#wednesday i can relax and thursday is gonna be busy too

[deantfwinchester]

Late Nights

Pairing: No-Outbreak!AU, back on my Joel x Teacher!Reader shit (though her work hardly plays a role in this), established relationship

Summary: Getting home late is an unfortunately common occurrence in Joel’s line of work. When you both have busy days, it can be hard to find time to share, but you make do.

Warnings: extreme fluff, just utterly fucking saccharine at this point, is fluff without plot a tag?

——————

It’s Wednesday night. Joel’s night to cook dinner.

You get home earlier every day, no question. But since you like to take most every night during the summer months, he insisted on a 60/40 split during the school year. Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays are his. You had Tuesdays and Thursdays. Friday & Saturday are mainly for pizza, take out, or date-nights.

When he’d grill on Sunday afternoons, you liked to try and help him with prep, but he’d just pour you a glass of wine or mix you a drink and try to usher you out of the kitchen. You’d always sit and talk with him while he worked anyway. Sarah too, when she wasn’t working on homework or out with friends. It’s one of his favorite parts of the week.

On the nights he’d come home late, though, he always worried about leaving you to it. He was meant to be home cooking for the three of you while you relaxed, tried to let the stress of the school day roll off your back. He loved giving you that time.

This particular night, when six o’clock rolled around and he realized he still had a good hour or more on the site, he knew he needed to let you know he wouldn’t be timely with his return. Didn’t want you to worry.

You’re on the couch, grading. By this time of night, Joel’s normally taken the work from your hands and pulled your attention toward anything else. Noticing the room darkening, you wonder where he is, just as your phone dings:

Wednesday, October 7, 6:03 PM:

Sorry baby, gonna be later than I hoped tonight. Y’all don’t wait on me, okay?

Supposed to be my night too, dammit. I apologize, sweetheart.

You’d told him till you were blue in the face he didn’t need to apologize to you when he was the one having to work until long after dark. It never took.

You responded quickly, knowing his phone would be back in his pocket and forgotten again soon when his attention turned again to the work and his team.

Wednesday, October 7, 6:04 PM: (Outgoing)

Dont worry about it, sweetie. i promise i can handle dinner, just don’t work too hard and get home when you can ❤️

And take a break and drink some water, will ya? if that bottle ain’t empty yet, you haven’t had enough! see you soon, love.

He’d be dead on his feet when he walked through the door, that much you knew. And he’d have no business rifling around in the kitchen for something random he’d throw together, not substantial enough by far for a day of working like he’d been. You hopped up and started to the kitchen, determined to make a hearty meal for you and Sarah to share now, and to ensure Joel had a real meal when he finally made it home for the night.

————

A couple of hours had passed by the time Joel finally walked through the door. You’re back on the couch, this time reading a book while the lights from the tv danced softly in the dimly lit room, with a bare haze of sound playing at low volume.

It was nearly 8:30 when you heard the key turning in the door. Sarah had retired to her room for the night after dinner. She’d tried to help you clean the dishes, but you’d ushered her off to relax after spending most of the afternoon doing homework.

Joel trudges wearily through the door, shoulders slouched and eyes heavy-lidded when he thinks you can’t see him. The second he lays eyes on you, though, his posture straightens and his expression brightens, eyes opening a bit more as he lifts into a smile. Your expression mirrors his, and you sit up, closing your book and rising to meet him halfway. You practically speak over each other in greeting:

“Hi darlin’, how was your day?” he says.

“Hey honey, how’d it go today?” you ask.

You laugh a bit when you realize you’re asking the same question on top of each other, and he pulls you close, arms resting heavily around your waist. You drape yours around his neck as he leans down to kiss you. When you pull away to look at his face, you see past the tired smile he wears to the exhaustion etched in his face, settled in his drooping eyes.

You move one hand up, fiddling gently with the strands of hair at the back of his head. You smile and put light pressure on the base of his neck with your other hand, moving his head down to rest on your shoulder. He catches on instantly, and settles comfortably where you direct him. He nuzzles into the nape of your neck and you feel his eyes close against your collarbone, his warm fatigued breaths rhythmically grazing your chest.

You continue playing with his hair with one hand, while the other remains resting on the back of his neck. You turn your head to place a soft kiss to his temple and, after a moment of restful silence, quietly speak:

“You’re tired, huh? I missed you today.”

“Missed you too, baby,” he murmurs against your neck, tightening his grip around your waist, and snuggling closer.

“You gotta be hungry. Got a plate waitin’ for ya in the fridge. Want me to warm it up?” you ask him, moving your hand down his neck to rub gently against his back. He breathes deeply in contentment at your comforting touch.

“No, I’m never leaving this spot. I live here now,” he says, and you feel the rumble of his voice against your chest. You chuckle lightly and speed up your ministrations, applying a bit more pressure as you discover the tightness of the muscles in his back.

“Mhm. And when was the last time you ate? Or drank anything for that matter?” you ask knowingly.

“Uhhhh, i guess it was, arou-“ he cuts himself off with a yawn, “around lunch time? Maybe one? Did finish that bottle like you asked, though,” and he smacks his lips lazily, somehow nuzzling further into your shoulder.

“Good, thank you. But lunch was seven hours ago now, so you need to eat something. Wanna start there? Or shower first?” you ask, chuckling a bit.

He raises his head a bit and squints at you, frowning playfully. “You sayin’ I smell, darlin’?” he mumbles, laughing into your shoulder.

You giggle in response before elaborating: “I’m saying you’re sweaty and would feel better if you rinsed the day off before crawling into bed.”

He sighs and rasps into your neck, “you changed the sheets didn’t you?” you feel a smile form against your chest.

“Sure did. So it’s food, shower, and bedtime. You can pick the order. Which first? Want me to grab your dinner?” you ask.

He sighs deeper this time, “What’s that thing about objects in motion and objects at rest or somethin’? Gonna keep doing whatever they already got goin’ on?”

You rumble a little laugh in return before responding. “I see. C’mon Newton, let’s keep ya moving. Go hop in the shower while I get your dinner ready.” You say, patting his cheek as he raises his head with a little groan.

You catch his eyes with your own and let your hand rest on his cheek. You move a thumb beneath his chin and pull him to you, giving him one last peck before ushering him down the hall. You pull his plate from the fridge and get to work on reheating his meal.

——————

He emerges less than ten minutes later smelling fresh and dressed in a clean t-shirt and a pair of plaid pajama pants, padding into the kitchen just as you’re filling a glass of water to place next to his warmed plate. He rubs a fist into one eye, yawning again, and plops into a chair at the kitchen table.

You approach behind him, placing the glass on the table with one hand and rubbing his shoulder with the other. He lifts a hand to grab yours and squeeze as he takes a sip. His eyes reach up to meet your own.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do this, sweetheart. It was my night anyway, and now you’ve cooked and even put the damn plate in front of me,” he huffs.

“You don’t need to thank me, love” you respond, leaning down to kiss him again before taking the seat next to him with the glass of wine you’d poured to sip while you sat with him. You reach for his left hand where it rests on the table, and gently squeeze. He wraps his fingers around yours before you can retreat. Your fingers remain intertwined for the duration of the meal.

The two of you discussed the highlights of your respective days - roses and thorns, both too sleepy to bother with buds. When Joel finishes, you grab his plate to wash, but he takes it from you.

“No way are you washing my dishes too, honey. You’ve done enough already tonight,” he tries to insist. You’re not having it.

“Will you just let me take care of you, dummy? You’re bone tired, I can see it in those beautiful brown eyes. Here. How about this?” you rinse the plate and utensils, shove them quickly in the dishwasher, close it emphatically, and raise your empty hands.

He rolls his eyes, but relents with an exasperated sigh. “Whatever you say, darlin’,” he responds smiling, a bit bashful from the care and compliment.

“Good. Now c’mon, bedtime.” you say, taking his hand in yours once again and leading him to the bedroom.

“Whatever you want, baby” he grins, raising his eyebrows suggestively. You can’t help bellow a hearty laugh at that one.

“Jesus, like you could keep your eyes open, Miller,” you respond, as you pull the covers back and lead him onto the bed next to you. You settle back against the headboard and open your arms up, beckoning him into your lap. He shuffles closer and leans into your embrace.

“It was-“ he pauses, only to finish through a yawn “- worth a shot.” You chuckle quietly as he rests his head in your lap, eyes instantly slipping closed.

You turn on the tv, keeping the volume low. It’s only a little after 9, so still early for you to fall asleep. You would read, but you’d rather turn off the light, hoping the dimness in the room helps him get some good rest.

You lay one hand on his back and the other in his hair, both softly rubbing in comforting circles, and you feel him melt further into you. A familiar warmth fills your chest at the sight of him there, resting peacefully in your lap. You lean down and press one last kiss to his head before whispering to him.

“Good night, sweetheart.”

“G’night, darlin’” he rumbles, muffled into your lap. You smile, one hand still on his back as the other reaches up, flicking off the lamp, before returning it to his hair. Your fingers gently massage his scalp, and within minutes, you hear his soft snores.

[jodilin65]

SATURDAY, MAY 29, 1993 I would’ve been going to L.A. tomorrow, but now it’s the 7th of June, so I’ve been told. If I don’t make it there, I’ll want to kill Scott.

He says he’s paying $200 of my rent this month and I worry about if he means it. He also says he’s gonna give me a canceled check to send to Sprint for proof that he paid $35.

I’m not saying Scott deliberately sets out to lie about stuff he’s gonna do and that he’s not busy, but he procrastinates big time.

Two months ago I sent US West a check for $88 and it’s never been cashed. I’ll have to call them about it as well as a few days of credit for when I was crossed. I also must take the phone bill I just got to the office for them to deduct the transfer fee from my rent. I haven’t gotten an electric bill yet.

Work’s been much better this week. I have about $180 in cash on me. Next week I’m working Tuesday-Thursday from 9:00 PM - 1:00 AM.

Tom’s been driving me to and from work, but Mandy took me home tonight. Tom says he can bring me to and from work tomorrow night.

FRIDAY, MAY 28, 1993 I made $86 at work tonight which was great. It sure beat last week which was so dead.

I spoke to Tammy who said she blasted Dad for the letter he wrote me. She once again went through both of our feelings. She wishes they were divorced too.

Then, Scott came over earlier and said to take a ride with him to see why he’s been so busy. We rode in a very nice mercury sable. One of his cars from Michigan. He’s having all his cars sent here. I saw them all lined up at some dealership that’s trying to sell them for him. Believe it or not, it made me wish I could afford the car and didn’t have this phobia I have with driving. I drove around the parking lot, for the first time in nearly two years, then to the grocery store, then here. I felt a little shaky but it was fun. How would I ever learn to feel comfortable enough to relax and concentrate on everything around me? Scott says everyone feels like that and it’s cuz I haven’t driven enough. Maybe 20 times since I was 19. Scott says a minivan would be perfect for someone as short as me.

THURSDAY, MAY 27, 1993 I expect to be awake for a while longer, so I’ll write. I don’t want to get backed up either.

Tomorrow I’ll mail out that letter to Bob. The one saying how Kim’s thinking of moving here. I’ve written several letters.

Scott came over earlier so naturally, the phone had to ring twice. Once with Fran, then with Andy.

Andy transferred to a closer Denny’s.

While Scott was here I played him some tapes. One of Andy, Fran and me talking to the crisis center.

I made $66 at work tonight. Amazing, huh?

Today I’ve been keeping journals for 5 years and 7 months.

Some DJ Andy spoke to wants a copy of my edits. Last night Andy and I spoke to Johnny at a local radio station and he thought they were cool. DJs are cool people to talk to. I even ended up on the radio saying, “So Johnny, when the heck are you going to be giving away courtside Sun’s tickets?” like he asked me to.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 1993 I am on the phone right now with Andy and believe it or not, we’re calling machines. We’re only calling each machine once and leaving edits on them since it’s too easy to get caught.

I am very tired right now due to the sun, but I’ll do some writing another time.

Later…

I am sitting here wondering how the hell I’m gonna fall asleep. So, instead of trying to figure out that one, I figured I’d write.

Monday I slept from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Scott knocked at 8:30 PM. He’s been working on one of his cars for the last two days.

Steve called me to ask if I’d heard from Celeste. She and her son’s missing and her mom called him. She could be with anyone knowing how she is. Scott said she was with Joe. She’s like Teresa. They can never leave the men who beat them.

Before I fell asleep yesterday morning, I called Kim. We spoke for half an hour. She’s very annoyed with Bob’s obsession with her. We’re gonna play a joke on him. I’m sending a very threatening fuck off message from a “Brian R” to her and she’s gonna mail it to him. I disguised my handwriting.

I’m also gonna tell him in a letter how she’s thinking of moving out here. Then, she’ll write to me saying that. I’ll send this letter to Bob. Bob will freak with total panic.

Late last night Tom and I went to the Jacuzzi. Then, he came over here where once again I made him hot chocolate and played him tapes. He said he’ll show me how to create edits on his computer digitally sometime. He said you can control the pitch and do all sorts of things.

Later I’ll write all about the DJ that Andy and I spoke to and about my being on the radio.

MONDAY, MAY 24, 1993 I’m still wide awake as I feared I’d be.

I spoke to Tammy earlier. We both agreed that it’d be a waste of time to try to “set things straight” with my parents. Yes, it hurts that we can’t get along. What person wouldn’t want to get along with their parents? However, I’m not gonna keep on running around in circles with them. I’m not at fault or deserving of Mom’s bullshit. I’ll miss not telling them all about the good things going on, but it’s not worth it anymore.

I hope Scott doesn’t knock till 2:00 or 3:00.

Last night Tom and I went to the Jacuzzi. After, I invited him here. I had coffee and he had hot chocolate. I showed him the photo albums, drawings, and journals and played him some tapes.

SUNDAY, MAY 23, 1993 Well, I am in a great mood. Far better than I was last week. It’s so nice to know that I’ve had so few bad days or so-so days since I’ve been here. For 26½ years it was 90% miserable. Here, it’s been 98% fantastic.

I didn’t count, but I made $80 or $90 tonight. I have $97 in cash on me in bills and lots of change.

Scott stopped in for an hour or so. It was great to see him. We’re getting together Monday.

I still can’t find Kindy’s number, so I hope she calls me.

I like Sasha, but she can be annoying. She knows Scott and I are good friends and that I hardly see him, but she hogs his attention.

Till 11:00 it was dead. I said to Scott I was afraid I’d end up evicted if the club didn’t pick up or if no positive results came out of L.A. He laughed and said, “No you’re not. I’ve got tons of money coming in next month.”

We’re gonna discuss it Monday. And he also says he’ll put the ceiling fan up then. We’ll see.

I still do have an excellent feeling about L.A. Also, believe it or not, I feel a little lust in the cards too, but why the hell I do, who knows? I’m sure it won’t be with Marcella, but I sure wish it. While I’m still young I wish to hell I could have a little more fun here and there.

There’s a new dancer named Ashley at work who’s pretty, but I guess she’s straight.

The phone company fixed the lines today.

Tomorrow if I don’t get together with Kindy, and I highly doubt it, I’ll call Lorna. I’d like to meet her and see if she’ll buy my answering machine.

I sold Sammy a costume.

I think I’ll also decorate the wall stuff and type some letters. I love this apartment It’s so quiet so far. The guy below me is so quiet and I hear fewer kids. I have a few more things to write about later.

Later…

Can you believe I’m still fucking up?! This pisses me off! My schedule’s been doing well since I had that flu and cold. It’s been fine for 3 months so why it’s so hard to fall asleep now beats me.

At 6:30 yesterday evening, Tom came over and attached the sleeper to the couch. He also listened to some edits and one of the Crisis Center calls where Andy and I would play the abandoned teen siblings and I’d do my crazy act, speaking senseless, disjointed sentences.

Tom took me to work and back. He’s on vacation for two weeks. While he’s still here he can bring me to and from work. I’ll still see him and be friends with him after he moves, though. He’s gonna have a 2-bedroom house with a pool. Lucky him.

He’s a cool guy. He’s so the “married with children” type. So very mature and calm. He’s 35, but he appears a bit older. Completely opposite of me, yet never tries to change me or anyone else. Never the type to make prank phone calls, mail funny letters, swear so much or be so blunt. He is very honest, though, and can handle listening to edits and stuff like that.

Earlier I was going through all my journals and highlighting the entry dates. I’d begun doing this right before I moved to Crystal Creek. I’ve finished 1-30, but I know I have bits and pieces of 31-37 done.

Gotta dust, vacuum and run through the bathroom and kitchen a bit. I really want to keep up on this place. Don’t want to let it slide. Every two weeks is when I shall go through it. Once every 2-3 months I’ll be really thorough. No half-assing it.

Why do I feel such a strong vibe for lust? Knowing and going by my track record, I should have a year or so to go.

Now, I’m going to try really hard to fall asleep. I definitely can feel my eyelids becoming quite heavy, so bye for now.

Later…

Right now I am sitting on my patio. It is very very warm out still. A slight breeze went by, but only for a second. I wish it was windier more often. I can’t wait till we have more of those awesome thunder and lightning storms we usually have this time of year. The sound of the creek and waterfalls down below me is so peaceful. God, what beauty I live in!

I’m writing on the table I bought for $10 off that maintenance guy who was fired and moved. I have the patio light on. Thankfully, I have a patio light. I can see perfectly well.

I slept till 7:00! I was beat, but I hope I haven’t fucked my schedule up. I still haven’t done my walls either. I am doing laundry now. I’ll watch two movies I taped and do some letter writing, too.

I spoke to Andy for about 45 minutes, then went to the Jacuzzi. He’s watching TV now.

I have an appointment tomorrow at 9 AM with DES. I want to see if Tom can do me a huge favor. Of course, he can’t call them and say I can’t be up that early cuz I work. I want him to say I transferred apartments, I’m very sick now and don’t have current bills and rent receipts which is true. I’ll call them real soon and see if I can do a phone interview or mail the stuff they need.

While I was at the Jacuzzi I found a really nice lighter and it’s full, too.

I’ll have to look at the apartment map to see where Lorna’s apartment is. I’ll call her first, though, one of these days soon. I want to sell her my answering machine. I’m wary of her otherwise. I smell Ellie in her.

Tomorrow’s the day, a year ago that I left the NHA project. I was in Natchaug for two weeks. I’ve been through so much and accomplished so much since.

Scott says tomorrow he’s putting up the ceiling fan in the bedroom. I’ll believe it when I see it. I hate to say that, but it’s true. Right now, though, I’m gonna throw my clothes into the dryer and watch TV.

Later…

I’m about to watch the movie I taped. One of them. This one’s called, In the Line of Duty - Ambush in Waco. It’s all about that crazy cult leader in Texas. This video has had it. It sounds as if it were underwater. Tim Daly, the guy playing David Koresh, looks exactly like the real David Koresh.

SATURDAY, MAY 22, 1993 Still no sign of Scott. This is really pissing me the fuck off. Where the fuck is he? What the fuck’s going on with L.A., the rent, and all the other stuff!? Mark at work said to let him know when and if I find out I’m going to L.A. Is the dream over, just when I was as sure as the fact that I’m short with waist-length hair? Was this all one big fat fucking joke? Is God gonna punish me for this first whole year in all my life of happiness? Why is there always a price to pay for happiness? I’m certainly not saying I’m miserable, but am I to pay any dues? Dues for being happy? Is this cuz of my get-together with Julia?

Later I have stuff to write about Marcella (a dancer I like), money, costumes, Kindy, etc.

Later…

What the hell, I don’t have anything else better to do right now, other than to write.

Meagan says Marcella just moved in with her boyfriend. Great. But who knows just how happy she really is? Who knows if she’s gay? Sasha and I still sense she could be. She (Sasha) had agreed a few days ago to approach Marcella and tell her about me. Just as we were coming in, Marcella was on her way out. Sasha never said a word to her. She told me to just go up and talk to her or to leave her a note. She said she didn’t seem to be the type to freak out and take a shit fit if she was straight or not interested. Well, I’m not as brave as she is. Not after the Maliheh incident and many others. It’s not that I’m afraid of verbal rejection. I’m so used to it. I don’t want to have to work with her and maybe blush with a bit of embarrassment when I see her. Or have her tell the whole world and be snotty to me. It’s not that I care who knows I’m gay. It’s her running around saying, “that girl had the nerve to hit on me and I rejected her, ha, ha, ha!”

I envy those who see what they want and almost always get it.

Later…

Meagan says Marcella’s going to Florida for two weeks, but that if I wanted to write a note, she’d give it to her.

If she were bi and looking for a woman here and there, I’m sure God wouldn’t let me get that lucky. Don’t get me wrong, Ann Marie and Julia were no settlements. However, there’s a difference between, someone who’ll “pass,” versus someone who makes you think - wow! I want her big time!

Steve was telling me that he’s got another regular who’s a definite butch. However, she’s very nice, he says, with a great personality. He said she said that I must have the same problem she does cuz there are not too many feminine ones out there and that’s what she goes for. As I said, this comes as no surprise to me. Butches like fems and fems like butches. I did tell Steve he could give her my number to maybe be friends. When he picked me up after work, he said he gave it to her and she was thrilled. If she’s ugly, so-so, or on the masculine side, then yeah, I bet she’s thrilled. She’ll definitely call too, and come over. I bet I’ll have no trouble getting her over here being the butch Steve says she is.

Kindy gave me her number to call her Sunday and I lost it!

Later…

Yes! I’m psyched! When I got home I couldn’t get messages cuz of the repairs they’re doing till just now. Scott actually left a message! He said he was out cold asleep till 5 PM yesterday. His message was left at 10 PM. He said to call when I get up and that he can move Andy on the 2nd of June and not the 1st.

I made over $100 at work and this idiot blew $30 on a gorgeous black lace jacket. Also, a 1-piece black and pink combo shorts/tank top. It zips right up the front. It fits perfectly.

Andy gave Velma that $15 for that straightening iron, so he now only owes me $135.

I can’t wait till he gets over his cold. I want to show him my new stuff.

I also tipped Pete $10, Kevin the doorman $3, then there was the $7 house tip and $37 for groceries. Oh, I also gave Steve $7 for waiting so patiently while I shopped.

The cashier gave me 2 out of the 4 packs of cigarettes I got for free for my being “cute.”

Later…

This is quite ridiculous. I must go to sleep within half an hour. Due to it being Sat., I’ll put my earplug in to be on the safe side and set the alarm for 2:00. If I get only 5 hours of sleep, oh well. I need to be getting up earlier.

I called Tammy and she’s gonna talk to Dad. She offered to. I didn’t ask. I said ok, but these people are in their 60s. They aren’t gonna change now. Tammy feels the same way about both of them.

I’m gonna try to sell Sammy and Meagan each a costume for $10. I’m gonna also try to sell Lorna my answering machine for $15.

Well, I’m gonna go hit the sack. I want to be awake between 2:00 and 3:00 so I can talk to Scott.

FRIDAY, MAY 21, 1993 My Second Crystal Creek Apartment…

Well, I just paged Steve.

I got a letter from Dad today that half upset me, half pissed me off. You know, I’m really sick of their shit, his and Ma’s.

Later…

I have a half-hour left and boy do I hope I make money tonight.

As far as my folks are concerned, why is it ok for them to insult me? It’s ok for them to speak their minds, but I can’t. I never said anyone was perfect, I’m just tired of being called a liar and all their other BS. I have no respect for my father when he sides with Mom like this, but they can’t take it, so tough! I never wanted our relationship to end, but I can’t deal with Mom’s shit in between everything else. Even Andy said it makes him want to call and bitch them out.

Still no response from Scott. A simple call from a payphone won’t kill him.

I left a note on the guy’s door downstairs. I said I tried knocking to introduce myself and got no answer. I left a note saying I work late, will try to be quiet. Let me know if my music’s too loud and don’t worry if he wants to blast his.

In other news, I’ve got to call DES (food stamps) to see if I can mail the stuff they need.

I called US West and they say the problem with the crossed lines will be fixed tomorrow. I am to call back around the 29th when my bill’s printed for a credit of two days. Lorna and I are still crossed today. We spoke earlier. She told me all about last night and of course, I played dumb. She may buy my answering machine from me.

[masterserris]

.

[avengersassemble123]

THE ONE WITH THE WEDDING - part 1

Fandom: Marvel, Avengers

Note: hey guys!! This is going to be a series and a new chapter will come out every week. This series is based on Friends (Monica and Chandler’s relationship)

Warnings: none, hate for step family

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x reader(eventual), platonic Sam x reader, platonic Natsha x reader

Summary: You were invited to your stepsister's wedding at the last minute and your stepmother wants you to bring a date. Bucky Barnes decides to become your so-called date and shenanigans ensue. But will he remain your ‘so-called’ fake date or will he be someone more?

It was a day when you could relax after the stressful week. A stressful week of going to missions and doing a shit ton of paperwork. The day when you can finally sleep in your warm comfy bed in adeep, peaceful slumber, floating in your dream-

Ting, ting.

Notification.

You decided to ignore it when suddenly you’re phone started swarming with notifications. You finally decided to check your messages.

It was your stepmother. Great. Just what you needed.

She messaged you that you were invited to your stepsister’s wedding on Thursday. You were honestly not surprised to receive this message just a few days before the wedding and not be invited to the parties, since you and your stepfamily were not particularly on good terms. Honestly you wanted to cut your ties with your so called family, but you didn't because you loved your grandmother, your dad and your twin brother, (Y/B/N). They were the only ones who loved you genuinely and you couldn't have the power to cut connections with them. They were half the reason why you were successful in becoming who you are, An Avenger.

You could have told that you were too busy to attend the wedding but since the wedding was being held in New York itself, just half an hour from the tower, you had to go. She texted you that since a few extra seats were left, you could bring a plus one. Wonderful. Now you got to find a date. Already growing frustrated by the situation, you decided to just leave the phone back in your room and went into the kitchen. When you enter the kitchen, you went straight through the fridge. Your frustration was seen evidently as you were banging things while surfing through the leftovers. Two heads came into the kitchen when they saw you abusing the fridge items. Sam raised his eyebrow at Natasha while she just shrugged, not knowing anything.

You were about to slam the milk bottle when you heard a bit deep voice interrupting you, “What did the damn food ever do to you?” you looked up for the source of the sound when you saw sam, looking at you amusingly standing beside a smirking Natasha, who was sitting on the counter. You took a deep breath, “well turns out my dear kind stepsister is getting married on Thursday, and I was invited, not that I was supposed to be invited in any other parties nor should I be informed about this months prior, oh and I have to find a date.” You stood up, a sandwich in your hand. Both of them winced, since they and the rest of the team knew about you and your stepfamily’s history. “Well one of us would gladly helped but unfortunately almost the whole team is gonna go out on a mission to Argentina from Wednesday to Saturday.” Natasha explained, making you groan in frustration. Of course at this time a mission had to pop out. “But Barnes ain’t going so why don’t you ask him. He decided to take a break for a while.” Sam continued. You let out an excited yes as you hurried from the kitchen to find Bucky. You finally found him in the gym, lifting weights.

“Hey Bucky!” You called out. Bucky turned his attention at you from his weights, “Hey Y/N, what’s up?” He said while continuing to lift after a second. “Okay so I have a favor to ask, but it’s totally okay if you don’t wanna do it.” You explained. “Shoot.” he said. “Ok so you know my history with my step family right?” you aked. He nodded. “Well they invited me to my step sisters wedding and they said I have to get a date. Sooo I got to know that you were free this Thursday? So would you like to accompany me as my date? Don't worry it's fake. I'll probably make something up later to tell them we broke up or something -”

“Yes Y/N I will accompany you to the wedding.” he cut off your ranting. You looked at him for a second and then thanked him happily, squealing in joy. He laughed at your behavior and then you both went in your ways to continue your activities for the day, but not before deciding the time you guys would meet up to plan your story for the wedding.

That night you both as well as the rest of the team gathered in the hall to discuss your story.

“Ok let's start with his you guys met,” Steve said, which made you and Bucky nod in approval.

“Ok you guys stumbled across each other in a cafe and you couldn't take your eyes off one another, leaving you guys in the impression of love at first sight.”

“Clint I told you to reduce your rom-com watching.” “Hey it's not that bad Natasha”

“You guys met each other when a car was driving towards Y/N and hero Barnes saved the day.” “Tony, just because we need Bucky to have a good impression doesn't mean you gotta reduce mine. If I say this to my stepfamily, I'm gonna get more taunts than before.” “All right fair point.” “And it's too cheesy” “Hey, I think that's a memorable way to meet each other-” “No Tony, next?”

“How about you guys just keep it simple and say that you met each other through this job itself, I mean Barnes is an Avenger himself and you're an agent who goes with us in almost every mission, and you live here so just say that your attraction grew the more you two saw each other.”

“Thank you, Wanda, I knew you were the most sensible of us all.” “hey-” “you too cap” “Hey why does capsicle get the honor but not us.” “Because he is tin man.” “You don't even think your future date is sensible too, darling” “Keep it in your pants, Barnes.”

You guys sat together to crack jokes and share some more ideas. Some stories were weird, some were funny and some were too nice to leave. After finally deciding on your story you all bid, saying good nights and burry yourselves for a long slumber.

Read part 2 here

[drabbles-mc]

One Of Them Girls (Part 2)

Angel Reyes x F!Reader

A follow-up to This Request from @lakamaa12​

Warnings: language, slight steam towards the end, Angel being?? the sweetest human

Word Count: 4.4k

A/N: Back by popular demand! It took me a little bit to get into the groove of a part 2 for this one but I really like how it turned out. Angel is the sweetest and he deserves the best. Hope y’all enjoy!

Angel Reyes Taglist: @mayans-sauce​ @encounterthepast​ @helli4nthus​ @lilacyennefer​ @angelreyesgirl​ @everyhowlmarksthedead​ @starrynite7114​ @rosieposie0624​ @queenbeered​ @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo​ @sincerelyasomebody​ @mijop​ @sadeyesgf​ @xladymacbethx​ @thesandbeneathmytoes​ @blessedboo​ @appropriate-writers-name​ @holl2712​ @tomhardydallasstarsgirl​ @multiyfandomgirl40​ @sillygoose6969​ @beardburnsupersoldiers​ @louisianalady​ @gemini0410​ @paintballkid711​ @chibsytelford​ @yourwonkywriter​ @sesamepancakes​ @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead​ @georgiaaintnopeach​  @plentyoffandoms @twistnet​ @themoonandthewicked​ @garbinge​ @bucky-iss-bae​ @enjoy-the-destruction

You woke up late the next morning to the sound of your roommate clamoring around in the kitchen. You wanted to be annoyed but when you looked at the clock, your eyes went wide. It was almost noon—and you had to be at work in two hours. You let out a deep sigh as you got out of bed.

You got ready as quickly as you could, opting out of doing much of anything with your makeup and hair. It wasn’t like your manager was going to care anyway. You strode into the kitchen, immediately grabbing a travel mug from the cabinet for your coffee.

“You slept late,” Elena said with a hint of amusement in her tone, “Long night?”

You chuckled and shook your head as you dumped coffee into your mug, “Not like whatever it is that you’re thinking. He just gave me a ride home, that’s it.”

“Mhm,” she leaned back against the counter, unable to wipe the smile off of her face, “You left his hoodie hanging off the bathroom door.”

You sighed, looking up at the ceiling, “It was cold, and he let me borrow it.”

“You can say you like him, you know,” she laughed, “The ground isn’t gonna open underneath you if you say you think some guy is cute.”

You smiled but shook your head, “I gotta go—slept through my alarm,” you gathered up your purse and keys, “You got plans tonight?”

She shook her head, “Nope. You?”

“None at all,” you laughed, “I’m recovering from all the human interaction yesterday.”

“Thanks for coming. I know you didn’t really want to.”

You took a sip of your coffee, “Hate to say it, but it was actually pretty fun. So, thank you,” you chuckled, “But I’m not doing shit once I get home from work tonight. No extra human interaction for me.”

You said goodbye and took off out the door. You hadn’t even made it to work yet and you already couldn’t wait to be back home. There was one more semester between you and finishing college, and you couldn’t wait until you could actually get a full-time job that you enjoyed. You were lucky that you worked in a restaurant where your coworkers and your boss were all good people, but you couldn’t wait to be done with it.

When you came home, you were hit with a wave of heat and the scent of good food as soon as you walked through the door. Your body instantly relaxed as you kicked off your shoes and tossed your purse onto the couch. Elena watched and shook her head at you with a smile.

“Welcome home, honey,” she laughed as she grabbed plates out of the cupboard.

You laughed, “So glad I get to come home to you,” you walked into the kitchen and looked over everything that she was making, “Real talk though, thanks for taking care of dinner.”

“Think of it as my thank you for coming out with me last night.”

“Are you trying to reward me into socializing with people?”

She laughed, “Would it work?”

You looked back at the food, “…maybe.”

“Speaking of which,” she started piling food onto her plate, “Angel texted me today.”

“Everything alright?”

She waited for you to look at her again, “He asked about you.”

You already had a forkful of food in your mouth, “What about me?”

She laughed, “He was just letting me know that he had a really good time with you and wanted to see you again. I guess after the whole ass-beating comment he felt like he had to get my approval. Which…was smart of him,” she smiled.

You laughed, “Oh my god,” you shook your head, “Put the fear of god in the poor guy.”

Despite the fact that you were trying to play it off, you couldn’t deny that the fact that Angel had reached out to her about you felt good. It made you feel like he might’ve been taking the whole thing at least a little seriously. You didn’t know just how serious you were looking for things to be, but you knew you weren’t in the mood to be jerked around by anyone.

Elena must’ve seen each thought cross your face because she nudged you gently as you both walked over to the couch, “You good?”

You snapped out of it, nodding, “Yea, I’m good.”

“If you don’t wanna see him again, you don’t have to,” she took a bite of her food, “I mean I love the guys but I’d be the first to say that they aren’t for everyone.”

“No,” you shook your head, “It’s not that. It’s just, I dunno. I don’t even know what I’m up for, you know?”

She nodded, “I know. I think he might be good for you, honestly. He’s a good guy. A little impulsive sometimes,” she shook her head with a smile, “But he’s got a good heart.”

You knew that she wasn’t lying about that. You could feel that emanating from him when the two of you were sitting and talking the night before. You nodded and didn’t say anything more about it. She put a show on the television and your previous conversation fell by the wayside. It was hard not to think about it, though.

Once you were done with dinner, you hopped in the shower. You were in your room, getting ready to change into your pajamas for the night when your phone started to go off on your bed. Seeing Angel’s name flashing on the screen sent nervousness and excitement through you at the same time. You sat down on the bed still in your towel and took a deep breath before answering.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” you could hear the smile in his voice.

“Everything alright?”

“Yea,” he chuckled, “just wanted to make sure you really gave me the right number.”

You laughed, “For a moment I thought about playing the John Cena theme song just to give you a good scare.”

Along with his laughter you could hear a lot of voices in the background, and you assumed that he was at the clubhouse, “Your sweetness overwhelms me.”

You couldn’t help but to laugh, “Believe it or not, that’s not the first time someone has said that to me,” you paused, biting at your lip as you waited for him to say why he was calling, “Not that I don’t want to hear from you, but was there a reason you called?”

The pause that followed was unsettling, but finally you heard him take a breath, “Yea. I, uh, I just wanted to know if you’d want to go out sometime,” he paused for a moment, “With me.”

You smiled, “With you? I mean, in that case,” you let slip a quiet laugh, “I might be able to budget some time in my schedule.”

“Really?”

“Not even I am mean enough to joke about that,” you chuckled.

He laughed, “Okay. Wow. Um, okay, yea. How…how does Thursday night sound?”

“Sounds good.”

You could hear him let out a sigh of relief, “I’ll pick you up at seven?”

“It’s a date,” just saying the words made you feel giddy. You were curious about one thing, though, “What made you decide to call and ask?”

His laughter had a touch of nervousness to it and you found it hard to believe that he was a man that got nervous about much of anything, “I was gonna wait a couple days so you wouldn’t think that I was a creep. Or a clinger,” he laughed for a moment, “But I, um, I couldn’t get you outta my head.”

Your entire body felt warm, “You’re sweet.”

“Sometimes,” he laughed, “Also Coco said that if I didn’t say something he would call you up and say something for me. And neither of us want that.”

You shook your head and laughed, “Right.”

There was a beat of silence, “So I’ll see you Thursday?”

“I’ll see you Thursday.”

The relief was palpable in his voice, “Alright. Have a good night, querida.”

You were thankful that he couldn’t see the cheesy grin on your face, “You too, Angel.”

You hung up the call and tossed your phone to the side as you flopped backwards onto your bed, still wrapped in your towel. You couldn’t wipe the smile off your face as you stared up at the ceiling. You covered your face with your hands, unable to remember the last time a phone call left you feeling so giddy.

As if on cue, Elena came sliding into your room, “Did I just hear you confirm a date with Angel?” her smile stretched from ear to ear, clearly thankful for the thin walls of your apartment.

You wanted to have a witty remark but you were too busy being excited. You laughed and nodded, “You did.”

“Yes!” she ran over and tackled you in a hug on the bed, “Oh this is so exciting!”

You laughed as you felt her practically vibrating with excitement for you, “What’d I just get myself into?”

“An adventure!”

You had lived through a lot of weeks that seemed to drag on, but nothing quite like the week leading up to your date with Angel. Focusing in your classes was doable, but it wasn’t easy when you could feel your phone vibrating inside your backpack with texts from Angel. It caught you by surprise that he was able to text you and keep a conversation going all day—the two of you didn’t seem to run out of things to talk about and it was refreshing.

Your work shift on Wednesday night felt like it lasted for a lot longer than six hours. You just wanted to get the day over with already so it would finally be Thursday. In all of your conversations during the week, Angel had never let slip what the plan was for your date the following night. It was a little maddening but you also couldn’t deny that you liked the slight mystery of it all. He had done you the courtesy of letting you know that you wouldn’t have to dress up for it.

“You sure you’re not just setting me up to be super underdressed?” you asked while you talked on the phone with him Thursday afternoon.

He laughed, “That’d be funny, but I promise I’m not doing that.”

“Hmm,” you held the phone loosely in your hand while you pulled random tops out of your closet, “I don’t know if I believe you.”

“No trust,” his smile was audible.

“Don’t take it so personally,” you chuckled.

“You worry too much, querida,” he laughed, “You’ll look great no matter what. I’ll see you in a few hours, alright?”

“Alright, I’ll see you in a bit.”

The two of you said a quick goodbye and you tossed your phone aside with a sigh. Being told to wear whatever for a date felt like a trap. You had a number of shirts laid out in front of you, taking over your bed. Part of you wanted to do the unthinkable and ask Elena for fashion advice, but you weren’t sure you were ready for everything that might entail, especially if it was supposed to be casual.

You mulled over your choices for a minute too long, though. She was walking by to go to the kitchen when she saw you standing in your leggings and bra, looking over your choices. She poked her head in and cleared her throat louder than necessary.

“Can I weigh in?”

“Would me saying no even matter?”

“Nope!” she laughed as she walked over and looked at the shirts on your bed, “Where you guys going?”

You shrugged helplessly, “No clue—he won’t tell me. He just said that I could wear whatever I want, whatever I’m comfortable in. Said it’s nothing fancy,” you paused, “Should I believe him?”

She nodded, “Yea, I don’t think he’d lie about that,” she tapped her chin, seemingly deep in thought, “The red top is cute, plus it’ll look nice with the leggings.”

“Yea?”

“Yea,” she picked it up and handed it to you, “He’s gonna think you’re hot regardless of what you wear. As he should,” she chuckled.

You had to laugh as you pulled the shirt on over your head, “Thank you.”

She left you to your own devices after her initial piece of advice. You knew that you were getting ready way ahead of schedule, and that realistically all you were going to do was sit and wait and let yourself get more jittery than necessary. But now that you had started getting ready it was hard to distract yourself and kill time until Angel came to get you.

You took longer than necessary with your hair and makeup solely to try and keep yourself busy for as long as possible. Every few minutes you looked over and checked the time on your phone, each time disappointed that more time hadn’t gone by. You drummed your fingernails on the surface of your dresser, trying to think of ways to fill the remaining time before Angel showed up to pick you up.

“You can come out here and help me with laundry if you’re that bored,” you heard Elena call from the living room with a laugh, “I can hear your fingernails from here.”

You laughed but caved and made your way out to her, finding a spot on the couch next to her in the mess of unfolded, clean clothes. She tossed you a shirt and you shook your head as you began to fold and stack with her, glad to have a menial task to fill the time and keep you from going too insane.

The two of you were wrapped up in a conversation, and you had completely lost track of the time, when you heard a knock at the door. Your eyes grew wide and you checked the time on your phone, cursing under your breath as you stood up. You asked Elena to go and answer the door while you went to find a pair of shoes to wear.

You could hear the two of them chatting and laughing as you grabbed a cute pair of sneakers that had gotten shoved underneath your bed at some point. You were pulling it over the heel of your foot, hopping down the hallway towards the living room where Angel stood waiting for you.

You felt your eyes go wide as you looked at him. He looked like a completely different man without his kutte on for some reason. He just had a plain black t-shirt on with his jeans and work boots, but for some reason you felt all of your words get caught in your throat.

“You look great,” he said with a smile, “You ready to go?”

You nodded, “Yea, yea I’m good.”

You walked over and were following him out the door when Elena caught you gently by the arm, “Relax. Have a good time. If you need to bail just text me and I’ll totally call with a fake emergency.”

You laughed, “I don’t think that’ll be necessary, but thank you.”

“Text me when you get there,” she gave you a quick hug goodbye.

“Will do. Love you.”

“Love you too,” she waved and shut the door after you.

You met Angel in the lobby of your apartment building. He looked over at you with a smile, “All good?”

You nodded, “All good. Elena was just making sure I still had my pepper spray.”

“I’ll never know peace with you two around, will I?”

You laughed, shaking your head, “Not at all.”

“You up for another ride on the bike? Or was the first ride too traumatizing for you?”

You rolled your eyes, “I’ll be fine.”

Handing over his helmet with a smile, Angel climbed onto his bike and waited for you to hop on behind him. You got situated, arms wrapping around him much more comfortably this time around. You rested your chin on top of his shoulder for a moment, a smile creeping across your face.

“So do I get to know what we’re doing, yet?”

“Nope,” he shook his head with a laugh, “Hang on tight, Y/N.”

The way your name rolled off his tongue left butterflies in your stomach, but you didn’t get too much time to think about it as he peeled away from the curb and took off down the street. Besides the roar of his motorcycle, your laughter was the only thing that either of you could hear as he tore down the street. You could feel his body shake slightly with laughter beneath your arms as he drove.

The streetlights blurred as the two of you raced by them. Even if the city was whipping by you at race-like speeds, you had to admit that there was something beautiful about all of it. Despite the fact that there was no pausing to look at anything for too long, flying past dimly-lit storefronts in your sleepy little town felt like an adventure all its own when you found yourself latched to Angel.

Your ride didn’t last nearly long enough. As excited as you were to get to the next part of your date, you could’ve spent the whole evening just doing that. He rolled into the driveway of a house, one that you had to assume was his. You couldn’t hide the fact that you were surprised as he parked the bike and hopped off, holding out his hands to help you do the same.

You hung the helmet off the handlebar as you looked back and forth between Angel and his house. He saw the slight look of confusion on your face and chuckled, “Everything alright?”

You laughed, trying to play it off, “Yea, just figured you’d take me to dinner before you tried to take me home.”

He shook his head as he gently rested his hand on the small of your back and guided you up the driveway, “It’s a one-stop shop, baby,” he couldn’t contain his laughter at the way you rolled your eyes at him, “Nah but I know you said you really don’t like going out and doing shit around people. Figured this might be more your speed?”

Your face got hot for a moment and you nodded, “Thank you.”

“It ain’t much,” Angel said as he unlocked the door, “But the kitchen works which is the most important thing.”

You chuckled and nodded in agreement as you followed him into his house. Once you slipped out of your shoes you looked around, trying to get a feel for what you were walking into. You had the feeling that he put a little extra effort into straightening up the place given the current circumstances. Even so, his house still felt very much like a home. It wasn’t overly cluttered, but there were a good number of photos on the walls, along with more than a couple bookshelves that were filled to the brim in the living room, taking up wall space on either side of his television.

“I prepped most of it,” Angel said as he walked over to the kitchen, “Just gotta put it together. Shouldn’t take too long. You can snoop around while you wait if you want,” there was a knowing smirk on his face.

You laughed, “There’ll be plenty of time for snooping. I’m much more interested to see what you can do in the kitchen.”

“You think I can’t cook?”

“It’s not one of the first skills I would’ve assumed you had, no.”

“No fuckin’ trust,” he laughed.

You found yourself leaning against the counter, watching him as he started pulling everything together for dinner. You had to admit that you were impressed by his culinary skills. For a man who didn’t come off as someone who spent a whole lot of time in the kitchen, he seemed to have a pretty good idea of what he was doing. Or if he didn’t, he was good at faking it.

“You should keep your fingers curled a little more,” you commented as you watched him start to slice the items laid out on the cutting board.

“What?” he looked over at you.

“Yea, like this, lemme show you,” you took the knife from him and showed him the proper way to keep your fingers bent, “That way you won’t accidentally cut the tips of your fingers off. Keeping them intact will probably make it easier to ride, yea?”

He chuckled as he took the knife back from you, “Maybe.”

That was the last time you interjected into his process unless he asked you to grab something out of the fridge or one of the cabinets for him. It was peaceful, comfortable, moving around the kitchen with him.

“You want to pick a movie to watch with dinner?” he asked as he was finishing things up on the stove.

“Sure! You’re not gonna cut off any fingers while I’m gone, are you?”

“I think I’ll be alright. I made it this many years and I still got all ten.”

You laughed as you walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch. You scrolled through what Netflix was recommending for him, trying to get a good gauge on what you should be choosing. This definitely felt like it was a little bit of a test.

“Sorry if there’s weird shit popping up on there,” he chuckled, “Coco uses mine and his interests are…unique.”

You laughed, “So that’s your story?”

“And I’m sticking to it,” he smiled at you as he brought over two plates, setting them down on the coffee table before disappearing back into the kitchen to grab drinks for the two of you.

Dinner was much better than you initially thought it was going to be. He was certainly a man that was full of surprises. You had to admit that you were surprised at how comfortable you felt around him, especially in his own house. He was making a conscious effort to try and be as open and inviting as possible, and it was working.

Once you were both done eating, you found yourself nestled up against his side, his arm draped around your shoulders. His thumb traced lightly back and forth as his eyes stayed focused on the movie. You tried to stay focused, but it was difficult. You reached and draped your arm across his stomach while you laid against him and you felt him chuckle.

“Comfortable?”

You looked up at him with a smile, “Yea. You?”

He gave you a light squeeze, “Yea.”

The two of you fell silent for a few minutes before Angel started his own commentary about what was going on in the movie. You had to laugh, shaking your head as he successfully ruined every serious moment. It was obvious that both of you had seen the film before, because you were both cracking jokes about it.

When the credits started to roll, Angel looked down at you with a smile, “Thanks for doing this with me.”

You sat upright, “Of course. No need to thank me—I’ve been looking forward to this all week.”

“Hopefully it lived up to your expectations?”

You nodded, “Surpassed them for sure. Like I said, I didn’t think you could cook,” you laughed.

He chuckled and shook his head as he stood up, collecting your plates, “Y’know sometimes you can just be nice.”

You watched him, trying to ignore the butterflies taking over your stomach, “But where’s the fun in that?”

He walked back over, standing by the couch with a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth. You could see that there were a lot of thoughts running around his brain. “We can totally watch part 2, which was basically made to be made fun of, unless you wanna get going—”

“No,” you cut him off, biting your lip lightly at how eager you knew you sounded, “I’m in no rush, really. I’ll totally stay and talk shit for a few more hours.”

He smiled as he sat back down next to you, motioning for you to come and curl back up against his side again, “Sounds good to me.”

Your hand was resting against his chest as you laughed at a stupid joke he’d just made. You felt his hand come to rest over yours, completely enveloping it for a moment. It sent a wave of warmth throughout your entire body. You almost didn’t realize what was happening as he lifted your hand and pressed a kiss to your knuckles. Your entire face started to get hot as you looked up at him. There was a smirk on his face and you knew that he knew exactly what he was doing to you, even if you didn’t want to give him that kind of satisfaction.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked.

You smiled, finding yourself biting back a laugh as you nodded, “Yea, I think I’ll allow that.”

He laughed, “I did cook you dinner like you asked, right?”

You rolled your eyes, smile still taking over your features, “Don’t make me change my mind.”

“Right, right,” he gently cupped your face in his hand and pulled your lips to his.

Almost instantly you felt yourself melting into him. Your hand still rested on his chest and you could feel how quickly his heart was beating. You smiled into the kiss as you felt his thumb glide gently across your cheek while his lips moved against yours.

Without giving it much of a second thought, you shifted yourself so that you were in his lap, straddling him. His arms fell naturally around your waist, keeping you pulled tight against his chest. Your hands rested on either side of his neck, fingertips tracing along his jawline as he continued to deepen your kiss, biting lightly at your bottom lip.

You pulled away to catch your breath, your lips mere centimeters away from his. Your entire body felt like it was on fire and you couldn’t remember the last time someone had made you feel that way from just a kiss.

He let out a breathy laugh as his hand ran up and down your back, “You’re somethin’ else, Y/N.”

“You don’t even know the half of it,” you laughed as you leaned back, trailing your fingers lightly through his beard.

He lifted and easily shifted you so that you were draped across his lap, curled up into his chest. One hand rested on your side while the other landed on your knee. He pressed a kiss to your forehead, “I’m more than willing to find out if you’ll let me.”

You smiled up at him, “I just might.”

[catboyshinsou]

jazz from heaven

pairing: aizawa x gn!reader

warnings: stress mention, panic attack mention, crying

word count: 1800

summary: after a stressful week, reader drives to aizawa’s apartment at 2am for comfort

Footsteps echoed in the never ending staircase, mocking you for your late night visit. Quick, shaky breaths left you as you reached the top floor. You had always hated the position of his apartment, in the middle of the city and on the top floor. It made going in and out easier for hero work since he could use the roof to enter and leave without making too much of a fuss. After climbing the mountain of stairs that was understandable but in this very moment, you hated that he lived here with every fiber of your being.

It was a quiet saturday morning. For once the streets were empty, even the high end villains would be sleeping by now. Everyone was asleep but you. You had made your way to your boyfriend's apartment at 3am and hoped for the love of everything that's holy that he was awake.

Of course as a teacher and pro, he was bound to be awake to grade or just coming back from patrol. It was the weekend of course and you'd normally hope

he was getting some rest but now you needed him awake. Just awake enough to give you a hug.

You knocked on the door, the sounds echoing in the halls. One, two, three.

You chewed on your lip and pulled on your fingers while you waited for an answer. Maybe it was too quiet? Maybe he was sleeping?

With a knot in your throat, you stood in front of the wood door, sniffing quietly. The week had been rough, today being the worst it's been in a while. You hadn't seen Shouta in a week. UA gave him more work than he usually had, especially since he was a homeroom teacher again. Of course you guys had kept in touch through texts and calls but right now you needed the real thing. You didn't want to be the clingy s/o, even if you've wanted to come by every day this week.

On Monday, when customers had yelled at you all day long you just wanted to sink into his arms.

On Tuesday, when weird guys chatted you up on the street and didn't leave until you dared to call someone.

On Wednesday, when you met old friends and they pointed out how much happier you seemed back in the day and how much you've lost your smile.

On Thursday, when you overthought yourself into an extensive panic attack in your bedroom.

Friday had been the worst. You almost immediately started bawling once you got home from an extra shift at work, barely being able to hold yourself for a couple of hours until the tears stopped. The next thing you could remember was being on your way to his place.

Your phone lit up the dark corridor, blue light shining onto your face. 'hey, it's me at your door’

Footsteps approached, dragging themselves over the wood floor. After a few seconds of unlocking the rather old door, Shouta opened and gave you an unamused look.

“It’s 2am, y/n.”

He had a towel throw over his shoulders, his damp hair falling on it. The usual hero jumpsuit was nowhere to be seen, his pink sweatpants instantly catching your eye. Paired with a washed out and too big shirt, he looked about bed ready even if you knew he wouldn’t be sleeping for another hour or two. Warm air came from behind him, you smelling the shampoo Mic had recommended him a few weeks ago.

“I know… I’m sorry…” You breathed out while walking into his apartment. Your eyes glued to the floor, a shaky breath escaped you as you took off your shoes.

The pro’s eyes softened. His confusion turned into concern, reminding himself that your late night visits usually had a reason. 

You stood back up and took another deep breath. Guilt washed over you when you remembered that you showed up at Shouta’s door at 2am, when he was probably exhausted and just wanted to go to bed. Your cheeks burned as he walked past you into the living room, one of the only light sources except from the bathroom behind you. 

Shouta had just gotten done with the last grades, the pile of graded papers neatly next to his mug of tea and all of his work stuff. He wanted to finish school stuff up, even if patrol had worn him out, so that he could completely relax on the upcoming weekend.

“Sorry for not calling more, I’ve been really busy with school…” He walked past you and put away the stacks of paperwork, so that the cat didn’t have her fun with them if she came home overnight. “Kids can be such a pain, I don’t know why I agreed to be a homeroom teacher.”

A few cars passed by, slow jazz coming from another apartment. It was a faint sound but just enough to push you to the edge. Lights flickered when you took another step into the apartment, as if you had just disrupted its peace. 

He huffed as he turned off the lights and got back to you. You who was still awkwardly standing in the corridor as if this was your first time at his place. You pulled on your fingers and just watched him put his stuff away. 

“Everything okay?” He stood in front of you now, a hand on your cheek and soft eyes looking into yours. Even if he wasn’t the most expressive with his own emotions, he had mastered yours. Something was wrong, even if you probably didn’t want to think about it. You probably still would either today or tomorrow but he didn’t want to inquire more.

With a gentle tug, he pulled you into his arms and pressed you close to him. His warmth surrounded you while he patted your head. Tears streamed down your face, silent sobs escaping you. You started shaking as the sobs got more violent, Shouta just holding you and stroking your back. 

“Oh, y/n…”

The tears soaked into his black t-shirt, your arms wrapped around him as you heaped. Keeping your low as low as possible, it was still 2am after all, you felt his steady breath against you. It made you feel safe, as if nothing could happen to you anymore.

Shouta didn’t know why you showed up to cry. But after working with a lot of different people, including teenagers and kids, he knew that this wasn’t the appropriate time to ask. What you needed was a no judgement zone and comfort.

With the last tears flowing, you started regulating your breath again. Your boyfriend noticed your deepening breaths, holding you even closer.

“That’s right, just deep breaths…” With a low whisper, he gave you kisses on your forehead as you did just that.

You sniffed and took a shaky breath as you buried your face in his shoulder. With a tightened grip on him, you just took him in and waited for the uneasy feeling to leave your system. You still trembled, trying to hold back the tears that dared to spill again. It was enough crying for today. In fact, you had cried enough for a lifetime this past week. Shouta was probably exhausted too, he didn’t need more to worry about.

Of course, he noticed your struggle. If one of you pulled another closer, you would practically merge so he felt the way you trembled and how your breath still wasn’t regulated. In moments like these, he wished he could do more. Somehow make you realise that everything would be okay and you could let it out here without being a burden to him. But he could only hold you like this while reassuring you in every way he could.

“Do you want to go to bed? A tea before?” 

You shook your head and let go of him. Your head banged and your eyes burned. With the collar of your shirt you wiped away the trail of tears on your cheeks, the fabric irritating your eyes even more.

“Let’s go to bed then…” He tugged you into his bedroom and opened his drawer to give you something warmer to sleep in. 

The room was neater than you expected. How did he find the time to keep everything so tidy if he was barely home? His laundry was folded and stacked on his bed, the school stuff on his desk with his laptop. The only other mess here was his bed with half torn off sheets and different pillows and blankets all over. You smiled at his little chaos before plopping onto it.

“C’mon, wear that.” He tossed one of his sweaters at you, which you somehow caught before it landed in your face. “It’s gonna be getting colder.”

Without questioning him, you just changed into it. The fabric felt soft on your skin, you could tell it was fresh out of the machine. It smelt like fabric softener, the one that only he had because he ran his errands in those 24/7 shops after patrols and those were somehow the only ones that carried this brand. You couldn’t pinpoint what exactly it smelled like so it was just Shouta. One of those things you would always connect with him like cats and pink sweatpants.

You looked over at his desk, an extra picture frame of what you guessed was his new class on it. It was too far away for you to see the individual faces but they seemed like an interesting group already.

Shouta sighed and let himself fall next to you. “Wanna talk about what happened?”

With a deep breath you shook your head and rolled over to face him. Your head still ached, you couldn’t speak if you wanted to. Your throat hurt, the knot completely tying off your words.

He took you into his arms and pulled the blanket over your shoulders. “Want me to talk?”

You nodded into his chest and took another deep breath. This was what you had needed over the week. His presence, his touch, his voice. They were natural tranquilizers for you, reassurances that everything would be okay. 

“Nezu gave me class 1-A, can you believe that?” His hands were on the nape of your neck, his thumb caressing behind your ear. “I had them do a fitness test on the first day… I watched them during the entrance exam and I just wasn’t fully convinced… Remember the kid I told you about that just got in through rescue points? And the one that only got in with villain points? Yeah, they’re both in my class and it’s more than obvious that they don’t get along well… They’ve all got interesting quirks, it’s a pretty colourful group and I’m... interested how they’re gonna train them...”

Both of you started getting sleepier with every word he said. He ended up slurring his words as he yawned before silence fell. There was still the jazz playing from somewhere outside, cars passing by occasionally. You hicked a few breaths but Shouta made sure to hold you closer and whisper reassuring words when you did.

“Can I stay here for the weekend?” You croaked right before falling asleep.

“You’re always welcome here, y/n…”

[therenlover]

Red Nights In Jupiter (A Jimmy Darling/Reader Oneshot)

Synopsis: At the end of another long day, you fall into bed with Jimmy Darling. The men you served throughout the day don’t matter then, nor do the coins in the mason jar by the door, or the women scheduled to attend Jimmy’s next Tupperware party. No, in that quiet darkness it’s just you and the man you love, bone-tired and happy to be home. Who could ask for more?

Tags: Cuddling, Prostitution, Wound Care, Hurt/Comfort, Referenced Past Non-Con (it’s not Jimmy, don’t worry), Implied Sexual Content/Innuendo

Rating: 16+

Warnings*: Mentioned Police Officer Abusing Their Power, Referenced Non-Con, Jimmy Drinks A Beer, Non-Graphic Wound Care 

Word Count: 3000~

* - This fic includes a reader who is a prostitute and has recently been taken advantage of by a police officer in exchange for not going to jail. There are no graphic scenes and it's mentioned only a couple of times in passing, but the ending portion of the fic is Jimmy helping the reader recover from wounds (just bruises/scratches) they got during the incident. If this is potentially triggering, please steer clear!

This fic has been crossposted under the same title to my AO3!

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“How did the show go tonight?” You mumbled, mouth full of toothpaste.

“It wasn’t anything special,” Jimmy responded as you spit, “some dumb kids snuck in a couple of rotten tomatoes but their aim was shit. Nobody got hit, so I’ll consider it a success,”

The two of you stood shoulder to shoulder over the tiny kitchen sink in his trailer, clumsily going through the motions to wind down from an exhausting day. Outside the sky was a deep red. The last of the sun’s dying light shimmered over the ferris wheel as it made its last run, cutting through the muggy Jupiter air. In the last weeks of July, everything was sweltering. Even the walls of the little trailer were hot enough to leave a burn in the full heat of the noontime sun. Thankfully for you, as the sun receded so did the worst of the scalding heat, leaving behind a hot, wet, and thick fog over the nighttime landscape.

Jimmy finished washing his face while you rinsed your toothbrush. “Elsa and I were thinking that maybe, in the next couple ‘a years, we should invest in another ride. Not a ‘coaster, nothing huge, just something other than the ferris wheel that would keep the kids busy while their parents watch the show,” As he spoke, he wet a washcloth under the tap before wringing it out and tossing it over his shoulders. “What do you think, doll?”

“I think-” you held your tongue, your biting reply dissolving into bitter acid in your mouth, “I think that if that’s what’s best for the show, we should start investing sooner rather than later. It’s always best to be prepared so we can figure it into the budget ASAP,” With a practiced hand you bundled up your toiletries and tucked them away in the drawer. The shake in your tired digits was barely perceptible in the dimly lit room. What was best for the troupe was what was best for you. Still, you couldn’t help but sneak a gaze at the half-full mason jar sitting on the counter by the door.

“You sure?” Jimmy asked. He was down in the mini-fridge now, pulling out a can of some cheap beer. You closed your eyes and offered a curt nod. There was no need to argue over an impossible dream. If Elsa wanted a new ride, she would get a new ride.

“I’m sure, Jimmy. I’m just tired,”

Thankfully, he accepted your excuse with a shrug, settling in at the pull-down table. “Whatever you say, sweet thing,” he cooed, “now get over here. I missed you today,”

You gave in to his request easily. After everything you’d been through over the last 12 hours, you weren’t about to turn down a little affection and attention from the man you loved. Your sunburnt shoulders stung as you clambered into Jimmy’s arms and allowed your face to settle into his sweet, sweaty embrace. His heart thudded under your ear, a steady quarter-note rhythm guiding your own soaring staccato down to normalcy.

Somewhere out in the field, probably in one of the other rusted-out trailers where your friends were settling down in their own nighttime routines, a radio buzzed to life. The sweet sounds of Paul Anka crooning his newest hit loosened your nerves. Over your shoulder, Jimmy took a long swig from his can.

“How was work?” you whispered. Jimmy set down his drink with a little more force than usual. One of his fused hands found its way into his hair. You both knew you weren’t asking about the show.

“I didn’t make much today, but I’m almost fully booked for Thursday. That’s the last party until next week unless the ladies want to throw something after church on Sunday. Wednesday we don’t have a show, so I’m all yours,”

His voice was tired, a departure from his usual confidence. This wasn’t Jimmy Darling the leader and performer, it was your Jimmy boy, the man who held your broken heart together with his unusual hands. You relished in the vulnerability, letting yourself nuzzle closer to his skin. He smelled like sweat and grease and cheap cologne but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. It was him. That’s what mattered.

“I could take Wednesday off, Wednesday is never that busy,” you mused.

“Then we’ll go out on Wednesday,” Jimmy was jovial but not loud, dropping his hand down from his hair to rub abstract patterns into your back above the starchy cotton of your day dress, “I’ll take us down to the beach on my bike and we can have a picnic lunch by the ocean. I know a spot off the road that nobody would ever think to go to, it’s like a private beach we’ll have all to ourselves, and the guy at the deli owes me a favor so I can pick up sandwich stuff for cheap when I run in tomorrow. Maybe I’ll even spend a little extra a grab a bottle of that white wine you like. How does that sound, doll face?”

You hummed out an affirmative, far too deep into your newfound relaxation to form words. Your boneless, half-lucid state made Jimmy laugh. His smile only fell when he found a fresh bruise on your back, making you wince.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked, pulling his hand away. You whined at the loss of contact. It was rare for you to have the time to wind down together these days, every second of attention was something to cherish.

“It’s just a bad bruise,”

In an instant, Jimmy had you straddling his lap to face him with your face in his large hands. “Did somebody hurt you?” he asked, running a thumb over your cheek to check for concealer or any small cuts and bruises he might have missed, “‘cause if somebody hit my girl I’m gonna have to show them what’s what. I don’t care if they paid, they don’t get to do that shit to you,”

You couldn’t help but avert your eyes, letting your gaze linger on the veins bulging in Jimmy’s neck instead of his face. It would be too difficult to risk seeing the disappointment in his eyes. “It was a cop, Jimmy. I got busted,”

He groaned. “Those bastards…”

“Thankfully this time he just took what he wanted and let me off with a warning. He’ll be back, though, they always are. I’m sorry, Jimmy, I’m just so tired,” A shudder wracked your shoulders, a silent sob you couldn’t quite choke down. You had to take a minute to remind yourself that you were safe. Jimmy had you. You were tucked away from the world in his arms, and he’d kill someone before he let them do anything to hurt you. Nothing and no one could touch you as long as he was there. When he wasn’t, though…

You gripped his thin, white undershirt a little tighter.

Jimmy was with you, not some stranger who had picked you up off the streets for a little fun. You were at home in your caravan with Jimmy and he was holding you and nothing else mattered. There was no reason to be afraid.

He gritted his teeth. Obviously, your distress wasn’t as invisible as you wished it was. “Don't be sorry, doll, this isn't your fault. You know what? You don’t have to go back out there. There are plenty of other ways we can make the money, sweetheart, just say the word and I’ll make it happen. You never have to deal with them again,”

“But the new ride-”

“To hell with the new ride!” Jimmy was shouting in earnest now, but you weren’t afraid, pushing yourself further into his touch. Part of you liked watching him come to your defense. It was something he would only do for someone he loved, someone who was a part of his family, not just any horny housewife that used him to chase their own desires. “Your safety is so much more important than a new ride a couple years down the line! I’ll go tell Elsa to scrap the idea right now if that means you feel better. You’re the most important thing to me, Y/N. You say jump and I say how high. I’m not gonna force you to do anything, if you choose to keep working I have no right to stand up all high and mighty and tell you not to, but if you do wanna stop… I guess what I’m sayin’ is that I want you to be happy, and if I have to pick up the slack for you to do that then so be it,”

You were cradled against his chest again by the end of his schpiel. Your anxiety wasn’t quite as bad as it had been before, and the newly fallen darkness added a sort of buffer to your feelings. Everything was fuzzier in the dark. In that place past dusk where the problems of the word lost their sharp edges you let yourself abandon everything that scared you during the day. Children were afraid of the things they couldn’t see by moonlight but you relished in the anonymity of the night. Life was much scarier by the light of the sun.

“Thank you, Jimmy, I mean it,” you murmured, pressing a soft kiss to his palm before pulling away from his touch, “but we both know I can’t quit,”

“But doll, I-”

“No buts. I bring in more in a week than the troupe makes in a month, not to mention that I get half the essentials for the mess tent at a discount from customers who are sweet on me. Someday, and that day can’t come soon enough, we’ll have enough saved up to get out of here, but until then we both just have to do whatever we can to make that future a reality,”

Jimmy nodded, draining the last warm dregs from his beer and tossing the empty can into the trash. “I just hate thinkin’ about you standing out there alone while those assholes look at you like a piece of meat,”

“I get by well enough,”

“I know you do, but you can’t blame me for worrying,” In a moment of drowsy bliss, you let a soft yawn escape your lips. Jimmy grinned. “Are you fallin’ asleep on me?”

You offered him a loose, gummy smile. “Maybe a little,”

He was quick to sweep a well-muscled arm up under your knees, lifting you up bridal style. You let out a small shriek of surprise. Jimmy didn’t let that distract him, though, as he carried your wriggling form over to your shared bed before setting you down with a low chuckle. “Now dollface,” he said, pulling off his sweat-damp undershirt and the washcloth that had been resting on his shoulders, “you up for a little bit of the Jimmy Darlin’ magic tonight, or would you rather just cuddle?”

“Can we just cuddle tonight? I’m still sore as hell. That asshole cop had me up against a brick wall and didn’t exactly take the time to lighten up his grip when I started to bruise,”

Jimmy nodded. “I tell you what,” he said, running a fused digit over the top button of your dress, “first let’s get that dress off you, then I can rub on some of that arnica gel we got as a gift from the new girl last month, alright? She said it helps with bruises. Once you’re all taken care of, then we can cuddle,”

“That sounds heavenly,” You smiled up at Jimmy as you unbuttoned the front of your dress, easily sliding out and discarding it as he changed out of his work jeans and into some thin cotton pajama pants. Your bra came off last, and much to your surprise your beau didn’t spend much time ogling you, instead turning quickly to go recover the ointment from the shelf in the bathroom.

From your viewpoint on the bed, Jimmy looked like Adonis. He was always handsome, sure, but you loved how the moonlight hit his bare back, revealing each plane of thick, workers muscle as it caressed his skin. As your eyes fluttered closed, you could almost feel the ghost of his body above yours. The radio across the field was still droning on outside the window. In your bed, watching Jimmy putter around the trailer and listening to the fuzzy music that drifted in from the outside, you felt complete for the first time in a long time. There was only one thing left to do that could make you feel better.

“Jimmy,” you asked, “tell me about the future?”

He turned to you with a sigh, the glass jar of arnica gel in hand, “Doll, I’m no Dr. Seuss...”

“Pleeeease, Jimmy,” you whined, “for me?”

It didn’t take anything more for Jimmy to give in. “How could I ever say no when you ask so nicely,” He sat down at your side on the bed, nudging you to roll onto your stomach and give him access to your bruised and scraped back. As he began his gentle probing of your wounds, he started to talk.

“Once we save up enough money,” he whispered, scooping up some gel from the jar before rubbing it into a particularly tender purple spot, “we’re gonna get out of here. You and Ma and me will find a nice little house somewhere with some land, and we’ll be happy there. When we get there, I’ll find a job somewhere where people won’t gawk at me. I can work construction or grow produce in the yard, and you… you, doll, will finally get to rest. You can stay home with Ma, cook, sew, read; you’ll never have to sell yourself on the streets again,”

You squirmed under his touch. “Now tell me about the kids,”

Jimmy groaned. “Really?”

“They’re the best part!”

“Alright, alright, because you won’t stop buggin’ me I’ll talk about the kids, but next time I’m down and out after a fight you’d better return the favor. I expect you to talk my ear off about all the sinful things I wanna hear while you’re busy holding a steak to my eye,”

You grinned. “Since when have I ever let you down, Mr. Darling?”

“Not once, sweet thing,” he pressed a soft kiss to the back of your head before going back to focusing on your flesh, now doing more of a massage on the less marred areas than anything else. “Now where were we?”

“The kids, Jimmy,”

“Oh right, the kids!” You let your eyes drift closed as he spoke, relishing in the feeling of his hands against your skin. Every moment in his arms was heaven. It was a real shame the rest of society didn’t see him the way you did, but it kept any potential competition away, and for that you were grateful. Life without Jimmy would be like baking with no sugar; just plain wrong. “Once we have our own place and the money is coming in, I won’t have to waste my pocket change on rubbers anymore. I’ll get you nice and pregnant and then, after nine months of getting looked after by yours truly, you’ll finally have your own little Darling, yours an’ mine. Won’t that be a sight? A little Jimmy Jr. runnin’ around in the yard, absolutely spoiled rotten by his grandma. I dunno much about bein’ a good dad, but I sure as hell know what not to do. No matter what the child ends up looking like, I’ll be there every step of the way. Who knows, if you and I get real busy we may have a whole brood of Darling children before long,”

You wanted to offer up some sort of placation, a witty reply, but you found that your tongue was too heavy and your eyes were drooping lower by the second. It was cooler now that the moon had started her ascent into the night sky, cool enough to stay comfortable with the little air conditioning unit in the window running full blast. Suddenly, the bed shifted next to you as Jimmy screwed the top back onto the jar and got up to return it to its shelf.

“Hey, Jimmy?” you called, voice thick with exhaustion. He was quick to respond, slotting the jar into its place and stepping out of the dimly lit bathroom to check on you.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” you said, rolling onto your back and getting comfortable on top of the sheets, “I just wanted to say I love you, so much,”

Jimmy was back at your side in an instant. “I love you too, doll. I dunno what I ever did to deserve you-”

“Oh stop!” your words were slurred now, dripping from your lips as you watched Jimmy climb into bed. You found your place at his side quickly. It was muscle memory to link your leg with his and set your head on his chest no matter how tired you were. "You're the most handsome, wonderful, perfect man I could have ever asked for Jimmy Darling, and don't you forget it!"

“It’s time for sleep now, doll,” he whispered, burying his face in your hair and wrapping his arms around you, “There’s plenty of time to talk about how wonderful you think I am in the morning,” The smile on his face was clear from the tone of his voice, but you heeded his words, quickly falling into a dreamless sleep while he protected you from the rest of the world.

Things weren’t perfect. You would still wake up the next day and watch the man you loved leave as both of you sold your very bodies in search of an impossible dream for the future, but that was okay. As long as Jimmy was by your side, everything would be.

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a/n: I hope you enjoyed this fic! I intended for it to be a short drabble where I could practice writing for jimmy, but in the end I’m really happy with how it turned out. This is, genuinely, something I’m really proud of, so please let me know if you liked it. Thank you so much for supporting me!!!

[marveloussupernerd]

Packing - TsukiYama

Hello ! Midterms finally ended and I am just: suffering. But I wanted to put something out and this came into my brain the other day

Warnings: Tsukki swears bc it’s Tsukki

Summary: Tsukishima & Yamaguchi have a fight. Swear it isn’t too much angst and you won’t be like depressed by the end (this takes place in the future btw)

“Tsukki, I’m home!” Yamaguchi yelled as he walked through the front door, shutting it behind him and slipping off his jacket to hang it in the closet.

Tsukki bounded down the stairs of their shared home to meet his fiancée at the door. “Missed you.” He pulled Yams into a hug. “How was your day at work?”

“Eh,” He shrugged. “It was fine. It wasn’t the best Thursday I’ve ever had.” His eyes lit up. “Hey! Do you have any plans this weekend? Practices or work meetings or anything?”

Tsukki paused to think. “Believe it or not, I’m actually completely free. Why? Hinata wants to go on another double date?”

Yamaguchi rolled his eyes, pushing the taller man playfully. “Noooo. I just wanted to spend time with you. Without having to be stressed about anything.”

“Not even wedding planning?”

Yamaguchi motioned that he was zipping his lips. “I won’t even say a thing about wedding planning this weekend. Just some chill time for us. I think it’ll be nice.”

“Does sound nice.”

Yamaguchi tilted his head up slightly to kiss his fiancée on the lips, then bounded up the stairs, calling “I’m gonna get changed real quick!” as he did so. All Tsukki could do was shake his head and laugh at how cute he was.

Yamaguchi took off his dress clothes, absolutely wiped out and more than happy to get out of the itchy collar of his shirt. He went to throw the shirt into the hamper, only to see it still missing. “Tsukki!” He called. “Did you get the clothes washed today?”

“Huh?” His fiancée called back from downstairs. “Oh, shit I forgot. I’m sorry.”

He froze. Damn. He was running out of dress clothes to wear to work. He had things, just not anything he liked wearing, not anything comfortable. It was unfortunate.

Tsukki bounded up the steps, making Yamaguchi jump with his voice so nearby. “I don’t think you heard me. I forgot, I’m sorry Yams.”

Yamaguchi glanced towards the man now standing in the doorway and took a deep breath. This really wasn’t the end of the world, just today being so bad at work made things seem worse than they were. “It’s okay!” He cheered back. “If you put the laundry bag in my car I can do it after work tomorrow.”

“No! I can still do it. I just forgot today. I’m sorry.” Tsukki was scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. It clearly hadn’t even crossed his mind.

“No, don’t worry about it.”

“But I can-“

Yamaguchi chuckled slightly. It was... slightly off. Was he getting irritated? Not even he could tell. “I mean, you were supposed to do it Tuesday, then forgot. Then Wednesday. Then today. Just let me do it? I’m running out of nice shirts to wear to work.”

“I’m sorry Yams. I genuinely forgot,” Tsukki frowned, making his way over to the other boy.

“No, it’s not your fault. I have to do laundry way more often than you. In fact, we can just split it up so I do my own and you do your own? That way you don’t have to go more often than you need to.”

He frowned even harder. “No-“

“It’s okay.” Yamaguchi forced a smile. “I understand wanting to be independent. Yeah. Let’s do that.”

He left the room without another word, leaving Tsukishima speechless in their bedroom. What just happened? It felt like this was a step back.

Yamaguchi came back a minute later, laundry bag in hand, dumping it out and getting to work separating the couple’s clothes into different piles. He did so meticulously, making sure not even a sock would end out in the wrong pile. Tsukishima made no effort to stop him nor to help him. He still was confused as hell.

They ate dinner in absolute silence. What was either of them supposed to say? It seemed like the other actually wanted this. Were they really fighting over this? It sucked.

Yamaguchi didn’t let himself cry until he got into the shower, sitting on the floor and letting the water fall over his head. What had he done wrong? Was the wedding stuff too overwhelming? Now Tsukki didn’t even want to share laundry machines.

“Tadashi.” Yamaguchi snapped his head up to see his fiancée at the shower door, holding a towel in his hand. How long had he been sitting in the shower? How long had Tsukki been here?

“I...” what could he even say?

“You okay? You’ve been in there for a while.”

He bit his lip. Hard. Trying not to let it wobble or let out a sob or to even let any tears fall. He stood up and turned off the water, staring at his fiancée and nodding.

“Nice try.” Tsukishima wrapped the towel in his arms around his boyfriend’s figure. “What’s wrong?”

Yamaguchi started to dry off, not able to meet the other man’s eyes. “You don’t even want to share your laundry with me...” he mumbled.

“No, of course I do. You’re the one who separated them.”

“You didn’t stop me.”

He frowned. “I’m sorry. I was very confused in the moment. Are you really okay?”

Yamaguchi nodded half-heartedly. “I’ll be okay. Just work really sucked and it made thing even worse.” He got changed into his pajamas, shaking the excess water out of his hair, then climbed into bed.

Tsukishima climbed in next to him, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “I love you. You know that, right?”

Yamaguchi nodded. Tsukki didn’t make any effort to hold him or cuddle like they usually did before bed, but still, feeling his warm breath against his neck was enough to lull him to sleep.

Yamaguchi was at work before Tsukishima had even woken up, which was pretty surprising. Usually they at least got to see each other in the mornings. Yamaguchi always would make a lunch for Tsukishima and write him a cute little note. He wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t one today. He hadn’t realized not doing laundry was a big deal, but clearly it was a build-up of a few other things, and he felt really bad. He had wanted to apologize this morning, but that didn’t seem to happen.

Well, the least he could do was send a text to Yamaguchi.

I’m sorry for missing you this morning. And if I upset you last night. I love you and hope you have a good day

Aaaand now he was running late because he was stuck in his thoughts. He hurried to grab his laptop and his lunch, thank God Tadashi had made him one, and rushed out the door.

Half the day at work his eyes were trained on the lunch. Would there be a message? And why wasn’t Yamaguchi texting him? Hopefully it was just because he was busy.

When it was time for his break, Tsukishima practically leapt out of his seat to grab his lunch, opening it and shifting the food around to look for a note.

Got it!

Happy Friday! Hope you have a great day :)

Oh thank goodness. He let out a giant sigh of relief he hadn’t even realized he was holding in. Were his eyes seriously watering? That was ridiculous. Tadashi wouldn’t stay mad at him for something like that; he really was the best.

Just got on lunch break. Hope you’re having a good lunch <3

That was kind of a cheesy message, but he was very relieved and very much so in love. As long as nobody ever saw it but Yamaguchi it would be okay.

Yamaguchi must’ve had a really busy day. He’d usually reply with something cute, but this time he just loved the message. Well, at least he knew he had seen it.

Something felt weird though. This never happened. He never left for work early. He always replied during his lunch break, and if his break came earlier than Tsukki’s he would text him first.

Well... it was probably nothing.

Yamaguchi’s car was in the garage when Tsukishima got home. Yams usually got home later than him... hopefully that meant today went better at work for him.

“Yamaguchi! I’m home!” He called, making his way through the door.

Silence.

He went to the kitchen, but his fiancée wasn’t there. Outside? Nope. Up in the bedroom?

What?

“T-Tadashi?” He uttered out. There was Yamaguchi, bulky headphones over his ears, shoving clothes into a suitcase.

Yamaguchi’s eyes snapped up to meet his. “Oh!” His face was bright red. “Tsukki, I didn’t know you’d be home yet...” he slipped the headphones off his ears to focus on the distraught man standing over him.

“W-wait. What are you doing?” He knew something was off. He was an idiot for thinking things would be okay.

“Packing?” The man on the floor shrugged. Well yeah, that was obvious enough.

“I... don’t.”

“Hand me that shirt behind you,” Yamaguchi prompted him. Tsukishima looked behind him, eyes trained on one of Yamaguchi’s comfy t-shirts.

“I don’t want to.” He pouted.

Yamaguchi chuckled. “God, you’re such a pain.” He stood up and walked past his fiancée to grab the shirt. Tsukishima grabbed him in his arms as he past, trapping him.

“Tsukki,” he whined, shuffling to get out of his grip.

“No, no, no.” He held him tighter. “I’m not letting you go.” His words caught in his throat. This was stupid. How did Tadashi not realize it was just something stupid!? Had things been building up for a while now and he was too stupid to realize it? His grip tightened even more.

“I can’t breathe. I give in! I won’t move.”

Tsukki, sighed, feeling Yamaguchi relax in his arms, and loosened up a little.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not doing the laundry.”

“It’s okay! We can just do them separate from now on-“

“No!” He shrieked. “I don’t wanna. I wanna do my laundry with yours.”

“Huh? I thought you didn’t.” Yamaguchi seemed genuinely confused.

“No, no. You made that stupid suggestion. I wanna go to the drycleaner’s every week just to get your comfy shirts washed for work. Just... let me.”

“Well, in my defense, I’ve been trying to let you but you keep forgetting.”

“I’m sorry.” His grip was tightening and he could tell. He couldn’t help it. He was afraid if he let him go now he’d never be able to hold him again. “I’ll do it right this time.” His voice was shaky. He was scared.

“Why are you so upset over laundry?” Yamaguchi laughed—a genuine laugh—his chest shaking and giving Tsukishima butterflies, which he definitely didn’t deserve at the moment.

“You’re- you’re fucking packing Tadashi.” He let the boy go, folding his arms in front of him.

“In my defense, you weren’t supposed to find out this way.”

Why was he smiling!? What kind of a sick joke was this? He felt seriously ill. Was today backwards day? April Fools? Did he forget something?

Yamaguchi’s smile faded. “You okay? You look sick?”

“No, I’m not okay,” Tsukishima whimpered, tears brimming in his eyes. “Why are you smiling? And laughing? Do you even like me? Was it just some stupid joke to get with me?”

“Huh?”

“Well, I’m not gonna stop you.” Tsukki grabbed the shirt behind him and threw it towards the suitcase. He walked off towards the bathroom. He was gonna throw up. He should be begging for him to stay, but his stupid attitude came up and now Tadashi’s probably even more upset.

“Tsukki!” He felt the back of his shirt being pulled back. He turned to face him. “I feel like I’m missing something, Tsukki. Are you mad that I couldn’t text you today? We had management come in...”

“Huh? Why would I be mad.”

“You seem very mad...” he replied, eyes trailed on the ground.

“Aren’t you mad?”

“Huh? No. I’m just confused.”

Tsukishima was speechless. What was he missing here? “Why are you packing a bag?”

“Weekend together? I was able to get a flight to a beach and... I don’t know, I thought maybe it’d be fun. Do you have work or something? Did I mess it up?” Yamaguchi was fiddling his thumbs as he spoke, clearly nervous by his fiancée’s attitude.

“You idiot.”

“Hey!” He pouted. “It was going to be a surprise but you got home early.”

“I thought you were mad at me about laundry and you were leaving.”

“Leaving leaving? Why would I have written you a note for your lunch then?”

Tsukki frowned. “Well... I don’t know. I was confused.”

“I’m sorry.” Yamaguchi wrapped his arm around his fiancée’s neck, leaning up to kiss him on the lips. “Do you still wanna go? We don’t have to.”

“You scared me to death. Yes I wanna go.” He wrapped his arms around Yamaguchi’s waist, keeping him close. “Jesus, Tadashi. ‘Really scared me there.”

“I didn’t mean tooooo! I was confused too.”

Tsukishima picked him up, placing kisses all across his face, causing the shorter boy to giggle.

“Tsukki! We have to pack for the flight!” He squealed between giggles.

“When’s it leave?”

“Th-three hours!”

“Ugh, fine.” He dropped his boyfriend unceremoniously. “But to be continued when we get to the hotel, ‘Kay?”

“You better actually help me pack this time.”

He rolled his eyes at his fiancée. “Duh. Shut up you idiot. I love you.”

“I love you too, Tsukki.”

[shima-draws]

You have any plans for the holidays? Are things more hectic or less in your life for the next few weeks? Arting? Making? Gaming? Coping?

Yeah!! I actually took three days off next week so I’ll have a nice long break. I’m going to spend the weekend at my parents and celebrate Christmas with them. Monday is my sister’s birthday so I’ll be going to see Spider-Man with her (again) and then Tuesday I think we’re all going to go get the booster shot for the rona lol so hopefully I don’t end up bedridden on Wednesday :’D And then on the 31st I’ll be hanging with some pals to celebrate the New Year. So kinda busy but also kinda lowkey? I’m just hanging out with people so hopefully it’ll be chill and I can relax from work a little. Year end is really busy for me and my coworkers since we have to have a lot of things done and enter as much as we can into the system so that’s why I didn’t take next Thursday off—it’ll be the only day I’m in the office nfndnd I’ll be there cleaning stuff up and making sure we get all our shit in before 2021 closes.

ANYWAY yes I’m gonna bring my laptop with me to my parents, don’t know if I’ll actually get any art done but at least I’ll have the option!! And definitely lots of gaming too haha I still gotta finish my PMD Sky playthrough and my Shield Nuzlocke so that’s probably what I’ll be doing in my downtime.

[diazevan]

Evan Begins Again

With the help of his family, Buck learns to love himself, flaws and all - which starts with reclaiming his given name.

Read on AO3

Words: 4436

Warnings: Mentions of past Self-Hate, Brief Injury Detail (on a call)

It starts with Eddie, but these things usually do.

Buck wishes he could be like Eddie, somebody who can freely speak his mind without fearing the fall.

When Eddie has something to say, he makes Buck listen, even if it's not something he wants to hear.

Discovering that he would become Christopher's legal guardian if his best friend dies prematurely was unexpected, but Buck welcomes it. 

The lengths he is willing to go for Christopher are infinite; he loves that kid like his own.

Strangely, that part of the conversation isn't what stuck or what keeps him up at night.

Being told that he's not expendable with such certainty, after a lifetime of believing that's all he is, has put his mind in a spin.

Maddie's told him that before, so has Bobby, Athena, Hen, Chimney, Albert, Taylor - everybody he cares about has, at one point, has told him that he's worth fighting for.

That wasn't anything new, but it's the way Eddie went about saying it, "Because, Evan, you came in here the other day, and you said you thought it would have been better if it had been you who was shot. You act like you're expendable. But you're wrong."

Evan.

Buck hates when people use his given name - well, at least he thought he did.

Hate wouldn't explain the warmth that spread across his chest when Eddie spoke his name, with just the right amount of love, with an unmistakable tinge of sass.

Aside from Maddie, whenever anybody says his name, he recoils like he's been burnt. He remembers his childhood, being reprimanded by his parents for his reckless behavior or called out by his teachers.

Whenever 'Evan' is used in a sentence, it isn't usually followed by words of affirmation.

Even with Maddie, she's adapted to using 'Buck' when she's proud of him or telling him how much she loves him. Emotions are high whenever she says, 'Evan,' like when he learned about Daniel.

"Evan, please don't leave. Just talk to me."

He talks to Dr. Copeland, and it's almost too easy for her to identify the problem.

'Buck' is meant to be a nickname, but it's bigger than that; it's a shield, a smokescreen, an excuse to hide his true feelings.

He separates himself into two; Buck gets to live while Evan suffers the weight of his hardships.

He can't keep doing that.

He has to face this problem, learn to love every piece of himself, even if it hurts.

If he doesn't, it will kill him.

Because one day, and soon, he'll become tired of 'Buck.'

The same way he did with Evan, then he'll be well and truly lost.

Things need to change.

***

It's a slow day, nobody's said anything to jinx that, yet, but the night is still young.

Athena has a day off; she's popped over like most Wednesdays, having helped Bobby with dinner.

Maddie surprises them all, dropping by with an excitable Jee-Yun.

Eddie and Chimney carry the stroller up the stairs while she holds Jee-Yun on her hip.

Taking his niece into his arms, Buck asks his sister, "How are you?"

The light in her eyes is brighter than the last time he saw her, "I'm better."

Buck sports his lopsided grin, "Good."

Jee-Yun jumps from person to person, delighted to be surrounded by her favorite people.

They settle on the couches; Jee-Yun stops on Maddie's lab, hit by the tired stick.

Buck sits, sandwiched between Bobby and Athena.

Maddie relaxes into the recliner while Chim perches on the chair's arm as he converses with Hen.

Hen and Eddie share a couch but have claimed separate ends; she sits nearer Chimney, busy discussing kindergarten admissions, which Buck can't believe, Jee-Yun's barely one.

Eddie is at the other end, listening to one of Athena's work stories.

Buck knows he should be involved, but he's lost track of where they were.

Everybody's conversations reach their natural ends - Buck leans in.

"Hey," He croaks - that's odd, his throat is tight, and he didn't realize.

All eyes are on him.

He fumbles with his fingers, "Can I ask you all something?"

Chimney shuffles forward, "Of course."

"Is everything okay?" Hen asks, eyes tracing over him.

Buck dips his head, "Yeah."

Athena takes his hand, "It doesn't sound it."

He insists, "Everything's fine."

"So," Eddie speaks gently, "What's up?"

Buck wonders if Eddie will catch on and understand that everything is changing because he is the first person in years, to remind Evan that he is worthy of love.

He clears his throat, "I want you to call me 'Evan.'"

The request is met by silence and pinched expressions of confusion.

"I'm still Buck," He blurts, "That's my nickname, always gonna be, but I was hoping that we could, like, switch between the two?"

"Okay," Bobby is cautiously gentle, "We can do that."

"It might take some adjustment time," Hen adds, "But of course, we can."

A weight shifts, "Cool, thanks."

"So, what's with the change?" Chimney asks, "I thought you hated your name?"

"I thought I did," He nervously rubs the nape of his neck, and his leg begins to bounce.

"Hey," Maddie sits up, startled, "You don't have to explain-"

Buck shakes his head, "You guys need to hear this."

Bobby presses his hand to Buck's knee, attempting to ease him.

"Talking with Dr. Copeland, I realized that in becoming Buck, I was trying to forget everything that came before," Buck explains, "It should just be a nickname, but it's not - it's a coping mechanism."

He locks eyes with a tearful Maddie, but she smiles with a nod, urging him to go on.

It's once in a blue moon when Buck opens up about how he's feeling.

"I can pretend that every bad thing that happened to me as Evan never happened," He continues, "Shitty childhood, bad friends, and Daniel..."

Everybody shifts uncomfortably on that note, especially Maddie, who draws her daughter closer to her chest.

Buck lifts his shoulders in a shrug, "But it doesn't work like that."

"No, it doesn't," Maddie speaks, quiet, "Those things leave a scar, Evan."

Hen speaks up, "An open one."

"I've never hated my name," Evan's lower lip trembles, "I hated me."

He expects pity or concerned gasps, but instead, he's offered understanding nods and intense gazes filled with love.

"I separate 'Evan' and 'Buck,' but they're both me," He cries, "Like with Buck, I've grown, changed for the better, have the family I've always wanted," Tears spill down his cheeks, "But Evan is buried, and I need to find me, again."

Maddie asks, "Because you feel loved as Buck but forgotten as Evan?"

He nods, "Yeah."

"Evan," Hen cries, her eyes wet with tears, "We love you completely."

Athena's gentle fingers grasp Evan's chin, her mouth curls into a smile, as tears freely fall, "Without a single string attached."

Buck breaths, "You promise?"

"We promise," Bobby reassures fast.

With a strangled sob, Evan crumbles, his shoulders sagging.

Bobby dives, collecting him in his arms.

Athena combs her hand through his hair.

Everybody moves, crowding him, in a hug.

Eddie kneels, gripping onto Evan's knee with all his strength, wrapping his arm around Hen, crouched beside him.

Hen grips onto Buck's forearm, her stance protective.

Chimney stands behind, hands resting on Buck's trembling shoulders.

Maddie takes the space beside Hen, taking Evan's hand, while she balances a half-asleep, confused, Jee-Yun on her knee.

Eddie speaks - his tone strong, "You're going to be okay, Evan."

***

It takes a month for the change to stick without the aura of awkwardness.

It is easy to get tongue-tied - in the beginning, there were many 'Buc-vans' and 'Ev-uk's,' but, at least he knew, they were trying.

After a couple of false starts, interchanging between 'Evan' and 'Buck' is set to stay.

Evan is sure that he's never been happier.

He stops over for dinner at Bobby and Athena's on Thursday nights.

While they're washing up, he gathers his shoes, slipping them on; he tries to be quiet, considering May's already in bed.

It's nearing midnight; he doesn't want to overstay his welcome.

"I better head home," Buck whispers, "Early start tomorrow."

"We have a free bed, you know?" Athena asks, gathering empty glasses off the dinner table, "Since Harry's with Michael."

"I wouldn't wanna intrude," He bends to do his laces

"Buckaroo, we invited you, remember?" Athena tells him, "Your apartment is almost an hour away—time you could spend sleeping."

Buck stops what he is doing and sighs with a grin; he knows exactly where this is heading.

"We're heading into a twenty-four shift, Evan," Bobby speaks warmly, "We'd feel better if you stayed."

Buck slips off his shoes, "I'll stay."

Athena shoots a smile in Bobby's direction, "There should be some pajamas for you in the drawers, the second row down," She instructs, "Your toothbrush is in the medicine cabinet."

"Thank you," Evan skips up the stairs, "Goodnight."

***

The following morning, Buck is woken by his seasonal allergies.

He's survived a truck explosion, a pulmonary embolism, and a tsunami, but hayfever still sucks.

He snags an antihistamine from their medicine cabinet and creeps into the kitchen, careful not to make any noise.

May's left for work - there's a note on the table explaining that she'll be late home as she's checking out her new apartment with Michael.

Buck's downing his second glass of water when Athena steps out of her bedroom, "Buck?" She questions, "You're up early."

Evan rubs his eyes, "Allergies."

Athena rests a hand on his back as she opens the fridge door, "You need an antihistamine?" He asks, "May's a sufferer too, so we're stocked up."

"I took one," He smiles - uncertain, "Sorry, I didn't ask."

Athena fixes him with her parental glare as she tuts with a laugh, "Evan, you don't have to ask," She assures, "This is your home too."

Evan stares at her, mouth dropping open, "Thanks."

His mother's words ring in his head; You're under our roof, Evan, so you have to respect our rules.

Growing up, his parents never once referred to their house as his home.

Athena pats his arm, "Come on, you're helping me with breakfast."

"Of course," He claps his hands together, "Where do you need me?"

***

Being called 'Evan' again by those he trusts is second nature, almost like things have never been any different.

Buck struggles to see the floor as he heads into May's new apartment, box in his arms, "Hey, May," He calls, "This box isn't labeled."

She rolls her eyes, "It is, but Dad covered it with tape," She tries to peel the corners off, "Again."

Michael defends, "I'm cautious."

"And I'll be spending the next two weeks trying to cut free my possessions," May taunts; she taps the top of the box, "Bedroom."

Buck nods, "Gotcha."

She smiles, "Thanks, Ev."

Warmth spreads over Evan's chest, he smiles, hanging his head; well and truly caught up in the euphoria of acceptance.

His pseudo-sister was the first to try 'Ev.'

It works. Buck loves it.

"Buck, can you help me in the kitchen when you're done?" Athena calls, "I'm gonna your help with these latches."

"Sure!" He places the box on the floor and turns into the kitchen.

Chimney, who is in the middle of constructing a bookshelf with David, turns, "Oh no, brace yourself," He taunts, "Fire Marshall Buckley is back!"

Buck remains straight-faced, "Ha."

"Why do I need these, Mom?" May quizzes, "I'm not a kid."

"We have around ten thousand earthquakes a year," Evan explains; he grabs the latches, "Things get broken. This is an added safety," He points to the windows, "Especially this high up."

May narrows her eyes, "So, what I'm hearing is that this was your idea, not Mom's?"

Buck nods, "I suggested it."

Athena squeezes his shoulder, "I accepted the suggestion."

May bops her head, "Oh, I see."

"Buck's got an eye for safety," Bobby praises.

Eddie walks in with May's ironing board, "Which is saying something."

Buck glares, "You're so funny."

Michael walks over, "Thank you, Evan," He says, all actively ignoring Eddie and Chimney's mischievous laughter, "Earthquakes aren't a thing I considered."

"You're not gonna remember everything," Evan holds up the latches, "If you want, I could set some of these up at your place."

"That would be wonderful."

Athena sports a fond smile, "It's like having our own personal handyman."

Buck jokes, "Well, if that's the case, you can all pay me."

***

Buck lays on his front, across Maddie and Chimney's carpeted ground, his eyes fixed on his niece.

She's busy chomping down on one of her many toys, but she stares at him with her wide brown eyes, fixated on his face, much like he is on hers.

Sometimes, even thirteen months into her life, he can't believe that his sister, and one of his closest friends, came together to make a human being.

"How can somebody be this cute?"

Maddie steps over, "Oh my, God," She laughs fondly, "She's covered in drool."

"That's fine," Buck gathers a cloth, wiping it over Jee's face, "She's still adorable, aren't you?"

Jee-Yun throws her hands in the air, "Yeah!"

"Yeah," Evan repeats, bopping her nose.

"Should I be worried about you two?" Maddie asks, sitting on the couch, "You're gonna be partners in crime."

"Just wait until we join forces with Christopher," He scoops his niece onto his knee, "It will be over for all of you."

"What is it about you, Evan?" Maddie asks, "The way she looks at you - the way everybody looks at you, it's like-"

He asks, curious, "Like what?"

"I don't know," She tilts her head, "Like you're the key to the mysteries of the universe."

He barks a laugh, "Maybe, I am."

Maddie grabs her book from the coffee table, "Chim thinks you're a trained hypnotist."

"No comment."

Maddie throws her head back with a laugh.

Buck turns to Jee, "Where's my nose?"

She reaches up, grabbing his nose.

"That's right!" He praises, "You're a genius."

Jee-Yun blabbers, "Ev-an!"

Maddie sits bolt upright, "Did she just?"

Jee-Yun knows a couple of words - Ma, Dada, No, Yes, but she's hasn't ventured any further.

Jee-Yun swings her arms around, "Evan!"

Oh, and he melts, a delighted cry catching in his throat.

His teary eyes meet Maddie's.

Every time someone utters his given name, Evan is one step closer to the light.

With Jee-Yun's soft squeal, he's out - the darkness now, a distant memory.

"Yes," He holds her up, "That's me!"

***

By Halloween, Evan barely notices the change - it goes to show how fantastic his family is.

He fishes out the insides of a pumpkin, humming 'This is Halloween' under his breath.

Hen's amused look bores into him.

He shakes his hands, "This is fun."

"How?" She laughs, "I once had my hand inside a man's chest, and somehow, this is worse."

Buck reclines his head with a laugh; he grabs a cloth, drying his hands.

"Hey, Evan!" Chimney sings from downstairs, "I need you and your abnormal height!"

"Again?!" Buck hollers back, not dropping his grin, "Chim, this is borderline exploitation!"

Hen bows her head, chuckling.

Buck hears the ladder being pulled out.

Hen raises her eyebrows, "You better go, Buck, or we'll be taking him to the emergency room."

"Oh," Buck runs, "Stop it, Chim, I'm coming!"

***

Buck's definition of a perfect weekend is spending it with the Diaz Boys - teasing Eddie endlessly and sneaking treats with Christopher, even though they both know that Eddie sees what they're doing.

Evan was apprehensive when Eddie suggested they took a trip to the carnival - rollercoasters, and crowds - reminded him too much of the calm before the tsunami.

He agrees to go - 'exposure therapy,' Eddie calls it, and Buck knows he's right.

It's okay, and they have a ton of fun.

Buck wins one too many prizes for Christopher, which Eddie ends up carrying, along with Christopher's crutches, but he doesn't complain.

It's easy to understand why Christopher wants to hold Buck's hand - he remembers the day at the Pier, too.

Knowing that the ocean is an hour away helps because at least that's not a natural disaster that could stop them in their tracks.

Thanks to the pandemic restrictions, there are fewer people, which eases the pressure further.

Sunset was almost two hours ago, and Christopher keeps yawning in-between words.

Without a second thought, Buck kneels, holding out his hands, "Here we go, buddy."

Christopher shuffles forward, tucking his face against Evan's shoulder.

Buck gathers him, letting Christopher tangle his legs around his middle before getting up, "There we go, I've got you."

Eddie smiles fondly, "We should head back to the car."

"Yeah," Buck sings, patting Christopher's back, "Which way is it?"

Eddie points, "That way, I think," He darts his head around, "Hopefully."

Buck snorts a laugh, "We'll find it, eventually."

Christopher is ten, he usually doesn't like being carried around anymore, but he settles in Buck's grasp, content.

Buck fears the day that they won't be able to scoop him up - he knows that anxiety is doubled, in Eddie's case.

"You okay with him?" Eddie whispers.

"Of course," Buck grins, "I'm legal guardian material."

Eddie scoffs a laugh, shaking his head.

"He's getting taller recently," Buck comments, "It's insane."

"Usually what happens with kids, Buck," Eddie teases.

"Ha, ha," Buck replies, monotone.

"Dad, Buck...." Christopher shushes, "I'm sleeping," He mutters.

Eddie bits his lip to conceal a laugh, "Sorry, bud."

"We'll keep it down," Buck adds, tapping his back.

Christopher tightens his arms around Evan, his head lulling on his shoulder.

"You okay there, bud?" Buck asks.

"Yeah," Christopher breaths sleepily, "You're comfy."

"Well, thank you."

Christopher goes quiet, and for a moment, Buck thinks he's fallen asleep, but then he speaks, "Love you, Evan."

Evan's breath catches sharply; he tightens his grasp, "Love you too, kid."

His family, Buck can't quite believe his luck - they're perfect, in every sense of the word.

***

Unfortunately, not every use of his given name comes at a happy time, but that would be beside the point.

'Buck,' 'Evan,' and even 'Buckaroo,' - they need to be used, freely, no matter the time of the day or what is happening. It helps; it means that he can't associate any of them with a particular emotion or trauma.

Evan scouts the roof of a decrepit apartment complex - that is, according to dispatch, set for demolition, but they've received calls about somebody being trapped on the top floor.

Time hasn't been kind to the structure, narrowing their time for a search and rescue.

So, starting from the roof and working down seems like the best bet.

Buck steps towards the door, the foundation creaks, dangerously loud under his foot.

He grabs Hen's low-hanging wrist as the roof gives way below them.

He doesn't remember what happens next.

With the dangerous nature of their jobs - Evan's name and all the possible variations are often uttered in worry.

He blurts awake with desperate rapid breaths; every ache and pain catches up with his concussed mind, "Hen?"

Hen's panicked voice cautions, "Buck don't move!"

The light is low, but he can see, despite the abundance of dust particles.

His back rests against debris; he can tell by the throbbing pain in his biceps that he didn't land in the position he was in, more likely manhandled into place.

He doesn't want to consider the time that Hen spent alone, waiting for him to wake, "Hen," He repeats - desperate.

"I'm here."

He lifts his head, "Are you hurt?"

She crawls into view, hauling her gear along with her, "I'm fine," She promises.

He traces his eyes over her - she's got a couple of scratches, but nothing too worrying, "We both fell?" He asks, confused.

"Yeah," She seems guilty, "But I was lucky."

"Why?"

She presses her fingers to his pulse point, "I had a soft landing."

"Yeah?"

"You."

"Oh," He laughs at the absurdity, "I'm an excellent crash mat."

She glares, "That's not funny."

"It kind of is," He offers her his dopiest smile, "Glad I saved you."

"Thank you," She kisses his forehead, "Now, stay awake."

His eyelids are heavy, "What about the victim?"

"Dead," She sighs.

Buck changes the subject, "What's wrong with me?"

"Broken arm," She lists, "Some blunt force trauma, and—" Her throat cracks; she can't say it.

"And?"

"Ruptured spleen," She sniffles, "I think."

Buck mutters, small, "Oh, that's not good."

She grips his hand, "All you've gotta do is stay awake, okay?"

He tries, but his eyes are heavy.

"Evan," She grabs his chin, "Please don't close your eyes."

"Hen."

"You're not dying on me," She orders, "I won't let you."

He smiles, weak, "Okay."

"I'm right here," She vows, "I'm not going anywhere."

He praises, "You're gonna be a great doctor."

"I know," She tells him, "You don't need to tell me that now, though."

"I have to, just—"

"Zip it, Buckaroo," She snaps lovingly, "We're getting out of here, you hear me? You're gonna help plan my surprise party when I graduate, and then we're gonna get drunk together."

"I'd like that."

She presses their foreheads together, "Just stay awake."

"I will."

***

Buck knows he's far too comfortable in hospitals; he is familiar with the staff and can easily snag an extra pudding at mealtimes, thanks to an older nurse who first treated him following his emergency tracheotomy and had on every subsequent visit.

Still, despite the laughs he has, he can't wait to escape - back to normality.

He folds his LAFD hoodie when Eddie swings inside, hand grasping the doorframe, "You ready?"

Buck turns his head, "Did you grab my meds?" He asks.

Eddie holds up a clear bag, "Right here."

"Thanks."

Eddie steps inside to place the medication into Buck's backpack; he then takes over, zipping up the bag.

Evan hums a laugh, "I can do that, you know?"

"I know," Eddie prods Buck's shoulder, "But we wouldn't want you to throw your stitches."

Buck perches on the bed, "Hen would kill me."

"Hen would kill us," Eddie corrects, "Mainly me."

Evan snorts, "Why?"

"I'm in charge of keeping you in line, apparently," He chuckles.

Buck hangs his head as he laughs, rubbing at the nape of his neck.

Eddie's tone turns sincere, "Are you alright?"

Buck's okay - really. The pain medication is doing its job, and he barely feels the ache in his side - what's on his mind is more complicated than that.

Eddie grips his shoulder, "Buck?" He fixes him with a concerned glance, "What's going on?"

He shrugs, "It's complicated."

Eddie sits, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I almost died," Buck lets go of a breathless laugh, "Again."

Eddie holds a hand in front of his face, failing miserably to hide a grin.

Buck's eyes widen, "What's so funny?"

"Sorry," He moves his hand away, "Just déjà vu - but last time, this was the other way around."

"It was," Buck confirms - the conversation is falling in the direction he needs it to go, "When you told me about your attorney and Christopher, I was scared. I never thought that anybody would trust me as much as you do; Christopher is your life, your everything, and I'm just me."

"You're you," Eddie repeats, softly stern, "That's why I made the decision."

Buck's shoulders sag, "I know."

"You fight for what you believe in, Buck, and you've never once stopped fighting for him," Eddie starts, "You almost killed yourself trying to find him during the tsunami," He takes a breath, "Hen told me about the well collapse; how one of the only words they could get out of you was Christopher's name. Your concern for him became your priority, even when he wasn't in any danger. I knew, then, that it was you because if I had died that day, you would have been taken away from each other, and that wouldn't have been right."

Evan's world would fall apart without Eddie, so would Christopher's - at least together, they'd have somebody to cling onto.

"If I die on this job," Eddie continues, "I'll die knowing that you two have each other."

Tears glisten in Buck's eyes, "So, that's why you changed your will."

"Yeah."

Buck settles his hands on his rocking knees.

Eddie questions, "Is there something else?"

Evan nods deliberately, "When I get hurt, Maddie can get a little short with me."

"She's afraid of losing you."

"Of course," Buck fidgets, locking his fingers together, "Maddie's lost too much. She's already had to stand by, watch our brother die, and live with the fallout. The decisions my parents made when they had me."

Eddie hisses, "Buck—"

"I know, I am wanted," He assures, "By her, by you, by the team - but this isn't about that."

Eddie's expression relaxes, glad that he doesn't have to lecture Buck on his importance again.

"It's just," Buck sighs, "Maddie latches to those she loves, and she can't let go - I wouldn't want to put her in a place where that is her only option."

Eddie brow furrows, "I'm not following."

"I'm going to make an amendment to my living will," Buck concludes, the space between each breath grows shorter.

"What amendment?"

He lowers his head, "I'm going to give you power of attorney."

Eddie's face softens, "Oh."

"Maddie has it right now," Buck scratches at his cheek, "But I've spoken to her about changing it."

Eddie's eyes widen, "You have?"

Evan nods, "It was my parents before, but they don't know me, well enough, to make the right decisions, but you do - and I know that you'd be strong enough to make them."

"Evan," Eddie meets his gaze, "I can do that, for you," He vows, "And, I understand not wanting Maddie to make those decisions, but what about Bobby?"

"I thought of Bobby, but then I remember—"

Eddie realizes, "His kids." Bobby is one of the strongest men they know, but if he was ever faced with the decision to take Buck off life support, he'd crumble under the weight of it all.

"I know this is big and that these decisions would hurt you," Evan croaks, "But I have faith that you could make them."

"I could," He confirms, "Evan, if I die, you become my son's legal guardian, and I'm sure that wasn't easy for you to process because yes, I trust you, but in that scenario, I'm dead," He lifts his shoulders in a shrug, "If you could do that, I can do this."

Evan leans, gathering his friend in his arms, "Thank you," He whispers, gripping tight, "For everything."

[anotherhamiltonblog]

The Baker & The Barber

Summary: What happens when Y/N Matches with a cute french guy over Tinder? Why does he look so much like her best friend Thomas Jefferson?

Warnings: French, Alexander being whiny, cursing. 

Word Count: 2.3K

Forever Tag: @i-know-i-can​

ENJOY

Y/N looked at the profile on the stupid app her best friend made her download and almost choked on her Lemonade. Head tilted to the side, she bit down on her lip and looked through the few pictures he had.

“What the hell…” she said under her breath and frowned. “Does Thomas have a twin or something?” She asked herself and rubbed at her forehead. “This guy… with his hair down looks so much like Thomas.”

She couldn’t help herself, swiping right, the bakery owner gasped when it said they ‘Matched’. “Oh god, Thomas will never let me live this own. I just matched with someone who looks… JUST like him.” She said to herself and put her phone down. Trying hard to not think about the app.

Instead, Y/N went to close up and make sure everything was in order for the night. Being Sunday, she usually closed the shop a few hours earlier so she could have a calm evening. Yet, when an overly cocky voice called out from the front of the shop. Y/N sighed.

“Little Miss. L/N.” Thomas’’ voice boomed in the empty shop. “What is THIS on your phone?”

‘oh no…’ Y/N whispered to herself and rushed from the kitchen and through the double doors. Eyes widening in horror as Thomas stood behind the counter, her phone in his hands.

“Who the heck is this and why is he using MY pictures?” Thomas asked and looked at Y/N.

“That’s just the thing, I don’t think he is… he’s from France. The same place you haven’t gone yet…” Y/N sighed and looked at her phone before returning to pack up some of the leftovers.

Placing them in three boxes, one for Thomas and his roommate James, then one for Y/N to take home for her and her own roommate Eliza.

“Hm… so you matched with him then?” she heard her friend say, Y/N could almost hear the smirk on the mans face. “Got something to tell me, Y/N?”

Glancing over her shoulder, Y/N raised an eyebrow. “That French men are sexy, and I hear they are amazing in bed.”

Handing him the box of sweets and sandwiches. Y/N stuck her tongue out at him before giggling and they left the bakery. Getting into Thomas’ car, she buckled in and sighed happily. Glad to be going home.

“I might go visit this barber… I’m in the need of a new trim.” Thomas glanced at Y/N who glared at the male in the drivers seat. “OK. I won’t.” he laughed and started to drive.

“So, Washington’s holding an event in a month. He want’s to know if you can take care of the cake?” Thomas asked, causing Y/N to look at him in shock.

“Me?”

“Mmhm. He loved the cupcakes I took into work a week ago. Said he wanted your expertise on the cake.” That made Y/N giggle and nod her head.

“I’ll do it. Half off.” She pulled out her phone and set a reminder in her planner before seeing the tinder app.

Glancing at Thomas, who was looking at the road. Y/N quickly sent Lafayette a small message before putting her phone away.

By the time she was left off at her apartment building, Y/N pushed herself past the doors and walked the three flights of stairs to get to her floor. “Stupid fucking elevator…” Y/N would mumble each time. “It’s like the stupid Big Bang Theory… why don’t they just fix this shit?”

Finally arriving in her apartment, Y/N entered and set down her bag and box of sweets down at the four seated kitchen table. Humming, she looked at her phone, seeing she had a message from Tinder.

After a few messages and she sent him her number, Y/N moved to her bedroom and changed out of her work clothes and into sweatpants and a lose crop top.

With slippers on her feet, she returned to the kitchen, right on time for the phone to start ringing. Seeing an unknown number, she answered the call.

“Hello?”

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

Lafayette’s POV:

After a long day at the shop, cutting hair, braiding and the various styles they offer. The Barber shop didn’t take long to become popular. With the help of John, Rafael and Peggy. The four were busy all Sunday, up until the last minute. Peggy of course was happy with the movement; she was learning and being paid to go to school to get her degree in Cosmetology. He had the money to use, why not use it?

But as he was looking at the schedule for the rest of the week, Lafayette glanced at his phone that chimed with a notification. Glancing that it was from tinder, he had a match. Lafayette couldn’t help but grin. Hiding his phone when asked why he was smiling, he simply brushed it off and said it didn’t matter.

On his way home was when his phone went off again. Though, driving. He couldn’t answer. So instead, he waiting till he got home. As he messaged with Y/N, stripping out of his clothes for loose sweatpants and foregoing the shirt. He couldn’t help but grin when she sent her number.

Quickly calling the number, Lafayette waited as the line rang. He looked in his fridge for something to eat, but decided that maybe he would order in. Not in the mood to cook.

“Hello?”

He heard on the other side of the call.

“Bonjour mon cher, uh how are you this evening?” he cleared his throat and shut his fridge door. Only to grin when he head an angelic sounding laugh.

“I’m good, just tired.” He heard her sigh. “Lot’s of orders to fill today. Pretty sure I have two new burn marks… how was your day?”

“I am sorry to hear about the burn…” he frowned slightly. “But we too had a busy day. Lots of people came to get their hair done for the week.”

It was like an ice breaker, showing that they both had a tough day, that’s how Lafayette spent the next three hours. Talking to Y/N. Him asking questions of her bakery, her friends and finding out that she knew Peggy “Her sister is my roommate!” She happily giggled, which made Lafayette grin broadly.

The two of them, each with take out. Y/N with Chinese and Lafayette with pizza, He was happily surprised to see how many hours had passed. “We have been on the phone for three hours.” He told the girl, who ended up letting out a surprised gasp, causing him to grin.

“I can go if you need to do something? I’m probably just gonna shower and end up watching Netflix.”

“Well, mon chérie… I have nothing planned for tonight. Why don’t we hang up and call again in an hour? Maybe we can video chat?” Lafayette asked, hoping he wasn’t coming off too strong.

“That sounds perfect!”

He was happy that she agreed, so once they both hung up. Lafayette cleaned up the mess from the pizza and went to take a shower himself. The hot water relaxing his aching back and muscles. He let out a sigh and stood there under the hot water for a little while longer before washing up and stepping out. Once dry, he threw on some basketball shorts and a random black shirt.

An hour couldn’t have gone by faster, soon they were on video call and Lafayette laughed at the sight of a coffee and a computer screen.

“Did you go and get a coffee?” he asked curious as the camera was flipped.

“Nope! Eliza, Peggy’s sister just got home and brought me a hot chocolate. No more coffee after Nine. Or else I’ll never sleep!” she laughed and bit on her lip at the sight of the man.

“Oui, I agree with that. I have too much coffee sometimes.” He grinned and glanced around his apartment. He lived alone and it was lonely sometimes. He wondered what it would be like to have a roommate.

“So, what are you going to watch?” He asked, remembering seeing the Netflix logo on her computer screen.

“Hmm, I was thinking of seeing Harry Potter.” She shrugged and Lafayette watched her bite down on her lip as she wasn’t looking at the screen. “I’m a huge Potter fan and have yet to go to the Harry Potter World at Disney. It’s sad.”

“Well, I have never watched Harry Potter… or gone to Disney. Maybe we can meet up one day and have a… how you say… a uh, movie marathon!” he nodded and grinned.

“You mean… Netflix and chill?” he watched her face make a cringe.

“Non! No! Just the Netflix part! You have my word, mon chérie!” he quickly said, not wanting her to think all he wanted was to sleep together.

“How about we meet up in person first before making those kinds of plans?”

Nodding, the two fell into comfortable conversation. Her about her childhood and Lafayette told Y/N about his time in France.

As they were both laying in bed talking, Lafayette was flipping through the channels of his tv, telling her the plot of a movie he had seen. That was when he heard the heavy breathing. Looking at his phone, the same phone he took his eyes off for just a minute. Seeing Y/N asleep, he smiled fondly and said a ‘goodnight’ before turning off the call and putting his phone down. Going to sleep himself.

The week went by the same. The two would text and call each other each night after work, deciding to not bother the other while at work, only during their lunch break and in the mornings. Though, her morning always started before his, Lafayette would always wake up to a “Good Morning” message.

Making plans to meet on Saturday, they agreed to have it so they would meet up with a group of friends so it wouldn’t be awkward or anything.

Monday.

Tuesday.

Wednesday.

Thursday.

Friday.

Saturday.

Having met John’s friends throughout the week, they all found time to stop by the Barber shop. Lafayette got along with all of them. They had agreed to go to the bar on Saturday with him and of course, Peggy would bring her sisters along.

“Though, I’m sure Y/N already asked them!” she giggled at Lafayette who glared at her and told Peggy to get back to work. Only so she would stop teasing him.

Now the big day arrived, and he was excited, Y/N had been telling him how she was excited to introduce him to her long-time best friend, Thomas. The same Thomas who she swore he looked alike.

Arriving at the bar in a group of five, Rafael also there with his girlfriend Ashley. They found a large table for their group and a few minutes later, Lafayette went to the bathroom.

Y/N’s POV:

Pacing the outside of the bar with Thomas, Peggy, Angelica and Eliza. Y/N felt like she was going to throw up. “I can’t do this!” she turned to leave, only to be stopped by Thomas and she groaned as she was shoved into the bar. The sisters making way to the table with everyone and Thomas went to the bar with Y/N knowing she was worried.

“It’s gonna be fine, doll… he’s gonna love you, ok? I mean look at you… you’re what the kids call a Cinnamon bun!” he tried to pinch her cheeks, but Y/N slapped his hands away with a pout.

“Bitch…” she huffed and turned. “Get me something to drink, I’m gonna go use the bathroom and try not to throw up.” Without another word, Y/N entered the bathroom to try and calm her nerves.

Thomas’ POV:

As he waited for his drink, Y/N’s drink and the three sisters. Thomas tapped his finger against the bar counter waiting. Watching the game on the tv that was hung up.

“God Lafayette. The sisters I told you about are here… meaning so is Y/N and that Jeffershit. You’re going to Hate him like I do. I can just feel it, that nosy… cocky… son of a ….” Turning around with an eyebrow raised, Thomas looked amused as Alexander let out a loud, somewhat girly shriek.

“I’m sorry, what was that you were saying about me, Hamishit?” he asked, arms crossed over his chest.

“Wh- WHY IS YOUR HAIR UP LIKE THAT?” Alexander demanded to know, and Thomas rolled his eyes.

But before he could say anything, he was frozen. Seeing a man who looked just like him standing before him. ‘No wonder dumbass Hamilton got us confused.’ He thought to himself and when Y/N came over as well. She looked between the two man.

“Dude… you got some amazing D.N.A.” Thomas said with a nod of his head, hoping to break the weird silence.

“Merci mon ami… You as well!” Lafayette nodded, only to look at Y/N with a grin. The two, after telling their friends they would find a table to get to know one another.

Thomas was left there with a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Remembering stories of his mother tell him of the twin brother he should have had but he was taken when he was just a baby.

AN: I DID IT! I WROTE MY AU IDEA. WOWOW this is gonna be fun. Should I have started this with all my WIPs??? Probably not, but oh well. I HOPED YOU ENJOYED IT!

AN#2: ALSO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 246 FOLLOWERS!! I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!! this one is for all of you <3

PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK, Reblogs! Hearts!

Send an ASK if you wanna be tagged!!! THIS IS MY SIDEBLOG! My main is @Katierpblogg so if that blog replies, ITS MOI 

[adaodinson]

Would she?

Here´s the third part. I´m really excited about this story and insanely happy that some people are actually liking it, thank you so much.

This one has no Spanish words in this one.

Relationship: Marcus Moreno x Fem Mexican reader (it is in English and most of the dialogues are too, her being Mexican is more about the story)

Summary: You have gotten closer to the Morenos as the days pass. One day Missy knocks at your door with a problem and you know you have to help her and then have a talk with Marcus.

Warnings: Age gap, reader is Mexican, swearing, talk about periods.

Part 3

Part 4

You still remembered how you had felt during the first dinner you had with them. A couple of weeks had passed and you had been invited to their house a few more times; you had wanted to invite them to yours but you still had no table where the three of you could eat at, so that would have to wait. You were on college vacations but were working on the project that took you to the city, and you had gotten a job at a coffeeshop on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Mondays and Wednesdays you had been hired to work at an H&M store. Your shifts didn´t last too long since they were just summer jobs, but with them and your project you did have a bit of a busy week.

One day, you had finally finished your shift at the coffeeshop and headed home, you had the rest of the evening free and tomorrow was Friday, so you were just gonna relax. You got to your apartment and grabbed a snack to go with the movie you had been wanting to watch, but the second you sat on the couch you heard a desperate knock on your door. While you walked through the hall you heard a voice coming from outside. Your heart froze at the tone of Missy´s voice. She called out your name and spoke.

-I´m sorry to bother you but my dad has been out at an emergency mission since the morning and something happened, I don´t know what to do. I tried calling my grandmother but she is also out for the mission and doesn´t answer her phone, and I don´t know who else I can talk to- she said as you quickly opened the door and hugged her.

-Hey hey it´s alright, you never bother me. Tell me what happened-

She seemed almost embarrassed, for a moment you thought she had done something stupid.

-I went to the bathroom, and when I looked down, my underwear had blood in it. I already put them in water to clean them but I still don´t know why…- She said slowly. You immediately understood what was going on. You would have to have a talk with Marcus and ask him why he hadn´t told Missy anything about this.

You looked at her tenderly and responded.

-Listen, you got your first period. This is normal- As you spoke, she seemed confused but relieved to hear it wasn´t anything serious. You felt your heart drop when you thought about Missy not having a mother to talk to about this, and you knew it would be hard but you had to talk to her.

-I´m sorry that you don´t have your mother around to help you through this whole thing. Unfortunately, the men that know everything about this matter are rare, and I don´t blame your father for not talking to you about this, I understand. I just want you to know that I´m here for you, I´m gonna tell you everything you need to know not just about this, but about anything you need. I know there are other things you might not want to talk to your father about, but I promise you as your friend and as a woman I´ll be here for you. And well, depending on the situation there are things your father doesn´t need to know, but at least on this subject I will talk to him when I see him. Let me grab some things and we´ll go to your house-

Missy nodded quietly and tightened the hug you had her in a bit before letting you go. You invited her in while you went to your room for some pads for her and a few other things you would need.

Once you were in Missy´s room, with an example piece of underwear you explained her how to put the pad on and everything else she needed to know. How there were different things she would go through during her period and what to do when they happened; what not to do, what pills to take for the cramps, what it meant to have her period, etc. It wasn´t awkward at all, Missy understood what you said and acted very maturely.

While she was in the bathroom putting the pad you brought on, you called Marcus. You didn´t care he was on a mission, you wanted to give Missy what your mom had given you when you had gotten your period and you did want to ask Marcus to take her out for dinner.

-Hey Marcus-

-Hi- he said your name with a bit of a confused but quite happy tone that made your heart flip. No, no, focus, this is about Missy.

-Listen, I know you’re on a mission, but I need to tell you something, it’s about Missy- You said seriously and almost felt the smile he had fade away.

-Is everything okay?-

-Missy just got her first period- you said wanting to go straight to the point so that he wouldn´t think Missy was hurt- she came to me about an hour ago worried sick because she found blood on her underwear. She had no idea, so I explained her what she needs to know and I wanted to tell you that I want to do what my mom did for me when I got my period for the first time. I want to take her to buy what she needs, some candy, a few gifts and then take her out for dinner. Is that okay or do you want to come too?- You said almost with one breath wanting to say everything before he could answer.

Marcus wanted to cry. He hadn´t had this amount of mixed feeling in years, he felt terrible that he hadn´t been there for Missy today, he also felt his heart break a little bit at the thought of his daughter not having her mother for this moment. And he even hated himself for not having talked to her about it before. He had always felt he didn´t know enough about periods to have a talk with Missy, and he never expected it to be so sudden and fast. He felt like an idiot. But another part of him wanted to jump through the phone and kiss you. He couldn´t believe what you were doing for his daughter, how you cared so much about her and wanted to give her what your mother had given you.

-Jesus, I don´t even know what to say. I can´t believe I´m not there for her right now- you felt the disappointment in his voice- I´ll head home right now. I´ll pick up hundreds of bags of chocolates and candy for her and for you and when you get back from dinner I´ll be at the house waiting for the both of you. You have no idea how much I appreciate this, thank you so much for talking to her and helping her and of course it´s okay for you to take her out. You have your girl´s night and when you get back I want to talk to the both of you, together and separately-

-Great, I´ll see you later then. And you don´t have to thank me Marcus, I´ll always be there for Missy and for you, I´m happy to do this- You said your goodbyes and hung up as you heard Missy walking your way.

-Okay, I have a surprise for you- You said.

-Really?- Missy asked already excited.

-Well have a girl´s night, I already talked to your father and when we get back he´ll already be here. I´m taking you to buy what you´ll need for your period. Oh, and you´ll choose the restaurant where we´ll have dinner-

Missy´s face lit up and she basically ran for her shoes. In the blink of an eye you were already leaving the supermarket and heading to Missy´s favorite restaurant. The night was incredible, you were amazed at how easy it was to talk to Missy even though she was younger than you. You told her the story of your first period and shared a few embarrassing stories related to it. She told you about her friends and explained their powers while you nodded in excitement and completed her stories with movie references to the abilities she mentioned.

You kept on talking even after you had finished dinner, the manager of the place almost kicked the both of you out because you had already payed and wouldn´t leave. You laughed all the way back to Missy´s house and just as he had promised, when you got there you saw Marcus´ car parked outside. A light on the second floor was on, so you assumed he was upstairs. What neither of you were expecting was the image you found when you walked inside the house.

The kitchen table was covered in things, from a box of doughnuts, to giant chocolate bars, bags of your favorite sour gummies (you had mentioned them one time you talked to Marcus and you couldn´t believe he had remembered), packages of lollypops and hard candy. For a moment you thought Missy was about to faint. She looked at you in shock and slowly spoke to your ear.

-Either my dad lost his freaking mind or he was kidnapped by aliens and replaced by one of them or this is not from him- You didn´t even answer. You knew Marcus from a few weeks, but that was enough to know it was hard for him to buy a single small bag of chips because of his weird thing about junk food. You finally spoke just to agree with Missy, you were genuinely freaking out.

You heard a hard laughter and quick footsteps heading your way, and you turned your gaze at an amused and insanely cute guy losing his breath from laughing so hard.

-You girls think that little of me?-

-Dad, just tell me, should we get you to a hospital or call the other Heroics to find whoever brought this things- The three of you finally exploded in laughter and Marcus almost ran to give his daughter a hug.

-I´m so so sorry for not being here, I´m sorry for not talking to you about it before, I´m really sorry- Your heart flipped at the image, they really loved each other.

-It´s okay dad, I understand, you don´t have to apologize. Now I know what I need and I have someone else that I can turn to- she said with a wide smile turning to you.

Dear God you had promised you wouldn´t cry, but what the hell. You felt tears running down your cheeks and quickly used your hand to wipe them, but Missy noticed them.

She let go of her father and turned to you to give you a hug.

-Thank you for everything, really, thank you- She said softly as you tried your best not to cry your ass out right there. But what you saw when you looked up at Marcus made you almost choke in laughter. His face was red and tears were already running down his cheeks. You didn’t understand how the hell he managed to look insanely cute while crying but also kinda hot.

He laughed at your reaction and cleaned his nose. You let go of Missy and she looked at you and then at your father.

-You are a couple of crying babies you know. Just hug already-

Both Marcus and you basically ran to each other arms and choked in a mixture of crying your eyes out and laughing at each other. You felt the heat coming from Marcus´ embrace and wished to stay like that forever, not knowing he was thinking the exact same thing.

A few minutes later you had all calmed down (mainly Marcus and you) and were now sitting at the couch talking about everything.

Marcus was already regretting having bought all of those things, he said he didn´t even think until he was at the front door with the bags of what he called “sweet poison”, but it was too late, he had already bought it after all.

Missy´s eyes were closing, so Marcus sent her to her bed and promised they would have a talk tomorrow morning. She did as he told her, not without grabbing a couple of bags of candy first, of course.

Once she was gone, Marcus turned to you and started talking.

-I really have no way of thanking you for this. You have no idea how much I appreciate what you did for her-

-As I said- you answered while giggling a bit- you don´t have to thank me, really. I´m happy to do it. We had an amazing time, she is an amazing kid and she´ll grow to be an amazing woman-

You stared into each other´s eyes for what felt like ages. It wasn´t an awkward moment, in fact, you had never had an awkward silence with Marcus, you were always either talking or lovingly staring at each other like the couple of idiots you were.

He didn´t think, for the second time today he just didn´t. Before he knew his hand were cupping your face and he was pressing his lips against yours. You could have melted right there, at the spot, but you were in too much of a shock for that. You placed your hands on his waist as you slowly closed your eyes deepening the kiss. Both of your breaths mixed perfectly, and your minds were set on making this moment last forever. That was until you parted at the lack of air and opened your eyes wide in surprise at what had just happened. Either of you could believe it.

Marcus´ mind was running a million thoughts per second. Jesus shit what did I just do. She is our neighbor, she is almost half my age, she is a friend, I´ve known her for two weeks. What if I overstepped? If? I sure as hell did. Of course he had had his mind set on you since he met you, he knew it, he thought about you all the time. But never in all his years did he ever think he would act on a situation like this. You were still in college, and even though you were over 21 that didn´t really matter. He didn´t want to ruin your friendship.

You didn´t even know what to think. This gorgeous man that also happens to be the nicest one you had ever met just kissed you. And that was a hell of a kiss. But since when did you let a guy kiss you like that after just two weeks? Everything that the kiss meant was either beautiful or terrible, with no in-between.

You both stood up and you took a few steps back without saying a word. Neither of you knew the other one enough to know what a relationship between the both of you would lead to. Plus, you were friends, neighbors, you were his daughter´s friend. The kiss itself was amazing, you both acknowledged that, but the moment just didn´t feel right. It was that or you were a couple of idiots that couldn´t admit their emotions and were too scared of what dating or having a relationship meant (of course it was the second one).

Both of you then thought. He started the kiss and didn´t stop until he was out of breath. She deepened the kiss and didn´t pull away. You knew this meant something, something good, but either of you was “wild” enough (wild as in the weird definition you both had of the word that meant talking about your freaking emotions) to say anything.

You looked at him with an “I regret nothing but I understand” look, grabbed your things and walked for the door, but before you could go Marcus spoke.

-I´m sorry, I got carried away- He said.

-It´s fine, I understand. Let´s say it was your way of saying thank you- You said as you looked at him with a puzzled gaze. You then smiled at each other, not with a sad smile, more with a “we´ll see where this leads to” smile and you walked back home.

As you closed your door behind you, yours and Marcus´ mind were setting on not letting what had happened make things awkward. In fact, you were sure you could have fun from this before seriously acting on it, you would enjoy this. For once in your life you would let yourselves enjoy the person you had at the other side of the street. You would take things slowly and see what happened. After all, you worked amazingly as friends, you could always go back to that or, well, fall in love like you never ever had done before. We´ll see, the both of you thought, we´ll see.

[balladeer-angelo]

Pretty pretty please☆ 39, with carlos x reader cuz i have an extreme thirst♡♡♡

this turned out so long and I’m so sorry but I just had too much fun with it lol enjoy!

Carlos x Reader

39: “Are you trying to turn me on or are you really just that oblivious?”

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He wasn't sure what was going on this week, but he swore you were up to something.

It all started Monday morning, the beginning of a busy work week for both you and Carlos. You were in the kitchen cooking breakfast, pancakes with a warm cream cheese frosting, humming and swaying in your pajama shorts and a tank top while you whisked the batter. He shuffled into the kitchen with a 'good morning' yawn, immediately going for the fresh pot of coffee. You greeted him, pouring some batter into the sizzling pan. He was leaning against the counter, sipping his hot cup of Joe when you turned to ask him if he slept well as he'd been having trouble just keeping his eyes closed most nights. Those tired eyes of his zeroed in on your chest, something white and translucent drizzled across your cleavage. He almost choked.

"You've got- um..." His voice rumbles out from behind the ceramic mug, teetering off as he continued to stare like he had fallen into a trance. You tilt your head, waiting for him to continue. "Your chest. There's... stuff on your-." He points at you and draws in the air with his finger.

You look down and click your tongue. "Ugh, damn it." You whined. "Guess I wasn't paying much attention while I was making the frosting."

You tug down the front of your top just enough to reveal the rest of the sticky mess and, inadvertently, the valley between your breasts. Carlos watches you drag two fingers through one of the many tiny ropes of frosting and place them in your mouth. His cock stirs at the sight and he finds himself completely mesmerized. You pick up as much as you can, casually cleaning off your digits with your tongue like he's not in your company, mumbling to yourself that at least you didn't do a bad job. Carlos wonders if you'd let him rut his cock between your breasts so he could paint your chest and watch you lap all that up as well. Then the two of you would eat the pancakes you'd made right after and he'd give you a lingering kiss and be on his way.

His eyes dart to the tiny clock on Mr. Coffee. He doesn't have time. With a sigh he sets down his cup and lumbers over to you to plant a kiss to your forehead, doing all he can to avoid looking at your chest any longer lest he ends up being late.

"You're not gonna eat?" You pout up at him and he gives an apologetic smile.

"I gotta go in early today. New recruits. 'Lot of ropes to show."

"Fiiine." You groan dramatically, though he knows you're not actually upset. "Don't go too easy on 'em."

He chuckles and gives you one last kiss to the crown of your head. "You got it, boss."

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The next day, he had found a pair of your panties, the thin kind with a lot of lace embroidered on it, in the back pocket of his pants. He wasn't even the one to notice them first. One of the new recruits had openly pointed at something pink poking out of his pocket, nosy as to what it was. He tugged it out and immediately crushed it in his hand before shoving it back into his pants upon realizing that it wasn’t a handkerchief. The other men snickered amongst themselves and Carlos roughly cleared his throat. "Alright, alright. Settle down."

He called you as soon as he was on his lunch break.

"Any idea how your panties ended up in my back pocket, babe?"

"Hm? My panties?" You sounded genuinely confused over the soft tapping of your fingers on a keyboard.

"Well, they're not mine. Pink and lace aren't exactly my style."

"Ohh!

I was wondering where those went! Must've gotten mixed together during laundry day. I usually wash the intimates separately."

He pulls your underwear back out to look at them. The silky fabric felt soothing against the new callouses sprouting on his palm. He's curious how they might feel wrapped around his rousing cock.

"Guess so..." He mutters to himself.

Your voice cuts through the polluted thoughts filling his mind and he's reminded then by the silent ticking coming from the wall that, once again, he doesn't have the time to find out.

"Is there any chance you could swing by the grocery store after work? We're running low on eggs."

"Sure thing."

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By Wednesday, his suspicions were steadily mounting to almost headache-inducing levels. You had stopped by his workplace to go over paperwork with one of the higher-ups, something boring. Carlos was tasked with helping you pull down some files in one of the archive rooms. He watched you squat down in front of one of the shelves to pull out one of the many brown boxes on the bottom, sifting through its contents. Carlos finds that he really likes you in formal wear. A blazer, dress pants, and heels were a good look on you.

"Carlos, can you reach up there and start pulling down the boxes at the top for me?" You pull him out of his thoughts yet again and he carefully walks over to you, shins gently nudging against your back as he reaches up and grabs a box with both hands.

He keeps up this uniform pace; taking boxes from the top shelf and placing them in a pile to your right while you search the pile you've made beside your left. He's not even entirely sure what you're looking for and he figures he should probably ask. But your exclamation catches him by surprise, as does the way that your body is slotted up against him when you suddenly rise to your feet.

"Oh! I think that's the one!" You take his arms and lower them so they're caging either side of your waist, removing the flimsy top to the box he's still holding. Carlos swallows hard, staring at your hands from over your shoulder as you rummage through the files. Your ass is perfectly pressed right into his crotch, warm and soft. It rubs against him in such an unassuming manner as you shift your hip to one side. You're not even leaning any of your weight into him but he can feel every inch of you through his clothes, licking at the sweat on his skin like fire on gasoline.

There's no way you can't feel how hard he's getting. Just as he starts imagining just how fucking hot it would be if you let him fuck you right up against these shelves in this cramped dingy space, if you let him stuff his now aching cock into you from behind while he uses his fingers to keep you quiet, you're tilting your head up to peck his chin and slipping out of his arms before he can even muster up a single word.

"Found it! Thanks a bunch, babe. I'll be back to help you clean up in a sec!"

You trot out of the room with the files you were looking for, leaving him with a box that was slowly beginning to slip out of his clammy palms and a throbbing hard-on. His groans fill the stuffy room, frustrated and grumpy. When you had returned to help him like you said, the boxes that had been disturbed were put back in their place, though precariously and not alphabetically, and Carlos was nowhere to be found.

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Thursday was the day he was sure he would combust on the spot. You had the day off while he was scrambling to get out of the door on time, somehow managing to snooze through his alarm once sleep had finally found him. While he was in the bathroom briskly scrubbing his teeth, he catches something out of his peripheral vision in the shower, something pale pink and... thick.

He slides the glass door open and nearly spits up all the foaming toothpaste in his mouth. It's one of your toys, a dildo, your favorite one, suctioned to one of the tiles on the shower wall at a particular height. Upon closer inspection, he notices that it's got a glossy wet look to it that he knows isn't water. It looked as if it had just been used.

He could feel his heartbeat in his groin again as he stared at it with his toothbrush dangling between his lips. When did you use it? This morning? You did wake up before he did, and it's not like he could go and ask you about it since you were already gone to take care of errands. He could text or call you, but... He starts to imagine how you must've looked when you decided to play. Hands pressed against the glass, fogged-up with steam, wriggling your pussy back onto the heavy hanging toy while your moans get drowned out by the rushing water crashing down on your dipping back.

Did you think of him while you were fucking yourself? Did you imagine it was his cock instead? Were you breathing his name into the glass so he wouldn't hear you? If you needed to get off so bad, you should've just asked him to take care of you! He would even lay there and let you use him, use his body, his hot cock to chase your pleasure. Ride him all throughout the early morning haze, coming over and over again around him and letting him fill you up with copious amounts of his cum.

He finished brushing his teeth with yet another painful erection that he couldn't take care of because time just wouldn’t allow it. Thoughts of you naked and writhing beneath him, fervently sucking him off, peering over your shoulder at him with that knowing smirk as his hips slam into the plump flesh of your ass are all that flood his head for the rest of what felt like the longest day of the week for Carlos.

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After another tedious and grueling day of work, he was ready to go home and enjoy a nice relaxing weekend with you. Friday could've come sooner but he was too exhausted to complain, too eager to get inside and wash off the sweat and grime of the day. He stumbles through the door and his eyes are scanning the apartment for you almost instantly.

"Babe? You home?" He calls out, toeing off his boots by the door.

"In the bedroom!" Your voice echoes from down the hall, a sound he's quick to follow despite the fatigue setting in his body. When he finds you, the sight is enough to have him quietly groaning to himself, something familiar churning in his lower belly.

"Hey! How was work?" You ask cheerfully, naturally, as if you weren't just laying in bed on your belly reading a magazine, wearing one of his shirts with the sleeves rolled up to your shoulders, and some panties. The very same ones that had found their way into his pocket on Tuesday.

"Fine." He mutters though he isn't sure if you even heard him.

You toss the magazine onto the end table next to the bed and hop up onto your knees to stretch your arms above your head with a soft sound of exertion. His eyes never leave the sight of the sheer rosy fabric framing your ass.

"I just got off a few hours ago. It was such a slow day. But, T.G.I.F., right?"

You slide off the mattress and saunter towards the door, your arm brushing across his and you swear you feel him tense up at such a passing touch. A quiet current flowing through a tightly wound wick that was ready to ignite at the smallest spark.

“I’m gonna take a shower.”

His hand grabs your wrist and holds you in place for the merest of seconds before he whips you around to face him. “Are you trying to turn me on or are you really just that oblivious?”

The look of surprise you give is authentic enough to have him second-guessing himself. Your blinking eyes, tilting head, and questioning hum almost dry up all the grounds for such a snap interrogation.

“I thought that maybe you really weren’t paying attention that morning when you got frosting all over your chest. And maybe you really did get our laundry mixed up cause there’s no way you could’ve slipped your panties into my pants without me knowing. But your little stunt at the office? And leaving your toy out in the bathroom where you knew I would see it? And now this?”

He gestures at his shirt hanging off your body, barely covering the lace culprit he had mentioned. “I’m startin’ to think that these little coincidences aren’t actually so coincidental.”

The look you give him could best be described as cat-like. A cat who rolled her red ball of yarn wherever she went with her tail held high cause she knew a certain someone would inevitably get snagged in her threads. And he was the big cute puppy she had banked on who got all tangled up.

“It took you this long to come to that conclusion, huh?”

The look on his face you would describe as utterly dumbfounded. Whether it was because of your overtly bold confession to his allegations or the fact that you weren’t coyly trying to deny it like he must’ve thought you would, you weren’t really sure.

“It started out as a coincidence that Monday morning, I’ll give you that much. But after I saw how riled up you got because of it -and don’t try to act like you hid it well- I just wanted to see how far I could take this little experiment before you caught on.”

You easily slipped your wrist from his hand, slowly slinking back inch by inch toward the door. “And especially since we were both gonna be too busy and tired through the week to even do anything, I thought it would be fun to keep you all hot and bothered for me until the weekend when we could let loose.”

You pause in the doorway, watching his expression. Heat had flooded his face, all the way to the tips of his ears though his hair did a good job hiding that. He looked like he was still processing all the details, seemingly at a loss for words at the moment. You took the opportunity to pull off his shirt, leaving you completely bare to him sans those damnable panties.

“I really am surprised it took until the end of the week for you to figure me out. And you’re accusing me of being the oblivious one?”

Whatever words he did manage to find come out in a splutter, the flush on his cheeks clouding over. His eyes follow the curve of your spine when you turn your back to him and playfully wiggle your hips.

“C’mon, puppy. You scrub my back and I’ll scrub yours. And maybe I’ll even show you how I used that toy of mine yesterday.”

The look you give him and those tacked on odds is ultimately what propels him forward, scooping you up into his arms and giving your shoulder an impish bite, relishing the taste of your skin and the sounds of your squeals and giggles as he carries you toward the bathroom.

He snarls into your ear, "You’re in for one hell of a weekend, fox."

[pinestripes]

Quiet Day (The Last of Us)

Summary:

The last few months in Jackson have been paradise compared to the hellish cross-country road trip that came before. But scars still run deep, and shadows can lurk around even the brightest corners. 

Ellie has a bad day. Joel wants to help.

Rating: T for a bit of language

Can also be read here on AO3 and here on FFN.

Author’s Note:

I liiiiive! Feels good to publish something for the first time in...a year, actually, as of yesterday. I've had a busy and stressful year, though I'm sure a lot of you can relate. Anyway, I just love TLOU (as much as someone who has only watched playthroughs of it can), and I especially adore Ellie and Joel's dynamic. Thank you for reading!

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Joel is a light sleeper and an early riser. The latter has been a trait of his for most of his life; the former, however, developed by necessity once not being able to jerk awake the instant something went bump in the night became a death sentence. Both of these qualities together means that he rises before the first rays of sunrise stream into his room.

He throws on stained jeans and an old shirt. Scrubbing a hand across his bleary eyes, he lumbers into the bathroom. Once done in there, he heads downstairs and to his front porch, sinking into the rocking chair there with a sigh.

He opens the worn science fiction novel he’s been making his way through for the past week or two, quickly thumbing through the brittle brown pages before finding the one he dog-eared the day before. He wasn’t a big reader, back before everything went to shit, but he had been known to pick up a sci-fi or western, sometimes even a mystery novel, every once in a while.

Joel reads in the soft morning light for half an hour or so before he exchanges the book for the guitar that has been resting by the front door. He lazily strums a few bars of a couple different songs, humming. Ellie will be awake soon, and it’s their morning ritual that when she comes down he helps her practice for a little while before breakfast.

Contrary to his expectations, Ellie doesn’t make her appearance. A familiar anxiety, one he feels less and less often the longer they stay in Tommy and Maria’s compound, clamps down on his chest. He stands and leans the guitar against the wall, the instrument making a discordant twung when he drops it less than gently in his hurry. He stalks into the house and through the barebones living room, eyes on the stairs to the second floor as his footsteps quicken and the clamp squeezes, squeezes, squeezes—

He jerks to a stop when he sees movement out of the corner of his eye. He whips his head around to peer into the kitchen. Ellie is sitting there hunched over at the table, nibbling at a piece of buttered toast.

Suddenly Joel feels a little foolish. His heart is pounding, breathing shallow and quiet. He forces himself to take two slow breaths in and out, feeling the clamp slowly release, lungs expanding and taking in air once more. Finally, he says, voice nearly steady, “There you are, kiddo. Thought maybe you were still asleep.”

Ellie startles, looking up at him with a sharp intake of breath. (He’s surprised she didn’t hear his heavy footsteps into the house from the porch, actually.) Her shoulders relax again when she sees him. “Morning,” she says and returns to her toast.

Shaking off the last of the adrenaline rush and deciding he may as well join her for breakfast, he pads into the kitchen and starts getting out supplies for omelettes, thanking his lucky stars the hydroelectric plant has been providing the town with electricity, and therefore refrigeration, consistently for the last few weeks. “What do you want in your omelette?”

She doesn’t answer.

“Ellie?”

“Hm?”

“What do you want in your omelette today? I got some more green peppers from the garden yesterday, and we’ve got some ham, believe it or not—”

“I’m just going to have the toast today.”

“That all?”

“Yeah, I’m not really hungry.”

“You sure?”

“Mm-hmm.”

He leaves it alone and goes back to making his own breakfast. Usually Ellie would be chattering up a storm by now, but when he’s nearly finished with his omelette and she still hasn’t said a word he finds himself speaking again. “So, didn’t want to do guitar today?”

Silence.

“Ellie?”

“Yeah?”

He sets the omelette on his plate and brings it to the table, taking a seat to her left. “You alright? You seem kind of out of it this morning.”

She shrugs. He notices she hasn’t made much headway on the piece of toast. “I’m fine. M’just tired. Didn’t sleep much. What did you ask?”

He quirks a doubtful brow. “I asked if you didn’t want to practice the guitar today.”

“I just thought we could...take a break today.”

He nods, and returns to eating, deciding once again not to push the issue. By the time his plate is clean she’s finishing the last few little bites of the toast. They both stand to wash their plates and utensils. Per routine, Ellie washes and Joel dries.

Concerned with the continued silence, he decides to give one last try. “So. It’s Sunday. Got any big plans?”

“No, don’t think so,” she responds.

“Not gonna go see Jessie, or, uh, Dina? Or anyone?”

“Nah.” She scrubs at a pan mechanically. “I think I’m just going to stay in and read a book.”

“Alright, then.”

They finish up, and Ellie heads upstairs to her bedroom. He goes to bring the guitar back in from the porch, then stands in the middle of the living room for a minute, feeling a little lost. Finally he sighs and heads out back to weed the vegetable garden. He can tell it’s going to be a quiet day.

Every once in a while, something—a nightmare maybe, or maybe a bandit attack, he can’t always figure it out for sure—will shake Ellie. She’ll retreat into herself, go quiet and distant. She’ll be spacy and—well, he isn’t sure what else to call it but flat. Which is decidedly not Ellie-like.

He’s learned that if he tries to push too much, if he tries to convince her to get out of the house or to talk to him, she gets cagey and defensive. So, even though he hates to see her light so dim, he gives her space and makes sure others do the same. Sometimes she’ll reach out to him of her own accord, looking to talk or a distraction in the form of a guitar lesson. She’s usually back to herself by the next day.

It’s lunchtime once he’s weeded the garden and patched up a few wobbly posts on the porch railing, a continuation of his ongoing attempts to renovate the house. He heads up the stairs and to Ellie’s door. He raps his knuckles against it twice. At her affirmative response, he opens the door and pokes his head in. “I’m thinking I’m going to head to the mess for lunch. You hungry?”

She’s laying on her bed in a loose fetal position, facing the door with a book lying open in front of her at an angle that suggests she hasn’t actually been reading it. “I’m okay.”

“You sure? You didn’t eat much for breakfast.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Suit yourself, then.” He almost shuts the door, then remembers something else. “Hey, Tommy mentioned something about a roof needin’ fixin’ yesterday. He might try and drag me into helpin’ him with that after we eat, so it could be a couple hours before I get back. That okay?”

“Mm-hmm.”

He doesn’t worry; he knows it’ll be a few hours at least before she wants company. “Alright. See you later.”

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Tommy does drag Joel into helping fix a roof, and it takes almost three hours, but he finally finds himself at Ellie’s door again.

He knocks on it, twice again. “Hey, uh...just wanted to let you know I was home.”

“Okay,” she responds through the door.

“...I’ll be downstairs.”

When she doesn’t respond, he walks away, intent on continuing his ongoing Sunday project—fixing the floor in the downstairs bedroom. He’s been replacing the busted up hardwood in the downstairs bedroom little by little on Sundays—when everyone gets the day off in town, with the exception of a regular rotation of necessary jobs like patrol duty. It gives him something to do.

When it gets close to 5:30, according to the cracked, flickering display on the oven, Joel squares his shoulders and heads back to his familiar place outside Ellie’s door.

He knocks, asking “Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

He opens the door to see that she has shifted onto the floor, leaning against the side of the bed that’s facing the door, a book in her lap. He thinks she might have actually been reading it, which is a good sign.

“About time for supper. Ready to head over to Tommy’s?” Sunday night dinner at Tommy and Maria’s place is a regular part of their routine. Joel and Ellie host dinner on either Wednesdays or Thursdays, depending on the schedule.

She shrugs. “Eh, I’m not really hungry.”

Joel’s already decided that he is going to press the issue this time. She seems a little perkier, so he figures it should go over okay. “All you’ve had today is some toast. And they’re expectin’ us.”

Ellie pulls a face. It’s not as exaggerated as usual, but it’s close. “Do I have to?”

He jerks his head in the direction of the door. “Come on.”

She sighs and pulls herself up off the floor before shoving her hands in her pockets and trudging out the door. He follows behind, the twitch of a smile on his face.

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Ellie’s still quieter than usual at dinner, which earns Joel questioning looks from both his brother and sister-in-law. He just answers with a shrug and a meaningful look, which they accept, already having witnessed a few of these days before.

As they finish up their lasagna, Joel goes ahead and suggests watching a movie. He knows Ellie loves the compound’s movie nights just as much as the little ones.

“Can we?” she asks eagerly, a familiar spark flickering in her eyes.

Tommy and Maria look at each other. “Well, sure. Why not?” Maria says.

They clear the table quickly after that and select an action movie that Joel is pretty sure he caught on TV one night ages ago when Sarah was at a sleepover. The pang the thought sends through him is quick and biting, but the way Ellie bounces in her seat on the couch with anticipation helps him put the thought to rest once he recognizes it.

He takes his seat next to her. Ellie starts out resting against the arm of the couch, chin propped in her hand, but by the beginning of the movie’s second big action sequence she’s shifted to lean into his side. He adjusts so they’re both a little more comfortably settled into each other, his arm draping around the back of the couch.

Neither of them move for the rest of the movie, except for when Joel’s arm shifts to settle around her shoulders.

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By the time the credits roll, it’s dark out. They walk through the cool fall night back to their house. Joel is glad to see that the movie night has helped Ellie perk up to her normal self. She babbles about the film’s effects and discusses the story’s various plot holes and inconsistencies. For his part, Joel mostly just listens and occasionally responds in agreement.

“I mean, what even was the bad guy’s plan?” she asks. “The bald asshole kept babbling about missiles or something, but I’m pretty sure he never actually said what they were going to do with the missiles. Right?”

“Don’t believe he did,” Joel responds.  

“And why did that one agent think going in without backup was a good idea? I mean, yeah, it was badass, but it was obviously going to fail from the beginning.”

“Don’t rightly know.”

“And for pete’s sake, why did the woman agent not have pants on for half the movie?”

“Because the people who made the movie were gross old men, probably.”

Ellie snorts. “You’re probably right.”  

They lapse into a companionable silence for a few minutes before Ellie suddenly leans over to nudge Joel’s arm with her elbow. “Hey.”

“Hm?” he questions, turning to give her his full attention from where it had been scanning the night sky—as far as he can tell, the single positive effect of the apocalypse is the decrease in pollution, including light pollution, which means the sky is blanketed in stars no matter where you are.

She sticks her hands in her jacket pockets, looking away with flushed cheeks and scuffing the heel of her shoe in the dirt before turning to look him in the face. “Thanks, Joel.”

He doesn’t need to ask what for. “Anytime, baby girl.”

[yungidreamer]

Catch You

The fourth oneshot in my Kinktober series

Summary: Mingi is a guardian angel who loves his assignment. Sure he spends all his time protecting her from a series of unlikely events thanks to a curse that has been on her family since her great grandmother, but hey she’s cute, funny, and smart. It’s not a bad deal really.

Wordcount: 2.7k

Content warnings: Really, nothing...maybe an unrequited crush? This is mostly a pure fluff humor piece and a little bit of how I imagine Mingi would be as a guardian angel out there living his best life.

Suggested music I’m Gonna Be by The Proclaimers and Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars

Mingi sat at the end of her bed. She was so precious when she was sleeping. So much less trouble, too. Not that he would change charges for anything in the world. She was just a little more work than he had anticipated. Not everyone had a guardian angel because, well, not everyone actually needed one. Most people had ordinary luck, lived ordinary lives, and didn’t have a generational curse.

She was different. Her great grandmother had pissed someone off enough to have gotten a curse that had lasted for four generations. He hadn’t been told what had been done and he hadn’t even thought to ask when he was assigned to her. Maybe he should have, then he would have been better prepared.

Soon she would be getting up and starting her day, and his, but for now she was tucked in and sleeping peacefully. He wished a little that she knew he was there. Maybe it would make things just a little bit easier. She would look a third time before crossing the street or just go a little slower in life that would give him a little more time to react.

Alas, she didn’t know he was there, didn’t know how hard he worked to keep her alive and well, didn’t know that she had worked her way into a little corner of his heart. She lived her life, ignorant of him, as she was supposed to.

The alarm on her bedside buzzed, starting both of their days. While she groped for the ‘damned machine’ as she often called it, Mingi deftly pulled the glass of water out of the way, letting her turn off the alarm before setting the cup down on the bedside table again so it would be where she left it when she got a drink before getting out of bed. She was at least pretty predictable, he consoled himself.

She stretched, took a drink, and threw back the covers with a smile, ready to start the day. First thing was first, he narrated in his head, shower. Together they headed down the hallway to her bathroom. Stripping off the shirt she had slept in, she tossed it into the laundry basket, barely making it in and, somehow, unbalancing it until Mingi hopped forward, catching it and setting it right. Would it have killed her to have the laundry on the floor? By itself no, but the curse sort of worked like a Rube Goldberg machine, relying on a series of highly unlikely events that alone were inconsequential, but cumulatively could lead to her death.

How did a basket of laundry play a part? Well, the laundry falls, covers up the bar of soap that had dropped (something he had picked up yesterday), she steps out of the shower to find that her towel had dropped into the toilet (thanks to a loose screw he had instead tightened three days ago) so she steps out dripping wet instead, leaving a puddle on the floor that, in combination with the soap, makes for the perfect bathroom slip and slide that ends with her smacking her head against the edge of the tub and… well that would be the end of his assignment.

So that was most of his day, spotting those odd, unlikely events in her life that could lead to her untimely end. She turned on the water and undid her hair before stepping in under the water. Mingi checked inside the tub, having a niggling suspicion that something was slightly amiss. Nothing in the tub… the curtain rod was fine… ah-ha! Somehow the hot water faucet was loose and… slowly turning itself on more? Ugh, why? With a sigh, Mingi sat down on the edge of the tub holding the faucet in place. When she was done he would mess with it, make sure it was tight and do a little something to clear the curse that was animating it. But now, he would just hold it and let her take her shower in peace.

“I don't care if Monday's blue, Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too,” she sang as she soaped herself up behind the curtain. “Thursday, I don't care about you, It's Friday, I'm in love…”

Was it Friday again already, Mingi wondered to himself. I guess it is, he recalled, singing along with her as she belted out her favorite start-the-day song for Fridays. She was cute when she sang in the shower, so uninhibited. No one was listening, well no one but him and he didn’t really count.

He felt her hand go through his as she turned off the water, signaling the end of her shower. Letting go of the faucet, Mingi moved over to the other side of the bathroom, deliberately giving her his back while she put on her towel and dried off. She was still singing and he hummed along with her, listening for where she was in the bathroom. Teeth were brushed, a bit of makeup put on, and hair was fixed up for the day.

“You’re having a good hair day,” Mingi commented with a grin.

“Man, if only I knew what I did some days to get this look,” she muttered to herself, almost as if she had heard his compliment. “Not that I am going to complain on the good days.”

“You always look lovely, though,” he sighed, following her as she headed back to the bedroom to get dressed. Putting on her underthings first, she went to her closet to decide what exactly she was going to wear today.

“Hmmm, is it a lacy sort of day or badass business woman sort of day,” she wondered aloud, flipping through her wardrobe.

“You’re badass even in lace,” he said, sitting on the end of the bed, chin resting on the heel of his hand.

“Maybe something that is both?” She pondered, pulling out a vintage styled button up and a dark grey pantsuit.

“Good choice,” Mingi agreed, giving an approving thumbs up. She pulled on her clothes and checked everything in the mirror before deciding she was ready to take on the day. Mingi caught the empty hanger that dropped itself off the rail, putting it back up before she noticed or it could cause any havoc. Giving it a tap and a stern look that said, I’ve got my eye on you, he turned to follow her as she headed down the hall to the kitchen. 

Her steps were confident as she headed to the kitchen to make a quick breakfast. Mingi was always on his toes here. Here he had to be nimble and eagle eyed. Really, why did they have to concentrate so many potentially deadly things all in one place. He had a distinct sense of relief when she picked out granola and some yogurt for breakfast. Thank you, he said to the universe, as she took a seat at the counter and opened the magazine she had left half read there the day before. No stove to watch for things that mysteriously ended up sitting on the element. No knives that seem to leap off the cutting board. No toast that got stuck with the strength of a magnet on the inside of the toaster. No burns from shockingly hot coffee or tea.

“You know,” he told her, taking the seat in the chair closest to her. “I love these days where you make my job so much easier.” She flipped through a couple of pages as she took bites. “Anything interesting?” He peeked over at the magazine to see what she was reading about. Diversity and Dynamics: the wonders of the Amazon Rainforest. “Really? It has 10% of the total global diversity? Neat.” Reading over her shoulder was always fun. She was curious and really enjoyed reading about a little bit of everything. Since she graduated college a couple of years ago, she had kept that curiosity for new information and for all kinds of topics. Without a doubt, he was never bored with her.

Rinsing the dishes, she put them in the dishwasher, which Mingi re-closed behind her when it decided to just fall open again when she turned to rinse her hands. Pursing his lips, he shook a finger at it, sending a warning to the device with his mind. 

“You can be replaced,” he reminded it, sternly. The machine, properly chastised, stayed closed this time.

Well fed and ready to start the day, she headed for the front door, gathering her bag and her shoes along the way. Mingi followed, staying close as she entered the wider world, yet another space where he felt like he had to be on guard. He took a playful karate pose as he stood near her at the bus stop, eyeing the passing people and cars as he hovered near her. With her headphones on, she might not notice something that came up behind her.

“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I’m watching your back.” Together they boarded the bus and he stood guard by her seat as she looked out the window as the city passed by. This was one of her favorite parts of the day, he could tell by the way her shoulders relaxed and her lips quirked into a little smile as she day dreamed, looking out at the buildings and the people passing by.

When her stop drew near, he lightly brushed her shoulder to make sure that she noticed and pressed the button to call for the bus to stop. He caught the door as it tried to close early on her giving it a parting slap and a disapproving look as the bus pulled away, forcing him to jog to catch up with her. At least it wasn’t far to her office. The modern, tall business block looked largely the same as the other half dozen multi-storey office buildings in the surrounding neighborhood. There was nothing terribly dangerous about the space...except for the hours of tedium...and maybe the long stairwells. Luckily she worked on the seventh floor and preferred to get her cardio going the long way to the bus so that she could pick up a cup of her favorite coffee some mornings.

In her cubicle she put her things down and switched on her computer, taking a moment to spin in her chair while she waited for it to boot up. Mingi gave it a little extra push to keep its momentum, smiling as he did so. With a sigh, she straightened up and scooted her chair in to actually start her work day. If Mingi slept, he might have done it during this part of the day. Spread sheets were just...mind numbing. But at least, when she was in her cubicle, a paper cut was the biggest threat to her for the most part.

Mingi took a seat on the open part of her desk and entertained himself making the leaf of the fern on her desk ripple in the non-existent draft. Nothing anyone would find out of place but at least it was something for him to do.

“Coffee,” she said, pushing herself back.

“Oh are we having actual coffee today or are you going to decide to get a hot chocolate again instead?” He asked as he trailed behind her. Shuffling down the hall, she waved at a couple of co-workers as she passed on the way to the breakroom. In the little kitchen like breakroom she pulled a mug out of the cabinet then shimmied over to the fancy coffee machine. Putting the cup on the little shelf under the spigot, she started going through her options on the screen.

“Mocha, I think, today,” she decided after a lip biting moment of deep consideration.

“Both,” he nodded approvingly. “I like it.” 

“Ahhhh,” she gave a satisfied sigh after taking a sip. “Caffeine.” They headed out of the kitchen and Mingi caught the handle of the cleaner’s mop that decided it wanted to fall into her path just before she turned the corner. He hurried ahead and caught it before she could even see it, giving her a little bow as she passed, blissfully ignorant as she enjoyed the drink in her hands.

The morning was unremarkable and largely uneventful, though he did have to keep her mocha from spilling itself… twice. When lunch came, she decided to go to the little cafe at the end of the block, which meant at least their trip into the wider scarier world was short. Mingi walked ahead of her, using his wings to part the crowds of people to make her walk easier. It wasn’t that people could see him or could even really feel him, but they just sort of instinctively avoided him. Brushing into him felt...odd, perhaps even uncomfortable, like a chill or a static shock so people just naturally avoided it.

They looked into the bakery case as they stood in line at the cafe. Mingi thought the croissant sandwich looked especially tasty today along with the raspberry swirl cheesecake. He gave the case over them a little tap, hoping to bring her attention to them. She looked at both, considering them and did take the croissant but skipped the cheesecake today.

“I hope you aren’t skipping it because you think you need to diet again,” he sighed, watching her eat from the other side of the table. “You’re pretty you know. Not only that, you’re smart and funny, which is what someone should really like about you anyway.” He pointed out, kicking a napkin out of the way just before a passerby would have slipped on it, taking her table with them as they fell. Instead they just passed by without incident.

“You sure you don’t want the cheesecake?” He asked as they got up to go. “You can always snack on it later.” She didn’t get it but she did give it a somewhat longing look as she passed it by on her way out. 

The afternoon passed with only a few minor incidents and it was finally time to head home again. And, hey, it was even Friday! Mingi watched as she packed up her things and shut everything down, ready to head home.

“Do we have any plans this weekend?” He asked as they headed to the elevator. She sighed and looked at her phone, scrolling through something as she paired and pulled on her headphones. “I guess that is a no.” He shrugged and gave her a little chuckle. I mean, who was he to complain about another Friday evening of Netflix and nosh?

The bus ride home was thankfully uneventful and home was almost exactly how they left it. He had to close a few cabinet doors, pick up a pen that had rolled itself onto the floor, and tighten the shower tap he hadn’t gotten to this morning. Still, it was overall nothing big and soon they had both settled in for a relaxing start to the weekend.

“So, what about ordering something in?” He sent the idea to her, hoping she would skip cooking, just to give him that little extra time off.

“Ooo, pizza sounds really good,” she said aloud, now that there was no one around to think she was odd for talking to herself. Getting out her app, she put in an order as Mingi looked at her adoringly. Sometimes he suspected she knew he was there. Sometimes he thought she did things just to make his job just a little easier and he really loved her for it.

They watched a few hours of a newer drama on Netflix, both talking to the characters as if they could hear them. Complaining when they made stupid decisions and cheering for them when they did something great. It was really his favorite kind of night. Just the two of them and something that made her laugh. He would swear her smile could have lit up the whole world.

Soon it was time for bed and she headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She changed into her nightshirt and pulled out the book she had been reading and climbed into bed. Mingi sat on the other side of the bed, laying back to read the book over her shoulder until she started yawning and shut off the light. She pulled the covers up over her shoulder and turned on her side. Before he knew it, she was asleep, happily making little puffy breath sounds as she breathed.

“Sleep well,” he whispered softly. “I’ll be here keeping watch, don’t worry.”

He really had the best job.

Masterlist

[rohad93]

Moonlit Masquerade: Sandcastles pt 2

i hate editing super long documents so this is gonna be in a few parts.

~

Amity isn't having the best week.

Sunday felt like it lasted forever, stuffed into an itchy, uncomfortable dress that her mother had picked for her to wear to her party where she had to spend several hours with a fake smile plastered on her face, till her cheeks hurt, playing her part along with the twins.

She's pressured into a few dances with the children of their parents' coworkers and it hits her that the same songs, that feel so short when she dances with Luz, can feel so agonizingly long with their clammy hands on hers and their much too stiff grip on her waist.

Songs aren’t nearly long enough when her girlfriend holds her and spins her around. It makes her feel light and she doesn't think she could possibly dance better then she does with Luz.

She feels slow and jerky dancing with the other children of her parents’ blueblood, society friends.

They smile in a way they think must be charming and dashing, but Amity knows better. Most of them are just as scheming and devious as their parents or just as uninterested in all of this as she is.

She was looking forward to Monday if for no other reason than to get out of her house and see Luz, which she did, just not as much as usual.

She had to go home straight after school to help Eda, which did happen sometimes.

She at least had Tuesday to look forward to, but the next day as she was arriving at school her scroll beeped with a message from Luz, saying she wasn’t going to be at school today, which yeah, was pretty disappointing. Tuesday had become her favorite day of the school week, even if her ability to take notes and pay attention to the teacher did slip quite noticeably on that particular day of the week.

Wednesday comes and Luz does come to school, with a bandage on her forehead, claiming she fell on the stairs, which is on par for her, but it’s quickly forgotten, along with Monday and Tuesday when she yanks Amity into a concealed corner to kiss her while their friends play watch.  

Lunch is normal enough, even though she tells her that she has to go straight home again after school, she at least got to see her today so she’ll make do.

On Thursday Luz arrives late, so they miss each other, and is then curiously absent from lunch, though she sends her a message saying they finally can spend some time together after school, but Luz seems distracted when she arrives.

They’re lounging around their secret room, reading and normally Luz is much more animated when they read Azura, but today she seems lost in thought.

“Are you okay?” Amity finally asks from her place reclined against her girlfriend’s chest.

They’ve been sitting on the floor, Luz’s back against the cushions with Amity sitting between her legs, back against her chest while she holds the third Azura book they’ve been rereading in her hands.

Luz has been strangely quiet, running her index finger over the tip of one of Amity’s pointed ears distractedly. She’s become quite used to being in intimate proximity to Luz but her face is still pink regardless, though faint. She’s beginning to get a little worried. Luz is hardly this quiet for this long, it’s a little unnerving.

“Hmm?” Luz hums questioningly and Amity knows she hasn’t been listening to anything she’s been reading either. “Sorry, what?” Luz glances down at her and mercifully the finger running over her ear stops as well.

Amity tilts her head back to look at her.

“I asked if you were okay,” she repeats the question.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine, why?” she cocks her head.

“You’ve just been quiet today and you've been really busy and I...,” she trails off not sure how to say ‘You’ve been busy and I miss you’ without coming off as clingy or needy, because really, it's just been a few days; but the limited time they have together before or after school and on Tuesdays is special to her, and she finds herself not at all liking the sudden deprivation from it.

She doesn’t have to say it though. Luz’s confused face slowly turns into a grin as she looks down at her.

“Have you been lonely without me, Amity?” She asks in a syrupy sweet and knowing voice that makes Amity turn red and scowl at the same time.

Amity just huffs, turning away and Luz grins at the back of her head and wraps her arms around her, squeezing her close and pressing a kiss to her the back of her head.

“Lo siento, mi amor. Eda has just been working on a big project and has been needing my help."

Amity relaxes into her hold, mock annoyance, and any real annoyance or loneliness she’s been feeling at Luz’s sudden absence this week, fading as she holds her tightly. She has to remind herself that she can tell Luz anything without fear of judgment or being made fun of. It’s still a strange thing to her.

“I understand I just…” her face remains pink as she mumbles something under her breath.

“What was that?” Luz blinks and whatever she said is repeated at the same volume.

“Uh, one more time?” Luz asks and Amity makes an annoyed sound in her throat.

“I said… I miss you,” she finally says loud enough for her to hear, but the tone is soft, fragile. “I miss you when we’re not together,” she mumbles, but Luz hears her and is glad that Amity is still facing away from her so she can’t see the teary doe-eyed look she’s giving her.

“I miss you too, Amity.” She sat her chin on her shoulder and squeezed.

Amity broke into a wide grin as Luz smooshed her face against hers.

“Maybe... we could hang out this weekend? My family has a beach house on the southern side of the Isles and the twins got them to let the three of us go over for the long weekend by ourselves… would you like to go?” She glanced back and frowned upon seeing the grimace on luz’s face. “You’re busy aren’t you?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah… since they can’t use magic to carry things it’s all hands on deck for the monthly supply run Saturday.” Luz frowned, especially as she watched the way her girlfriend's face fell. Sure, she was lying for the greater good, and Amity would be so excited tomorrow when they surprised her, but that didn’t make the disappointed look on her face any easier to see right now.

“I’m sorry…,” Luz started but Amity shook her head.

“It’s okay…  I understand,” she assured with a small smile, but Luz knows better, she's gotten good at reading Amity's face and the tone of her voice; she's disappointed.

“When Eda's project is done we'll spend a whole weekend together, I promise, mi amor." She squeezes Amity close and smiles knowingly into her hair.

"Soon, I hope," Amity sighs, leaning into her hold, deciding to just enjoy the time they have now

'much sooner than you think' Luz thinks to herself.

When their time together is done for the day Luz hurries home through the portal and runs straight to her room to get her stuff ready.

Gus and Willow will be there before noon tomorrow so they can take her portal glyph to the beach house. She's been practicing with it and the size of the glyph doesn't seem to matter. It just needs to be big enough to walk through, and she can be anywhere on the Isles near instantly.

Out of curiosity she tried one and thought of the human world, but it went nowhere.

Much as she hates to think it, she can't find it in herself to be disappointed. No one can say she didn't try though.

Her bag is packed and ready by the door, along with the box of decorations the twins had given her at lunchtime today. Since she, Willow, and Gus will get there first, they're on decoration duty.

Next to it are two cardboard boxes of her surprise for Amity and she grins to herself at the thought.

Amity hadn't expressly forbidden her from buying her presents but she didn't like Luz buying her stuff when they went out by themselves or with their friends.

She told her she felt bad when Luz spent her limited funds on her.

So Luz had come up with a rather ingenious gift if she does say so herself. Something they don't have on the Boiling Isles.

She couldn't believe her luck when she'd been digging through one of Eda's human junk piles in one of the spare rooms.

Two large boxes full of the stuff.

She ran to Eda asking if she could have them and Eda waves a hand.

"Whatever you want in there, take it, Kid."

She couldn't wait to see the look on Amity's face. Everyone else's too.

It takes her a while to go to sleep that night, she's so excited she tosses and turns a while and King gets fed up with her and stalks off to Eda's room, mumbling under his breath.

She wakes up before dawn the next day and jumps out of bed and dresses before quickly running down the stairs.

Lilith is sitting at the table having her customary cup of morning tea when Luz skids into the kitchen. The elder Clawthorne smiles at her, though far more subdued then the manic one on the human's face.

"Let's get baking!" Luz throws up her hands and Lilith chuckles.

"Very well."

A few hours later the sun has risen and Eda and King have finally come downstairs, groggy and eyes barely open just as Luz is boxing up the cake.

"All done?" Eda mumbles as she pours herself some apple blood.

"Yup, just waiting on Gus and Willow!" She grins setting the cake box down the table and swats at King's hand as he reaches for it.

"No, King, that's for Amity's party," she scolds and the tiny demon grumbles, glaring up at her.

"Everything you do is for that cupcake smasher!" he squeals with rage at being denied.

"I do not!" Luz argues.

"Yes, you do!" King stands in the chair, pointing a tiny clawed hand at her.

"Well…!" Luz pauses not sure what to say to that. Maybe she does do a lot for Amity, but Amity does just as much for her, so she fails to see how that's a bad thing.

Eda is watching her and grins.

Luz of course talked her ear off about their date under the grom tree last month, including her impromptu confession of love.

She'd just been nodding along, half-listening, flipping through a book as Luz waxed poetic about how 'amazing' and 'romantic' it was until the words: "Then I accidentally said I loved her out loud…"

That made her sit up and pay attention.

Luz had a tendency to get carried away and she was suddenly worried she'd… how did the kid put it? 'jumped the gun?'

She listened much closer to the rest of the story.

"Did you mean it?" Eda asked her when she finishes.

"Huh?" Luz looked up at her.

"Do you love her?" the older witch clarified.

"Oh…" Luz looked away, smiling dopily to herself. "Yeah… I did mean it. I do love her." She nodded.

"How do you know?" Eda pressed and Luz looked at her confused and Eda frowned, trying to think of a way to word it that wouldn't burst Luz's bubble if she was wrong. She just wants to protect her kid.

"Look, Luz, I know you like her a lot, believe me, and I'm not trying to say you couldn't love her, but you are still young and you do tend to get ahead of yourself…, so I'm just asking, how do you know you love her?" she words carefully. This is new territory for Eda.

'The talk' she can give, she's plenty familiar with that, but love? That's never been her strong suit, and she has a long trail of broken relationships behind her to prove it.

Luz pursed her lips, trying to think of a way to explain it to her mentor, whose right of course. She knows she's still young and stuff, she's famous for leaping before she looks, but Luz also knows her feelings. She's spent enough time alone with only her feelings to know how to read them, she's had crushes, but she's never felt anything like this before.

"Being with Amity… makes me happier than I've ever been…, then I thought I could be…," she starts slowly. "And I want to make her happy too… and I'd do anything to do that." She looks up at Eda, who's staring back at her with an unreadable expression.

"Alright," she finally says.

"Alright?" Luz repeats, blinking. Eda nods.

"If you say you love her, I believe you."

Luz smiles at her.

"And if she breaks your heart, we'll feed her to Hooty…" she grins wickedly making Luz squawk.

"Eda!"

"Well…" Luz hesitates, trying to figure out what to say.

"You love her, that’s how it goes," Eda says with a shrug, drawing everyone's gaze.

""Edalyn, they've only been together-" whatever else Lilith is going to say it's cut off by Luz who grins.

"Yeah," she says with a grin. "And Amity loves me, so we do things to make each other happy,” she tells the demon looking up at her grumpily. “I love you too though." She bends down and kisses the top of King's head and he makes a little squealing sound. "But this is for Amity, I'll make a cake for you next weekend," she promises, and then there's a knock on the door. "Gus and Willow are here!" She sprints out of the room leaving a grinning Eda, a stunned Lilith, and a happily squeaking King in her wake.

Lilith looks to her sister who is grinning behind her cup, looking where Luz has disappeared into the living room, where she and her friends' voices are coming from.

"You knew about this?" she asks.

"Mhmm," is her sister's answer.

"And you didn't talk to her?" Lilith cocks a brow as Eda's eyes slide to look at her.

"I did," she says, then takes a loud slurp from her cup.

"And?"

"And she loves her." Eda shrugs. "What do you want from me?"

"Edalyn, she's fourteen, how could she possibly know that?" Lilith sighs, rubbing her temples. Eda leans back in her chair, holding up her cup and giving her sister a deadpan look.

"And how can we know she isn't?" she retorts.

"They… they…!" Lilith holds up her hands, trying to decide what to say.

"Look, the kid and I talked. She says she's in love and I believe it. I honestly think Luz would put her life on the line for that girl, and I don't think I'm wrong when I say the same thing for Amity, heck, I watched her jump in front of Luz to protect her from Grom, and that was before they were dating!" Eda threw up a hand.

Lilith looks toward the living room where they can hear the kids talking.

"I suppose time will tell…," she hums.

Eda just grunts in response, much to her sister's annoyance.

"Perhaps you really should give her… a talk…," Lilith says after a moment and Eda snorts into her cup, laughing.

"Already covered, in great, embarrassing detail," she says proudly.

"No doubt." Lilith rolls her eyes and her sister only grins.

Luz dashes back into the kitchen and carefully picks up the box containing the cake.

"We're heading out," she says. Eda stands and walks over.

"Have fun, kid." She ruffles Luz's hair, making her grin.

"Ah, Luz, before you go, I have something for you to take." Lilith pulls a small dark blue wrapped gift from her pocket and sets it gently atop The cake box. "Something for Amity I would like her to have… only if she wants it…," she explains.

Luz looks at the small gift before looking up at Lilith and nodding with a smile.

With that, she turns and walks quickly but carefully out of the kitchen.

A few minutes later a portal blazed to life in front of the owl house and then all the kids are gone.

"What'cha give the kid?" Eda asks curiously, glancing at Lilith out of the corner of her eye.

"Something I hope she finds useful…"

"I hate it when you're cryptic…" Eda grumbles and Lilith smirks.