#they have better things to worry about (surviving c:)

[catofadifferentcolor]

Terrible Fic Idea #92: Percy/Apollo, but make it The Trojan War

Into every fandom, a time travel fic must fall - or in this case a second one, because I somehow got to thinking about the delightful PJO trope of Percy being thrown back in time to The Trojan War and realized that doing so misses out on a fantastic opportunity.

Or: What if post-TOA Percy Jackson and Apollo time travel to shortly before The Trojan War?

Just imagine it:

Everything follows canon through TOA, with one exception: rather than struggle to catch up in the mortal world following the Second Gigantomachy, Percy elects to stay at Camp Half-Blood. There he can homeschool at his own place with programs tailored towards ADHD children and still visit his family on the weekends - and not get into any more ridiculous situations in the mortal world when one of the gods kidnaps him or sends him on a quest to find their sneakers.

This, naturally, stresses his relationship with Annabeth - who, now that she's no longer living at camp full time, calls it the easy way out. But Percy is tired and struggling in mortal high school where everyone thinks he's a delinquent idiot when another option exists seems foolish. Percy and Annabeth break up and drift apart.

Enter Apollo, fresh from his latest stint as a mortal. He's trying to do his best by his children, which includes popping by camp as often as he can get away with - which in turn means spending a lot of time with Percy, who at this point is unofficially running CHB because it's not like Dionysus or even Chiron have done a brilliant job of it in recent times.

(First aid, strategy, and mythology classes are made mandatory. Percy personally ensures every demigod knows enough about self-defense to be able to survive long enough to run away or for help to arrive. Bullying is cracked down on so hard that it's this, not Percy's generally parental nature, that has people calling him Camp Mom.)

Percy and Apollo become friendly. Enough so that some of Apollo's kids assume they're dating and keeping it on the down-low so as not to draw Zeus' ire. Or Poseidon's. Or anyone else's. It's on one of their not-dates that they're yeeted into the past, without warning or explanation.

And so 19-year-old Percy Jackson and post-TOA Apollo find themselves in Ancient Greece c. 1220 BCE, roughly thirty-five years before the destruction of Troy.

The time travel is immediately obvious, as Apollo becomes the closest thing a god might experience to being high the moment they land in the past - being a powerful god in modern times is nothing like being a powerful god at the height of his power in ancient times. It's overwhelming (and somewhat alarming from Percy's POV, but kind of funny in retrospect.)

The specific date is harder to determine, but made clear when Hermes shows up and starts going on about you'll never believe what father's done now: he seduced the Spartan queen as a swan and she's laid an egg. Hera is furious - especially as they're saying the girl that hatched from it is the most beautiful in the world, even though she's only a few days old. It's nuts. By the way, where have you been? You missed the last two council meetings. Do you want Dad to punish you?

Apollo at this stage is very high. He's also been USTing over Percy for quite some time and is worried what the gods of this era might do to Percy without divine protection (smiting or seduction, it's all on the table). But mostly he's very high, and so to keep Percy close and safe he declares he's been off having the dirtiest of dirty weekends with his latest lover and that Hermes' presence is ruining the mood. So if he would kindly leave, please and thank you, he'd really rather get back to it without an audience.

This, naturally, is a surprise to Percy, but he rolls with it because 1) he doesn't have any better ideas on how to get rid of Ancient Greek Hermes so they can figure out what the hades is going on and 2) he's been USTing over Apollo ever since he recovered enough from Tartarus to start feeling attraction again.

Fueled by mutual UST, they put together a cover story that should hold the next time a god with too much prurient interest shows: Percy is now Prince Persē of Gadir - a Phoenician colony that will grow into the future Cadiz - well past the edge of the Greek world at this stage but not beyond belief for Poseidon to have visited, as it's obvious who his father is. They claim his mother is the King of Gadir's youngest sister and as such Persē had a royal upbringing, but was far enough down the line of succession that he was free to chose to sail east and explore his father's homeland. Apollo caught sight of him on his journey, one thing led to another, and here they are.

(Are there easier, more sensible cover stories? Possibly. But the UST refuses to let them consider any of them now that a fake relationship is on the table.)

Deciding what to do about The Trojan War is much harder. On the one hand, it's a lot of senseless death and destruction. On the other, without it we don't get The Iliad and The Odyssey - two of the most influential works of literature in western civilization - and Aeneas doesn't go off to Italy (leading to the founding of Rome, which would change the history of western civilization a lot). In the end, they decide to let the war happen but do their best to mitigate the worst parts of it.

And so Percy goes off and becomes a hero of Ancient Greece while pretending to be in a relationship with Apollo.

This stage of things is filed with angst from both parties, as both Percy and Apollo want a real relationship with each other but think they're abusing the other's trust by eagerly faking their relationship. There's a lot of PDA, a lot of feelings, and limited communication. It goes on for quite a while and would probably exasperate quite a few people if everyone in the know didn't think they were already in a relationship.

It's also filled with modern day Percy being confronted by realties of life in Ancient Greece. It's not just mortals knowing about - and interacting with - the gods: it's everything. It's food and clothes and language and culture and housing and travel. He can play a lot off it as being a traveler from the edge of the known world, but some of it has him asking Apollo if he's being rick rolled.

Apollo, meanwhile, is having troubles of his own. He is not the god he used to be and it's hard pretending otherwise. He tries to walk the line of doing enough to be believable and holding back enough not to despise himself, but it's a fine line, he fails often, and he spends a not insignificant amount of time worried he's backsliding.

And so it goes until 7-year-old Helen of Troy is kidnapped by Theseus to be his wife.

This, naturally, does not fly with Percy, who by this time has built up something of a reputation as a hero. He teams up with the Dioscuri to rescue Helen.

One would think this would earn him Zeus' favor. It doesn't. Instead, Zeus sends monsters to harry him for refusing to let Castor and Pollux take Helen's captors' loved ones captive and raze Aphidna for Theseus' crime. Percy manages to hold his own for quite a while but eventually, exhausted from the near-constant fighting, is gored and left for dead by the reformed Minotaur.

...and when Apollo arrives, frantic, to heal him, Percy ascends instead, becoming the greek version of Saint Sebastian - a minor god of heroes, strength in the face of adversity, and athleticism; sort of halfway between Hercules and Chiron.

Then and only then do Percy and Apollo finally get their act together, confessing to each other how much they care for the other and how much they don't want this to be fake any longer.

History proceeds apace - albeit with Persē being a second immortal trainer of heroes.

24 years after their arrival in the past, 16 years after Percy's ascension, The Trojan War begins. Despite their best efforts, there's only so much they can do - war is war and gods are gods. They are able to stop some of the worst excesses on both sides, but in the end Apollo still sends the plague that causes Agamemnon to take Briseis for his own, which caused Achilles' departure from the field, Patroclus' death, &c - not because Apollo was trying to maintain the timeline, but because in the instant he sent it he was angry and reverted to his old ways.

Troy falls...

...but when Zeus tries to use this as an excuse to ban gods from interacting with their demigod children, Apollo is able to say that's a bit extreme isn't it? with enough backing from the rest of the council that Zeus is forced to amend his ruling so that the gods are only allowed to freely visit their children on the "cross quarter days" that fall between each solstice and equinox (1 February, 1 May, 1 August, and 1 November).

This changes everything and nothing.

Time continues its inevitable march. Greece has its golden age before being conquered by Rome, which splits apart under its own weight and forms several smaller countries, which eventually spread their cultures around the world...

Apollo and Percy are there for it all. Persē is a minor figure in mythology, but never forgotten. He is ever-present in Apollo's temples - though the Church will later try to rewrite their myth so that they were merely sworn fighting partners, rather than lovers who eventually had a quite lovely wedding on Olympus (and then, at Poseidon's insistence, an even bigger ceremony on Atlantis). Percy takes over day-to-day operations of CHB from practically the moment the Trojan War ends.

...and so Persē is there the day Sally Jackson tries to get her son to camp, and is able to intervene when the Minotaur attacks on their border. He's able to meet her and her young son, Perseus ("Mom named me after you and the guy that killed Medusa since you're the only two heroes to have happy endings!"), and guide him through the trials that come with being a child of prophecy.

One day that Percy will hand Luke - who was never happy with the limited attention the gods were allowed to give their children - a cursed dagger so that Kronos can be defeated. That child will be offered godhood, turn it down, and go on to have a happy life with his eventual wife, Annabeth. He will never have his memories erased and be sent to Camp Jupiter. Gaia will not rise until long after that Percy's grandchildren are dead, and Zeus will not be quite so bullheaded when the proof of it is brought before him. That Second Gigantomachy is swift, well-coordinated, and fought without another Greek/Roman war brewing in the background.

And when they finally arrive at the day Apollo and Percy were originally sent back in time, Percy admits that while he is happy some version of him was better prepared for the war he was asked to fight in and allowed his peace afterward, he would change nothing about his own life, for it brought him to Apollo. The sunrise the next morning - on the first morning of the rest of their lives - is particularly spectacular.

Bonuses include:

Gaslighting Poseidon into believing that he's met Percy before the first time they're introduced. ("What do you mean you don't remember me, Father? You were present when I came of age! You gifted me this trident! Have I displeased you in some way?") It's an absolute masterclass that eventually manages to convince Poseidon that, yes, of course he knows Percy - and, maybe, he should check in on all his other demigod children to make sure he's not missed someone. (Two. He lost track of two of the others. Maybe he should be more careful about siring children in the future.) Apollo practically has to stuff his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing.

As much historical accuracy as can be crammed into the Percy trying to make sense of Ancient Greece chapters as possible. Think Of a Linear Circle - Part III by flamethrower levels of historical research. As much as can be shoehorned in without bogging down the plot.

Percy and Dionysus bonding over their mutual dislike of Theseus, though Percy generally gets along with his other half-siblings, especially the ones who come to camp young enough to keep from getting big heads over being the children of Poseidon.

Though Percy adores all the children in Cabin 7 (most of whom are born via blessing this time around), he and Apollo have at least one child of their own - maybe a demigod born before Percy's ascension to sell their fake relationship? Maybe a minor god who's later attributed a different parentage by mortals? Dealer's choice on details.

It never being made clear who, or what, or how, Percy and Apollo were sent into the past. All of Percy's oddities are attributed to him being foreign or formerly mortal, all of Apollo's to the fact that he's in love with someone who didn't die before their first anniversary, and no one ever guesses time travel is responsible for their eccentricities. Or that time travel was ever an option.

And that's all I have. As always, feel free to adopt, just link back if you ever decide to do anything with it.

More PJO Ideas | More Terrible Fic Ideas

[wizardnuke]

there's a ffic in my head. oouuuag. its Cookin

[dapperrokyuu]

The name Luka may be canon, but Luisa lives on in my heart...

And thus, I headcanon Luka as nonbinary, and they use whatever name they feel like on a whim. c:

[hayakawalove]

Survival Skills

Summary: Suguru has to go on a business trip, leaving you and Satoru to fend for yourselves. Will you be able to? A/N: I really really like this fic. I thought the idea of you and Gojo trying to figure out how to manage without Suguru would be very funny. I doubt Suguru minds caring for either of you, my whole thing about him is that he needs to be needed. Comments always appreciated!

CW: SFW, Fluff, Polyamory, Food, Teasing, Humor, Comfort, Light Angst, Suggestive Joke, Very Mild Infidelity Joke, Gender Neutral Reader, They/Them Reader W/C: 6,697

Credit to Benkeibear for the banner

“Alright, I made some garden pasta for the both of you. It’s in the fridge. I also left out some recipes in case you guys go through that fast.” 

You stand next to the door, staring up at Suguru as he lists off the food he had left for you and Satoru. He was such a worrier, if you didn’t know any better you would think Suguru thought the both of you might starve the second he left. 

On second thought, you might. 

“Thank you Suguru-“ you start. 

“And I left some chicken in the fridge for tonight’s dinner. It just needs to be cooked, I already marinated it, it's that one you liked from-“ He interrupts you, his lips twisted in a frown. 

“-Thank you, Suguru.” You grab him by the arms, holding him firmly as you cut him off. 

Suguru stops talking, no doubt getting the message. You had been trying to get him out the door for thirty minutes now, you were certain the taxi driver outside was nearly losing his mind. 

Suguru peeks over your head, sliding past you to walk towards Satoru. He was laying on the couch, his long limbs hanging over the edge. You really should get a bigger couch. 

Suguru leans down and places a kiss on Satoru’s lips, almost melting down when Satoru lifts a hand up to hold the back of his head. The sight almost brings you to your knees. 

“Do you really have to go?” Satoru asks when Suguru peels himself off. 

Suguru hums before squeezing Satoru’s shoulder, turning around to face you once more. 

“Are you sure you guys are going to be okay?” Worry is etched into his face. 

“Yes, mom. We'll be fine.” You reassure him, even though the words feel hollow. 

Would you be fine? You and Satoru were grown adults, fully capable of handling yourselves. 

“If Satoru got an extra kiss, I want one too.” 

Suguru’s face relaxes into a smile as he leans down, placing a gentle hand on your cheek. His lips slip perfectly between yours. You have to fight the urge to drag him back inside. 

A horn sounds out, breaking the tender moment.The cab was still waiting. 

“Okay. Text me if you need anything.” Suguru speaks, punctuating each word with a kiss. 

The overt signs of affection soothe your nerves the slightest bit. Everything would be fine. And you wouldn’t be completely alone. Satoru would be here with you.

Your fingers tremble as you close the door behind Suguru, and an unnerving silence begins to take hold of your residence. It wouldn’t be silent for long though, not when you had Satoru in the house. 

“So what do you wanna do now? We could throw a rager and party till the cops show up.” Satoru proposes. 

You snort and drag your feet away from the door, bringing yourself to the couch. 

“We would need to have friends to do that, Satoru.” 

“Wh- I have friends, don’t know about you though.” 

You roll your eyes while he snickers to himself. Your foot nudges his leg, and he clicks his tongue. You wouldn’t throw a party, although the noise and commotion would have been greatly appreciated. 

“Come on, why don’t we eat some of the leftovers Suguru made and put something on.” 

Satoru sighs dramatically at your denial of a party before sitting up. 

You dish out two bowls of garden pasta for the two of you, your stomach rumbling at the mere sight of Suguru’s cooking. Satoru puts on your favorite show while the two of you start to eat. The food tasted amazing, like always. When Suguru first entered your life, you were sure that eventually you would get used to his cooking, but no. It amazed you every single time you had it. 

At first, it was sort of nice having some extra personal time with Satoru. Being in a polyamorous relationship could be difficult at times, trying to navigate the best way to divide your attention. With Suguru on a business trip, the two of you were able to spend some much needed time together. You even noticed that Satoru clung onto you a little more when you slept, no longer having to share you with Suguru. 

When you wake up in the morning, the bed is decidedly more cold than it was the previous day. You turn your head to the right, Suguru’s designated spot, only to be met with air. You feel a heavy weight against you, long limbs tangled in yours. Satoru. His arm is thrown across your body while his bottom half is laying on top of you, his legs on yours. It was suffocating. But it was just what you needed with the lack of Suguru. 

You close your eyes and focus on Satoru’s breathing. It's a steady pattern, one that could lull you back to sleep if you weren’t careful. It was the weekend so realistically, you and Satoru could stay in bed all day if you wanted to. The idea sounded nice, but you needed something first. 

You jostle your legs, causing Satoru to grumble. You pinch his arm and he yelps, squeezing you tighter. 

“I know you’re awake, Satoru.” 

“No I'm not.” He responds, voice devoid of any sleepiness. 

“I'm hungry,” you whine “you should make us crepes. Suguru left the recipe.” 

Satoru’s eyes flick open and you’re almost startled by the blue looking at you. His hair was ruffled, an adorable look on him. 

“Why don't you make it?” 

The two of you could go back and forth for hours; this was why it was good to have Suguru there to cook. 

“Because I just woke up, I’ll make dinner when we run out of leftovers.” 

Satoru thinks for a moment, before dramatically groaning, pushing himself up. He’s wearing a loose white shirt with black pants, and he looks so cozy you almost felt bad for making him get up. You did need to eat though, and so did he. 

You trudge after him, plopping on a stool at the bar as you watch him navigate the kitchen. He looks confident, like he belongs there, even though you know damn well he hasn’t cooked a thing since Suguru walked into his life. 

You're telling him about your dream as he holds a mixing bowl, leaning his back against the counter as he listens to you while stirring the crepe batter. You decide on Nutella and strawberries for the fillings, the mere thought of it making your mouth water. 

“And then when we left the house, you got struck by lightning-“ you’re talking before he interrupts you. 

“Hah? You killed me off in your dream?” His eyebrows are touching his hairline, looking the slightest bit offended. 

“I can't control my dreams! You can't either. Remember when you had that spicy dream about-“ 

He rushes to cut you off, not wanting to be reminded of it. You weren’t sure why he told you stuff, he knew you would just tease him after. It wasn’t like he was any better. 

“Okay okay, point taken. Kill off Suguru next time though, yeah?” He turns around, and starts to pour the batter into a pan to cook. 

“Duly noted.” You remark, picking up a strawberry to pop into your mouth. 

Satoru faces you again as the crepe cooks, his fingers tapping his arm. He looked impatient. He usually was. You drag your eyes down his body before bringing them back up to his face, where you notice he's already staring at you. 

“See something you like?” He comments, a cocky grin on his face. 

“I do, you wanna go out some time? My boyfriends not home.” 

Satoru chuckles and walks towards the bar, leaning over in front of you. 

He reaches across it and grabs your hand, turning it over until your palm is facing up. He looks calculated as he stares down, running his thumb over the skin, light enough it almost tickles. A small smirk appears on his lips once he sees you squirming out of the corner of his eyes. 

“Wanna play rock paper scissors on who has to do the dishes?” You ask. 

He flicks his blue eyes up to you. 

“I’m cooking, why don’t you do dishes?” 

“Oh, so you’re afraid of losing.” You prod, knowing you’ll get a reaction. 

Satoru sneers and stands up straight with his hand out. You reach out too, noticing the size difference of your fists. 

“Ready?” You wait a moment. “Rock, paper, scissors, shoot-“ 

You lay your hand flat while he keeps his in a fist. Satoru’s brows furrow while you grin. His lips twitch while he looks up at you and pouts, always a sore loser. 

“Two out of three?” He proposes, already getting his hand ready for the next round.

You jokingly roll your eyes and set your hand out again. Satoru’s looking at you intently, his tongue poking out the side of his mouth, eyes wide as if he could predict your next move. 

He was able to, apparently. 

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot-“ 

You put down scissors, and his hand is formed into a rock. Satoru cackles and taps your scissors, happy with himself. 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself pretty boy, there’s still one round left.” 

The two of you get into position for the final game. There’s a distinct smell floating over to your nose, and you crinkle it as you look over Satoru’s shoulder. 

“Satoru, I think it’s burning-“ 

“Yeah yeah hold on, let’s go.” Satoru’s in the zone. 

You shrug and straighten in your seat. 

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot-“ you recite. 

You put down scissors and he puts down paper. You chuckle as you snip at his hand. He juts his lip out as he grieves his loss, and you almost feel bad. The smell is getting stronger now, and Satoru’s finally picking up on it. 

“Oh, shit- why didn’t you tell me it was burning?” He turns around and fumbles, rushing over to the burner. 

You give him a deadpan stare, shoving another strawberry in your mouth. 

“Gotta cook, gotta clean, gotta do everything around here.” Satoru’s mumbling under his breath. 

“I know, you’re like Suguru.” 

Satoru dumps the burnt crepe in the trash before turning around, pouring more batter in the pan. You watch him from behind as he cooks, his hip popping to the side as he rests a hand on it, tapping his foot as he waits for the crepe. The sight was borderline mouthwatering. 

Once the crepes are finished, Satoru sits next to you as the two of you decorate them, slathering the chocolate spread on and placing strawberries neatly down. While he burned the first one, all the others turned out perfect. Leave it to Satoru to be good at something. He groans in satisfaction as he takes a bite of his. 

Breakfast was good, decidedly so, but there was something missing as you ate. Or rather, someone was missing. 

~~~

You lay on your stomach on your bed as you gaze at your phone. You were calling Suguru, hoping to catch a glimpse of him before you went to bed. 

The phone flashes the second he answers and your head perks up. 

“Suguru!” 

“Hey baby.”

Your heart falters at the sound of his silky tone. 

“How was your day?” He asks. 

He’s lying in a hotel bed, dark circles beneath his eyes as he watches your face. The sight hurts you. He’s made an off-handed comment before that he didn’t sleep well without you and Satoru. Your fingers twitch with the need to reach through the screen to grab him. 

“It was okay, how was yours?” 

“It was alright. Nothing interesting has happened yet,” he pauses and his eyes flick down before he brings them back up to you. “Wish I was home though.” 

“Do you?” You tease, your teeth digging into your cheek. 

“I do. It's a bit weird. I haven’t had this much alone time since Satoru got the stomach flu in school, and even then he was calling me every hour to baby him.” 

You let out a laugh. 

Suguru gets up from his bed and carries the phone with him. It looks like he’s in the bathroom now, you can tell with the shower curtains behind him. He’s shirtless with a pair of pajama pants on, they were red plaid that hung low on his waist. It was a Christmas gift you had gotten him several years ago. Even though he was far away, there was still evidence of your love on his body. 

Suguru sets you on the counter, digging his teeth in the hair tie around his wrist. It hangs from his mouth as his hands comb through his hair, putting it into a bun. You’re mesmerized as you watch the action. 

“Satoru tried making your crepes earlier.” You comment, watching Suguru. 

He hums to prove he’s listening, as he stares into the mirror. You watch his tight stomach as he washes his hands, leaning forward to pull out his contacts. 

“They turned out okay. The second batch anyway. The first batch he got distracted and almost burnt the house down.” 

Suguru blinks a couple times before looking down at you, his eyes squinting. 

“I’m kidding! Well, kind of. We were playing rock paper scissors and he was losing, so he was distracted and the first one burnt. I won by the way.” 

Suguru lifts up his phone and carries you back to the bed, sitting down and sliding on his glasses. He always thought he looked the worst at bedtime, unpresentable he said, but you always thought it was when he looked best. 

“Oh hey, you talking to Suguru?” Satoru enters the bedroom and asks, flopping down. 

He inches up the bed, and lays on top of you, pushing his weight on your back while he grabs the phone, pointing it towards him. 

“You miss us so much you just had to call?” Satoru says lightly. 

“Sure, Satoru.” Suguru’s face softens as he watches him. 

“Did they tell you that I won rock paper scissors?” Satoru goes on. 

You wiggle beneath him, trying to distribute his weight. Fruitless effort. 

“No, they didn’t. They did tell me that they won, though.” 

Satoru plasters on a shocked face and uses his other hand to push your face down towards the bed. You chuckle beneath him, poking your head up again. 

“I’m being bullied in your absence, you know.” Satoru tells Suguru. 

“Well, someone has to keep you in line.” 

You giggle beneath Satoru. It was true. Someone had to manage Satoru while Suguru was gone. 

“I have to head to bed, got an early day tomorrow. I love you both.” Suguru says, and you can tell he really doesn’t want to hang up. 

“Okay… I love you!” You try to make your voice cheery. 

“I love you more!” Satoru almost yells. 

The two of you smile at the camera until Suguru clicks off. You try not to let the silence get to you. 

~~~

The next several days were relatively harmless. Suguru called every day, sometimes multiple times if he had the time. You finally ran out of the garden pasta and chicken leftovers, much to your chagrin. Satoru had eaten more than you thought he would. It was because he told you he thought the two tupperware were his, and that there were two others in the fridge for you. When he overheard Suguru saying he put leftovers for the both of you in the fridge, he took that as there was a container for each of you. 

There wasn’t. 

So here you are. 

You end up driving to the store as Satoru was a self proclaimed Passenger Princess. He talked to you the whole time while shuffling through his playlist. 

When the two of you arrive, Satoru makes a beeline to the carts. His lanky figure hunches over as he pushes it, walking at a much slower pace to keep up with you. Satoru and Suguru usually walked extremely fast, given their freakishly long legs. 

And they made fun of you for being slow. 

Satoru always offered to give you piggy back rides, but you only made that mistake once. You were green in the face once he finished, sick for the rest of the day. 

“What’s on the list?” Satoru asks, eyes trailing over the shelves.

You look down at the paper in front of you, carefully reading Suguru’s neat handwriting. 

“Beef, noodles, broccoli, ginger, and green onion.” You read off. 

You link your arm around Satoru’s (he wasn’t the only one who was feeling extra needy while Suguru was gone). Satoru’s arm is thick and hard underneath yours, the result of working out daily for years. Calling it mere eye candy would be gross negligence. 

The two of you had gotten everything on the list, save for the noodles. You were debating in the middle of the aisle between two different packs. 

“Why can’t we just get that one? Comes with more.” Satoru says, pointing to the package in your right hand. It was twice the size of the other one. 

“Cause it’s not the brand Suguru wrote down.” You respond, eyes flicking back and forth. 

It would be nice to have extra, but still… 

“They’re both noodles.” Satoru remarks. 

“Do you want it to taste like Suguru’s?” 

You take Satoru’s silence as an answer, stuffing the larger package back on the shelf. Honestly, you didn’t really see the need to get the specific brand either. But Suguru was meticulous, and you decided you would be too, in his stead. 

You throw the noodles in the cart, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction flow through you. See? You didn’t need Suguru to function. You normally did shopping with him anyway, but you tended to just talk his ear off the whole time while he picked out what he needed. He liked the company, he said. 

When you turn around, you see Satoru shifting everything in the cart. You raise your brows, waiting for him to explain. 

“Get in.” He lifts his head up, signaling for you to hop in. 

You dart your eyes back and forth between the cart and him. 

“I’m not- we could get in trouble-“

“Oh, so you’re a scaredy cat.” Satoru has a shit eating grin as he leans against the cart. 

Now that was something you couldn’t have. You grumble to him and take his hand as he helps you crawl into the cart. It’s a bit fun, you feel joy sparking in your body the second he moves the cart. He pushes it fast before jumping on the back with both feet, letting the momentum carry the two of you. Your laughter fills the air and Satoru’s grinning at you. You felt so carefree, momentarily forgetting the sadness that lurked beneath. 

What feels like an earthquake shocks you from your moment of joy. You whip your head around to the front of the cart, eyes popping out once you see the cause. Your cart had knocked into someone else’s, the older woman scowling at you. 

“You need to watch where you're-“ she starts, her gaze moving from you to Satoru, “-going.” Her words sound light as she stares up at Satoru, clearly in awe of his beauty. 

“I’m sorry, that was my bad.” Satoru says with a chuckle, scratching the back of his head. 

The woman sputters as she stares up at him. Lucky bastard. He could start a war, and apologize right after and get away with it. Pretty privileges. 

“It’s-it’s okay. Just try to be careful? You wouldn't want to get hurt.” She says, aiming her words at Satoru, even though you were in the one in the cart. 

The audacity. 

“Yes! Thank you!” Satoru is smooth as he waves her off. He doesn’t stop smiling until she’s out of sight. 

“You’re unbelievable.” You murmur under your breath, looking up at him. 

Satoru drops his head to look down at you, and you’re almost startled at the intensity of his eyes. You weren’t immune to his beauty either. 

“It’s not my fault old women love me.” 

“Everyone loves you.” 

Satoru grins, shoving the cart before jumping on it again. He didn’t learn anything. You can’t be mad though, not with the way you start to laugh in fun again. The two of you travel down the aisles, slipping different treats into the cart, shoving them on your lap. 

Satoru pays and the two of you head out, the daunting task of cooking dinner resting on your shoulders. 

~~~

You stand in the kitchen feeling completely out of place as you stare at the ingredients before you. It wasn’t a hard recipe by any means, Suguru picked it for its ease. But it was still incredibly daunting. With a sigh, you begin to start cooking the meat, trying to shove the nerves from your mind. You kicked Satoru out of the kitchen, banishing him to your bedroom while you cooked so he wouldn't distract you. 

It was going okay, it really was, it smelled and even looked delicious. That was until you added the garlic powder. You swear it came out faster than it normally did, probably intent on ruining your night if you had to guess. Your eyes stare at the lump of powder in the pan before you rush to mix it, hoping by some miracle that it would dilute. 

You turn the stove off with a dissatisfied expression, glaring at the meal as if it personally did you wrong. A heavy garlic smell hangs in the air, permeating in the small kitchen, as if to shove your face in the failure. 

“Satoru! It’s… done.” You mumble the last part. 

Satoru comes bounding out of the bedroom, a large grin on his face that twitches the second he reaches you before he forces it back. 

“Smells great!” He comments. 

Your lip wobbles into a frown as you stare up at him. 

“Satoru.” 

“Whaatt? I’m serious. Smells fantastic.” He puts an emphasis on the last word. 

You have to keep a sob from bubbling up your throat. You knew there was no way you could compete with Suguru. Turning around, you mope while grabbing bowls, dishing out the dinner for you two. A dinner that would kill any vampire, even if they just looked at it. 

Hanging your head in shame you nudge Satoru’s bowl over to him. Honestly, you were debating if it would have just been better to starve for the night. Satoru grabs his chopsticks and immediately dives in, shoving the utensils in his mouth once he has a hefty amount of food piled on. 

“Wait-!” You try to stop him, although you're not even sure what you’d say. 

Satoru bounces his head side to side as if he’s thinking, his pale cheeks puffed out from the amount of noodles he had. Your eyes are wide open as you stare at him, unsure if you would need to grab water or google how to do the Heimlich maneuver. 

“It’s good!” Satoru says, chopsticks snapping as he picks even more. 

Your mouth is hung open as you witness him chowing down on the food. He can’t be serious. It’s bad. You know it’s bad. 

Why is he lying? 

“Satoru- it’s okay, you don’t, you don’t have to keep eating it, we can order something.” You move to grab his bowl from him. 

Satoru slaps your hand and flicks his lashes up to you. His face is incredibly serious, and for the life of you, you can’t figure out why. 

“I want this.” He maintains eye contact as he grabs more, slipping it past his pink lips. 

You feel exposed under his gaze so you look away, crossing your chest. Is he trying to prove something to you? 

“We should tell Suguru he’s kicked out of the kitchen once he comes back, since you can cook.” 

“Okay, now that feels like you’re making fun of me.” 

“I’m serious! How’d you get the meat so tender?” He’s speaking around mouthfuls of food. 

The meat was tender. You were actually really proud of it, even snapping a picture to send to Suguru. The food was going good until the incident. 

You poke and prod at your food, taking several bites before you nudge the bowl away. Satoru may be able to put on a brave face as he eats it, but you’re much weaker than him. 

Not only does Satoru eat his bowl, he gets seconds, leaving next to nothing in the pan once he finishes. The first couple bites amazed you, how could he pretend it wasn’t bad? Then he had more, and more, and you were starting to worry the copious amounts of garlic had killed his taste buds. 

You were still hungry so once he finishes, he stands up to make you instant ramen. It wasn’t the healthiest of meals, sure, but at least you weren’t going to go hungry. Satoru sits next to you and watches as you dive in, much more eager to eat this than the monstrosity you created. He has love in his eyes as he stares, opening his mouth wide when you offer him a bite. 

Just where did all that food go? 

“All done?” He asks, standing up to grab your bowl. 

You aren’t even feeling upset anymore. Satoru was good at that, though. He always knew how to cheer you up, using his ridiculousness to his advantage. 

“Thank you, Satoru.” You murmur and wrap your arms around him. 

He uses his free hand to pull you in closer. When you look up at him you feel like you’re floating; you had so much love in your heart for him. Satoru leans down, lips pushed out in an attempt to kiss you. 

You could smell the garlic from where you’re sitting. 

You press your hand against his mouth and attempt to push him away. 

“N-no! I don’t wanna kiss your garlic lips.”

“Baby, you’re so mean to me!” He presses against your hand, face inching closer to yours. 

“Get away from me!” You screech with a laugh, running to your bedroom. 

Satoru cackles behind you, pushing the dirty dishes in the sink to clean later, before he chases after you. 

~~~

Several days had passed since the night you cooked for Satoru. Suguru would be coming home today, you think. It was hard to remember. The days had blended together in a conglomeration of time without Suguru. You were excited to see him again. You hadn’t slept well the past couple of days. You hadn’t slept at all for the past two, really. No matter how warm Satoru felt hogging you at night, his limbs wrapping around you like an octopus, your right side still felt remarkably cold. There was a hole in your bed, a Suguru shaped one. 

He’d be home today. He’d be home. 

When Suguru arrives home, he feels something like excitement and relief wash over him. He was able to come home way earlier than anticipated. The sun was barely starting to peek over the clouds, he wasn’t supposed to be back until dinner time. Suguru digs into his pocket once he’s stopped at the door, rummaging around until he grabs hold of his keys. He carefully pushes them in the door, not wanting to wake you. 

The house is silent when he walks in, almost eerily so. Is this what Satoru was used to? He was always the early bird out of the three of you, waking up hours before you and Suguru even thought to. Suguru keeps his steps light as he walks into the house, leaving his bags by the door. The first thing he notices is a bump of hair poking out above the couch. Your hair. 

Why were you out here? 

Kicking Satoru out, he would understand. But you? 

Suguru makes his way closer to you, standing behind the couch. He leans over and places a hand on your shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of your face. You jump in your seat and screech, your phone flying from your hands. Suguru winces once it makes impact with the floor, and brings his eyes back to you. 

You looked… awful. 

There are dark circles underneath your frenzied eyes, your chest heaving as you stare at Suguru. Once you’re able to comprehend that it’s just him, you twirl around and jump over the couch at him. 

Suguru instantly wraps his arms around you so you won’t drop. 

Are you… lighter? 

“Suguru!” Your words are muffled into his neck, your breathing tickling the side of his throat. 

He feels relief at the weight of you against him. He missed being crushed by the presence of you and Satoru. Suguru lifts a hand up and holds the back of your head, shifting his fingers into your hair. The two of you stand like this until he begrudgingly sets you down. 

Your eyes are lit up as you stare at him, your body practically jumping up and down. 

“You’re here early! Right? What time is it? What day is it?” You ask. 

Suguru’s brow lifts up as he watches you, only tearing his eyes away to stare at his watch. It was very early. 

“Why are you awake?” He asks, looking at you. 

The definition of guilt pinches up on your face. You look away, suddenly finding everything else in the room much more interesting than him, even though you were attached to him moments ago. 

Suguru waits for an answer that doesn’t come. 

“How long have you been awake?” His voice is deeper this time. 

He knows he found the sore spot by the way you wince. Suguru says your name in a reprimanding tone. 

“I am willfully choosing not to answer.” You murmur. 

Suguru grabs your chin, forcing you to look up at him. His heart breaks at the sight. Sure, he probably also looked like he hadn’t slept well in awhile. But that was him, and you are you. And you’re his baby. 

Suguru repeats your name a second time, voice much softer. Your face relaxes as you sag in his hold. 

“Two… days.” You respond quietly, Suguru has to strain his ears to hear the end of it. 

Suguru normally tries not to overreact. That was left to Satoru. But he can’t stop the way his eyes bulge from his head, his lips parting in shock. 

“Huh?” He feels the sudden urge to wrap you up and tuck you away. 

“It’s not my fault! The bed was just so cold… and then I got distracted by my phone, which-” you look over your shoulder at your phone on the floor “-shouldn’t be a problem anymore.” 

Suguru’s heart tugs into guilt. He knew that wasn’t what you were intending. You would never want to make him feel bad. 

You couldn’t sleep without him? 

Suguru sighs and pulls you into a warm hug. You nestle into his embrace, your face smooshing against his broad chest. Suguru swears he can feel himself drifting off to dreamland, but he forces himself out. 

He pulls away and reaches over the couch to grab a blanket. He wraps it tightly around your body, including the back of your head. You look a bit like you’re in a cocoon by the time he’s done. He pulls it tight around your chest, and grabs your face with both hands. 

“Go lay down.” His voice is soft but commanding. “I’m gonna cook something, I’ll get you when it’s ready.” 

You look to the ground like a scolded child as you nod, dragging your feet towards the bedroom. Suguru feels a renewed sense of responsibility as he watches you trudge away. He takes a deep breath and looks around. 

Where was Satoru? 

Suguru knew he would be up. At least, he should be up. Suguru walks into the house, going towards the kitchen. He finds Satoru sitting at the table facing away from him, looking down. 

“Satoru?” Suguru says to announce his presence, learning from his mistake. 

Satoru’s head whips around, tossing his phone on the table while he bounces up to his feet. He charges toward Suguru, jumping up until he’s latched around him. Suguru doesn’t have to hold him in place, he can feel Satoru’s legs wrapped tightly against his back. Suguru sways in place and smoothes a hand down Satoru’s back. He peers over Satoru’s shoulder to the table where he notices a bowl of something. Ice cream. 

A wave of smell coming from Satoru’s shampoo washes over Suguru, and he buries his face into the side of Satoru’s neck even more. He missed that smell. 

Suguru pulls Satoru away, reaching behind to unlatch Satoru’s limbs from his body. He sets him down and looks at him, able to maintain eye contact without looking down. 

Satoru looked good. He thought so, at least. He looked wide awake, probably having been awake for at least thirty minutes. Suguru adjusts one of Satoru’s stray white hairs, before looking him up and down. 

“When’s the last time you ate something green?” Suguru asks, knowing that would be Satoru’s issue once Suguru was gone. 

Satoru looks over his own shoulder to the table at his bowl of ice cream. His bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. 

“Uh, now?” Satoru responds, looking back at Suguru. 

Suguru squints at Satoru, clearly unimpressed. 

“Have I told you how handsome you are lately?” Satoru goes on. 

“Finish what you have, but I’m making something for everyone. I’m gonna make sure to put lots of vegetables in it, just for you.” 

Satoru whines as Suguru turns around, tying his hair up and shoving his sleeves out of the way. 

You’re nestled in the sheets of your bed when Suguru’s voice pulls you from the deep sleep you managed to find yourself in. It was like just knowing Suguru was in the house was enough to calm your nerves to grant you rest. You twist and turn in the bed, debating on whether or not to bring the blanket with you. You hadn’t realized how exhausted you were until Suguru woke you up, and you found yourself wanting to go back to sleep. 

A delicious smell carries over to the bedroom, snapping you out of your haze. The one thing you missed more than sleep was Suguru’s cooking. 

You jump out of bed and make your way to the kitchen. Suguru’s standing next to the stove, a spatula in hand as he looks down. He isn’t wearing his sweater anymore, instead he was wearing a loose white shirt. Satoru is sitting on the counter next to him with a bowl held firmly in his hands, a spoon in his mouth. He’s wearing Suguru’s sweater now, and you don’t doubt for a second that he begged Suguru for it. 

You didn’t blame him. You wanted to drown in Suguru just as much. 

“Is it ready?” You ask, lifting a fist up to wipe the sleep from your eyes. 

Suguru turns around and a soft smile grows on his face as he watches you. You really were his baby. 

“Just about, will you take Satoru’s dishes? He won’t let me have them.” 

“I’m not done yet!” Satoru complains, gripping the bowl closer to him. 

“Satoru, the bowl is empty.” Suguru says, as if he’s already repeated that. 

Satoru digs his spoon back into the bowl, lifting it up to his lips again. The bowl was empty. There were only melted remains of the ice cream clinging to the glass, Satoru scooping it up and easing it past his lips. 

You walk up to him and try to tug the bowl from his hands. On the second tug Satoru finally relents, letting you take the dish to the sink. That was one thing you did right. There were no dirty dishes, the house was in relatively clean condition in general. You refused to let Suguru come home to a messy house. 

Suguru dishes out three bowls for you all, evenly distributing the food. Your mouth is watering by the time he’s done, and you’re diving in the second he gives you yours. 

The food all but melts in your mouth. It was so good. And it didn’t reek of garlic. Suguru stands in the kitchen as he eats, watching you and Satoru sit at the bar. There’s an easy smile on his face as he watches you both, only looking away to shovel more food into his mouth. 

“I’m sorry for making you cook.” You mumble around the food, guilt tugging at your chest. 

You really were pathetic, you could hardly survive with him out of the house. He just got back from his trip, yet he dropped everything to take care of you. 

Suguru picks up on the sadness on your face. 

“I don’t mind, really. I was craving a home cooked meal anyway.” 

Satoru’s lips twitch into a smile. He’s up to something. 

“If you wanted a home cooked meal you should have just said so. They made beef noodles while you were gone, we actually saved the leftovers.” 

Your face heats up, and you kick Satoru’s leg besides yours. 

“Shut up! No I didn’t, Suguru!” 

Suguru’s brow is raised as he watches the two of you bicker. 

“Did you? I didn’t see it.” He talks under his breath as he turns around, opening the fridge to look into it. 

“Suguru!” You whine. 

“It’s in the-“ Satoru’s voice is muffled as he speaks through your hand, “-the front in the container.” 

Suguru reaches to grab it, turning around to set it on the counter. They were the leftovers you hadn’t eaten, as Satoru had consumed everything else. Your face is scrunched up as you watch Suguru open the lid. 

A strong smell of garlic fills the area and you sob, covering your face with your hands. Embarrassed didn’t even cover the half of it. 

Suguru’s face is curious as he peers down, using his utensil to dig into the container, not bothering to heat it up. If he can tell how overpowering the garlic is, he doesn’t show it. Suguru bites into the food, chewing for a moment while the room quiets down. 

“You put a unique spin on it.” He finally says. 

You sob even louder, dropping your head. Satoru is chuckling beside you, taking a sip from his cup. 

“I didn’t say it was bad! It’s just, a choice.” Suguru tilts his head as he takes a second bite. 

“Please stop.” You whine. 

The two boys were ruthless together. Sometimes you forgot, but it didn’t take them long to remind you. It was hard to tell which was worse, the upfront bullying of Satoru or the teasing Suguru took up, that often left you wondering if he was being mean at all. 

Suguru closes the container, and for reasons unknown slips it back into the fridge. Personally, you would have preferred if he threw the whole damn thing away, container included. Or lit it on fire. 

“I hate you.” You murmur to Satoru. 

He side hugs you, pulling you close to him; as close as he can without yanking you from your seat. 

“Did you guys have some good bonding time together?” Suguru asks, picking up all your dirty dishes before dropping them in the sink. 

“We did!” Satoru says proudly. 

You did, and that was nice. You just couldn’t announce it right now, you were too busy showing your displeasure. 

Suguru steps out of the kitchen and makes his way to you both. He presses a kiss to Satoru’s forehead, and grabs your jaw. He bites back a coo at the scowl resting on your face. So damn cute. He presses his lips against yours and you nearly melt. Suguru pulls back and lets his eyes float between you two. He really missed you guys. 

“You wanna go back to sleep?” He offers. 

You grin excitedly and hop off the stool, pulling Satoru with you. The two of you trip over your feet as you run to the bedroom, Suguru trailing behind with a smile on his face. 

Tag List: @tojislittleprincesss, @dinolvrrr, @kimi01985, @mikisspeak

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[ennabear]

I'm begging you to write about mean!abby and reader finding a kitten in one of the buildings, Abby not letting her save the kitten but reader cries all night so Abby HAS to go back and get the kitten...

a/n: plsss this is so cute 😭 thanks for the request baby ilysm and i may or may not have written too much about this 🤗💗💗

daily click / boycott tlou / help these families evacuate / free palestine

abby wasn’t mean necessarily, just very strict. she knew you even better than the back of her hand, and she liked that you depended on her for everything.

hungry? ask abby to make something for you. tired? good, it’s almost your bedtime, don’t want you being cranky in the morning. can’t reach something? better go get abby to grab it for you.

so when you saw that poor kitten while walking back to your apartment, you knew you had to ask her for it. it started with you just hearing a few pleading mewls before turning around and seeing it toddling toward you.

“aww, abs, look! it’s a little kitten!” your smile growing. you were met with a cold “hmm.” from abby. “can we take it home?” you asked. “absolutely not. we don’t have room for an animal.” it was partially true. your apartment wasn’t huge, but it was a comfortable size, and you were moving soon anyways.

ignoring her, you picked it up and continued strolling beside her, cooing at it’s small size and adorable face. “did you not hear me? i said put it back.” she snapped. “don’t call it an ‘it’, abs. i think it’s a girl.”

she glared at you, unamused. “now.” you walked over to a small corner and placed her down, giving her a final pet as your eyes welled up. even if you couldn’t keep her, you at least hoped you’d see her again. maybe it would become a neighborhood cat that everybody mutually loved, everyone except abby.

you didn’t talk to her the rest of the walk home, which was short, or even meet her gaze. although you understood that she only ever tried to look out for you, sometimes she was too strict. you went to bed that night without even returning a kiss, too angry at her, too worried about the poor kitten all alone outside. scared, cold, hungry.

these thoughts continued to plague your mind, eventually causing tears to collect. you hid your face in abby’s chest and sniffled, trying not to start sobbing. “baby?” she asked, “are you alright?”

“abs… that poor kitty. it doesn’t even have a family.” you were crying now. “w-what if it gets too cold, or it gets h-hit by a car.”

abby frowned at your words. “it won’t, honey. it’s already survived this long, it can go a few more nights before someone else picks it up.”

“but it’s n-not supposed to survive on its own. someone probably left it there to die.” you were sobbing, too.

“well, we’re not taking it home. i’m sorry, hate me all you want but we don’t have time or space for a pet.” you didn’t understand how she could be so mean. you cried even harder at this, hoping, praying the cute little guy survives. you cried into her chest until eventually, sleep took you.

abby had other plans. she didn’t know you’d instantly get so attached to that cat, and she hated that now you were crying because of her. she only wanted to do what was best for you, but there was no winning this battle.

once she was sure you were asleep, she slid her shoes back on and headed outside, hoping it was stills there, even more that there was only one. to her luck, the kitten was still there, instantly jumping up and waddling toward her. it’s meows seeming louder than earlier, like it recognized her or something.

she picked it up with two hands, trying not to hold it too close in case she changes her mind about wanting to keep it. slowly, she tiptoed back inside, trying her hardest not to wake you.

her fingers raced to ask google every question she had about caring for it. things like what to feed a baby kitten or where to get kitten milk replacer or how do baby cats stay warm at night? after finding what she needed, she put the kitten in an old shoebox and carried it out to the car.

surprisingly, the kitten didn’t seem to hate the drive, it was mostly just excited to be out of a big, scary parking lot. she put the car in park, and swore to herself that she would take no longer than 10 minutes in the store.

12 minutes later, she’s back with a syringe, a tin of kitten milk replacer, a heating pad, a litter box, and a water bowl. the kitten peeks up at her after she opens it just to check in. it meows and tries to grab her hand, but she closes it too quickly and drives back home.

when you wake up, you’re surprised to see that abby is still in bed with you. usually she’s at the gym, or if not, she’s definitely started her day by this time. with hands on her sides, you roll her over to cuddle with you. “abs,” you whisper into her neck, “why are you still here?”

“i had a long night.” she responded. “and i’m sorry i made you cry, i promise the cat will be fine.”

you completely ignored the second part, “long night? no you didn’t.” how could she have had a long night? she was in bed with you the whole time, right?

“go look on the kitchen table, silly girl.” so you did. you yawned and put on your slippers, making your way out of the bedroom.

on the kitchen counter you found an old shoebox, a heating pad with a temperature remote attached to it, a soft hand towel, and a sleeping gray kitten.

tears threatened to spill again as you felt abby’s arms wrap around you, her head snuggling into your neck and whispering “surprise.”

[doki-doki-imagines]

Fluff alphabet feat Tomas Vrbada

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them? Tomas likes to watch films together with his partner. Usually, he enjoys action movies that aren't too heavy on the gore side, but he will watch sappy movies too; the more cliché there are, the better it is. His kid self would cringe at the film he watches now, but Tomas grew up and embraced that side better. If you sneak a kiss in between the film, he'll gladly accept it (even if he is often the one doing the first step)

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them? Tomas is down bad. When he is in love, he can't find anything bad in his partner. Probably, he admires how you always have the right words to lift his spirit or how supportive you are. Also, Tomas appreciates your hands, for sure softer and smaller than his ones. He often finds himself kissing the palm of your hand.

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.? Tomas has a steady mind. He isn't born with it, but he had to develop if you wanted to survive the Lin Kuei harsh rules. He isn't really good at supporting you during those times, but he wants you to learn the same tricks that helped him survive, so next time something bad happens, you won't feel that bad.

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o? Tomas would love to retire and have a happy family. He doesn't desire fame and glory, but a quiet life with people he cherishes, possibly not too far away from Shirai Ryu tho.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive? Tomas is rather passive because he doesn't want to have arguments with his special one, but he can get stubborn on certain points and won't back down easily. In those cases, you can try to show him your view on the matter, but he often doesn't change his mind.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting? To get Tomas angry, his partner must have done something that hurt him deep. He may forgive, but for sure, he won't forget.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them? He is! Tomas reaction may be a bit over the top, so there are times when you think he is joking, but he isn't! He is just overjoyed that someone used their time to do something for him.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything? Yeah, Tomas tries to keep his job as secret as he can. Yeah, you know he is a ninja and all of that, but you'll never know anything about his missions in particular, at maximum where he is going.

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems? Not change. Tomas is just more relaxed and overall happy. His partner probably learnt how to deal with dangerous situations and emotions better.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it? Tomas has extreme trust in his partner. It's all the other people that worry him! He won't say a word to you, but when the green monster eats him inside and fog his brain, one of his hand always find its place on your lower back, squeezing your hips enough to keep you close to him.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like? Good...let's say he has the right spirit! Tomas will gladly improve and mould his skill to his partner preference. That doesn't mean he always has the mind to kiss at his best. The first kiss was unexpected, a mission thay went well and a flurry of little pecks all over your face till his lips found yours; that for sure didn't turn out to be just a little peck.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o? It's all of a sudden, like when you rip the band-aid off in a single movement, plus it is at an unexpected moment, not romantic at all. Probably he brang something you both like and Tomas go "You know what else I like? You." and then just go on with his day. He is dying inside, tho, so pls tell him about your feelings; as cute as he is when blushing, it's best to avoid an aneurism.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like? Oh, Tomas would love to marry his special one. He'll totally be soft, proposing in the intimacy of your shared room. The marriage wouldn't be too extravagant, but he'd like to invite as many friends as possible.

N icknames - What do they call their s/o? Honey, darling, baby.

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings? Tomas has a smile plastered on his face every time his crush gets close to him; and with close to him, I mean on the other side of the camp. He always tries to lean towards your body, just feeling the heath of your body makes his heart do triple jumps. Tomas would like to be more sneaky, but honestly, everyone knows about his crush on you; yourselves included. Better to tell him immediately how you feel about him, so he won't embarrass himself too much with his colleagues.

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching? Tomas doesn't like kissing in public, but will for sure brag about his partner with others, even more if he is tipsy; Tomas just won't stop babbling about you. For sure, your relationship isn't a secret.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship. He can tell your feelings just by looking into your eyes. For sure, Tomas will understand you easier, but it also means that it's hard to keep secrets with him.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative? He likes cliché, exactly the same kinds that appear in the film you watch together. Don't expect Tomas to be creative, tho! That isn't his strong suit.

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them? Absolutely yes! Not only Tomas will be really supportive, but he'll gladly give you a hand if you need more than encouraging words to reach your goal.

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine? Tomas prefers routine, it is more comfortable and makes you both overall happy. Doesn't mind if you want to spice up the relationship, but you'll have to make the first step.

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic? Extremely good, maybe too good, as I said before. Not too much empathetic, tho. He understands how his partner feels, but doesn't mean he will feel the same way you do.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life? Really important, but not more than Shirai Ryu. Tomas has a mission, a goal that won't let go no matter how much he loves his partner

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon. He likes to kiss your fingers, delicate butterfly ones, maybe while you're in bed together cuddling.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle? Yes, but just behind closed doors. Tomas' hands never leave your body, and his lips always find peace on your skin. Not all cuddles end up in sex, but...he wouldn't be opposed to that.

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner? He likes to watch photos of you two together or just yours. It's not unusual for his head to wander in dangerous places.

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lenghts for the relationship? If so, what kind of? It depends, does it hurt you or him? Then he won't do it. Will it be a danger for Shirai Ryu? Absolutely won't do it. Is it something that doesn't do any damage to his "safe paradise"? Tomas will gladly do that.

[tmntxthings]

hiii could i request some headcanons for a touch starved!casey jr with a reader who their love language is physical touch [romantic/fluff]? idk i just want to give to my baby a hug, he deserves so much better😭

一∑ Tender Connections

author’s note: i agree this boi needs all the hugs c:

warnings: fluff, hurt/comfort themes, touchstarved!casey jr. x gn reader, unedited

—————————————————————————

Ever since Kraang was defeated Casey never stopped training. It was ingrained in him since birth that he always needed to be ready for the next catastrophe.

But those were few and far between even with the weird magnet company of the turtles + April! Despite everyone’s attempts at wanting to show Casey the new world he was now in, he would go back to the lair and train until he was sore.

One time Leo tried to keep him out all night which was quite possible in New York since the city never slept. There was an endless amount of possibilities to get into some fun and maybe a little mischief if it involved the blue turtle.

But Casey’s stamina and resilience was equivalent if not better than all of the turtles due to his upbringing. He wouldn’t have survived the apocalypse otherwise. So when Leo finally portaled them back to the lair, barely having enough energy to do so without passing out seconds later, he didn’t get to see Casey’s knowing smile.

The boy from the future easily picked up his younger sensei and got him to bed. Then it was off to the dojo, where he continued to stay up until he felt like he had gotten a good enough training session in. What he wasn’t expecting, was you to be leaning against the circular doorway.

“You know, you may have the worst sleeping habits out of all of them if Leo’s passed out.” You quipped and Casey could only offer a shy smile as he picked up the last of the equipment he had used. “I told him it wouldn’t work… to be fair” Casey muttered.

You didn’t know what to say. Things like, “Kraang is defeated now! And we can’t take some time to relax” didn’t really compute with Casey even if he agreed. His body just was wired a certain way and he didn’t know if it would ever relax. Even now his muscles which were exceedingly sore, ached for a different reason. He felt restless. He didn’t want to sleep. He felt like fighting. He felt like defending and protecting the city from some new unknown source of danger that was surely building up its forces now

Thoughts like these were driving him crazy. And you could see it. “Why don’t we go out?” You asked and watched as his mouth dropped open, about to refute that such methods didn’t work as Leo had literally just tried all evening to wear him down.

But you stopped him before he could refuse. “Just to a rooftop! It’ll only be a few minutes,” and how could he deny you? As he took you in, it was obvious that you had forced yourself to stay up. Had you been waiting for them to get back? You were in comfy pjs and your hair was a bit disheveled from what he could only guess was tossing and turning in bed. “Alright,” he sighed, shaking his head but continued to follow a step behind with a slight grin.

It was nice to know how much you cared. How much everyone cared about him! But something about you in particular made him feel a tad warmer.

So up to a rooftop you went. The sky was dark and there were blinking satellites that mimicked stars. The city still alive and thriving just as he had left it, but the rooftop was calmer than the sidewalks. It was quieter. He didn’t know if that was a good thing for a person like him. The quiet invited in thoughts that he’d rather not think about. Like his endless worries and paranoia.

He had been sitting on the low rise ledge that bordered the entire rooftop. One foot started to tap anxiously just to offer any kind of distraction when you had sat down next to him, carefully since past the ledge was a seven story drop to pavement. Your proximity eased those nerves somehow and with knees almost knocking, you faced Casey and started talking

About anything and everything! About yourself and your hopes and dreams. You asked about his now that he was here and didn’t have to live day by day. Talking like that made it sound like the future wasn’t always in peril. As if maybe he would have enough time to do other things, like try every restaurant in NYC. And travel outside of the city, even New Jersey which he still didn’t understand why the guys all disliked the place.

The conversation ebbed and flowed naturally until silence overtook once more and this time Casey didn’t have the overwhelming urge to distract himself. Instead he just took a deep breath in and out, letting it go in a long sigh. Then his breath caught in his throat because he hadn’t realized how close the two of you had gotten while talking. Your hand finding his in that moment and your fingers intertwining with his as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

He couldn’t stop himself from looking down at your connected hands, and he shivered all over as you started to trace patterns on the back of his hand. The pressure he had unknowingly been carrying around released from his shoulders. His eyes darted up to yours, finding that you were already there, waiting for his gaze.

In the moonlight he tried to convey his gratitude, because what could he say in this moment that wouldn’t ruin it? He squeezed your hand, comforted by the pressure. Grounded by the gentle hold that you had on him.

The two of you stayed like that for a while. Until your eyelids started to flutter and your body couldn’t stay upright. He of course more than welcomed you to lean on him, but he didn’t want to push his luck and didn’t want to keep you awake any longer when it was obvious both of you needed sleep. “C’mon,” Casey spoke softly, rousing you to try and get you to stand.

But it seemed you were either already out of your wits or maybe just trusted him wholeheartedly because you only scooted closer to him, allowing him to pick you up in his arms and carrying you back down to your bed. Which of course was done easily enough by him since he always had his grappling hook at the ready. It all ended quite too soon for his liking as he carefully let you go so you could snuggle under your covers, rasping out a goodnight to him with your eyes closed.

Would it be horrible of him to admit he had wanted to kiss your forehead so badly in that moment?

After that night, Casey was in for much more than handholding. While that still happened often, hugs became second nature between the two of you. He reveled in your hold, a days worth of stress releasing as soon as your arms encircled around him. Your hands at his back, going up and down in soothing strokes had him holding on tighter when it was time to let go. “Just a little longer?”

He’d shyly ask. If you didn’t want to he would immediately let go. But you always indulged him with a bright smile. So don’t get too mad when he starts to become greedy! With this revelation of him wanting and seeking out your gentle touch, he’d pull you into quiet corners like a true ninja.

One second you’d be in the middle of a Mario kart game and as soon as it was over you found yourself being tugged up and away because Casey had a really important thing to show you or a question that only you could answer! It got more and more ridiculous until Mikey called the both of you out and said you didn’t have to sneak around to hug!

Once PDA was on the table Casey never looked back. He was stuck to your side and honestly, you wouldn’t rather it any other way! <3

[literary-illuminati]

An Arbitrary Collection of Book Recommendations

(put together for a friend out of SFF I've read over the last couple of years)

Cli-Fi

Tusks of Extinction and/or The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. They’re pretty different books in a lot of ways – one is a novel about discovering a certain species of squid in the Pacific might have developed symbolic language and writing, the other a novella about a de-extinction initiative to restore mammoths to the Siberian taiga – but they share a pretty huge overlap in setting, tone and themes. Specifically, a deep and passionate preoccupation with animal conservation (and a rather despairing perspective on it), as well as a fascination with transhumanism and how technology can affect the nature of consciousness. Mountain is his first work, and far more substantial, but I’d call it a bit of a noble failure in achieving what it tries for. Tusks is much more limited and contained, but manages what it’s going for.

A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys. In a post-post-apocalyptic world that’s just about figured out how to rebuild itself from the climate disasters of the 21st century (but that’s still very much a work in progress), aliens descend from the sky and make First Contact. They’re a symbiotic civilization, and they’re overjoyed at the chance to welcome a third species into their little interstellar community – and consider it a mission of mercy besides, since every other species they’ve ever encountered destroyed themselves and their planet before escaping it. Awkwardly, our heroine and her whole society are actually pretty invested in Earth and the restoration thereof – and worried that a) the alien’s rescue effort might not care about their opinions and b) that other interest groups on earth might be more willing to give the hyper-advanced space-dwelling aliens the answers they want to hear. Basically 100% sociological worldbuilding and political intrigue, so take that as you will.

Throwback Sci Fi

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky is possibly the only thing I’ve read published in decades to take the old cliche of ‘this generic-seeming fantasy world is actually the wreckage of a ruined space age civilization, and ‘magic’ and ‘monsters’ are the remnants of the technology’ and play it entirely straight. Specifically, it’s a two-POV novella, where half the story is told from the perspective of a runaway princess beseeching the ancient wizard who helped found her dynasty for help against a magical threat, and half is from the perspective form the last surviving member of a xeno-anthropology mission woken out of stasis by the consequences of the last time he broke the Prime Directive knocking on his ship tower door and asking for help. Generally just incredible fun.

Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh is, I think, the only thing on this list written before the turn of the millennium. It’s proper space opera, about a habitat orbiting an immensely valuable living world that’s the lynchpin of logistics for the functionally rogue Earth Fleet’s attempt to hold off or defeat rebelling and somewhat alien colonies further out. The plot is honestly hard to summarize, except that it captures the feel of being history better than very nearly any other spec fic I’ve ever read – a massive cast, none of them with a clear idea of what’s going on, clashing and contradictory agendas, random chance and communications delays playing key roles, lots of messy ending, not a single world-shaking heroes or satanic masterminds deforming the shape of things with their narrative gravity to be seen. Somewhat dated, but it all very impressively well done.

Pulpy Gay Urban Fantasy Period Piece Detective Stories Where Angels Play a Prominent Role

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark stars Fatma el-Sha’arawi, the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities in Cairo, a couple of decades after magic returned to the world and entirely derailed the course of Victorian imperialism. There’s djinn and angels and crocodile gods, and also an impossible murder that needs solving! The mystery isn’t exactly intellectually taxing, but this is a very fun tropey whodunnit whose finale involves a giant robot.

Even Though I Knew The End by C. L. Polk is significantly more restrained and grounded in its urban fantasy. It’s early 20th century Chicago, and a PI is doing one last job to top off the nest egg she’s leaving her girlfriend before the debt on her deal with the devil comes due. By what may or may not be coincidence, she stumbles across a particularly gruesome crime scene – and is offered a deal to earn back her soul by solving the mystery behind it. Very noir detective, with a setting that just oozes care and research and a satisfyingly tight plot.

High Concept Stuff That Loves Playing around With Format and the Idea of Narratives

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente is a story about a famous documentarian vanishing on shoot amid mysterious and suspicious circumstances, as told by the recovered scraps of the footage she was filming, and different drafts of her (famous director) father’s attempt to dramatize the events as a memorial to her. It’s set in a solar system where every planet is habitable and most were colonized in the 19th century, and culturally humanity coasts on in an eternal Belle Epoque and (more importantly) Golden Age of Hollywood. Something like half the book is written as scripts and transcripts. This description should by now either have sold you or put you off entirely.

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez is the only classic-style epic fantasy on this list, I believe? The emperor and his three demigod sons hold subjugated in terror, but things are changing. The emperor, terrified of death, has ordered a great fleet assembled to carry him across the sea in pursuit of immortality. The day before he sets out on his grand pilgrimage to the coast, a guilt-ridden guard helps the goddess of the moon escape her binding beneath the palace. From there, things spiral rapidly out of anyone’s control. The story’s told through two or three (depending( different layers of narrative framing devices, and has immense amounts of fun playing with perspective and format and ideas about storytelling and legacy.

I Couldn’t Think of Any Categories That Included More Than One of These

All The Names They Used For God by Anjali Sachdeva is a collection of short stories, and probably the most literary thing on this list? The stories range wildly across setting and genre, but are each more or less about the intrusion of the numinous or transcendent or divine into a world that cracks and breaks trying to contain it. It is very easily the most artistically coherent short story collection I’ve ever read, which I found pretty fascinating to read – but honestly I’m mostly just including this on the strength of Killer of Kings, a story about an angel sent down to be John Milton’s muse as he writes Paradise Lost which is probably one of the best things I read last year period.

Last Exit by Max Gladstone – the Three Parts Dead and How You Lose the Time War guy – could be described as a deconstruction of ‘a bunch of teenagers/college kids discover magic and quest to save the world!’ stories, but honestly I’d say that obscures more than it reveals. Still, the story is set with that having happened a decade in the past, and the kids in question have thoroughly fucked up. Zelda, the protagonist, is kept from suicide by survivor’s guilt as much as anything, and now travels across America working poverty jobs and sleeping in her car as she hunts the monsters leaking in through the edges of a country rotting at the seams. Then there’s a monster growing in the cracks of the liberty bell, an in putting it down she gets a vision of someone she thought was dead is just trapped – or maybe changed. So it’s time to get the gang together again and save the world! This one’s hard to rec without spoiling a lot, but the prose and characterization are all just sublime. Oddly in conversation with the whole Delta Green cosmic horror monster hunting subgenre for a story with nothing to do with Lovecraft.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh is a story about aliens destroying the earth, and growing up in the pseudo-fascist asteroid survivalist compound of the last bits of the human military that never surrendered. It stars a heroine whose genuinely indoctrinated for the first chunk of the book and just deeply endearing terrible and awful to interact with, and also has a plot that’s effectively impossible to describe without spoiling the big twist at the end of the first act. Possibly the only book I read last year which I actively wish was longer – which is both compliment and genuine complaint, for the record, the ending’s a bit messy. Still, genuinely meaty Big Ideas space opera with very well-done characterization and a plot that does hold together. 

[mvrtaiswriting]

Hi!

I’m wondering if I could request a sanjixreader about the reader taking a hit that was meant for Sanji but he didn’t realize, yet the reader kept fighting? I’ll leave the ending up to you.

Thank you, and I hope it’s ok

Keep fighting x Black Leg Sanji ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :

i'm really sorry for the amount of time this request took me?? it had been sitting in my drafts FOREVER and I kinda forgot about it I am so DEEPLY SORRY. this was so fun the to write and literally one of my favourite requests ever, so I hope this matches your expectation and that it would be worth the wait!! thank you for being patient with me. hope you enjoy this <;33 +1k words | gender neutral | mention of needles? | usual one piece violence. feel free to reblog, like, and leave a comment. i would very much appreciate it. if you enjoy my works, click here to read more or buy me a coffee.

A soft breeze blew out Sanji's burning cigarette, brushing through his blonde hair almost revealing his left eye. There was no way he could have survived the next attack - he was exhausted from the battle, his enemy being the strongest he had ever met before. Trying to take a puff from the cigarette he kept holding between his lips, Sanji wanted to taste nicotine one last time. As death approached him, all he wanted was the bittersweet company of his dearest friend; he wanted to feel his lungs being hugged by the warm smoke entering his airways, like a mother holds her child. That was it - he didn't have any strength left. Maybe that stupid marimo was right all along, maybe his captain deserved a stronger wing by his side.

Sanji stood still in the middle of the battlefield, waiting for his final act. He kept his eyes closed, his mind wondering what could have been if only he had a better father, if only he didn't let everyone down.

"Wake up, you useless cook!"

Was this death? Did Zoro follow him into the afterlife? No, no. It couldn't be.

"Sanji!"

Zoro screamed again, the metal sound of his swords almost serving as a background melody for the horrors of the battle. Passing an hand through his hair, Sanji noticed he wasn't bleeding - he wondered where was the headache coming from. Running his hands over his body, he noticed how he didn't feel any excruciating pain: no broken bones, no bleeding. Yet he passed out - maybe he just overestimated his enemy; maybe, he underestimated himself. Finally regaining conscience, Sanji looked around the battlefield - and a part of him wished he never did.

Your figure was moving swiftly on the battlefield, but your attacks were slower, weaker than usual. All you could do now was avoid any fatal blow, trying to recover from the one you just received. It didn't take long for Sanji to notice how you were covered in blood, your usual combat style being impeded by the metal piece stabbed in your leg, crossing your limb from one end to the other.

Biting his bottom lip, Sanji lit another cigarette. He was furious, rage galloping through his veins and giving him a rush of adrenaline he never felt before. He felt his muscles tighten, full of a strength he didnt believe he possessed - you protected his life with yours, using your own body as a shield. How could he be so weak? How dare he put you in so much danger? A sea of emotions flooded Sanji's thoughts; he was proud of you and your strength, yet he was scared, frustrated - mad at how he failed to protect you. His eyes were filled of admiration and worry - you endured a critical hit yet you kept fighting.

"Let me."

Sanji was quick to step in, putting his body between you and your enemy. Winking at you with the sexiest smirk painted on his lips, Sanji finally put an end to the battle you both had been fighting for too long. Before he could realise it, you were already lying on the floor unconscious, exhausted from the battle and all the wounds you endured.

The next thing you saw when you opened your eyes was a torchlight, pointed directed at your pupils. Too confused to follow the light as Chopper just ordered you, you tried to stand up. An heavy hand on your shoulder stopped you from moving, forcing you to lay on the mattress.

"Not so fast, mon coeur."

A familiar voice finally said, the French accent in his words revealing his identity straight away. You smiled weakly, realising the hand on your shoulder was Sanji's. Sighing, you stayed still whilst Chopper finished his job. You were full of bandages and stitches, an IV drip connected to your arm.

"Was it really that bad?"

You whined, when Chopper finally closed his medical kit bag. You saw the reindeer nod, dragging one of his little hoof onto his face.

"You're lucky to still have your leg!"

Chopper whined, frustrated with the way you were minimising your injury. Tears started forming in his tiny eyes, making you nod and fall silent - you knew he was genuinely worried and he was probably right about it.

When Chopper finally left the room, you felt Sanji slowly sitting down on the side of the bed, your mattress slowly sinking.

"You shouldn't have done that."

Sanji finally says. His tone is calm and full of worry, yet his words stung like salt on an open cut. His hand slowly reached your face, caressing your cheeks, his fingertips delicately tickling your skin. Biting your tongue, you hold back your explanations - he probably knows you were only trying to protect him, yet he was ready to scold you like a little child. You were fine, injured but alive. And you would do it again if you had to - protecting the love of your life from a potentially fatal blow? You would do it again in an heart beat.

"I love you."

These three words slip out of Sanji's mouth in a whisper, almost as if he didn't want to let them go. But now they were out in the open, filling the hospital room you were lying in.

"I love you and I want you to stay alive."

Sanji reiterated, clearing his throat. The words almost got stuck in his throat - flashback of the battles coming to him again in a blur. Seeing you collapsed on the floor, covered in blood with countless wounds all over your body. It was too much to take. He always thought nothing could scare him anymore, he always thought that there couldn't be a bigger pain than the one his father inflicted on him. But that was before this, it was before always losing the love of his life because he wasn't strong enough.

"I love you too, stupid cook. I love you and will stay alive to save your ass." You giggled, causing him to blush. Sanji stared at you for a second, the softest of smiles forming on his lips before he leaned down, placing a sweet kiss on your lips. You were safe, you were his.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Yay requests are open! :DDD

Can I maybe get something with mandela catalogue because WHY NOT YLDLYDYLDLYFK

I maybe went beyond you with Alternate y/n but can I get something like so fluffy and they so God damn sweet it so silly like????

They so kind and Affectionate to everyone like wtf (maybe hug out of no where they would squeeze the hell out of the person or compliment non stop with heart eyes like <3333 *nothing suspicious Of course!!*)

Would like Scenario with mark, any Alternate (might intruder specifically but whatever u like!) And Gabriel! :0

U can choose or make more than one I would be 10× happy <33

I know it's tough or annoying and you are free to ignore this request but please tell me so I won't wait <3

Love your writing please keep going and take care of yourself!

I just did the three you requested ^^ Took me a bit to figure out scenarios but hope you like 'em!

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

--Mark--

"Your place of worship has..quite the vastness. Are all of them like this?"

"There's smaller ones around town, but this is the one I've pretty much grown up in."

"I see...it's quite lovely. All the flowers and stained glass windows add a nice touch."

"Mhm.." Mark nodded his head, keeping a vacant gaze on the church's altar as he fiddled with the rosary tangled in his fingers.

You, in the meantime, were intrigued by this house of god--the same place Preacher once infiltrated to adopt one of the nuns' forms. But luckily, she had moved on since then and hasn't disturbed these grounds.

It was a surprise that Mark actually allowed you to accompany him tonight..considering you were quite adamant about stepping through the doors. You thought he'd become distressed upon learning his sanctuary had no spiritual nor physical barriers that kept Alternates out.

But he apparently knew that already and accepted it, as he invited you anyways, insisting he didn't wish to be alone.

When he knelt down to pray for some time, you left him be while exploring the church for yourself, looking at the architecture.

You continue to be impressed by what humanity has built for their religion.

When you returned to the pews, Mark was no longer kneeling, instead sitting there with a blank stare. And judging from his empty responses to your remarks, he seemed...lost.

Didn't he come here to put his mind at ease? You thought you'd see him become less tense after finishing his prayers, but he looked just the same--if not more upset.

"...I couldn't think of anything new this time."

Confused, you sat down next to him. And he took your silence as a sign to elaborate.

"I mean...I-I keep praying for the same stuff. For my friend to be at peace, wherever he is, my parents to talk to me again....and for things to go back to normal. But it feels like I'm asking for the impossible. It just..doesn't seem worth it anymore.."

"I believe all of those things are still worth praying for, Mark..be it one time or a hundred." You softly interjected, frowning a bit. "Life may not entirely go back to what it once was, but you can always pray for better days ahead. You have survived the worst of them, and you'll survive plenty more."

He was quiet for a moment, before shrugging. "It feels like even that's too much to ask for nowadays. Maybe...He forgot about me, or my prayers aren't enough-"

"I doubt anything's ever "too much" for your god. I'm sure He hears you and knows you're trying to stay faithful in such difficult times. If I were Him, I'd think your prayers are good enough for...."

Stopping, you heard him sniffle and gazed at him in worry, seeing his shoulders slumped. "Mark?" You were especially alarmed when he suddenly began to sob, bringing his hands to his face.

In that moment you feared that you've accidentally said something MAD-inducing. "I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean it like-"

"I-In all my years going to..c-confession..nobody's ever told me that." He cried quietly. "They said my soul was doomed the moment I met that intruder guy...a-and there's only a small chance I can be saved if I keep praying.."

You blinked, bewildered by what you were hearing. "Your whole church knows about that night? And they blame you for encountering him? But that wasn't your fault...you were a child."

"Th-They don't care. They never did. But of all people..I never expected an Alternate to tell me something so....r-reassuring..." Mark looked up at you, and the smile on his tearful face confirmed he wasn't upset with you in the slightest. "Thanks, [y/n]. I..I really need to hear that."

"But of course." You smiled back and brought him into an embrace, squeezing him tightly as relief swept over you. "There's no need to weep anymore, little lamb. For I am here and I see your good heart and soul..even if others don't."

All he did was nod in response, and that was enough for you.

You'll definitely have Six's head on a silver platter for this someday.

.........

--Intruder--

"Tell me, Six..have you grown soft for the prophet?"

"..what ever do you mean, traitor?"

"Does "I cradled him in my arms, my sweet boy" ring a bell?"

Six scowled as you mimicked his voice, grinning cheekily at his reaction.

You were just getting a kick out of angering him at every possible turn. Especially ever since he knew you've been "siding" with humanity as of late, looking after a young man you've come to see as a friend.

He didn't like that one bit--yet he couldn't say anything to Gabriel.

Your leader figured you were only acting this way as a means to destroy humans from the inside-out once you've gained their trust enough.

But Six, on the other hand, knows you true intentions. You wanted to protect them.

Unfortunately for him, the "angel" threatened him not to disrupt your plans again..lest there be severe consequences.

"Oh come now, why the long face, brother?" You teased. "Over 3,000 of their kin you have abducted..and none of their sweet faces have ever touched your heart?"

"What heart? We don't have those, and you know it."

"..what about that Heathcliff boy you spared? You know..he drew a picture of you and showed it to his class a long time ago."

"It wasn't the right...wait, he did what..?" He blinked, surprised that a child would want to draw him. Usually, he frightened them most when he appeared to them in reality and not as their best friend "Stanley".

But nothing surprised him more than when you had Mark's actual drawing in-hand, giving it to Six and allowing him to look at it. You watched his expression carefully, seeing his gaze soften considerably as his eyebrows furrowed.

"This..was made by him? How did you-?"

"His teacher confiscated it, but I've recovered it." You tilted your head, your smile only growing more. "Are you sure you don't care? Because now you look like a father who is proud of his child's artwork-"

"You're wrong. I don't feel any sentiment towards them. Everything I've done was to manipulate them into doing our master's bidding." Immediately, his scowl returned and he glared back up at you-

Only for him to flinch as you wrapped your lanky arms around him without warning.

He squirmed about, realizing you were once again doing this...awful and disgusting thing you've adopted from humans. You've shown it to other Alternates, but he despised it. "Release me!!"

"Don't lie to me, brother. You're weak to their influence as I am." You laughed, squeezing him tight. "There's no shame in admitting it-"

"GET OFF!! Traitorous black sheep!"

Six suddenly glitched out of your embrace, disappearing from reality altogether. You looked around and eventually spotted his silhouetted figure in the nearest TV, white eyes glaring at you.

He was safe..for now. But you've had your fun with him, so you simply left him alone.

Though not without laying the drawing down on the floor where he could see it.

You never noticed his hand creeping out from the screen and grabbing it, dragging the paper into his realm.

.....

--Alt!Gabriel--

"How is your deception of humanity fairing, my child?"

"It is going well." Smiling up at your Savior, you clasped your hands together in front of you. "I'm learning more about what they enjoy..and what their sorrows are. Soon enough, it'll become easier to watch them rot from within."

"As it should. I do want to apologize for the...erratic behaviors of your dearest brother. He does not understand your mission as well as I do."

At the mention of Six, you nodded, trying to bite back your utter disdain for him. There's a lot you wanted to say about him, but you didn't come here to complain about him the entire time.

He wasn't worth wasting your breath.

"No he does not. I liken him to a petulant child." You sighed. "He's convinced you're..."playing favorites" with me when I've done nothing particularly extraordinary compared to-"

"Now, now..you mustn't speak that way." Gabriel's chuckles reverberated through the dark void you two stood in. "Give yourself a little credit, won't you? You have done well, and I know you'll continue to be quite the spy. I was right to bring you into creation..my most loyal servant yet."

Flattered by his praise, you couldn't help but kneel before him, trying to hide your growing smile.

"Thank you, my divine leader. I shan't forget this life you've breathed into me. I receive your generous words wholly."

"..hahaha..so eloquently spoken. You may as well be a human yourself! I commend you for adapting their language so quickly." You felt his hand reach down to pat the shadowy top of your head.

His eerie smile stretched even wider than yours, knowing he had you wrapped around his finger perfectly.

Of all the Alternates, you've complimented him the most. The others were too mindless to converse with him as long as you did.

Of course, Six was the exception..but all he ever did was complain about you like some tattle-tail.

You, on the other hand, never acted out of line or questioned his demands.

You were as obedient as a sheep. Exactly as he wanted.

"Now rise, my child, and go forth. We still have a lot of work to do."

[i-wanna-die-like-now]

Dp x bnha headcanons part 2! Or just weirdly specific things I see happening, idk just my thoughts on stuff.

Tsuyu gets super sleepy around Danny because of his ice powers and almost always struggles with being directly next to him, unlike Todoroki he doesn't have a warm side she can stick to.

Iida almost breaks down when Danny refused to listen to his rules by clicking on his aids (suppression for his sensitive hearing) Bakugou on the other hand finds it hilarious and takes to turning his own aids off when he no longer wants to listen.

Sato invites Danny to his weekly “sugar time” to teach him how to bake as a favour, Danny is surprisingly good at it and eventually him and Sato work together to include ectoplasm into their baking (without it coming to life) so Danny could top up his energy.

^^Bakugou refuses to let Danny near him when he cooks because of that very reason, he'd seen what his ectoplasm can do to food, he does still cook for him on occasion because he's never seen anyone savour his food the way Danny does! It most definitely goes to his head. Danny savours the food because 1. His parents can't cook to save their life. 2. Bakugous food is so much better than any type of take out and 3. He never knows when his next proper meal will be back home and is taking full advantage.

Danny goes to Hatsume for help with making a Fenton thermos (just in case) and she falls in love with the blueprints because what in the world was that layout, it's a mess that she finds thrilling to decipher it. Actually talking to Danny she realizes that no its not a mess he just has ADHD and can't write it down in a way anyone but him understood. (Danny is a genius and you can't convince me otherwise, he just has untreated ADHD 😭)

When Toga drinks Danny's blood her body has trouble with picking what form she changes into and they merge together, eyes changing and flashing in between green and blue and her hair being a mix of black and white. Her face almost looks exactly like Danny but something is off, his eyes are a little too big, his ears are a mix of pointed and normal and his skin has blotches of tan skin and deathly pale. She is fascinated with his green blood though and really wants to taste it, when she finally does get to it burns her tongue and throat and leaves her craving more. (If she separated the ectoplasm from the blood, which is virtually impossible, she'd be able to use the blood for Fenton and ectoplasm for Phantom. Because its the same DNA her quirk registers it as one person when mixed together and that's what causes them to blend)

Stain on the other hand would hate the taste and then finds out his quirk doesn't actually work on him properly, it makes his body heavy and very hard to move but it doesn't paralyze him completely because of the ectoplasm. He also definitely sees the potential Danny has.

Danny info dumps about space to everyone and everything at any chance he can, someone asks a question that shows they have a mild interest in the subject and he's off like a rocket. Izuku joins in with his own info dumping about heroes and their quirks, it somehow merges together and they start talking about space quirks and space themed heros.

Uraraka brings up sending him to space with her quirk halfway through a disagreement and Danny straight up drops it and asks her is she would. "Don't worry I can survive if I'm in my ghost form, it's for science! Hey- No wait don't walk away!" He ends up moping around for a whole week after and when Aizawa asked why he loses 5 years off his life. "Please don't ask your classmates to try and kill you." "But sir I'm already dea-" "get out!"

He duplicates himself so he can hold both of Eris hands to swing her, Eri loves to try and figure out which one is the original and she's surprisingly good at it.

Todoroki uses his fire side to help with Danny's chronic pain, after a while it becomes a habit to hold hands and all their spare time they're glued to eachother, neither of them are complaining.

[jakes3resin]

Modern Reincarnation AU Part 4 ✨️

Part 3

"John?"

Bucky storms past Jack into the townhouse. It's rude, but he'll apologize later. He doesn't know why he came here instead of his apartment. Old habits dying a hard drawn out death, maybe? He hadn't been thinking clearly. Hadn't been thinking at all really until he found himself waved through by his father's security detail.

"Oh, is that John?" He hears his father call out, dress shoes clicking against hardwood as he walks closer, but Bucky stomps up the stairs towards his room before he sees the man. His breaths come out in rushes as tears keep burning his eyes.

Shit, he thought he'd gotten those under control on the train.

Slamming his door, he slides down until he rests against the floor. He tosses his bag to the side wincing at the sound it makes. Hopefully his laptop survives. At some point he does actually have to do the work he went to the library to finish.

The library.

Buck and Curt.

They wouldn't, Bucky tells himself. They wouldn't. Curt was one of his best friends, and Buck loved him. They...

Fuck they were roommates! Why the hell were they talking about that shit in public? In the place Bucky considered his? Why even pretend? Why drag Bucky into this? Why?!

Bucky buries his face into his hands. His chest hitches as he tries not to sob. He doesn't want his father or Jack to worry about him. He doesn't want to talk this through.

He wants...

He wants Buck. He wants the other to pull him into his arms. To kiss him again as if today had never happened. There was something else about being with Buck, something he'd never felt with anyone else be they friend or lover. He made Bucky feel safe and wanted. Wanted not because of his family and connections but because he was himself.

Buck would know how to make him feel better.

He laughs quietly through his tears. Distantly, he can hear Jack briefing his father downstairs, the words faint but he hears his name and tears used together. His laughter is more sob than anything else. Of course, the one good thing he'd found would end up belonging to someone else. Story of his life.

✨️

There's too much work to do. At least that's the excuse Bucky gave himself for not confronting Buck and Curt immediately. There wasn't time for a confrontation and subsequent blowup of his life.

At least that's the lie he tells himself.

Bucky chews on the straw of his iced coffee as he skims yet another chapter. There's a pumpkin muffin in front of him that he swore would be his reward for getting through this fourty page reading. Midterms have come and gone, but Bucky still has deadlines to meet and research to complete. He can't sit in his room forever, as much as his father and Jack would sometimes prefer that. Better protection from whatever sent Bucky crying to his room as his father would argue. Better protection for his father's political career Jack would quip.

Speaking of protection, Bucky glanced to the side of the cafe towards his security detail. At least these guys attempted to blend in. His father must have briefed them on his track record with previous details. Bucky smirked around his straw. They'd be easy to lose come rush hour. A bit of fun even.

Bucky turned back to his reading, squinting down at the words.

"American airmen during World War II had a dismal life expectancy. It was not a matter of if an airman was going to be shot down but when. Once downed, airmen faced an uncertain 'reception committee,' as Second Lieutenant Kenneth C. Reimer noted in a drawing he made as a POW in Stalag Luft I in Barth, Germany... 'for every [ground combat] soldier killed in action, three or four others would be wounded; air combat was completely the opposite. For every man wounded, three were killed.'"

"Bucky?" A hand settles on his shoulder jolting him out of his reading.

Bucky kept his shoulders loose as he turns around. Buck stares down at him, a bright smile on his face that Bucky can't help but match despite his grief. It wasn't even something he could control. Buck smiled at him, so he smiled back. Bucky felt pitiful.

Buck's sky blue eyes are clear and happy as they dart across Bucky's face. There's no sign that he realizes Bucky overheard him yesterday.

Bucky lifts a hand to calm his detail, all alert now after Buck's friendly greeting. He sees the nearest agent settle back into their chair but knows none of them are relaxed. He darts a look up at Buck, peering at the other through his glasses to see if he'd noticed the disturbance.

Buck's gaze, as it always does, doesn't leave Bucky's face. Even when he rounds the table to sit down, his eyes are pinned on Bucky and nothing else.

"Sorry I couldn't meet up yesterday," Buck dumps his bag onto the chair next to him. Bucky's smile twitches. Buck sits down across from him. His legs tangle with Buck's own under the table, Buck's foot gently bumping his ankle.

"It's fine," Bucky chomps down on his straw. "How was your advisor meeting anyway?"

"It was good," Buck smiles at him, not even a hint of guilt on his face. "Real good."

Buck had told Bucky he was called to fill in a shift yesterday and that was why he supposedly hadn't been able to meet up. A lie Buck hadn't even bothered to remember. His advisor meetings were also always in the morning on Thursdays. Today was Tuesday.

Buck was still lying to him, and he wasn't even guilty about it.

✨️

"I went by your place yesterday. You weren't home." Buck swings their clasped hands through the air.

"Hmm?" Bucky glanced away from the traffic around them. His detail were staying a conspicuous ten feet back, but they were annoyingly keen when Buck offered to walk him back to his apartment.

Bucky would lose them another day.

Buck laughed, deep and airy. Bucky struggled not to lose himself in it. That was what made this so hard. Bucky still loved Buck, and Buck still acted like Bucky was his whole world and then some.

"Oh," Bucky finally processed what Buck had said. "No, I went to my dad's for the night."

"Really?" Buck squeezes his hand. Bucky hates how much comfort Buck's touch gives him.

Does Curt receive the same...? No Bucky doesn't let himself finish the thought.

"How was it?" Concern bleeds into Buck's voice. Bucky hates how genuine it sounds. He's starting to use that word more than any other. The longer he looks at Buck, the more he has to hate to save his heart.

"Fine," Bucky shrugged stepping further away as they came to a stoplight. "The usual."

"The Bucky I know wouldn't give such a short answer," Buck stepped closer eating up the space Bucky had put between them. "Not unless something happened yesterday. Come on, you okay?"

Bucky felt the words bubbling up his throat.

I saw you. I saw him. Why are you here staring at me like I'm the most important thing in the world when you have him? Why are you doing this to me? I love you. I love you so much it feels like my soul hurts. I hate you.

"Spent most of the night avoiding his staffers." Bucky lied. "Barely saw him, Jack either, yet he still asked me to move home at breakfast."

Buck nods, accepting his lies. Was that what they were now? Not a relationship, simply a lie? Bucky wasn't sure anymore. His heart thumped against his rib cage, anger and love in every other beat, but he wasn't sure which would win.

Buck had become his whole world in such a short amount of time. He thought the feeling was mutual, but yesterday showed just how stupid Bucky really was.

"How about this," Buck nudged his hip. "Why don't I stay over tonight? We'll binge a few movies, order something, and have night in. Then,"

Buck paused with a stupid grin that, despite himself, Bucky still found charming. Fuck, he was truly pathetic for this.

"I'll sweep you off your feet and take you to bed. How does that sound?"

"Won't Curt be expecting you?" The question pops out of him without meaning to. Gale furrows his brow, confusion growing in his eyes.

"Curt won't miss me tonight."

Sure, he won't, Bucky thinks bitterly.

✨️

"John," Jack's voice was a surprise. Especially considering it was his father's number calling him.

"You've gotten much better at your Jack impression," Bucky answers just to be annoying. "Does he know you impersonate him on official numbers?"

"You're not as funny as you believe."

"Ooh, you even have his disapproving tone down. I feel like he's in the room with us!" Bucky laughs. He peers around the corner. Buck's still where he left him, buried in his phone texting someone.

Bucky doesn't let himself think about who that person is.

"Your father wants to invite you to a dinner tomorrow. You can even bring that boy that walked you home. The one that hasn't left." Pages flip in the background as Jack talks. Probably governmental reports his father was supposed to read.

"You know you're not his chief of staff anymore?" Bucky leaned his hip against the counter. "You don't have to read reports or wrangle his kid to government dinners to help his image as a family man. You're his husband now, you're the family."

"You're my kid too by that logic, so wrangling you gets to stay on my resume." Bucky snorts out a laugh. "Besides, it's not a state dinner or anything. He just wants to see you."

Guilt gnaws at his heart. Buck pokes his head into the kitchen, phone no longer holding all of his attention.

"Fine," Bucky groans. "But if he brings up the apartment again, I'm walking out with my food on my plate even if it's the good plates."

"See you tomorrow at 7 then. Bring your boy." Jack hangs up without a goodbye.

✨️

It'll be me, and it'll be you, Buck.

Don't count on it.

Bucky jerks awake. His dream flashes through his head too fast for him to remember anything. Scenes superimpose over each other, words jumble together. At least this one wasn't a nightmare. Those always left him shakey and off balance all day.

His dreams have always been vivid, ever since he was a kid. The child psychologists he'd gone to had said it was normal and simply a sign of a well developed imagination.

Bucky runs a hand through his hair groaning when he glances towards his bedside clock. It's nearly an hour until he has to get up, but he knows that he won't be getting back to sleep before then.

Buck lays curled up next to him on the bed. Bucky reaches out to brush a hand through the other's hair. Buck twitches leaning into the feeling for half a second but doesn't stir beyond that.

Bucky sighs. Extricating himself from Buck's long limbs takes time. Somehow in the night, Buck had nearly fused them together as if even asleep the man refused to let him go. Arms layered over arms. Legs tangled together. It's an excellent distraction from his dreams but not from the problems of the waking world. If only he could forget those once he woke up like he did his dreams.

It's only when he's pouring water for his coffee that he realizes he recognizes the voice from his dream. A first for him.

It'd been Buck's.

✨️

(Not a confrontation I know, but it builds my AU lol)

[ofstoriesandstardust]

chapter 9 - i know it won't work (b.r.b.)

a/n: after ten months of this chapter being at an absolute standstill, i have finally, finally finished this chapter. as always, @gretagerwigsmuse was an extraordinary human being for reading through all of it for me. i don't know if anyone is still interested in this series, but i'm posting it for anyone who is

summary: You're convinced it won't work, despite's Bradley persistence.

flight risk masterlist

warnings: alcohol, insecurities, swearing, this one is a bit heavy but has a hopeful ending

word count: 3.8k

"i've had the thought, tried to work it out through anxious pacin'/what if i'm not worth the time and breath i know you're saving?"

The front door opens as the plate clangs in the dishwasher, forcing you to cringe. You hold your breath, hoping it's not enough to catch the attention of Bradley.

Not just yet.

You aren't ready.

You know you have to talk to Bradley at some point. Tonight, preferably. But still, you're worried that staying might have been the wrong choice, that he doesn't want you here after this morning.

You're afraid to hear him tell you that you have to leave.

Bradley cautiously slips into the kitchen, not quite meeting your eye, almost like he's afraid. His face is hesitant as he cautiously looks up from the floor, to see you standing there, bent awkwardly over the dishwasher you'd been loading for him.

"You're here." He breathes out, almost unsure. "You stayed." He stays put, seemingly thinking that if he takes another step forward, speaks any louder than he currently is, you'll dissipate into thin air. You grimace at the thought that your continued reaction of leaving did that to him.

You shut the dishwasher, wincing as the ceramic plates clang together as you do, before standing straight, wringing your hands together. "Yeah." You breathe, unsure of where to look. "I- I didn't want to leave things between us like that."

He almost looks surprised by that answer, taking a cautious step forward. "So you wanna work things out?"

You lean up against the counter, eyes falling away from his. "I don't know if we can."

He lets out a forced laugh, something underneath you can't read, something that you want to say might be disbelief. "Come fucking on, Sunshine. You're supposed to be in fucking Boston right now. But you're not. You're here. That's gotta count for something, right?"

You push yourself away from the counter, turning away from him. "I don't know, Bradley. Don't you ever think that-" You pause, worrying your lip.

"What?"

You shrug before turning to face him again. "Don't you ever think that if we were supposed to be by now, we would've been?"

Bradley's face softens under his hesitancy. "Sunshine, we were kids when we met. We both had our own baggage and problems; we didn't know any better!" He steps closer to you, closing the distance by almost half. "I firmly believe that if we had gotten together at UVA, we would've blown it."

You huff, rolling your eyes. "Great."

He reaches out for you this time, bringing you back to face him even as you try to turn away again. "Sunshine, please stop reading into everything I say as if I mean the worst. I mean that we were kids and we were young and stupid and traumatized and both just trying to survive. Anything we felt as kids, it wouldn't have been enough for us to persevere against what the real world would've thrown at us." He squeezes your forearms, finally letting you go. "Look at what happened to fucking Tommy and Ella, yeah? They were the perfect couple with the perfect family that ended in divorce because they were kids when they did all that. But look at Eli and Bailey-"

"We're not them." You say, eyes narrowing as you cross your arms. "Stop fucking comparing us to people who don't give a shit about me."

He sighs. "That's not what I meant." He takes a step backwards, running a hand through his hair. "Sunshine, I was not equipped or emotionally available enough to be with you while we were at UVA. I was halfway convinced I was unlovable." His voice breaks as he looks at you pleadingly.

"Bradley, I-" You blow out a breath, shaking your head.

"Sunshine, I've never kept a solid relationship. You know that, a million people have told you that. Even when the other girls were perfect, they weren't you. I have always wanted to be with you Sunshine. I craved you like I crave flying a jet, or spending time with Maverick. You're an integral part of my life and who I am Sunshine, that's never going to go away."

You're unable to bring yourself to say anything, just look at him. Tears are stinging at your eyes for the umpteenth time in the last 24 hours, the emotion crawling up your throat, hearing him talk about how much you mean to him.

"Do you love me?" He whispers softly. “Because I love you - so much.”

You scoff at his question, that Bradley could have ever had any doubt how you felt about him. "Of course I fucking love you. I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you since I was 19 and in a shitty relationship you were begging me to get out of. I was in love with you when we were on a fucking camping trip and woke up to you cuddling me. I was in love with you when you were 25 and called me to tell me you were going to Top Gun for the first time and I was in love with you three months ago when you called me and asked me to come visit you. I was in love with you then and I'm in love with you now. I've never stopped, I don't know how."

He frowns as a beat passes. "Why do I get the feeling there's a but coming?"

"It's not realistic, Bradley! It would never- it would never work. We live on opposite coasts. I-" You cut yourself off, unsure of how to vocalize all the doubt you're feeling.

"Isn't the way we feel about each other enough?"

"No!" You nearly shout. "This isn't some Disney movie Bradley, where we all just get a happy ending! We live entirely different lives on opposite coasts. What do you want me to do? Give up my career? Sit here and play happy military wife forever? I can't just- drop everything to come here because I love you."

“That’s not what I’m saying! I’m not saying that you- you have to give up everything for me, much less be confined to the title of your marital status. I’m just saying- you made a sacrifice once before for me.”  

"That's not even in the same stratosphere of being the same thing."

He cocks his head. "Then fine, I'll drop everything to be with you."

You scoff again. "Bradley, no."

"Why not?" He demands. "I don't care what it takes. I just want to be with you."

"Bradley, I'm not letting you give up your career, your friends, your relationship with your godfather! You just got Maverick back, for fuck's sake. I can't-" You pause, your throat beginning to feel tight. "I'd never forgive myself if I took that from you." You struggle to swallow around the lump in your throat as a hot tear rolls down your face. "You have a really good thing going here Bradley. I would never ask you to give that up."

"You're not asking! I would give it all up if it meant I got to keep you, to have you."

You tilt your head. "You know that's not true." You whisper hoarsely. "You know that I'm not- I'm not the girl you should give it all up for."

Bradley’s face falls, a look of defeat replacing it. "What will it take for you to see that you're all I want Sunshine?"

You shake your head, turning away from him as you walk towards the kitchen window. "I can not believe I ended up here." You mutter. "How did I end up here?"

Bradley doesn't say anything.

"You know, I always swore I would never get married and because of some stupid decision we made as kids, I did. I swore I would never fall in love and yet because I trusted some stupid kid, I did." You groan, hands reaching up to rub your temples. "I should've been smarter."

"Woulda, coulda, shoulda Sunshine." Bradley says, but you barely hear him, the panic playing out in your mind.

How had you ended up here?

"I'm fucking stupid for doing this to myself, I know how this ends. My parents fucking hate each other and they had kids who hate them and each other. I've got no idea what good love looks like and-"

"Sunshine." Bradley says firmly, stepping back into your swimming vision. "You are not your parents, do you understand me? You're not like, destined to fuck this up, okay?" He reaches out softly, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear before kissing the top of your head softly. "Please, Sunshine. Just let me love you. Please, that’s all I’m asking right now.”

“And then what happens? What happens after I’ve let you love me and I’ve fallen even more in love with you? We won’t be able to make dinner together every night or snuggle up on the couch watching TV. I won’t be able to sleep beside you or run errands together. No - no, Bradley. I don’t even have all of those things fully now, I’m not gonna let myself have the dream of it happening one day.”

The defeat in Bradley shows in his stature before you ever see it on his face. 

His shoulders slump, exhaustion showing in the lines on his face. He takes a step back from you, hands falling to his sides as he looks at you. Really looks at you. 

“You’re gonna leave again, aren’t you?” His voice is so soft, you’re surprised you can hear the way it cracks in the middle. 

“Bradley.” You respond, voice just as soft as his. 

There is nothing more than you want in that moment to stay, to tell him you’d stay with him forever, to do whatever it took. 

But that fear, the fear that had kept you and your feelings at bay all these years, is stronger as you look at him. 

“It would never work.”

“It could.” 

“It can’t.” 

The sheer devastation that crosses Bradley’s face at your surety is almost enough to make you second-guess your own words. 

“Please don’t make me say goodbye to you again, Sunshine.” 

Yoru throat is tight as you feel the familiar sting of tears in your waterline. 

“Bradley, I can’t.” 

Bradley’s eyes are glassy, haunted. 

It’s a look that haunts your dreams all the way back to Boston. 

- 

You set the phone back down on the coffee table, switching music on as you blink away the sting of the lack of notifications on your messages app. 

You don’t know why you keep waiting – expecting, really – for Bradley to text you. 

You think you made it pretty clear how you feel about him. About where the two of you were going from here. 

The Archer plays softly in the background as you grab the bottle of wine out of the bag, scrunching your nose as the chocolate at the bottom of the bag. 

You didn’t even really like Ferrero Rocher chocolate but apparently the you that had been throwing yourself a pity party an hour ago was miserable enough to buy it. 

You sigh, uncorking the bottle as the song on the tiny bluetooth speaker that sat atop your stove switches over and floats out through your kitchen. 

You pause as you recognize the first few keys of the song, groaning as you set the bottle back down on the countertop before walking a few feet to grab your phone. 

Sure enough, the familiar album cover of good riddance looks back up at you as you quickly swipe away from the song that had come up on your shuffle. 

“Fucking Spotify.” You mutter, slipping your phone into the pockets of the sweats you’d been dying to put on all day. 

Three months of traipsing around San Diego in shorts and leggings all the time had ruined you from ever comfortably wearing slacks again. 

You only just barely make it through your pour before the buzzer goes off, causing you to flinch. 

“Jesus.” You mutter as you re-cork the bottle. 

You sigh, picking the glass up and taking a sip of the shitty five-dollar bottle of wine you’d picked up on the way home from the office. You hear the main door open from downstairs and part of you wonders if your boss followed through on her threat of giving you a fruit basket. 

(“So, how was San Diego?” Your boss asks.

You sigh, glancing up at her from your monitor before looking back at the email you’re typing out. 

“That bad, huh?”

She shuts the door of your office behind her, sitting in the chair across from you. 

“Was expecting you to come back with some good news, especially with you taking a few extra days.” 

You swallow, closing your tabs you turn your attention back to her. 

“I- uh, married this guy in college. It was really- spur of the moment. We were young and stupid and-” You shake your head, swallowing around the lump in your throat. “It just ended up not working out. I went to San Diego so we could get a divorce.” 

“Oh shit.” She mutters. She shifts in her seat before she nods to herself. 

“What if I sent you a fruit basket? Would that make it better?”)

You wonder if chocolate covered pineapple will taste good with cheap white wine as you fish your phone out of your pocket, typing out a text to her to ask if she had indeed sent you a fruit basket when there's a knock at the door. 

“Coming.” You call out before you sigh, setting the phone down on the countertop as you walk a few paces over to the door, before pulling it open, wine glass in hand. 

And then you almost drop it. 

-

He hadn’t, not for a second, considered that following you to Boston was a poor choice. 

Not when he had to ask Ice to pull strings to get him approved leave. 

Not when he booked a last minute flight in the base parking lot on a newly-downloaded Delta app. 

Not when Mav had to gently suggest he book a hotel room in case things didn’t go as planned. 

(“B, I think you should consider maybe booking a hotel room in case this all goes to shit.” Mav says, sitting down on his bed as he packs his duffle bag. 

He freezes, looking at his godfather. 

“Fuck, I didn’t even think of that.” 

His godfather heaves an overexaggerated sigh, nodding. “Yeah, I figured.”)

Not when he spent a majority of his time in the San Diego airport trying to figure how to take the T from the airport to your apartment in Brookline. 

(You’d explained it to him once, something about a blue line and a green line and a Maverick stop, but he’s pretty sure he was admiring the way your eyes sparkled in the sun as the two of sat on the grassy lawn of the courtyard in Balboa Park and decidedly not listening to what you were telling him.)

Not when he took a detour, getting off at a different stop to go to the hotel room Mav and Penny had booked for him and not when he’d taken another stop to get you flowers. 

Not when he’d pressed the buzzer for your apartment and not as he walked up the wooden stairs to your third floor apartment. 

No, the first time he second-guesses any of his decisions of the last forty-eight hours is when you open your front door, wine glass in hand, music playing in the background, and stare at him. 

The flowers feel sweaty in his hand, the brown paper crinkling as he swallows, suddenly forgetting everything he wanted to say. 

“I- shit, are you busy Sunshine? I- sorry, I didn’t even think-” 

You shake your head, turning to set your wine glass on the entryway table as the music softly plays in the background. “Bradley, what are you doing here?” You ask, shaking your head again as your eyes flit over him. 

He takes a deep breath, steadying himself. 

“I thought, at first, that maybe you didn’t- you didn’t love me back or care- care about me in the way I did you. But after that last night-” He shakes his head. “I know now that it’s not that you don’t love me. You keep saying that this could never work. And I- I need to show you that it could. It can work, and we will make it work.” He licks his lips, glancing down at the flowers in his hands. 

“Bradley-” 

“No, Sunshine, I need you to hear me out. Please.” You give a little nod, eyes wide, and he sighs again. “I have it all mapped out, all the weekends I’m free to come visit you here. I get home around 6 every night, which is only 9 your time here. You’ve always been a bit of a night owl, so there’s at least a few hours each night we can FaceTime while I make dinner. We can even do dinner dates on the weekend and call each other while we cook together. We can make this work. We’ve made it work enough for the Navy to believe us all these years, now- now it’s just doing all the things we said we were doing all along. I want to be with you and I don’t care how long it takes, we will get this right. We can do this for however long we need to, for however long it takes, I just- I just want to love you.” 

He swallows as his hands jerk out, offering you the flowers as he finally lets himself breathe. You glance down at the flowers and back up to him, eyes wide. 

He glances down at them, realizing you aren’t going to take the flowers from him and his next words leave him without his allowance. 

“I just want to kiss my wife. Just once.” 

The seconds tick by without you saying or doing anything. 

It’s excruciating. 

He feels his face grow warm as he suddenly realizes how ridiculous this all is. This, the flowers, the showing up announced, the flying cross country, all of it. 

“I’m sorry- I shouldn’t have- Okay, I’m- I’m sorry for bothering you Sunshine. I should go.” 

He nods, going to turn, when you surge forward, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling his lips down to yours. 

The flowers fall out of his hands as he scrambles to cup either side of your head. 

-

The kiss is soft as it is passionate, a juxtaposition you never thought could come from a kiss. His lips are chapped against yours and at the angle you’ve got him at, his nose is nudged against your cheek and yet it’s still the best kiss you’ve ever had. It’s dizzying, the relief and peace that comes from finally knowing what it’s like to kiss him. 

It’s the movement of one of his hands down to your shoulder that grounds you, causing you to pull away. You don’t go far, just enough to look him in his eyes. 

“I can’t believe I just did that.” You say after a beat, a giddy half-laugh escaping you as the adrenaline thrums through you. “Come inside.” You say, tugging on his shirt. “We should stop giving my neighbors a free show. Mrs. Robinson’s probably watching us through her peephole.”

Bradley lets out a small laugh at the mention of your nosy across the hall neighbor, before bending down to scoop up the flowers. He turns to you as you gently shut the door behind him. 

“Do you have a vase for me to put these in?”

“Do I have a- Bradley, what do you take me for? An adult?” He laughs, a real laugh this time, and the sound warms your heart. “Here.” you walk a few paces into your kitchen, Bradley trailing behind you. You open up one of the cabinets, pulling out a tall pint glass. 

Bradley’s eyes grow at the sight of it. “Is that the cup from when we went to Oktoberfest? While we were in college?” 

You nod, filling the glass at your sink before turning back to him. 

While at UVA, your group of friends had gone to Oktoberfest. You’d been too young to drink at the time, a year younger than the rest of them, and Bradley had taken pity on you, giving you his pint glass at the end of the day since you wouldn’t be able to get your own. 

You take the flowers from him, trimming the stems off before setting them in the water. You grab the glass, nodding your head to your couch. 

“C’mon, let’s sit.” 

Bradley follows you as you sit down, if a bit hesitant. 

Hesitation, caution, carefree laughter, kindness, love, they’re all looks on Bradley you know well. 

But this, the timidness, in his eyes, in the gentleness of his movements, in the lines around his small smile is not something you’re familiar with. 

“What’s wrong?” You ask, scooting closer to him once he finally does sit down next to you on the couch. 

He swallows before glancing around your place. 

“This is cute. Cozy.” 

“Better in person than in the pictures I showed you, I bet?” He nods, before glancing back at you. “B, I can’t believe you’re here.” You whisper softly, resisting the urge to reach out and thread your fingers through his. 

“You still haven’t told me if you want to try.” He whispers, hazel eyes meeting yours. There’s that timidness again, hidden his voice. “I really want to try, Sunshine.” 

This time, you don’t resist the urge and take his hand in yours. You crawl closer to him, placing yourself gently in his lap. His hands automatically wrap around your middle, even if you can still see the nerves in his eyes. 

“Bradley, I want to try.” You whisper softly. “I-” 

You falter, struggling to find the words to articulate why you had changed your mind. 

Maybe it was the love Bradley had for you, was so openly displaying. 

Maybe it was the determination he’d had that this could work. 

Maybe it was the effort it took to follow you out here. 

Maybe it was the knowledge that your fear would deny you the best thing you’d ever had, the best person you’d ever had. 

Maybe it was all of it, knowing you’d spend the rest of your life regretting it if you didn’t. 

Bradley would be your one that got away. He’d be the one you’d think of what ifs when he inevitably got married to another girl, had kids, and a picket white fence future. 

“Sunshine?” Bradley prompts softly. 

The thought alone makes you nauseous. You couldn’t let that happen. 

“I wanna try, B. I wanna try so bad. I have to try.” 

The smile Bradley gives you in return is soft, yet no less sweet and full of love before he presses another kiss to your lips. 

“Then we’ll try.”

[ikamigami]

Today's episode was wild..

One thing that we're sure of is that Ruin built Eclipse and he wasn't cured (and also virus wasn't affecting his morality).. so there are two things actually..

Oh and Eclipse was right. And thankfully we see that New Moon is actually changing for the better because he completely threw away his own pride. First he did that when he apologized to Eclipse and now when he abased himself for Eclipse and admitted that he was wrong.

Thankfully Sun wasn't working with Ruin.

I always knew that Ruin wouldn't be against being killed.

The only thing that we don't know is why Ruin did all those things.. and what exactly did he do because I have a feeling that we don't know the whole extent of Ruin's actions.

Sun was ofc smart once again 💗 But I doubt that it'll make him proud of himself.

The only thing that botheres me is that Ruin definitely wants something from Sun. But I don't know what it is.

Why do I think that, you may ask?

Well.. like Ruin said himself he mistreated Sun at first. And later when he was supposedly "cured" it seemed that he changed his mind on Sun. At first he was saying many awful things about Sun during the interogation when he kidnapped him.. but later he told Sun that he's different from others. And now he appeared to Sun at first because he knew that Sun would listen to him.. but why?

Why all of this..? Did he really mean all those things he told Sun back then when he kidnapped him and changed his mind later? Or is this all an act?

After all, he's an actor..

Sun will turn into a monster because of Moon..

Moon should be worried about Sun..

Sun didn't reach his breaking point yet..

Sun won't survive whatever is coming..

Sun will be lying dead in Moon's arms.. and it'll be Moon's fault..

But why?

What does all of this mean?

What did Ruin plan for Sun? Or maybe what does Ruin know? Why Sun? What does it have to do with Sun?

We got some answers but in their place appeared even more questions..

Something interdimensional will happen.. something that will affect other dimensions not only ours..

So how is it connected with Sun? What Sun has that can be somewhat significant?

There's only one thing that comes to mind - m a g i c

Sun has a very powerful magic on par with Golden Freddy's.

I don't know if it really has something to do with whatever will happen but we need to remember that Stitchwraith told FC that Sun is dangerous..

I think that he was talking about Sun's magic.

[wobster109]

Does Ratio actually like Aven?

Right up until his Keeping Up with Star Rail segment came out, I would've said it's inconclusive. Yes, even after that note.

"Do stay alive. I wish you the best of luck." It's sweet, but so is he. And most importantly, it is consistent with his readable that we find when we're about to fight Skaracabaz.

It's got the same parts! "I would turn around right now if I were you" is advice to keep you alive. "I wish you luck" is, well, lovely and familiar.

He works hard to look after Aven during the mission. People have pointed out that he likes to tell people "the problem is you", and instead tells Aven "tell me if you can't hold on." Yet despite what he says, his actions speak loudest of all - He did not leave Asta and the researchers to figure things out on their own, or more likely, be teleported into space where they'd suffocate. Instead, he watches from a distance - he lets people have a go at handling things, but he does step in when he's needed.

I have no doubt that if Skaracabaz were about to kill you, he'd have interceded. It's why he's watching. He knows Skaracabaz can't survive more than 56 seconds, he didn't need to worry about it escaping the room. He's there to make sure Trailblazer doesn't die.

So I was getting ready to say, cautiously, "he might but he might not, let's not jump the gun"—then that wild Keeping Up with Star Rail segment came out. And wow, what on earth was that? (affectionate)

(First of all calling him a C student - Ratio's classes have a 3% pass rate, C is passing, it's a high compliment!)

But more importantly, all that spluttering and denying! And when Owlbert says "mutual respect", he goes "wait a moment," you're expecting him to deny having any respect for Aven whatsoever. And instead he comes out with, "What did he say about me??? 👀👀👀" Good grief, he likes him SO much he doesn't know what to do with himself, so he ends up camping out on his facebook timeline like a loser.

And then, before that had died down, 2 weeks later there was that thing with the cat cakes. It's most likely he did get them from Ratio, since Ratio's one of two people he's interacted with who has also seen the "snacks". (Trailblazer is the other.)

That's. . . rather intimate. Giving someone a pet is rather intimate. Going on a self-appointed mission where he's facing down Skaracabaz and foiling the Annilation Gang, and still thinking of Aven like "oh I should bring him back something". . . it's very sweet, and not work-related at all. 🥰

Wish I could've seen him turning up with a stack of the things. Wish I could've seen Aven's face! Wish I could've heard what ridiculous denial the Doctor came up with. "It's not like I was thinking about you or anything!" 😁 He probably watches him fondly when he thinks he's not looking.

I feel like we can say for certain that they are very, very good friends. Good friends who should live together, all the better to be strategic partners, of course!

[sequinsmile-x]

300

Emily, Aaron and their love as observed by their friends.

AKA - the five times the team see them love each other, and the one time they don't even try to hide it.

My 300th Hotchniss fic

Part 1/2

-x-

Hi friends,

I truly cannot believe we are here, that I have written 300(!!) fics about these two idiots. I went back and forth a lot on what to write for this, but I got an ask requesting a fic where the team see these two being all soft with each other and it's perfect. A return to my fluffy roots.

Thank you so much for still being here, for interacting with my fics and still making me feel nothing short of giddy whenever I get a comment or kudos. Writing makes me feel better, and it never gets any less amazing when people tell me my writing helps them too.

Anyway, here is part 1 of this two 2 part fic to celebrate this milestone. Part 2 will be up in the next day or so.

Here's to the next 300! <3

-x-

Words: 5.3k

Warnings: None!

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

Dave

He smiles as he looks around his backyard, a mix of happiness and scotch making his skin fizz as he watches his friends have fun. 

It was something they’d all needed after another day full of close calls. Their jobs had always been dangerous, had always come with the risk of one of them getting hurt, but ever since Emily had died, since they’d had to bury her, it all felt sharper. He’d come to wonder at the end of those long seven months when she was dead to everyone other than JJ and Aaron if something was up, if he had the full truth, but even when she walked into the conference room he hadn’t quite believed it. 

“I’ve got to say,” Emily says, walking over to him as if he’d summoned her by thinking about her, a wry smile on her face, “I’m impressed at how quickly you pulled all of this together.”

Dave takes a sip of his drink as he looks at her, “It helps to have connections.” 

Her smile turns mischievous, a spark in it he worried he’d never see again for a while. She’d been different when she came back, wearing her trauma, the things she’d somehow survived, as a veil. Something that kept her further back from them all than she had once been. Then something had changed out of seemingly nowhere, her smile was real again. She joined in when Derek and Spencer were playing pranks on each other. He chastised himself for not putting two and two together, for not realising her shift in behaviour matched up with Aarons, how they both seemed happier than he had ever known them. 

It was only when they told them that they were together that the pieces fell into place. He’d claimed to already know, something Emily rolled her eyes at immediately, but they’d covered it well. Even now he had to watch closely to see the small moments between them. It didn’t surprise him, they were both intensely private even separately, so together they’d go to lengths to protect their relationship - even from those who cared about them. 

If he hadn’t already known about them, if they hadn’t finally admitted to the change in their relationship just a couple of weeks ago, he would have figured it out the moment Emily stepped into the bank. Aaron had been beside himself, a tension in his shoulders and jaw that Dave hadn’t seen in years. When Emily emerged from the bank, okay but shaken, she’d all but thrown herself into Aaron’s arms, their embrace tight as they whispered things no one else could hear to each other. 

“I guess it also helps that you’ve planned four weddings before,” she quips, and he rolls his eyes, shaking his head at her.

“Three,” he corrects, “I’ve been married three times.”

She shrugs playfully, suppressing her smile as she presses her lips together, “Sorry. Three.” 

His response is cut off as Aaron walks over, a smile on his face as he passes Emily a glass of wine. 

“Here you go, sweetheart,” he says, his smile getting wider as she looks at him. It’s as if they briefly forget anyone else is around when their eyes meet, so focused on each other that Dave thinks he could catch fire and they wouldn’t notice. 

Emily smiles softly and presses a kiss to Aaron’s cheek, side steeping a little closer to him so she can wrap her arm around his waist, “Thanks, honey.” 

Dave can’t help but smile as he watches them, how Aaron wraps his arm around her shoulders, his palm against her bare arm as he smiles at her. They were being affectionate with each other in a way they usually would be, encouraged by a mix of alcohol and the remnants of the danger she’d been in earlier, and it only confirms what he already knew.

They were in love with each other. 

Emily frowns at him when she turns and looks at him to find that he is still watching them, “What?” 

He shakes his head and clears his throat, “Nothing.” 

She narrows her eyes but turns back to Aaron, tilting her head as their eyes meet, “Want to dance?” 

Aaron hesitates, grimacing slightly as he looks towards the dance floor, “I’m not a big dancer, Em.” 

She places her hand on his chest, her fingers playing with the open neck of his collar, and she bats her eyelashes, something Dave can see from where he’s standing, “Come on, please. For me.” 

Aaron sighs and shakes his head, “Fine, for you,” he says, pressing a kiss to her lips before he shifts his hand to her lower back to turn her towards the dance floor. He turns and looks at Dave over his shoulder and looks pointedly at his friend, “Don’t say a word.”

He holds up his hand in defence and smiles, “Wouldn’t dare.” 

He can’t help but watch as they dance together, again lost in their own little world as they move around the dance floor. Aaron whispers something that makes Emily laugh, her head turned towards him as she captures his lips in a kiss, either not caring or not realising that everyone is looking over at them curiously. 

As he walks towards the bar for another drink, he can’t help but wonder if this was the only wedding he’d be hosting in his backyard for his friends. 

___

JJ

She grimaces as she slams down the empty shot glass, shaking her head as the liquor burns her throat. 

“Another round?” 

JJ groans as she looks up at Penelope, shaking her head vehemently, the movement making her feel briefly even drunker, “Absolutely not.” 

Emily sips her beer, her face covered in a scowl as she tries to chase away the taste of the absinthe, “I’m with JJ,” she says, clearing her throat, “Is it just me, or did absinthe used to go down a little easier?” 

“It’s not just you,” JJ assures her, and they both chuckle. Penelope huffs and sits back down, rolling her eyes at her friends.

“You two used to be fun.” 

Emily chuckles and places her hand on Penelope’s arm, “We’re still fun,” she insists, “But Aaron is on his way to pick me up and I really don’t want to throw up in his car.” 

JJ can’t help but smile as her friend mentions her boyfriend, how her eyes light up slightly, her usual ability to school her features inhibited by the number of shots Penelope had forced on them. In the two months they’d known about Aaron and Emily they’d given very little away about their relationship. They kept it to themselves, to the point where often if JJ didn’t know they were together she wouldn’t see it. They’d always been private, and even tonight Emily hadn’t said much, no matter how much Penelope tried to pry information out of her. 

She was happy for Emily, and for Aaron too, delighted that they’d found the happiness that they deserved after everything they’d been through. 

At the mention of Aaron and Emily’s relationship, Penelope immediately lights up, her nose scrunching up slightly, “It’s still so weird to hear you call him that.” 

Emily smiles and furrows her brow, “What, Aaron?” She asks teasingly, sipping her beer as her smile turns mischievous, “Did you really expect me to call him Hotch after we started fuc-”

“Okay, stop,” Penelope says, shivering slightly, “I don’t like to think of him like that,” she says dramatically, “I’d prefer to carry on thinking of him as a once a year, in the dark and under the covers kind of guy.”

Emily laughs, throwing her head back as she does so, the sound loud and joyful as it escapes her, “I can assure you Pen, that absolutely is not the case.” 

JJ looks up as she hears the door to the bar open and she spots Aaron walking in, and she waves him over. It catches Emily’s attention and she looks over her shoulder, her smile impossibly wide as she turns back around and gets out of her chair. 

JJ watches as Emily bounds over to Aaron, slightly unsteady on the high heels she’d been complaining about all night. She wraps her arms around Aaron the moment she makes it to his side, and his hands land on her waist, steadying her as she almost stumbles against him. She stamps her lips against his, and JJ has to hide a laugh behind her drink when Aaron pulls back, his eyes nervously darting over to her and Penelope. Emily leads him over, both of her arms wrapped around one of his as he smiles slightly awkwardly, endearing in a way that JJ wouldn’t have expected. 

“Hello Sir,” Penelope says, sitting up straight, clearly trying to act more sober than she was. 

Aaron chuckles lightly and shakes his head, “Hi,” he says, looking back and forth between the two of them, “You don’t have to call me Sir we’re not at work.” 

Emily chuckles and buries her face in his shoulder, kissing him through the thin material of his shirt. He pulls her slightly closer, his hand running up and down her side, and it’s something thats so tender, so soft, JJ aches. It was all the proof she needs that this was it for them, that they truly were the happy ending they both deserved. 

“Do either of you need me to take you home?” He asks, clearing his throat and attempting to hide a smile as Emily clearly grabs his ass, her well known tactile nature when she was drunk making an appearance. 

JJ shakes her head, “No, thank you though. Will is already on his way and he’s going to drop Pen home too.” 

He smiles and nods and looks down at Emily, his smile adoring as she looks up at him,” You ready to go?” 

She nods and looks over at her friends, waving goodbye instead of hugging them like she usually would, seemingly unable to tear herself away from her boyfriend. 

“Let me know when you’re home, okay?” She says, and both JJ and Penelope nod, she smiles at them once more before she and Aaron turn around and leave. JJ watches them until they are no longer in the bar, disappearing into the night outside. 

“They are adorable,” Penelope says and JJ smiles as she looks at her. 

“They really are,” she agrees and then she feels her phone vibrate in her pocket, and she pulls it out to see a message from Will, “Oh Will is here.” 

They finish their drinks and head outside. She smiles as she spots her husband leaning against his car, his arms crossed over his chest and a smile on his face. 

“Hi darling,” he says, smiling as she walks over and kisses him, “Did you ladies have fun?” 

She smiles as Penelope stumbles as she tries to get into the back of the car, “Some of us more than others.” 

She walks around the car to get into the passenger side and she hears a laugh that sounds a lot like Emily’s. She follows the sound and freezes when she sees her, happily on Aaron’s back as he gives her a piggyback. Aaron is walking towards his car, Emily’s shoes in one hand and the other one of her legs, securing her to his back as she leans in, her lips against his ear as she laughs. 

It was something she wouldn’t believe happened if she hadn’t seen it herself, a playful moment between two people who so rarely showed that side of them, but it was also full of love and tender care. She can imagine Emily complaining that her feet hurt and Aaron immediately offering to help. 

“Ready to go darling?” Will asks, pulling her out of what she was watching and she turns to look at him and smiles as she climbs into the car. 

She tries to spot them again but can’t and she sighs happily as she settles into her seat, happiness for her friends warming her from the inside out. 

___

Spencer 

He was always the first to the jet. 

It was a pattern he knew well. He’d be there first, then Aaron. Then JJ, Dave and Derek in that order. Emily was always last, never late but always last, a smile on her face as Dave inevitably made a comment about it. 

It was the first thing he’d noticed. Emily suddenly started arriving just a few minutes after Aaron, an air about her that Spencer hadn’t seen since Ian Doyle had torn through their lives. He couldn’t place it, his curiosity mostly focused on why she was all of a sudden consistently showing up to work just after Aaron, disrupting the pattern he’d long since relied on. It’s only when he spots Aaron sneaking out of Emily’s room one morning, Spencer’s morning hunt for coffee interrupted as he hid out of the way so the other man didn’t spot him, that he put it together. 

They were seeing each other. 

After that, he noticed so much more. How they’d sit next to each other at every given opportunity, how they’d seek each other out in a room, a tension in their shoulders until they saw each other. They were both undeniably happier, and for a reason he didn’t understand keeping it to themselves. He kept the secret for them, never hinting that he knew, even when they finally told the team that they were together he simply smiled and nodded, aware that no one would have expected him to pick up on it anyway. 

He checks his watch and looks at the time, huffing out a breath. He looks out the window and, right on schedule, he spots Aaron and Emily on the tarmac. They’d dropped any pretence that they weren’t travelling in together the moment they told them all about their relationship a few months ago. He watches them curiously as they stop a few feet short of the steps leading up to the jet. 

Aaron has both of their go bags slung over his shoulder and they are holding hands. Emily lifts their joint hands to her lips and kisses the back of his hand, smiling as she says something Spencer can’t hear before she leans in and stamps a kiss to Aaron’s lips. He then pulls her into a hug, his hand running up and down her back for a moment before he says something too, kissing her cheek before he pulls away. 

They step apart from each other, and Spencer realises that he’s watching them switch from Aaron and Emily into Hotch and Prentiss, a transition that appears seamless as Emily walks up the stairs to the jet first. Aaron just behind her, her bag over his shoulder the only sign that they were anything other than colleagues.

“Morning, Spence,” Emily says, smiling as she steps onto the jet slipping into the seat opposite him. 

“Morning,” he replies, flashing a smile at her as Aaron places their bags in the overhead compartments, and he nods as they make eye contact, “Hotch.” 

“Morning Reid,” he says, his smile turning slightly soft as he looks at Emily, “Coffee?” 

She nods, “Yes please.” 

Aaron turns to go to the kitchenette but turns back, “Reid?” 

He shakes his head and holds up the coffee he had in his hands, “I’m good, thank you.” 

Aaron disappears behind the curtain and Emily turns to look at Spencer, smiling curiously as their eyes meet, “You okay?” 

They smile at each other. Spener had never had a sister, but he wondered if this is what it felt like to have one. He’d mourned Emily in a way that still hurt if he thought about it, the loss of her leaving a hole in his chest that he still felt at times. He loved her as a friend, as someone he knew he could trust with his life, and he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy. 

He nods and clears his throat, “Yeah, I’m okay,” he replies, smiling at his friend, his lips pressed together as he tries to figure out what to say, “I’m…I’m happy for you and Hotch.”

She smiles, her cheeks going slightly red as she avoids eye contact and looks at the table between them, “Oh,” she says, biting her lower lip “Thank you. I’m happy for us too.” 

Aaron walks back out, unaware of the moment he’d walked in on and he places a cup of coffee in front of Emily before placing his down. 

“Don’t panic,” he says dryly as he sits down next to her, “But they ran out of Splenda,” he says and she scoffs, but before she can say anything Aaron reaches into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulls out two single serve packets of Splenda and places them in front of her, “Good thing I came prepared.”

“My hero,” She gasps playfully, the sound turning into a chuckle as she kisses his cheek, seemingly briefly forgetting where they were, Aaron smiles and clears his throat, looking quickly at Spencer, and Emily does the same, clearing her throat as she sits backwards, “Thanks for the coffee,” she says, smiling as she tears the packets open, paying attention to her drink as she adds the sweetener in, her smile turning playful as she looks back up at him, “Hotch.”

They look at each other in a way that Spencer doesn’t entirely understand, smiles passing over both of their faces very briefly before Aaron responds. 

“You’re welcome, Prentiss.” 

___

Penelope 

She was excited to spend the weekend with Sergio. 

Penelope hadn’t wanted to give him back to Emily at first, knowing she’d miss the company of the adorable black cat, but she knew it was the right thing to do. He was Emily’s pet, a piece of normality she deserved after everything she’d been through. 

So when Emily asked if she’d watch Sergio for the weekend since she knew she was going away with Aaron and Jack, a weekend away just the three of them, she’d jumped at the chance. She’d got out all of the bits and pieces she’d bought when she had Sergio, meaning all she needed to get from Emily was the carrier and Sergio himself. 

Penelope knocks on Emily’s front door and waits patiently for a few seconds as the door opens. Emily smiles as she pulls it open, stepping back to let Penelope in.

“Pen, hi,” she says, looking as gorgeous as ever, even though she was simply wearing her pjyamas made of a t-shirt and leggings. She was fresh out of the shower, her hair damp against her large light grey t-shirt, darker patches of material over her shoulders wetted by her hair, “Good timing, I only just got out of the shower.” 

Penelope chuckles as she looks around, keeping an eye out for the cat, “Where’s my man?” 

“Well-” she starts, but she’s cut off as Aaron walks into the room, his hair equally as wet as Emily’s, with Sergio in his arms, the cat laying in his embrace like a baby, his black paws reaching up for his face. 

“Em, someone’s acting up. I think he knows we’re going away for the…” he says, trailing off when he realises they aren’t alone, his back immediately straightening as he looks at Penelope, “Garcia,” he says, clearing his throat when Emily raises an amused eyebrow at him, a reminder of a conversation Penelope hadn’t been privy to, “I mean, Penelope. Hi.” 

She suppresses a smile at how uncomfortable he clearly is, and she decides to be as calm about this as possible, knowing if she made too big a deal of seeing this tiny insight into their lives they’d both clam up. 

“Sir…Hotch,” she says, watching as Emily walks over to Aaron and leans against him, taking the opportunity to scratch Sergio under his chin, “I didn’t realise you’d be here.”

“Well,” he says, shrugging slightly, “Jack is with Jessica this evening, so I thought I’d help Emily with her packing for our trip.” 

Emily scoffs playfully, “I can pack by myself.” 

“Sure, sweetheart,” he says, seemingly more relaxed by the second. Penelope can’t help but look at them, how comfortable they are together, how easy it seems for them to be around each other. She feels almost giddy as she imagines their future, a baby in Aaron’s embrace instead of Sergio, and she has to shake her head at herself to stop herself from getting carried away. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sergio more relaxed,” Penelope says, laughing as the cat stretches as if he knew he was being spoken about. 

“Oh, Aaron is his favourite person in the whole world now,” Emily says, taking the cat from Aaron, laughing when he tries to scramble back into his arms, “We’ve been replaced, Pen.” 

“This is such a betrayal, Serg,” she gasps playfully as she takes the cat from Emily, scratching his head, and when she looks back up Aaron has his arm wrapped around Emily again, his hand against a t-shirt Penelope now realises must be his. 

“In Sergio’s defence,” Emily says, her palm on Aaron’s chest, “He does give excellent hugs.” 

They all stand in silence for a few moments and Penelope just takes the chance to watch them together, how they look at each other as if no one else was in the room. She wishes she’d meddled more years ago when she first brought up the option of Aaron as a potential date to Emily. She wanted them to have had this for so much longer than the six months they had, but she also knows that they needed to get to where they were now for this to work, that the timing was right. They’d survived everything they had to make it here. 

“I’ll make sure to send you pictures of him whilst you’re gone,” she says, scratching Sergio’s head, “As long as you do the same,” she adds, laughing as she winks at them. 

Emily laughs and walks over, hugging her friend and leaning in to kiss Sergio’s head, her voice low and conspiratory, but purposely loud so Aaron still hears her, “I’ll get a picture on the beach for you.” 

Aaron rolls his eyes lovingly but doesn’t say anything as he hands over the cat carrier, holding it open as Penelope puts Sergio inside of it. 

“Have a lovely weekend,” she says, picking up the carrier, “I’ll make sure no cases come through.”

“Penelope…” Aaron says warningly, his tone lost as Emily talks over him.

“Thank you, you’re the best.” 

They exchange goodbyes, and as she leaves she turns back and catches sight of them before the door closes. Aaron wraps his arm around Emily, her surprised yelp ringing out in the hallway before the door shuts, and she just about sees him lean in to kiss her before they disappear from view. 

Sergio meows from his carrier and Penelope looks down at him before she starts heading towards the elevator, “Come on Serg, I think it’s time I start getting you ready to be a big brother.” 

She wondered if it was too early to plan a bachelorette party for her friend before she was even engaged.  

___

Derek

He knows he’s the one who struggled with their relationship the most. 

Everyone else was happy, almost giddy, when Emily and Aaron told them they were together, but it had left him with a bitter taste on his tongue. The fallout of finding out about Emily’s past, and the decisions she’d made, were still difficult for him to grapple with. He didn’t know how to feel about the fact she’d ended up with their boss, the man who had led them all to believe she was dead for seven months, so he’d distanced himself from them both. 

His mother had always taught him if he didn’t have something nice to say, he shouldn’t say it at all, so he says nothing. He knows neither of them are stupid, that they would have picked up on his feelings about it all, but they don’t say anything either, nothing more than a sharp look Aaron would send in his direction if he blew Emily off when she asked if he wanted to get a drink after work. 

Derek listens as Penelope gushes over them, how she whispers to him about what they’d been like when she went to pick up Sergio just a few weeks before, how she even bets him $50 that Emily and Aaron are the real deal, but he still struggles. He hadn’t seen them interact romantically beyond a quick kiss here and there when they were out as a group, and he couldn’t see it. Couldn’t see the softness that he’d had described to him by two people he’d never seen that way with anyone. Even when Aaron was married to Haley he kept that part of his life to himself, never giving more of a hint than his arm around his wife’s shoulders in a bar. 

Emily sighs next to him, blowing air out through her lips as they kept an eye on the building the unsub was in, the team all around them. 

“You ok over there Prentiss?” 

She nods at him, her smile tight as she raises her hand to her lips, biting her cuticle, “Yeah,” she says quickly, “I’ll just be happy when this takedown is over.” 

She’d made her feelings on it clear, her unhappiness that Aaron was going in alone to a hostage situation so the unsub didn’t hurt anyone else obvious from the moment the idea was floated by them. 

“Hotch can handle himself,” Derek says, raising an eyebrow at her, “He’s been through worse.”

“I know what he’s been through,” she snaps, her control on a knife edge as she looks at him, “Better than you do. I just don’t…” she shakes her head and chuckles, looking back at the building her boyfriend had walked into, “I don’t see the need for unnecessary risk.” 

“Would you be this worried if it was me or Rossi in there?” He asks, genuinely curious, “Or is it just because you’re sleeping with him?” 

She looks sharply at him, a scoff escaping her as her eyes harden, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” 

Before he can reply their radio clicks and the local detective’s voice comes over it, “The suspect is apprehended, we need a medic.” 

Emily’s eyes go wide, and she presses the button on her radio, “Who we do need a medic for?” She asks, already walking towards the building, shaking off his arm as she goes. 

“Agent Hotchner was hit.” 

Emily takes off at a run and Derek follows her, yelling her name but she ignores him, rushing into the building before it’s officially cleared. He’s only a few paces behind her, and he’s relieved when he walks in to find Aaron conscious and sitting on the floor, a cut on his forehead as he hugs Emily tightly, her arms wrapped around him. 

“Are you okay?” She asks, cupping Aaron’s cheeks as she sits back on her heels, her eyes scanning over his face, “He said you were hit, I thought…”

“Sweetheart,” he says, placing his hand over hers on his cheek and turning his head to kiss her palm, an intimate moment Derek feels strange observing, but he can’t tear his gaze away, “I’m okay. I promise. He hit me with his gun.” 

Emily sighs and leans forward, as if the air had been knocked out of her as she kisses him, the kiss desperate as a breath shudders out of her, “I’m so…I thought…” 

“I know,” Aaron says, tucking some of her hair behind her ear, comforting her as if she was the one who’d been hurt, “I’m okay, I promise.” He repeats, his smile kind and loving as he pulls her hand from his cheek and kisses it, “I’m okay.”

She nods, a sound escaping her that Derek thinks is close to a sob and she smiles, “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” he replies, and Derek feels frozen in place, his assumptions about their relationship shattered around his feet. He only realises he’s staring when Emily looks at him, residual anger from his comment outside still lingering in her eyes. 

“Morgan, can you get the paramedics, he needs looking at.” 

Aaron sighs, “Em, I’m seriously-”

She places her hand on Aaron’s shoulder without even looking at him, holding him in place, “The paramedics please.”

Derek nods wordlessly and leaves, making a purposeful choice not to walk back in once he’s directed the EMTs to where they are, making himself busy by directing civilians around and helping the local cops. It’s later when Aaron walks out with nothing but a bandage on his head, Emily by his side, hovering nearby as much as she can with them still being in a professional setting. It wouldn’t take a profiler to see how she was barely holding herself together, how seeing the man she loved hurt had shaken her, and all of a sudden all the unkind thoughts he’d had about their relationship weigh heavily on him. 

Aaron is insistent on seeing the case through, already talking to Dave, waving off his concern as he talks about their game plan when it comes to interrogating the unsub. Derek walks over to where Emily is standing, her gaze fixed on Aaron as if he might disappear at any moment, her cuticle back in between her teeth. Derek takes a deep breath and walks over to her, scratching the back of his head as he makes it to her side. 

“Em-”

She groans and looks at him, “Can we not do this right now, Derek?” She asks, sounding nothing short of exhausted, “I don’t-”

“I wanted to apologise,” he says, cutting over her, knowing he wasn’t going to say it otherwise, “I haven’t been a good friend lately,” he says, looking over at Aaron, “If he makes you happy, that should be enough.”

She nods and crosses her arms over her chest, “Yes, it should be,” she says, raising her eyebrows as she looks at him and shrugs, “I don’t understand what your issue with this is. I…I think have an idea but I don’t want to get into it now,” she says chuckling humourlessly as she shakes her head, “But can I just ask you to do something?”

He nods, “Of course.” 

She smiles wryly, “Can you maybe get your head out of your ass before we get married and have kids?” She says casually, “Because thats where this is going, and it would suck to not have you involved in any of this.”

He thinks it might be the most honest thing she’s ever said to him, certainly the most vulnerable. Layers of herself that she’d hidden from him, from them all, for years shining through from under the armour she’d had since she was young. It makes any lingering negative thoughts about their relationship disappear and he nods, reaching out and squeezing her arm. 

“I think I can do that,” he says, smiling softly at her, and she smiles too, briefly squeezing his hand before she steps away, walking towards Aaron as if pulled towards him.

Derek stands in place and watches as she walks over, her hand on Aaron’s back as she steps next to him, both of them relaxing in each other's presence. 

He sighs as he turns away, looking for something to do, and he idly realises he owes Penelope $50. 

-x-

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