You smiled as your eyes began to close, the warm feeling of Harry’s gentle hand in your hair and his soft humming lulling you to sleep.

-----

[First public oneshot, oh my god– I hope it was okay ;-;]

[missnedge]

Just for tonight (Starscream/reader pt 3)

Summary: After a harsh beating from Megatron, Starscream seeks solace in the only place he can think of. And you of course, welcome him.

Chracters: Starscream/You (Miko and Bulkhead make a special appearance)

Tags: Hurt/comfort, fluff, angst, TW for abuse and just Megatron in general cause fuck that guy, no smut but it is refrenced, mutual pining, someone get Starscream some help for the love of god.

This was written by Edge

Personal blog: @hollister-mc

Sunlight dipped into your room, you groaned and rolled over. It was your day off, you only planned on getting up when you felt like it. Or if you had to pee before your bladder bursts, whichever came first. 

Three short beeps of a horn make you jolt under your covers, you huff and drag the blankets over your head. People and their shitty driving would be something that irked you till the day you died… Wait, you live pretty far out. Why would someone be honking right outside, unless…

"Y/N!!!!! WAKE UP, IT'S ROCK AND ROLL TIME!" You groan even louder into your pillow as your front door gets assaulted by Miko’s fists. "GO AWAY I'M NOT HOME!" You scream back at her, and she goes silent. You pause and raise your head. There's no way that actually worked, right?

"BOO!" 

"AH!" You vault your body onto the floor with a grunt. Miko starts to laugh maniacally outside your window. You wince as you move your stiff body up off the floor, you make your way over to the window, ripping open the blinds and unlatching your window lock. 

Miko stops laughing as you yank her through the window. "Ow! Geez sorry, someone isn't a morning person." She mumbles. You roll your eyes and make your way over to your dresser to scour for an outfit. "No, especially on my day off." She scoffs and flops onto your bed. "You can't just sleep the day away! It's almost noon!" 

You chuckle and turn back to her, outfit in hand. "You see Miko, the point of my day off means I can spend it however the hell I want. Besides, I already hung out with you guys yesterday." 

Miko jumps up and latches onto your arm, putting on her best pair of puppy eyes. "Pleaseeeee Y/n! We love hanging out with you!" You chuckle and raise a brow. "I'm an adult, shouldn't hanging around me be a buzzkill?" She laughs and shakes her head rapidly, making her pigtails flop around. "Pfft what? So what if you're an adult, you don't act like it! Plus Jack is more of a buzzkill than you." 

You laugh loudly and push her out of your room. "Alright, you've convinced me. Now get out so I can change." 

You shut your door and quickly get ready. After a couple minutes you head out of your room to find Miko staring at your counter. Your stomach drops as you realize she's staring at the missing chunk in your counter. 

"What happened here?" She asks, glancing up at you curiously. "Oh uh…" 

FUCK! You completely forgot about your poor bar that got wrecked along with you last week.

"Oh right, yeah a friend and I were uh… Doing a project, and it uh— kinda got out of hand…" You ramble as you avidly search for shoes so you both can leave quickly and drop the conversation. "A friend huh? Which one?" Miko starts to get a wicked grin on her face.

"A friend from work." You say, a bit too quickly for Miko’s liking. "Oh yeah?" 

"Mmhm, yup, yup, alright let's go!" You flash a nervous grin and gesture to the door. Miko stands with her hands on her hips, giving you a disapproving look. "I thought we were best friends Y/n?" 

"We are–"

"Then why didn't you tell me you hooked up with someone?!" 

You let out a squeak while waving your arms around in a desperate attempt to sway her. "Whoa! Haha, where'd you get that idea?!" She scoffed and crossed her arms. "Um hello? You're like– totally blushing!... Did yall get freaky?” 

You nearly screamed, you did not want to have this conversation with a teenage girl. Especially this one, who would embarrass the hell out of you for it. “I’m leaving without you!” You shouted and ran out of your house. 

Bulkhead swung open the driver door as you sprinted to his vehicle mode. Miko was yelling as she ran out of your house, the passenger side opened for her as well and she climbed it. Bulkhead started driving and broke the silence. "Whoa, where's the fire?" His amused voice comes through the radio.

Miko huffs and slouches in her seat, shooting you a frown. "Y/n won't tell me about their new partner!" You roll your eyes and cross your arms, staring out onto the road. Bulkhead sighs. "Miko… If Y/n wants to talk about their relationship then they will, stuff like that is private sometimes." 

The teenager groans and sits up straighter. "Fine, but I hope you'll tell me about it soon!" You laugh and reach over, ruffling her pigtails fondly. "Sure Miko, I'm just figuring things out right now ya know?" 

She nods and starts to laugh. "I understand, maybe it's a good thing you're keeping it private right now. We wouldn't want Starscream to find out would we?" You choke on air, a coughing fit starting up in your chest. Miko cackles loudly and Bulkhead groans in disgust. "Ugh Miko gross…" 

Right, how could you forget? Let's rewind for a second. Now, it didn't go unnoticed by team prime that Starscream had a certain… Fixation on you. Whenever the cons got involved with whatever the bots were doing Starscream always seemed to make it his mission to capture you, or at the very least rile you up.

Most everyone didn't think anything of it, even you. Just chalked it up to Starscream hating how snarky you were with him. The flirts you would shoot at him were typically done out of range from the bots or cons, you didn't want to be asked questions you didn't have the answers too. 

Most everyone didn't think anything of it… Except Miko. 

See, she had this wild conspiracy theory that Starscream was secretly in love with you and that the reason he always tried to capture you was so he could have you all to himself… Hilarious right? You thought so, at least, you used to. Now? You don't know what the hell to believe. 

"Oh come on Bulk, Screamers would be so jealous if he found out that Y/n was dating someone." Miko says. "Look, Starscream's not the type to care about anyone but himself. Especially about a human, no offense. But I think it's safe to say that he's not capable of any kind of affection." 

Miko and Bulkhead start to bicker back and forth about Starscream and you. Bulkhead may have a point. Starscream is loyal to himself, you're not sure if he is capable of affection but you sure as hell know he's capable of turning the inside of your pants into a slip and slide. Your face burns at the thought and you do your best to tune out their conversation the rest of the drive to base.

~~~~~~

Starscream walked throughout the dreary halls of the Nemesis, his posture stiff. This past week had been absolute torture. You constantly plagued his thoughts, all day, all night. Even in recharge he can't escape you. He's been on edge constantly and everyone on the Nemesis was starting to notice. The worst part was that he had also begun to slack in his work. He'd be spacing out more, snapping at anyone who'd point it out. More errors in coding and other data entries, even taking more time than usual out on protrols. 

Unfortunately for him, Megatron especially had begun to notice his second in command's change of behavior. 

Starscream folded his servos behind his back nervously, pausing in front of the door to the bridge. Megatron had requested his presence a few moments ago, and he had a horrible feeling that he knew what it was about. 

The doors slid open and he made his way onto the bridge. The room was mostly empty, only a couple of Vehicons were posted at their station, and of course, Megatron. Starscream made his way towards his leader, every step in his pedes felt like lead. Megatron was facing away from him.

"Starscream." He spoke, voice eerily calm.

"Lord Megatron." Starscream replied. 

"Do you know why I called you here?" Megatron asked. 

Starscream paused. Either he had found out about Starscream's little escapade with you, or he was here to reprimand him about his slacking lately. A small part of him hoped it was something completely different, but the underlying malice in his voice told him that there was no painless way out of this. 

"No my liege… I do not." He uttered. Megatron instantly picked up on his reluctance. The tall mech slowly turned around, glaring down at his second in command. “I don’t like liars Starscream. You know perfectly well why you're here. Correct?” Megatron started to circle Starscream as he spoke. The shorter mech felt his knees tremble. “I don’t tolerate slackers. You should know that better than anyone. It’s bad enough my second in command is a spineless fool who constantly plots behind my back, but I don’t need one who does poor work as well.” 

“I’m sorry my–” Starscream grunted in pain as Megatron struck him across the face, the force of the blow making him crumple to the ground. “The only reason you’re still here is because you’re of better use to me here than anywhere else.” Megatron sent a kick to his side. Starcream jolted to the side, landing painfully on his wings. “Don’t make me regret it, Starscream. I’ll dispose of you myself if you stop serving a purpose to me.” 

Starscream shakily tried to get to his knees but Megatron grabbed his wings and threw him to the side, eliciting a sharp yelp from the seeker. Despite the throb of pain running through Starscream, he couldn’t help the rush of relief that coursed through him as well.

Megatron didn’t know about you.

~~~~~~

You waved goodbye to Miko and Bulkhead from the top step of your house. The two drove away, blasting heavy metal. You chuckled and headed into your dark home. A yawn escaped your mouth as you flicked on the light of your living room, you set down your things on a chair and stretched. You had an eventful day at the base, Wheeljack was back on Earth visiting, so naturally the day was filled with fun and chaos. 

Before you could head into your bedroom a familiar sound of an engine stopped you. Your heart instantly started to beat faster, you hadn’t seen Starscream in a week. You wait for him to burst through your back door but you hear shuffling and muttering instead. Slowly you make your way to the back door, creaking it open you see Starscream there in his smaller form clutching his side. Instantly you notice the dents and scratches littering his form. The grimace of pain in his face was enough to snap you out of your shocked stare. “Christ— What happened to you?” You swing the door open fully enough for him to come in. A hiss of pain leaves his mouth as he limps through the short doorway. “Who do you think?” He grunts out.

You shut the door and watch him limp further into the house. You chew your lip in thought, you could say the autobots but considering you were with them all day the only logical explanation was… 

“Megatron…?” You inquired dolefully. Starscream said nothing as he looked to the floor, his back was to you, letting you get a clear view of his wings. They weren’t horrible wounds, he would clearly live; but the light blue energon leaking from a gash in his wing made your gut heavy in discomfort. “You’re leaking…” You mumble. Starscream continues to stare at the floor, refusing to look back at you. 

You may not have the right tools to patch him up, but you could at least ease some problems. Slowly you walk over to him, moving carefully into his line of sight. The situation as a whole is bizarre, the enemy faction of your friends is here in your house injured, and while he may not be asking for help directly the look in his optics tells you everything you need. 

You reach your hand forward, gently wrapping your hand around his servo, silently noting how cold he was compared to the last time you touched him. His optics dart to your smaller hand, before looking at you directly. A soft smile makes your way onto your lips. “Come with me?” 

Starscream raises a brow before nodding slowly. You smile, and lead him towards your bedroom. You slowly open your door and flip on the light, you lead Starscream to your bed, gently making him sit on the edge. “Wait here, I’m going to grab some stuff.” 

“Alright.” He mumbles. 

You turn and walk into your bathroom, mentally going through the possible supplies you have that would be beneficial. You doubt anything antiseptic would work on him, and obviously you don’t have any welding gear, or whatever they use to mend wounds. That leaves cleaning and wrapping up injuries temporarily. So, you grab some rags.

When you come back Starscream is looking around your room from his spot on the bed. You don’t think you can get used to the tall Decepticon sitting on your bed so casually. He turns back to you and notices the stuff in your hands. “What’s that?” He asks. 

“Just some rags, do you mind if I clean you up and tie off any leaks?” Starscream seems confused, before looking down at himself. “I don’t understand, am I leaking that badly? I apologize if I got energon on your things…” Your throat tightened at his words. Truly, you don’t think you’ve heard an apology come from his mouth before, let alone the absolute defeat in his voice. 

You instantly moved towards him. “No, no it’s not that. Don’t worry about any messes okay? I just want to help, I may not be able to do much for you medically… But I just–” Your breath hitches as you meet his stare. He looks so broken. You briefly wonder if anyone has ever done anything for him out of the kindness in their heart. You raise a hand to his face out of instinct to comfort, but he flinches away. 

Your heart shattered. 

He must have seen the shock in your face, for he turned away from you in shame. You swallowed the lump in your throat, crying wouldn’t help either of you right now. So you continued to reach your hand out, slower this time. Your hand met the side of his faceplate, you gently turned his helm towards you. His optics seemed duller than before as he looked at you. You raise your other hand, the rag you had wet earlier in your grasp. With utmost care you wiped a scuff that was on the lower left side of his face. 

“I don’t know your situation on the Nemesis… I know Megatron is far from being a gracious and forgiving leader, and in all honesty he doesn’t deserve the crew or position he has now…” You speak as you continue to wipe up his various scratches, his optics never leaving your face. You can feel your heart racing in your chest, yet you continue to speak tenderly. “But I want you to know that my door is always open. Whenever you need to get away from it, or if you want company, you need to vent, get cleaned up. Whatever it may be, day or night, whether I’m here or not, I will still be here for you. Okay?” You finish wiping his face.

Starscream has a look you’ve never seen before on him, then again, you haven't seen him like this ever. It hurts you to think he’s been suffering silently and alone from Megatron's wrath all this time. Starscream doesn’t know what to say, no one ever has extended such generosity and kindness to him before. At least without some sort of catch to it. So he says the only thing that comes to mind. 

“Why?” 

The question shook you. One word, and yet it raised so many questions inside you. Why were you doing this? Setting aside the fact that you were ‘enemies’ , Starscream wasn’t exactly the friendliest around. That, and most times you’ve interacted it was threats, bantering, or flirting borderlining taunting. Only recently did things change, clearly you skipped some steps when it comes to… whatever relationship you have with him. What relationship did you have with him exactly? You’re not really hostile anymore, friends is a loose term that doesn’t quite fit. Partner isn’t the right word, neither is lover. Fuck buddy isn’t to far off, yet would just a plain old hook up care this much about the other person? So it all loops back to the original question. Why do you care?

“I don’t know… I just do… Why did you come here instead of your medical bay?”

Starscream blinks in shock, his expression befuddled. Another moment passed, both of you just staring at each other. Finally, he speaks once more. 

“I don’t know… I just did.”

A small smile grew on your lips at his words, his face softened ever so slightly. “Well then… Since we obviously have no idea what we’re doing, can I finish what I started?” He nodded.

You grinned brightly and started to get back to work, cleaning any smudges or energon leaks. Starscream watched you with a soft expression, admiring you and how you worked. He had no idea how to express to you that there was no possible way you could finish what you started, not when it came to how you made him feel. Starscream was terrified of what you did to him, more so what could happen to you or him if anyone else found out what was going on.

He watched you wrap a long cloth around his thigh, you tied it off, pausing and glancing up at him concerned. “That doesn’t hurt right?” He shakes his head, and you nod before reaching for another cloth to tie off a gash on his arm. You worked silently, briefly stopping here and there to ask permission or to check in on how he was doing. Once you were done, he honestly looked a lot better. You stood in front of him, hands resting proudly on your hips as you grinned. “All done! How do you feel?” 

Starscream glanced down at himself, obviously the dents and such were still there, but surface wise you did an amazing job. “I feel better… Thank you.” The words felt forigen, but the way your face lit up was all he needed to forget the oddity of pleasantries. 

For a moment, you both were staring at eachother again. The tension creeped back into the room, increasingly becoming difficult to ignore. Before you impulsively smashed your face against his you cleared your throat and gathered the used rags and brought them back into your bathroom. Starsceam watched you the entire time. 

You came back into the bedroom, shutting the door behind you. “So um… Do you have to go back soon?” You asked, slightly hoping his answer would be no. 

“Probably… But I don’t exactly want to go back.” Starscream rested his arms on his legs, leaning forward in thought. You frowned and shifted your weight between your legs. “Do they need you back for something?” He shook his helm, running his optics over a few objects on your wall. “No, not exactly. My shift was nearly over when I left anyway.” 

You ran your eyes over him, his body language seemed uncomfortable. If his words weren’t enough you could clearly tell that he dreaded going back right now. Before you could stop yourself, the words slipped. “Then stay.” 

Starscream froze, and slowly turned towards you. “...What?” 

Your mouth felt dry, you wanted to avert your eyes from his intense stare but you couldn’t seem to pry your eyes away from his. “Stay… Just for tonight.” 

Logically, you shouldn’t have offered. Then again, if you want to go by those rules you should have stopped what you were doing a long time ago. Starscream was having a similar thought. He already has let you do this for him, he was already here. The looming threat over both of your heads was already there, one night wouldn’t lessen or greaten the affects. 

“Alright… Just for tonight then.” 

[therosebudgirlwriter]

L.P.D Chapter 9 (The One Where They Actually Have A Mature Conversation)

totally forgot to post my new chapter on tumblr (apologies - I have a goldfish brain)

a big shoutout to @twigs_in_my_hair for helping me out big time!

here's the link to ao3 if you want, and here's the actual chapter lmao...

Simon

Ellie picks Rosie up on Monday. And she dropped her off this morning.

I just wish Baz would talk to me. I texted him like 16 times since I left his house. 

He read them. But he never responded.

When I called Penny yesterday she told me to stop messaging him.

Obviously, I did the opposite.

He didn’t even read those ones.

I’m about to text him again at lunch break when Mum finds me.

“Darling. What’s wrong? 

I go to speak, but she cuts me off.

“And don’t say nothing, I’m not blind.”

I sigh.

“I don’t know.”

She smiles sympathetically, and pats my shoulder.

“I’ve noticed that Basilton hasn’t been around since Monday morning. Does that have something to do with it, perhaps?”

I can’t find the words to respond, so I shrug at her.

“I thought so. Talk to him, my love. Everything will be fine.”

How does she always know what to say?

I wish I was more like that.

I force my thoughts to stop.

“Thanks Mum.”

She reaches up and strokes my cheek.

“No problem sweetheart. You two will be fine. I know it.”

Now I just have to hope that Baz comes.

Baz

Simon messaged me a few more times last night. I couldn’t even bring myself to read those ones. 

I know I’m being an asshole.

He hasn’t done anything wrong.

And Ellie’s right. I can’t ignore him forever.

For Rosie’s sake.

By the time I make it to the daycare centre, I’m 20 minutes late.

I didn’t mean to be.

I was distracted, thinking about what I should say to Simon, and I took a wrong turn.

I feel awful.

I do the world’s worst park, and run into the centre. (fucking mood - I hate parking)

I speed past the reception, turning towards Rosie’s room. 

Simon and Rosie aren’t in the corridor. They must be inside.

I peek through the window, to find Simon and Rosie on the floor. Simon’s reading her a book, pulling all these silly faces to make her giggle. 

I almost wish I could stand at the door forever. But I can’t.

Simon is the first to spot me.

He stops reading and stares at me, almost like he wasn’t expecting me to come.

Rosie follows his gaze up to me, before jumping up and sprinting towards me.

I grab her, just before she comes crashing into my legs.

Simon stays frozen on the floor.

My focus shifts back to Roo when she pulls my face towards hers.

“I missed you lots today Dad!” she whispers into my ear.

I whisper back the same thing and she giggles.

She wriggles around to face Simon.

“You okay Mr Simon? Your face looks all silly!”

That seems to snap Simon out of whatever weird trance he was in.

“Uhm, yeah… I’m all good Rosie,” he says, still staring at me.

We’re both just staring at each other, when the door behind us opens.

“Simon darling, why don’t you- oh.”

Simon’s mum stands in the doorway. Much like her son, she is staring at me.

Luckily, she snaps out of it, and smiles at me.

“Hello there, Basilton.”

I try to return her smile.

She must realise something is amiss, because she moves towards Roo and I.

“May I borrow little Miss Rosie for a second, Basilton, darling? I’d love her help to collect her painting from next door.”

Oh.

“Uh- yes, of course,” I say, placing Rosie down.

She runs and grabs Lucy’s outstretched hand.

“We’ll leave you two to it then,” Lucy says, as she and Rosie exit the room.

And she winks at us.

She winks.

Head reeling, I slowly turn back to face Simon, who looks just as confused as I feel.

I almost wish Ellie were here. 

At least she would know what to say.

I wish he would just say something.

Simon

I never know what to say with Baz.

So, like always, I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.

“How’s your head?”

Shit. Baz looks confused, so I decide to keep blurting things out.

“Like, is it still sore after I tackled you? You fell pretty hard.”

Baz

You have no idea, Simon.

Simon

He doesn’t respond, so I push on.

“And I’m sorry if I overstayed my welcome by staying the night. Like, I really appreciate what you did, and I totally understand if you don’t want me to babysit Rosie anymore because you think I’m irresponsible…”

“Simon.”

 “...and honestly, I wouldn’t blame you, I would too, and I’m sorry I left super early, I didn’t mean to be rude, it’s just that I was supposed to meet my mum for breakfast, so she got super worried, and…”

“Simon.”

“...I know I shouldn’t have messaged you that much afterwards, you just didn’t respond, but I get that you probably want me to just leave you alone, I’m sorry, I got super nervous, because I thought we were maybe actually becoming friends, and I really enjoyed spending time with you, and…”

“ Simon.”

I look up, gasping for breath.

“I don’t think you’re irresponsible. Actually, I do, a bit, but you always have been.”

I go to speak but he cuts me off.

“And you’re right. Friday was… nice.”

I sigh in relief.

“So, you don’t want to kill me?”

He properly laughs at that.

“No more than I usually do.”

He glances down at his phone.

“I should go find Rosie. I don’t want to keep your mother waiting”

“Ah, right. See you tomorrow?”

He gives me a small little smile.

“Yes. I’ll see you then.”

He walks through the doorway, but pauses just before he rounds the corner.

“Oh, and Simon?”

“Yes?”

“Will I see you on Friday? Rosie somehow actually enjoyed the hot mess that was last Friday… and I guess I did too.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you then.”

He waves at me as he walks off.

Baz

The first thing I do when I round the corner is pull out my phone.

6 NEW MESSAGES: Ellie Hwaite

ok, you aren’t picking up your phone, so… 1) either you’ve died a horrible death or 2) you’re making out with your daughter’s kindergarten teacher. 

Very funny Eleanor.

HE’S ALIVE!!! 

so, which one was it?

Neither. But we did have a conversation.

And he said he enjoys my company.

told. you. so.

[xarrixii]

Chapter_40 : "Discount"

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CW: archive masterlist | masterlist

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“Wait!” An oddly familiar voice calls out from the general area behind Alph. Alph turns as though they were going to be able to see whom it came from.

“Yeah?”

“You’re going out for lunch, right?”

“Who are you?”

After a few seconds of Alph assuming the person blinking rapidly or so, they exclaim an “Oh!” and then turn Alph back around and start pulling them forward. “It’s me, Afyer. Sorry, forgot you were blind there. Well, mostly blind. I don’t actually know what you can all see.”

Alph’s body releases its tension. “You’re good. I forget when I wake up sometimes.”

“You are planning on getting lunch, right?”

“I was, yeah.”

“Can we get lunch together? I heard someone say you liked cars, but I figured, you probably couldn’t drive cars, so I wanted to take you on a ride.”

Alph stopped in their tracks, smile growing on their face. “I’m up for pretty much anything, then. Whatever you feel like. Where’d you hear I like cars from anyway?”

“Something something you muttering to yourself while we were testing your capacity to join Storm.”

“Oh.”

Alph didn’t even realize how much they missed the feeling of wind passing by them. It was only mildly upsetting they were stuck in the passenger.

“...And that’s how I scammed one of those managers who bully their employees out of paying twice the taxes they needed to, but half of that to me personally. Right! Can you open the glovebox for me? I’ve got a stash of coupons in there, we’re gonna need them for the pizza.”

“Sure,” Alph started feeling for the place to open it.”

“Wait! Wait, sorry. Close the window first.”

“...Okay?” Alph obliged, albeit slowly as they tried to feel the buttons along the door. Then they went back to the glovebox.

It sprang open, a cacophony of paper-feeling small sheets flying up into Alph’s face. Alph would assume that was the coupons. How many, they couldn’t even begin to tell.

“Where did these come from?”

“Long story,” Afyer beamed. “I’ve got time, though. It all started with me getting this job at a printing factory as a teenager. I’m pretty sure they paid below the minimum wage. But I really needed money to stay off the streets. You’ve heard the stories about the rehab clinics, right? Or are you not in the pyro cliques?”

“I’ve been in one before.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Not like that. My best friend was, and I went to visit him a few times.”

“That’s good. For you⸺I should clarify. Not for your friend. Who was your friend?”

Alph didn’t like the usage of was. “Urban.”

“Right! Right. I knew that. I think, anyway. It sounds like something I should’ve figured out based on context clues. I’m really sorry he had to go through that, everything I’ve ever heard about it makes it sound like it’s worse than capitalism.”

“So, the, uh, the coupons?”

Afyer audibly tapped the steering wheel a few times. “Back to the story, yes. So I got this job at the printing factory, and everyone printed their restaurant coupons at the printing factory I worked at. See, my job was to cut the little dotted lines on the coupons so they could be ripped off super easy. I had this little box office and a conveyor line and all I had to do was pull a lever. Super simple.

“I got really hungry one day, so I accidentally cut the paper coupon sheet incorrectly. I wasn’t paying attention. And then I realized—for context, we had a policy where if any of the sheets were messed up, we had to remake them—instead of letting all of these perfectly good coupons go to waste, I could take them myself.

“So I did. I took the coupons, and I ate something, and then I wasn’t hungry anymore. I was really proud of myself, but once I did it again and nobody yelled at me, I got a bit cocky. I started cutting them wrong on purpose. I ended up having so many coupons the restaurants got concerned and knew me by name. So my boss eventually got called after it was traced back to me working at the printing factory. My boss was so mad.

“He threatened to fire me and everything. But in my head, I was absolutely set on continuing my career as a coupon thief. So when I waltzed into his office, I slammed a few coupons on his desk.

“My boss was baffled. He was so baffled he took the coupons and told me he’d turn a blind eye. So I spent several years pirating coupons from the printing factory. And that is where all of those coupons came from.”

Alph was taken aback by how proud Afyer sounded over this revelation. Still covered in the little paper slips.

“And we have arrived at by far my favorite pizza complex in the surrounding areas—Sam’s Silly Soggy Pizza! I have no idea what that means.”

Alph listens to Afyer rustling the coupons lying everywhere and getting out of the car. Alph got out a bit after, struggling to find Afyer for a few moments. Afyer quickly walked over and brought Alph into the restaurant with him.

“I will take one pepperoni pizza please,” Afyer said confidently.

The worker did their best not to seem slightly annoyed. “Is this for here or to go?”

“Here. Please.”

“You mentioned pepperoni? What size pizza?”

“Large.”

“What crust would you like?”

“Hand-tossed.”

“Would you like extra cheese for an extra two dollars?”

Afyer was silent for a few seconds. “Sure. Also, I have this coupon.”

It got increasingly more awkward as the worker said it had been expired for six years. Along with several other coupons Afyer fished out.

“Let’s just, um,” Alph struggled to place their hand over Afyer’s to get him to stop presenting expired coupons. “Just order the pizza. We can pay full price.”

“I would not be known as the legendary coupon-haver if I didn’t have a coupon that could be accepted here. You guys have accepted expired coupons before, so clearly these must still be valid.”

“Afyer,” the worker said, suddenly pained, “Inflation has happened since then. our prices don’t match the savings here.”

Afyer crossed his arms.

Alph just took out their wallet and vaguely gestured what they hoped was a twenty in the worker’s direction. Now would be a good time to start folding the corners on money with Nacht, too.

“Uh… did you have another payment method?”

They bit the bullet, retracted the money, and just used their card. They were suddenly very thankful they got a debit card separate from their dad. Alph still wasn’t ready to explain things. They needed to talk to Urban more before they could feel comfortable talking to their dad.

“That should be about fifteen minutes,” the worker calmly said. “Feel free to ask if you need anything.”

Alph ended up being led over to a table by Afyer.

It was an unimaginably boring fifteen minutes of silence before the pizza was brought over. The event somehow gave Afyer the courage to begin talking again.

“I’m sorry.”

“About what?” Alph picked up one of the hot slices and pretty instinctively manipulated its heat to be less scorching.

“I tend to get ahead of myself. A lot.”

“...You’re alright.”

Afyer hesitated. “Am I?”

“People screw up. Sometimes people can’t help stuff.” Alph shrugs. “You’re alright.”

“Huh.” Afyer laughs, starts laughing a lot. “That was eloquent. Concise. I’m glad you’re in Storm. Having people devoted to making the world a better place is really great.”

“That has never been more relatable.”

next chapter

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[silicone-style-selfship]

Selfshiptober day 2: Rainy Day.

Yeahh i'm gonna do a lil writing as well lol. also uh. livewire angst go brrrr?

Leslie stepped into the apartment with a grumble, suddenly thankful she had forgot to place the towel back in the bathroom the day before, Metropolis wasn't a place that rained a lot but when it did it poured. Her hands shook a little as she tossled her hair dry and sat down, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Then it was quiet, too quiet.

"Star?" She called out. Usually she wouldn't even have had time to take off her coat before the girl was greeting her home with a hug and a kiss and their apartment was so damn small, if she didn't see them she definitely would have heard them by now. Did they go out or something? No, they would have texted her before she even got home and Leslie had already grabbed everything they needed on the way. God, that thunder outside was loud.

She took another sharp breath in and out as a lightning strike visibly just hit outside their window, she jumped back and hit the corner of the wall. "Ow. Ow. Jesus christ-" She groaned and continued her poor attempt at calm breathing. She then looked down the hall at their bedroom door.

Sleeping. Star was just.. Sleeping.

She walked down the always dark hallway to their bedroom, feeling strikingly like a final girl from a horror film about to walk in on their boyfriend's corpse. She filed that morbid thought under 'stop watching so many horror movies' before slowly opening the door and seeing-

Nothing. No one. Not Star.

Another lightning hit outside their bedroom window and yet again she jumped, looking over at it as if it was trying to break in. She was about to give a grumble at the sight before she caught a glimpse of legs outside on the fire escape.

"Jesus-" She grumbled before walking over and slamming open the window. Star was just- sitting outside in the pouring rain! Unphased by the thunder and lightning! Her clothes were stuck to her skin and her usually gravity-defying hair had finally been weighed down to her head by rain. Leslie saved herself the trouble of demanding she came inside before she caught something by just dragging her in by the leg and having her fall backwards into her arms. She slammed the window closed and carried her girlfriend like a soppy wet dog into the living room.

"Oh, hey sweetie! Rainstorm's wild today, huh?" Star smiled up at her casually, like she wasn't drenched to the bone from standing outside in the rain like a maniac. Leslie unceremoniously dropped her onto the sofa before answering. "Yeah! Why were just standing in it?"

"I couldn't get a good enough view from the window." She shrugged, like it was the most normal answer in the world.

"You're probably gonna catch something! Did you hear that thunder lightning outside, you could have-" Leslie paused, realising as it was on her tongue that 'getting hit by lightning' isn't something that actually happens to too many people. Her fists sparked a little like they were trying to give her a reminder.

Star looked at them before looking up at Leslie with a face of recognition, she walked over and grabbed the towel from her before kissing one cheek, cupping the other with her hand, which Leslie leaned into. "You go sit down and watch something while I get changed, okay?"

She walked over to the window and closed the blinds before disappearing into their bedroom again, Leslie felt herself breath properly since she entered the house.

Ten minutes later the two were on the sofa under a blanket, on the side table a tea and hot chocolate sat steaming, Bride of Chucky was the film of choice today, apparently. Thunder struck outside and Leslie felt herself tense, Star buried herself further into her side at the feeling and Leslie was happy to run a hand through their thankfully dry hair in return. She sighed.

"I used to love rainy days. Not anymore."

Star gave a gruff chuckle. "I can't blame you."

Leslie thought about where she was right now and bit back an all too mushy sentimental thought. If they were like this from now, cosy and warm and far away from the thunderbolts and lightning.. Maybe she could learn to love them again.