#thought about letting these stay in the vault but eh

[grymkoena]

Maniac.

[OC: Valentine Artorius (they/ them)]

[ah-death]

Eda and Butch are menaces to society pt 2

Edalynn: I have an idea

Butch: A good one?

Edalynn: Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Edalynn: My kink is saying some incredibly cornball shit and watching a person speed run the five stages of grief as they realize with horror that they still want to fuck me.

Charon: You are so fucking weird.

How was I supposed to know there’d be consequences for my actions?

- Edalynn probably

Random Stranger: *pointing at Edalynn* is that lady bothering you?

Gob: Yeah, but she's my wife, so I kinda signed up for it.

(after killing Moriarty)

Sheriff Simms: We’re talking about a man’s life.

Edalynn: Yeah, but he beat Gob, so it’s kind of, like, eh...

Gob: Just heard Eda call Dogmeat a “fucking liar” because he barked like someone was at the door and no one was there.

Random Rivet City Citizen in The Muddy Rudder: I dare you to-

Butch: Oh! No, Eda hasn’t been allowed to accept dares since we were 10.

Edalynn: According to my dad, I apparently have 'no regard for my personal safety'.

Edalynn: If I had shape-shifting powers, I’d abuse the hell out of them.

Edalynn: Like, If I was losing an argument, I’d just turn into their dead relative.

Butch: That’s genius!

Charon: … What the hell is wrong with you two?

Edalynn: You can trust me. Let’s not forget who pulled you out of the vault pool that time you almost drowned.

Butch: Let’s also not forget who pushed me in, you little—

Gob: You should treat others how you'd like to be treated.

Butch and Edalynn simultaneously: Killed without hesitation.

Nova: No!!!

Edalynn: *Discovers Butch left the vault and has been hanging out in the Muddy Rudder ever since*

Edalynn: How long have you been staying here?!?

Butch: Don’t try that. You know the concept of time confuses me.

Edalynn: Gob, you love me, right?

Gob: Normally, I’d say yes without hesitation no doubt, but I feel like this is going somewhere and I don’t like it.

Charon: The other day, I was upstairs in my room and I heard from downstairs in the livingroom Butch say “are you sure this is a good idea?” and Eda reply “trust me”.

Charon: I have never scaled a set of stairs so fast in my life.

Edalynn, to a Megaton citizen: On a scale from Gob to Butch, how impulsive are you feeling right now?

Butch: Okay, sure, I set the sink in the vault diner on fire one time because I thought I saw a radroach and you use me as a bad example for years to come.

Edalynn: First of all, I was using you as a bad example long before the Sink Fire of 2273, and I will use you as a bad example long after you’re dead and buried.

Edalynn: Second of all, don’t try to pretend that fire was an isolated incident.

Edalynn: You know, I’m learning some very valuable lessons out here in the wasteland.

Nova: I’m guessing they are all horrible distortions on the lessons you actually should’ve taken away

Edalynn: Death isn’t real, and I’m basically God.

Butch: I have plenty of in-depth knowledge about a multitude of subjects.

Edalynn: Oh yeah? I bet I can name something I know more about than you.

Butch: Oh yeah? Try me.

Edalynn: I know what the top shelf looks like.

Butch:…would you like to experience a slow and gruesome death?

Charon: *Frustrated from trying to get the Edalynn to be even remotely mindful of the danger she puts herself in* Have you ever won an argument with Edalynn?

Butch: No, when we were kids, I’d just beat ‘er up every time she'd start to argue with me.

Charon: What about now?

Butch: Now? She tells me to shut up, and I shut up.

Charon:

[Edalynn finding Butch in Rivet City]

Edalynn: The Greaser made it to Rivet City by itself?

Edalynn: I didn’t know it knew how to do that.

Gob: *using his medicine skills to check Edalynn for injuries after a tough fight* Well, I have your prognosis.

Gob: You’re a stage five dumbass.

Edalynn: *pulls out a chinese assault rifle*

Butch: How many of those do you have?

Edalynn: *pulls out another* How many do you need?

Butch: *complaining and whining during a trip around the wasteland*

Edalynn: You know, you’re talking a lot of shit for someone who has 2 perfectly good eyeballs each worth about 16,000 caps on the blackmarket.

Butch: You and me, this isn't working out.

Edalynn: Are you saying we should start annoying other people?

Edalynn, drunk: *points at Gob who's tending the bar* That’s my boyfriend, suckers!

Charon: Your husband, Eda.

Edalynn: My husband! Even better!

Gob: I can’t get Eda to come out of our room.

Butch: Just tell her I said something.

Gob: Like what?

Butch: Anything factually inaccurate.

Edalynn, running into the room, furious: You think tHE SUN IS A FUCKING PLANET?

Edalynn: And this is my older brother, Charon- Charon?

Charon, sobbing in the corner:

Butch: The only way to defeat a bully is to stand up to him!

Butch: Trust me, I have bullied a lot of people and have paid dearly for my transgressions in the form of Edalynn.

Gob: I did something terrible...

Edalynn: It’s okay babe, I have a shovel.

Gob: Wait, what do you think I did!?

Edalynn: It doesn’t matter, no one will ever know.

Edalynn: *pulls back curtain while Butch is showering*

Edalynn: Are we — stop screaming, its me — are we out of Nuka-Cola?

Edalynn: What are you, a cop? Fuck off.

Gob: Hunny..

Edalynn: Ok, sorry, one more time.

Priest:

Priest: Do you take this woman to be y-

Gob, trying to get to know Eda better: So Eda, what are your goals in life?

Edalynn: I've been banned from every major city's public transportation system except New Vegas. I don't know what their limit is but I will fucking find it.

Charon: Guys, since this looks like the end, I just wanted you to know… you’re not really the two people I wanted to die with.

Edalynn: Ditto.

Butch: Actually, I’d always planned on the three of us being buried together in a tomb.

Charon:

Edalynn: If we make it through this, you and I are having a serious talk.

Charon to the Edalynn: After many, many hours, I’ve come to most wretched of realizations. One that might curdle your very blood.

Charon: You are my friend.

Gob: *Knocks on door*

Edalynn: You can’t come in!

Gob: Why not?

Edalynn: Because, uh, Butch is naked!

Butch: What?

Edalynn: Well, I couldn’t tell him I was naked. He's allowed to see me naked.

Butch: Why does anyone have to be naked?

Butch: You saved me, Eda. I owe you my life!

Edalynn: No thanks. I’ve seen it and I’m not impressed.

*Edalynn and Butch hugging Charon*

Charon: Why are you squeezing me with your body?

Edalynn: It’s a hug, Charon. We're hugging you.

Edalynn: (knocking on Butch’s door) Butch! We need to go! Come out!

Butch: Ok fine, I’m bi!

Edalynn: Not what I meant, but I support you! NOW GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE—

[saedii-gilwraeth-simp]

Can you please write how fin and kal would react to being told their wives were expecting

let's go!

~~

Kal was woken up at two am by his bed shifting and the soft sounds of bare feet on tile. He keeps his eyes closed until he hears the clear sound of Auri vomitting.

He vaults from the bed at the noise and rushes to Auri's side, pulling stray hairs away from her face.

"Be'shmai are you okay?" Kal asks softly and Auri ignores him in favour of throwing up her dessert. She clears her thoat and tilts her head towards him.

"Do I look alright?" she groans and he frowns.

"Sorry. Is there anything I can do?" Auri sighed and dropped her head slightly.

"No. But this will probably go on for a few more months so get used to being woken up in the middle of the night," she say and she ounds almost apologetic. Kal lowers himself to sit on the tile beside her and rub her back as she heaves again.

"Food poisoning doesn't last for months though?" he questions. Auri, seemingly down puking sits down across from him.

"It's not food poisoning Kal," he sits on her statement in slight confusion. Bad food was usually the only reason Syldrathi throw up. Auri waits for him to get it and when he doesn't, she rolls her eyes and stands, but gestures for him to stay where he is.

Eventually she comes back with some sort of present, something soft wrapped in sky blue paper. She throws it into hap and sits back down.

"I was gonna give you that next week for our anniversary but it seems I can't hide it any longer," Kal frowns in confusion until Auri waves her hand to tell him to open it. He gently rips the paper open and two white pieces of fabric fall into his lap. He lifts the smaller of the two, a tiny onesie with sunny yellow writing that gave him pause.

'I have the best dad!' he turned to the bigger piece, a t-shirt in his size. 'Best dad' written in the same colour.

Kal stares in shocked silence, not even realising tears were forming until Auri leaned over and wiped them away.

"Kal?" Auri prompts and he looks up at her and then back at the clothes and then back to Auri. Eventually he reaches across the bathroom floor and pulls her into his lap, tucking her under his chin and tilting his head to bury his nose in her hair.

"We're having a baby?" He says after a while like that.

"We're having a baby," Auri confirms and Kal processes the words for a bit longer.

"Be'shmai," he says and she looks up at him. "Thank you."

~

"Hey handsome, I'm home," Scarlett calls through their ship, making Fin perk up from where he dozed on their couch.

"In here," he calls back, grinning when she appears in the doorway. "Hey sweetheart," he shuffles deeper into the couch and she slides in beside him, kissing his neck as she does. "How was your day?"

"Eh, long and I felt kind of nauseas all day for no reason, so not great," she says and Fin makes a slip up he'd been trying to avoid for two weeks now.

"Oh, it's probably the pregnancy," he says and pauses right as Scarlett turns to look at him in confusion.

"I'm not pregnant," she says and then leans up on an elbow, "Why do you say that?" Fin shrugged.

"Your boobs got bigger two weeks ago and you've been eating the pantry bare without visibly gaining much weight. Add that to the fatigue, nausea and the fact that you've missed a month and... all signs point to pregnant," Scarlett continues to stare at him. "Sorry, I took med science in the Academy and have lots of nieces and younger siblings. And I didn't mean to spit it out, I thought you knew and were waiting to surprise me or something." He trails off at the shocked look on his wife's face.

Scarlett sits up on the couch and Fin follows.

"I didn't even think about that. I should take a test," she says and Fin nods.

"Second drawer of the bathroom cabinet," with that, she bolts away to their bathroom and comes out a few minutes later, placing a piece of plastic and then the test stick on the coffee table. "Two minutes?" he asks, to which Scarlett nervously nods, sitting back beside him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Even if it doesn't happen now, I hope when we have a baby that they are like you," Scarlett whispers and he kisses her forehead.

"I was about to say the same thing. I couldn't think of someone I'd rather raise children with," Scarlett raised her eyebrow at that.

"Plural?" she asks and Fin shoots her a grin.

"Well we all know you can't keep your hands of me so yeah plural," Scarlett laughs and nudges his ribs, before a small beep from the test pulls their attention. They share a nervous glance and then both reach at the same time.

'Pregnant.' Clear as day on the tiny screen.

Scarlett puts the test down and pauses. Fin, taking this to mean a bad thing, puts his hand on her shoulder.

He barely has time to blink before Scarlett is throwing herself into his arms, excited noises coming from both as he kisses her all over her face, neck, arms, everywhere close as they hug in excitement.

"We're gonna be parents!" Scarlett says, her face close to his as he nods and grins.

"Hell yeah we are!"

~~

you can't tell me Fin doesn't have a radar for this stuff with how big Betraskan clans are.

[sparksnevadas]

⛔ for the ask game?

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

Yep! A few now. But i had thought about doing a quackcicle and sbi summer camp au, but decided to focus on gihasm. Also i have strawberry chamomile that was an sbi avatar au but uh. I lost steam.

But uh, lets see. Idk if ill get to it but itd be cool to do a beevil and hotguy one shot. I have an idea in mind but eh…i posted about it a while back, and it might have to stay just as a post. Ive been spinning some other superhero stuff with the vault which id much rather focus on then another hero au lmao

But yeah! Interesting question! Ty em!

[vilevexedvixen]

Fallout: New Vegas OC - Reggie

Originally from Vault 34, Reggie was among the trapped inhabitants when the reactor flooded. A pretty young ghoul. Young in the sense that he's only recently turned, but he's actually about the same age as Chris Haversham, the vault's reactor technician. Admittedly he'd tormented Chris alongside many others, which drove Chris to abandon the vault. (Probably) Unintentionally dooming his tormentors to bare the brunt of the worsening radiation leaks. For being such a young ghoul, and a vault dweller who hadn't set foot in the wastes until he was nearly middle-aged, he is unusually inexperienced and unknowledgable. Though he happily plays along when people assume he knows what he's talking about. His quick wit has helped him become particularly adept at winging his way through conversations. Few pick-up on this aside from particularly perceptive actors like House (who seriously questions his competency upon meeting him) and more long-lived ghouls such as Raul and Dr. Keely. Doing odd-jobs around the south side of Vegas he stayed in the Aerotech Office Park. Since it was one of the nearest settlements to Vault 34 and the diverse array of residents made it the perfect place to get his bearings and earn a small starting sum of caps to take further out into Vegas or the Mojave. Word came of a high paying courier job some other folks in the park got and that there was one more vacancy up for grabs! Well, we all know how that turned out... Being so unfamiliar with his own body now (espcially after surviving his encounter with Benny - a feat he reckons was only made possible thanks to his new body), he struggles to find people he can relate to since he still mostly sees himself as human, even moreso than Chris! A fact few are willing to recognise now.

In fact, that's why running into Chris at Repcon was so great! He would've ignored the intercom message had his voice not sounded so familiar. Here was someone who he could finally relate to! Or at least someone who remembers him from when he was still a "smoothskin". To... mixed reception. At first, Chris was confused by Reggie, not recognising him at all. Up until actually seeing Chris again, Reggie had almost entirely blamed Chris for Vault 34's literal and figurative meltdown. Abandoning them all to die, it felt like! But the more he stewed in the rads and bitterness, the more he thought about why Chris left. Why did he leave? They weren't close by any means, but they had banter. At least that's how he saw it. The lukewarm recognition he got from Chris seemed to tell a different story, and the guilt seeped in. Yeah... maybe this wasn't Chris' fault. Even so their reunion had him more than happy to feed into Chris' ghoulish delusions just so they could bond over "both" now being ghouls. "So, the rads got you too, eh?"

His second bout of relief / familiarity would be encountering The Boomers, whom he'd probably want to try and move in with because of both familial ties and shared experiences in Vault 34. Though The Boomers left before he was born, hearing about Pearl and Loyal's time in the Vault is somewhat comforting. Although The Boomers would absolutely refuse to let him in for the first few days and be reluctant to even humour that he might be kin until learning what eventually happened to their Vault. To some degree, Reggie will always be a savage to them, even though he's barely braved the wastes more than a few years. Even Janet is treated more like a fellow Boomer than Reggie on account of her smooth-skin and being vouched for by Jack. (I don't think House would trust Reggie so aligning with House is a no-go. Given the hospitality of The Followers and the NCR he received while at Aerotech, I imagine he'd want to at least help them, if not fully align with them by the second Battle of Hoover Dam. Vault 34's love of guns and him being a ghoul would obviously not bode well with The Legion. Honestly it's less about who he would want to side with and more who would hand his help / trust him enough with missions to make him their ally.) S - 6 P - 5 E - 5 C - 5 I - 7 A - 5 L - 7

[danses-with-dogmeat]

Crushing Companions Headcannons Part 5

I know it's been a hot minute, but holy crap! There are 5 of these now, omg. And yet, I STILL don't think I'm done. So look out for a part 6 as well 😅 (which, as of now, is only Charon and Boone, so if you want to see anyone else, just lmk :)

For now though, here are these folks: Gage, MacCready, and Maxson

(Also, just a heads up, I got a request for Maxson with F!Sole, so that's why it's written that way below!)

The previous parts are all linked below as well, if you missed them. I hope you enjoy! ❤

Gage x Sole:

The plucky little spitfuck caught his attention right from the start. Waltzing into raider territory almost without a second thought; the crassness of it, the guts it took, Gage scoffed at it all. But hell, the little vault dweller wasn’t near as helpless as he’d thought they’d be. Turned out they could be pretty damn useful. What with all that Colter business, and accepting the role as Overboss without a lick of experience with his kinda people. He had to admire their courage… And that damn vault suit of theirs… made it pretty difficult not to admire some of their, uh, other assets.

Gage wasn’t the only one hot on the new boss though, and he wouldn’t let it get to his head. ‘Least that’s what he’d told himself, but eh, maybe if he didn’t let it get complicated, he and Sole could have a bit of fun, maybe. Just keep it simple.

Yeah, like that’s ever worked out in my favor. ‘Specially with an Overboss. Gage would groan at the thought. As Sole consistently asked him to tag along with him all across Nuka World, and the whole goddamn Commonwealth, it got harder and harder for the raider to keep his feelings leashed. No, not feelings. Thoughts, just thoughts. That’s all it is. Gage didn’t catch feelings, you care about anything more than yourself out here, ‘n yer dead. You’ve gotta come first, always. That’s what he’s learned all these years, it’s why he’s stayed alive so damn long, why he’s never let any feelings catch in his heart, and control his actions. Well, that, and no one else has come so close to making him as foolish as Sole does.

It really seemed to start when they thanked him one night by the fire he’d made, thanked him for watching their back, and for trusting that they’d make a good Overboss, when they’d brushed their hand over his arm and given him that little smile of theirs that made his heart leap in his chest. He'd been so close to blushing, he had to turn his damn head away from them, had to wrench his arm back and just grunt in response, as his clenching jaw prevented him from gettin’ a single fuckin’ word out. Damn them.

Sole had even managed, somehow or another, to get him to be candid, to admit how good this thing was that they had goin’, to talk about his goddamn feelings and tell ‘em that they mean somethin’ to him. It almost made him sick to his stomach. He’d thought that’s what it was, anyway. But he’d noticed that same such nauseous feeling then next time he caught Sole grinning at him, and then again one night when they fell asleep on him as they sat on the sofa up in Fizztop, him sharpening his combat knife, and them sipping on a nuka dark before they'd laid their head against him and stayed there until the light shown through the windows the next morning. It made his stomach flip and his skin crawl, made his heart thump like he was in the middle of a fight, but dammit, if he’d put an end to any of those interactions, Gage knew that his beating heart would sink, and he’d never be able to stop thinkin’ about what might have happened, had he just let it be.

Lord, how he’d wanted to let it be that night after Sole had drank just a bit too much down at the Third Rail. They were in another city, they had a hotel room, Sole was all over him, probably just cuz they were off their ass on booze, but still, they couldn’t keep their hands off him, kept sayin’ how glad they were that they’d met him, how much they liked having him around. Damn, how every part of him screamed to try and find out if they meant it, to take every part of them, to feel the heat of them, to claim them, and hold them, and finally let all his repressed feelings run rampant as he ravished every damn part of them.

Instead, Gage had forced them into their bed, made ‘em down a bottle of purified water, and begrudgingly rubbed their back as they hacked their guts out in that dingy Rexford hotel room. When they were done though, when Gage had cleaned ‘em up, and they finally settled enough to get some sleep, as they laid their head in his lap, and snored softly, he couldn’t keep his calloused hand from rubbing over their shoulder in a touch more tender than he could ever remember giving, or receiving.

It was a good thing they hadn’t remembered much from that night. Gage had been too close. Too close to admitting what became more and more apparent to him every fucking day he spent with his Overboss; so after that night, he tried to keep his distance. At least, as much as he could while still staying at their side. He became short with his words, less inclined to overlook Sole’s touches, to chuckle at their jokes, to sit too near to them, to open up and say some nice shit. That wasn’t who he was, at least, before he met them, anyway. He’s been that way for too long, no point in changing just cuz of them. It’s worked for him this long, so for now, he cut it all out, all that soft shit he was starting to get used to, starting to get comfortable with. It’s not who he is.

Though, distance might not have been the answer either, he found a little bit later. He and Sole were taking a load off over at Cappy’s, just drinking with the rest of the rabble; and the boss had gone up to the bar to get another round, and… Well, it’s not like Sole hadn’t gotten attention before, ‘course they had, just look at ‘em, and as the Overboss? Hell, everyone in Nuka World had come onto ‘em at least once, but this time was different. When Mason sauntered up to them, fierce intent in his piercing gaze and an empty bottle in his hand, Gage had shifted in his seat, prepared to step in, if need be. Though, Sole usually didn’t need his help with this kinda shit, they were more than capable. Still though, this time was different. Mason was adamant that Sole come with him, back to the Bradberton to discuss somethin’ important with him, but his expression, his hands reaching for Sole’s waist, for their ass, his closeness to them, Gage had had enough of this shit, ‘specially with the way Sole was trying to back away from the Pack alpha’s insistent touch.

Gage didn’t usually like to start shit, least of all with the other bosses around, not when Sole could deal with them themself most of the time, but he didn’t think this time 'round, he just acted.

The bar grew silent as Mason’s snarls quieted, as Gage’s fist landed another blow to the Pack leader’s head, as his nose bloodied, as Gage’s knuckles ached, and his shirt was stained with droplets of deep crimson, even as Sole brought their hand to his shoulder, as they squeezed, and ordered him to stop. Gage only really realized what he’d done after standing, peering down at Mason as he lay unconscious at the foot of the bar, his face already growing dark with purple bruises. “Head up to Fizztop, I’ll be there in a bit.” He heard Sole order, and he did as they asked.

Gage waited maybe not so patiently, pacing around the balcony until he spotted Sole finally heading up, after cleaning up his mess, he was sure. Goddamn. What a fucking night. How the hell am I supposed to explain this to ‘em? Gage made his way inside, just as Sole came into the room. “Sit," they told him, and he did, on that same sofa that Sole had sat on when they fell asleep on him that night... Gage shook his head.

Sole returned with a wet rag in their hand, sat down beside him, close enough that their knee bumped into his, and they took his bloodied right hand in theirs, and began to swipe over the wounds on his knuckles, as they wiped away Mason’s blood. “Look,” they said, “I don’t know what was going on with you and Mason back there, but–”

“That shit wasn’t about me an’ Mason, boss.” Gage cut them off, looking ahead and clenching his jaw as he tried to think about a way to tell them the truth without revealing everything he’d been struggling with for the past few months. Without revealing those goddamn feelings of his.

“Gage.” They said, not sounding convinced. “I’m bein’ honest!” He said as he turned to them briefly, “The fight wasn’t about us, that shit was about you, boss.”

“You’re gonna try and pin this on me?” They said, ceasing their soothing movement over his knuckles as they looked up at him, “I had it handled, Gage, you didn’t have to step in. I could’ve taken care of it.” Though he felt their eyes on him, Gage couldn’t bring himself to look over, to meet their fiery gaze.

“I know you could ‘ave.” He said quietly, the roughness of his voice softening as he spoke just above a whisper. “But the way he was lookin' at ya, way he was touchin’ ya… No one should touch you like that.”

“No one?” they asked, tilting their head to try and draw his eyes to meet theirs. He took the bait, and turned his head so he was facing them, his one good eye was obscured by the crease in his brow as his wanton eye met their pleading expression. They know what I’m gonna say. May as well spit it out, then.

“No one ‘cept me.” He said, and he found himself leaning in, close enough that his nose brushed over Sole’s cheek, close enough that he could feel the heat of their breath pass over his lips, but he halted before he could get any further. “I mean,” He whispered, “If you’ll have me. I know I’m no good… No good for you, boss, but–” Sole closed the distance before he could finish, and Gage felt a jolt through his whole body, like Sole was charged with electricity. Their mouth tingled against his, and their tongue burned his lips as it demanded passage through the threshold and into his mouth. He opened eagerly, letting his eye fall shut, and grinning into the kiss, before nipping and pulling at Sole's bottom lip playfully. They tried to pull back, uttering a small whimper at his action, but he drew his tongue over the tender spot, and brought his injured hand up to tangle in Sole’s hair, to hold their mouth against his, to let him taste them just a bit longer. Gage groaned as they pressed harder into him, so close, they were almost in his lap. He certainly wouldn’t have protested that, but before his arms could encircle them, before he could draw their body up onto his own, they pulled back breathlessly, as a red hue overtook their face.

“I don’t care if you’re no good.” They panted, “I want you.” Their hands found their way to the front of Gage’s shirt, and grasped tightly at the fabric, as he held their intense gaze. “And hell, I’m no good either.”

Gage chuckled at that, letting his hand fall from the back of Sole’s head, down to their jawline, where his thumb could easily stroke over their cheekbone. “Both no good, huh? Hell, maybe that jus’ means we’re good for each other.” His hand tightened, and Gage pulled them in again.

MacCready x Sole:

MacCready knew what this was. The feeling was allllllll too familiar. He remembered the pounding of his heart, the lightness in his gut, the wash of heat that made his tongue tangle in his mouth, destroying any remaining sense of social adaptability, or grace that he might have had. He wasn’t unused to making a fool of himself, especially in the presence of someone like Sole, someone who seemed so infallible and unphased by almost everything (which was infuriating in itself), but he was unused to this other prevalent feeling that persisted in his mind at the thought of falling for someone again. It was fear.

He didn’t know what exactly scared him so much. Perhaps it was the thought of this person beside him, one that he admired so much, that he so deeply cared for, who was so selfless and kind, who had helped him in his most desperate time of need, even when he had nothing to offer them as payment, not being able to return his feelings… No, he didn’t expect that of Sole, didn’t need them to care about him in the same way. But he was still afraid. The only other people he cared about as much as he cares about Sole, have been taken from him in one way or another. Lucy was gone; his love, his wife, the only thing good about him besides his son, had died right in front of him. He couldn’t bear for something like that to happen again, he wouldn’t survive it. He had enough nightmares as it was, enough guilt, enough of a struggle with his own inadequacy. He couldn’t risk caring about anyone the way he cared about Lucy ever again.

Then there was Duncan; he wasn’t dead, thanks to Sole, but he was still so far away from him. Knowing that his child was out there, that his baby was being cared for by someone else, that he was missing him as he grew up before the eyes of those around him... that tore into him too. Another result of MacCready's feelings of incapability. If he couldn’t protect Lucy, how could he protect Duncan? How could he care for his son on his own? He loved being a father, more than anything in the world, but he had no idea how to do it right. It’s not like he had had any kind of a parental figure to base himself off of. So he had left, to help his son, to save his life, by leaving him behind. And he was once again alone. MacCready feared that too. With Sole, he wasn’t alone, not now at least, but if he opened up to them? Told his companion the way he feels and they didn’t reciprocate? That was another blow the sniper didn’t think he could take.

For the time being, he held it in. He had felt those familiar feelings festering within him when his companion had helped him take out Winlock and Barnes, when they stuck with him and saved his hide even knowing he couldn’t pay them anything for their help. And those very same emotions had redoubled in their efforts to make themselves known to Sole after they found the serum for Duncan. God, he could have kissed his partner then, as they held the key to his son’s survival in their hand, beaming as they gave it to him, as they placed it carefully in his trembling grasp; and he very nearly crashed his lips to theirs in sheer relief, thanks, and bliss, at the feeling of hope that they had gifted him. But the fear had stopped him. Instead, he had settled for a tight embrace as sheer emotion overcame him; if nothing else, the hug would have concealed his overwhelmed expression and the tears of relief and gratitude that had gathered at the corners of his eyes.

From there, it only became more difficult. MacCready didn’t even know what he was doing. This damn fear of his was keeping him from ever really confessing to Sole, but it definitely didn’t help with all of the embarrassment that comes with feelings like these. Stumbling over his words, feeling like he always needed to show off, catching himself just gazing at them for long bouts of time that he should’ve been doing almost anything else with. And the paying, the paying was the worst one. Putting down caps at the noodle stand, paying for the hotel room, adding Sole’s drinks to his tab at the Third Rail, ugh! He didn’t know when it started, or why, it certainly wasn’t something he’d ever done before. Sole was capable, they had caps, they were the one to pay him upfront in cash on the day they met, after all. So why did he feel the need to always pay for everything when he was with them?! Not only did it go against his every instinct, every action he had taken up to this point, but it also made Sole remarkably suspicious as to why he would do something so unlike himself just to benefit them, when they really didn't even need the help at all. MacCready would try to mumble out something about paying his debt to them for finding Duncan's cure, but hell, he'd already done that when he returned the caps they'd paid him with. Now he didn't know what the heck he was doing, or how he could possibly explain it.

The feelings were driving him mad, but never in a way that truly hurt him. He hated being so close to them all the time. Walking in step right behind them, without being able to say what was really on his mind, sleeping right beside them without being able to wrap his arms around them, fighting at their side, while being unable to properly celebrate their victory at the end, being unable to pull them in for a relieved embrace, and a tender kiss, letting them know how glad he was that they were okay. It tore him to pieces, but it couldn’t possibly hurt him more than them not returning his feelings, could it? If they left his side, MacCready wasn’t sure what he’d do. He'd be utterly alone, and that's the last thing he wanted. MacCready wanted them in his life, wanted them to be a part of his future. When he finally reunited with his son, he wanted Sole to be there to meet him. When he finally settled down to be the father Duncan deserves, he wanted his partner by his side, filling the void that Lucy left. If that’s what they wanted. But what if it isn’t?

MacCready awoke from his nightmare with a shout. He was shivering, his heart was pounding, and couldn’t seem to slow his breathing, no matter what he tried. Even as Sole put their hand on his arm, and asked him something softly. He hadn’t even heard them, the blood was still roaring in his ears, his vision was still blurred from his groggy confusion. He looked at them again. “Everything’s alright.” He heard his companion say, “You’re safe, MacCready.” He nodded to them, and, without realizing it, he slumped forward, into their arms, his head buried in the crook of their shoulder. As the memory of that same damn nightmare slowly faded from the forefront of his mind, as Lucy’s screams died out, as the glowing eyes of the dozens of ferals dissolved into the darkness behind his closed eyelids, MacCready heard a few words leave his lips unbidden. “I need to tell you something.”

Sole pulled away from his embrace, keeping a hand on either of his shoulders as they looked him in the eye, concern still prevalent in their expression. They nodded. “I can’t– I can’t lose you though,” He was almost choking on his own voice now, forced to deliver on the words he had just unwittingly uttered, “So, if you don’t like the sound of all this, then… Then just forget that I even said anything, alright?” Sole’s eyes narrowed at that, “Then why say anything? If you’re worried about what–”

“I have to.” MacCready cut in, his mind flashing back to the horrific memories that his nightmare had excavated, “I can’t risk… I just mean, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I didn’t tell you, before I lost the chance. You know what that’s like, right?” Sole nodded somberly, and he saw them swallow hard, but their eyes never left his.

“Okay, here goes… ah, ahem. Sole, I’m in love with you.” MacCready let out a breath, and Sole just blinked at him. Their bewilderment gave him a moment, and he took it, continuing with his confession. “I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense, and I know, well, we’ve both lost people that we really care about but… Damn, where was I going with this? I really had a point, I mean, we have so much in common, and even though–”

“Robert, it’s okay.” They said gently, as their hands squeezed at his shoulders. “I think I know what you’re trying to say. We… We sort of… complete each other, don’t we?” The smile Sole gave him made MacCready’s entire body radiate with warmth, and he found himself returning their teary-eyed grin. “So, what you’re saying is…?” He raised his eyebrows at them as a deep crimson hue spread over their cheeks. They looked down at his chest, taking their lower lip between their teeth as they thought for a moment, but they raised their eyes to meet his gaze before finally saying, “I love you too.”

Maxson x F!Sole:

This obviously wasn't the Elder's first crush that he's ever had, but it did surprise him, nonetheless. When that initiate came trotting into his briefing at the last minute, wearing her skin-tight blue suit, and already wielding a modded laser rifle; his eyes had lingered on her longer than he would've liked, given the additional soldiers present at the meeting.

He tries to be discreet, after all; and he was convinced the feelings would pass, that they would slip out of his overworked mind seamlessly as he carried on with his duties as the Elder. That's right. The Elder. He had to remind himself each time he was in Sole's presence. He was Elder Maxson for Christ's sake. He couldn't allow himself to get swept up by these lighthearted, boyish feelings. Crushes were for children, for the squires and initiates. Not for him. He would tell himself time and time again.

It didn't seem to matter though, no matter what Maxson tried, his mind would somehow always come back to her. When he was nearly nodding off in his briefing with Proctor Quinlan, or staring blankly at an unsent message on his terminal, when he was finally blowing off steam in the training yard, trying to stay focused on his regimen, as she kept popping into his mind. Was he hoping she would be in the yard as well? Could the Elder find her training schedule and try to match it to his own so that he could steal a glance at her, or give her an eyeful of him in the midst of his strength training? He shouldn't, but he would find himself doing it anyway. Cursing himself all the while, as he thought about whether what he was doing would be obvious to her.

Maxson would try desperately to put an end to it. He would fight his urges to see her, to pay more attention to her progress and mission schedule than was due, and would mainly hash out his orders to her through Paladin Danse. It was for the best, he would say in his head, as his chest ached in response.

He was beyond pleased when Sole became a Knight. He allowed himself to congratulate her in person, with a word of praise and a hearty handshake, just like all the other knights. But his hand may have lingered a tad longer than the traditional Elder handshake, Maxson only hoped it was subtle enough.

That night, he was a wreck. It was the first time he had actually touched her. Sure, he'd seen her a great number of times, spoken to her often, and at close proximity, but to feel her hand in his, her strong but soft grip on him, her eyes catching his, staying locked in his gaze as she smiled warmly at him, he had held her hand too long, she should’ve pulled away, anyone else would have released his grip, right? But she had held on, even so much as tightening her grip in response to his, causing a distinct flutter in his gut. Am I reading too much into this?

Maxson would try to sort his feelings out himself, try to avoid the new Knight for a time, to avoid showing favoritism, to avoid embarrassing himself, to avoid giving himself any more ideas. She was a Knight, she was from before the war, she was 200 years older than him, and then some, he was raised in the Brotherhood, dedicated to the cause, married to his work; he always had been, and if that changed, the Brotherhood could suffer. It had happened before. The acting Elder becoming distracted, by lovers, by children, by friends, by grief, and the Brotherhood always seemed to pay for their neglect. He wouldn’t let it happen. Not this time. Not because of him.

Yet still… there was a small voice that he couldn’t seem to shut out. One that whispered in the back of his mind as he tossed and turned in his bed at night, or as he looked out over the Commonwealth as the sun rose over the horizon. I’m the last of the Maxson line, so, this sort of relationship, it’s… to be expected of me. He had always assumed that it would be obvious. That some exemplary Brotherhood born and bred woman would come along, that the process would be rather… emotionless. Two people doing their duty to work towards the best future possible for the faction they were loyal to. This though… This was messy. He didn’t want her so he could simply do his duty. He was scared of the way he wanted her. She had the capacity to be his distraction, he wanted her to be his distraction, hell, she already was distracting him from his duty. He couldn't allow it to get any more complicated, allow it to fester into something even more beyond his control.

Arthur rubbed his face with his hands, groaning all the while as he thought through his options. He went about it tactically, thinking through each possible result of every possible decision he could make. It was exhausting. This was precisely what he was trying to avoid, but it was clear to the Elder now; if he didn’t speak to her, these thoughts would continue their rampant assault on his consciousness, holding his ability to find rest hostage, forcing his Elder duties to the back of his mind, where he knew they didn’t belong. Maxson took a deep breath, and he called out to a squire. After issuing his order, he waited.

“You wanted to see me, Elder?” Arthur kept his back to her as Sole stepped into his quarters, swallowing his nerves as best he could. I’ve fought a deathclaw with nothing but a combat knife for Christ's sake. This shouldn’t be so damned difficult. He would struggle through his words, finally turning to face her as he heard her tone grow more uneasy with each ambiguous statement he uttered. Arthur could see it in Sole’s eyes, the way she feared that she was in trouble, the confusion as she thought through what her Elder could be so upset about. What could she have done to make him lose his words, to make his hands shake the way they were, to keep his gaze from fully meeting hers. In the end, he’d force the truth out between his clenched teeth. “There have been rumors of my… affinity towards you from those aboard this ship. They’ve been saying--”

“I know what they’ve been saying, sir.” She’d cut him off, her cheeks flooding with color.

“Yes, well…” He’d continue, “I want you to know that these utterings of theirs, well… They’re not completely unfounded, Knight.” Sole would blink at him for a moment or two, making sure that she’d deciphered his confession correctly before deciding to react.

“Sole, did you hear me?” She would nod, now even more baffled at the sound of her first name leaving the Brotherhood Elder’s lips. “Good. Do you… have an answer for me? As to your own… possible sentiments?” Before she even realized what she was doing, she would nod once again, and take a step towards him. She wouldn’t have to push in far, all it took was for her chest to be a few measly inches from his own, before he’d fix her with his intense, icy gaze; inquisitive, but hungry in the way they searched her for an answer before she could utter a word. But there was something else in them… apprehension? Surely not, Sole would think, knowing full well that her own nervousness must be as plain in her expression as her nose was upon her face.

“Knight?” The words were but a whisper to her, practically begging for an answer, an end to the wait Arthur had been idling in for months. “Yes, sorry.” She uttered, “I… well, sir, I also find myself with a certain sort of affinity for… for a certain Elder.” A ringing seemed to sound in Arthur’s ears at the sound of her confession, a lovely bell signaling the end of his torment, and the beginning of a new sort of challenge. One that required tact, and cunning, that demanded secrecy, but guaranteed that he’d have all that he’d been dreaming of from the moment the initiate had crashed through the doors to the command deck in that fist meeting all those months ago. He was glad she was so close to him in this instance, but he reached his arms out anyways, pulling her even closer, until her body was pressed flush against his. Their frantic hearts beat against each other as he stalled for a moment, looking into her eyes, seeing his own relief reflected back at him, before he pushed forward, in a fearless onslaught, in search of her lips. She met him halfway, of her own accord, and their union sent ripples of heat up his spine as Arthur let his lips melt to Sole’s. Her hands slid up over the expanse of his broad chest, and Arthur found himself stifling a sigh of pleasure as her fingers met and twined around the back of his neck, while his own hands sank to the dip of her waist, pulling her as close as possible, as he spilled his desire for her through each breath he pulled, each kneading movement against her, each grasp of his hands at her sides.

A long road of trials and tribulations awaited the pair, that Maxson knew, but he had faced hardship before. He’d been at war with impossible odds, fought his whole life for respect, for leadership, for his reputation, the Brotherhood’s, his family's; he’d fought for everything he had, and he would fight for this, for her, too.

Part 1 (Benny, Joshua Graham, and Hancock)

Part 2 (Arcade, Butch, Piper, Preston, & Veronica)

Part 3 (Arcade, Benny, Butch, and Danse with M!Lone/Six/Sole)

Part 4 (Danse, Deacon, and X6-88)

[writtenjewels]

Riding part 3

Part One, Part Two

He couldn't stop thinking about Jason's hands on him when he got off the horse that day at the stables. He had gone into those arms without hesitation and had been pleasantly surprised when Jason held his weight. The way Jason looked at him just before releasing his grip on Salim's hips...

So of course Salim came back to the stables for another riding lesson. He arrived at the gate and saw Jason on one of the horses galloping around an obstacle course. Salim watched in awe as the horse jumped over a vault and weaved through some poles in the ground. Jason finished the course and eased the horse to a stop. Salim applauded, drawing his friend's attention.

“That was amazing!”

“Thanks.” Jason smiled at him before getting off the horse. He patted it on its side and headed over to Salim. “We're practicin' for the horse trials. It's this three-day event with different shit to showcase the horse's talents.”

“And the rider,” Salim added.

“Eh, they do most of the work,” Jason shrugged.

“So which horse are you showcasing?”

“Michelangelo.” Salim raised both eyebrows; he didn't realize children knew classic painters. Jason must have guessed his thoughts, because he added: “After the ninja turtle. Personally Raphael's my favorite. Such a bad-ass.”

“I'll take your word on it.” He never heard of these ninja turtles. Were they all named after painters? “When is it? I'll have to come watch.”

“It ain't for another month. By then me and Mikey will have kicked this course's ass.” Salim cracked a grin at that. “Anyway, you here for another lesson? I can get Ruthie saddled up.”

“I did come for a lesson,” Salim admitted, “but I don't want to make you do more work. You look like you've been busy all day.”

“It ain't exactly work to teach you, Salim,” Jason assured him. “Come on in and we'll rub down Mikey together.” He opened the gate and Salim stepped in. Jason took Michelangelo's reins and brought the horse back in his stall.

He talked through all the steps involved in rubbing down a horse after an intense work-out. Salim tried to follow along as best he could. He took the brush and started on the horse's flank. Jason was on the other side doing the same.

“How's Zain doin' with his classes?”

“He loves them. He's always coming home to tell me stories that he's learned about in class.”

“He get to the one with the golden fleece yet?” That caught Salim by surprise. “Jason and the Argonauts is one of my favorite movies,” Jason explained. “I musta worn the tape out, I seen it so many times.” Salim made a mental note of the title so he could check it out later.

They talked for a bit more as they finished rubbing down the horse. When they were done, Jason declared that Mikey deserved a treat since he performed so well. Salim was expecting sugar cubes but instead Jason got out slices of watermelon.

“You wanna feed him?” Jason offered. Salim opened his palm for the slices, feeling a little shiver go through him when he felt Jason's fingers on his skin. A shiver that turned into heat as Jason guided his hands under the horse's face and didn't let go. Salim tried to stay calm and not blush too badly at their closeness.

How had it come to this? Yes, Jason was an attractive man, but Salim had put aside that attraction when their friendship started to grow. Now it was coming back and getting stronger. Salim was a little disappointed when Mikey ate all the watermelon and Jason stepped back.

“So.” Jason cleared his throat. “I'm supposed to have someone around while I practice. Y'know, safety reasons. So if you wanted, you could drop by while Mikey and I get ready for the trials.”

“All right,” Salim agreed, hoping he didn't sound too eager. There was a softness to Jason's smile that had his heart fluttering. Maybe what he was feeling wasn't one way.

[nightingaelic]

could you do Fallout New Vegas companion’s reactions to a Courier Six who is also the Lone Wanderer telling their stories from their time in DC? (bonus points for Arcade’s reaction to them hating the enclave, and if that would make him decide to keep his past hidden even longer, or if he would still tell them?)

The logistics and implications of this make my head spin. This is also super long, honestly I should just quit writing reacts and start writing fics OH WAIT

Getting the courier talking was a tough thing to do, but on nights where the moon was full and the coyotes' howls were miles away or at least behind some stout walls, on nights where they were a few beers in and they hadn't seen another living soul in a few days, that Mojave Express deliverer started to reminisce. That wasn't really the surprising part, though. No, the surprising part was what they would remember, fondly or not-so-fondly: A world apart from the desert, a continent away on another coast, and stories of life in a vault, a missing father, pure water and a Brotherhood divided.

Arcade Gannon: Arcade didn't mind these moods, at least when they first cropped up. He nodded along as the courier talked about living in their father's shadow, about feeling cornered by their own family's legacy. He hung on their words about living in the cradle of America's history, about Project Purity, all of the gritty details of modifying a GECK to bring water to a devastated wasteland.

Eventually though, the courier's memories soured, with the arrival of Enclave remnants in their life. Arcade folded into himself with every harsh word, every jolt of plasma that had disrupted his friend's world relived in horrific detail. They gestured angrily as they described their newfound purpose, their battle for power with the fractured Brotherhood of Steel at their back, and their smug satisfaction at the moments they were able to crack open Raven Rock and the Enclave's mobile base crawler and lay waste to their tormentors.

It took a few rounds of these stories before the courier noticed he shrank and grew quiet whenever they neared the end of their story about breaking into another vault to find the GECK. They stopped abruptly one night. "What's up with you?"

"Um..." Arcade scratched the back of his neck and looked away. "Nothing. Nothing, I just... have some personal experience with the Enclave, myself."

The courier sighed. "Yeah, there's a few people walking around the West Coast that have similar stories to mine. Arroyo's full of them, for one. Is it something like that?"

Arcade took a deep breath. "I feel... well, it's a lot closer to home, for me. Close enough to raise questions, so I don't talk about it much."

"Close enough to..." The courier twisted their face up in confusion for a moment, before realization set in and their eyes grew large. "You were... your... oh."

"Mmm-hm."

"Well, fuck me." The courier smiled and popped a cap off of another beer. "I've been doing all the talking, haven't I? Let's hear your story about working with the guys in power armor who ruined my life, right after dad did."

Craig Boone: Whenever the courier started up like this, Boone couldn't help but notice a familiar twinge of regret and self-doubt in their voice. It shone through most clearly when they spoke about their time with the Brotherhood of Steel, the men and women they'd fought alongside and lost during their struggle against the remnants of the Enclave. It was there, too, in their story about returning to the vault they grew up in, setting the chaos that had arisen in their wake to rest, but not being able to go back to the way things were.

Boone didn't pry. He knew that feeling well. Instead, he cracked open bottles of beer, liquor, soda, whatever they had on hand during their nights in the desert, and just listened. He'd done the same for Carla, when they were younger and new to each other and he couldn't get enough of her voice and how it flowed endlessly, easily, the way his never could. He absorbed it all now as he did then: The joy, the pain, the loss, the fear, the triumphs and falls and abandoned dreams that filled the courier up and drove them to travel west, beyond anything they had ever known.

That last part stumped Boone a bit, though. "Why didn't you stay?" he finally asked one night.

They looked surprised. "Stay? Stay where? I didn't have a home anymore."

Boone shook his head. "With the Brotherhood. Or some other settlement."

"Like Megaton?" The courier sighed. "I thought about it. Close to the vault, friendly people, easy work... I guess I just didn't want to wind up... stuck."

They flushed red and looked away from him. Boone knew why they were embarrassed, but he also knew the truth in their words.

Sometimes the courier cried after they had finished, though they did their best to hide it. Boone pretended not to notice. He was pretty sure they knew he was pretending, but he was also pretty sure that pointing it out would be worse than just letting it be an open secret between them. The silence between them endured, but something grew inside it and flourished. Some kind of deeper understanding.

Lily Bowen: The more the courier spoke, the more Lily made connections in her muddled mind. Of course they knew the basic layout of most vaults, they had grown up in one. Of course they were extra-sensitive to the Mojave heat, they had come to the desert from the cooler of the two coasts. Of course they'd been extra-wary around the super mutants or nightkin of Jacobstown, they had only known angry super mutants looking to grow their own numbers through any means necessary.

Their shared experience of growing up inside a vault reminded Lily of happier days, and she often asked questions about Vault 101 during the courier's stories. "Were you sweet on anyone inside your old home?" she asked, with a big smile befitting a proud grandma.

The courier blushed. "That's not very polite, Lily."

"Oh, I'm sorry, dearie."

"No, no it's okay." The courier smiled. "There was a boy who picked on me a lot, but I never figured out whether he did it because he hated me or liked me. His name was Butch. And there was Amata, my childhood friend. She was the daughter of the Overseer."

"Daughter of the Overseer?" Lily grinned. "I'm sure she was a lovely young woman."

The courier looked a little misty. "Yeah. She was. Probably still is."

Lily pulled a handkerchief that used to be a small tablecloth from inside her overalls and handed it over. "Maybe we can go back there together, pumpkin," she offered. "I always wanted to travel to the capital. We can visit your friends, see the sights."

"Yeah, maybe someday." The courier accepted the gift and blew their nose. "I've got some things I need to finish up here before I even think about wandering back east, though."

"Then let's make a list and do our chores," Lily said happily. "Number one?"

"Ohhhh, man." The courier smiled up at her. "I wouldn't even know where to start."

Raul Alfonso Tejada: Raul got a faint smile on his face whenever the courier started up like this, as if their memories reminded him of another place he had come from, another time. While they couldn't have more different backgrounds, pasts- hell, he had several hundred years on the courier, even if they shared the same road today- there was something in the description of the other roads they had walked that made him feel warm on a cold night.

"What's on your mind?" The courier asked him one night, when Raul's smile grew larger than usual.

"Nada, boss," he reassured them. "You're just a good reminder that I can change my mind about the future anytime I'd like. Tell me the one about that radio DJ again."

"Again?" The courier rolled their eyes. "Why? I could tell you a million stories about Underworld and all the ghouls that lived there, but all you want to hear about is Three Dog. You'd probably have more in common with the Underworld folks, honestly."

Raul nodded noncommittally. "Sí, but my favorite stories are about people who had to rise above bad situations and become someone uncommon. Anyone who's able to do that is either fighting for something great or running from something terrible. Sometimes both."

The courier shot him a skeptical look. "Three Dog's holed up in his radio station 24/7, he's not running from anything or out fighting for anything. All that stuff about 'the good fight' is a load of bull."

"Now, now, Six," Raul chastised. "Just because he looks like your average pendejo doesn't mean he isn't doing his part. You even told me his radio show is inspirational for the Capital Wasteland folks."

The courier held their hands up in the air and bobbled them, as if balancing an invisible scale. "The duality of man. Being an average pendejo, or convincing everyone around you that you aren't actually an average pendejo and can pull off miracles."

Raul laughed. "And which one are you, boss?"

"Eh, I'm still figuring it out."

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: Cass was never one for fixating on her own past, but she couldn't help but sympathize with the courier whenever they deigned to add onto their unbelievable story. It was hard enough for her to navigate her own damn life: She couldn't imagine being called upon to steer an entire area's destiny.

After another night of recalling their life inside a vault with their dad, then their unexpected loss of him right after being reunited on the surface, the courier stopped suddenly. "I'm sorry," they said.

Cass paused her swig of precious whiskey. "What?"

"I keep going on and on about my dad, and here you are not knowing what happened to yours."

"Eh." Cass took her drink and waved her hand around until the burning swallow made its way down. "S'loads of people in the wasteland without a clue what happened to their pops. I'm not special. In fact, I'd say it probably hurts a bit more, what happened with yours."

"Well, all the same." The courier sank deeper into their seat and examined their own bottle of spirits. "I feel like an open book, tonight. Anything you want to know about where I came from that I haven't already spilled?"

Cass thought for a moment. "Tribals."

"What about them?"

"Does the East Coast have them? You're not the first traveler I've met from there, but none of you have so much as mentioned any tribals out east."

"Mmm." The courier looked thoughtful. "I guess we do have them, though maybe not in the traditional sense. There's a mess of them in Point Lookout for sure, and at least one tribal group in the Capital Wasteland outright, but beyond that things are more... loose. Fewer intact families, fewer intact homes."

"Huh." Cass took another drink. "Maybe that's where my dad went."

She let the courier stew in the awkward silence for a bit before she grinned and reached out to smack them. "Just kidding. Keep going. I want to hear about that giant robot again."

Veronica Santangelo: Veronica usually sat and listened, spellbound, picturing a chapter of her order that had realized the very thing she kept trying to tell the Elders and made the ultimate sacrifice to follow their hearts anyway.

Well, maybe Elder Owyn Lyons hadn't come to the same realization as her, but he had had a change of heart that split his company and cut them off from almost everyone they had ever known. It had been five years since the High Elders had instituted radio silence toward their East Coast chapter, and so far there had been no attempts to re-establish contact.

Veronica prodded the courier for any info she could get about the Capital Wasteland Brotherhood of Steel. The courier let slip pretty early in their friendship that Elder Owyn Lyons had passed away, which wasn't unexpected. The man was 76 years old, after all. She learned on one particularly emotional night that his daughter, Elder Sarah Lyons, was also dead, something she wasn't sure even the Western Elders were aware of. That memory was clearly painful for the courier though, so Veronica didn't press for details.

"And the Enclave?" the Scribe asked one night, arms wrapped around her knees. "Are they completely gone?"

The courier grew cold. "Yes. I made sure of it."

"Right." Veronica nodded. "So the Brotherhood took over the air force base they were at. It must have been chock-full of tech and resources, if it was the Enclave's last stand."

"It was." The courier sighed and shifted in their seat. "And it woke up some of our brothers and sisters to their original mission in the Capital Wasteland. I thought maybe that selfishness had died with Liberty Prime, but... well, I didn't like it, so I left."

"Mmm, yeah." Veronica nodded again, sympathetically this time. "I know how you feel. Felt."

"Feel," the courier agreed. "I just wish there was more I could've done. Maybe there wasn't anything else, short of seizing power."

"You'd definitely get pushback for that in the Brotherhood," Veronica agreed. "But you might get that chance out here in the broader Mojave."

ED-E: At first, ED-E enjoyed the stories, trumpeting and cooing various beeps at the appropriate moments for emphasis. The one time the courier began badmouthing the Enclave, however, the eyebot waited until they had finished before playing back the first tape that Dr. Whitley had recorded before its trip.

The courier listened to the scientist's words from years ago, deflating slightly as it played out. When the tape had finished, they stood up and checked the eyebot over. "He sent you toward Navarro, huh?"

ED-E beeped affirmation, and the courier sighed. "But Navarro was already gone. I'm sorry. I guess I'm... well, me and the Brotherhood of Steel back east are responsible for your previous master's decision to send you away. Might be responsible for more, too."

ED-E beeped sadly. The courier pressed their forehead against the eyebot's metal dome in apology.

Rex: Well, surprising for most. Rex was not most. As soon as the courier got really into their recollections, Rex usually yawned and went to sleep. He stirred when he felt their hand reach down to scratch the ruff of his neck, or pat the glass dome that held his brain.

"Good dog," the courier said, through the veil of sleep. "You remind me of another pup that used to follow me around."

[sleepysailorghost]

Benny's Big Score

It turns out that New Reno was not a great place.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, a solution to his problems. But it wasn't.

New Reno was dirty, but not in the same glimmery-glittery way that New Vegas was. It wasn't like when he had come to Vegas for the first time, the Bootstraps with him. He was alone. There were no chairmen to protect him, no brothers willing to die with him.

Sitting in the dingy bar, he curses the courier under his breath.

"Oh, don't get me started on Couriers." a melodic voice chimed in. A smooth-voiced ghoul in a fancy pre-war tuxedo sat down on the barstool next to Benny. "You wouldn't know the half of it."

"A courier done you wrong too?"

"I gave as good as I got." the ghoul replied, and in him, Benny recognized that they were both well-dressed men who had been chased out by couriers.

"And yet we're still sitting here in this bar, ring-a-ding." Benny took a sip of his drink. Disgusting as it was (and expensive!), Benny's pride as a Bootstrap and leader of the Chairmen kept him from spitting it out. "Say, who are you anyhow?"

The ghoul rolled his eyes under the sunglasses he wore.

"200 years ago everyone knew my name. Dean Domino's the name, don't wear it out."

Benny's eyes widened.

"That for real? Where ya been hiding out all this time?" Benny questioned, leaning on the bar counter. "Could have used you back in New Vegas."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Dean answered smoothly. Benny prodded at him again in his "Ring-a-Ding-Ding" fashion, and Dean sighed before answering. "The Sierra Madre."

"Woah, let's keep it in the grove. You," He paused for emphasis. "Are the ghoulified version of prewar icon Dean Domino and you've been hiding out in the casino in the land of the dead?"

"Yes, I suppose if you put it like that."

"I'm the Ben-man, the kingpin of the whole Strip." Benny said, bitterly drinking from his glass. "Or I was."

"Taken down by a courier?" Dean snarked.

"Ain't that a kick in the head. You think you put one in the ground but then they follow you home and try and climb in your bed. Ruin your damn plans. But I'll be back."

"The courier-I never caught their name-banned me from Vegas. They threated to kill me if they ever saw me again. As if they'd get the chance."

"You and me, we're men cut from the same cloth." Benny said, and Dean looked over him.

"Are we really?"

"Yeah, we're both men screwed over by couriers when we could've been kings!" Benny rubbed his hand over his jaw, and then continued. "Y'know...we oughta get together sometime. We could get revenge on the Mojave Express and I have a lot of draw in New Vegas. I could even get you a job preforming in the Tops. Hell, even the Lucky 38."

"Why not?" Dean agreed. Thinking a moment, he asked. "That courier you knew, did they have a large scar on their head?"

"They did actually...a gift from me. Tie, I think that's their name. Well, it's what their boy-toy sniper-type called them when they weren't trying to jump into bed with me."

"Two birds with one stone." Dean said. "Shall we?"

"Yeah, pal."

It took time to get back to New Vegas. This gave them time to plan and plot and scheme about how to get their revenge on the courier.

More or less, it was easy for them to get into the Strip. After all, this was the land that Benny was Chairman of. He was also very skilled with computers, so it wasn't a challenge for Benny to hack into the securitrons.

Their first stop in Vegas was Mick and Ralph's. Throwing a cap to the crier boy outside the story, Benny asked "Are your old men inside?"

The boy responded and Benny strolled into the building like he owned it. Explaining to Dean, he added, "It helps to bring flowers home."

"Benny." Mick greeted shortly.

"Mick, my guy! How's the family?" Benny sidled up to the store owner. "Say, have you gotten any flowers in lately?"

Mick sighed and retreated to the back room. He returned with a wilted bouquet.

"I've only got these in because of Pacer. You know how he's gonna get, you're throwing of his plans with" Mick complained, but Benny cut him off.

"Tell him to send all his complaints to the Tops!" He exclaimed and snatched the bouquet. It was dry and wilty, formed from common Mojave plants rather than one made from Vault-Tec's greenrooms. It must have come in with Crimson Caravans, Benny thought, but Swank would like it well enough.

He shoved a couple caps into Mick's hand-underpaying people was something that got him into trouble before.

"To the Tops!" He called, and Dean followed him.

"Ugh. How things have changed." Dean groaned. "What have you done with the place?"

"Seal it, Dean-o! I've got a man to see. Our plan won't work without Swank."

The man in the check-in window looked up when Benny said his name.

"Shit, Benny. I haven't seen you in ages."

"Missed you too, Swank. You didn't even kiss me goodbye."

"You're not supposed to be here. I know you tried to kill that courier."

"C'mon, Swank. You've gotta let me explain." He gestured with the bouquet. "I brought you flowers."

Swank looked like he was conflicted, but then he sighed.

"Fine. Explain then, boss."

"Alright, so the courier. I did try and kill that courier, but I had good reason for it. You've got to believe me. I needed the platinum chip."

"You can't just keep saying I have to let you explain and I have to believe you. It doesn't work that way. But I'll bite. What's a platinum chip and why did you need it?"

"It's what we need. If we have it, we can upgrade the securitrons and then we won't need the NCR or the Legion or House to protect New Vegas." He smiled bitterly. "It would have been freedom for all of us."

Swank looked at Benny silently.

"I know why I failed now. I needed you and the Chairmen. I needed you."

That seemed to certify it for Swank. He inhaled deeply and then exhaled.

"Alright Benny. But this is the last time. You mess this up and it'll be the end-not just for you and me, but for all of us." He made cautious and firm eye contact with Benny. "What's the plan?"

"You're the man, Swank!" Benny shouted excitedly and leaned over the weapon-check counter to wrap a hand around Swank's shoulder and pull him down for a kiss. Releasing him, he continued. "Oh, it's a doozy of a plan."

Swank looked around and then signalled to another Chairman.

"You take over here." He said, and stepped out from behind the weapon check counter.

The plan was a doozy, Swank thought as he walked from the Tops to the Lucky 38. He hoped the Courier was staying there tonight. If not, he'd have to regroup with Benny and Dean to send them to the Atomic Wrangler instead.

Night had fallen quickly over New Vegas in the hours after Benny had made up with Swank, but his thoughts were quickly interrupted when Swank bumped into someone.

"Watch it," He barked. Looking at the young woman, he realized she was a courier-she had a courier's duster loosely over a purple shirt-but not the one they were going to kill.

"Eh? Did you need something?" She said, "I'm going to Show Low."

It was a dangerous route for a courier because it went right into Legion teritory, but Swank didn't care. It seemed like a good idea at the time, a solution to his problems. But it wasn't.

"Sorry. Good luck!" He said and continued on route to the Lucky 38.

"You too?" Swank heard, but there was a lot of noise. The Strip was loud.

Arriving at the Lucky 38, he let himself in. The collar weighed heavily in his pocket, but he knew that was just in his head. It couldn't weigh more than a pound or two.

"Hello?" he called. "I need to speak to the Courier? It's really important..."

There wasn't any response for a moment. Then the elevator chimed and two people exited.

One was the Courier, and the other was a bitter-faced sniper with an NCR beret.

"Oh...Mr. Tops?" The courier said. "Did you need something? We were just on our way out..."

"Yes, and it's very important. And it can't wait." Swank replied

The little computer on the Courier's arm beeped.

"Alright, what's going on?"

"Sit down, this is very important news." The courier sat down. The sniper stood to the side.

His hands were starting to sweat and he wiped them on his suitpants. Ugh, he could almost hear Benny scolding him for dirtying it.

"I've discovered..." He spoke softly...and the courier leaned into hear better. Just as they planned. "Sorry."

With that, he swiftly reached into his coat pocket and snapped the collar around the courier's neck. It latched closed and armed before they could even move.

They startled back, but it was of no use.

"Recognize it, courier?" a charismatic and smooth voice called as Dean Domino and Benny Gecko strolled into the lobby of the Lucky 38.

The Courier's face was fearful, but the sniper's eyes were full of rage. Their hands clawed at their throat, but it was futile against the explosive collar.

"I wouldn't do that, Pussycat." Benny's voice chimed in. "It's rigged to blow. But I'm sure you knew that. According to my new friend here, you've had some experience with them."

"Dean." They said quietly. " You were warned. I told you what I'd do if I ever saw you again. I'll kill you even if I have to take you down with me."

"Geez, Domino, what'd you do to make 'em hate you so bad?" Benny ran a hand through his hair. "I shot them in the head-twice, even-and left them for dead. And they still tried to sleep with me! Oh, and I wouldn't go making any moves there, friend, unless you'd like your little courier blown to bits. Or do, it would make it easier on me."

"I believe it was that I had their little friend's vocal cords ripped out. Or maybe it was the whole threatening to blow them up." Dean answered. "I never narrowed it down."

"Wow, Benny!" the Pip-Boy beeped. "I never thought I'd see you again! You keep some interesting friends!"

"Yes-Man?" Benny questioned, and then waved it aside. "Eh, never mind. When I've got the platinum chip, I can fix whatever they did to you."

"Yes-Man," Antietam said, dropping their hands from their neck "Could you keep it down? I'm about to get blown up."

"No, you're not." Boone reassured them quietly. "Gotta be some way to take these guys out..."

Internally, Antietam was weighing whether it was worth it to charge Dean and take him down with them. But there was a likelihood of Boone being injured in the blast, so it wasn't going to work out.

"Now, now Courier..." Dean said. "Where did you take the treasure when you ran off? You ruined over two hundred years worth of revenge."

The courier wanted to lash out, but they reigned their temper in.

"You ruined it...You ruined the whole Sierra Madre, did you know that? It could have been a safe haven, a shelter from the nuclear anihilation. But you couldn't tolerate what you percieved as an insult to your ego! And you ruined Vera's life-she was dying and you blackmailed her!" Their vitreolic rant paused. It wasn't the whole sad story, but the only one who knew that was Antietam. And they were too angry and biased against Dean to really care that their rant was biased. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Woah, let's calm down, Pussycat. You keep yourself under control or one of us might just forget ourselves and hit that button. We wouldn't want that, now would we? Let's get down to business." Christine and Veronica ran downstairs.

"Hey, what's going on? We heard commotion." Veronica said, and then when she saw the situation, she put her hands on her hips. "Are you guys having a party without me?"

Christine, on the other hand, growled.

"Dean." It came out in Vera's voice, and if Dean had skin, it would have gone pale with fear. As it was, it broke his composure.

"So it worked." He said finally.

"Alright, don't make any moves!" Benny shouted. "You try anything and I'll blow your friend to smithereens."

"Who are these guys?" Veronica asked.

"Some guys who tried to kill Tie before, I think." Boone answered

"Dean Domino, Swank Gecko-Pierce, and I'm the pro from Dover." Benny barked. "Now I want answers! Where's the platinum chip?"

None of them answered.

"I guess none of you value the Courier's life, seeing as none of you are providing answers." He pulled Maria from his pocket. "No matter. We'll start with the boy toy."

With that, he leveled Maria at Boone.

"Things are getting a little heated, Benny." Swank said, making eye contact with the checker-suited man.

"Stop." The Courier said. "I'll tell you where I hid the chip. Just let my friends go."

"Benny, this is getting more heated than I thought it would." Swank noted.

"Can it, Swank. We're about to get some answers!" Benny responded.

"It's in the dresser in the motel in Novac. Let my friends go, Benny."

"It's like it doesn't even matter to you!" Benny exclaimed. "It-" Swank cut him off by setting a hand on Benny's outstretched arm.

"Benny, calm down. We don't have time for his right now."

"Yeah, Benny, calm down." Dean chimed in, although it was clearly mocking him, which Benny picked up on immediately.

"You got something to add, Deano?" Benny snarked back.

"You know, Ben-man, I think I'm tired of playing accomplice. I'm so tired of playing second fiddle...I think I'll kill you and your friends and claim New Vegas for my own."

"Yeah, that's not happening." Benny fired back. He pointed Maria at Dean. "It's been real and it's been great, but it's not real great."

He fired.

"Shit, Benny, you missed." Swank said, to which Benny responded "Shut up, I know I missed."

He shot again and again and Dean didn't move, until he slumped to the ground, full of lead.

"Well, that's a bust." Benny said. "Hey, whataya say, Courier? We can burry the hatchet with this guy and work together. I won't kill you or your little friends and you won't kill me and Swank. Fair's fair, right?"

It was a stretch-even now, Christine and Veronica's nimble fingers were removing the explosive collar from the angry courier's throat. But Benny had always been a gambling man.

[mel-the-fangirl]

Wildest Dreams

Henry Cavill x Reader (inspired by the Taylor Swift song and music video)

Part Two: The Grand Illusion

Words: 2,418

Hey Cavillry! Sorry this took so long, I just have so many ideas and it’s not exactly the best idea to start them all at the same time, huh? Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this part, don’t forget to read part one! Also, side note, I finished Night Hunter and I reaaaaally enjoyed it, I think I’ll be writing a Walter fic in the near future??

fic taglist: @andromedasstarship​, @januarystears​, @inlovewithhisblueeyes​, @legendarywizarddetective, @summersong69​

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

"Cut! Beautiful work!" your director, John, rose from his seat and turned to you, "Miss Producer, what do you say? Can we pack up and finally see our families?" 

"You know what, Johnny?" you surveyed the tired faces of the crew and smiled at them, "Let's go home." 

Hats were thrown into the air and cheers erupted throughout your crew. Months of ungodly call times and extremely close encounters with the savanna’s more untamed residents have finally come to an end.

“Before we go,” you stepped on top of a crate to address everyone, “I’d like to say a few words. Thank you to everyone who has been present throughout the past months…”

Henry watched you from afar, leaning on one of the transport vehicles with his arms crossed. It wasn’t a secret that the two of you had formed a relationship during your time there. Nights spent in each other’s rooms, hands in your hair, clothes strewn on the floor, whispered conversations about dreams unrealised.

It was dangerous, how much he felt for you. Just seeing you now, commanding the room with the kind of charisma and charm only you had, a pang settled in his heart. But he couldn’t dwell on it for long.

You squealed giddily and propelled yourself into Henry's strong arms. Never have you seen anyone look so ruggedly handsome in just a t-shirt and safari pants.

Your thumb caressed his stubbled cheek and pressed a tender kiss onto his lips, one that wasn't for the cameras.

They could write pages and pages of love songs based on the way he looked at you and that alone. You flourished underneath his loving gaze, feeling like you were walking on air.

"Go on and get dressed, darling. I've got one last surprise before we go home." he kissed you once more, winked, then returned to his trailer

Your cheeks were sufficiently flushed. Before we go home he said. 

Did he mean it that way? Surely he didn’t. It hadn’t even crossed your mind how things would be like when you returned to America, was it so terrible that you were imagining houses with white picket fences?

Goodness, this was nothing like you. You straightened your blouse and marched over to your own trailer, trying to shake it off.

A few outfit deliberations later, you settled on a lovely pale blue palazzo jumpsuit, a matching headscarf, your signature white oval-framed sunglasses which you made popular, as far as you were concerned, and vibrant red lipstick.

You met Henry in a clearing not too far away from where you were staying. 

"Well, well!" you marveled at the imposing aircraft in the middle of the field and you marveled even more intently at your handsome pilot,

"Just how did you manage this?"

He scooped you up in his arms and you decided that from then on, your favourite scent and view would be Henry in his leather aviator jacket. 

"Darling, I figure I can manage just about anything just as long as it's for you."

“You flatter me, Mr. Cavill.”

Henry stepped away from you, propped a foot up on the little lift and held a hand out for you to take, “Shall we, gorgeous?”

“We shall.” you took his hand and let him help you into your seat

“Ready?” Henry asked from his seat behind you, rubbing your shoulder with a gloved hand

You placed your hand on his and shot a thumbs up in the air, enthusiastic as ever.

“That’s my girl.” he chuckled, guiding the plane down the makeshift runway

Once safely in the air, you reveled in its warmth caressing your cheeks, the deafening roar of the engines downsized to a somewhat pleasant hum. Would it be inappropriate to shut your eyes for a bit? In an open plane a few hundred feet above ground?

“Y/N, down there! How marvelous!”

The sound of Henry’s voice snapped you back to the present and when you opened your eyes, your breath hitched in your throat.

You supposed flying was something you would never get used to. The clear sky was a shade of blue you couldn’t even begin to comprehend, the clouds were white and wispy and you longed to reach out your hand and feel them.

"Down there, Y/N!" Henry urged you again

Once you did as he said, you realised why.

Below you, racing across the vast, sun-drenched grass was a pack of lions. The joy you felt was indescribable, seeing these powerful creatures roaming free, untouched and undisturbed by human intervention.

"Incredible.” you breathed, looking back at Henry 

Once Henry had landed the plane, rather flawlessly, you'd say, a car was already waiting to bring you to the lodge where he had arranged for you to stay.

“I do admire an organised man.” you complimented breathily, batting your eyelashes at him for theatrics

“Alright, alright.”

His tone was dismissive but you were sure you could see the blush spreading on his cheeks. Henry bent down and swept you off your feet, carrying you bridal-style towards your ride.

"This is just glorious!" you took off your headscarf and shook your hair out as you waltzed around your suite

It was a stark contrast to the suites you usually took up residence in. Gone were the stuffy imitation French furniture and tacky wallpaper, in its place was rich, dark wood you were positive you wouldn't find anywhere else and a clean white canopy bed with cozy earthy neutral toned cushions, you thought everything was simply ethereal, but the cherry on top was undoubtedly the view from your balcony.

You stepped on, the gentle sunlight soaking into your bare feet and filling you with a kind of vigour and appetite for life completely different from the one you felt when you were doing your job. You surveyed the scenery ahead, rays of afternoon sunshine peeking through the tall branches of trees that resembled something from another world.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Henry’s deep voice materialised in your ear, his hands resting on your hips

“Absolutely.” you replied, twirling around to place your lips on his

Heat rose to your cheeks and further down south as your tongues met, quick and electric and delicious, then firmer, more determined. You broke away for a fraction of a second, taking it all in.

If there was anything your life has taught you thus far, it was the heavy handed importance of hard work and resilience, nothing else would get you very far. You didn’t believe in luck.

But as you stood there surrounded by all the beauty nature had to offer, Henry cradling your face with nothing short of devotion and admiration in his eyes, it was hard not to change your mind.

“Henry?”

“Yes?”

“I think I may be falling in love with you.”

He looked absolutely stunned and to be honest, you were as well. This was uncharted territory for you. The number of flirtations and affairs you’ve had throughout your time in Tinseltown was much more than the tabloids could even guess but they were just that and nothing more.

But with Henry?

Before you could even anxiously retract what you had just said in fear of rejection, Henry pulled you towards him and pressed his lips firmly to yours. Somehow, everything he had failed to say was imbued in each searing kiss, each squeeze on your hips.

Nothing much was said for the rest of the day and well into the night.

The morning after, you found yourselves on a nature hike. Having heard from locals of a magnificent waterfall nearby. The pair of you trekked your way through the rocky crest of the waterfall, your finish line was a series of boulders, each one stacked by increasing height. You wanted to get to the biggest one, you were positive the view was spectacular from up there. 

“Darling, are you sure you’d want to-”

“Oh, don’t be such a killjoy, Henry!” you yelled, slipping away from his grasp and vaulting over a rock

“Be careful, Y/N, Jesus!” he yelped, nearly losing his balance

Your laughter cascaded down with the rushing water. You ignored how your muscles were beginning to strain with the effort of climbing each boulder as carefully as you could but you got the job done, overlooking the glittering water below and the surrounding wildlife.

“God, this place is beautiful.” you marveled just as Henry finally joined you at the top

“How in God’s name did you get up here so fast?” Henry panted, placing his hands on his knees in an effort to catch his breath

“Well, maybe all of those muscles are purely for decoration.” you commented, unashamedly appreciating his physique as he glistened with sweat

He arched his brow at you, seemingly perfecting your trademark move. “Oh, is that so?”

You squealed as he hoisted you into his arms, then in a display of strength, lifted you over his shoulder.

“Purely for decoration, eh?” he laughed, descending from the boulder with you still draped over his shoulder

"Put me down this instant!" you chortled, all arms and legs as he waded deeper into the warm water

"Sorry, what was that? I can't hear you." 

"I said, put me down!" you firmly clamped your teeth down on a portion of his back

"Ow! Okay, okay. Hold on."

Henry set you down in the water gently, keeping his hand on your hips, looking at you mirthfully.

"Madame Y/L/N," he tutted, shaking his head, "Did you just bite me? Not very ladylike one would say." 

"Oh, boo hoo." you stuck your tongue out at him

“Getting cheeky are we?” Henry lunged at you, causing water to splash everywhere

You dodged just in time, appearing behind him and lifting yourself onto his back. He secured your legs and began to run as fast as the water would let him.

“Ride, my noble steed! Ride!” you yelled into the wind

There was nothing on the face of this earth that could ever make you feel as you did in that moment ever again, you were sure of it. At that moment, you were the happiest you have ever been in your entire life. That feeling would never be replicated.

You swam and horsed around for as long as your muscles would let you, when they finally ached too much, you found yourselves on the tallest boulder again. The sun had just begun to dip into the horizon, setting the sky ablaze in a million different colours.

No words could even begin to do justice to the miracle before you. Henry held you tighter in his arms and pressed an earnest kiss to your temple, you felt his shoulders fall as he let out a heavy sigh.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” you asked, turning around to face him

The perfect happiness you felt just seconds before evaporated as you set eyes on his crestfallen expression. You lifted his chin up with a finger and offered him an encouraging smile, “What’s the matter, my love?”

He had no answer for you at first, turning away to gaze pensively at the sunset. All you could do was admire the way the shadows highlighted his strong jawline, you traced over it with your finger.

“Y/N,” Henry began, “Our time here together, it’s been the greatest of my life,”

Oh, thank God. You thought it was going to be something horrible!

“I feel the exact same way, Henry. It’s been heaven.” you reached forward and hugged him with all you had

You expected him to hug you back as he always does, but this time, he detached your arms from him, That’s when you had the sinking feeling that your relief may have been a bit premature.

“Please. I must tell you something. And as I say this, I beg of you to remember how happy we were here, how much we understand each other and enjoy one another’s company.”

Despite the fact that this was the most serious you have ever seen him, you still didn’t catch on to the fact that something was about to go very wrong.

"Now, come on, darling!” you chirped, “It can't be that bad! We can manage anything as long as we're together, can't we?" you stared into his eyes for any hint of reciprocation

When you found none, your heart began to pound against your chest. The silence that followed was unbearable, it was like waiting for your turn at the gallows but when he finally said what he wanted to say, you might have actually preferred the silence.

"I'm engaged to be married. And she is pregnant. With my child."

His words felt like a bucket of ice poured over your bare skin. You shot up and stared at him in utter disbelief. 

“If this is your idea of a joke…” your feeble attempt at denial was met with a shake of his head

He had the audacity to look ashamed. Ashamed! The nerve.

This certainly was not your first brush with a situation like this. It was foolish of you to have thought of this dalliance as different from all the other ones. Men were all the same. It didn’t matter how longingly they looked at you or how many godforsaken times they brushed your hair tenderly from your face, they all wanted the same thing.

Jesus, was it always so damn cold here?

You wrapped your arms tightly around yourself, feeling much too exposed in your bathing suit. Henry stood up and made a move to put his arms around you.

“I’m alright, thank you.” you said curtly, stepping away from him

His arms fell to his sides in an instant and he looked to you pleadingly, “Y/N, please. I never meant to hurt you, it is the last thing I wanted. It isn’t what you think.”

“I think!” you interjected, your voice becoming shrill as the usual string of overused lines flowed from his heavenly mouth. “I think you are quite the actor, Mr. Cavill and it has been a pleasure to see your methods up close.”

With that, you climbed down the rocks as fast as you could without hurting yourself and took off in the direction of your lodge. You ignored Henry calling out your name, you ignored the rough tree branches leaving scratches on your arms, and most of all, you ignored how the illusion of you and Henry shattered into a million pieces.

[chupacabrasmustdie]

As luck would have it

Apparently fall is rekindling (ha) my love for FO4, so I might just get around posting the stuff I've written for That Sosu Who Doesn't Quite Belong, you know?

Shortfic, gen, a couple of F-bombs here and there - on the road to Fort Hagen, the sole survivor reminisces. Scroll down or read it on AO3!

Thanks to the ever great @venatohru ​​ for going over this <3 remaining mistakes all mine.

---

“He’s fucking with us,” Graham panted, hands on his knees. They had to take a break, else his lungs would burst any moment now. Wouldn’t do to have a heart attack before they found Kellogg, he thought, dropping gracelessly onto a crate next to the campfire.

Valentine was right behind him, seemingly unfazed by their lengthy run. “You think so too? I mean, I’m grateful for the handy clues,” he said, indicating the cigar butts on the ground, “but this is beginning to look a lot like Hop-o'-my-Thumb.”

Graham scratched the back of Dogmeat’s head and the mutt let out a happy bark. “We are about to meet the ogre, I guess.”

“Someone knows their classics,” Valentine chuckled, lighting up a cigarette. “Childhood fave? Or evening readings with your boy?”

Time to cross that bridge, then. Graham shifted on his makeshift seat. "Yeah, um. About that…”

Valentine turned to face him, yellow eyes glowing softly through the plumes of smoke from his cigarette. “I’m listening.”

“He’s not my boy, not exactly. I mean, I didn’t lie about the kidnapping. He needs to be rescued, and I need your help doing so.”

“Go on.”

“But he’s not - my son. I shouldn’t be here,” Graham mumbled, dragging his hands over his face. “I shouldn’t be here.”

A pause. “Well, you certainly are a long way from home. Ever heard of survivor’s guilt?”

“Yes, but this isn’t it,” Graham snapped. “I took someone’s place in the vault, okay? I didn’t mean to - everything happened so fast. We were home with Nora - the kid’s mother - when they made the TV announcement. Nuclear detonations, they said. Then the alarms went off…” He remembered holding the door open so Nora could get out, carrying a screaming baby Shaun. Distressed neighbours gathering in the street. The race up the hill and through the gates of the Vault-Tec facility, and the people left behind, screaming to be let inside.

A small clump of ash fell from the tip of Valentine’s cigarette. “Where was the father?”

“In Concord. Getting a haircut, so he’d look his best for the veteran thing. A haircut, for fuck’s sake!” Graham waited for the lump in his throat to go away. “I didn’t want to take his place. I was hoping he could make it in time, meet us at the vault…” He supposed both he and Nora had known, deep down, that there would be no such thing as going back for survivors; a member of the Vault-Tec staff had handed him Shaun while they gave Nora a sedative. The baby might have grown used to him during the time he’d stayed in Sanctuary, but he hadn't stopped crying until he was in Nora’s arms again. Through the small glass windows of their cryo pods, he’d watched her try to lull the kid to sleep, her chest still heaving with sobs.

“We’ll get him back,” Valentine said, his voice surprisingly gentle. “Thanks for sharing this with me. I know it must've cost you."

“I’m sorry. For not being honest about this. I just… I don’t know. I felt shitty, I guess.” With good reason. “I didn’t mean to disrespect you… or your secretary."

The detective’s scoff made Graham wonder just how much of his cover story they'd actually bought. “Don’t worry about it. If Ellie had thought this was essential to the case, she would’ve pushed on.”

Not a whole lot, then. “Sounds like you have total faith in her.”

Valentine’s penciled brows shot up. “Ellie? Of course. I might be doing the field work, but she’s the one running the shop. What, you think synths can’t appreciate humans?”

“I - sorry. This is still new to me,” Graham sputtered. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”

“Eh, it’s alright. Not a whole lot of people care about my feelings, so for what it’s worth, you’re good in my book.” Valentine drummed his fingers on his thighs. “Ready to take on the ogre?”

Graham’s stomach churned. Shooting mole rats from a distance was one thing; confronting a fully-armed mercenary with a reputation for ruthlessness was another. Stronger than fear, though, was the knowledge that whatever life he'd been gifted, he owed to Nate and Nora- and if he didn’t step up for their child, who would?

“Bring it on.”

[citydreamgrls]

they were roommates - part four

a weasley twins x fem!reader fic

summary: she had nowhere to go, fleeing home to pursue something along the lines of freedom, so being welcomed into the entrepreneurial twins life was a whole world of new experiences waiting to happen.

an: thank you for all the lovely messages i’ve been getting lately, everyone has been overwhelmingly sweet it’s great, love u always <333

words: 4,456

“Are you sure you’ll be okay here?” George asked the girl, who was taking a well-deserved rest on the sofa with a magazine propped up on her knees.

“Yes, you don’t need to worry. I’ll let you know if anything happens.” She chuckled, seeing how nervous they were about leaving her, even if it was just for one evening.

“Do you really want to be left all alone?” Fred seemed concerned, “With the ghosts?” He teased.

“Stop it freddie,” She groaned, knowing better than to believe him, but fully aware that every noise would spook her now. “Now, go. Both of you,” She swotted the man’s shoulder as George joined him in the living room. “And say hi to Ginny for me, tell her I miss her.”

“God, anyone would think you like her more than us!” They huffed, taking their place in the fireplace with handfuls of floo powder.

“Well-” She started, seeing the men’s faces drop in unison. “I’m kidding, I could never.” The girl grinned, waving goodbye as they announced their family home and left for the night.

Suddenly the loft felt very empty, and spooky. Maybe Fred was telling the truth about the ghosts?

-

The twins landed in their mother’s fireplace, dusting off their smart jackets with a sniffle. It always was a hassle to use the floo line home, that damn chimney was blocked up with all sorts that clogged their noses.

“Darlings!” Mrs Weasley called out, dragging them into a room and yet another hurried hug as she had no time to spare with dinner ready in only a few minutes.

“Sorry we’re a bit late.” Fred apologised, smacking Ron on the back of the head lightly as he walked past.

“Wanker,” His little brother mumbled, ignoring them.

“That’s okay, as long as you’re here.” Molly replied, using her wand to direct a multiple of bowls onto the table before them.

Ginny sat in between Harry and Hermione, who had made it a habit of theirs to join in on family dinners at the Weasley’s. Not that anyone ever complained, the more the merrier eh?

“Y/n says she misses you,” George whispered to his sister, not wanting the bombardment of questions about their houseguest until a little bit later.

“Tell her I’ll have a day off soon, hermione and I will swing by and we can go shopping or something.”

“You’ve told Hermione about her?” Fred chimed in, obviously a bit worried.

“Well of course I have, she can’t wait to meet her.” She gushed, excited to share her new friend with her oldest friend.

“Oh great well that means Ron will-”

“So... who’s y/n?” Their youngest brother asked from beside the twins, wide eyed with innocent curiosity, catching everyone in the room’s attention.

Mrs Weasley whipped her head  around.

“A girl? Have one of you got a girlfriend, why didn’t you tell me?” She started up on her assumptions, knowing that her sons were awful at telling her about their lives.

“Thanks a lot, idiot.” The twins groaned at Ron, who seemed just as confused as ever.

“Well, which one of you?” Molly continued, taking her seat at the other end of the table to Mr Weasley, who beamed silently. Wanting to hear the gossip as much as his wife did.

“Y/n isn’t a girlfriend mum, she’s staying with us for a while.” George took charge, keeping a straight face as he explained the facts to the rest of the family.

“What do you mean staying with you, where did you find her.”

“She’s not a stray dog mum!” Ginny laughed, taking a spoonful of roast potatoes and lumping them onto her plate.

“She used to work with Neville and his wife Hannah, you remember her right?” Fred joined in.

“Oh yes, lovely lady, beautiful hair!”

“Well, they couldn’t afford to keep her on. And she was living there until she could find somewhere more permanent to live,”

“What about her parents, surely they wouldn’t leave her homeless?” Molly asked, pouring herself a much-deserved glass of wine before passing the bottle around.

“Well, a-about that.” George started, but he seemed unsure on how to explain it to his family without giving out the girl’s private information.

“All we know is that she ran away from home because she needed to.”

“And you trust that!” Ron scoffed, earning a kick from Ginny and a glare from Hermione.

“She’s lovely, and yes she can be trusted- how else would she have gotten a job with neville if not?” Their sister came to her defense, shutting the youngest brother up with one breath.

“Thanks Gin,” George whispered.

“Well, I think that’s a lovely thing you’ve done boys.” Molly chirped up, “I’m proud of you both for being so charitable.”

“Yes, very good.” Mr Weasley mumbled, urged on by his wife’s awaiting gaze. “Just be careful, she is a stranger after all.”

“I think it’s y/n who should be careful around these two.” Ron chuckled, earning a harsh kick from his fiance under the table.

-

The family chatted all the way through dinner, telling stories of their work and their friends until all the food was gone and Harry helped Molly to clear up while the rest settled in the living room, next to a roaring fire.

“Your mother has been begging him to visit for weeks now, but he’s been tied up at the bank with yet another break in.” Arthur explained to his kids, telling them about Bill’s recent absence.

“Have they not updated their wards? Gringotts is the hardest to get into, it doesn’t make sense?” Hermione frowned, shaking her head.

“Luckily nothing was stolen, I think whoever did it got scared off before they made it to the vaults.”

“That’s odd, if anything vaults are easier to break into.” Ron was just as confused as his counterpart.

“Well yes, you lot would know wouldn’t you.” fred teased, squeezing Harry’s shoulder who sat by the fire in front of him.

“We could do a better job.” The boy with glasses chuckled.

“Just be careful, if these thieves are in the alley then there’s a chance they could target the shops next.” Mr Weasley warned them, knowing their business was known to be the one doing the best in diagon alley.

The twins nodded in response, sharing a small worry for the girl they had left behind in the loft. Fred thought about bringing it up to his brother, but decided against it the second everyone’s conversation topic changed.

“We won’t stay too long then.” George whispered to him, assuring him that he too was concerned about leaving y/n alone with the risk of someone breaking in. But even as the family laughed over stories, old and new, Fred couldn’t help but grow restless.

The longer they were there, comfortable and happy, the longer the girl was alone and vulnerable. He knew if he mentioned it again that George would grow suspicious of his feelings for the girl, whom he blatantly presumed could defend herself by the way he accepted yet another drink from his father.

If he hadn’t been such a wimp about it, he could have just put George in his place and been open about the way he liked the girl. But now he had to keep quiet, for his own sanity.

-

Another hour or so later the twins finally said their goodbyes, promising their mother that y/n would come along with them next week so everyone could meet her, and left the burrow to return to the loft where y/n had already fallen asleep on the sofa.

George chuckled, creeping over to her while Fred was distracted by the sight of her face yet again and picked her up into his arms.

“I’ll take her downstairs, Freddie, can you turn all the lights off up here?” He asked, letting the girl fall into his chest.

Fred hated how perfect they looked together, how George hadn’t even hesitated to hold her himself, how she slotted into his arms so simply. He hated that all of this bothered him, that he was pitting himself against his double, who hadn’t even shown any signs of wanting her.

Still he watched them leave, disappear down the steps and into the darkness. He considered waiting, with the hope that he could listen in on any conversation but realised that might be a bit much and sloped away to his bedroom, mumbling a quick “nox” as he went.

-

The more days that passed, the easier y/n fitted into the twins’ day to day life. She was a saint in the shop, and loyal customers got to know her and like just as quickly as the two men had done so.

Her little room was a godsend on her back, but in the evenings she stayed up in the loft with them, very rarely wanting time alone unless she was particularly exhausted. Which only made things harder for Fred, who seemed to grow more and more jealous around the girl.

He hadn’t realised how bad it had gotten, however, until Bill graced them all with his presence one afternoon while they were shutting up the shop. He had, of course, heard news of their guest from Ron and decided to find out all he could for himself while he wasn’t busy.

“She’s not here right now, we just sent her to the shop for dinner,” Fred told him, cashing up the till with a concentrated look. His older brother leant on the counter, still dressed in his fancy bank suit, having come straight from work.

“Not sure what she’s cooking, no doubt it’ll be good though,” George chuckled, stacking more things onto the shelves nearby.

“Apparently Ginny likes her, is that true?” He asked them, to which they both nodded. “Wow, she must be great then- never met anyone else with better character jugement, well except myself of course.”

Fred rolled his eyes at Bill, always one to be humble.

“She’s pretty great.” He assured, ignoring George’s weird look.

“Shame I missed her, guess I’ll have to find out for myself at dinner on friday.”

“You’re coming to the burrow?” George laughed, amazed that he finally had time.

“Yeah well, we haven’t had much progress with these break ins so there’s no point trying to force it. The aurors have taken over as it is, we’ve done all we can.”

“Which reminds me, I need to update our wards Georgie.”

“Again, I only did it a couple days ago!”

“No point taking chances, what dad said was right- they could easily target other businesses next.” Fred huffed, his brother accepting defeat.

Their attention was caught by the sound of the front door tinkling open, a jingle of keys telling them that y/n was finally back.

“Here she is!” Bill announced, greeting her with a charming smile and confident tone. The girl seemed surprised, her smile awkward and a little confused.

“This is our big brother, Bill.” Fred explained, offering to take the heavy bags from her. She smiled, making sure to lock eyes with him as he stepped back again.

“Hello Bill, it’s lovely to meet you.” Now she was more relaxed, her shoulders dropping as he spoke to her and asked her plenty of questions about herself, all the while leaning suavely against the counter.

Fred wanted to go over and drag her away, tell her that bill was way too old for her. But all he could do was stand and watch as she giggled away at every other comment he made, her eyes scanning him all the time that he was there.

“I better take this all upstairs-” She reached for the bags that were in his hand, but he stepped up onto the stairs.

“N-no it’s alright, I’ll go.” At least he wouldn’t have to hide his anger around them much longer.

Only a couple minutes later she joined him in the loft, her cheeks rosy and her eyes sparkly as she smiled at him in the kitchen.

“You okay?” Fred asked her.

“Yeah, George is saying goodbye to your brother. I said I’d come help.” She grinned, setting up a chopping board right beside him.

“You didn’t have to.” He nudged her shoulder playfully, making her giggle, the same way Bill had done.

“I wanted to, silly, plus I feel like I barely saw you all day- it was weird.”

Maybe liking her wasn’t off the cards after all, she wanted to be with him, she felt weird when she didn’t see him. Hell, she even left big-shot Bill downstairs just to be in the same room as him. George could have been wrong, she could want him back after all.

“Do you mind if I take a quick shower?” She asked the taller man beside her, looking up with those hopeful eyes.

“Yeah sure,” “I’ll be back in ten to help, okay?” “Don’t fall!” He called out as she rushed off, hearing a faint giggle as the bathroom door shut. Fred smiled to himself, liking how much more comfortable they were getting around one another.

“Need help?” George asked, poking his head round the kitchen door.

“Can do, y/n’s just showering.” He directed his twin to the vegetables that needed peeling.

“By the way, Bill was asking about her-” His stomach tensed. “He wants to ask her out, I told him it’s fine… you know since you said you were just drunk when you told me those things.”

Fred’s heart stopped. Of course, just as things showed the smallest sign of getting better his hope was crushed by the weight of one sentence. He nodded, trying to pay as little attention to what nonsense George spewed out as they cooked, but he couldn’t help hearing how Bill had been taken in by the girl’s beauty.

The man wanted to yell out, he wanted to snap and explain that he’d liked her first. It all seemed so childish, he’d been jealous of one brother and now another one had swooped right in and charmed her. There was no way she would deny him, either, he’d seen her blush.

All through dinner, George asked the girl what she thought of their older brother, most likely at Bill’s request. But it made Fred feel sick, to see her so excited to talk about him, all that he could do was stay silent and eat his food. Not that either of the others noticed, too enthralled in their riveting conversation.

George was as bad as his mother for gossiping, together with y/n’s childlike excitement, he decided he couldn’t take much more and quietly dismissed himself so he could run off to his room and let out the breath he’d been holding onto all evening.

This was going to be harder to get over.

-

That Friday night, the three of them apparated to the burrow, wanting to show the girl a different way to travel as she had never been taught how to do it when she lived at home. The moon was bright out that night, and shone done over the field as they landed, both men having to keep her stable as she giggled.

“That was fun!” She squealed, jumping up and down and looking around, amazed that she had never experienced such a exhilarating thing before.

“I gotta be honest, I was expecting you to vomit.”

“We both were,”

“It’s practically tradition at this point.”

“Maybe on the way back, after dinner.” The girl teased, stomping her boots over the long grass that led towards the house.

She had found her nicest pair of big blue jeans and used some of the little money she had on her to buy a new top when Ginny had taken her out with Hermione. It was white, with thin lace sleeves and a corset waist, which had reminded her of the dresses her mother used to wear whenever her father took her out for a special occasion. Before they grew apart, of course.

Fred had gulped when he’d seen her wearing it, presuming that she’d been swayed by Hermione’s elegant style over Ginny’s punk-princess dresses. And while he loved seeing her wearing clothes that made her look like an angel, as she did that evening, everything the girl wore seemed to make him want her more and more.

“Y/n!” His little sister cried out from the front door, having spotted them from the front window, making the girl run even faster to greet her. They flew into each other’s arms like best friends, they most likely were that close by now, given both of the girl’s addictive personalities.

All of them were quickly ushered inside, where Ron and Harry awkwardly stared at her while she talked with their fiances. George nudged their shoulders.

“You guys look like creeps, have you really forgotten how to talk to girls other than those two.” He scoffed.

“Oh, we’re just worried.” Harry explained, looking as white as a sheet.

“About y/n?” Fred sneered, “She’s a softie, come on.”

“Ginny and ‘Mione are great, but when they’re together they can be-” “They’re brutal.” Ron finished his friend's statement bluntly. “And your little project will turn into one of them if you’re not careful.”

“She’s not a project Ron-” “Yeah, shut up Ron.”

Mrs Weasley wiped her hands of cooking and rushed over to the new face in her house, immediately dragging the girl into a hug.

“It is so lovely to meet you y/n!” She exclaimed, her children’s kindness so evidently learnt from her. “Ginny has told me so much about you,” The girl blushed before her, unknowing of a parent so welcoming.

Her mother used to be like this, if she remembered far enough, she would invite all their friends over and treat other’s children as their own. Always with a bright, beaming smile, one that had been lost as the years went one, but one that she no doubt inherited herself.

“Why don’t you go sit with the boys, dinner won’t be long.” She smiled, keeping Ginny and Ron behind to help her finish up. She followed the twins, who seemed too tall for their own home as they ducked beneath archways and low hanging lights.

A fire was lit in the next room, surrounded by sofas and armchairs that looked even comfier than her own bed. Mr Weasley sat, facing the doorway, having a conversation with someone who had their back to the trio as they entered.

“Hi dad, evening Bill.” George smiled, slumping down on a sofa comfortably.

Bill turned round, expectantly, his smirk rising when he saw the girl stood before him, looking much more made up that she was the other day after a long shift.

“There she is,” He said, smoothly, relishing in the way she blushed nervously in his presence.

She politely greeted Mr Weasley, before sitting down in between the twins who were her pillars of safety as they talked over her head. Even as Bill conversed with his father about matters that she struggled to catch up on, his gaze burned upon her body like a flame.

Fred noticed it, the way his brother watched over her like a hawk and the way she lapped it up. It was sickening to see her fall under his spell so easily, he didn’t even need to try. Bill always got what he wanted, everyone knew that.

When Mrs Weasley called them all in for dinner, Fred certainly didn’t miss the way his older brother whispered into her ear and all but dragged her over to the table so he could ensure they would be next to one another. He just let it happen, who was he to stop them, a hopeless romantic… that’s all.

“So y/n, where did you go to school?” Arthur asked, thinking nothing of the question. But her face fell a little, not that anyone but Fred saw it happen from across the table.

“Uh- I was actually homeschooled, but there’s still a lot I don’t know.”

“Well I hope the boys have been teaching you lots, it’s good to know as much as you can.” Mrs Weasley beamed, rubbing the twin’s heads as she passed by with glasses for everyone.

“They’ve been extremely helpful, in more ways than I can thank them for.” She smiled sweetly, catching Fred’s eye as everyone started up their own conversations.

That was the last time she looked over at him that night, as Bill started telling her all sorts of things that made her giggle and smirk and blush and fidget. It was obvious to anyone that watched the two of them that Bill had made up his mind about her.

It was the scar tour which finally made Fred roll his eyes, no one seeing but his twin.

“You alright?” George said, with a confused chuckle.

“Oh yeah, fine.”

“Bill’s a right show off isn’t he, wonder where he’s gonna take her on their d-a-t-e.”

“We’re not dogs you know, we can spell.” Ginny hissed from the other side of him, leaning over behind him so she could talk to Fred directly.

“Is it true?” She asked him, hushed.

“Is what?” He whispered back, praying that George hadn’t spoken of his drunken confession.

“Bill’s gonna ask her out?”

“Well- I guess so, he said he would.” He sat up straight again, wanting nothing more to do with that conversation if he could help it. He was already forced to watch the two of them as if he was front row at a particularly excruciating play.

-

The whole night seemed to drag on for hours and hours, as it seemed like Ginny and Bill were fighting over the girl’s attention. Fred finally gave up on trying to bear the whole situation and slipped out the back door when no one was watching, hoping to have a few minutes alone in the night’s cool air.

But not even thirsty seconds of silence later, the door opened behind him, and someone came to join him.

“You alright Fred?” Hermione’s voice sounded over to him, as he sat slumped against the stone wall. He nodded, not minding her company over any of the other’s. She at least knew how to be quiet when it was necessary.

The brunette took a seat beside him on the grass, crossing her legs and taking in a fresh breath of air. He was always happy that Hermione was the one friend of Ginny’s to actually join the family, he’d never been a fan of the other’s as most of the time they would bother him and George.

“You like her, don’t you?” Hermione asked, dragging him from his vacant thoughts.

“What?”

“Y/n. You like her, and you haven’t said anything.”

“Hermione, I don’t-” ‘I’m not going to tell anyone, I hate gossip.” She scoffed, and he knew it was true.

“It’s a tricky one, okay.” The man finally said, after she let him think over his answer for a few moments.

“I bet, and now Bill’s got his sight on her.”

“Yeah well, I’m not him-” He sighed. “Doesn’t mean you can’t like her.”

“It’s too late, she’s gonna say yes to their date and then they’ll be together and I’ll have to watch them be happy and shit, all the while I’m gonna be miserable.” “She might say no,” “Bullshit will she say no, have you seen the way she acts around him?” “Not really.” Hermione admitted.

“Well, it’s obvious she likes him- that’s all.”

They fell into silence again, the stars in the sky not even settling Fred’s growing rage over how stupid he’d been to hide how he truly felt.

“Either way, you should tell her.” Hermione said, standing up and brushing off her legs before giving him a sympathetic smile and heading back inside.

-

The twins headed back outside, getting ready to leave, when y/n called over to them with a giggle. Bill’s hands were wrapped around her waist, begging her to stay as she cutely tried to get away.

“I’ll just be a moment you guys!” George nodding, waving bye to his brother and heading back into the field to give them a bit of privacy. Fred followed, with no other choice. He could still see their figures through the tall grass, holding one another like they were already lovers. When Bill’s head dipped down he just turned away, seeing George watching him with squinted eyes.

“What are you doing freddie?” He asked him.

“Nothing, jus- nothing.” He grumbled, kicking up the ground beneath his feet as they waited patiently.

When the girl finally bounded over, full of giddy excitement, he wanted to be far away from her. He swore he could feel Bill’s presence all over her, just by the way she took his hand to apparate back to the loft.

The whole time that she spoke his head was in a daze, as if he felt there was no use in listening to anyone anymore. No matter how much advice he was given, or however nice he was to her. If she didn’t want him, then there was nothing he could do.

“Goodnight freddie!” She called, when he silently left the other two in the dark shop and climbed up to the loft. He didn’t say anything back, in truth he didn’t take in that she had spoken to him and then by the time he had done so, he didn’t trust his voice to not crack under pressure.

“Is he angry?” The girl turned to George, who was just as confused about his twin’s odd behaviour.

“No, sweet, he’s probably just tired.” He whispered, giving her a reassuring hug. “So, when’s Bill taking you out?”

“Tuesday night.” “Oh. How romantic.” The man scoffed, which earned him a light slap on the arm.

“Stop it you, he said he didn’t want to wait until next weekend- I think it’s sweet.”

“You would missy- you’re in love!” He teased.

“I wouldn’t call it love… yet.” She grinned.

“Go on you, get to bed.” He chuckled, giving her yet another hug and letting her skip off to her room which was covered in fairy lights.

George wasn’t even going to bother talking to Fred that night. Whatever was up with him, he could take a wild guess on and probably hit the jackpot. But that meant he was upset, beyond compare, and most likely needed some time alone. So George gave him that time and just went up to bed himself. Hoping that things would look up in the days to come.

Little did he know that, when it came to love, Fred held grudges.

[votederpycausemufins]

*arrives with a cup of hot cocoa instead of coffee* oh hey, you know you guys have been waiting long enough. Here’s the captain. Just ignore the Mumbo in the background having a crisis

@petrichormeraki

Grian regretted going through the portal almost immediately as a wave of nausea hit him. “Are you okay mister grain?” he gave a weak laugh at Crumb already figuring out that nickname.

“Yeah, just didn’t expect this place to be so charged with Vault God energy. Oof, no wonder I can’t remember anything. Can you try sending a message to Tommy?”

“Ye ye ye!” Crumb replied before tapping away at her own communicator. She stopped, jumping as someone wearing a white mask with a black symbol on it landed in front of them.

“Heyyyy!” Grian pointed finger guns at the Watcher that landed in front of him.

“Xelqua. What are you doing here?”

Grian frowned, recognizing the voice. “Ugh, Lynn… Look, I’m just here for my family and a friend of Tommy’s. I didn’t know it was going to be this bad.” He fumbled as Lynn threw an identical mask to the one she was wearing to him. He put it on and felt relief as it helped stabilize him a bit, though he could feel it activating his Watcher powers further. “If you know where they are, I can be on my way.”

“Fine, try not to take too long.” She gave Grian some directions before leaving.

Grian went to pick up Crumb, but found her looking a little scared. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Well, when me and Tubbox was getting flown away by the big bird, it made a portal dat looks like dat.” She pointed at Grian’s mask.

“Oh, yeah that bird was probably me. It was very much on accident though as you can see that is not happening this time.”

Crumb stared at him, half surprised, half skeptical, but mostly confused. “Are you a shape shifter like me den?”

Grian chuckled. “Nope, just an avian. Okay maybe not just. I was born an avian and then made into a Watcher, and to show off power they get wicked cool forms that sort of reflect who they are. Since a good number of Watchers are human based in origin, they basically turn into what people think of as angels. That’s… actually probably where those came from.” Grian shrugged. “Eh, who knows, it was who knows how long ago. Let’s just go find your friends.”

When Grian walked into the building Tommy was hiding out in, he got stabbed. He knew that it made sense, but he couldn’t help but look down at the sword. “Ugh, not again.”

His voice seemed to help the others figure out who he was. “Grian?”

“Hi Tommy! Sorry if I scared you. It’s just I kinda need to wear this mask or else I’ll feel sick and drunk at the same time or something.”

“Tommy an’ Tubbox!” Crumb jumped at the pair when she saw them, shifting to a hybrid form midair and then hugging them.

“Crumb!” Tubbo hugged her first. “Are you doing okay?”

“Ye ye ye!”

“Everything should be okay here soon guys. I’ve got some friends who are definitely going to take care of Dream for you guys once and for all. At the same time, I talked and we’re really going to make a permanent connection between here and Hermitcraft so you can visit all the time. Admin duties will be shared between the servers, but X said he won’t step on any toes, it’s just as a precaution.”

Tommy crossed his arms. “And what are you doing about your boyfriend?”

Grian hesitated at the lack of Tommy using Mumbo’s name. “You mean Mumbo? I mean, he’s a disgusting mess after barely sleeping and eating taking care of me, but I’m sure he’ll get better. Unless you’re concerned about how he was after being here, because again, bit of a mess but he’ll be fine.”

“Not going to get upset at me coming back?”

That really made Grian pause. What was Tommy talking about? “What do you mean Tommy?”

Tommy didn’t respond, just getting so angry he could barely say anything, so Tubbo answered for him. “Just before Mumbo left with you, he yelled at Tommy. He sort of said he wished Tommy never showed up in your world.”

Grian frowned. “Well, you’re fine to come back. I’ll make sure he has a stern talking to. Come on, let’s go back to the portal.” Grian then looked over where Techno and Philza were playing a game of… well Grian wasn’t sure, but it looked like some kind of board game. “You can come too if you want.”

Philza shook his head. “No. Whatever Dream did turned Wilbur back into a ghost, so someone showed up and took him away to fix that. We’re going to wait here until he’s back to normal.”

“Oh, alright then. Well, don’t be a stranger or anything. C’mon kids!”

“Hey! I’m not a kid!” Tommy complained, just making Grian ruffle his hair.

“Were it not for the laws of this land, that being you’re literally my brother, I might have adopted you. Also if we maybe had a few more years between us.”

Grian dropped off the trio at Tommy’s tower before flying to Mumbo’s base. He set his mask down on a table and then walked to where Mumbo’s bedroom was, surprised to hear the shower still running as he passed the bathroom. Grian paused and knocked on the door. “Mumbo, when you’re done in there, we need to have a chat. I’ll be waiting by the counter.”

Grian sat down on the ledge in front of the life counter of Mumbo’s base after feeding it an apple. He stared out at the jungle, waiting for Mumbo to arrive. He finally heard the redstone walk up behind him and then started to address him. “Mumbo, look. Tommy told me you-” He turned to look at Mumbo who was dripping wet. It was like someone pushed him into a pool while he was wearing his suit. “Mumbo why are you all wet?”

“You said to take a shower.” Mumbo said like how he currently looked was the most normal thing in the world.

“I didn’t mean in your clothes! Oh my god, go get changed!”

“I thought you wanted to talk?”

“We can do that after you’re dry!”

Mumbo was quiet before speaking again. “You know I don’t really have another suit.”

“You have your bamboo one!”

Again, he was quiet for a worryingly long time before he just sat down next to Grian. “Can we just talk and get this over with?”

Grian was reluctant and nodded. “Tommy said you yelled at him.”

“I know… I was upset. A lot of things had just happened and with everyone with amnesia, I was really the only one who was able to do much. And Dream had messed with you so I was angry. I barely got to sleep, and we had just had a war with that guy and we were all over the place and I just sort of… lost it.” Mumbo started to lean on Grian’s shoulder, but quickly stopped himself. “Through all this, you’ve been focused a lot on Tommy and your family, and everything else, but you weren’t really…”

“Oh Mumbo. Why didn’t you say anything?” Grian realized what Mumbo meant.

“Well, I sort of knew Tommy was sort of the priority. Plus you had a lot on your plate. I didn’t want to put more on there.”

Grian nuzzled against Mumbo’s chest, not noticing how he stiffened up. “Mumbo, I’m not going to stop loving you. I’m just going to have love for my family too. You know how we hermits need to be there for each other, and Tommy is a hermit too.”

“Yeah…”

When their comms buzzed, Mumbo gave a small sigh as Grian sat up to look at the message. He saw there were actually a few he had missed and laughed a little at them. “Looks like Crumb’s dad is looking for her but he was told he’s at my mansion. I’m going to fly over there and take him to Tommy’s tower since that’s where I left them. If you want we can talk more later.”

“Go deal with them first. And can you tell Tommy what I said?”

Grian nodded and then flew off to his mansion. He quickly arrived since it wasn’t too far even on foot. “Hellooo? Crumb’s dad? You in here?” He called out before spotting an unfamiliar man. “Oh, hey there. Sorry that Crumb’s not here. She’s actually at Tommy’s tower. I can take you there if you want.” Grian stood there as the man in front of him stayed quiet with his back turned to the avian. “Uh, hello?” He then put a hand on the man’s shoulder.

Sparklez jumped slightly, shocked out of his train of thought before he whirled around and saw Grian.

“Hi! Sorry if I scared you. Crumb’s not here, but I can take you to her.”

“Is… Do you live here?”

Grian nodded. He must not have seen many of the other bases. “Yup! Built the mansion myself. Why?”

Grian’s eyes widened as the man held up a lost child poster. “Where did you get this?”

“Uh, that’s from my old world. The kid’s not mine though. Just sort of-”

Grian was cut off by Sparklez. “I know he’s not your kid. He’s mine!”

“Oh my god you’re the captain.”

“Yeah, I am. People don’t normally call me that.”

Grian just grabbed Jordan’s arm. “No, argh! I mean… Tubbo’s here! Your kid is here! They’re with Crumb and Tommy right now.”

“You mean… that kid… with the green shirt, red bandana. That’s him? The whole time that was him?”

“Oh great, looks like you’ve seen him already. That should make things less awkward. Even more of a reason to go over to the tower. Let’s go!” Grian grabbed Sparklez and pulled him over to an ender chest to hand him some spare elytra and rockets. After he had put the wings on, they both got into the air and then flew to the tower.

When they landed, Grian had to hold Jordan back because he looked like he was about to tear the tower apart. “Hey Tommy!” Grian shouted up to the tower. “Are you guys still there?” When the blond called back in affirmation, Grian shouted again. “Can you three come down here? It’s important!”

“Give me a second! I need to grab some more elytra. Hey can you remind me to change the floor 2 elevator to a down tomorrow?”

“We’ll see. Might be busy for us then.”

In a few moments, Tommy was gliding down with Tubbo, Crumb in Tommy’s arms. Crumb was the first to see Sparklez and frowned. “Aw myan… do I have to leave?”

Her dad didn’t answer as he half stumbled towards them and then held Tubbo in a bone crushing hug.

“Ah! What’s going on?” Tubbo, having no context was confused.

Sheepishly, Grian gave the answer. “So remember how you said you went missing when you were little and couldn’t find your dad? I found a missing person’s poster? Well, Crumb’s dad is the one who made that poster… making him your dad too.”

Everything was silent as everyone comprehended the news, Sparklez just holding Tubbo close and not wanting to let go, but finally Tubbo half screamed from being so surprised. “He’s whAT?!”

Mumbo sat in his room, still dripping wet. He knew he could just go sit in front of some lava or stand in the nether for a while if he felt daring, but instead he was just sitting in his room leaving a puddle behind. He wasn’t sure why he set up an ice mirror, but there it was, waiting for him to take his shirt off.

He just stared at himself, trying to will himself to move, but it just wasn’t working. So he tried talking to his mirror self. “Alright Mumbo. Stop acting like a spoon and just look. It’s going to be there. He was lying and Grian seemed fine when he left. They’re supposed to stay forever. A few years won’t do anything to it.”

Still, Mumbo didn’t move, he just kept staring. “Fine, if that’s how we’re going to do it, I’ll just go ahead!” He closed his eyes and took his tie and jacket off. His hands trembled as he got to the buttons of his dress shirt, but then he steeled himself and undid two of them, pulling his left arm out of the sleeve. There was no hiding it now. He would open his eyes and right there, on the skin just under his clavicle, Mumbo would see it.

The redstoner took a deep breath and opened his eyes, looking into the mirror. He was staring at his face and now where he should, but it was hard to look away. No, he told himself. He had to look and put this all past him. He shifted his gaze and his heart dropped. It was gone, like it had never been there at all.

[bosmermage]

Whumptober Day 5

I’ve Got Red in my Ledger (Misunderstandings, Broken Nose)  Characters: Sky, Wars 

They had been on the road months now and not a single time had Sky seen his home. It was beginning to eat at him and mix with the nightmares that had been haunting him. The horrible visions had gotten so frequent the scent of campfire had become unbearable. So when the last of the portal after-effects dissolved into the familiar deep green of the Faron woods, the awful tension that had been ratcheting up in Sky's stomach unwound into a deep sigh.

“It's my home” He spun to face the group with a big goofy grin that split his face, the smiles were mirrored all around. Home meant mattresses and roofs and good food and friendly faces. Goddess knows they all needed it after the last gauntlet of attacks and running and ambushes.

“So? We get to meet the missus??” Wars jabbed, slinging an arm around the shorter man's shoulders as he began to lead them off down the path to the bird statue by the Skyview Temple.

“Of course! And the rest of Skyloft too. I don't think anyone is going to want to miss out on meeting the fancy surface dwellers I've dragged in” Sky laughed, and all the nightmares of open fields and ash, began to lift off to the cool autumn air.

“Sky, what's off that way?” Time's voice cut through the excited chatter like a knife and the dread cut through him like a finishing blow. A glimmer of recognition was hidden in his usual stony expression and it made Sky dread to follow his gaze.

Sure enough, far past the great tree, up drifted from the sealed grounds a mountainous cloud of smoke. It snaked into the cloud barrier, staining it a gloomy charcoal grey and Sky's world gave out from under him. That sinking feeling he had finally began to shake was sizzling up his legs like lightning, pinning him like one of Flora's specimens with the horrifying recognition.

“Hey Twi! Gimme a boost!” Wind shouted out and Sky's eyes snapped over in time to see Wind scrambling up the nearest tree befre Wild could even so much as mutter a word of protest at being usurped as the group climber. Sky couldn't even get his lips to twitch into a smile over the rapidly swelling panic.

“All clear! No fire just a lotta smoke.” Wind called down before vaulting himself down and tumbling up to his feet, clearly revelling in the laughter the acrobatics earned him. “there's this really big statue but other than that, whatever it is, it's probably all cleared up now.”

Oh why could nothing be easy.

“We,” Sky started, voice cracking with the effort.

“We need to check the seal. To make sure its... safe.” Sky finished in sign, hands wavering almost as much as his voice. No one complained, falling in behind him dutifully as he raced off in the direction of the smoke, unsucsessful at outpacing the swelling panic.

“So uh what's..” Wind started to ask, and Four cut him off, thankfully, with a sharp motion against his lips. Wind gave a quizzical look but settled on resting his hands on his sword strap and Sky nodded, turning back into the march with determination, each leaf and vine and rock seeming to urge him forward as the clock ticked on ticked on ticked on.

The sealed grounds was as it had been left, save for the clear aftermath of a battle. Hylia stared on in contempt. Time rushed forwards.

“LINK!” Zelda's voice snapped his trance and he shot after it on instinct. She barrelled into his arms, the wool of her knight's uniform unbearably soft against his cheek. He pulled back to examine her face, spinning her about to check for injuries before crushing her back against his chest.

“..ink... LINK. I'm okay, everyone's okay. It's okay Link” Her shoulder was warm and soft and tethered him back into his body, mending his split seams. He nodded, pausing to lean against her cheek, melting for a blessed moment, before pulling away.

“What happened?” He signed, taking in the previously unnoticed battle carnage.

“There was an attack, but it's nothing we couldn't handle,” Sun murmured. Sky noted the smear of  blood along her tunic hem, not hers, and then the other knights making their way up to the path. Pipit was holding his arm and Sky and Hyrule bumped into each other on their way to check him, before Zelda pulled him back by his arm. “Oh no mister, you're staying right here.”

“Sorry,” Suddenly, the feeling of flying was not so welcome, and the ground felt, for a moment, like home.

“It's okay, just breath, we're okay.”  

“You're back?” Pipit was looking over to, of all the people he could be looking over to, Warriors, as he let Hyrule check over his injury, light magic dripping honey sweet into the wound. “You just left!”

“Left?”

Sky's eyes refocused. He stood up again, eyes boring into Warriors' back who was too busy signing in a panic to notice he was being noticed.

“Link thank the goddess you're okay,” That was Groose, “We thought you were done for when you went missing, but looks like you brought me the reinforcements this time eh?” Groose jostled Sky's shoulder making a spike of anger shoot up his spine, he shook it out of his teeth with a grimace.

“Groose” Zelda shushed and Sky felt a smile twitch at his lips. Sky clapped and Warriors spun around with the worlds guiltiest look on his face.

“Just left?” His sign was sharp, and he could feel the leftover panic buzzing through his system quickly transmuting backward into anger.

“He helped out just a few minutes ago, a portal opened up in the temple and was pouring out enemies. Him and some others came out of another one to help us out.” Pipit piped up, clearly ignoring the way Wars pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Skyloft?” Sky asked, the sign snarled through the fists that wanted to clench.

“Safe. There was a first wave there but no casualties.” Zelda's voice was calm and steady “We're okay, there's a reason we're all knights Link.” Sky knew he should really be giving in to the calming aura beside him but he shook his head turning back to the man who called himself his brother.

“You knew?”

Wars couldn't meet his eyes. “I'm sorry, Sky, I”

Sky clapped again. “You. Knew?” His tone gave no room for argument.

“Yes but Sky it was-” Wars' pleading was cut off by the crunch of his nose breaking under Sky's fist. He reeled back, sprawling over the ground as the others gasped in chorus.

“I did as well. We didn't tell you because we couldn't risk creating a paradox, or worry you for no reason when there was nothing you could do to stop it.” That was Time. And if the old man had thought he could be intimidating, he had clearly never been on the receiving end of the look reserved usually for those who would do the group harm. Sky was every inch the slayer of the god of hate.

“Never. Lie. To me. Again.”

“I'm sorry,” Wars started, petering out at the sharp turn of Sky's head.

“Don't apologize. I don't want to hear it. But if you lie to me about this again you will be sorry.” Sky promised, teeth bared. The gossamer bond that had been woven between them fell apart, and Wars looked away in shame.

The battle carnage was cleared in tense silence, with Sky working himself long past the sun down to work the horrible energy out of his body. Wars was quietly deposited beside Pipit, more for the sake of not invoking Sky's wrath than for the sake of mending his nose.

“You know Link,”

Sky sighed, and Sun's laughter broke through the last dregs of anger.

“Yeah yeah, I know. I'll go apologize Zel” He turned to face her sheepish in the face of her benevolent shining smile.

“Good. He really was only trying to help,” her hug was loftwing feathers and sun warm grass and Sky sighed into it wistfully.

[daggryet]

this might be a lot, but do you have the entire punz and dream convo transcribed?

i do!

i couldn't find the vod, but here's the video i used (i transcribed pretty much everything but the first few seconds).

i used the timers i did so people could go back and find the most important subjects:

- c!punz and c!dream's conversation about loyalty and him becoming a spy

- c!dream tells c!punz about the prison, what he intends to use it for and the technicalities of the prison

- c!dream says c!tommy has left exile

CONTEXT: DREAM wants to speak to PUNZ, PUNZ is currently thousands of blocks away and says it’ll take him a while to get back to the main SMP area. DREAM teleports him back.

0:24:

PUNZ: I am one of the most powerful on the server, so… I have a shulker box.

DREAM: Yeah, I never would have thought- I don’t know how you got here, I thought you said it was gonna take you a while

PUNZ: No, yeah, I was just bluffing. But I’m here now, so that’s all we needed, so-

DREAM: Let’s go for a walk, let’s go for a walk together.

PUNZ: Alright, Dream.

DREAM: Ehm, so you have been one of the only people that have been on my side since the server started. Every time there’s a conflict, you know, you’re always there to help.

PUNZ: Of course, of course.

DREAM: And you’re always there to have my back, and I know that I pay you - but still, it’s a little beyond that, I would think. And ehm-

PUNZ: Yeah, we’ve definitely grown a strong alliance, I would say. A strong friendship.

DREAM: And recently, everyone’s been turning against me. I don’t know who I have on the server, other than you right now, that’s on my side and that’s dangerous because - I mean - if they got together and were organized, I’m not sure I would be able to- however many of were on the entire server.

PUNZ: Yeah, there’s quite a bit of people on the server nowadays.

DREAM: Even if it was me and you, and I know we’re both very powerful, I don’t know what a 2v20-or-whatever would be, I think we would definitely lose. So-

PUNZ: Yeah, it wouldn’t be good, it wouldn’t be good. It would be tough, to say the least.

DREAM: So, yeah, I guess, I’m getting a tad worried. Ehm, I know… they went after Techno, and I can assume that means that they, you know, will probably go after me. I don’t know because I have no reason to believe that now they went after Techno, I feel like I’ve done way worse things to, eh… L’Manberg than Techno.

PUNZ: They’re going after people that just don’t, that don’t side with them, I guess you could say. You put the walls around L’Manberg so they probably really don’t like you for that.

DREAM: Yeah, and I helped Wilbur, I gave him the TNT to blow it up, and also I- I did a lot of things that even though I’m being good now, I am nervous.

PUNZ: Understandably.

DREAM: And I think that- there’s a couple things that we should talk about, but one; I think that you should… not be on my side.

PUNZ: Really?

DREAM: Well, you should, but you shouldn’t. Act like you’re not on my side. Because if you’re on my side, then you’ll be in danger, and probably before they take me out - they’ll try and take you out, and then I won’t be there to help you, and then… that would not be good. But if you’re not helping me, and you’re not on my side, then they have no reason to go after you, right? And you can always- you can tell me things, and you can keep me updated, and you can…

PUNZ: So, we’ll still be friends though, correct? I’ll-

DREAM: Yeah, no, no-

PUNZ: It’s just a show thing? DREAM: I mean, you’re essentially a spy.

PUNZ: A spy?

DREAM: Yeah.

PUNZ: Okay.

DREAM: But, in order for this to work, we have to do something that splits us apart. So, I don’t know what we can do, but we can think of something that I do to you, that you don’t like. That you then pretend like you’re outraged about, even though we planned it, right?

PUNZ: Okay, yes, more of like a- just to show everyone that… we have kind of disconnected.

DREAM: That you’re no longer on my side, that we disconnected, that you’re not on my side.

PUNZ: Exactly.

DREAM: That you’re done with assisting me.

4:12:

DREAM: So this is a prison.

PUNZ: Wow.

DREAM: Ehm, this is Pandora’s vault. And me and Awesamdude have been constructing it for a very long time, and we will continue constructing it. It’s not done, ehm, but-

PUNZ: Looks crazy.

DREAM: It does look crazy.

PUNZ: It’s massive.

DREAM: We’ve been doing a lot of- there’s a lot of stuff about it. But, Punz, when it’s done - any of our enemies, we can put inside it.

PUNZ: Any of them? Of our choosing?

DREAM: There are over 20 cells in the prison. And there’s a main cell that can have as many people as we want in it, that is inescapable. Like you literally can’t get out of it.

PUNZ: It’s insane.

DREAM: We’re gonna have elder guardians that give you mining fatigue, we have layers of obsidian with - you know - what inbetween for preventing withers and other countermeasures for withers. We have- we’re gonna fill the nether area with obsidian, that way no one can infiltrate that way. We have guards on duty 24/7. We have everything we can possibly do, and no one to oppose us.

PUNZ: This is absolutely mad, this is massive. And it looks good.

DREAM: Yeah, and until it’s done, though, obviously we can’t let anybody know that, you know, that’s even an idea, right? PUNZ: Oh yeah, for sure, does anyone even know about this? Besides Sam

DREAM: Well, I think there’s a few people that know about the prison. I know Bad knows about it, and some other people know about it, but nobody knows what it’s for. And no one from L’Manberg knows about it yet, other than- I think Quackity has seen it, but I don’t think that he understands what it is. And understands what it’s constructed for, so he’s- I don’t think anyone’s worried yet.

PUNZ: That’s good, that’s great. Even if Quackity, like, saw it, yeah I don’t think he’d understand what it is. He’s not the brightest, you know.

DREAM: And nobody can even- even once they know, at this point it’s too far into construction that they can’t even take it down or do anything.

PUNZ: Oh, definitely not.

DREAM: I mean, as soon as we put the elder guardians in, they can’t even- it takes 9 hours to break a single block. They won’t even be able to take it down.

PUNZ: That’s insane. So when-

DREAM: This is-

PUNZ: When is it gonna be put to use?

DREAM: Well, the prison should be done shortly after Christmas. Everything’s gone to plan so far, it’s just- things are speeding up a little, and it should be done shortly after Christmas.

PUNZ: Wow, that’s pretty soon.

DREAM: It is very soon. But the problem is that, until then we can’t, you know, we can’t- as long as, right now the server is kind of against me, we can’t be seen together, we can’t be- you know, right now we’re the only ones on the server, so this is fine. But we need to do something to make people think that, you know-

PUNZ: That we disconnected like we talked about, yes.

DREAM: Yeah, and once we do that, I think it’ll be good to stay like that for a while until we eventually, you know- the Dream SMP always, that’s something I’ve talked to you about before, it’s always been the goal that it’s all one united server, that everybody follows the same rules, there’s no countries, there’s no - you know - any of this. It’s just one giant, like family, right?

PUNZ: Yeah, a hundred percent, I agree. Everything you’ve done is just try and keep that feeling, I know what you mean.

DREAM: Before L’Manberg, there weren't any wars or anything, because there wasn’t any countries to have wars with, right?

PUNZ: Yeah, exactly.

DREAM: So I think that… there’s a lot that we can do, but there’s something, there’s something that I’m doing soon that- nobody’s gonna like me. And-

PUNZ: Alright. We need to disconnect as fast as possible, we need to think of something right now. that you can do- I don’t wanna be dragged down with you, if you-

DREAM: Yeah, yeah, we need to- I also have to say, I, at some point, will have to leave you. Leave you in charge here while I go far away to avoid death.

PUNZ: Leave me in charge? DREAM: Secretly. Your job would be to keep an eye on things and make sure that, you know, the Dream SMP thrives and doesn’t lose all of its power.

PUNZ: Yeah, yeah.

DREAM: ‘Cause even though we’re outnumbered, we’re still the most powerful.

PUNZ: Oh, by far. I mean, I have a shulker box, have you seen it?

DREAM: Yeah.

PUNZ: I’ll pull it out right now.

PUNZ takes the cyan shulker box out of his ender chest. Inside it is an enchanted netherite axe.

9:40: DREAM: Tommy left his exile.

PUNZ: He left his exile?

DREAM: He left. I went, he was gone, I don’t know where he is.

PUNZ: Really? That, that doesn’t seem- I feel like he was being so well behaved, and he’s left. Wow.

DREAM: Hm. I think that- you know Tommy.

PUNZ: Well, yeah, I know Tommy, of course I do.

DREAM: Yeah, I’ll- he, he doesn’t- he doesn’t like listening to people, but the thing is, I don’t know where he went. And I am going to have to go and find him, but I have other things I need to do as well, and like I said; people won’t like me very much, and as long as people don’t like me, they’ll be coming after me. And so, we need to do this. Let’s come up with what we need to do.

PUNZ: Well-

DREAM: What’s something that’s reasonable, that if I did - you would turn against me?

PUNZ: I mean, I think, a lot of people on the server know me for my build. My property, you could say, like the Christmas tree, my tower, my walls. You could break something of that, of a reasonable size to so that I’d have to repair it. I think that’s what people mostly know me for. Or I have Bumpkin, but I don’t really want you to touch Bumpkin.

DREAM: Yeah.

PUNZ: I’ve had Bumpkin for a while.

DREAM: What if we made a fake Bumpkin?

PUNZ: That sounds like a good idea.

DREAM: And we have to stage it so I kill Bumpkin in front of people. But not Actual Bumpkin, Fake Bumpkin.

PUNZ: Yeah, yeah, Fake Bumpkin. I’ll have to hide Bumpkin, I’ll have to make somewhere to hide Bumpkin for a little while, I guess.

DREAM: Yeah, yeah, just for a couple of days and then you have a new one, and you can always just say that it’s a new Bumpkin when really it’s not.

PUNZ: Yeah, that sounds like a relatively good idea.

[bnhasimpgirltm]

Until the End  [BNHA (Platonic) x Reader]

Pairings: BNHA (platonic) x reader

Warnings: a lot of death, swearing

Genre: Small Fluffy moments, and soft angst

Word Count: 3685

A/N: this idea was born from the chat between me and @jayjee.art (Instagram). She was going to draw cheerleader Bakugo and not show me, so I used my power and decided to do this. I really like writing flashbacks, so this is similar to the first fic I posted on this blog (a Todoroki fic). I’m so sorry for not posting a lot. I’ve been working on three things at once, so it’s a lot, but I hope you guys like this one! This is also a call to make platonic love a normal thing. 

note: this one is a little confusing to read, so I recommend reading it a little slower than you would read other things on my blog. 

———————————————

“RUN!” Todoroki yelled urgently.

“We can’t get out,” you yelled in a hoarse voice. The smoke was getting to your lungs, and everything was on fire. You could barely see Jiro and Kaminari, and Todoroki was completely obscured.

“Keep trying!” He yelled back. 

You had been trying, and it was no use. 

“I’m sorry guys,” Kaminari shook his head. “They blocked the radio signals, I can’t call for help.”

Jiro let out a sob, but kept mining at the walls with her ear jack. 

“Can you defuse the bomb Todoroki?” You asked. 

He shook his head. 

“At least try!” Denki yells back.

“If I cut the wrong wire it will kill us,” Todoroki explains worriedly. 

“IF YOU DON’T DO ANYTHING WE’RE GOING TO DIE ANYWAYS!” You scream while hitting the wall uselessly. 

“I don’t know which one to cut,” Todoroki sweats, either from the heat or because he was nervous. 

“Cut the red one! That’s what they do in the movies!” Denki cries out.

Todoroki cuts the red wire and the ticking stops. 

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, glad to not die a horrible death to a bomb, and now trying to find a way out of the hot, stuffy, vault.

But then, it happened so fast. Todoroki had cut the wrong wire. 

Since Todoroki was the closest, he was first. 

~

“You do it like this (Y/N),” Todoroki said.

“This is so dumb Todoroki,” you whined. “How about we kick back and head over to hang out with Midoriya and Iida instead of doing this!” 

Todoroki thought about it for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea to let you off. 

“Fine, we can go watch a movie or something with Iida and Midoriya.” Todoroki sighed. 

“Perfect!” You fist pumped . “You’re the greatest best friend Todoroki.” 

~

You and Todoroki enjoyed small moments like that. They were the best examples of your friendship.

~

You fell to the floor laughing.

“So you’re telling me you don’t know how to ride a bike?” You asked Todoroki.

“No, I never learned,” He replied back stoically.

“We can teach you!” Midoriya offered with a smile. “(Y/n), can you get my bike?”

“Yes! Oh my gosh this is going to be so fun!” You jogged to the bike rack and took Midoriya’s bike, bringing it back to where he and Todoroki were standing. 

“Lets get started,” you clapped your hands together enthusiastically.

~

The last thing you heard from Todoroki was “I’m sorry I let you down again.”

~

Jiro was next. You and she were inseparable.

~

“(Y/n), do you want to join me tonight for open mic?” Jiro asked you. 

“Of course,” you agreed. “It was super fun last week.”

“That’s great, I get a little nervous singing in front of the class,” she admitted.

“It’s okay Jiro, you have nothing to worry about!” You reassured. “You’re a great singer.”

~ 

Music built your friendship, but it stayed up because your personalities matched so well. 

~

“Jiro!” You screamed. “There’s a Hot Topic that opened in the mall!” 

Jiro put the book down, and shot up from her seat. 

“No way!” She said. “Lets go!” 

“I know!” You excitedly did a victory cartwheel in the common room, then ran with Jiro out the doors.

“Oh my God is this Heaven?” Jiro asked.

“Maybe not, but it’s close,” you responded, looking up at the mass of band shirts and merchandise from your favorite shows. 

“How does this look, (y/n)?” Jiro asked, holding out a My Chemical Romance shirt.

“It suits you Jiro. You should get it,” you gave her a thumbs up.

She smiled back at you, digging a Fall Out Boy shirt out from under the stack and tossing it towards you. 

“We can rope Denki and Momo into this so we can be the quartet,” you joked. 

“Is this an excuse for us to get more shirts?” Jiro asked.

“Maybe?” You bit your lip and let out a loud laugh.

Jiro laughed with you, and soon, you were both on the floor laughing.

~

The last thing you heard from Jiro was a strangled sob, mixed with the word “Help”

~ 

Then came Kaminari, your wild card of a friend.

~

“Haha! Nice one Kaminari!” You yelled. This was the fifth game that Kaminari had gotten a stuffed toy from, and much to Kirishima and Bakugo’s dismay, they were the ones who had to hold them,

“Kaminari, can you chill out on the games?” Kirishima complained. “I’m being drowned by these things.”

“I’m on a roll and no one is going to stop me!” Kaminari proclaimed proudly. 

“How about (y/n) plays the next game, and if they screw it up and don’t win, we can go do something else?” Bakugo bargains.

Kaminari thinks about it. “Fine, (y/n) is a carnival game God, there’s no way they’re going to lose!” 

“You’re going to be eating your words in a minute Dunce Face,” Bakugo retorted.

You and the Bakusqaud walked over to a game that Bakugo was sure you couldn’t win. 

“This isn’t fair!” Kaminari complained. “No one ever wins this!”

“That’s the point Dunce Face,” Bakugo rolls his eyes. 

“Watch and learn everyone,” you gave a ticket to the worker behind the counter and got three darts. 

“There’s no way (y/n) is going to land three darts,” Kirishima said.

You lined up with the balloons and threw the first dart. 

POP!

“Lucky shot!” Bakugo argued. 

You looked back and grinned at him.

“We’ll see about that.”

You looked back towards the balloons and aimed again. 

POP!

“I’m just super lucky, I guess,” you mocked.

“Tch, you’re not going to get the third one,” Bakugo claimed.

Rolling your eyes, you throw the last dart at a green balloon. It bounces off, and Kaminari’s excited face shifts to disappointment.

“Ha, I told you,” Bakugo says triumphantly.

While the dart falls to the floor, you use your psychokinesis quirk and lift it.

“Eh?” Bakugo asks.

Guiding the dart forward, you stab the green balloon with it. 

POP!

“You were saying Bakuhoe?” You snarkily said. 

“THAT’S CHEATING!” Bakugo whined.

“Nice one (Y/n),” Kirishima fist bumped you, and Ashido laughed at Bakugo’s complaining.

“Which one do you want?” The person working asked.

You looked at all of the plushies.

“That one,” you pointed. 

The person working handed you the giant Ground Zero plushie and you added it to the growing stack in Bakugo’s arms.

“I hate you so much,” Bakugo groaned.

“This is awesome,” Kaminari took his phone out and took a picture of Bakugo buried under the plushies.

“I hate all of you,” Bakugo repeated.

~

To think that you would never have another moment with Kaminari was unthinkable. You thought you would both have forever to do stupid things together. 

~

“(Y/n)!” Ashido called. 

“What’s wrong?” You asked. 

She paused for a minute to take a breath. “Kaminari is going to do human tire bowling!”

“Oh my gosh, yes!” You squealed. “Lets go! Where is he?” 

Ashido motioned for you to follow her, and when you two left the common room, you saw Kirishima stacking trashcans and Kaminari standing next to Bakugo.

“This is dumb, someone is going to get hurt,” Bakugo complained.

“You worry for us Bakugo! How nice!” Kaminari prodded at Bakugo.

Sero impatiently rocked the tire back and forth. “Come on guys, lets get started.”

“I’m going first, and then Bakugo and Ashido will go. That means Kaminari and (Y/n) are a team, and they’ll go third.” Kirishima explained. “It’s like normal bowling. You get two tries, and then the next team goes. The next round, the person who wasn’t in the tire gets to be in the tire. We’ll do ten frames, so each person gets to be in the tire five times.” 

“Did he do the math right Bakugo?” Sero asked. 

“Yeah whatever, lets just start so I can beat all of you,” Bakugo smirked. 

“You’re on Bakuhoe,” you teased. “Come on Denki, let’s do this!”

~

The last thing you heard from Kaminari was a scream that tore through the vault and through your heart.

~

You were the last one hit, and your eyes teared up. It was as if everything slowed down. 

You saw your mother.

~

“(Y/n), come over here,” your mom called. She was watching a news broadcast of heroes who had stopped a small gang of villains. 

“Wow!” you had said. “Someday I’m going to be a hero just like that!” 

“I know you’ll be a great hero,” your mom hugged you close to her. “I know that you’ll make me proud.”

~

You saw your acceptance into UA.

~

“Did you get that mail?” You almost tackled your mom as she came in. 

“Yes, I did.” She chuckled. “Someone’s excited.” 

You shuffled through the mail that she put on the table, and found what you were looking for.

When you opened the envelope, you realized that you had been accepted into UA, the top hero school in Japan. Not only had you been accepted into UA, but you were also put into the hero course, and you would be in 1A.

“Mom! I did it!” You had shrieked. “UA HERE I COME!” 

“I’m so proud of you!” She jumped up and hugged you. “You’re going to be a hero!”

“I can’t wait!”

~

You saw short moments with your friends.

~

“Bakugo what are you reading?” You had asked.

“Hah? Nothing,” Bakugo sat on his book and defiantly looked at you.

You looked at him, suspicious, and using your quirk, you pushed Bakugo over and grabbed his book.

“Bakugo, you read ‘Maid Sama!’?” You looked at him, shocked. 

“Yeah, what about it?” He said, trying to keep his tough guy facade up.

“Bakugo, why didn’t you tell me?” You shrilled, “We could have had so many good convertations you UWU boy!”

“Shut up,” he grumbled.

~

You knew that Bakugo the gremlin would miss you, Kaminari, and even Todoroki. Though he would never admit it.

~

“How could you do this?” You asked Kirishima. “How could you betray me like this?”

“(Y/n), I’m sorry, I didn’t know-” He started. 

“No! I don’t want to hear it! I despise you Eijiro Kirishima!” You yelled. 

“Shitty Hair, put the damn card down,” Bakugo said, annoyed.

“NO! DON’T DO IT!” You pleaded. “I thought we were best friends!” 

“We are (y/n), but I must do what I have to do,” Kirishima slowly put his second to last card down. “Uno!”

“Stop him!” Ashido begged. “Someone put a wild card down!” 

“I got you!” Kaminari was after Kirishima, and he placed his wild card down, choosing red. 

“Damn you,” Bakugo grabbed another card from the deck and added to his slowly growing hand of eight cards.

“I call skip!” You put a red skip card down and skipped Ashido. 

“(Y/n)!” She whined. 

“I had to Ashido, you could have put down a card that would lead to Kirishima’s victory!” You reasoned. 

“Guess what color my last card is,” Kirishima let out a shark toothed grin.

“No!” You all yelled.

“Red seven,” he placed his card down. “I win!”

You all wailed and groaned and complained. 

“Who wants to play again?” You asked.

~

When you needed small things, they always came through, because you always came through for them.

~

“Todoroki, my drink is warm,” you complained.

“What should I do about it?” He asked, stoic as usual.

“Maybe you could make me a couple ice cubes,” you prodded.

“(Y/n), you know I’m not supposed to use my quirk without permission,” he argued. 

“But this is an emergency!” You dramatically said. 

“Fine, only this once,” Todoroki agreed reluctantly. He made four ice cubes and put them in your drink. 

“Thank you Todoroki!” You grinned at him as you sipped your drink.

~

Yeah your friends might have been idiots, but at least they were always there for you, comforting you in your worst moments. 

~

“Hey (y/n), are you okay?” Midoriya asked you. 

“Oh yeah, I’m fine Midoriya,” you said through sniffles. 

He looked at you with wide eyes. “Are you absolutely sure you don’t need me to stay?” He asked.

“Well, I do need someone to talk to,” you patted the open spot next to you on the bench.

Midoriya sat down and hugged you. “It’s okay, you don’t even need to tell me what happened.”

“Thanks Midoriya,” you said. “I’m glad you’re here.” 

“I’ll always be there for you. You’ll always be my friend!” Midoriya smiled at you and you smiled back. 

~

They were also there to celebrate your greatest acheivements.

~

“WE DID IT!” You yelled out. 

“Yeah we did,” Jiro echoed.

“I’m so glad I met you guys,” you said to your classmates. “Stay in touch with me alright? And don’t be afraid to call for help! You’ll always be my girls!”

“I love you all!” Ashido squealed. 

“Love you too,” Jiro repeated.

“You guys are the best,” Yaoyorozu added. 

“I can’t wait to be a pro hero,” Asui said.

“I hope we can see each other again soon,” Uraraka and Hagukare said at the same time.

“Same! I’m going to miss you guys so much,” you teared up and the girls of 1A group hugged.

“(Y/n), who’s agency are you going to go to?” Uraraka asked.

“Well actually,” you started,”I think that I might start my own agency.”

They all blinked at you in disbelief, then broke out into grins.

“You’re going to be great!” Yaoyorozu excitedly said. 

“I’m so happy for you!” Hagukare shouted. 

“Enough about me, who wants to get the rest of our classmates and have a graduation dinner?” You asked. 

Everyone cheered and hugged. 

It was the end of your chapter at UA, but you would start a new one once you formed your agency. 

~

You hoped that Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Ashido, and Asui wouldn’t be too broken up over your death.

~

“mY Ex-mAn BRoUGhT hIS nEw GiRLFrieND,” you sung loudly.

“She’S LiKE oH mY GoD, BuT I’M jUST goNNA ShAKE iT,” Ashido continued.

“anD tO thE FeLLa OVeR ThEre WiTH ThE hELLa GOod HaIR,” Jiro bopped.

"Won’T yOU coME oN oVEr BAbY wE cAN shAkE, sHAke, ShAKe,” Uraraka finished. 

You all burst out laughing, as Jiro danced with Yaoyorozu. 

“I’m so glad we got to spend today together,” Ashido said. “Pro hero work has been exhausting!” 

“Oh my gosh, you’re so right,” Uraraka sighed.

“I’m just glad that we could all make time to hang out,” you said. “We can always get together though.”

“Right, now who wants popcorn?” Jiro asked. 

~

Who knew that would be the last time you would see them in person. It was a realization that brought on strong emotional pain on top of the physical pain that came with being in a burning vault. 

Your mother spoke again, but unlike earlier, it wasn’t filled with energy. It was soft. 

~

“(Y/n), I’m so proud of you,” your  mother said. 

~

Her voice was soft and loving. It was warm, in a good way.  You missed your mom and wished that you spent more time with her after graduating.

~

You hugged your mom tightly and asked “Really?”

She hugged back and smiled. “My child is a pro hero that’s running their own agency. How could I be more proud?” 

“I love you mom,” you said, choked up.

“I love you too,” she said.

~

You had so much love to spread around, and you had given it to all of your friends. They had always deserved it.

~

“Shut up,” he grumbled. “I trust you okay, so don’t go around talking about what you saw.” 

“Okay, okay,” you agreed, then more seriously you said,”I love you, Bakuhoe.”

“Eh?” He asked, clearly confused.

“I said that I love you, best friend,” you repeated. 

“Yeah whatever, I tolerate you more than others I guess,” Bakugo rolled his eyes. 

“And that’s enough for me,” you sat down on the couch next to him.

~

“Who wants to play again?” You asked.

Everyone agreed. 

“Guys, I know I don’t say it enough, but I love all of you,” you quietly mentioned. 

“Our platonic love will keep us all together forever!” Ashido commented. 

“This is too much love, I think I’m going to fall into a hole and die,” Bakugo dramaticaly recited. 

“Bakubro, you have got to join the dark side,” Kirishima said. “We know you love all of us in your own twisted Bakubro way.”

“We should make shirts that say ��Katsuki Bakugo Wuvs Us’,” Kaminari suggested. 

“Oh my God yes,” you agreed. 

~

“Thank you Todoroki!” You grinned at him as you sipped your drink. 

“That is the only time, okay,” he reminded. 

“Yeah I know.” You agreed on impulse. “I love you Todoroki, you’re the best friend I could have.”

“That’s very sudden, (y/n),” he said, surprised. “What brought this on?”

“I just need to tell all of my friends how much I care about them,” you explained.

~

“I’ll always be there for you. You’ll always be my friend!” Midoriya smiled at you and you smiled back. 

“I love you Midoriya,” you said.

“I love you too (y/n),” Midoriya said back. 

You smiled at Midoriya and embraced him.

~

It was the end of your chapter at UA, but you would start a new one once you formed your agency. 

“Girls, before we leave, I want you to know that UA wouldn’t have been the same without you guys,” you started. “I love all of you to the moon and back.”

“We love you too, (y/n),” Yaoyorozu said back. 

“I know, and I’ll remember until the day I die,” you linked arms with Yaoyorozu and Jiro, then started to skip around. 

“I still want food though, so lets go.”

~

“Right, now who wants popcorn?” Jiro asked. 

You all raised your hands and Jiro counted the hands that were in the air. 

“This is super random, and I know I say it a lot, but I want you guys to know how much I love all of you,” you said thoughtfully. 

Uraraka didn’t say anything and hugged you tightly.

“You have no idea how much I needed to hear that,” she sobbed quietly. 

“It’s okay Uraraka, we’ll be here for you, always,” you held her tightly. 

~

Your memories finished flashing in front of your eyes, and just as fast as it started, everything was over. 

And despite everything going on, you managed to smile. 

Yes, you were in pain, but just like in all of your life’s special moments, you had pushed through to let your positivity shine through. You smile would be the last thing that your friends would see of you, and you knew that your job here was done. 

They could live knowing that you had died loving them. 

“I love you, all of you,” you whispered, closing your eyes. 

Quite fittingly, those were the last words you said. 

Then, you welcomed the darkness. 

~

The next day, you and the other’s that had been trapped in the vault didn’t show up for work, so a group of pro heroes searched for all of you. 

The first place they checked was the vault that you had all gone to. The door was blown off, and they found four bodies that day. 

Four true heroes, lost forever. 

“Who are they?” Midoriya, the pro hero “Deku”, asked. 

“We haven’t identified them for for sure yet, but based on the information we know, we can assume (y/n) (l/n), Shoto Todoroki, Kyoka Jiro, and Denki Kaminari,” the police officer said. 

“What?” Bakugo stood next to Midoriya, questioning the officer.

“We know that you were good friends with who we assume the deceased are, and offer our condolences,” the officer walked away, not wanting to be suceptible to the wrath of Ground Zero. 

“Kacchan-,” Midoriya started.

“AGHHH!” Bakugo yelled, kicking the wall.

He remembered you and Dunce Face, and even Icy-Hot and Earjack girl. 

You had all meant something to him, even if he never showed it. 

“Ground Zero, sir, you and Deku have been the two requested to customize  (l/n)’s headstone,” a small, wiry man said. “The police said that it’s highly likely that one of the bodies is (l/n)’s, and that we should make arrangements.”

“Give it,” Bakugo motioned for the clipboard he was holding, and the man turned it to him. 

He paused on the engraving. 

“Kacchan, let me,” Midoriya said, taking the pen from him and filling the engraving part out. 

Bakugo read what Midoriya put, and reeled back. 

“I love you? Isn’t that a bit basic?” Bakugo asked. 

“(Y/n) loved us all, and was never afraid to say it,” Midoriya said pointedly.

“Give me the damn clipboard Deku,” Bakugo grabbed the clipboard and scratched out ‘I love you’, writing ‘The greatest gift to give is love, and I shared this gift with everyone.’

Handing the clipboard back to Midoriya, Bakugo folded his arms. “Well?” He asked. 

“I like it Kacchan,” Midoriya approved. 

“(Y/n) would have liked it too,” Bakugo looked at his feet.  

“(Y/n) loved everyone, and wanted us all to get along, so why don’t we start over?” Midoriya asked. 

“I guess we can do that,” Bakugo kicked at the ground, wanting to say something snarky, but refraining. He had been such an ass to Deku, so who was he to refuse a fresh start?

“Hi, I’m Izuku Midoriya, the pro hero, ‘Deku’,” Deku stuck out his hand.

Bakugo shook it. 

“My name is Katsuki Bakugo, and I’m the pro hero ‘Ground Zero’,” Bakugo introduced.

“I think we have the potential to be great friends,” Midoriya smiled at Bakugo, not in admiration to worship him, but this time as an equal.

A friend. 

Bakugo smirked back. “Yeah, I think I can make that work.”

With that, Bakugo and Midoriya walked away from the vault together, surprising everyone.

The pair knew that you would have been proud.

They had put aside their differences and past to create something new. 

All because of you. 

For even in death you were still bringing people together.

And as long as people remembered you for that, you would never truly die.