#vaguing marvel on main

[doesnotloveyou]

i'm actually very okay with "there was no other way this could end" endings. if they gotta die, let them die. if they gotta break up or go the wrong way or lose something important, let'em. so long as it completes the story. only thing i dislike more than a forced happy ending is a forced bad ending

[annabelle--cane]

I am winning so hard. it is impossible for me to win any harder. I am reaching as of yet unprecedented levels of winning.

[buckevantommy]

watching Quantumania like: 

[daydreamerdrew]

I’m genuinely heartbroken that Mark Waid said Mary’s hero name is going to be Mary Marvel now.

I’m obviously a big fan of Golden Age comics, so it’s in no way a distaste for the Golden Age that motivates this, but I really don’t think that “Mary Marvel” as a hero name works that well in modern comics with characters that aren’t meant to know her secret identity calling her that.

I think that this change is motivated entirely by wanting to return to the classic version of the family in whatever ways are possible without any thought given to what makes sense for the specific version of her that exists in comics now. Especially since Billy is going to be called the Captain now, so it’s not like the name Shazam needed to be freed up for him.

And I really do not think that it makes any in-universe sense for modern Mary to name herself Mary Marvel or be amenable to someone else naming her that. Like, I don’t see the road to this from The New Champion of Shazam! (2023), which emphasized so strongly that, despite sexist backlash, her name was Shazam and not ‘Lady Shazam’ or any other gendered variations that stemmed from hesitation to give her that main title.

I think it’s clear from the interview that Mark Waid is thinking about how to make classically-styled Billy work in a modern comic book. For example, he talks about how a lot of his Golden Age stories had very low stakes, but that doesn’t work well for what modern audience are interested in now, even though it was really successful back then.

But while the change that Billy won’t be able to say “Shazam” anymore without transforming is going to be justified with the Lazarus Planet event, it’s my understanding that the change of Billy’s personality is just going to be how it is now without any explanation. And that’s fine with me because I don’t care for how the modern version of him has previously been characterized.

But I really like the modern Mary that we’ve gotten and I’m sad to see her get unnecessarily dismantled. While Billy as Shazam never worked for me, Mary as Shazam did. It was exciting to see her move into the main spot in the family and the series that gave her that name felt like a natural modernization of her classic character, not the forced and mean-spirited approach that the story that gave Billy that name took.

I just don’t see how this name change is in any way good for her character. While Billy benefits from being called the Captain now in that people who otherwise would not be interested are now going to be more open to buying his book, I don’t see how Mary being called a name that some modern readers struggle to take seriously benefits her, especially when her classic iteration doesn’t have as big of a fan base to appeal to in the first place. And there really wasn’t anything wrong with calling her Shazam.

[smokedanced]

@isrighthand​ said: [  HEAT  ]:     while engaged in a passionate argument with one another, sender, in the heat of the moment, blurts out “i love you!” to the receiver. ( think of like, that glorious trope where people have a huge argument and then suddenly sb drops the mic with “because i’m in love with you!” and silences the other person. u know the trope! )    this except izzy will immediately start crying after djdvdn for ed 👀

“𝙄  𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀  𝙔𝙊𝙐”  𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙈𝙋𝙏𝙎    /    ACCEPTING ↷

It is hard to pull Ed out of his anger, hard to bring him down from the fire of it when it happens, and generally, if it does happen, he comes out of it in turmoil, even in tears.

Because I love you!

Ed has  never seen Izzy cry.  Not ever. It  ⸺  it deflates all of the anger out of him.

& he stares, brow knitting,  heart breaking.

Fucking do something, he tells himself. He’s not good at this, he doesn’t know how to... what to... What he should do is say it back, but he’s never thought about what he feels in those specific words, not really ever put it into any words. But how could he not love Izzy? Of course he does; it’s such a given it’s never needed saying, even privately, in his own head. Izzy is an anchor to him, at times keeping him tethered to the world, to life, at other times pulling him under, drowning him; regardless, always there, and a constant like that, in both the good and the bad, it’s safe, it’s... home. It’s love, yeah. But he’s never put it like that, and he’s too shocked, and the words are way, way too alien.

❝ Hey... ❞    Ed says in a soft, low voice. He closes the distance between them, angles himself to stand between Izzy and the door out of the captain’s quarters; the worst thing right now would be to let him run away. No, Ed doesn’t think he could handle that; he will physically stop him if necessary.

He rests a hesitant hand on Izzy’s forearm, lightly first, then gains confidence and turns the touch into a grip. It’s a fucking marvel, the sight of Israel Hands  crying.  Much as it breaks Ed’s heart, he can’t help but be fascinated by the expression of something so vulnerable; it feels like a privilege to see Iz like this. Has anyone else, ever, witnessed this? It’s not that Ed wants him to cry, but⸺

He cups Izzy’s face gently in his free hand, thumbs away a tear. Doesn’t force Izzy to look up at him, just keeps stroking his cheek with a thumb, slowly, his own heart pounding loudly in his ears.

[fatherofmachine]

VERSE TAGS.

[fedoraxcrowned-temp]

v: the star rising above the sea

As a general rule, interactions under this tag will take place between Red’s graduation from USNA and disappearance a.k.a. his Naval years (May 1984 - December 1990). However, this verse can be expanded to include his Academy and even teenage years, if a thread or a plot requires that.

v: the shell of a man the case of a bullet

Everything that happened during the four years Red worked deep undercover (i.e. as Fitch’s - and, by extension, Cabal’s - bloodhound, the rage and the grief he felt after being led to believe that his family was killed because of him cleverly manipulated by aforementioned people into making him the perfect agent for the dirtiest of work), between his “disappearance” in December 1990 and Cabal’s set up in 1994 that made him out to be a traitor.

v: a good man goes to war

Everything that happened in the 20 years Red had been building and expanding his empire as well as successfully eluding capture will be placed under this tag.

v: let's call it the blacklist; that sounds exciting!

Main, vaguely canon verse. After turning himself in and offering the USA authorities in the form of FBI a deal they couldn’t reject, Red got his immunity (that only 40 ± 5 people in the government know of) in exchange for acting as a CI / consultant for the FBI’s Special Taskforce whose mission is to catch high-value criminal targets - the Blacklisters - that Red gives them. However, the existence of said deal is a secret very well-kept, which means that, unless your muse is a member of the aforementioned Taskforce or a part of Red’s team, they’ll think that Red is still a wanted fugitive that’s been on the run for the past 20-30 years and has no ties to the USA government (except for his “men on the inside”, for whom he sometimes passes the members of the aforementioned Taskforce off).

The canon divergence here is that Red made peace with Mr Kaplan after her Cuban fiasco - after all, she did have good intentions and she did realize her mistake - and they slowly rebuilt their trustful relationship with Mr Kaplan remaining Red’s cleaner and one of the key members of his empire.

v: on the way to the top

The canon-compliant verse set during the 5th season of TBL: Red is trying to rebuild his empire after it was destroyed by Mr Kaplan as a part of her revenge plan after their Cuban falling out.

v: the eggshell crack'd from side to side

The most canon-compliant verse, set after Elizabeth Keen's death. Strictly speaking, there are two variants of this verse: the one where Dembe is still with Red and the one where two new guards/shamans took his place: Weecha, who acts as Red's driver and bodyguard, and Mierce, who "guards his soul" through rituals and not always good advices.

v: the last ray of the setting sun

A 3rd season AU in which Liz dies from the childbirth complications / 5th season AU in which Liz dies from the injuries inflicted on her by Garvey’s people and Red becomes Agnes’ guardian, trying to balance empire, his deal with the FBI, his grief over the death of the woman he loved and his newfound duty to take care of a little hyperactive endlessly curious (just like her mom) girl.

v: too empathetic for my own good

Marvel / DC / any other fandom that has superpowered people in it verse. As far as Red’s life story is concerned, everything is pretty much the same as in the above verses. With one small addition: Red is no mere human.

Back when he was in the Navy, he was captured and experimented on and, as a result, got a superpower… or, rather, two closely related superpowers.

The first one has helped him greatly in becoming the Concierge of Crime and staying on top of his game at all times - he can sense what emotions / feelings other people are experiencing as they interact. Moreover, this power is synaesthesia-like: Red not only senses other people’s emotions / feelings but sees colors / shapes / tastes flavors / hears sounds / smells scents / feels textures that are associated with those emotions / feelings in his mind.

His second power lies in his ability to take an emotion / feeling the other person is experiencing away. Only it comes with a catch: Red can’t make those emotions / feelings disappear into the thin air - he can only absorb them, so that the other’s rage becomes his rage, the other’s grief becomes his grief etc. It’s hard and almost always unpleasant, so he never even considered using this power on other people for a price, no matter how popular such an offer would be ( after all, how much would a person be willing to pay to get rid of certain emotions / feelings like guilt, shame, grief? ).

Red can also take physical sensations away - pain, mostly - but there are two conditions: 1) he has to maintain some sort of physical contact with the person he’s taking the sensation away from ( therefore, it will return to its original “owner” the moment Red lets go ) and 2) if the sensation involved is pain, Red cannot take the cause of it away - he’s not a healer - only the pain itself, so he acts as sort of anesthesia personified.

Mind you, as far as the whole world is concerned, Red is a powerless human ( a smart, cunning and charming enough to broker deals and have plenty of connections inside the superheroes’ community human but a powerless human nevertheless ), because he prefers to keep his superpowers a secret. So, unless plotted otherwise, your muse has no knowledge of his abilities and considers him a powerless human.

OFMD verse to be added

GO / Lucifer / fallen angel verse to be added

「 the star rising above the sea ( v: young Red ) 」

「 the shell of a man the case of a bullet ( v: thirsty for revenge ) 」

「 a good man goes to war ( v: twenty years of running ) 」

「 let's call it the blacklist; that sounds exciting! ( v: main; vaguely canon ) 」

「 on the way to the top ( v: 5th season canon compliant ) 」

「 the eggshell crack'd from side to side ( v: 9th season canon compliant ) 」

「 the last ray of the setting sun ( v: single dad au ) 」

「 too empathetic for my own good ( v: superpowered ) 」

[yuri-is-online]

The Quiet Part (Azul, Jade, and Trey x Yuu)

"Oh can I help you? You seem to be lost." You attempt to cheerfully ask the vaguely familiar looking person in front of you. As if he is deliberately trying to rub salt in your wounds, Crowley ignored your request to leave campus for NRC parents day and is instead making you and Grim run errands. The person in front of you, blissfully ignorant to your inner turmoil perks up at your attention.

"Forgive me for asking, but are you the magicless prefect?" You and Grim exchange a confused glance. "You've got to be right?" They're practically glowing with how happy they are to see you. " Oh I'm sorry, I've just heard so much about you!" Wait, what?

notes: they/them pronouns used for Yuu, in-law fishing (Azul and Jade) vs sibling smack down (Trey), if you liked this please check my master list here.

Azul

"Well aren't you just darling!" You fold your clipboard just a bit closer to your chest, you don't think this excitable plump lady is intending to intimidate you but she is all up in your personal space. Her pearlescent hair frames her face perfectly, nicely complementing her large black hat that reminds you of a Victorian aristocrat on her way to the opera. She just lacks the fancy cigarette case.

"Hey lady back off my hench human! You're spooking 'em!" Grim pouts with his hands on his hips but only succeeds in changing her attention to him.

"And you must be the dire beast! Simply marvelous I didn't think Zuzu would let me have a chance to see you two at all." She sighs, clearly happy in a vaguely sinister way where her familiar looking smile doesn't reach her eyes. "Oh where are my manners? I'm-"

"Mother!" A very flusterd octopus runs, well more like flails, his way up the main street towards the woman your speaking with, but she doesn't do more than wave before returning to her conversation with you.

"-Mrs. Ashengrotto! Say darling are you free for a bit?" She's back to crowding you once again while Azul moves in between the two of you. "I have been so looking forward to meeting my poopsy's friends."

"Mother please, the prefect is extremely busy. There's no need for them to show you around campus, what sort of son would I be if I-"

"That's besides the point." Mrs. Ashengrotto's smile doesn't fade but the warmth of her voice most certainly does. Still Azul remains firm, extending an arm to keep you from moving towards his mother, or maybe to keep her from closing in on you? "You can't expect me to not be curious! You never have written such glowing things about-"

"That's enough mother." Grim yanks on your pant leg and points towards the path to Sam's shop.

"It is not poopsy you can't just ask for advice and then refuse every opportunity to use it." Mrs. Ashengrotto huffs in disappointment and elegantly shakes her finger as you and Grim begin to slowly inch away.

"I have no idea what it is you are talking about mother," Azul pushes his glasses further up his face, silently pleading with you to run faster "and I am certain the prefect doesn't either so please, allow me to escort you to the Monstro Lounge that you have been so eager to see." His mother pouts, pouts! At him puffing her cheeks up with air before finally looking behind him and realizing you aren't there.

"Oh absolutely not, I am not letting this fish out of my net." She mutters muscling her son out of the way. "Yoo hoo! Darling are you certain you can't at least stay for dinner?"

"Mother!"

"Or maybe forever?"

"MOTHER!"

Jade

"Well now, this is a surprise, watcha doin here Jade?" Grim asks as you step foot into the Pomefiore lounge. Normally asking Jade anything is akin to sticking your foot in your mouth but you have to admit, you are sort of curious why Jade and Vil, the two most composed people on campus, are standing awkwardly in the corner clearly a bit out of place while two men you assume are their father's seem to be having a grand time chatting it up on the couch. Disturbingly, Jade makes eye contact with you with a look you almost think is screaming for help.

"Yoooo!" The Leech father is tall, and the speed with which he snaps up off the couch and approaches you does not help at all with his naturally intimidating aura. "You've gotta be the prefect right? Mr. Leech!" He extends a hand and you look at Jade who just smiles at you as you gingerly take his father's hand and immediately regret it with how he nearly snaps your arm off with his hand shake.

"Um yes that's me, can I help you?" You wince and try to avoid rolling your wrist too much. Mr. Leech looks a bit confused.

"Mhm? Don't you have any folks visiting today?" You look at Jade who reluctantly draws attention to himself with a cough.

"Their situation is a bit unique father." You're thankful Jade doesn't say more than that

"Well why didn't you say that? Now I look like an ass." Mr. Leech claps the back of his head and mutters. "And here I had everything I wanted to say to the in laws planned out already, shit." He turns back to you with a smile and Vil's dad lets out an elegant laugh.

"From a certain point of view that makes your task easier no?" Vil's father says as Jade reluctantly moves out of the corner towards his father, clearly looking for an excuse to get him out of Vil's hair.

"If you are done saying hello to your friend, would you like to see some of the mountain lover's club projects?" Jade asks, already gently herding him towards the door as his father shrugs.

"Sure, you coming kid?" Why is he looking at you and why is Jade giving you that strange look again? "Jade's told his mom all about your hikes, gotta admit I don't really get the appeal myself but it sounds like you two have a grand old time with it."

"The headmage technically has me-" Mr. Leech wraps one arm around your shoulder and another around Jade's and resumes the march towards the door.

"Aww don't worry about that!" It's clear you aren't getting out of this with just how terrified Grim is, he's practically rooted to his spot as Mr. Leech loosens his grip to wave over his shoulder at Vil and his dad. "See ya next Sunday Eric!"

"Good luck! Don't scare them off!"

Trey

Two small children stare up at you with sharp eyes, judgmentally you think but you can't be too sure. "You are the prefect right?" Asks the little boy, definitely judgmentally. "I thought you would be prettier or at least more handsome."

"Hey!" snaps his sister, who doesn't hesitate to hit him in a display that you are sure would give her parents a headache. "Big brother never lies to us about stuff!" Her brother scowls and rubs his head.

"Big brother lies all the time, what else do you call those 'secret ingredients' of his?" He goes back to staring you down and you and Grim exchange a look.

"Yeah but not to us." The little girl crosses her arms and stares her brother down sternly. "He would never lie about something like that. Besides did you see how dopey he looks when he talks about them?" The little boy looks away from you with a pout, almost like you stole his toy or something while his sister rolls her eyes. "It is so obvious- you would absolutely know if you were a girl."

"That's got nothing to do with it! I'm just worried you know, it's important to make sure they pass the sniff test." He looks like he is questioning if he can get away with hitting his sister in front of you as you desperately look around for any sign of these kids' parents. "You would totally know if you were a boy."

"Uhhh hench human," Grim poorly whispers "you don't think these two are..." he doesn't finish his sentence but as you both examine the bickering duo you start to note all the little similarities between them and-

"Hey you two aren't causing problems on purpose are you?" Trey looks down sternly on the two kids who completely ignore his tone and jump on him immediately.

"TREY!"

"Are you gonna show us the hedgehogs?!" squeals the little girl.

"Forget that, I wanna see the Coliseum!" cheers the little boy. You breathe a sigh of relief, and wave to Trey getting ready to continue your patrol when the little girl looks after you confused.

"Aren't you gonna come?" She asks, so sweetly in comparison to the heat you're taking from her brother. Trey smiles at you, but he can't really bring himself to keep eye contact.

"The prefect's busy, I'm sure. They don't need to be running around after us all day." He sets them both down and starts herding them towards the mirror, shooting you a wink over his shoulder as he flicks his little brother on the forehead for sticking his tongue out at you. His sister sighs and you swear you hear her whine that-

"You just want to keep them to yourself. You can't keep me away forever, I swear I'll be a good wing woman, you're waaaay too lame to get a date yourself Trey!" You awkwardly look back down at your clipboard as Grim desperately tries to do the math in his head.

[affcgato-archived]

@ascnsion​ ( steve ): ❛ the world doesn’t hate us. but it doesn’t love us either. ❜

he doesn’t speak for the longest moment, just taking in the comment & rolling it around in his head for a bit while he weighs his response. it’s a stark contrast to how comfortable he used to be with casual banter, for sure. ‘ that sounds about right, ’ he finally admits with a slow exhale. ‘ I mean, we’re not example the guys next door these days. and the people we hang out with might make a few of ‘em nervous. ’ he finally cracks a little smirk, moving to sit on the floor & stretch. he doesn’t like to admit that even the serum can’t take the edge off the ache from his arm & shoulder, but a part of him knows he’s not fooling anyone. it takes a moment before he feels out just what he wants to stretch out, & finally looks up at the blond again. 

‘ there’s no contract that says you have to stick around in the public eye, you know. ’ not anymore. he did, at least for a little while. the whole court mandated therapy that seemed more like a convenient way to keep him on a leash than anything useful was just one part of it. he wants to be a part of this world in some ways. he wants to make up for all the damage done at his own hands. after that, he’s content to fade into a neglected back panel at some history museum, so long as he gets to be there on his OWN terms, with his own name. beyond that, he doesn’t know that he has any other goals just yet. ‘ at least one of us should probably know what peace actually feels like on this side of any century. ’

[hannibals-favourite-meal]

For your celebration about she fell first but he fell harder, with clark kent or logan?

It Got Worse

Clark Kent x Wayne!reader

Bruce Wayne thought that the worst thing to ever happen to him was his darling little sister developing a crush on his best friend, but oh boy, it gets worse.

Warnings: reader is Bruce’s adopted sister, Clark is a SIMP, fluff, pregnancy

WC: 487

Minors DNI

3000 Follower Celebration

“Kal, stop staring at her. You look like a fucking creep.” Clark snapped back to reality, shaking himself from his daydreams. Bruce glared at him with a stern expression, his eyes dark with a raging anger reserved only for those who royally pissed him off.

Clark blushed and looked away, although he was conscious not to look even vaguely in your direction anymore. “It’s not being creepy, it’s being in love.” He retorted with a pout. Bruce scoffed.

“Actually the technical term is stalking.”

“She’s my fiancée.”

“She’s my sister.” Clark harrumphed and slumped down in the conference room chair. Obviously Bruce was going to get the kryptonite from his “super secret safe” if Clark even dared think about looking your way again, so the Kryptonian focused his ears and began to listen to your heartbeat instead. “Don’t.” Batman growled.

“I wasn’t even doing anything!” He whined, throwing his arms up into the air like a petulant toddler. 

“You two are already getting a whole day where the two of you can fawn all over each other and I am being forced to be there. So please, spare me the love-sick glances and blatantly inappropriate thoughts you are having about my little sister, until then.” Considering that the end of the conversation, Bruce turned back to his work, assuming that Clark would follow his lead. 

But instead there was a rush of air, causing the documents that had been carefully laid out on the table to scatter everywhere. With a heaving sigh, the older man looked up to see his future brother-in-law cradling you in his arms, lathering your face with sloppy kisses as you screamed with laughter.

Yet Bruce couldn’t help but smile. He remembered only two years ago when you would frequently collapse onto his couch, spouting about how in love with Clark you were and no matter what you did, he never reciprocated. In desperation for saving not only your happiness, but also his own sanity, Bruce had outright told Superman to ask you out. And he had been living to regret it ever since. 

Yes, you were happy and so was his best friend but the honeymoon phase had never ended. That led to an overabundance of pda, way way too many pet names, and a legitimate concern that Clark would drop dead the moment he saw you in your wedding gown.

You were trying to push your fiancé away, but he wouldn’t budge, instead one large hand slipped under your large shirt to cup your soft stomach. You placed your own hand on top of his as your lips met in an achingly soft kiss. Clark’s blue eyes sparkled with tears as you cooed something to him that your brother could not hear.

By the time the hero fell to his knees to kiss where his hand had just occupied, the realisation slapped Bruce in the face. This has just gotten worse.

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[atlasofthestaars]

[MK X READER] New Era - Chapter .001

Note: Will use events from Mk9-11 + Aftermath. I am changing canon for some characters to fit the story. Changing canon in general for MK1, so at some point I will add in scenes not in the main story and probably will diverge from it in the end. Some character personality changes, not major, but enough to add depth. Slight character dynamic changes (Mostly Lin Kuei, so the trio feel slightly closer as a whole)

Also excuse the small exposition dump that happens through the chapter, it was needed to set up plot points in the future, so in the future we can get to those juicy character interactions easier!

LOVE INTERESTS: Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Raiden, Johnny Cage, Kenshi, Reptile, Scorpion (Kuai Liang), Sub Zero (Bi-Han), Smoke, Shang Tsung, Mileena, Kitana, Ashrah, Havik, Rain

Also on AO3: NEW ERA

part two

FROM THE EYES OF ONE WHO DOESN'T REMEMBER

Memories are fickle things. 

Awakening in the middle of a field, you heard the buzzing of bugs, and the grass beside you moved as a creature scurried past. Your head hurt, and a fog settled in your mind as if it were blocking something. You sat up slowly, noting the moonlight shining down on the area around you.

You looked down at your hands. It was odd, it felt like you were familiar with it, yet at the same time it felt all too foreign to you. You wiggled your toes, feeling the grass brush against them to remind you that they existed. 

Where were you?

Swallowing any dread you felt building up, you stood up wearily. Your body swayed as you got up, almost stumbling into the grass once more. The area around felt devoid of humans, undisturbed nature spreading far. It was beautiful and breathtaking, but it only soothed you for a moment before panic began to seep back in again.

Where were you?

In the distance was a soft light. A flame? Perhaps. You dragged your feet as you walked towards it. You’d rather go discover whatever that was then stick around being lost wherever you had woken up. 

Why were you there in the first place? 

Fear was crawling down your back at the inability to answer the nagging questions within your head. Shaking it off, you continued on. The closer you got, the better you could identify where the flame was from. 

A temple of sorts?

It had a dragon motif from what you could see, and it was constructed mainly from wood and stone. Red shingles, or at least you assumed it was…it was hard to see in the moonlight, lined the rooftops of the temple ahead. The tree leaves even seemed to be red. There were multiple buildings, one being a tall tower, and a few smaller buildings. The flame, which was quite large from what you could see, was lit in a pavilion of sorts.

Your mind throbbed as a vague memory of a temple floating in the sky appeared in your mind. But this wasn’t that same temple. Not at all. Why were you thinking of that?

Soon enough, you found yourself at the entrance of the area, marveling at the architecture and the beauty of the area up close. How wonderful. Eventually, you spotted two figures walking towards you. 

The first thing you noticed was their glowing blue eyes.

Not knowing what to do, you stood there. Although you felt a pit of dread build up in your stomach as they approached, you stood unwavering. You grimaced, not at the sight of them, but at how the figures coming closer seemed to intensify a dull throb that had been building up in the back of your head.

Silly as it was, were they the cause of your headache? Of the fog in your head that seemed to block out any memories you tried to pry from your mind? 

You watched as the two figures, that you could now identify as men, approached. You could read a vague sense of concern on one of their faces, and the other held a sense of shock on his. They walked over a bridge, stopping at the top as if to create a sense of height. You looked up at them, your will not wavering despite the dread that was building in your stomach.

Your headache, why was it hurting so much?

You watched as one of them held out his hands, forming one a fist connecting to his palm. He smiled at you. It felt warm. The other nodded his head in acknowledgement, but you could see the small smile he had as well. You stumbled as your headache turned into a sharp pain, as if someone had just stabbed your head. Gasping, you stumbled forward. 

The man who had been presenting his hands grabbed you to steady you, and you noted the strange sense of familiarity as he did so. His wrapped hands were firm as he helped you right yourself. You looked up into his eyes, and without thinking, a name popped into your head.

“Liu Kang?”

The dread you felt in your stomach turned into fear as the man’s eyes widened, and the vague shock that had been on his face before was now on full display. He glanced over to his companion who held the same look of shock before they both looked down at you, almost accusingly.

“How did you know that?”

That was years ago.

Shortly after the shock had worn off, you had been escorted into the fire temple. They gave you a place to rest for the night, but you could hear the whispers of Liu Kang and Geras as they walked away. What they were discussing, you weren’t certain.

You could hear the concerned tone in their voice loud and clear despite that.

The next morning in what was perhaps the politest interrogation ever, it was revealed that you had a lack of memories.

Kind of.

You had memories, or at least you thought so, but they were all jumbled up in your head. They felt wrong, and foreign and they didn’t match up with what you were seeing. After all, your mind was telling you the man who was interrogating you was Liu Kang…but it was not the same mortal man that popped into your mind. 

You also eventually recognized Geras, which seemed to alarm the two even more, even if they were subtle about it. Eventually, after long deliberation with each other, Liu Kang eventually came up to you and offered you a place to stay at the fire temple due to your lack of memory and residence.

You were relieved to have a place to rest and stay, even if you had a nagging feeling that the offer was a disguised excuse to keep a close eye on you.

You supposed that was fair.

Eventually, the memories you had came back slowly over the years, and you confided in Liu Kang about them. This led to an eventual friendship with the god as you unraveled the strange situation that you were in. The man, though cordial, had been wary at first of you. You thought that was reasonable. A random stranger showing up in rags and recognizing you without introduction?

That was suspicious for certain, you could not blame the fire god for his caution. Especially since he proclaimed himself to be the Protector of Earthrealm, you could have easily been a threat.

Thankfully, you were not. Or at least, he seemed to deem that you were not. Although you had a jumbled mess of mismatching memories, the two of you had concluded that the memories you did have were visions of sorts, of other realities, and that the memories you used to have were gone. 

Visions of other worlds traded for the memories of your past. That’s what he told you, anyways. You had a sinking feeling that wasn’t quite true, and that was the biggest secret you held from Liu Kang. After all, the more memories you regained, the less it felt that they were random visions. 

They felt like a past life…and maybe they were. You weren’t certain yet. You had a nagging feeling there were many memories left to unlock.

The guilt of hiding this doubt, this secret, was immense at first. Ignoring the fact that you were lying to a god, you were concealing doubts from a man who had offered you shelter and food.

Eventually the guilt died down into near nothingness, but there was still a twinge of guilt every time you lied about it.

Aside from that, you rediscovered abilities that you had not realized you had. 

Shapeshifting into animals. You could transform your whole body into creatures, or parts of them. It was a helpful power, you found. You also seemed to have some sort of muscle memory of fighting skills. Lord Liu Kang had once offered to train you, and to both of your surprise, you were quite skilled.

Rusty at first, but it was obvious your body knew how to fight. It was nothing that years, or in all honesty, months could not fix.

Another ability you realized after a few years was how your body did not seem to age. Or at least, not in the same way humans did. At first, the monks seemed to chalk it up to good genetics, complimenting on how you seemed to keep your youth. However, as more years passed, whispers of magic arose.

Concerned with the strange state of your body, you confided in the fire god. Liu Kang suggested that your body was one that lived longer, perhaps of one that was not native to Earth, or Earthrealm as he called it…an edenian, perhaps? He explained the realm of Outworld, and the existence of the realms in general. He had once explained it much before, along with some monks, but not to the historical extent he had given you at that time.

Through these explanations, you remembered Outworld much more clearly, but the memories of Outworld were once again inconsistent with the world he described.

The Outworld you knew had been run by a tyrant before it was passed to an heir that had been overthrown. It was war hungry, and not at all pretty as he described. Liu Kang offered that, perhaps, when the Mortal Kombat tournament rolled around in a few years, you could join him and the champions he would bring to Outworld.

You agreed, of course. Maybe that realm was key to unlocking more memories, and more explanations. Even though you cherished the Fire Temple, a place you had learned to call home, you now had a purpose going forward.

Go to Outworld to seek the rest of your memories.

And now, you were here, enjoying another peaceful morning in the Fire Temple.

Staring out from the pavilion, you inhaled deeply as you took in the sunrise. You could never tire of the beautiful view. Your ears picked up the soft sound of someone walking towards you, and you turned around, already familiar with who it was. 

“Hello, Liu Kang.” You greeted, a smile on your face as you nodded towards the fire god. The fire god sent you a soft smile in return as he walked up to be by your side. Due to your memories of a younger, mortal Liu Kang that had popped up so often at first, you had taken up a nasty habit of addressing him casually. You tried to fix this, but he had permitted you to address him casually in private.

It felt like a strange honor.

He greeted you, your name rolling off his tongue in a familiar way as his hands settled on the railing much like yours were. It was common for the two of you to meet up here at sunrise, to indulge in the simple yet breathtaking view. It was a tradition from years ago.

“Beautiful morning, isn’t it?” Liu Kang inquired, much like he did nearly every morning. He gazed at the horizon with a sense of serenity and peace before his glowing eyes landed on you. With a chuckle you turned your gaze to the horizon he had been staring at previously.

“It is, just like it is every morning.” You mused, watching as the sky lightened, the darkness making way for the pretty light blue hues as a pink and orange color settled over the horizon. Your fingers tapped the wood as you hummed, remembering that something special was happening today. “Today we’re going to the village of Fengjian, correct?” You inquired, a surge of excitement buzzing through you.

You had been around the world here and there over the years to accompany Liu Kang and sometimes even the Lin Kuei, but it had been a while since your last venture. 

“Correct, Madam Bo said two of her trainees were ready for the exam scenario, and today we're going to observe.” Liu Kang said, nodding as he confirmed the plans he had told you about two weeks ago. You noted how he kept his gaze intent on you, as if analyzing your reaction. You could not hold back the smile on your lips.

“Excellent, it’s been forever since I’ve had Madam Bo’s cooking.” You commented, remembering just how delicious the older woman’s cooking was. You were nearly drooling at the thought of it. Not only that, but Madam Bo was someone you valued as well.

Whenever you saw her, you were reminded of a fatherly figure who you hazily remembered who drunk a lot of alcohol. It was odd, but she too must have sensed the connection, as she took you in as if you were a child of her own ever since she met you. You wished you could go out to see her more.

You opened your mouth to speak, but you heard the faintest of footsteps. Reflexively, you transformed your ears into those of bats and craned them around to hone in on the sound. You tilted your head as you focused before you turned to look at Liu Kang, ears turning back to normal.

“I thought the Lin Kuei were to come later?” You inquired, revealing that you were now aware of their presence. You heard some muttering before the three assassins revealed themselves. Sub Zero, Scorpion, and Smoke. Three of the Lin Kuei you had grown closest to during your association with Liu Kang.

“That was the plan, but we decided to meet up earlier to discuss the plan as we shall leave earlier to get in position to observe.” Liu Kang explained. The two of you turned around to face the three. You smiled at the three. Smoke and Scorpion both bowed to the two of you. Sub Zero, notably, did not, but you did notice the slight nod of acknowledgement sent your way.

“Perceptive as always, and I thought we could finally sneak up on you.” Smoke greeted, addressing you as he spoke your name, a light playful tone to his voice. Smoke was always the friendliest of the three, it was a delight to talk to him. He was the most casual. You noted the slightly irritated glare from Sub Zero sent his way.

You surmised that Smoke had managed to convince the two others to also sneak in. You could not tell whether the irritation was from having to partake in such a silly endeavor, or if it was due to the fact that he blamed Smoke for giving the three of them away.

“Maybe another time, Tomas.” You chuckled, covering your mouth as you did so. Despite your words, you were competitive, and you weren’t planning on giving up in the ongoing game that you had both been playing for a while now. “Regardless, it is good to see you all, it’s been a while.” With that, you nodded towards Liu Kang, letting him go over the plan with the trio.

You observed silently as excitement coursed through your veins.

You had a feeling that tonight was going to be something special.

part two

[avidfics]

Chasing you

Summary: You’ve been on the run from Carol after sending a drunk voicemail. A month later, Carol has found you and doesn’t plan to let you go.

A/N: Came out of a writing hiatus cause I love this woman. There’s not enough carol x reader fics on this app and she gives me the warm fuzzies. Comments and reshares are appreciated :)

Warnings: Pretty PG-13, playful teasing, fluff, some tears, few misspellings, mentions some characters from The Marvels

Three things were painfully obvious as you woke up. This wasn’t your bed. These weren’t your clothes. The “Space Girls Do It Better” sleeveless crop top didn’t belong to you. 

Oh, and there was a fluffy, orange flerken licking its genitals ontop of your chest. A pretty deep cleaning by the looks of it.

“Um.” your voice croaked, the result of a long nap. “Mr. Flerken sir, I’m going to move you and place you on the floor-” Three tentacles shoot out from the confines of its mouth, wraps around a nearby metal dresser, and swallow it whole.

An audible nervous gulp can be heard from your throat. “New plan. Leave when it pleases you.” 

Armed with the killer fluffball, you creep along the cramped halls of the spaceship and take in the colorful murals that are painted inconsistently through the halls. One reads vaguely familiar, “New Jersey.” 

What’s a New Jersey?

In the back of your mind you have a nagging suspicion of the identity of the owner of the ship. But if you were right, then that would be a bigger problem than someone undressing you while you were unconscious. 

You enter the main pilot room as a childlike scream jars both you and the flerken. 

Kamala Khan’s wide eyed, all teeth smile shines from across the room. “OMG you’re awake!”

“God, no.” you groan. You plead to the heavens that this is all just a stress conjured dream even as the teenager morphs a hard light disk to propel her forward to tackle you into a warm hug. “Kamala, please tell me you're the owner of this ship and you’ve gotten your spaceship driver’s license early?

Her lips curve. “Sure.”

A relieved sigh depletes from your body.

“Sure, I missed you. But this is Carol’s ship. After you left she’s been tracking you for the past few weeks. We got an alert that you were involved in a bar brawl on the planet Aladna yesterday. When she found you, you were already beaten unconscious and bleeding from the attack. Carol scooped you up and took care of your injuries in the med bay.” Her signature dopey smile returns. “She nearly blasted the whole bar apart when she found you. It was epic.” she sighs with a faraway look.

Her smile wouldn’t be so bright if she knew you had no interest in being on the same planet yet alone on a small ship with her honored captain. Your frantic eyes start to scan every nook and cranny of the room. As if Carol would materialize from the launch keys at any moment. You drag Kamala to the control panel and start to hit buttons at random. “No, none of this is epic. Kamala, afraid we need to cut this reunion short. Drop me off at the nearest planet or station. Shoot, give me a space jumpsuit and I’ll simply float outside in outerspace. But I Can Not. Be. Here.” 

Kamala gives a sly look at how you’re acting. “Carol said you’d try to jump ship once you woke up.” she smiles as she pets the flerken still in your arms. “Something about you being embarrassed over something moronic.” 

And there it was. Until now there was a slim grasp of hope that Carol hadn’t known what you did but this just confirmed not only did she know but she wasn’t going to let it go. Goody. No way would you tell the whole story of how you’d gone out drinking with some Skrull girls because Carol was driving you crazy in her freaking halter tops. Then you found out she was married to a prince! Sure, it was only a political marriage but still the revelation made you want to punch something or someone. So drunk out of your mind, you left the most pathetic voicemail of all time sounding like a teenager with a crush. Talking about how she attracts you more than the rules of gravity. What was that! The voicemail ended with your declaration to take the prince of Aladna in a fight if that’s what it took to get her attention.

In your defense, she does like to fight. So you did punch someone…or several someones at the bar.

“It’s nothing.” you blink away the memory. “Carol didn’t have any right to kidnap me off the planet”

“Aren’t you a little old to be “kidnaped?” the dreaded voice calls out from behind you both.

You whip your head around, guilt written all over your face even as your jaw slackens at the hottest, yet fatigued, space hero in the galaxy. 

But at the moment Captain Marvel just looked like Carol. A half smile gracing her lips even as she leans against the entrance. Bare arms out, another damn crop top that barely covers her belly button, and an empty space of tantalizing skin at her stomach before the top half of her supersuit hangs limp at her hips. 

It was giving off duty lesbian about to repair an engine and it was making you absolutely feral. 

Which is why you held the flerken outstretched in her direction.

“Not another step, Danvers.” you warn. “This flerkin here has taken a liking to me and isn’t afraid to defend me.”

Carol tilts her head and her full teasing smile tasks force, causing a full quiver in your heart.

Taking slow, meticulous steps toward you, not caring about the fur-covered danger dangling from your hands. “You’ve taken a liking to my pet, sweetheart?” 

A spurtle of incoherent nonsense leaves your mouth. “It found me when I woke up. I even named him Ginger.”

“Real creative.” her deadpan sarcasm does not go unnoticed. “Put Goose down before he decides to eat you.” You get ready to fight the command but ‘Goose’ does a loud meow and you decide that’s him agreeing with his apparent owner. 

Her eyes flicker to the noisy teenager next to you. “Kamala, go find another wall to destroy.”

“Aye aye, captain.” You make a desperate attempt to grab Kamala but the small betrayer just mouths “You’re in trouble.” before prancing away. 

With Kamela’s exit the room is too quiet and the once spacious room feels tiny and empty, leaving only the bruising reminder of why you’ve avoided Carol for weeks. Sure, your friend can fly, shoot rays of energy from her fist, and literally crush you with her bare hands but none of that ever scared you. It wasn’t your physical body you were afraid she would break, but the fragile, sensitive heart you always protected. But then there was Carol with her small, gentle smile and her laughing eyes and a warm presence that made you want to be soft instead of sharp with pointy edges.

Under Carol’s gaze you were a giant raw wound that was left open and too exposed. You just knew Carol could see it. 

Which is why getting off this ship was imperative. With a new, hardened resolve you turn around and commerce pressing every button in sight.

“You trying to order a pizza? Because there’s an easier way than having us crash into the nearest asteroid.”  The pull of her voice is so strong after weeks of zero contact but you ignore it nonetheless. Not that it deters Carol. “But maybe your bad driving is a result of getting your ass whooped down on Aladna.”

She’s baiting you. Do not give in.

“I mean the fact that you got your butt handed to you by a group of people who normally only fight in song has to make you mad, right?” The silence in response finally gets to her as she stomps up to the dashboard controls and undos every button you’ve pushed in concession. Each time she reaches for a button near yours, fingers a centimeter from touching, you yank away and take a step away. She grunts in return and counters with another step closer. 

Her next jap finally hits her mark with stinging precision. “Maybe next time you should ask the Prince for backup.”

A response fires out your mouth even as you slam your hand against a particular shiny button. “I had it handled, okay? That pretty boy prince might’ve impressed you somehow but his presence in a fight is as needed as yours is to me right now.” The lie turned your stomach and made you feel like Goose’s shit. “You had no right and no reason to take me off that damn planet because I had it covered. Just drop me off at the nearest planet.”

Carol could smell the lie a mile away. The words bounced off her chest. If anything she was trying to hide her arrogant grin at successfully getting your undivided attention, knowing it would make you more pissed. Which was always an adorable sight.

When her sources flagged a sighting of you on Aladna she’d left the spaceship at supersonic speed to reach you after hunting your trail down for the past month. 

At first, friendship was all she needed. But time spent together on various missions gave her deeper understanding on how darn sweet you were despite scratching at anyone who tried to get close. 

But once she clicked play on that cute, yet slightly violent, voicemail any vague restraints of being only friends were dashed. Now here you were, her prickly kitten, and she wasn’t going to be deterred by any of your rounded jabs. 

Now here you stood. Causing internal issues to her ship's mainframe. Slight bruises marring your delicate skin. All reminders that you’d rather be dropped in outer space than occupy the same room with her. Well tough luck. Patience was never her strongsuit. 

A blur out of the corner of your eye was the only warning before the sudden warm body surrounded you from behind. Two unyielding hands grasped yours in an attempt to halt any further error messages from appearing on the dashboard. “Are you not satisfied with my ship, sweetheart? Because you’re awfully determined to break it.” In another determined step she removes any space separating you two until her front is flushed against your back. Tense doesn’t begin to describe how rigid your body gets as you realize, to your detriment, she’s forgone a bra. Even the tiniest move from her causes her soft, malleable breast to move against your back. Your knees buckle even as you silently curse Carol for completely smashing the boundaries of your personal bubble. 

Warm fingers grasp each of your hands and her thumbs caress circles on each hand that shoots straight to your flamed core. A whisper of her lips speaks into your ear, tingling all the way into your spine. “Six. There’s six bruises across your delicate body from that stupid fight. But you didn’t need me, huh?”

The touch and slight reprimand in her voice makes your body shiver. “T-that’s not what I meant.”

“Oh?” You peek behind to see her face as her fingers gently travel down your arm. Brows furrowed with an intense glare as she inspects your minor injuries in detail. “But that’s what you said, no?” 

In an effort to clutch the last remaining shreds of your pride you squint up at her but end up lowering your glare. “Even if you helped me, that didn’t give you the right to take me off the planet.” you murmur. “And who changed my clothes!” 

The gentle hand remains on your arm but the dark look is dashed away, replaced with a serene smile. “Obviously that was me. Like I would allow anyone else to get a peek at what’s mine.” she snorts. As if the idea was simply absurd. 

All fight leaves your body at the new startling news that Carol, your Carol, just called you hers PLUS  she’s seen you naked? 

You gear up to start a rant but two arms twirl you around and hefts you up. Your legs and arms cling to her even as you yell at her to set you down.

Bullheaded Carol ignores you and instead leisurely walks to her pilot seat. As if this was just a normal Tuesday. When she plops in the driver seat, she settles your weight to straddle her hips. Immediately, you try to scramble away but she wraps her arms around you in a metal vise. That damn innocent smile returns. “The chast act ends now. Because I was prepared to let you go but then you left me this.” It’s like a slow motion car accident as she pulls her cell from her pocket and the dreadful voicemail is played at full volume. 

Renewed vigor allows you to break out of her arms but you're too slow as one hand holds you in place on her lap. Making you listen to your drunk declaration of love.

The tears come as you're forced to helplessly listen, already anticipating the mockery that was soon to come, except Carol didn’t laugh. Instead, you felt soft, slow kisses press against your wet check, trailing your tears.

Carol nuzzling your neck is the only thing stopping your crying as you realize she wasn’t laughing. Her tired smile and fatigued smile returns. “You're so dramatic, kitten. Don’t ask me what “right” I have to kidnap you and bring you on our ship after you left a message like this for me. 

Sensing you were no longer a flight risk, her hard grip releases your wrists. Instead, she traces your face, rubbing away your tear trails. “For now on, you're coming back and helping our missions, warming my bed, and if you start anymore bar fights you better finish them or have your girlfriend there to finish the job for you.”

For the first time in a month, a genuine smile graces your face. Brave enough to fully settle your weight on Carol’s lap, you grasp the nap of her neck to angle her lips for a kiss. When your lips finally connect a deep, dragged out moan leaves Carol’s mouth. Her hands slide up your thighs and squeeze your ass. “Don't run away again.” she warns.

“Aye aye Captain.”

[anantaru]

SFW VALENTINES DAY HEADCANONS ୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅♡ !

⋆⑅˚₊ including diluc, thoma, kazuha, childe x gn! reader !! — ‧₊˚ ⋅ genre — ‧₊˚✧ fluff, crack, so so soft and sweet, lots of love, cuddling, kissing and all that sweet stuff ♡ ˚ ⋅ event mlist.

⋆⑅˚₊ — DILUC

to the casual eye, diluc gave the impression away to be through and through engrossed and unhurried on his preparations for valentines day to come— it's as if he had a bullet proof plan which he wanted to pursue.

over and above that, he had a habit of wanting to be the host of your celebrations, though you were cordially trying to contribute to the preparations, he had assured you that there wasn't a better way to show you how hopelessly he fell in love with you.

while, well, once you look past the facade he had built in order to fool you, in reality he has been awfully jittery as to what to do, you see, in his own opinion he wasn't the most comical person to be around with, diluc was still unsure on how he garnered you as his significant other in the first place.

sometimes he couldn't understand what made him so special.

you on the other hand did not see him as such, you didn't expect him to change as a person and never wanted him to, ever. your diluc, the man you fell in love with, was a little more reserved— aloof and tends to keep his real emotions hidden to himself and only shares such with people he deemed close to him.

valentines day for you is to be both present and transparent, though he consistently jubilated it with a grand evening fronted to your relationship and to center on what you managed to built over the last year, by the same token it's about being here, together, lastingly in love with each other.

on this fine evening, diluc would host a candle light dinner at his own big mansion, only the best of the best would be bestowed to the table and brought to view towards your person.

in the thick shadows of good beverages (no alcohol, you didn't mind since diluc himself wasn't a big fan of it) and a benevolent composition of close selected music, you had dined away matted by a closed vicinity.

though by the end of it, once the main course was over, you had chosen to take a walk around the imposing mansion, within the confines of the candied scent of afresh ripened grapes, the frigit air winging through your clothes with his large hand snugly situated on top of your lower back.

in his feeling of judgment, you were marvelous— stunning under the forthcoming moon and so very kind, he couldn't wait to spend more of his years with you by his side.

and when diluc turns towards your frame to look at you, you daintily rend him by his belt to have him nigh— he wasn't one to initiate seclusion first and you do not need him to do it, all the greater did you not mind to kiss him yourself, which you then, did.

his calm— yet stepwise inflating breathing, was vaguely lingering around your soft lips as he pulled away, complemented by a possess of his nervous puffs, he's signifying out his words more gently to you when he speaks with a humane red tint on his cheeks.

"happy valentines day, love." and when you smile, he‘s smiling too, because diluc was happy, he didn‘t need more when he had you, "and to many more valentines days to come."

⋆⑅˚₊ — THOMA

in response to thoma, he in all instances, made it a habit of alternating things up each year, effectively, he sought after making it to be as fun and appealing as achievable.

unmistakably for this year you had agreed to participate in gifting each other a present from heart, no expensive jewelry, no exorbitant dinners, no glamorous travels— with this you wanted to show your love in a more personal way. ( .. and your budget was limited)

on the topic of his idea, thoma had actively pondered and mulled about your joyous present for undeviating weeks. on a mini sheet he had written down all the urgent utensils he'd require with the intension of endowing you the most immaculate gift within the bounds of possibility.

first and foremost, he was in countless vital— no pivotal, life changing, conversations with both ayato and ayaka, to that, repeatedly, week in week out. Unmistakably, thoma was aware that he knew you the absolute most, but in spite of that it's unfailingly smart to set aside more ideas.

... well lets say ayato's were, within limits but concerning, yet ayaka genuinely assisted and supported him as much as she could.

when he finished all that, thoma started preparing the gift, the most important part.

initially, he attentively cut out an assortment of little paper sheets where he planned to keenly scribble down all the things he loved about you— doesn't matter what it was and how seemingly gratuitous it was, he put it down.

thoma's eyes were deeply fixed with a bright, earnest tone and on top of that, he now couldn't stop thinking about you, archons, despite the fact it had dreadfully deflected his attention away.

but just a little— a puny treacly thought about how you'd look at him once he's giving you the present, would you like it?

his thought process behind it was cute; given that he has been engrossed with his work at the kamisato estate for the most part, he imagined that if you were to miss him, you could always open one of the little papers and feel at least, a little bit closer to him.

he worked on it all night and by the end of it his hands were deeply hurting and tense from the— take paper, write something down, fold paper, put it in the jar.

speaking of the jar in question, because you had agreed upon spending as little mora as possible, he used an empty pot which had previously jam in it (he personally thought it's a fun little detail) and adequately cleaned it up, silently removed the cover and replaced it with a small cloth— that had a silvery red string securely embedded around it.

eventually, when valentines day idly neared its designated date, the finalized present had been given to you. With a quizzical utterance you peered at the little jar in your palms— honestly all clueless about it, but then you paid attention to thoma, thrillingly swaying in his footing from left to right, he was undoubtedly enlivened and couldn't wait for you to open it, beaming with forged anticipation.

together you were sitting on the cushy couch when you earnestly slipped the silver red string down, looking into the jar, you spoke to him when a hurried realization hit you, "isn't that jar from our kitchen?" he impatiently nods in agreement, unduly proud.

thoma was rather cute, so considerably sweet to you, you couldn't wait to spend more time with him in the future.

when you gaped into the jar, you got greeted by the engaging stickers, listlessly you progressed to take one in between your finger pads, rolling it open in front of him.

your attention was drawn towards the first out of many, 'i love you because ...' and you offered thoma a little embarrassed smile, you were glowing at the compliment, truly, your chest was bubbling with excitement as you fell into his arms, gently kissing his cheeks, once twice, before telling him just how happy he made you.

⋆⑅˚₊ — KAZUHA

what does someone do if they had immediate access to an entire ship, with a teeming fleet, geared up to be operated for their own disposal? evidently, they will use it.

as a result, kazuha had queried (and begged) for captain beidou's approval and to be of help in his personal valentines day plan for this year.

taking into account that he has been into copious amount of places beforehand, it was only natural that this time, kazuha longed to take you with him and enjoy the upcoming special day together in another nation.

while inazuma had its own assets and perquisites, kazuha had ultimately decided to chose mondstadt as your designated nation to be.

you were unquestionably delighted by the idea the second he had presented it in front of you, additionally beidou spoke her blessing to your trip and aided to your enthralling expedition as much as she possibly was able to.

the traveling on its own had been a little strenuous, those two striking nations weren't as close as you thought they were, as one would expect time was passing leisurely when you had arrived after a considerable amount of your spendings on sea.

now, well, there you were— sweetly greeted by the aroma of dandelion wine, the honeyed scent of sweets and candy with the incalculable amount of music reverberating within the broad walls of mondstadt.

while there were many absorbing shops and compelling places to explore— which you had promised each other to do after valentines day, instead you settled to visit starsnatch cliff, undeniably was it one of the most beguiling, fetching spots a myriad of pairs would find themselves in.

while most couples headed home after night fell— along with how cold it had gotten on top of the cliff, kazuha and you weren't going anywhere, not when you journeyed for such a long time.

to speak on how absorbed you were in each others intimate squeeze and how— almost cruelly, slow his lips moved on you when he decided to kiss you, had been all the more impassioned than you imaged it to be.

indisputably it had been frigit in mondstadt, said fact wasn't to be denied, but kazuha's snuggly body abstained from said irksome result.

you had been holding in your breath by how euphoric everything had become and noticed how kazuha's face was greatly dazzling in complete joy and exuberance, time was passing unusually on this night, almost magic like, but that wasn't a bad thing, it's as if the whole universe had aided you in your day.

⋆⑅˚₊ — CHILDE

in a general sense, one might come to the acute conclusion that someone as illustrious as childe himself would spend a grand chunk of mora on his valentines date with you.

in many cases, this can be the truth, however, this year was a little different from any other before.

you see, childe and you had been greatly tied up in work and as his own occupation was a serious one at that, you weren't able to visit him in another nation either way, so for some months you were not even seeing each other entirely— which was visibly frustrating in its own volition.

to say you both have missed each other tremendously has to be a boundless understatement because childe wasn't certain about how on earth he should continue on his day to day life without having you tightly wrapped in his arms at least once, perhaps twice.

in the first instances, childe wasn't sure if he should even voice the idea of, quote on quote, 'skipping' valentines day and persisting at home, maybe you were awaiting more of him and the last thing ajax wished to achieve was to lower any expectations you set for his person.

but then, in a trice, you immediately obliged and told him that it was alright with you, no questions asked, that you understood what he meant and to speak truthfully, tardily spending the day at home should be as much fun as strolling around the freezing town, if not more.

then, while a measureless amount of pairs were going out on well sought out dates and shouldered the intense cold of snezhnaya, you and childe conclusively stayed in, favoring your assemblage without hurrying.

strawberries with a shade of brilliant red were enclosed in chocolate, resting on the drawer next to your bed where you were settled in.

the subtleness of his touches on your back bristled deep into you— while also showing the slight lack of responses and heightened tiredness in your frame. And yet, you didn‘t want it any other way, after some time you realized that it must‘ve been a long time ago since you were capable to speak so carelessly without shouldering any responsibilities.

"i wish we could do this every day." childe hums and pitches his head a little to your side so he could fix his pretty eyes on you, "but then it wouldn‘t be so special." you pointed out with your response being a clear one, your cheeks were fizzed with warmth and settled in a flustering manner.

childe cherished to see you this way— so relaxed and close to him, fuck he missed you so much it almost pained him, no words could describe how much he loved you this moment, that whenever you talked, a feeling of dizzying blessedness would crane his unified frame of mind.

©2023 anantaru do not repost, copy, translate, modify

[i-drop-level-one-loot]

🎃 How do I feel?

Body Swap CW: AMAB!Reader body swap with F!partner, dub-con, overpowering, praise(?) kink

Jennifer bounced excitedly into (Reader's) apartment, buzzing with adrenaline as she broke into her best friend's home. "(Reader)! Doll, where are you?"

(Reader) groaned from his bed, pausing his game and throwing his controller onto his pillow. "Jesus, can't you knock?"

Dyed lilac pigtails swayed wildly as she burst into (Reader's) room. "Why? We have nothing to hide from each other, right?"

With another frustrated mumble the young man rolled his eyes, not ready emotionally for whatever bullshit Jennifer was about to pull. "What do you want?"

Out from her messenger bag Jennifer retrieved a creepy looking leather bound book. "Look what I bought!"

It had a slight smell, making (Reader) scrunch up his nose. "From where? A hobo?"

"eBay."

"Ha!" Every couple of months Jennifer was buying some new 'genuine' spell book or 'cursed object'. She didn't claim to be a Wiccan, but an occultist, who didn't seem to follow any doctrine (Reader) had ever heard of.

"This is the real deal, I can feel it!" She said enthusiastically, just as she did every few months. Opening the book, Jennifer didn't wait for (Reader) to agree to participating in whatever 'spell' or 'curse' she had picked out, chanting from a page she had bookmarked. He sat there patiently, waiting for the inevitable tears for when it didn't work.

Then everything went black.

(Reader) blinked, groggy eyes fuzzy as he came to, standing in his bedroom face to face with himself.

"What the hell?" (Reader) asked. As soon as the words fell from his lips, he froze, because the voice that came out wasn't his, but Jennifer's. Glancing down (Reader) found himself in control of dainty hands with purple nails. "Oh my God.."

"It worked!" Jennifer cheered, making (Reader) cringe hearing his voice squeal out. He watched his body twirl around. "Finally!"

(Reader's) eyes widened as Jennifer opened up her his pants, looking down at his dick while smiling. "Woah, don't do that!"

"I've always wondered what you had going on down here. But, that's not the main goal." It was uncanny, watching himself charge forward. (Reader) felt his own hands grab hold of Jennifer's body, struggling as he realized just how weak she was. He couldn't physically push himself off as Jennifer pulled him into a deep kiss, thrusting his own tongue down into her throat.

(Reader) was thrown onto the bed easily, squirming as his possessed body crawled over him, easily overpowering him. Jennifer had planned for this, wearing a thin shirt with snap buttons and a small skirt without underwear. The shirt was popped open in one swift movement, and Jennifer marveled at her own breasts. "I see these everyday, but it's so different than looking in the mirror." (Reader's) hands traveled across the chest he currently owned, playing with the sensitive nipples.

"Jennifer, why are you doing this?" (Reader) tried not to moan, crushing his thighs together as a strange tingling could be felt down below. It felt good, if (Reader) was being honest, he was just confused as to why.

"Don't you remember me telling you? Back when I first started looking into magic and all that? I always wanted to know what it felt like to fuck myself."

(Reader) vaguely remembered Jennifer ranting about wanting to love herself, but he had tuned her out at the time, only nodding and grunting in agreement when he thought it was appropriate. Now his fully erect cock was being pulled out of his pants above (Reader).

It was strange, and (Reader) never would have thought of having sex with Jennifer before today, but now laying down as her, feeling wet between the thighs, the ridiculousness of the situation allowed him to act as though this was all just a dream. It was okay to just give in if it's a dream. Jennifer seemed pleased, looking at her own pussy under her skirt, stroking the cock she had stolen while watching her body become aroused, leaving a wet spot on the sheet.

Jennifer rubbed the head of (Reader's) dick across her clitoris, making (Reader) flinch under the new sensation. He gasped a little, feeling his thighs shutter in anticipation.

There were no words to describe the feeling of having his dick enter him, the way a vagina's walls constricted, the feeling of being filled up was unlike anything (Reader) had felt before.

His voice chuckled as Jennifer melted into her pussy. "God, I am tight!"

Although (Reader) knew the comment wasn't directed towards him it made his heart race and the strange tingling grow stronger. He bit his lip as Jennifer began slowly picking up the pace, pounding into herself.

"Fuck, I'm cute!" Jennifer grabbed (Reader's) newly adopted breasts tightly, earning a shocked mewl. "Is that what I look like all the time? Goddamn, if you keep making that face I might cum in ya!"

There were so many new things to focus on that (Reader) felt like he was losing his mind. He could feel his heavy balls slapping onto Jennifer's his ass, and hear the wet sound of his new cunt sucking in the erection as Jennifer snapped her hips into his. The way his nipples were twisted made the tingling in his belly grow faster, threatening to spill out.

"Jennifer! I think I'm about to cum!" (Reader) cried out, dazed by how aroused he was.

"Ha! Do I fuck that good?! Hey, hey, hey! How do I feel?! Are you gonna cum on your own dick? Ah! Stop tightening up! Jesus, this pussy feels good!"

(Reader) couldn't control it, screaming out in pleasure as their walls began convulsing, spasming around their dick as they orgasmed. Jennifer barely pulled out in time to release between her own thighs.

"Shit, that was close.. you almost held me in there haha.." Jennifer collapsed next to (Reader), still sensitive and overwhelmed, riding out his first feminine climax. "Ahh.. guy orgasms don't last as long as chicks.." Jennifer commented, closing her eyes wearily.

After a nap, (Reader) woke up to find himself back in his own body, lying next to Jennifer. She was also awake, numbly staring at the ceiling. There was a strange feeling inside (Reader) that he couldn't quite understand.

Nervous, he turned away from Jennifer, unable to proposition her while looking at her. "I wouldn't mind.. doing that again some time.. the spell, I mean."

As though she had been waiting for him to speak first, Jennifer erupted into laughter, spooning her best friend from behind. "Same."

[strangeshoepatrolbandit]

Brotherly Love Pt.8

Summary: You have finally been introduced to the famous Wayne Galas, and Damian finally says what you've wanted to hear for months.

Warnings: Crowded space.

This is a long chapter, and sadly, the final one. I will be posting short stories about this series, ones that you can interact with! So, just because this is the final chapter doesn't mean it's the end. Series Masterlist

~☆~

You stood in front of a long mirror, staring at the outfit you were wearing.

"Marvelous, Master/Miss Y/N." Alfred complemented you.

"Thank you, Alfred."

"Master Jason is here." He informed you.

"Jason? I didn't even know he was coming."

"He wanted to suprise you." The older man spoke. You followed him out of your room and downstairs to the main lobby, where Jason was wearing a suit and typing away at his phone. Not too long after everything with Arkin went down, you and Jason sat down to get some things off of your chests. The conversation that the two of you shared that night only made you even closer, if that was even possible.

"Master Jason." Alfred spoke, causing Jason to finally look at you. He let a smile fall onto his face as he put his phone in his pocket. He offered you a hand, waiting for you to accept.

"You look..." Jason started, "Great, I'm not good at this. I'm sorry." He sighed.

You let out a breathy laugh at his words. "You don't look too bad either." You spoke, interlocking your arm with his own.

Jason smiled down at you again, which you reciprocated.

"Well, we should get going." Jason mumbled.

"Have fun you two." Alfred chuckled, already opening the doors for you.

"Bye, Alfred!" The both of you spoke in sync, walking down the steps and onto the driveway. Jason was using one of Bruce's cars so that two of you could ride together. He let his arm untangle from your own, and he reached out for the door handle, opening the door for you. You whispered out a quick 'thank you' as he closed the door and ran to the driver's side. Jason waited for you to strap yourself in fully before he twisted the keys in the ignition. The two of you sat in silence, thinking about what you were about to drive to, Bruce and your brothers had given you a vague explanation of what to expect.

"Are you excited?" Jason asked.

"No."

"Me neither, kid."

~☆~

There were cars parked everywhere, and people walking around in expensive clothes. Cameras were going off, and people were yelling. Jason opened your door up for you and immediately hugged you to his body. He remembers the first time he went to a public event with Bruce. Your arms clung to his waist as he tried to get you inside as fast as possible, the mellifluous music getting louder the closer you got.

All of the yelling and camera shutters had stopped as you and Jason walked into the building that everyone was in. It was far more calmer in here.

"You okay?" Jason asked, lightening his grip on you.

You looked up at him before whispering out a "yeah."

The two of you walked to the back of the room, away from people who were walking in and talking to others. On your way over, you made eye contact with Tim, who was talking to Kon and a redheaded boy, you seen him whispered to someone else, then point to you.

You turned away from the boys and continued to follow Jason to where he was taking you. You could hear footsteps behind you but paid no mind. There were a lot of people here.

"Y/N!" A voice called put for you. Both you and Jason stopped to see who it was. Jon came into view, his black hair flopping as he jogged over to you.

"Hello, Jon." You greeted with a small smile.

"Hi, Y/N." He whispered, smiling wider the closer he got. "Jason." He acknowledged, looking up at your brother, who just nodded his head at the younger boy.

"May I join the two of you?" Jon asked, watching your faces. Jason looked down at you and gave a quick nod and a smile before you offered Jon your other arm, the one that wasn't intertwined with Jasons. You looked back at Tim, who was now talking with a blonde haired boy, not paying any mind to the other people around him.

The three of you walked together, making light conversation to catch up from the short time since you had all seen each other. So far, Jason and Tim were the only brothers of yours that you had seen. Your father, Dick, and Damian were nowhere to be found. Or so you thought, Bruce and Dick were actually at the front of the room conversing with almost everyone in the room. It was Damian who was actually missing. Jason excused himself so that he could go get a drink, leaving you and Jon to entertain yourselves.

"Are you thinking about joining your 'family business'?" Jon asked, trying not to seem suspicious to the people around you.

"Do you mean vigilante or assassin?" You whispered under your breath, knowing that Jon was the only one with good enough ears to be able to hear you. The boy let out a short laugh at your words, causing you to let out a small smile. "Like Mr. Wayne and your brothers." He corrected himself.

"I don't know yet, also you don't have to call him 'Mr. Wayne'." You told him.

"I know, but ma and pops told me it's the polite thing to do." He whispered, almost embarrassed to be talking about his mother and father to you. Your eyes softened at his words. Family. A normal, loving family. Jon sensed your change in attitude and looked at you concerned, "Are you oka-" He was going to ask before he was interrupted by another voice. "Excuse me."

You and Jon turned to look at the person, familiar green eyes and dark hair greeted you, Damian.

"I would like to borrow Y/N." He spoke, eyeing Jon.

"Yeah, of course." Jon stammered, starting to walk away before Damian grabbed your arm and walked off. He continued to drag you into an unoccupied hallway, far enough from everyone else. He quickly dropped your arm and paced around the small space, hands running through his freshly cut hair, causing it to become unruly.

"Whats going o-" you spoke, but Damian quickly cut you off.

"Don't speak." He told you, causing you to scoff and cross your arms, "Not yet." He muttered.

You watched as he continued to mutter under his breath, walked around, and ran his hands over his face. Just as you were about to turn and leave, he spoke, "Y/N, please." He whispered, trying to get you to stay. You stared at him curiously, trying to figure out what was going on.

"I don't know how to say this." Damian told you, "I just can't word this properly, and when I do, I just can't say it." He rushed.

"Y/N, I'm sorry." He apologized, catching you off guard.

"I am so, so sorry." He took in a deep breath, "You know i didnt-" You cut him off.

"You still hurt me, so I don't forgive you for yelling at me." You whispered, watching his face closely. The two of you sat in silence, listening to the muffled music and people talking, neither of you knew what to say.

"What made you apologize?" You asked, genuinely curious.

"You hanging out with Todd-" Damian started before you cut him off again. "You're only apologizing because you're jealous?"

"No- well... Yes, because you're my sibling, I should be the one doing things with you." Damian told you.

"He's our brother." You whispered.

"I know you think that, I am so overwhelmed by all of this." He interrupted himself to take in a deep breath. "You accepted them right away, but I am still trying to get ahold of things. He confessed.

You stood there, shocked by his words. "Why didn't you tell me?" You asked.

"I thought i could distract myself with being Robin." He explained, reaching a hand out to rest on your elbows. "I'm sorry." .

You nodded your head and bit at your bottom lip, rapidly blinking your eyes as tears rose.

"I hate you." You giggled out a wet laugh.

"I know." Damian whispered, slightly smiling at you.

"Would you like to be a loner with me, Jason, and Jon?" You asked him.

"Sounds wonderful."

~☆~

I love you all so much!<3 Thank you for the support you have given me. It means so much!...

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[padfootagain]

Only an Almost (II)

Chapter 2: The Dangers of a Night Out

Hi everyone! Here is chapter two! Let’s see how this whole mess began, shall we?

I hope you like it! Please, tell me what you think!

*************************************

Pairing: Hozier x fem!reader, friends with benefits AU

Warning: No explicit smut or nsfw content, but there are sexual themes and heavy make-out sessions (it’s a friends with benefits AU, I can’t really escape it), so 18+ only!

Summary: Andrew has been in love with you for years, and yet he has never confessed his feelings. But a night out celebrating the engagement of his best friend changes everything. However, you don't seem ready to be with him just yet. You make him an offer that he can't refuse... but will certainly regret.

Word Count: 3535

Masterlist for the series – Hozier’s Masterlist – Main Masterlist

Three months earlier

God, you were beautiful.

As he stared at you, Andrew felt like the rest of the world had disappeared. He was vaguely aware of Alex’s presence by his side in the booth, vaguely aware of the loud music playing in the pub, vaguely aware of people laughing while you walked in. You always looked stunning in his eyes, you always drew his gaze back to you, even in crowded rooms. But tonight… he was not certain why he was getting so awestruck by you but he did, and all the air was knocked out of his lungs, and the world vanished around you. You had chosen your outfit carefully tonight, it was obvious, like everybody else. Sam had warned all of you that he was not going to celebrate his engagement in sweatpants, and you all played along, dressing fancy, for a change.

And by all the goodness in this world, Andrew was about to faint as you sat by his side, grinning at him with this generous, infectious smile of yours. Your eyes were shining, your eyelashes were so long he could have slid over their curve. And your perfume drowned him into something more dangerous and marvellous than water, and he couldn’t fucking breathe, and…

“Hi! I’m glad you came, Andy.”

He was pretty sure that he had a stupid grin on his face, like the lovesick fool he was, but he didn’t really care. He was too stunned to do so.

Meanwhile, he suddenly realised that you were looking at the rest of your friends gathered around the table, and you were rolling your eyes at something they had said. Andrew blinked a few times, forced his mind back into action and finally listened to the words spoken among the group.

“Wow, Y/N you’re not joking around with the dress code!”

“You said dress formal, I dressed formal.”

“You are aware that I am not getting married tonight, right?” Sam jumped in with a chuckle.

You rolled your eyes again.

“I am aware. But if you prefer, I can get changed and wear sweatpants again!”

“No! We’re just taking the piss… you look amazing.”

“Thanks!”

You turned to him then, and Andrew blinked like an idiot, lips slightly parted, trying to force his brain into working again…

“How are you doing, Andy?”

“Grand! Good…” he nodded, voice dropping by an octave, before he cleared his throat. “What about you? Did you have a good week?”

You nodded, started talking about work, about that colleague of yours that kept on pissing you off, and the other you spent too much time laughing with.

Your friends were soon divided into smaller groups, cut in small conversations that people jumped in and out of. A beer was drunk, and then another, and then a couple of shots. Andrew could feel his cheeks reddening, the flush creeping up his skin as the liquor kicked in and made him laugh harder, smile brighter, loosened up the knot in his stomach. You made him nervous. After all this time, after years spent as friends, you still made him nervous. He couldn’t help it.

There was a time, at the very beginning, when he didn’t see you like this; with butterflies in his stomach and a tightening throat and an excited jump of his heart every time his eyes met yours. There was a time when you were simply friends. He was not single, and you were in a relationship. There was no room in either of your hearts for anything more than platonic affections. And then his relationship crumbled because of touring, and when he came back to Ireland, everything changed. On his end, at least…

You, you were still living a happy life with your boyfriend, until he went on to break your heart. You lost yourself in your work, it was easier then to forget the pain rather than conquer it. A couple of months ago, you were promoted, and Andrew knew that you wanted to focus on your career for now. It was okay, it wasn’t like he would have the courage to tell you how he felt anyway…

Oh, he had thought about it. About telling you everything, about finally speaking up and revealing everything but then again… why take the risk? You had never given him any sign that you could feel that way towards him. And he knew you were not looking for a relationship at the moment. So why take the risk to lose you when all odds seemed against him?

Another round of Guiness was passed around, and you we still here, talking to him. A few friends had jumped in the conversation now and then, but you hadn’t wandered away and neither had he. And Andrew knew he was a fool for forming such thoughts, but he couldn’t help being glad that you were willing to spend your entire evening talking with him, out of all people…

He was halfway through telling you about his upcoming honey harvest when everyone around the group grew quiet. Sam and Daphne had risen, holding up their drinks, and you and Andrew turned to them as well.

“Well, we won’t be long with our speech, but we… Daphne and I just want to thank all of you for coming tonight to celebrate our engagement. Thank you for your support and your love over so many years of absolute craic. We’re counting on you all to help us for our big day, and to spare us both from your most embarrassing stories about us before our in-laws…”

The table cheered and laughed and clapped to congratulate the couple as they exchanged a kiss.

“And now, everybody up! We’re dancing!” Daphne ordered, and all stood, except for Andrew, who lingered with his beer, trying to escape…

… and failing.

“That includes you, mister!” Daphne dragged him away from the table, and he playfully tried to resist.

“Daphne…”

“Come on, Andy!”

Sam came to his rescue, wrapping an arm around his fiancée’s shoulders.

“Leave the poor lad alone!” he laughed, owning a grateful nod from Andrew. “Besides, don’t scare him too much, I have a favour to ask!”

“A favour? You? God, that sounds like trouble,” Andrew chuckled.

Meanwhile, Andrew had spotted you in the crowd. There wasn’t exactly a place to dance per say in the bar, just an empty space before a “stage”, if one could call a lonely stool and a jukebox that way. Still, it was enough for the group to have fun, and soon other people hanging out in the pub joined the merry party. Andrew looked away when a stranger started to dance with you.

When he turned to Sam again, his friend had grown serious, almost nervous. Andrew rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“Sam, you’re okay? I was just joking. You know you can ask me anything.”

“It’s just… yeah, I don’t know why I’m nervous. I guess… it’s just important to me.”

Sam blinked tears away before speaking again, his voice deeper than usual.

“We’ve known each other since forever you and I, Andy. You… we go way back.”

“Too far back to mention that part, it will make us feel old,” Andrew joked, successfully making his friend laugh.

“Yeah, let’s not dive into that… what I mean is… I know that you’re busy, and you’re always travelling for your career but… It’s important for me that you’re here…”

“I’ll be at your wedding Sam. You don’t have to worry about that. You really think I would miss my oldest friend’s wedding? Are you insane?”

Sam nodded, but he still seemed nervous.

“Actually… I wanted to ask you to be my best man. Would you do that for me?”

It was Andrew’s turn to feel tears gather at the corner of his eyes. He stared at this friend who had been in his life for so long; felt the long, painful pull of love grow stronger by the second. He was one of those people Andrew couldn’t imagine anywhere but in his life. They had known each other since what felt like forever. Had been there for each other through first loves, breakups, disappointments, successes… He was a constant in his life. And Andrew was glad that Sam seemed to feel the same about their long friendship.

“It would be an honour, Sam. Of course, I would love to.”

“That means helping with the wedding…”

“You can count on me. You can always count on me, you know that.”

Before he could get another word out, Sam was giving him a bone-crushing hug.

“Thanks, Andy.”

“Thank you, Sam. Thanks for asking me.”

Daphne joined the embrace with an emotional giggle, and all three friends hugged for a moment, the moment blissful and light and full of love.

“Oh, by the way… have you heard about Y/N?” Daphne asked as they separated.

Andrew tilted his head slightly.

“What about Y/N?”

“She doesn’t have any plus-one for the wedding… and you don’t have a plus-one for the wedding either…”

Andrew rolled his eyes.

“Please, Daphne…”

“Come on! You two are meant to be together! Make a fucking move!”

“She doesn’t see me like that…”

“Andy, mate… she does. Trust me she fucking does. She’s just afraid to admit it,” Sam replied.

“Oh, and when did you become an expert in relationships?”

“I’m the one who’s managed to land the most beautiful woman in Ireland and make her marry me! So, I’d say I’m fairly better at this than you and your sorry single arse!”

“Touché…”

Andrew heaved a sigh.

“Thanks for worrying about me, guys… but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“We’ve tried… again,” Daphne shrugged, before dragging her fiancé away for a dance.

They looked adorable and so disgustingly happy like this, wrapped in each other’s arms, swaying to the music, grins plastered on their faces and stealing kisses now and then…

Andrew was too busy looking at his friends to notice you walking towards him.

“Andy! Come on! Dance with me!”

He shook his head.

“No, no… really, you know I can’t dance. Too much limb…”

“Come on! Please! Just one dance with me!”

He heaved a sigh, his will already crumbling. God, he really couldn’t say no to anything when it came to you…

“Besides, there’s this guy trying to dance with me, and I need a bodyguard,” you went on, and Andrew wasn’t sure if you were lying or not, but it worked anyway, and he yielded.

He put down his beer on the table behind him, and let you pull him in the midst of the friendly group. He moved awkwardly to the beat, and yet he was grinning, seeing you full of joy enough of a wonder to make him feel warm. You were giggling at some of his moves, but he would have been lying had he pretended that he didn’t do it on purpose, just to make you laugh, just to see that expression of bliss on your features. You sang the chorus together, at the top of your lungs. And perhaps the liquor wasn’t helping, but Andrew felt light-headed as he watched you being silly and happy. The thought that he had something to do with the grin that adorned your lips made his heart expand against his ribcage, warm and full of happiness.

But then the rhythm faded, and another song was chosen on the jukebox, and Andrew’s heart started pounding as you walked closer.

Who had chosen a slow song…?

You stood before him, as if waiting for him to make a move, to hold you against him, to guide you in a dance. Andrew was too shy for it, too nervous, too afraid to overstep. He offered you his open palm instead, a silent way to ask for permission. You grinned, took his hand without an ounce of hesitation.

Were Sam and Daphne right, after all? Did you see him like that, too?

You leaned into him as he rested a hand across the small of your back, giving him a smile that was shyer than your usual ones. You seemed almost nervous.

Andrew was certain that he had a lovesick expression plastered on his face… and yet couldn’t find a way to care.

Your body was so warm against his. He wasn’t holding you too close, but sometimes your bodies touched or brushed, and he suddenly couldn’t breathe. He bent down a little to rest the side of his chin against your hair, and closed his eyes. He heard you letting out a shaky breath at that gesture, but you didn’t push him away. On the contrary, he could have sworn that you leaned into his touch…

Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald were singing of the beauty of New York in autumnal hues, and while the notes lasted, Andrew couldn’t think of anything but their voices and your hand in his, the warmth of your body under his palm, the tickle of your hair against his chin. He could barely register moving at all. Your perfume filled his senses, made his head spin. He was certain to be too old to be so moved by another person, by such innocent touches, by such a simple moment. And yet he was, worse than a teenager dancing with his first crush. If he managed to avoid a heart-attack tonight, he might just start believing in miracles…

This was dangerous, Andrew knew he was playing with fire. Or rather, playing with cardiac-arrest, but that was the same thing. How could another human have so much effect on him? It shouldn’t be allowed.

The music kept on playing, and you kept on following his lead as he gently swayed, movements slow and peaceful, even tender, he couldn’t help it…

He recognized the last notes of the song, took a deep inhale of your perfume as he knew he was about to have to pull away. He tried to carve the scent into his lungs, tried to remember it forever… that and the feeling of your hand in his, and the way you leaned a little closer as the last notes faded, like you didn’t want this to end either.

And yet, despite his reluctance, Andrew pulled away as the notes disappeared, vanishing into the heavy air of the room. Slowly, he took a step back, hand leaving yours, leaving the small of your back and the softness of your clothes. He looked at you for a moment, gaze catching yours and remaining hanging in the stillness of a suspended moment. But then the buzzing of the bar was back, and another upbeat song was played, and you moved away…

“Ermmm… I think I’ll take a break from the crowd for a minute.”

Before you could answer or protest, Andrew was striding towards the door, trying to ignore the pounding of his heart and the blushing of his cheeks. The air was cold as it hit his skin, he finally noticed he hadn’t taken his jacket. There was barely anyone around, just a few strangers passing by, a tipsy couple a couple of houses down the lane. Andrew took a few deep breaths, nervously brushing his hair back with a trembling hand.

Damn… what the fuck was that…?

“Andy?”

He jumped at the sound of your voice, and it took him a moment to recover from the sight of you bathed in golden streetlights…

“Yeah?”

“You’re okay?”

“Sure, why? Just… needed a bit of fresh air, that’s all.”

You slowly nodded. And yet, you seemed worried, he asked you why with an inquisitive tilt of his head.

“You… I was worried us dancing together made you feel uncomfortable…”

He gave you a surprised look.

“No, I… I liked it. Dancing with you.”

A little bit of mischief came back to colour your gaze.

“Despite your long limbs?”

Andrew couldn’t refrain a laugh.

“Yeah, despite the unbearably long limbs and how clumsy they make me, yeah…”

“Good… cause then you… kind of awkwardly fled the scene. Suspicious, to say the least.”

“Just… many people at once,” he lied, and you weren’t fooled.

“Says the guy who sings in front of thousands of people at once.”

“It isn’t the same, and you know it.”

You nodded, merely half-convinced.

“Right… so… it’s okay if I stay with you for a minute?”

“Of course.”

“Good, thanks.”

“But… you would have more fun with all the others, wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t know… I feel like staying with you for a bit.”

His head was spinning again, Andrew reckoned that the alcohol was beginning to seriously kick in. That, and the fact that you should not be allowed to say things like this to him… it was too painful to be rejected after that. After having you acting like he was special to you…

He let out a trembling breath, one that made you frown a little. You tried to give him a smile anyway.

“So… where were we before we got interrupted by Sam and Daphne playing perfect couple?”

“I don’t know… I don’t remember.”

“You were telling me about your bees.”

He raised an eyebrow, surprised that you would still be interested in hearing him gush about his bees and the honey they made.

He didn’t say a thing though, his brain was slowing down more and more because of the liquor he had been drinking all night.

“Andy? You’re okay? You look… a little… unstable.”

“Thanks for assessing my sanity…”

“No, I meant… On your feet. You look like you might fall.”

“I’m okay.”

“You did need some fresh air.”

You took a couple of steps closer, until you were close enough to reach up and rest a hand on his upper arm.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Your voice was gentle. And soothing, so fucking soothing… Andrew could not remember hearing anything so soothing in his life…

And you were so beautiful under the streetlights, photons rushing to get caught in your hair and eyelashes and glimmering over your skin. You hadn’t pushed him away during that dance, and sometimes you acted like you longed for his company more than others’… what if Sam and Daphne were right? What if you liked him?

“Andy?”

You were staring up at him with these beautiful eyes of yours, the ones he saw in his sleep, the ones he longed for every single second when he couldn’t see them. Damn… how could someone feel like that for a person they weren’t even in a relationship with. It was crazy, Andrew realised. It was crazy how much he could love you, even if only from afar.

And what if Sam and Daphne were right?

“Are you seeing anyone these days?”

You were clearly taken aback by the question, blinked up at him a couple of times.

“Huh… no? Why?”

“Would you have dinner with me?”

“What?”

“Fuck all this shit…”

“What…?”

But before you could say another word, Andrew was reaching up to hold your face, a touch gentle, just enough to guide you into a kiss but one you could free yourself from easily if you wanted to. Then his lips were on yours, his long eyelashes brushing yours as they closed. And the world disappeared as he finally could touch you the way he had dreamt about for so long. Your lips were as soft as he had dreamt them, your taste as intoxicating as he had imagined… He expected you to push him away, but you didn’t. Instead, you reached up to run your fingers through his hair, and you let him deepen the kiss when his tongue brushed your mouth. You let out a small groan when Andrew took a step forward and pressed your body against the brick wall of the pub. But the kiss slowed down, growing more tender, more loving even. Something too intimate to be shared in a first kiss, and yet, Andrew couldn’t help it. His entire body was burning, he felt feverish, like he was losing his mind, like the whole world had disappeared, or rather… had shrunk down to rest within your arms. And he loved it. He loved it so fucking much… He loved you so fucking much…

He pulled away at long last, out of breath, heart ready to explode, dragging out your lower lip between his as he moved away because he was unwilling to stop. But when he blinked his eyes open, his heart sank.

You were staring up at him with something horrified in your eyes. He took a step back immediately, let go of you, shivering at the loss of contact.

You stared at each other for a moment, bathing in the golden light of an evening in Dublin. Still, both of you unable to move or say anything.

He finally opened his mouth only to be interrupted by Daphne opening the door of the pub and calling both of you back inside for another round of whiskey. You didn’t say a word as you followed her in, and Andrew remained silent as well, holding the door for you before being hit by the warmth of the pub.

Goddamn it… what had he done?