#what i want to know is why he wears a hat when he jogs

[sunglassesmish]

i am normal about this

[riverdaleplots]

cheryl gets a new superpower: the gift of flight. she uses it to hover a foot or so off the ground wherever she goes so that no matter who she speaks to, she's always just a little bit taller than them. she enjoys the feeling of everyone constantly having to tilt their heads up to look her in the eye. after she gleefully informs reggie that he might want to consider investing in some dandruff shampoo, a town-wide hat shortage sweeps riverdale. the combination of cheryl's Average Floating Height (AFH) and passion for acidic bon mots has left riverdale's populace terrified of and vulnerable to scalp-based insults. jughead digs out his backup beanie. veronica takes to wearing chic head scarves. betty wears her old wig again. no one feels safe. things come to a head when archie is forced to wear a baseball cap during his evening jog. in covering up his hair he negates the one built-in reflective surface he relies on to not get hit by cars in the dark. a small child cycles past him, not noticing he's there, and accidentally clips him in the ankle. it really hurts. he could have fallen and scraped his knee, or worse; his hands, which he uses for punching. when veronica finds out about archie's near-death experience the next day she decides that enough is enough. she waits for cheryl to initiate a conversation with her in public and after a few moments frowns, seemingly concerned. "what is it, vee? have i confused you? why does that puzzled brow mar your beautiful countenance so?" cheryl asks sweetly (condescendingly) from roughly a foot above veronica. "cheryl," veronica says in a low voice (though not low enough for those around them not to overhear) "i can see right up your nose, and..." (here she pauses for dramatic effect. everyone in the immediate vicinity leans in closer) "...you have a booger." cheryl flees the scene, escaping the sound of uproarious laughter around her. the next time the gang sees her, she's walking on her own two feet. she declares it's because she's missed the sounds of her high heels clicking on the marble floors of thornhill but people know the truth. the town is free, once again, to walk around with their heads hatless and unconstrained. the next time archie goes for a run at night, a passing car with its highbeams on catches archie's hair at such an angle that it bounces back onto the car's windshield and momentarily blinds the driver, causing a small accident. archie doesn't notice though, because he has his headphones in, listening to a podcast episode about the history of Well Water Hysteria.

[cultofcarter]

Drabble: shopping for home decor together

WC: 760

The moment you walk into the warehouse-style store, Bucky’s eyes grow wide and his hand squeezes yours a little tighter. “Woah,” you hear him whisper. You look back at your boyfriend and see him frantically glancing around. 

“Buck, if it’s too much, we can go -”

“No no no, doll,” he smiles and finally looks back down at you. “This is so cool! We’re definitely gonna need a cart.” You giggle as Bucky jogs over to grab a shopping cart from the side of the door and you start making your way through the aisles. 

You and Bucky had just moved in together and the apartment was lacking those little decorative touches that give it a little more personality. When you suggested a trip to At Home, you didn’t expect him to attack your face with kisses before replying, “That sounds amazing, sweetheart.” Not only was Bucky ecstatic to move in with someone he loved so much, but decorating your apartment together was a new level of intimacy he never thought he’d experience. 

Bucky holds the cart with his left hand and yours stays firmly in his right as you both look up and down the massive shelves of trinkets. You stop at an area with some summer-themed garden gnomes, their hats in the shapes of watermelon and pineapples. 

“Oh my gosh, Buck, these are so cute!” Picking one up and checking the price, you let out an “oof” and put it right back. “Not cute enough for $30.” Bucky chuckles and walks a little slower behind you as you continue to peruse the shelves. You completely miss Bucky grabbing one of the gnomes and placing it gently in the cart, not wanting to alert you to his antics. 

Little do you know, this happens the entire time. Whenever you grab something you actually plan on buying, Bucky gently takes it from you and uses it to cover the surprise items in the cart. Any time you stop and mention how cute or pretty something is, Bucky grabs it without a second thought. He can’t believe you haven’t noticed how full the cart is, especially since you’ve only actually picked out a handful of items.

As you’re both walking down an aisle of artwork, you can’t help but laugh at some of the ridiculous animal paintings on display. “This one looks like you,” you giggle, pointing at a canvas painting of a happy golden retriever reading a newspaper while sitting on a toilet. Bucky looks at it for a second before turning back to you.

“I see no resemblance,” he deadpans before you’re both breaking out into small fits of laughter. Bucky wraps his arm around you, kissing your forehead as you continue to assess the various animal paintings. 

“Ok, wait, this one definitely looks like you,” he chuckles. You find him pointing at a little bird in a pool, floating in an inner tube and reading a book titled The Real Birds of Beverly Hills. Bucky starts cracking up as you poke him in the stomach, trying to be offended, but failing miserably. 

“Heyyy, I know I’m small, but cut me some slack! Everyone is small compared to you.” You hide your laughs in his chest as Bucky continues to giggle. As he drags the cart behind him, Bucky hears a small gasp escape your lips and you both stop in front of a new painting. “Wait, this is so cute, it REALLY looks like us.” 

You point to a painting of two bunnies, one wearing a dainty pearl necklace and the other in a bow tie, snuggling while riding a ferris wheel. “I think we have to get it, it would really tie the home together, don’t you think?” You look up to find Bucky already staring at you. You can’t help but reciprocate the goofy love-drunk smile on his face as he leans in for a short, yet loving kiss. 

“Absolutely, doll. It’s perfect.” You pick up the painting and plop it into the cart. You do a double-take before dissecting the items in the cart and raising an eyebrow. 

“What the hell, Bucky, why do we have so much in the cart? We only picked out, like, seven things!” Bucky whips around and bumps you out of the way, literally running away with the cart like a child caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to.

“You can’t prove anything!” he yells, running to hide in another aisle as you laugh and try to catch up with him. You can already tell you’re going to absolutely love living with Bucky. 

A/N: Here are those exact paintings I saw that inspired this entire thing :)

[torotoro0]

Didn't think I'd post chapter 2 that fast but ok-

Morpheus x Reader

'The Nightmare's Dream' {Chapter 2}

{Click for the chapters}

Lucifer's request seems too hard, not to add the new humanity's era, a ton of catching up, and Morpheus being cold and mean.

Word Count: 3.3k words {This is quite a long chapter, you guys tell me if you want more long chapters}

''What do you know about my brother Jed?'

"You are welcome here, Rose Walker" Dream stands up, What, A mortal is welcome to be here while I get to be ignored? That's just so sad.

Rose's face scrunches up to a confused look, making me and Lucienne look at each other. "Who are you"

"You have somehow dreamed you way into an audience with Lord Morpheus" I stepped forward, earning a glance from Dream. "The King of Dreams" Lucienne added as her confusion increased.

"And now you must go" She ordered, Mortals aren't supposed to just waltz in Dream's Palace like it were a dream of theirs, She must really be a vortex I suppose, I look back to Dream who is still wearing his usual face.

"Lucienne"

"She shouldn't be here" Lucienne argued, I look at Rose and gave her a small smile making her smile in return. "No, but I should like her to stay" Lucienne looked at Rose with an eyebrow up.

I can hear Dream breathing out loud behind me, looking back at him frowning, he frowned back.

"You're in the Dreaming"

"A place where people go when they sleep" I nodded. "So I'm asleep right now? I'm dreaming?"

"Yes, and I should like to know how it is you found me" Dream passes by me stopping in front of Rose.

"I heard you guys talking about my brother, is he here?" She ignored his question making me snicker

"No"

"Do you know where he is?"

"No.."

"But I think he might be with one of my missing nightmares" He looks at the glass behind me, I turn around and was met by a huge blue shimmering glass window containing Gault.

"She's a nightmare?" Rose glances to Dream, "What would she want from Jed?"

" I don't know, But I have a feeling it has something to do with you"

While they were conversing, there was this tug of energy just behind me, looking back, I saw a crow of his, then another particular animal.

A cat.

It wore a scary, stoic, expression that almost made him look like a mustache gentleman, he was wearing a top hat, and some kind of mini monocle.

"How peculiar" I mumbled; slowly approaching the being, it waved its tail slowly and trotted away, like it wants me to follow it, the cat glances to me and its eyes began to glow. Everything was mute to me and the being, my eyes widening as Its eyes was showing something, its fur started to stand up while still maintaining eye contact.

Fog began to surround the creature and it slowly dissipates to air, snapping back to reality, I jogged beside Lucienne.

"What are they talking about now?" I leaned to Lucienne as I whisper. "Lord Morpheus is telling Rose to continue to find Jed in the waking world"

"Why? Can't you just find him here?"

"That's the easy way, but Jed isn't in the dream world, Lord Morpheus thinks Gault took him since rose is a vortex" I nodded making an :o face.

But Gault is a very good person, she wouldn't kidnap a weak mortal as hostage right? must she have a reason for all this?

"Matthew will look after you in the waking world" He glances to the bird. "at your service rose" He bows as Rose looks at him weirdly.

"When he is with you, I am with you" Rose looks back at him. "Then tonight, when you take your slumber, you and I will search for Gault and your brother together"

Using the vortex to find his creations... I grumbled. I also want to go with them, its been years since I get to do action!

"In your Dreams" He added. Lol I remember that on-

"She's just a nightmare right? She can't hurt him can she?"

-

I then woke up after the conversation they had, Apparently, Rose was trying to find her brother, which was 'kidnapped' by Gault, and the reason gault took Jed was because she wanted rose for her to become powerful.

That's not Gault, maybe their just mistaken, maybe Gault has good intentions for the boy and rose. Questions raced to my head as I went out of my room.

"So how was it?" Lucifer's voice suddenly chimed in, "Was what?"

She held her hands together, smiling, her wings gently flapping, as she held her chin up, approaching me slowly.

"Oh, you know what I'm asking" she brushed her hands on my hair. "You met him yes?" Her hand circled its way to my chin, caressing it.

"Oh.. yeah" I rolled my eyes looking down, "Aw, why so sad?" she cupped my face.

"Just leave me alone Lucifer" She cupped even tighter making me pout and sound like a pick me now.

"Oh! I guess its been a century, the human's fashion has drastically change" all of a sudden she hands me a black card. "Here, for all your troubles" Inspecting the card, I noticed my name written on it.

"How did you do this without me?" I furrowed my brows, sure I was imprisoned for a long time but, you need the actual person to apply for a card. {Imagine there's old debit cards in the 19 century that's why you know what the cards are}

"Oh, I have my connections, now, go and waste it all, it never runs out of mortal money." She shoos me away. Mortal money? psh, how cliché. "Now, now, what will I buy with this.." I mumbled as I teleported to an alleyway.

"Ugh, It stinks here" I pinched my nose, walking outside the alley, I saw hobos and bystanders smoking and drinking, some, even winking. Cars passing by, here and there, black smoke coming out of them, the sidewalks were full of beggars shaking their can. "Speaking of stinky" I roll my eyes. {Sorry for making the reader mean, but I keep seeing all x readers where the reader is purely kind, and I know some of you has a mean personality in you *wink wink*}

Its been a century and this is how humanity progressed? how disgusting, glancing down to my hand, I stared intently at the card. "Bitch think, I'm poor after a century" Just kidding, I'm literally broke af.

After a short moment of walking, I noticed that, the clothes also drastically changed through out times, if we wore dresses and corsets before, they use these colored pants and colored shirts, there's also these long sleeved ones in different colors, if you want to wear a skirt one they changed it, instead of foot long skirts its either ankle high skirts or knee high, some wear tight short dresses which makes them look like sardines, but an alive one.

"Hey girlie you lost?" I turn around to see a hobo, "Uhm- No, no I'm not" was all I simply answered, there's this times where I imagine me beating the shit out of a molester but when I encounter one, I just sink down and panic on the inside.

"You seem though, you want me to escort you to the main area? there a lot of kidnappers here you know" He smiles, holding his hand out making me furrow my eyebrows.

'Are you sure about this your majesty?'

'Not to worry, she will be fine there'

'But it has been years sinc-'

'Did I ask for your opinion? No, so keep your mouth closed'

"Uh, I already said no, so leave me be" I turn around fastening my pace, humans will be humans, just let them be and they will not bother you. "Hey! don't you turn your back on me hottie" he grabs my arms.

"You don't want to do this mortal" I hissed, tightening his grip "Mortal? is that what you call your lovers? Well then, I'll play along baby" he smirks. Augh, his teeth are fucking yellow, I frown.

"Get your stinky hands of me" I tried to pull my hand away from him, but failed resulting to him tightening more. "What did you say little girl?" he gritted his teeth,

"Little?" I scoff, as if he's any older than me. "Do you want to know how old am I?"

"Sure, pray tell" He mocks.

"I'm 10 billion years old right now" I smile, why lie about my age? as the old folks would quote, 'The older the wine, the better'

He scoffs "Do I look like a fucking joke to you?!" he pulls me towards him. "I'm not lying, its the whole truth"

"Lying Bitching" he tightens his grasp earning me a fucking bruise.

'What if she get's hurt with this?'

'She won't, as I said not even I can't diminish her'

"Let me go please"

"Pwease! Oh pwease let me go!" He squealed. Eh, Cringey ass bitch.

My other hand made its way to his face making him flinch. "Wha- what are you doing?" my hands guided itself to his chin grabbing them, 'Anything you want to imagine' His face began to melt as he pull away from him.

'Wh- what is happening! This fucking hurts! stop that you fucker!' I smile contently as I turn around and continued my journey.

'Pathetic' I mumbled.

'You did very, very well'

-

"My lord may I help?" Lucienne approaches the slumped endless. "Is this all we have of Rose Walker?" He skims through the book.

"And Jed Walker but, I shouldn't think that there's anything in those you don't already know" she stops in front of the table. "Except perha-"

"Except perhaps why she was able to wander around into my throne room" looking up from the volume. "What do you think" Leaning on the table with one hand.

"Why did Gault target her brother and not her" Staring intently at the librarian. "Did you read about Unity Kincaid?"

"The day you were imprisoned.." She turn around finding a book. "There were people from a all over the world who fell asleep and could not wake up"

"Unity Kincaid is the sole survivor of what they called the 'sleepy sickness'" peering over to the endless then approaching him. "The day you returned, she woke up" handing the book to the slumped figure.

"Rose walker is her Great Grand-Daughter" she states giving him a stern look. "Which would seem to suggest that my absence caused the birth of a vortex"

"is that not a possibility" cocking her head to the side. "Vortexes are naturally occurring phenomena, No one knows why they happen. Not even I know"

"But I do know that they are not caused of created. they simply happen" the endless lets out a huff.

"Then this is all a coincidence? And not an imminent threat?" The librarian furrows her eyebrows. "My instinct says no, but tonight when Rose Walker sleeps, I shall see it more clearly"

"May I?" He waves the book on his hand to the librarian. "Of course"

-

"I've been trying to remember my dad's friends but, I don't think he had any" She places down a poster on the car. "He was a pretty unfriendly guy"

"Well, do you remember any golf buddies, or drinking buddies or.." Hal questions walking beside the girl. "What else do married straight men with kids do?"

"Well, if they're anything like my dad, they have affairs" Rose sighs. She's been searching for her brother for months now, giving out flyers, asking people where her brother might be, it wouldn't have been hard if the agency just told her where Jed was.

"Oh, That's why your mom divorced him" His tone suddenly saddens at the thought of it. "That was just one reason"

Little did they know there was a shadow lingering just behind them, continuing on following them she decided it was the right time to show up.

"Hello there" I peek behind the car. "Who is.." Hal furrows his eyebrows.

"Wait, you th-" Rose was abruptly cut off when I made a shh sign to her. "Rose? Who is this?"

"Hi! My name's Y/N" I approach the guy holding my hand out. "Oh! What a cute lady we have here" He shakes mine.

"Didn't know you had beautiful friends Rose" Chuckling, he pulls his hand back. "Yeah, Uhm, may I talk to you..." Glancing to Hal "Privately?"

She pulls me behind a hedge. "W-what, wait, why-" She stuttered out, not knowing what question to ask. "I'm here to help you" I smile, I couldn't come near Dream myself, but I could use some wing woman right now.

"Isn't the raven supposed to be watching me rn?" She furrows her eyebrows. "Matthew is supposed to guard you, while I am here to help you with your brother!"

"How do I know I could trust you?" Lifting an eyebrow up. "I suppose you couldn't really trust me right now.." pretending to think, I search my small pea brain mind, of ways to make her trust me. Having trust issues are good, but are also worst for some.

"Well, by helping you find your brother, I can prove that I can be trustful enough! Deal?" I held out my hand. There was a short moment of silence between us.

"Can both of you hurry up? The faster we put these up the better"

"Deal.." She then lifts a finger up. "But, If I sense any possible attempts of you endangering me or my friends, your dead"

"As if she could kill me"

"Come on now Y/N, we have work to do!" She smiles waving her hand towards me. "Coming!"

-

"This- This is our old house"

"The last time I saw Jed was right there, seven years ago" pointing to the parking way. "He's been missing for 7 years?" I took a flyer.

"Yes- and no actually, he was fostered to one of my dad's friends, and now I want to get him back" her smile faltered a bit, I don't really know why humans want to take care of such annoying, pesky, stinky children, its such a klutz, why would anyone want little minions running around destroying whatever they see?

"You haven't seen him since?" Hal, that I forgot was with us, spoke up. "When my mom got a job in New Jersey, my dad cut us off completely"

"Stopped paying alimony, child support, he wouldn't let us see of talk to Jed." Hal hummed as a response, I was just walking with them... awkwardly.

She went ahead and rang the house's doorbell and even knocked on it. "So.. how did you and Rose meet?" Hal leaned sideways and whispered to me.

"I um- we met at a ..." shit, humans have such random questions at random times, for random things. "A... uhm, a library!, yes a library" I smiled awkwardly.

"Ahh, I guess she printed her flyers there.."

"You know, do you have a place to stay here? I don't really see you here often are you new to this place?"

"Uh, no, not really, just came here a.." my pea brain couldn't take this test, oh dear Lilith help me. "just 2 weeks ago, yes, and then I met Rose just a few days later haha" nervously chuckling I switched my attention to Rose who was slowly approaching us.

"My mom sued him, she didn't gave up, while I went to college" She started. "I haven't been a very good sister"

"Mm, you're making up for it now, though am I right?" I nudge her elbow. "hm, I'm trying"

"And Y/N, Since you don't have a place to stay for the moment, do you want to rent a room in my place?" He peers to me. "Rose and her guardian is also living there"

Well, anything that can benefit me, is an OK! "Sure! how much will the rent be?"

"Oh! Don't worry about that the rent is super cheap, that your like buying a restaurant meal here!" He laughs.

-

After some time, we were now walking on a beach side, naked people wearing small under garments, sitting under their umbrellas, others', was wearing shoes with wheels, noisy children chasing each other. Short story, we went to a beach filled of chaotic, petty people.

"I mean I tried to escape." A skater snatched a flyer. "I went directly to New York after college to have a huge Broadway career, before moving on to film and television, of course"

"Of course" I stated while looking around, still getting met by the sight of naked people. "But you know, if you're not already a film or television star. You can't even get a job on Broadway"

"So when my grandmother died, and left me that ridiculous house, I came home."

"Do you miss new York?" I peered to his side. "Not as much as I thought I would"

"Hmm" Rose handed flyers to a couple. "I mean- New York's very hard, and this place is not so bad.."

My attention moved over to a black figure, "Eh its a crow" I mumbled. "I'm gonna put a few up over there" Rose grabs my wrists. "So if you maybe want to.."

"Yeah, absolutely. I'll catch up with you two" Hal decided to go near the shore, for a split second I felt an energy just behind us, but I ignored it, maybe it was just Matthew or something? or one other of Dream's minions.

"Finding Matthew?" I peer over to the girl. "Yeah, just wanna see if what I saw last night was real" I hummed in response, scanning my surroundings, I saw a black bird just between two pillars.

"Matthew, is that you?" Rose kneels on one knee. "Rose that's no-"

"Nope- That's a crow, and I'm a raven" a voice chimes in behind us. "I'm a raven. Common mistake"

Rose's mouth gapes as she kneels down. "You're real?"

"Technically I'm a dream, but sure." He flaps a wing. "And hello your maje-" I looked at him furrowing my eyebrows, he caws in response. Sure I'd want to brag that I'm a 'Majesty' but, no, it'll raise more suspicion to her and Plan will fail.

"H-Hello there uhm- Y/N"

"And is Morpheus watching us right now?" scanning her surrounding, she turned to the raven again. "He is. I can feel him in the back of my head" eugh, must be excruciating when you share a mind with another being, like what if Matthew was a person, Dream would be watching him shower and even watch him rub ma-

"Its the weirdest feeling, Do you need him?" He continued.

"Fuck"

"No, but he said he'd be there tonight when I fall asleep"

"Me too, me too, I'll be coming to help Rose with her brother" I smile proudly. "Yeah, Him and Y/N is going to help me find him"

"That's the plan, and I'll be around till then if you need me" He squirms. "Thank you"

"You got it kid." He then flies away. "So, Rose, where is hal's house located?" I move in front of her, "Oh, your gonna love it there Y/N, all the house members are so welcoming, you wouldn't even feel like your a newcomer there!"

"I guess, people tend to run away from me when I approach them haha" I scratch my nape, feeling a bit of uneasiness around. "Why don't we go find Hal? I'm sure He's been waiting for us" chuckling, we interlocked our arms jogging.

We approach Hal giggling at each other, I then saw a man in white clothes walking away from him. "Friend of yours?" I asked as Hal seemed to be surprised with us. "No, but he took a flier, so he might be calling" Imitating a phone with his hand.

"Mm-hmm. I'll give him your number" Rose chuckles. "Oh you!" He nudges us.

"But thanks!" whispering, we then proceeded to head 'home'.

A/N: Not much of interaction with Morpheus and you here, but I promise more of dream in the next chap!

[womble1]

Hallmark Christmas (Chapter Seven)

Previous chapter was here also on AO3 Here

Oh, go on then, have the last little snippet, I don’t have the will power to stagger this any more. (SPOILERS- Virgil gets his Hollywood escape- you all saw it coming)

Next morning the sun was shining and Virgil was feeling much better about the world. He set off to get himself a coffee before intending to make his way to the airfield before heading back to the island.

Cinematic convention would suggest stringing this out longer, but Virgil struggled to even appear surprised when who should he spy at the counter ahead of him? None other than Stephanie. She was wrapped up against the weather in a heavy wool coat, pulled tight. Her hair was drawn back into a messy bun, a pair of oversized sunglasses were welded to her nose and no amount of high shine lip gloss could counterbalance the peaky washed out complexion.

 Virgil smiled to himself, maybe she had ended up getting through rather more wine than he had ended up with down his front.

He had been spotted, even through the tinted lenses he could feel the piercing gaze, he couldn’t back out now without looking rude. That, and he really did want a coffee. He nodded politely and joined the queue, giving the drinks menu a disproportionate amount of his attention. 

“Gordon!” she cooed, he wasn’t even wearing the hat this time. He opened his mouth to correct her but was interrupted by the barista asking for his order. Despite all his perusal of the menu the question still threw him off his train of thought. Straight black coffee it was to be then. At least he managed to get away with only paying for his own drink, thankfully in a takeaway cup. He had stopped listening to his companion, incredibly bad manners he knew, but it had all started to blur into a general rant about work pressures and lack of amenities in the town. A vibration from his watch made him glance at his phone, where he caught sight of a short and sweet message from Gordon 

[Pick up in 2. Thunderbirds are Go!] it read, Virgil glanced at his watch and desperately tried to think of a way out of the conversation that he was taking very little part in. 

Zoning back into what was being said, Virgil was just in time to pick up Stephanie talking about the distance from New York, he struggled to work out what the relevance of that was on whatever she was saying. 

“So, you see, it just wouldn't work. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t do Long Distance. I would be there, busy with work all the time, and you would just be here, missing me. So you can see how impossible it would be.”

“Huh?” 

“I mean, I can't deny there isn’t some attraction there, but I know it's for the best. I just know that long distance relationships never work -”

Virgil gently took hold of Stephs shoulders, she pushed her sunglasses up with one hand, gazing up into his eyes. He smiled softly and moved her gently to one side. Before she had time to be surprised he then continued to stride past her, pausing for just one second as he reached the doorway to look back. 

“Longer than you’d think,” he said with a half smile and the slightest suggestion of a wink, before jogging out into the street.  Just as the giant green bulk Thunderbird Two came into view above the opposite roofline, the rescue rig lowered down to the sidewalk. 

Stephanie stood open-mouthed in the coffee shop doorway just in time to see Virgil jump into its still swinging seats and be raised up into the belly of the massive cargo plane as it banked and shot off over the distant tree line.

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

Stephanie was speechless, a rare thing indeed. She couldn’t believe what she had seen. She pulled her phone out, snapping a picture and sending it to Mel.

But what she couldn’t get her head around was why on earth International Rescue was sweeping random maintenance workers off the street……

[happys-crazy-queen22]

Nature Proposal

Gif credit @bodybebangin.

Taglist @ackles-nhl @mysty-psycho. @cbouvier23.

Requested on wattpad

"Hey dad, can I talk to you a second"? Kayce nodded to John. Kayce had a huge question on his mind and he needed everything to go well.

"What do you need, son"?

"I wanna ask Y/N to marry me".

"That's great son, Congratulations". John said with a smile as he squeezed Kayces shoulder.

"I was wondering if I can have moms ring or grandma's? Jamie isnt going to use it and well Lee. Beth isnt going to wear moms ring. So if you're okay with me having it can I"? Kayce asked nervously. He didn't know if John wanted to part ways with his wife's ring.

"Are you sure Y/Ns the girl you want to marry"?

"Yeah, dad. I am. I love her more than anything".

"Good. I just want to make sure, you wont ruin this". John laughed, getting a eye roll from Kayce.

"I wont. I promise".

"I keep her close to me everywhere I go. Here". John pulled out a necklace with the diamond ring hanging on it from his pocket. "This was your grandmothers too". He placed it in Kayces hand.

"Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me to have this to give to Y/N. I appreciate it, dad". Kayce smiled, tears swelling in his eyes.

"You're welcome, son. Now go make that wonderful girl, my daughter n law". John chuckled.

"Yes, sir". Kayce placed the necklace into his jeans pocket and ran off to his horse. He knew where you were and he was heading your way.

"Now kids, this mushroom is toxic. So dont dare eat it unless you plan on hallucinating and then a slow painful death". You warned your class. It was nature day in your classroom and what better way then to explore the Yellowstone ranch.

"Miss Y/L/N, look here". A student called you over at the riverbank.

"Oh look, tadpoles". You gush at the tiny baby frogs.

"Can we take some for our class pets? We'll release them once they grow". Another student suggested getting agreement from the others.

"I dont see why not. But just a few. We dont want them getting loose and jumping around the school". You giggled, bending down to scoop up a few.

"Miss Y/L/N, who's that"?

You turned your head where they were pointing and saw Kayce riding his horse down.

"Wonder why he's here? I'll be back. Look around and explore". You smiled and jogged over to the clearing where Kayce stopped and jumped off his horse.

"Everything okay"? You ran over to him.

"Yeah, everythings fine. I gotta ask you something". Kayce squinted his eyes as the sun beat down.

"It cant wait?  I'm in the middle of teaching". You laugh. Your students started to come out.

"No, it can't. Y/N, I've been wanting to ask you this for a year now". Kayce took off his hat and got down one knee, taking your hand in his.

"Kayce"? You gasped when dug through his pocket and pulled out the ring.

"I've loved you ever since I laid my eyes on you and after I couldnt take them off. I love you with all my heart. Will you do me the honor in becoming my wife"?

"Yes, Kayce. Yes". You clamped your hand over your mouth and sobbed, happy tears.

Kayce grinned from ear to ear and slipped the ring on your finger.

"It's beautiful". You stared at the ring.

"It was my moms and grandmothers. I wanted it to be special for you".

"I love it so much. I love you". You wrap your arms around Kayces neck and kissed him. Kayce wrapped his arm around your waist and lifted you up twirling you around.

"I'm getting married". Kayce happily yelled, throwing his hat in the sky.

Half of your class clapped and the other half ewwed. Making Kayce and you laugh. This couldnt have been a better proposal.

[silly-goofy-mood]

This is a LONG one, folks!

UC characters as Parks and Rec quotes!!

Arc 1/7

Hope Lovejoy in arc seven: "I promised myself I was not going to cry tonight, and I’ve already broken that promise five times. But I will not break it a sixth.”

Sir Mister Person:  "I have the most valuable currency in the world: a blind, stubborn belief that I'm 100% right."

SK-73: "when people get too chummy with me, I like to call them by the wrong name to let them know I don't care about them."

Deb at the Sehuagans: "Although I truly hope that I never see you again, I do wish you a long and happy life."

Thavius at the very beginning of arc 1, probably: "I'd wish you good luck, but I believe luck is a concept created by the weak to explain their failures."

Bonus!!

Mister: "Who hasn’t had gay thoughts?"

Arc 2

Ash: "I wanted to make fun of stupid people while I get drunk. My two true passions."

Sasha about Mischka: "When you're in love, everything seems like a sign."

Robyn: "I have a permit." shows paper that says "I can do what I want"

Lyndell: "Girls love it when you can show them you're better than them at something they love."

Bonus!

Richard Lovejoy: "When I bet on horses, I never lose. Why? Because I bet on all the horses."

Gem Lovejoy: "I'm not interested in caring about people." (Sorry not sorry)

Arc 3

Annie Wintersummer: "I just slept seven hours, which is twice as long as I usually sleep. I'm a bit disoriented."

Fey Moss: "I'm not ashamed to say I'm often inspired by myself."

Bombyx: "It’s pointless for a person to paint scenes of nature when they can go outside and stand in it."

Aldrum: "Well, I am not usually one for speeches. So, goodbye."

Diarmad at the post-world-saving party: "Put some alcohol in your mouth to block the words from coming out."

Arc 4

Aster: "Literally everything is a weapon. That folder, in my hands, is far deadlier than that bow of yours."

Quinn: "I don’t want to be overdramatic, but today felt like a hundred years in hell and the absolute worst day of my life."

Ace: "Winning is every kid's dream. But it's my destiny."

Russ: "If I keep my body moving, and my mind occupied at all times, I will avoid falling into a bottomless pit of despair."

Arc 5

Sougle: ”And you can trust me. Because I don’t care enough about you to lie.”

Omen, wearing a flumph hat and holding fifteen eirden plushies: "I am very powerful and feared by many."

Wren, asking Omen and Sougle to do anything: "There’s like a 30% chance they’ll both die."

Onyx: "Dogs should be rewarded for not being people."

Booker, talking about Shi'elle: "She’s the worst person I’ve ever met. I want to travel the world with her." (In TVC, Owen said she joined his crew)

Arc 6

Kipp Tupper: "I have no idea what I'm doing. But I know I'm doing it well."

Remeny in episode two: "What I hear when I'm being yelled at is people caring loudly at me."

SK-69: "I'm like an elephant. I walk into a room, and people are like, okay, he's there."

Beryl: "Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing."

Lottie, high on dreamlily: "Windows are the eyes to the house."

Arc 8

Sybilla: "There’s nothing we can’t do if we work hard, never sleep, and shirk from all other responsibilities in our lives."

Penny Lovejoy: "I like saying no. It lowers their enthusiasm."

Nephila Mori: "I don’t even have time to tell you how wrong you are. Actually, it’s gonna bug me if I don’t."

Helga Hatebad: "I am 100% certain that I am 0% sure of what I’m going to do.”

Sir Up Ton at the end of the arc: "I regret nothing. The end."

Arc 9

Julian in ep 2: "Oh, I have a medical condition, all right. It's called CARING TOO MUCH!"

Juniper, talking to Lacewing, probably: "No, I don't know how I'm going to die… Wait, are you telling me or asking me?"

Serenity: "Fishing relaxes me. It's like yoga, except I still get to kill something."

Art: "Jogging is the worst! I know it keeps you healthy, but god, at what cost!"

Riot: "Aw, you had a crush on me? That's embarassing!"

Valerian: "Riot, we're married."

[sagendipity]

the law of attraction: de minimis

a quackity x reader law school au

part one, chapter two

[PREV] | [NEXT]

.

“Now turn to your left and say hi to your partner, the person your significant other will hate, after you blow them off on Valentines day to do voir dire.”

Alex chuckles, the sound drawing your gaze right over to him. You sigh dramatically, but can’t help yourself from letting a fond smile take over your features.

“Figure it’s time to introduce myself,” Alex quips, holding out a hand invitingly. “Alex.”

“Yeah,” you say, as you take his hand and shake it. He is warm, and your hand fits perfectly in his. “I picked up on that.”

“You will each work in teams of two within larger groups. I will assign you into a group. Each group will have a defense and a prosecution. You do not get to choose which side you represent. You do not get to choose your client. You do not get to choose the crime.” The professor rakes his eyes across the room of students. They all, including you, are silent and sitting attentively. “The only thing you get to choose is how well you represent your client, whether your client be the accused, or the state.”

Beside you, Alex lets out a low sigh, almost a whistle. His knee is bouncing, the black fabric of his track pants bunching up around his knee with the movement. You want to reach out and straighten it, fix the three white stripes running parallel down the side.

“You may know this: the university is granted a courtroom at the William Kunstler Courthouse for academic use. When you leave this room in a few moments, you’ll find informative packets on my desk.” The silver-haired man grabs a heavy stack of papers, and spreads them out on his desk like a dealer spreading a stack of cards. “Take one. It contains all the information you need to win your case, and pass this class.”

Your breath catches in your throat- you had a feeling this was coming.

“If you lose your case,” your professor says. “You will receive a maximum of a B+ in my class. If you win, you are guaranteed an A.”

The static sound of unsettled murmuring steadily rises in the echoey lecture room. You glance over at Alex, who is leaning back in his chair, legs crossed casually. He’s fiddling with one of the hoodie strings that hangs from his collar.

“This mock trial will work as any other real case. Your jury consists of freshmen students in a jury studies elective. They have no knowledge about this case, and you should treat them not as students, but as ordinary citizens when you go through voir dire.”

Alex huffs a laugh again, a little noise that is quickly becoming very familiar to you. “Explains why he went over voir dire for three hours last week.”

Despite the anxiety thrumming through your veins, you nod in accordance. Your fingers thread and twist through each other, the poor ring on your index finger falling victim to your fiddling. You pull it off your finger and twirl it around in your lap, the metal warmed from your body heat even if you feel more frigid than not.

“A real judge will be presiding over your case. Kissing up to them by bringing them a gift basket and ‘thanking them for their time’ is not frowned upon, but it is not effective. They are the only truly impartial ones in that courtroom, most of the time.”

With every word out of your professor’s mouth, you feel your exhaustion growing.

Isn’t this what you want to do? Isn’t this what… everyone here wants to do, for the rest of their lives?

You look to Alex. He’s looking at the professor with bright enough eyes, but the bags underneath them tell a different story, the skin taking on a bluish tint. His relaxed posture, his crossed arms with his fingers tucked into his own sides, the confident yet also unreadable expression he tends to wear still constant as ever. He looks like he knows something you don’t, and that should scare you.

You slide the ring back onto your finger and fold your hands atop your desk.

“The only difference from a real trial is that you have more prep time, and that you have your partner to help you with your side of the case. Both of you will be present in court, choosing jurors, delivering opening arguments, questioning witnesses, presenting evidence and arguments, and, yes, delivering your closing statements. You better get comfortable with your partner. Your futures rest in each other’s hands.”

You think you feel a headache coming on. You’re about to put your entire future, the fate of your entire career, in the warm hands of someone who is, at this point, just this side of total stranger. That should scare you.

“Everyone take a packet on your way out. I suggest you get coffee or a meal with your partner in the time you would spend in this class on an ordinary day. Information about Wednesday’s class is in the packet. We are meeting at the courthouse.” The professor spreads his arms wide, an enthusiastic grin suddenly spreading over his face, looking as out of place as a daisy on a sidewalk full of snow. “Welcome to real criminal procedure. Class is dismissed.”

.

“Here, before I go.” Alex’s voice pulls you out of your stupor with a gentle hand on your upper arm. You think you can feel the warmth seeping into your chilled skin through the thick fabric of your coat. You look down at where his hand rests on you, his skin a beautiful contrast to the dark red of your coat. Then, you notice his other hand- holding out a post-it note. “My number. I’m really sorry, I have to go- I have a thing to do for a friend- but, are you free this afternoon for lunch, maybe? We can get to know each other a bit before we start spending hours together each day.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” you force out, the teasing normally coming naturally, but today it feels like speaking around a rock in your throat. “Um- you have to go?”

“Yeah, sorry, it’s a- work thing.”

“I thought you said it was for a friend?”

“It is- look, it’s complicated, I’m sorry. I promise, you can have me as soon as I’m done, I’ll call the minute we’re done.” His furrowed brows stab at your resolve, the questioning facade you put up disappearing like a melted snowflake.

Taking the post-it from his outstretched hand, you carefully fold it into quarters and slip it into the pocket of your slacks. Before you do, you catch a glimpse of a little :] scrawled at the end of the string of numbers.

“What makes you think I want you?” you quip back after a moment.

His face falls for a moment, before he gets the joke and his brown eyes spark back up with the intensity of a firework. An unapologetic laugh bubbles up from his chest, an addicting sound that you feel echoing in your own chest, as well throughout as the high-ceilinged lecture hall.

“I’ll grab you a packet,” you say, nodding your chin at the table at the front of the room that has assembled a bit of a crowd around it. “Go, get your thing done.”

“You- thank you!” Alex grins, his hand on your arm squeezing in some sort of a thank-you before he leaps to his feet and grabs his binder. “I’ll see you soon- promise.”

“Promise,” you nod seriously, holding up your pinky.

You don’t expect him to turn on his heel and link his own finger with yours, pulling your hand tight against his for a moment before nodding with an enthusiasm entirely inappropriate for the situation. Then, he is actually gone, with his green jacket slung over an arm and the papers in his binder fluttering as he whisks out the door.

You notice that the frost in the windows had cleared when you see him jog across the street. He crosses just in time for a gust of wind to threaten to tear off his beanie- he slaps a hand down on top of his head, unruly black strands curling around the edges of the hat as he disappears around a crowded street-corner.

.

You sit yourself down in the library with a pen, a highlighter, and a steaming cup of coffee from the campus coffee shop. For midmorning on a Monday, the library is packed. Most of the students are windblown and dusted with snowflakes, their jackets pulled tightly around their shoulders as they seek out shelter from the horrible weather to chat with friends, classmates, and partners.

One of the only open tables rests right in the corner, sandwiched between two wide windows. You find why it’s empty very quickly, the thin glass doesn’t do much to stop the icy air from leaking in. Regardless, you shoulder your messenger bag onto an empty chair before setting yourself up in the chair farthest from the window. The packets you’d grabbed from your professor had taken a bit of a beating in the trek here, both dotted with little spots of water from stray, melting snowflakes.

Wincing as you smooth the packets out with your hand, you carefully wipe away an ink smudge that one particularly big snowflake had created. The words “de minimis” are smudged out, at least you think that’s what had been there, considering the following sentence.

A court of law is focused on the smallest things. Arguments are described as de minimis, as in, having their foundation built upon the smallest of things. One partial fingerprint is enough to seal someone’s sentence. One word misspoken is enough to cause a mistrial. One sentence too far is enough to get yourself held in contempt. The smallest things seal fates and shape lives, in law as in life.

You take your pen and carefully scrawl in de minimis onto the dampened paper.

.

TAGLIST: @just-a-dreammm @strawberrymilkgeorge @wmmy @nochuwastaken @noraimp @axths @tinyegg @moonamor @lincolnns @boiled-onionrings @esylwen @queennightsetz

[shemarmooresfedora]

Rebuilding Family

Summary: Y/N and Spencer were college sweethearts at Cal-Tech but once Spencer got accepted to the FBI Academy, he ended things deciding it was not fair to make Y/N wait for him. When they meet again years later, he discovers something unexpected.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Content/Warnings: pure fluff and a happy ending as promised :)

A/N: the final chapter 😭❤️ see my full note at the end

Masterlist

Chapter 37

“What’s your location? Over,” the walkie talkie on the kitchen counter crackled.

“Dino chicken nuggets are coming out of the oven as we speak. Over,” you replied back.

“Roger that. Over and out,” Jo stated and the walkie talkie went back to static.

Spencer got them as a gift for her and she would constantly have one with her, giving the other to someone before leaving the room so they could talk through it.

You headed out to the back porch and down the steps into the yard with a big plate of nuggets and dipping sauces as well as some juice boxes and applesauce for the twins.

“Coast is clear. Do you copy? Over,” you spoke into the walkie talkie.

“Affirmative. Bring ‘em up,” Jo exited the main part of the treehouse and you saw her on its little porch.

Spencer had built her a little pulley system with a basket and rope so she could lower or raise items up into the treehouse instead of carrying them up the ladder.

You placed the food and drinks inside and then made your way up the wooden ladder.

“Thank you, Mommy,” Jo smiled as she bit into a nugget.

“No problem, Cadet Jo,” you ruffled her hair up a little as she giggled.

You ducked to get through the door of the treehouse and sat down on a cushion on the floor next to Spencer who had both the twins in his lap.

“What are we watching?” you asked as you clipped the twins’ bibs on.

“Cars!” Jo cheered.

“I wanted to watch a subtitled Russian film but I was ‘boo’ed when I made that suggestion,” Spencer grinned as he grabbed the spoon to start feeding the babies.

“Hm I wonder why,” you teased.

Once Jo got the movie playing on the laptop, she took a seat in your lap with the plate of nuggets and took turns eating one, then handing one to you, then Spencer.

Once all the kids were fast asleep in your laps and the credits were rolling, you turned to Spencer.

“You and Derek really did a good job building this treehouse, love,” you complimented him.

“Anything for my family,” he smiled, then leaned over to kiss you.

-

It was the morning of Jo’s 8th birthday party. You wanted to make it extra special in light of what happened at her 7th birthday party.

Spencer kept reminding you that it wasn’t your fault a psychopath shot you and sent you to the hospital but you just wanted to give Jo the party she deserves.

You rented a bouncy house and an inflatable water slide. Spencer was doing a magic show and Penelope was doing face paintings. You baked a huge stegosaurus-shaped cake from scratch. No kid would be bored and Jo would have an amazing time.

You settled for having it in your backyard instead of the park now that you had plenty of room. The whole team came over earlier to help set up.

Penelope got all her paints organized on the porch table as Spencer set up his mini stage for the performance. Hotch and Derek filled the slide with water while you and Emily carefully brought the massive cake to the table outside.

Jo came running outside already in her swimsuit, eager to get the first splash in the water slide.

“You have to come with me, Uncle Derek,” she insisted.

“Jo, I don’t have my swimsuit on,” he replied.

“You’re in athletic shorts. They’ll dry quick,” Savannah, his girlfriend, yelled from where she was setting up the food table.

Derek looked to Hotch to help him out. Hotch pointed back to Jo who was giving him puppy dog eyes.

“Fine,” he groaned, taking off his shirt which elicited a holler from Penelope.

Jo made her way up the steps with Derek right behind her.

Jo sat down in Derek’s lap and then turned around to face him.

“Okay, ready?” she asked him.

Derek nodded and then pushed off, sending them both down the slippery slide.

“Weee!” Jo exclaimed as they slid down.

“Again,” she demanded, “Where’s Daddy?”

“He went to put his swimsuit on, Baby J, so he can go with you,” you told her as you set Ollie down next to Ophelia in the playpen outside.

“Coming, Princess!” Spencer ran outside and scooped the little girl up in his arms as he trekked up the steps.

“How about we go down like a penguin this time?” he suggested.

Jo nodded enthusiastically as Spencer got onto his belly and Jo laid on top of him and wrapped her hands around his neck.

“1…2…3!” Spencer pushed off and they raced down the slide again, Jo giggling the whole time.

“Again!” Jo said.

“I think we are going to have to buy one of these, love,” Spencer called over to you, laughing and running up the stairs right behind Jo again.

-

“Please welcome my lovely assistant to the stage,” Spencer spoke in his magician tuxedo.

You waved as the audience clapped. You were wearing a sparkly red sequin dress to compliment Spencer’s bow tie.

“I am going to make my assistant…disappear,” he stated.

The kids in the audience gasped.

Spencer took your hand and guided you to the big black box in the center of the stage.

“Just like we practiced,” he whispered to you as you stepped inside.

You winked and he kissed your hand as he let go and closed the door.

Spencer knocked on the door a few times and wiggled his hands for some showmanship.

“Okay, on the count of 3. We’re all going to yell ‘Abracadabra’,” Spencer explained, “1…2…3!”

“Abracadabra!” all the kids yelled.

Spencer set off a small smoke bomb and quickly opened the door, revealing an empty box.

The kids all screamed in wonder.

“Bring Mommy back!” Jo yelled.

You had to stifle your laughter from behind the fake wall in the box you were hiding behind.

“Your wish is my command, Princess,” Spencer closed the door again.

“To reverse the spell, we need to say the exact same word,” Spencer stated.

“Abracadabra!” the kids yelled once again.

This time, you opened the door and the kids clapped enthusiastically.

“For this next trick, I need a volunteer from the audience,” Spencer smiled.

All the kids’ hands shot up in the air.

“I’m going to have to go with the wonderful birthday girl right in the front row,” you took Jo’s hand and escorted her up onto the stage.

“Jo, I need you to pick a card, any card. Show the audience but not me,” Spencer fanned the cards out in his hands and closed his eyes.

Jo picked the ace of hearts and showed the audience.

“Now, put it back in the pile,” he said.

“Alright,” Spencer opened his eyes and began to shuffle the cards, “Is this your card?” he asked, holding the eight of spades.

“No, Daddy. Try again,” Jo said.

“Is this it?” he questioned, holding the queen of diamonds.

“No, Daddy.”

“Oh,” Spencer smacked his forehead, “I know where I put it,” he pulled off his top hat.

Spencer then proceeded to pull a bouquet of flowers, an endless handkerchief, a rubber chicken, and many other silly things out of his hat that had the kids in tears from laughing.

Finally, he pulled out the ace of hearts, “Is this your card, Princess?”

“Yes, Daddy!” she beamed, hugging him.

-

Jo’s birthday was a complete success. She was completely worn out by the end of it and slept in late the next morning.

But when she did finally wake, she was eager to try out her gift that you and Spencer had gotten her: a big kid bike with no training wheels. It was purple which was her favorite color with a white basket on the front and a little bell on the handlebars.

You and Spencer were going to teach her how to ride it today. She padded up with some knee pads and elbow pads and her helmet.

You had the twins in their double stroller with mini bucket hats on to protect them from the sun.

“Okay, Jo. Me and Daddy will run with you for a little but then we’re going to let go but you’re going to keep pedaling,” you explained to her.

“I’m scared,” she replied, looking at the street in front of her.

You were practicing in the street in front of your house because it wasn’t very busy and it was flat. Plus, you could leave the twins in the stroller in the driveway.

“It’s okay, Baby J. You’ve got all your padding on so even if you fall, it won’t hurt at all, I promise,” you assured her.

“I believe in you, Princess,” Spencer kissed her helmet-covered head.

“I’m ready,” she nodded, moving her feet to the pedals.

“That’s my girl,” you smiled.

You and Spencer began to jog alongside her as she pedaled.

Spencer looked at you, “Okay, Princess. We’re letting go.”

You and Spencer both removed your hands from her bike and she continued to speed forward.

“Yes, Jo! You’re doing it! ” you encouraged her.

“Princess, can you turn around and come back to me and Mommy?” Spencer asked.

Jo carefully steered her bike and headed back to you both with a massive smile on her face. You and Spencer were loudly cheering her on.

“Okay, try to brake,” you said.

Jo slowly came to a stop right in between you both.

“You’re a pro!” you grinned as you both knelt down to hug her.

-

Jo had been biking for the past hour and she was still having a blast.

You and Spencer were laying in the front yard with the twins in your laps.

“Mommy, Daddy! Look!” Jo exclaimed as she did donuts on the bike.

“We’re looking, Baby J,” you laughed, “Great job!”

You leaned your head on Spencer’s shoulder.

“Y/N…” Spencer began.

“Yes, Spence?”

“Thank you,” he replied.

“For what?” you looked up at him.

“All this,” he motioned to Jo, the twins, the house, the yard, the chalk drawings on the driveway, the rocking chairs on the front porch, the doormat that said ‘The Reids’, everything he ever dreamed of, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” you kissed him, “I’d give you the world if I could.”

“You already have,” he smiled.

A/N: thank you everyone so so so much for reading, commenting, reblogging, etc.! i love you all so much. i’m probably going to miss this too much and do one-shots of this series in the future. also, this series hit 14,000 on ao3! that’s crazy that that many people read my work. thank you, just thank you! -dory <3

main taglist (just ask to be added/removed!): @samuel-de-champagne-problems @g0lden-cth @spencerreid9 @averyhotchner @coldlilheart @k-k0129 @ickleronniekinsemotionalrange @harrystylesandthegoobs @cmily @jswessie187 @rem-ariiana @hoodpankow @mochionly @spencerreid-187 @babymetaldoll @fics4arainyday @ssavanessa22 @all-tings-diego @idonotexiste @beepbooptoop @tvandfanfic @mggsprettygirl @big-galaxy-chaos @navs-bhat

series taglist: @doctorreiding @reidsfish

[liz-allyn]

shudder, part 3/6 [agent mobius x gn!reader]

You're undercover on a mission with the team, and Mobius' affinity for cowboy culture is making things unexpectedly difficult.

Part 1 | Part 2

Series Summary: Pre-Loki series. You are one of the most dangerous variants the TVA has ever recovered, but Mobius knows what makes you tick. Five times he made you shudder, and the one time you returned the favor.

Words: 1.6k

Chapter Warnings/Tags: Language, period/canon-typical gun violence, cowboy!Mobius (valid as a warning), mutual pining, flirting, fluffy and fun, at least one naughty thought.

A/N: let me know how you feel about longer chapters!

III.

The next time it happened, it was 1881, and you looked ridiculous.

Your clothes were too tight and the leather smelled like the cattle you were wearing was still alive. You didn’t get to pick your uniform for this mission, and since you were supposed to be deep undercover in an active timeline scenario where reset charges were not permitted, wearing a TVA-issued “Variant” jacket wasn’t going to work.

So now here you were, sweating your ass off in what would one-day become the Las Vegas desert, with your partner wearing a giant 10 gallon hat holding a revolver to your back. He definitely looked ridiculous, and you let him know that. But to be fair, it was almost... cute. Sort of.

Variant T-3051 was the target, this stagecoach robbery at gunpoint was the trap, a Skrull artifact locked in a safe was the bait. And you were technically also bait, disguised as the hapless hostage.

Mobius laid it on extra thick for this one; you were pretty sure he was enjoying himself.

“Easy does it, fellas,” he said in a honeyed voice. “Everyone move nice and slow.” With one hand on your shoulder and one hand on the gun trained on your back, he urged you forward with a gentle double-squeeze near your collarbone. It was a little secret communication between you two. “Keep your hands up where I can see ‘em, sweet thing.”

You struggled not to overtly roll your eyes as you lifted your hands slightly higher. You were 99% sure that Mobius had never held a revolver in his life and probably didn’t know how to fire one. The man’s idea of excitement is debating top historical time periods at lunch with you or fantasizing about jet skis. Or whatever he fantasizes about.

You glanced at the team around you, a mix of Minutemen led by B-15 - on a giant ass horse holding a rifle steady with only her eyes visible behind a black bandana, and a band of outlaw civilians who were T-minus 9 minutes from their destined massacre. The mission, simply, was that one of these people was not like the others.

U-91, also dressed as a Frontierland cast member, barked an order to hand over the chest or else. While he was monologuing on about whatever “else” was, you were scanning the group carefully waiting for the Skrull variant to reveal himself. Or you were, until—

“Hey,” you heard Mobius softly whisper behind you. You glanced to the side without turning around as he leaned closer to you. “Nice work infiltrating the gang.”

You could feel the heat of his breath on the side of your neck, and your stomach was doing something odd because of it.

“Okay,” you whispered back, trying not to move your lips. “Now is an inappropriate time to—”

“Where did you learn to ride a horse like that?” he exclaimed under his breath. “That was incredible.”

You weren’t sure if it was the anxiety of the situation, the harsh sun off the surrounding mountain range, or his praise that was making your skin flush.

“Um,” you softly replied, taken aback that he was actually impressed, “I mean- my aunt used to have this pony ride business. They’d do birthday parties—”

U-91 snapped at you, the talkative hostage, “Hey! I said shut up!”

Mobius reared back his grip on your shoulder and suddenly you crashed back into his chest. You cried out as he wrapped his arms like a vise around you.

“That’s right, I said shut your trap!” he hissed at you, playing to the audience around him.

It wasn’t often that he got to play the bad guy, but he gave it a valiant effort. You could feel the (hopefully) unloaded barrel against your back. He brought his other hand up to your throat, firmly squeezing, pulling a gasp from you.

He leaned into your body, pulling you tightly against him, as he dripped sugar-coated poison in your ear. “Not another peep outta you, ya hear?”

The first thought that sprang through your head was remembering your kink for authoritative bad boys.

Uh-oh, was the second, third, and fourth thought in your mind.

Your core was tight and you realized how heavily you were breathing when his grip loosened slightly from your throat, slipping down just a tad. You felt the warmth of his hand and resting on the skin of your chest. B-15 was already giving orders, but your brain wasn’t following the conversation anymore.

“Are you okay?” Mobius breathed in your ear. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

You slowly exhaled the heat of your breath, shaking your head ‘no’ and ‘yes’ for some reason. You could feel your pulse thrumming in your neck and you knew he could feel it too.

“Did I scare you?” he asked, inquisitively. You could hear the edge of a grin in his voice.

Your brow furrowed. “What?”

“Did I scare you just now?” Your eyes darted back to the group of outlaws as B-15 began to round them up. You were definitely supposed to be paying attention to the mission, but all you could think about was how heavy his hand was on your chest. He could curl you into himself if he wanted to.

If he wanted to, and if you wanted him to, he could keep playing cowboy outlaws. He could steal you away from your bed in the middle of the night. Or maybe he could turn you in for a bounty and visit you while you’re locked in a jail cell, making you do favors for him in exchange for freedom…

Uh-oh.

He leaned in a little closer. You could feel the shadow of his lips at the nape of your neck. “I felt you shudder just now... Did you get scared?”

“No!” You replied, almost too loudly.

“Oh. Are you cold?”

“What? Why?”

“I mean, if you’re trembling and it’s not because you’re cold, and it’s not because you’re frightened, there must be some kind of reason, right?”

Your face was burning. You’re pretty sure it’s the sun. Heat stroke. You’re dying, probably, definitely, maybe.

You gritted your teeth. “Why. Are. We. Talking about this?!”

“It’s not me, is it?” he replied coolly, like taking a sip of bourbon and lemonade on a hot day. You could hear the smirk on his lips. “You’re not intimidated by me, are you?” His cast his eyes over your rosy cheek with a satisfied gaze. “Maybe I make you a little... nervous?”

“WHA’THUH HELL—?” A terrified twang rang out and you both were snatched out of the clouds. You looked up to see a green-faced cowboy, cow-Skrull? Skrull-boy? - hostile variant reach into the the side holster of one of his outlaw posse. As soon as the Skrull had his hands on his “partner’s” weapon, he shot his partner through the back, killing him (just a few minutes before his time).

Variant T-3051 was fast. As B-15 fired her rifle, he was already pulling another stunned outlaw in front of him as a shield. T-3051 raised his gun towards B-15 and fired towards her horse. The animal raised up on its hind legs, bucking her off.

“Take cover!” Mobius ordered, pulling you down with him, but there wasn’t much around.

T-3051 fired a shot blindly, striking U-91 in the arm. He dropped to the ground and crawled in a one-arm dash for cover.

In the chaotic confusion and fear, the other outlaws drew their weapons and began to fire on the TVA team and each other.

The horse that B-15 was riding began to trot off, trampling a fleeing outlaw. B-15 struggled to grab her weapon off of the ground, but T-3051’s boot dropped down on the rifle, pinning it beneath his foot. She looked up to see the barrel of T-3051’s gun pointed at her, sights trained.

You had already grabbed the single-action revolver out of Mobius’ hand. He reached for you, but you leapt out of hiding with his gun raised high.

You shot the gun out of the variant’s hand before he could fire. Stunned, T-3051 dropped backwards onto the ground as the other handful of living outlaws turned their attention towards you. With one hand rapidly pulling back the hammer as the other hand steadied your aim and squeezed the trigger, you knocked them down like bowling pins.

A few shots later and it was over. T-3051 attempted to crawl towards the stagecoach, but B-15 leapt on his back and collared him. With a push of the button, he was frozen in time.

“Target acquired,” she stated into a radio, winded from the skirmish.

Mobius jogged towards U-91 as he pulled himself to his feet. He deftly inspected the Minuteman’s injury. “U-91 is injured,” he reported into his own communications device. “Alert the infirmary. B-15?”

“All clear,” she nodded.

Mobius’ eyes searched the area frantically until they rested on you. You walked up to the safe as B-15 retrieved the alien artifact - a twisty, metallic, (oddly) phallic-shaped thing.

You snorted. “This is the bomb that could rip a planet in half?” you asked incredulously.

If you didn’t know any better, you thought you saw the tiniest smile on B-15’s lips. She radioed in, “Artifact is secure.”

Grinning with an amused chuckle, you glanced over and spotted Mobius gazing at you proudly, watching the sun rise and set in your smile. You felt your cheeks flush, dropping your eyes to the ground and biting your lip. God, this was bad. He could not look at you like that.

“Incredible,” you heard him breathe.

Part 4

A/N: Did you like it? Reblog & let me know! Also seriously, I feel like my chapters are getting long. If that’s a bummer for anyone, please say so.

@aloyssia @generalhugzzz

[dumdumsun]

The Loveliest Lies of All

A/N: Whooooaaa, almost done!!

Warnings: mentions of violence and drowning

Word Count: 3720

—————————————

Chapter Nine: Into the Unknown

“White shirt. Check. Black pants. Check. Suit jacket. Check. Top hat. Check.”

Scout scanned her Halloween costume splayed across her bed before her. Nodding in certainty, she stuffed the clothes into her duffle bag and zipped it up, slinging the strap on her shoulder. The girl flew downstairs, the television sounding from the living room. “Lydia, we’re gonna be late!”

“(Y/N), no screaming, please.”

“Sorry, Mom. Lydia, I’m waiting in the car!” She called, rushing out of the house and throwing her bag into the backseat of her sister’s vehicle, sliding in next to it. After waiting nothing but five seconds, Scout groaned at her sister’s slack and poked her head out of the window. “Lydia! Come on! We still gotta get Sara!!!”

The front door opened to reveal Lydia, wearing a black dress and fake fangs peeking from her top lip. Scout rolled her eyes as her older sister got into the car and started it. “You know, just putting fangs in your mouth doesn’t make you a vampire.”

“Oh, yeah? What are you supposed to be?”

“This isn’t my costume, genius. It’s what football managers wear. Now let’s go. We cannot make the mascot late! Go, go, go!”

“Okay! I’m going!”

One short car ride later, they pulled up to Sara’s house, Lydia honking the horn for her. Almost immediately, Sara exited her home, dressed in a polka-dot one piece, face painted as a skull and a tiny hat on her head. She jogged over and climbed into the seat beside her best friend. “Thanks again for picking me up. My bike still isn’t fixed.”

“No problem, Sara.” Lydia replied as she sped down the street, the two in the backseat clutching onto each other for dear life.

“Hey, Lyd, we’d like to make it to the game tonight. Alive.”

Lydia sighed out and rolled her eyes with a small smile. “Shut it, (Y/N).”

Scout sometimes wondered why she became a football manager. It made no sense to her. She couldn’t care any less what happened on that field. She hardly ever paid attention to the game in the first place, only when assisting the players in fixing their helmet or pouring cold water down their sweaty necks to relieve them. She received credit hours for the hard work she put into managing, but it never truly brought her joy other than the fact that she was helping people.

And then, past the other managers scurrying past her, she looked towards the stands.

While everyone had been so engaged with the game, Scout was focused on the marching band that rose from their seats, readying their instruments as the band instructor raised his hands. Why had she become a football manager, when she could be doing that? Instinctively, her body moved to the beat of the song the band played, the cheer squad performing their routine below them. Off to the side, their school’s mascot began to break it down, the crowd cheering at the dancing bee. Scout adoringly shook her head.

That was her best friend.

“Hey, Scout, can you help me out?”

Turning her attention to the side of her, she was met with Jimmy, one of the football players. He was huffing and puffing, sweat sliding down his temple as he held his helmet out to her. “Just needs adjusting.”

“Yeah, of course. How’s that leg feeling?” She switched the helmet in his hand with a water bottle, the boy breathing out a thanks as he took a swig.

“Like it was never banged up. You’d hate a broken leg, I promise you.” He chuckled as Scout placed the helmet back on his head and tightened it.

“I wouldn’t doubt it.” She shook her head before sending him back out.

“Thanks, Scout!”

Letting out a breath, she slowly sat down on the bench, glancing over her shoulder at everything she wanted behind her. She was so invested in the band, the cheerleaders, in Sara, that she hadn’t even noticed her team score the winning touchdown.

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

“Alright, (Y/N), I think we’re all set. Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow at what time?”

“Eight a.m., ma’am. Have a good night!” Scout called out and ran off the field, heading over to the track shack. She gently rapped her knuckles against the door, opening the door when she heard Sara’s muffled, ‘come in’. Just before she walked inside, she caught sight of Jimmy and Lydia leaned against the bathroom wall, sharing a not-so-gentle kiss. Scout rolled her eyes and walked into the track shack, closing the door behind her.

Sara looked up at her friend, the bottom half of her suit still on. “A little help?”

“Yeah, I got you.” Scout chuckled and helped shimmy Sara out of the bee costume. “You good?” She asked once she was out.

“Mmhm. Thanks. Okay, let me see your costume!”

“Okay, okay!” Scout giggled, quickly discarding the oversized jersey and her jeans, dressing herself in the clothes within her duffle bag. To finish off the look, she placed her top hat on her head and gave her friend jazz hands. “Ta-da!”

Sara tilted her head. “What are you?”

Scout sighed and dropped her arms. “I’m a man in a suit.”

“Why can’t you be a woman in a suit?”

“Because people would expect me to be a woman in a suit.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, Scouty.”

“Yes, it does! What girl puts on a suit to be like ‘oh, i’m a man’?”

“Uh… plenty of them.”

Scout scoffed and began stuffing her previous attire into her bag. “Sara, I love you, but you’re ruining the look for me. My mom made the hat for me and everything. Just give me something here.”

Sara quietly chuckled and headed towards the door. “Okay, yes, it’s cute. I like the hat. Good job, Man in a Suit.”

“Thank you.” She sarcastically fluttered her eyelashes as they exited the small shack. As they rounded it, Sara picked her jacket off of the hook it hung from and put it on. Out of the corner of her eye, Scout saw Jimmy approach them, Lydia under his arm.

“Hey, girls, be careful, huh? There’s some real creeps out there tonight.”

“Thanks, Jimmy.” The girls simultaneously spoke. Lydia smiled and whispered something in his ear before sliding from under his arm. Sara and Scout shared a look of disgust as they got their headstart to the car. “They’re so gross.”

Sara raised a brow at her friend. “You say that now, but that’s gonna be you and Wirt some day-”

“No- Sara!” Scout’s jaw dropped. “Why would you say that?!”

“Because you have got the biggest crush on him and I’m tired of you denying it.”

“I don’t like Wirt like that, Sara.”

“You’re always at his house.”

“For Greg.”

“You act really dumb when you’re around him.”

Scout gave her an incredulous look. “No, I don’t. And don’t even bring up the stuttering. Or the smiling. Or the awkward hand-tapping. I do that all the time when I’m nervous.”

Sara smirked. “Why are you nervous around Wirt?”

“I’m not!”

“Alright, losers, let’s go,” Lydia marched past the two and got into her car. “We’ve all got parties to get to tonight.”

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

"Be careful, please. I don't need to get in trouble because you got arrested." Lydia called out as Sara and Scout exited the car, the house behind them jumping with music.

"Whatever. Have fun sucking face." Scout waved off her sister, who gave her an unfriendly gesture before speeding off. Turning forward, the two gave each other lazy smiles before venturing into the unknown.

Immediately upon entering the house, the two were greeted by just about everyone. They waved politely and squeezed their way past the crowd until they were in the kitchen. “Oh! Hey, Sara! Hey, Scout!” A girl from one of their classes called out. For the life of them, they could not remember her name, so they simply waved back. “Here. Have some age-appropriate drinks.”

“Thanks…” Scout slowly took the cup from her. As the girl and Sara began a conversation, Scout’s attention was elsewhere. Her eyes scanned the room full of teenagers, drifting up to the yellow, red and green floral wallpaper, then to the clock on the wall. She tilted her head at the odd shape of it. A bluebird…

“What about you, Scout?”

Shaking her head, she turned back to the girl and Sara, who were staring at her expectantly. “What?”

“What do you wanna do when you get older?”

“Uh… I’ll probably be an actress or a composer… or a football manager. Who knows?”

Sara nodded. “Same here. I used to be really good at ballet, but my mom wanted me to be a wrestler-” She was cut off when someone bumped into her from behind, almost causing her to spill her drink. Turning around, her eyes widened at the sight of Wirt. He was dressed as a… gnome? “Oh, Wirt! You’re here!”

Immediately, he glanced down at his hands. “W-Well… I-”

“We were just wondering if you were here.” Sara pulled her friend to her side. Scout smiled at him and nervously tapped her hand against her thigh.

“Hey, Wirt…”

“H-Hey, Scout.”

The three fell into an awkward silence, the chatter of teens and the music blasting through the speakers filling the air between them. Sara watched as Wirt and Scout avoided each other’s gazes and either stared at their feet or their surrounding area. Rolling her eyes, Sara kicked her friend in the ankle. Scout grunted in pain and moved her eyes to Wirt. “U-Uh… we’re gonna be going to the graveyard in a bit.”

“Oh,” Wirt slightly smiled. “Are you gonna… do something there?”

“Probably just hanging out. I don’t know, we got asked by-”

A nasally and shaking voice cut her off. “Hey, Sara, Scout… Are you ready to go?”

“Hey, Jason Funderberker.” Wirt greeted with a frown. Jason turned to him with a smile.

“Oh, hey, Wirt. Let’s go, girls.” He turned with a groan and walked out of the kitchen. Scout went to follow, but Sara grabbed her arm.

“Wanna come, Wirt?”

Wirt’s face dropped as he dipped his head. “No, no. Go ahead. You- You go have fun with Jason Funderberker…”

“Okay… But if you wanna stop by later or something… Me and Scout would appreciate it.”

“Sara- I mean… I-I mean I would appreciate it. I just, uh… I’m gonna go.” Scout rushed out of the room, Sara following close behind. “Ugh, Sara, why do you do this to me everytime?!”

“Because you do this to yourself every time. You guys were gonna have a normal conversation! You were getting comfortable! You just need to talk to him more. I think that you just still think he hates you or something.”

Scout crossed her arms as they stepped outside. “Can you blame me? He didn’t speak to me the first four months I moved in next door.”

“That’s because he’s Wirt. You’re a naturally sociable person, (Y/N). Don’t you think it’s weird you get nervous around him?”

“That’s probably just him feeding me nervous energy. It doesn’t mean anything. Can we just go to the freakin’ graveyard?”

Sara sighed and went to stuff her hands into her pockets, perking up when she noticed her jacket was missing. “Oh, Scout, can you go get my jacket? It’s on the counter in the kitchen.”

“Yeah. Wait for me,” She spun on her heel and rushed to the kitchen, squeezing past teens to get to the counter. Before it was Wirt, already picking up the jacket in his hands. “Oh, thanks, Wirt! Sara was just telling me to get this for her.” She gently took the jacket from him.

“No problem…”

The two of them shifted on their feet as they silently thought of some way to keep the conversation going. Scout scratched her cheek and glanced towards the group of friends waiting for her. “So… are you sure you don’t wanna come with us? It’ll be fun.”

Wirt smiled at her, more comfortably this time. “Uh, no. No, I have Greg and… y-you know how he is.”

“I do. Bring him, too,” She brightly smiled. “He told me he was going to dress as an elephant.”

“Something like that, yeah.” He chuckled, eliciting one from her as well. The two couldn’t believe how easy it was to speak to each other. It was as if they were talking to someone they’ve always known. Wirt let out a breath of relief. “I’ll… I’ll think about it. About the graveyard.”

Her smile widened. “Cool. See ya later, Wirt.” She waved and exited the kitchen again.

The walk to the graveyard wasn’t very far at all, and Scout was having a fun time with her friends already. One of them, who seemed to be dressed as a television, had just jumped onto her back and snatched her hat off of her head as they walked past the gates to the graveyard. “Oh my god, we’re gonna fall! We’re gonna fall!” She laughed aloud, teetering to the side. Not able to handle his weight anymore, the two fell to the ground, howling with laughter.

“You good, Scout?”

“I think you broke one of my bones.” She playfully groaned as she moved her body in a sitting position, her friends forming a circle with her. “What now?” She asked as her TV friend began passing around cups of juice.

“Well,” Jason started. “It is Halloween… and I’ve got some pretty scary stories to tell.”

Sara and Scout shared a look. “Really? Alright, Funderberker, scare away.”

From behind one of the tombstones was Wirt and Greg, the former watching the group intently. He scoffed and rolled his eyes as they laughed at something Jason had said. “Everybody loves Funderberker. What do I do?”

“I’ll pretend to be a dead elephant and distract them while you get the tape.” Greg proposed.

“Please, just stay here.” He whispered before his eyes moved forward, then widened at the sight of Jason Funderberker leaning close to Scout, his hand not-so-discreetly going to hold hers. Wirt didn’t know why his body began to tremble in anger, why a growl sounded from the depths of his throat at the thought of Jason trying to date Scout. In all honesty, Wirt didn’t understand his feelings at all when it came to her. He just knew that Jason’s hand in hers was not right.

And he needed to put an end to it.

“Go, Greg. Do it.”

“Okay!” The boy cheered and ran out. Not yet aware of his presence, Scout frowned at Jason.

“What are you doing?”

He turned to her with a small smirk. “I’m trying to make Sara jealous. Is it working?”

“No, it is not. It’s just making me uncomfortable.”

Quickly, he snatched his hand away from hers. “Right. Sorry…”

The group turned their attention quickly to the sound of Greg letting out a howl, his tea kettle hat in his hands. He spun around in circles as he continued to make noises. Scout grinned at him. “Greg!”

“Nooooo. I’m the headless elephant!”

“Well, Headless Elephant, I have gotten no hug from you today.”

Gasping, Greg halted his “plan” and ran over to Scout. “Oh, yeah!” He laughed, falling into her lap and letting her squeeze him tight. The group all gushed at how fast the boy had cuddled into her. “I was supposed to be distracting you guys as a dead elephant.”

“Distract us? From what?”

“From Wirt!” He pointed to the tombstone he and his brother had been hiding behind. Terrified that he had been caught, Wirt quickly turned around and crouched down, but he was too late.

“There he is!”

“Wirt, we can see you, man.”

Wirt momentarily groaned into his hands before jumping up to his feet. “Oh. Hey, guys. Greg! There you are. Totally wasn’t spying on anybody.”

Sara gently nudged her friend. "Maybe he's here for you, Scout." She whispered, Scout rolling her eyes.

"Shut it. Just shut it, please."

Suddenly, a blinding light shone before them, paired with a police siren. “What’s going on here?” The officer called out, the children frozen in fear. “This some kinda witches' gathering? You’re all under arrest!”

“Run!”

That was all it took for them all to disperse. Scout had no idea where she was running, where she would go, how she’d change her name and what color she would dye her hair in order to make herself look like an entirely new person. But she knew that if Lydia found out she’d gotten in trouble with the authorities, she was going to kill her. In her haste, she had almost stepped on a cassette tape on the ground. Swiping it up, she inspected it only for a second before she heard the police car behind her approaching. Panicking, she began to make an escape.

“Young lady, that’s dangerous! Get down from that tree!”

Scout gulped and held onto the tree branch tightly as she stared at the ground below her. On one side of the wall were her friends hiding behind tombstones, the officer awaiting her defeat. On the other side was grassy land, the train tracks not too far from it. A perfect escape. Without another thought, Scout turned and jumped off of the wall, landing on the ground with a thud. Beside her, she heard a croak. A frog had been peacefully sitting in the bush with her, staring at her with its big eyes. Softly smiling, she shifted on her side. “Hey, guy.”

She silenced herself when she heard two bodies land on the ground in front of her, the bush obscuring her body and hiding her. Through the leaves on the bush, she saw that it was Wirt and Greg. The boy stood to his feet and happily dusted himself off as Wirt sighed. “Oh, once again, you ruin my life.”

“Who? Me?” Greg pointed at himself.

“Ugh! You and your stupid dad! You’re always prodding me, trying to get me to join marching band!”

“Oh, yeah! If you join the marching band, you can hang out with Sara more!”

“I don’t wanna hang out with Sara! I wanna hang out with S…”

Scout waited with bated breath for him to continue.

“It doesn’t matter. You’ve managed to mess that up, too.”

The frog beside Scout croaked, and she gasped out before covering its mouth. Greg spun around to face the bush with wide eyes. “Hold that thought, Wirt.” He hummed and slowly approached them. Scout’s heartbeat quickened, trying to scoot back so as to not get caught.

“What are you doing now?” Wirt snapped as Greg reached into the bush. Parting the leaves, he grinned.

“I found Scout!”

“You what?!” Wirt shrieked as said girl slowly emerged from her hiding spot. “What- What were you doing there?! Were you spying?!”

Her eyes widened. “What? No. I was running away from the police and… kinda ended up here.”

“Then it’s perfect!” Greg chirped as he picked up the frog. “Me and Wirt went frog hunting, found a frog, and found Scout. This frog is lucky! We gotta name him for good luck.”

“I don’t wanna have anything to do with you or that frog!” Wirt crossed his arms. Greg shrugged and turned to his friend.

“Okay. Me and Scout can think of some ourselves. Right, Scout?”

Before she could answer, the three heard the sound of a train loudly chugging toward them at an alarming speed. Glancing down, Scout realized that they were standing on the tracks and that if they didn’t move now, they were as good as dead. It seemed Wirt got the same idea, for he jumped off the tracks without a word to anyone. Scout hurriedly pulled Greg with her as she leaped off of the tracks, the three, plus the frog, falling down the grassy hill.

She tried landing on her feet, but the initial fall caused her to wobble, her leg snapping as her body twisted in the opposite direction. She cried out in pain as she tumbled down the hill, that same leg sounding a crunch as she rolled on it. When Scout went to scream in pain once again, she had landed in the river below the hill, the water rushing into her lungs before she could close her mouth. Her body thrashed as she choked on the water, but soon it went limp the further she sank.

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

Had the freezing wind not been howling around her and sending several chills down her body, Scout might have thought she were dreaming everything. But when she painfully creaked her eyes open and saw the branches growing around her, she knew better than to give into imagination. Every part of her body felt weakened, all pain prominent aside from her leg, which had settled into a dulled throb. The Beast’s spell, whatever one would call it, was working its way through her body and she had never felt pain so immense. But just as she had for the past… however long she was here, she told herself it was all for them. To get them home. Safe.

Then she heard Greg’s voice.

She wasn’t sure what he was saying, but he was close by. Paired with the boy’s laughter, she could hear The Beast, responding to him slowly, just as he had been doing with her. Just before he had made her the deal.

What is Greg doing here? He’s supposed to be getting home.

That was when Scout realized she had been taken for a fool. The Beast never had her sisters, she wasn’t saving anyone, and no one was getting home. She was to be turned into an edelwood tree and to be chopped down by the Woodsman. And what could she do about it? The process had already begun, weakening her faster than before. With no other choice, she slowly turned her head in the direction of the boy’s voice.

"G-Greg. Greg... H-H-H-Help m-me..." Her own voice terrified her. It was raspy and dangerously quiet, strained by her weakened state. There was no way Greg would be able to hear her.

Hands trembling around the branches, Scout’s eyes grew heavier and heavier until she slipped out of consciousness once again.

—————————————

Taglist: @kirishimas-manly-eyeliner @wirtluvr @irumapanty @pinkbasketballsoulpersona @vivian-likes-frogs @fishfetus @juliajelly08 @i-am-scared-and-useless-bisexual

[alienstardust]

* so tell me how you sleep at night, it doesn't seem fair / just another, just another lullaby ( jason todd/red hood x f!reader )

♫ “LULLABY” AGAINST THE CURRENT

Fic Request: 🌙Hello! Can I please have a Jason Todd x reader where the reader is magic and by a villain is put into a magical coma for 5 years cus the villain says “see how much your boyfriend loves you when he moves on from you muaha!!’  and the reader just disappears. They reappear 5 years later and is devastated because they know Jason probably moved on and is so different. They find their superhero friends and they’re so happy to see them but they can’t mention Jason 🌙because they’re scared he doesn’t love them anymore. They tell everyone what happened and the villain just wanted to try and ruin the readers life. They tell one of their closer friends how they can’t face Jason and they’d rather stay dead without him. The bat family has already found out the reader is alive so he could be on the way. The reader feels sick because they’re so scared. He arrives and he cries when he sees her and but the reader seems a bit distant and sad 🌙 he said what happened where were you?? And I’ve missed you so much. And the reader says ‘I’m missed you so much too, it’s been such a long time’ but then asks if jason has moved on and doesnt love her anymore and it’s been so long and how Jason has changed so much. He tells her how he’s felt without her. Then it ends with fluff and I’m sorry I’m so bad at requesting I write too much. But I would like it to be dramatic and angsty but ends fluffy. Thank you ❤️

A/N: Jason Todd Imagine. Thank you for sending in this request, anon! I really hoped I fulfilled it (might have changed a few things). It was an experience to write this in one day lol And I enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you Against the Current for the muse. Just some background on this - Jason is already Red Hood. I picked things from “Gotham.” And other awesome DC characters are featured. ; ) Please let me know what you think. Thank you for the reads and send in your requests 🖤 [Warnings: violence, trauma, drug use, death thoughts, blood, cute stuff promise, sadness, angst]

“Something feels off today, Jason.”

“What do you mean?” Jason put on his stupid smirk as he glanced between you and the scene unfolding in Gotham City Park. It was a simple recon mission, a task you all had done countless times. You zipped up your jacket, arching an eyebrow in Jason’s direction. “You’re good with your skills. You’ll be fine.” Jason tilted his head, leaned forward, and kissed you softly.

You felt your fingertips tingle as they curled up against your palm. You moved your lips against Jason’s, happily welcoming the sweet encouragement, and then took a step back. “Yeah, I mean, but don’t you think we should let the others know? Just in case. I don’t know.” You kicked the boot heel against the sidewalk and snapped on your knitted winter cap. It was probably childish, but you made it yourself and you were proud of it.

“I’m waiting for you to make one of these for me,” Jason tugged the hat playfully as he kissed you one more time. He smiled at you and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Come on.” He waited for the traffic to pass and then strolled across the street. You and he usually did these things in secret, you always tried to get ahead of the others on any random missions. You and Jason made a good team. He was Red Hood and you had your magic to keep him safe - always.

“I’m working on it.” You jogged across the pavement to catch up to your partner. Jason took the first steps across the park gate, you followed staying close. You started mumbling some words and wiggling your fingers, it was the incantation you always used to keep you all safe. Even though Red had a solid record, you still felt better having a little protection.

Jason’s gaze went between you and the crowd parked around a small stage. He noticed the people appeared in a daze and were too happy. You picked up on the strange scene, as well. You kept your stance near Jason. He moved closer to attempt to hear what was being said. The crowd seemed to sense the new people, they all turned around at the same time to stare at Jason and you.

“We have guests!” The announcer gestured toward Jason and you. He wore a wicked smile and clapped his hands. He slipped on his tall hat and tapped the mic quickly. “This was a nice surprise. I wasn’t expecting such - royalty.” He glanced around the crowd and jumped off the stage making his way closer.

Jason looked toward you then the oncoming announcer. He shook his head at you, but you ignored him. You started the incantation in a whisper, the announcer turned toward you and laughed. “I have that too.” He gestured behind him.

Enchantress appeared among the crowd wearing a simple pair of jeans and an emerald-colored sweater. Her eyes were already starting to glow. You glanced toward Jason and tried to form words but nothing was coming out. Enchantress already had an invisible grip on you; she was standing away but it felt like her hand was wrapped tightly around your throat.

“Cat got your tongue?” The announcer laughed horribly then glanced toward Jason. He reached into his pocket, a red powdery substance was blown into Jason’s face. He grunted with pain, rubbed his face trying to get the dust off, and stumbled backwards onto the ground. “I think it’s time Batman pays, don’t you think?” The stranger hovered over to watch Jason squirm on the ground. Jason tried to throw a fist but nothing was working.

The stranger tsk’d and smiled wide. “You really don’t know who I am. You thought I was dead. I guess this is just even more fun,” he plopped down to sit with his legs crossed. “You’re missing the show!” He forcefully yanked up Jason, grabbing his face roughly, pointing it in your direction.

Enchantress continued to stand still with her powerful hold on you. You were desperately trying anything to breathe, you scratched at your throat causing some scratches on your skin. Her words were still quiet but they were screaming in your head. Your gaze went toward Jason. He was struggling to see, kept wiping his face. You could hear him yell your name.

“Nope.” The announcer leaped to his feet and kicked Jason’s face. Then, he strolled over to you and smiled wide. He grabbed your face and raised his eyebrows. “Shame. You look really pleasant and so pretty. Oh well! Let’s see what he’ll do without you.” He nodded and glanced toward Enchantress, he patted a pocket on his vest and walked away.

You felt something inside begin to tighten, everything burned and felt like you were going to combust. The words from the spell felt like it was becoming tattooed on your skin. You couldn’t scream, you dropped to your knees and gazed at Jason. He was trying to crawl toward you, but the announcer kept him back. “I love you.” You mumbled unsure if he heard your words. Then - darkness.

Jason hurried over to where you had stood. Grass - there was only green grass. He scraped at the ground thinking it would work. The sorceress was gone. The crowd seemed to snap out of whatever lock they were under. They didn’t seem bothered, they walked around the park. Jason turned toward the announcer. “Where! What happened! What did you do!” Jason screamed the words and got to his feet.

The announcer laughed at his reaction and only shrugged. “Why is a raven like a writing desk?”

“What the fuck…” Jason shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows. “Bring her back now! I don’t know what the hell you did, but now!”

“I haven’t the slightest idea,” he said and laughed manically, patting the vest he was wearing. He took out his pocketwatch, twirling it in front of Jason. “Nah. I won’t waste it. You need to feel something!”

“Enough of these fucking games!” Jason tried to punch the announcer, but the stranger stepped to the side. He chuckled as he watched Jason fall forward onto the ground.

“Perhaps, Jason, you’re the one that’s mad.” The stranger waved kindly at Jason before getting lost in the crowd. Jason tried to follow, there were too many people. He desperately tried, shoving people to the side, and turned around to see if he could spot him. 

He rubbed his face and replayed everything that happened. He remembered you saying something felt off, he should have listened.

“Tetch...”

You sucked in a deep breath, coughed roughly, and felt your body jolt to the side. Your forehead collided with the floor, your palms pressed against the cold tile. You closed and opened your eyes repeatedly as you tried to adjust to the dark room. There was only a dim lamp in the corner sitting on a rickety table.

You finally willed yourself up, stumbling a little like a fawn learning to walk, but you were able to catch yourself before you faceplanted. To one side of you was the small bed you fell from with the blankets in a ball. You turned your head and found the door. You wiggled your fingers and felt the chilled doorknob. Turning it once, you were surprised to find it open.

“What…” you murmured and slowly opened the door. Nothing looked familiar to you. The hallway was disgusting, there were so many scratches, bloodstains, and the wallpaper was peeling from the water damage. It smelled like something rotting. After taking in a frustrated deep breath, you walked down the hall expecting to see something.

You stopped when your gaze landed on a long dinner table with broken plates and cups. There was a tea kettle but it was toppled over. The only thought that came to mind was Jason, you, and the park. “Fuck.” You rubbed your hands against your torso to find yourself wearing an old blue dress. Your eyebrows furrowed. “This…”

There was some stumbling you could hear in the far distance. “Shit,” you whispered and desperately searched for somewhere to hide. You weren’t going back to that room. You slid behind a brown couch, careful not to make too much noise.

“Are you sure you heard correctly?” A male voice muttered.

“Uh, yeah. I’m sure my informant wouldn’t lie, Jaime.” His partner snapped. It sounded like they had been arguing before they arrived. The male scoffed a little playfully, but the female nudged him.

“I’m sorry, Traci. I trust you.”

“Mhm.”

You peered from the edge of the couch and blinked a few times. Was this is a dream? You weren’t sure if you were tripping out. You rubbed your face and considered what would happen. Why were they here? You didn’t recognize the place at all. You slowly stood up and held up your hands, “Jaime? Traci?” your voice was so quiet when you tried your hardest to sound louder.

Jaime and Traci gasped at the same time, turned their heads in your direction. Neither of them said anything, they only stood still and stared at you. It wasn’t until Traci finally moved forward. “[Y/N]?” Traci cautiously spoke. Jaime took a hold of her wrist, but she yanked it away. They both started walking toward you.

“Yes…” You could feel the tears bubbling inside of you.

“Wait! How do we know it’s really you?” Jaime’s words stung. Traci narrowed her eyes at him. “She’s...Traci…” He stumbled through his statement. Traci shook her head, even though her facial expression read worrisome. You kept your hands at your sides as you took steps forward. You glanced down to notice you weren’t wearing any shoes, your toes curled against the shards of ceramic cups.

“I can check,” Traci responded to Jaime who had been whispering in her ear. She started to hold up her hands, murmuring words. Your body felt tingly, your knees gave out a bit as you stumbled. Your fingers started to respond and there were sparks. “It’s her!” Traci exclaimed and ran toward you, wrapping her arms around you.

You sucked in a breath at the sudden collision. You felt the tears roll down your cheeks. Jaime followed Traci and gave you an embrace. “Where were you?” he murmured.

“What? I was at the park yesterday...with…” The words stayed stuck in your throat as you became overcome with confusion and emotions. You looked at your friends noticed the changes in their faces and statures. “What happened? Is this like a spell, Traci?” Your eyes became blurry as you tried to find their faces.

“No, darling. You...you have been gone.” Traci responded unsure if it was wise to continue. She looked at Jaime, he shook his head.

“We have to go,” he said. “We’re getting you out of here.” He didn’t wait for you to respond before he took a hold of your arm and started heading to the exit. You did your best to keep up with them, trying to avoid the broken pieces. 

Traci murmured to create a path for you as they headed toward their vehicle. Jaime opened the back door for you and helped you inside. Traci and he stood outside for a minute while you moved around in the backseat.

Jaime went around to the driver’s side, Traci to the passenger. She turned to look at you, smiled kindly at you, “We’re going to get you home.”

You had so many questions flooding your head, but the words couldn’t get out. You only leaned back, turned your gaze toward the window, and watched the traffic zoom by. Your friends didn’t speak as they continued down the road, you opened your mouth to say something. But then nothing.

Jaime arrived at the Watchtower. You noticed it appeared different, there were other vehicles you didn’t recognize. You thought maybe they were always there, you just forgot. Maybe you hit your head and needed a moment to remember.

Your door was opened by Traci, she reached for your hand and helped you inside. Jaime had already dodged inside the tower. “Good to be home?”

“Yeah…” you let out a tired laugh as you allowed Traci to guide you inside the tower. She grinned softly. Once you were inside, there were a few gasps and whispers. You scanned the room, feeling your heart pound against your chest. Some of them looked like complete strangers. “Traci…”

“[Y/N].” She was careful with her words and waited for Jaime to come back. He stood protectively on your side. “You’ve been gone for five years. We thought -”

“Dead.” You whispered as your eyes scanned the area around you. The thoughts and new faces were swirling. Suddenly, you could feel being harassed by thoughts of the missing time. You pressed your palms against the side of your head, you started to crouch down and stared down at the floor.

Traci and Jaime sighed while they anxiously leaned down next to you, each of them stared down at anyone who was coming near you. They both said your name, telling you it was okay, things would be fine. You started to cover your ears, shut your eyes tightly, and an unexpected scream in frustration erupted from you.

What happened? Where did everything go? Where did everyone go? Where was Jason? He probably thought you were dead, moved on. The disturbing thoughts began to nitpick at your brain.

“Wake up!” Jervis sang to you while he set you down at the table. A teacup was delicately placed in front of you. You blinked, but you couldn’t speak. Your throat felt dry and tight. Tears dropped down the sides of your face, you looked over at Jervis. He only adjusted his hat, smiling benignly at you. “I’m going to call you Alice. Is that okay?”

He cupped his hand around his ear, leaning forward expecting an answer. After a moment, he started to giggle. “That’s right. You can’t talk. Beautiful isn’t it? The silence.” He leaned over and dropped a biscuit next to your teacup. “I know, you’re wondering why you? Right?”

He flicked your throat, tilted his head at you, and smiled. “I know you’re connected to Batman. But do you remember me now?” He pointed to his cheeks, frowned at you, then picked up the corners of his mouth. “You sent me to Arkham. You put a spell on me. You messed with my head, Alice!” He banged the sides of his head and growled then huffed at you. “Why would you do that? I protected you from the monster. You betrayed me. So, now, here we are!”

Jervis sipped his tea and smiled warmly at you, you started to sink into the chair trying to find the strength to hold yourself up. But you could feel your arms falling over you as you fell back into the chair. 

He pushed his chair back, walked over, and held the cup to your lips. “Time to rest. Shhh…” He tilted the cup back, you could feel some lukewarm liquid fall past your tongue. You were telling yourself to spit it, it was like he knew since he held up the cup aggressively against your mouth. “Sleep. You’ll wake up soon...maybe.”

After taking a long shower, feeling the water turn from hot to lukewarm to cold. You stood over the showerhead, allowing your head to dangle, watching the water twirl around your toes into the drain. You weren’t sure how much time passed when Traci knocked on the door cautiously entering and tiptoeing toward the shower door. “Hey, you okay?” Her voice was small and almost cracked.

“Yeah. I’m done.” You muttered while you turned off the shower. You reached for the towel and wrapped it around your body. You breathed in and gave her a quick grin. “Sorry. It’s been...too long.”

“No, no worries. Here. Some extra clothes. Garfield volunteered an old shirt and I found some sweatpants. I’ll put the shoes outside or whatever you need,” she smiled sadly and glanced from the pile of clothes to her friend. “Whenever you’re ready - we’re here. Okay?”

“I know. Thank you.” You swallowed avoiding eye contact with your friend, fearing that you would crack and cry again. You waited for Traci to leave before you shook out the clothes, then started to get dressed.

How had it been five years? You remember the park so clearly, and then the mess of memories that didn’t make any sense. You tugged on the undergarments, then the sweatpants and the shirt. You stood in front of the mirror observing the fresh clothes. The shirt was deep blue with a big skill on it. It felt comfortable. You started to roll up the sleeves stopping when you noticed small marks along your upper arm reaching your bicep. You started to trace them.

Jervis made sure you were lying in bed as he reached for the syringe. He slapped your arm. You still couldn’t speak, your mouth felt numb, your lips were so chapped. You could only watch what he was doing. 

He pushed his lips to the side of his mouth and poked you once. “Nope.” He poked you again. “Damn.” It took him several attempts until he hit the vein where your blood pumped into the tube.

“There we go. I want to try something. Let’s see if this works, Alice.” He nodded. Once it seemed he got what he needed, he yanked out the needle and sloppy placed a bandage on the small prick. “Perfect! You’re magic, so I think I can do so much with this.”

Once you were able to shake it off, you went straight to the door and opened it quickly. You were taken aback when you saw Garfield standing across from you dropping a pair of clean socks near your shoes. “Oh! Sorry,” he half-smiled at you. “Um… I -”

You didn’t let him finish, your arms quickly wrapped around him. Garfield was the one person you knew the longest, the one who knew your magic before you knew. You both found yourself under the care of the Chief.

Garfield cautiously wrapped his arms around you and only nodded. He didn’t say anything, only allowed you to fall apart if you needed. 

After a minute or two, you finally pulled away and glanced at the shoes and socks. You let out a small laugh when you saw they were Superman socks. “I missed a lot or something?” You positioned yourself on the floor while you started to slip on the socks.

Garfield took this as an invitation to situate himself next to you. “You missed a lot. Yup!” He smiled sweetly at you and saw you struggling to tie the shoes. He moved to sit in front of you, helping you tie the knot.

“Geez...I can’t even do that.” You moved your hands away from the mess of the knots you tried, studying Gar how he was able to tie the shoes.

“It’s okay. It happens to the best of us.” He grinned wide at you then nodded when he was done.

“Thanks, Gar.” You pulled your legs close to your torso, dangling your arms over your knees. Gar swiftly moved back to the spot next to you. He pressed his lips together, you could tell he was struggling to speak. Maybe he was worried he would offend. You weren’t sure. “I remember being at the park with Jason. We were doing our recon, something we did so many times. I did my safety spell for us, but I guess it wasn’t strong enough.” You could feel your lips tremble but you trusted Gar. You loved Traci and Jaime, but Gar and you have been through the rough parts.

“There were so many people, I knew something wasn’t right. I’m so stupid. Jason didn’t have anything with him...I should have tried harder.”

“Hey! Hey!” Gar began to say quickly. “You did what you could. I believe that.”

“The man...he had a tall hat… It was Jervis Tetch.” You clenched your jaw when you said his name and your hands curled into tight fists. Gar placed his hand on top of yours. “Enchantress was there. She held me. I tried to fight back, but I couldn’t. The next thing I know, I was in this dark room. I was screaming for Jason in my head. Nothing. I thought I was dead.” You banged your head against the wall.

“I wasn’t. Jervis wanted to make me pay for putting him in Arkham and killing Alice.” Your eyes locked with Gar’s. He was there during that mission. It all happened quickly. You tried to save Alice while you worked your magic on Jervis. But Alice lost her balance and fell.

“[Y/N]...That...We were all there.”

“He blamed me because I was the closest.” You stretched out your arm so Gar could see the scars. “He experimented on me until I passed out. Then, I woke up and saw Traci and Jaime. Now, I’m here.”

“You’re safe… that’s what matters.”

“I didn’t protect, Jason. Where is he?” You asked the question hurriedly and then held up your hand. “Is he okay? Is he dead? Did Tetch kill him? Is he happy?”

“Whoa. Whoa. “ Gar shook his head at you. “He’s fine. He’s been…” Gar scrunched up his face and tilted it to the side. His words were coming out in bits and pieces. You couldn’t quite put them together, other than maybe Jason did move on. Why would he wait?

“Garfield...if he’s happy with someone else, it’s fine. Good for him.” You swallowed even though the thought crushed you. It didn’t feel like years passed for you, but for him maybe he lost hope. Maybe he didn’t think you were coming back. Could you blame him? “After everything Jervis did, I would’ve accepted death. Maybe me coming back was a mistake. I should have died,” you let out a bitter laugh.

“No,” Garfield snapped and furrowed his eyebrows. He studied your face and shook his head. “Jason is fine. He...He’s just...being Jason. But I’m glad you’re back and here. We’re going to find Tetch and make him pay. Okay?”

Hearing the words come out of your friend’s mouth made you feel, for a brief second, okay. Garfield cared for you, he might have been the one to help Jason move the world to find you. The time kept going, no words, no clues. They gave up. And you could only hope Jason was okay like Gar was saying.

“Okay.” You held up your pinky to Garfield. “Promise you won’t tell Jason? Nothing about what happened, nothing about me being back.”

Garfield hesitated but then loosely wrapped his pinky around yours. He nodded. “Promise.”

“You’re being reckless. Again!” Dick yelled at Jason as they headed back into the manor. Jason didn’t bother responding or look toward his brother. He unholstered his weapons and set them down on the table. He finally gazed at Dick and only shrugged as Dick continued his speech about them needing to be careful and not do anything stupid.

“They shot at him…,” Damian said as he removed his mask.

“Damian. Really!” Dick raised his eyebrows at him and huffed. He turned his attention back to Jason. “You’re smarter than this. Do you have a death wish? You can’t keep doing this shit.”

Jason clenched his jaw and tilted his head as he pretended to seriously consider what Dick was telling him. “You’re right. I am smarter. I need to stop listening to this bullshit.” He gave his brothers a two-fingered salute and walked in the direction of his designated room. He could still hear Dick complaining and muttering. Maybe he did have a death wish. 

Jason opened the door, shut it behind him with his boot. It was the anniversary since you disappeared without a trace. “Something feels off today.” He whispered the last words he could clearly hear you say. He ignored you. Guilt ran through his body. He should have listened to you. If he just actually paid attention to what you were saying. You would still be here by his side.

He continued the charade of helping Gotham. But it felt unfair. He was alive. You weren’t. It tore him to pieces. He put away his weapons and slipped off the jacket and shirt. He walked toward a spot in the room with a loose board.

Jason got to his knees using his knife to flip it up and laid it aside. He reached inside retrieving a small box. He sat down on the floor, pulling the top of the box off. Inside were letters, pictures, drawings, and trinkets. He gently retrieved one of the photos. It was a polaroid of you wearing that knitted cap you made with a proud smile. The other was of you and him, he looked annoyed but you were kissing his cheek. A weak smile grew over his lips.

He placed the photos back into the box. He carefully pulled out the keychain you had given him. It was with a silver bullet. You told him it was charmed to protect him. He had always found a way to fit in with him when he would go out on runs. But after you left, he put it into the box. He welcomed the chance of ill fate.

A knock came at the door, Jason quickly put the things away, keeping the keychain in his hand. He put everything else back into the hiding place. He got to his feet and went to the door. He pocketed the keychain, raising his eyebrows at the two people. “Yeah?”

“Hey! Hi. Umm…” Garfield started to mumble through his words. Luckily for him, Raven was with him. She nudged Gar to say something. He only opened his mouth.

“Dick is like away. Sorry. Wrong door.” Jason started to close the door, but Raven grabbed it before he could completely close it. He exhaled annoyed. “Speak.” 

“We have news about [Y/N].” Raven started even though Garfield widened his eyes at her. She shook her head at him. “He has a right to know, Gar.”

“She made me promise.” He whispered to Raven.

“It isn’t fair. I’d want to know. Wouldn’t you?”

“Can someone just fucking tell me! What is it!” Jason grew more frustrated as they continued their private banter. He stared from Garfield to Raven. He raised his eyebrows waiting for them to say something.

“She’s back. She’s at the Watchtower.” Raven thoughtfully said.

“What? How long?” Jason moved quickly away from the door to grab his shirt and jacket, he changed. Luckily for him, he still had his boots on. He didn’t wait for either of them to respond, he moved past them into the hall.

“A few weeks,” Garfield murmured as Raven and he followed Jason. 

“A few fucking weeks!” Jason yelled at them and raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t fucking tell me? No one! And you both knew?”

“We told Bruce.” Raven tried to remedy the situation. “We thought…”

Jason scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Everyone knew but me. How fucking nice! Bullshit.” Jason could hear his brothers trying to figure out what was happening. 

Jason hurried out of the manor and straight to his vehicle, he wasn’t going to wait for any explanations. He knew where the Watchtower was and knew he could get in easily. He didn’t need Garfield or Raven.

You finally had a room of your own. It felt weird. You appreciated the quiet at times. But the quieter, it left you alone to your thoughts. You could remember more pieces of the time with Jervis. You did your best to shove them down. It hurt you, but not as much as not seeing Jason. You were afraid to face him. Would he still love you?

He probably didn’t want another injured someone to take care of. You were going to bring so much more baggage than before. You didn’t think he deserved that. He was a good man, he could find someone new and be happy. You were fine being by yourself while you sorted through the trauma from your time being held captive.

Your fingers traced over the scars on your arms. You plopped on the side of the bed and closed your eyes. Maybe it was better to be forgotten. Everyone seemed to move forward without you. No one stopped doing what they were doing. You couldn’t be sure if they were actually searching. Garfield was being honest though, you could tell. He would do what he needed to help you.

You felt like such a burden to him. He had a life of his own. You couldn’t insert yourself into his narrative. Jason was the only narrative you wanted but it was lost. It burned years ago. If he was safe that’s what mattered.

You contemplated giving him a call, telling him you’re okay. But it was probably a bad idea. At least right now. Your head was still screwy. You needed time. How much? It was to be determined. You would still say those spells to keep him safe. 

Your eyes shot open when you heard a raucous in the living room. You rubbed your eyes and got to your feet. “Jervis..” you muttered and dropped down to crouch near the bed. He found you. After all this time, he came to finish the job.

Then, the door swung open. “She’s-” someone started to say as you crawled forward to meet your fate. Your eyes went from the floor to the people at your door. 

Jason stood next to Starfire as he desperately searched the room. He spotted you behind the bed. He didn’t wait and dashed forward, dropping to his knees in front of you.

He mumbled your name, attempting to reach for you. But you moved backward like a skittish cat. “It’s me...it’s Jason.” He pressed his palm against his chest, his eyes were softening and you could see them glisten with the moonlight hitting inside.

“Jason..,” Starfire said.

“Kori! Please...give me a minute... please. I’m begging you!” Jason’s voice broke when he cried to Kori for a moment. You looked from him to Kori then back at him. You weren’t ready to see him. Your insides were twisting in ways you couldn’t explain. Your nerves wiggled around. 

Jason dropped his arms to his sides and locked his eyes on you. He seemed so broken, so tired, so wasted. You could see the new scars along his cheek and neck. “[Y/N]...I looked and looked. I couldn’t find you. I drilled questions into Enchantress but she wouldn’t answer me. She claimed she didn’t remember anything.”

You listened to his words, took them in. He didn’t give a reason to distrust him. You still couldn’t will yourself to crawl in his direction. You felt your back press against the nightstand when you noticed Jason taking a tiny step forward. He pressed his palms on his knees and swallowed.

“I am so sorry. I should have listened to you that day.” He cried and banged his fist against his thigh. You could make out a few tears falling down from the corner of his eyes. He shut his eyes so tightly and took a deep breath. “If I just listened...I am so sorry. God...I’m a fucking idiot! I even tried searching for that son of a bitch. Nothing. I tried it all.”

You were about to extend your hand toward him to wipe the tears, but you stopped yourself. If you opened this backup, there was no going back. Your mind was becoming jumbled with words to say. It was like a stupid game of Scrabble in your head. You chewed on the inside of your cheek.

“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” Jason promised. You glanced toward the door then nodded sheepishly. You opened your mouth to say something but then snapped it closed. Jason rubbed his face roughly then stood up from the floor. “Whenever you’re ready.” He echoed the words like your friends, but he sounded heavier. You knew Jason. Probably better than he knew himself.

He walked toward the door, closing it behind him. You could hear some words between him and Kori.

“I’m staying here.” Jason insisted and sat down outside your door. 

“Fine.” Kori didn’t bother fighting, she accepted it and moved on.

The following morning you stepped outside your room to see Jason curled up on the floor asleep. You exhaled and went to ask someone to help move Jason to your bed. You tucked him in with the newly knitted blanket you made. Then went on with your day.

It must have been around midday when Jason finally awoke. You were in the gym area, but Jason’s voice carried. He shuffled into the gym and breathed a sigh of relief to see you.

You were with Garfield practicing your fighting skills, you knew you needed to get better at those. You had already practiced some of your magic with Traci. Jason narrowed his eyes at Garfield, he was still pissed at him. You glanced at him and then at Gar. “Well! I’ll see you later.” He smiled quickly and rushed toward the exit.

Jason took calculated steps in your direction, holding up his hands. “I’m sorry. I - I’m stupid.” He mumbled. “I’m…”

“Jason?” You finished the sentence as you punched the bag.

“Something like that.” He walked over to the punching bag, he tried to hold it still. He tilted his head to the side to glance at you. You punched the bag a few times before either of you spoke again. “Can you tell me what happened?” The question stung.

“I - I. I don’t know.” You had replayed the story in your head as you walked to pick up your water. You took a gulp and looked at him. He looked like Jason, your Jason. The concerned face was hurting. “It was all Jervis Tetch.” You started to go through the story you had told Garfield. You only looked toward him once in a while, otherwise, you kept staring at the padded walls.

Jason crossed his arms while he listened to you. His fingers dug into his arms when you mentioned feeling like a dummy as Jervis tried his experiments.

“I let his sister die. He wanted me dead. I was ready to accept it.” You muttered the motive and shrugged tiredly.

“You didn’t let anyone die. You did what you could. Stop blaming yourself.” Jason stood in front of you and carefully placed his hands on your shoulders. You shuddered at the touch, it wasn’t a bad thing. It just took you by surprise. But Jason noticed and dropped his arms. “I’m sorry.”

“No. No. Don’t be sorry. I didn’t expect it, I-“ you extended your hands and shrugged. You took a step back and exhaled. “I don’t know, Jason. I feel like my brain is so messed up. I missed so much time. You’re doing well. I don’t want to fuck that up for you.”

“Doing well?” Jason arched an eyebrow at you and started to shake his head slowly.

“Yes?”

“I’ve been a wreck since you have been gone. My fucking head is just as bad as it was when I came out of the damn pit. I was so angry at myself for letting you get lost. I hated myself for letting that happen to you,” Jason kept his eyes fixed on you.

“You…”

“Everything stopped for me. I didn’t care what happened to me. I –“ He dug into his pocket and pulled out the keychain with the bullet. “I stopped wearing this. I didn’t want to take it easy. I needed to punish myself. I wanted to find you. I wanted to bring you home.” Jason’s voice sounded trembly as he was on the brink of tears. You gently touched the bullet and then his cheek.

Jason took a deep breath feeling your touch, he turned to kiss your palm. “I missed you,” he spoke softly against your skin. He closed his eyes.

“I missed you,” you curled your fingers against his cheek and then moved into him. He instinctively wrapped his arms around you tightly. He kissed the top of your head and rubbed your back.

“I love you.” He kissed the top of your head. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it back that day.”

“I love you,” you looked up at him and touched his lips. He nipped at your skin playfully, you smiled softly. He leaned forward and kissed you deeply. You returned the passion, he lifted you up allowing you to wrap your legs around his waist. He kept you close. 

“I swear I am going to be by your side. Always.” He said the words against your lips and smiled.

You flipped up your hood from the new cape as you got yourself situated on the top of the roof next to Jason.

Time had passed since you and he started fixing yourselves. Some days were hard, some days were easy. You both felt complete being able to be with one another again. Things started to make sense again.

The horrible memories came at night, Jason hugged you to him and reminded you he was there. You were free. You honestly weren’t sure if you would have been able to break out of the spell if it wasn’t for Jason. You loved him, you needed him. He loved you and needed you. 

There were days when you and he wouldn’t leave the bed, only stay wrapped in each other, giving each other sweet kisses. You were a little nervous going back out, but you knew you had to. Jason needed a reminder to stop acting recklessly.

Jason turned to glance at you and double-checked his weapons. “You ready?” He asked as he kissed you quickly, grinning happily, then he snapped on his helmet.

“Yeah. I feel good.” You wiggled your fingers at him allowing little sparks to jump from the tips. A smile grew over your lips.

“Good.” Jason knocked on his helmet gently and nodded at you. “Follow me?”

“No. You follow me.” You fixed your mask over your face and blinked playfully at him. You peeked over the edge of the building and saw Jervis. “My fight after all.”

“Our fight,” Jason said confidently and squeezed your hand. You glanced over at him, smiled at him while you nodded. You really felt at home.

“Ours.” You could hear the tiger roaring in the distance and people yelping. “It’s time.”

[dont-call-me-baby-posts]

Blacking Out and Breaking Hearts - Chapter 10

Blacking Out and Breaking Hearts - Master List

Word Count: 4.4K

Warnings: N/A

Summary: Y/N is a successful musician, trying to navigate the world of stardom along with her complicated feelings for her best friend, Harry.

Alternatively: The one where you and Harry makeup. Kind of.

A/N: Guys this chapter was so hard to finish. But here it is! All of your messages have been killing me lately, so please please let me know what you think! Thank you all for reading <3

Chapter 10

Harry’s car was already in the driveway when you arrived. He was standing there on the front step, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He rocked back on his heels, anxious. You jumped out of the car, not bothering to grab your phone or your bag as you closed the door behind you. You started to run to him before suddenly stopping in your tracks. You stood there, frozen. You weren’t sure what to do next. You’d been so desperate to see him again for so long that it almost didn’t seem real. He was wearing ripped jeans and a sweatshirt, and the same red hat he had worn on the beach. He jogged lightly to you, meeting you halfway in the middle of the yard. He took you into your arms, breathing out your name as he touched you. You melted into him. All of those feelings, the hurt and heartbreak and betrayal, seemed to vanish as you made contact, breathing in his cologne. He stood there, holding you for the first time in a lifetime. He stroked your hair, whispering in your ear that it was okay, it was okay, it was okay. Everything was okay, finally. Harry was here.

“We need to go inside now.” He whispered. He released you, looking over his shoulder. He seemed on edge, worried that something or someone watching you from somewhere near by. He never seem worried about that before. He put an arm around your shoulder, leading you to the front door.

Logan wasn’t home, having decided on spending the day with Rachel (the model) and her friends after you had finally answered her messages, insisting you were okay. You told her that you would talk whenever she was home, and to stop worrying so much about you. The house was empty and smelled like something sweet. You followed Harry inside to the living room. On the coffee table was a tray full of cinnamon rolls, wrapped neatly in plastic. On top was a note.

Fuck that bitch and fuck Christian, too. You’re a bad bitch. Love uuuu. <3

You laughed to yourself, imagining Logan nervously baking all morning while she waited for you to respond to her texts. She was always like that, keeping herself busy when she was stressed about something. She could never stand the thought of just not doing anything at all.

You remembered Harry there, suddenly, picking up the note and shoving it in your pocket. So what if he sees it, you thought. Still, you couldn’t stop yourself from hiding it away. You looked at him and he smiled that perfect smile. The aching in your chest was starting to subside, just from being near him.

You couldn’t help but grab onto him again. It was more of a desperate tackle than a hug. You took fist fulsl of his shirt into your hands, hoping if you held on tight enough he would never leave. He took you in, tangling his fingers into your hair the way he always had before.

“Talk to me.” He uttered, breathlessly into your hair.

“He… he just…”

What could you even say?

“He kissed me.” You said. There was more to it, so much more. Harry must have seen the pictures already, you knew that had to be why he had called you. He must have seen the way Christian was screaming at you, the way you shoved him away. “I didn’t want him too, Harry, I swear I didn’t. He just wouldn’t stop..”

You weren’t sure why you were defending yourself to him like this. Harry took a deep breath. He was fuming.

“He literally said-.” Harry began, quickly cutting himself off.

“Said what?” You snapped at him. You took a step back from him, feeling your stomach fall through the floor. “What, did you talk to him or something?”

“Yeah,” he said. He knew he fucked up, stumbling over his words. “I mean, not today. But I saw him at the party, obviously.”

You stared at him in horror.

“What did he say to you?” He asked, running his hands through his hair.

“Not much. Just how apparently you were ‘done with me’ so I was just… his for the taking.”

You moved your fingers in quotation marks, remembering what Christian had said to you.

“You didn’t get your quick fuck, he said.”

Harry pulled his mouth into a tight line. He started pacing, his hands on his head in defeat.

“Don’t say that.” He said.

“That’s what he said, Harry. That’s what he told me.” You wanted to defend yourself, to tell Harry you knew it wasn’t true. You wanted to see how he would react though, if he would deny it. “I knew Harry a long time before you did… I know what he’s like…”

“So then he just… what, he just kissed you?” Harry asked, he turned to look at you, his eyebrows turned down.

“Yeah. He asked if we were together and I told him for the thousandth time that we never were.” You couldn’t stop yourself from shaking, reliving the night like this. “But that was after he pushed be against the wall, obviously. After he- after he grabbed me by my face like I was some kind of- like I was some kind of fucking play thing.”

Your stomach turned.

“Come on baby…” Christians voice rang through your head. “You should stay…”

Harry gripped the back of the sofa in front of him before turning away and storming across the room. It was like he didn’t know what to do with his body, everything pent up and ready to explode.

“FUCK.” Harry yelled suddenly. He threw his phone onto the sofa, crouching down where he stood and covering his face. The phone bounced off the cushion, landing on the floor next to the coffee table. He forced himself to stand, blowing out a deep breath. You had never seen him like this, his emotions boiling just under the surface and ready to spill over. You flinched away from him. You didn’t like this, this version of Harry that was coming untied at the seams.

“I should’ve been there with you. I knew he was no good, I knew it.”

You shook your head, feeling suddenly guilty. “It’s not your fault.”

He remained motionless.

“Why didn’t you find me, though?” You asked. “Actually, why haven’t you called? Or texted? I don’t hear from you, for weeks, but once Christian makes his move on me you suddenly reappear?”

“You know how busy our schedules are, Y/N.” He wouldn’t meet your gaze. “I've just been so busy…”

“Yeah, in Miami.” You fired back at him. You almost felt bad, but decided that if things were already this bad between you they couldn’t get any worse. His face dropped as you pointed out the elephant in the room.

You weren’t sure what argument you were trying to make here. What angle you should take. You were mad at him for going on vacation with that girl, but you were even more angry that he hadn’t even bothered to call and tell you about it. That’s what you chosen, wasn’t it? To just be his friend? You would have taken that over all of this, you would have rather sat and listened to him talk about her than not hear from him at all. You weren’t actually sure if it was true, but in the moment you were convinced anything would have been better than this.

“It’s not like that.” He said. You laughed.

“But it is, though, isn’t it? You LEFT me.” Your voice was shaking, and you couldn’t hide the anger you felt now. The sadness, the hurt, it had all tempotatily slipped away only to be turned into red hot fury. You couldn’t push it down like the hurt, either. It was coming whether you wanted it to or not.

“Why are you yelling?” Harry asked. He took a step closer to you, but you took two back. You scoffed at the audacity of his question.

“Because I’m angry.” You shouted. It felt good to say it out loud. Your voice betrayed you, though, as a sob shook through you. You were always crying, always asking someone else to fix everything wrong with your life.

“Well you don’t get to be angry, Y/N! You don’t!”

You were paralyzed. Harry had never yelled at you like this. His cheeks were flushed red and his hair was falling onto his forehead. He looked beautiful, even like this.

“You don’t get to do this. I gave myself to you, I told you what I wanted. And- And you didn’t want me. I’m happy now. I’m finally okay...” His voice cracked. “You don’t GET to be angry, Y/N. I do.”

He started pacing, covering his eyes with the heels of his hands. He stopped, throwing his hands out in front of him.

“I’m happy, okay? I’m happy now.” He told you. His voice broke, though, making his words hard to believe.

“It’s been a month, Harry. That’s all it took?” You asked. He shook his head.

“We were never together, Y/N. I don’t need to wait for you to be okay to move on. I’m happy now.”

He kept saying that. Each time he did was like a stab in the chest, no matter how much the moisture in his eyes contradicted him.

“I guess you’re right.” You whispered. You walked further into the living room, leaving him standing in the foyer. He came after you, his footsteps heavy and quick. He stopped right behind you. You could hear his breath heaving.

“I really love her.” He whispered. His voice was soft and sad. He was standing behind you, unable to say it to your face.

“Oh, please!” You spat. You spun around to face him. “You just met her, Harry.”

“Well you know what, Y/N? It’s not any of your business! Why… why can’t you just be happy for me?” He sniffled. You wanted to be that for him, so badly. You wanted to stay his friend, to listen to him talk about his life and all of the wonderful things he was doing. Even if it meant her. But you just couldn’t.

“Happy for you? I tried to do what I had to do to save.. whatever this is, and I’ve been paying the price ever since. Every single day, Harry. I didn’t just run to the nearest person like you did.”

He flinched as you said it. He looked as if you’d struck him.

“No, you broke my heart.” He said. A single tear ran down his cheek. He wiped it away before it had the chance to reach his chin. “That’s what you did.”

“You should just go.”

You gave up. In your mind you were making plans already to sell the house, to use the money to pay whatever you owed for breaking your contract with the label and move back home.

Harry didn’t skip a beat, turning on a heel and walking straight through the door. It slammed shut. You fell down to the ground, holding your head in your hands. The hurt was worse than before. No break up at homecoming or messy fight with an ex could have prepared you for this. Your heart was ripped from your chest, laying useless on the ground, barely beating.

And speaking of homecoming, you should’ve told him off for that, too, while you were at it. For wearing your shirt out with… that girl. You wanted to kick and scream, to yell until someone called the cops and took you somewhere far away.

You were still on the ground when the door swung back open. Harry barged in without waiting for an invitation, seeming to have thought of something else to say.

“I’m not leaving you like this.” He said. You didn’t bother looking up, still crumpled on the floor.

You didn’t say anything. You heard footsteps, though you weren’t sure which way they were headed. You wanted to laugh, to tell him you had been like this since he left. Broken and sad and completely given up.

“I've been like this the entire time, Harry.” You decided to be honest, no matter how embarrassing it was.

He didn’t say anything.

“You only care now because you have some kind of… fucked up obsession with Christian, and you hated that he finally got his way.”

“Stopping saying that.”

“You only came because you saw the pictures. You didn’t care until then.” You were talking softly into your hands. You didn’t have the strength to keep yelling.

“You know that’s not true. I didn’t-“

“I want my shirt back.” You cut him off. The footsteps paused.

“What?”

“My homecoming shirt. I want it back.”

“It’s at home.” He said after several beats of pained silence. His voice was hushed, like he had to force the words to come out.

“You shouldn’t have worn it with her, Harry. It’s mine.” You couldn’t see his face to gauge his reaction. “Put it in the mail or something.”

“I’m sorry.” His voice came from behind you. “I’m sorry, okay?”

“Can I just stay? Just for the night?”

You pulled your body off of the ground. You wiped your eyes, your face raw and sore from the constant crying over the last few days.

“I’ll sleep on the couch.” He promised. “I just don’t want to leave yet. I can’t.”

You debated it. Was a few more hours with Harry worth how bad it would hurt when he left tomorrow morning? How long were you going to keep doing this, getting hurt and just letting him back in?

“Why, Harry? So you can just go tomorrow morning and not talk to me for a few more weeks until the next scandal?”

“I won’t… I won’t.” He was desperate, grasping at strings. He came to you, sitting on the floor next to you. He took your hand in his. His face softened, and you hated the way his eyes made you want to forgive him, to forget all about the way he’d hurt you and just let things go back to normal.

“I don’t know why I… I just… I fucked up, okay? I was hurt and I was embarrassed and I just thought-“ His eyebrows furrowed as he searched for the right things to say. “I thought it would be easier, Y/N. I thought it wouldn’t hurt as bad if I just tried to forget about it.”

“Harry…”

You wanted to say something, anything, to take the frown off of his face. To stop the hurt for him.

“This isn’t what I wanted.” You said. It was true, but you weren’t sure how to elaborate. To tell him what exactly it was that you had been trying to accomplish by turning him down.

“I ran away like a coward and I’m sorry. I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry.” He tucked the hair that had fallen into your face behind your ear. He wiped your cheeks with the sleeves of his sweatshirt. His words came out frantically now. He was started to realize he was losing. “I shouldn't have, and I know that. I should have tried to make it right. I just- I just couldn’t.”

“Why not, Harry? I thought… I thought that we had something, I thought that you cared about me. I don’t have anyone out here anymore, Harry, no one.”

Your memory flashed back to earlier that evening, everyone in the conference room discussing your life like you weren’t even in the room. They couldn’t have cared any less about what was best for you, or how badly you were hurting.

“I do care, you know I do.” He promised. The way he said it, the way he was pleading to you on the ground, made you believe him. “I just didn’t know what to do. I wanted you. And I thought that you wanted me too. But I was wrong and I understand that now but it just…”

“I did want you, Harry.” You corrected him desperately. “I do.”

He was talking about you in the past tense, confirming what you already knew.

“Then why?”

He didn’t have to elaborate.

“You were drunk, Harry. You didn’t know what you were saying. I wasn’t going to just… To just let myself get carried away and make a fool out of myself just for one kiss.”

He just looked at you. Say something, you wanted to beg. Tell me I was wrong.

“You don’t know how badly I wanted to, Harry. It took everything I had.” Your face contorted into a grimace as you choked up. You tried clearing your throat, to push the awful feelings somewhere else where they’d never find you.

“I shouldn’t have said anything.” Harry decided. “I should have left things how they were. You’re right.”

No. No. That wasn’t what he was supposed to be saying. He was supposed to tell you you were wrong. He was supposed to give you another chance.

“What if I don’t want them that way anymore?” You whispered. Harry looked at you thoughtfully.

Neither one of you spoke after that. What a sight, the two of you sitting on the floor like this. Clutching desperately to the other's hands. The world stopped, just for a moment. You were sure of it. Whatever was going on outside of this room, whatever conversations were being had and whatever parties were in full swing suddenly silenced, waiting for the two of you.

Harry leaned foreward. He pressed his hand against your face, and you felt the familiar sting of his skin against yours. Your body lit up under his touch. Nothing else mattered besides him. It never had.

Harry brought his lips to yours, knocking the wind out of your lungs. You kissed him back without concern for what had happened or what was going to happen or what was going on around you.

He pulled away, just barely. He looked at your lips and then back into your eyes, his hand still on your face. He was thinking about something, but you weren’t sure what. He made up his mind, pulling your face back to his. You let it happen, letting him fix every single part of you that had fallen apart since you left home so long ago. He deepened the kiss, tangling his fingers into your hair. You wrapped your hands around his neck. There was no fixing what had shifted between you, no way to rearrange things back the way they were before. There was nothing stopping you now. He mumbled your name into your mouth, and that was all it took. Any sort of clarity of thought you’d had was gone for good. You wanted to hear him say it again, and again, and again. You wanted to be the one he was kissing, the one he took to the beach and to that same old cafe. You wanted him to keep the homecoming shirt you’d given him, to wear it whenever he wanted to. You would have let him do anything.

Harry moved his body towards you, leaning your back against the floor. His phone buzzed under the coffee table. He kept kissing you, and you kept letting him, his tongue searching the inside of your mouth, his teeth taking your lips between them. He moved his kisses to your jaw, then down your neck. You tugged lightly on his hair, feeling the curls tangle through your fingers. He hummed against your neck in appreciation. You body was on fire for him, desperate to be touched. Harry pressed his hips into you, and you could feel him against you. He was hard. You moaned into his hair and he took that as permission to continue he soft crusade of your neck. He pressed into you again, sucking harshly on the skin beneath your ear. His kisses were sloppier now, hungrier. More desperate. He brought his mouth back to yours just as your mind created a mental picture of this exact same scenario, happening in Christian’s guest room just last night. You imagined the blond hair spread out against the pillow, Harry’s hands traveling up and down that girls body. “He was fucking that model chick in my guest room all night…”

“Harry..” You said. He mumbled an “mhmm” into your mouth.

“Harry, stop.” You said. He froze, immediately lifting himself with his arms. He looked down at you, his lips red and swollen. His hair was a mess, his chest moving up and down as he tried to catch his breath.

“What?” He asked breathlessly. He didn’t look angry, or sad. He looked at you the way he used to, the way he looked at you when he instinctively knew something was wrong without you even having to tell him.

“Do you love her?” You asked him.

“What?” He asked again, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as if he had no idea who you were talking about. He breathed heavily for a second.

“That girl, Harry. Do you love her?”

“I- I-” Harry stuttered for a minute. Seconds ticked by painfully slow. He never finished his sentence.

“That’s okay.” You told him with a half-hearted smile. Your insides were torn out again. “I get it.”

He couldn’t say it. He couldn’t say that he didn’t.

“You’re my best friend Harry, you know that?” You told him. He had sat up completely now, leaning back to take a seat on the floor. You wrapped him in a hug but you could feel his shoulders fall. “I won’t make you choose. I’ll choose for you.”

Harry didn’t say anything, for a long, long time. He instead reached for his phone on the floor beside him and read through the messages that had popped up while he’d been distracted. He typed a response quickly. Maybe he was texting that girl, you thought. Maybe she was asking where he was and he was making up some kind of excuse.

“So I guess I should leave now, then?” He asked you. You sat with your back against the couch, hugging your knees.

“You can stay.” You said. You weren’t sure what was wrong with you.

“Okay.” He said.

“Okay.”

///

You heard the front door opening, and you cracked opened your eyes only to be blinded by sunlight coming in through the doors to the backyard. You were cuddled up on the floor, Harry’s arm around your waist and his face against your hair. His breath felt hot against your neck.

“Y/N!” Logan yelled. Her voice echoed around you, and you froze where you were. How were you going to explain this one, you and Harry asleep on the living room floor? Harry’s shoes were still on his feet. Footsteps came nearer as Logan spoke again.

“Bethany says you need to call her! She’s been blowing up my phone all morning!” She yelled. She was standing just on the other side of the couch now, not having seen you just yet. You tried to sit up, without drawing attention or waking Harry. It didn’t work, Logan peaking over the edge to see you there, on the floor, face flushed with embarrassment. Surprise flickered across her face, her eyebrows raising in question, before quickly disappearing.

She decided to leave it alone, a conversation for later you were sure. “Bethany says to call her.” She told you again. You looked around your place on the floor, remembering as you searched that you had left your phone in the car last night. Bethany was about to be so pissed at you.

“Okay.” You said plainly. You looked up at her, and she looked at you, and there were a thousand words exchanged without either of you saying a thing. Harry blinked his eyes open, rubbing them with the back of his hands. He looked up to find Logan staring at him.

“Oh, hey.” He said as if there was nothing unusual going on at all.

“Hey.” Logan said, completely unfazed. “Could you hand he a cinnamon roll.”

“Course,” He said, reaching next to him on the coffee table. Logan took a big bite, nodding her head as she chewed.

“So what’s up, you guys didn’t like the cinnamon rolls?” Logan asked, her mouth full. You stared at her in disbelief. They were both being so normal.

“Didn’t have a chance to try them, actually.” Harry explained. He sat up, stretching his arms out above his head.

“Clearly.” Logan continued. “But seriously, Bethany is like... freaking out. She needs you to sign off on some statement from your team about the whole…. Chrisitan thing.”

“Okay.” You were like a broken record, not being able to form any other sentence in your head. Logan’s phone chirped again as she walked up the stairs towards her room.

“If you don’t call her back right now I’m going to lose my FUCKING mind!” She yelled.

You looked over at Harry, who looked back at you. He smiled, kissing your cheek.

“Good morning.” He said.

“Good morning.”

Harry brushed the hair away from your face as you spoke, which you were sure was sticking up every which way. “I have to go get my phone.”

“Okay.”

You both stood. Harry put his hands back into his pockets. “Will you call me later? Just to.. Talk?” He asked.

“Of course.” You promised.

“Okay. Cool.”

You both walked outside. You grabbed your phone from your passenger seat as Harry revved his engine to life. You watched him pull out of the driveway, and gave him a small wave. Everything seemed kind of okay, surprisingly. Harry smiled wide, waving as he drove away.

///

STATEMENT FROM Y/N MANAGEMENT TEAM, April 12, 2019

In regards to the incident occurring on April 10, 2019:

We at Twin Lakes Management feel a responsibility, not only to our client Y/N, but to the community of fans and followers alike to clarify that this was not an incident of a romantic falling out, domestic dispute, or so called “lover’s quarrel”. We want to make it very clear that the advances made on Y/N the night of the incident by Mr. Turner were inappropriate, unwarranted, and unjustifiable. The photos circulating the internet of the incident clearly capture what can only be described as an attack on our client by Mr. Turner.

We take these matters seriously here at Twin Lakes. Mr. Turner was not and has never been romantically involved with Y/N, and through his actions not only threatened our client’s safety but made an attempt to defame and humiliate her.

At the request of Y/N, we ask that you refrain from sharing the mentioned photographs of the incident. We ask that you keep in mind that assault is not entertaining. We would also like to assure you that Y/N is okay, and can’t wait to share the new album with you all very soon.

KEEP READING!!

[lumosinlove]

Between Fifth And You

AO3

chapter two

~

It’s Saturday night for Manhattan’s elite, and we know what that means. The Noble House of Black beckons, and one particularly family seems to be a little behind on preparations—at least, their youngest son is.

Spotted—Logan Tremblay, looking hot in nothing but basketball shorts. Better soak up that fading blue August heat while you can, Lo. Or are you more interested in something a little more…fiery? But in the LES? Why so far from home, Dorothy? Eye color isn’t the only thing green about the Tremblay family. And they have a bad habit of sorting everything out with a little help from Ben Franklin.

“Shoot, shoot!”

Logan pivoted on his heel and was able to toss the ball around his opponent’s shoulder. He only caught a glimpse of red hair as Finn caught it with ease and jumped it up to the rim.

Finn O’Hara. One of these days Logan was going to step on his own shoes watching Finn O’Hara. His pale chest looked like sugar dusting, his exertion-red cheeks the goddamn cherry.

“Point moo-oi!” Finn shouted, slapping Will Morgan and Percy Marshall on their bare backs. “That’s how you say it, right, Tremblay?”

Logan feigned a shudder. “Non.”

“Shorty’s got game,” Will laughed, sweat dripping down his dark brown skin, darkening the leather bracelets he wore.

Percy shook his head, swallowing over a caught-breath, his silver Star of David swinging at his throat. “Shorty must be cheating with his Upper Side shoes.”

Logan just narrowed his eyes and laughed, pushing his hair out of his eyes. “You’re just tall. Doesn’t mean you’re good.”

“Yeah, yeah, Mazel tov, you fucker.”

“I’m finally winning,” Finn grinned. “And now I gotta get back to the shop. I said be back in five…pretty sure it’s been fifty-five.”

Logan swallowed. “I’ll—I’ll walk you.”

Percy slapped him on the back as they left, and Finn held the cage door of the basketball court open for him.

“So, you’re back at school?” Finn asked as he pulled his shirt on. Logan nodded, following suit, picking at the neck where it stuck to his sweaty skin.

“Yeah,” Logan nodded. “I’m supposed to be getting fitted for a suit right now.”

Finn snorted. “What does that have to do with school?”

“Oh,” the corner of Logan’s mouth raised as he realized. “Nothing, I…well, you know. The social scene. It sort of all feels like one thing, up there.”

Finn pouted at him. “Poor baby. Too many parties.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Logan laughed.

“Hey, feel like lunch?”

“I thought you had to be back.”

Finn shrugged. “I’m hungry.”

Logan bit his lip, wondering how many different ways his older sisters could actually kill him. Honestly, he thought he’d just die on the spot of he passed up the change to be squeezed into one of the small restaurants that Finn frequented. Screw the grand tables of his life. Logan wanted cracked leather booths small enough to let their ankles brush. Not that he’d ever say that out loud.

Finn didn’t disappoint. They walked down the shade of Mott street, then turned at a bakeshop on the corner. Finn pointed at it.

“You’ve been here, haven’t you?”

Logan raised a shoulder. “I don’t get down here much.”

Finn snorted. “Listen to you. Down here. You’re down here enough to pop into my bookstore all the time.”

Logan studied the cakes in the windows, biting his lip when he realized Finn’s eyes were still on him in the reflection. “I…yeah.”

Finn flicked the bill of Logan’s hat which shaded the back of his neck. “How’s that latest book you bought?”

Logan turned away from the window to get them walking again, not sure where they were going but trusting Finn to lead. “I’m starting school, man, I don’t have all the time in the world.”

Finn just laughed. “Come on, let’s catch the 6.”

Logan found himself squeezed into a tiny French restaurant in the West Village that served them even tinier croissants.

“I know the chef,” Finn said popping one he had spread jam and butter on into his mouth. “Dumo. Don’t pay a cent. I fucking love these things.”

Logan would have bought Finn a thousand of the tiny pastries without a blink just to see him lick a bit of jam from his thumb again.

“Dumo doesn’t sound very French…” Logan began cutting up his waffle.

Finn laughed. “Pascal Dumais does.”

“Oh. Yeah, that’s more like it.”

Logan glanced at a woman and her baby, who had started crying. He tried to think of something to say. For someone who’s job seemed to be making small talk at various parties and charming people with his accent—or so his mother sometimes said—he sure was horrible at it.

“So, what’s the suit for?” Finn asked, taking a sip of his black coffee.

“A fashion show,” Logan sighed, hiding his surprise—and maybe delight—at Finn’s unknowing shrug. “It’s…sort of a lot. Lots of people and cameras. And I always have to wear something green.”

Finn hummed in understanding. “It’s the eyes, yeah?”

Logan nodded. “A lot of fast English, too.”

Finn tilted his head. “I didn’t know that was hard for you. You’re perfect.”

Logan tried not to flush and covered it with a shrug. “I lived in France until I was fifteen before we finally moved to my dad. It’s still nice to be able to read lips sometimes. With the flashes and they make it super dark…I don’t know.”

“No, that makes sense,” Finn said, brown eyes soft. He smiled. “Hey, well, if you don’t want to go to the fitting, come man the shop with me. I’d love the company.”

Logan looked at him and ached, but saw his older sister Noelle’s pleading, excited expression in his mind. He might not love the scene, but he loved his sisters. “I wish I could. Really.”

They finished up their food and Logan had to admit that he lingered over his coffee until Finn said he absolutely had to leave.

“Hey, Tremblay,” Finn called from down the sidewalk, and Logan turned in the full knowledge that seeing the smile Finn sent him would only make him want to stay more.

The dutiful son wants the bookshop boy…I don’t know, Lo. How will their royal highnesses feel about that?

“Come buy more books you don’t read soon, okay?”

Logan couldn’t help but smile back. “D’accord.”

Finn walked backwards a few steps, yelling, “And bring me something green!” before turning and jogging down the subway stairs.

Logan laughed as he called his driver to him, escaping the heat for air conditioned leather.

XOXO

Pearls or diamonds, Upper Siders? Armani or Ralph? What, like you have other questions tonight?

Well, I have one for you. A tip from a friendly scroller gave me a peak at tonight’s guest list. Do you think we’re in for more than just a showdown on the runway? Cat fights over cat walks is what I always say.

XOXO.

[Image description: Two name cards reading, from left to right, Leo Knut and Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Sebastian Montague]

Remus found Julian already dressed and tapping at a game on his phone when he descended the winding staircase of their penthouse.

“You waiting for mom and dad?” Remus said, dropping a kiss to the top of his head.

“And you,” Julian said.

“Right, right,” Remus smoothed his black tuxedo, trying to ignore the subtle glint of blue-silver embroidered into the black velvet. His mother was a planner—which Remus liked usually—but this design had not aged well. This suit had a twin that it no longer belonged with. Remus clenched his jaw as he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He’d hoped wearing it would feel like defiance.

But it only felt like he was lonely. He gave his head a hard shake. He had Leo. He couldn’t let New York throw him.

“Gossip Girl’s going crazy. Of course,” Julian said.

“Jules, you shouldn’t read that stuff,” Remus sighed. “It’s just gossip—”

“Just posted about Sirius,” Julian murmured.

Remus huffed, pushing his hair out of its too neat style in the mirror. “So?”

Julian shrugged, but pointedly looked away when Remus took out his own phone.

The photo looked like one from the paparazzi, but the sight of Sirius on the red carpet made Remus’ throat close up.

I spy a statement piece. Or maybe it’s just a statement. Sirius Black arrives on the red carpet—or should I say black carpet—with none other than New York’s favorite icon, in worship and fashion alike. The Saint of these streets is looking particularly dashing tonight, hand in hand with the heir of this city. Ouch, Re. Looks like you’ve been dethroned.

Remus stared down at the screen, neck hot. Sirius’ suit sleeves had the barely there leather half moon cut-outs that Remus remembered tracing onto his skin.

Sirius had smiled into their kiss. Think anyone will notice?

Remus had just laughed. Everyone will notice.

But there was Saint, a crown of moonstones in his golden hair.

Remus looked down at his own suit. Of course Saint had thought of a way they’d match, that was all it was, but it still felt like a snub.

“I sort of miss him,” Julian said quietly.

Remus’ heart pulled. He swallowed and clicked his phone off. He looked at Julian, who looked almost sheepish.

“Do you?” Julian asked even more quietly.

“Don’t you like Leo?” Remus asked.

“Of course,” Julian nodded quickly. “But…”

“Remus,” Hope smiled, coming down the stairs arm-in-arm with their father. “Jules. Ready, boys?”

Remus didn’t think saying no was an option. He cleared his throat, pushed his hair back.

“Almost,” he said, backtracking towards the stairs. “Just a second. Gotta call Leo, make sure he hasn’t left yet.”

XOXO

“We can watch a livestream of the red carpet and the show,” Natalie said. “Sit.”

Finn groaned, squished beside Natalie on her tiny sofa. “That feels like I’m stalking him.”

“We’re allowed to stalk the boys we like.”

“You’re dating my brother, Nat. Does this mean you stalked him?”

“It really does,” Alex said, coming in from the kitchen with their margaritas and dropping a kiss to Natalie’s temple.

“Hm,” Natalie smiled up at him, accepting a kiss to her lips. “Scruffy.”

Finn sighed and pulled a knee up to his chest, watching the loading video Natalie had pulled up.

“Your wifi sucks,” he mumbled.

“It’ll load,” Natalie scooted over for Alex and passed Finn his drink.

“Salsa, too,” Finn said, waving it over.

Finally, the video popped up to a view of the red carpet.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Alex said.

“Be nice,” Natalie laughed. “It’s fashion!”

“Look,” Alex sighed. “I know they’re wealthy and it’s suppose to be all, I don’t know sandy beaches and wristwatches, but not a single one of these people look remotely happy. Like take a look at this guy—“

Finn looked over the sandy-haired man posing in front of the cameras—well, not posing, really. Kasey Winter, the commentators were saying.

“Nice hair,” Natalie crunched on a chip. “And listen to that, his mother’s one of the biggest producers at Weird Sisters Records.”

“Fine, but he looks like he’s ready to kill someone. I mean, anyone else think its kind of fucked up that the New York families go to a New York university where New York businesses draw from New York’s elite?”

“Yes,” Finn and Natalie said in unison.

And then there was Logan.

Finn let out an embarrassing sound and set his drink down, leaning forward.

Logan walked out in front of the cameras with three girls—his sisters, Finn remembered. Not to mention he followed all of them on Instagram. They had a lot of shoes, sure, but they seemed all right.

“I saw this thing on Gossip Girl about one of the sisters,” Natalie said. “She—”

“Nat, why the hell do you read that?”

Natalie shot him a look. “Like you don’t.”

Finn ignored them, too focused on the dark, nearly black, velvety green cape—or was it cloak?—that covered Logan’s shoulders down to above his elbows, falling to an elegant point at the small of his back over his black suit. The sisters had a similar get-up in one way or another—a green train, a shawl, a corset. Logan’s clasp was a silver fleur-de-lis.

“Green,” Finn breathed.

“What?” Alex asked.

Finn bit the inside of his cheek at Logan’s expression. It was meant to be blank, Finn thought, at-ease and untouchable, but it came off almost enticing. His dark eyelashes swept against his cheeks. Finn watched his throat bob around a swallow, his adored eyes shifting from flash to flash.

“Nothing,” Finn answered his brother.

“How’d you meet this kid anyway, Fish?” his brother asked.

“I was closing up shop about a month ago,” Finn said. “And he stopped at one of our windows. Looked like he’d run the entire island, he was breathing so hard. Not to mention it was pouring like nothing else. Thought he was gonna pass out, so I unlocked the door and let him in to get dry. I don’t know, he was kind of shy at first. Listened to me talk for about an hour before he started giving anything back.” Finn shrugged, watching Logan walk off screen. “I invite him to play basketball with me, Morg, and Percy now. We get lunch after sometimes.”

Natalie sighed. “He looked like one unhappy camper.”

“I think his family puts a lot of pressure on him. He’s the baby. Only son. All that bullshit.”

“I kind of want that cape,” Natalie said.

Alex sighed. “That’s the idea.”

Natalie slapped his chest, then kissed his cheek, and Finn watched Logan walk off-screen.

XOXO

“What say you, Capulet?”

Sirius looked down at Saint at his shoulder. “They’re out of crab puffs.”

“Boo,” Saint said. “You still closing the show?”

“Yep.”

“Shouldn’t you be in hair and makeup?”

“Yep.”

Saint stepped in front of him, the gold band of moonstones nestled in his curls glinting in the dark stage lights. “Looking for someone?”

Sirius just reached out and ran a gentle thumbnail beneath where Saint’s golden eyeliner had smudged against his brown skin, striking it back to a point. “Nope. See you after the show.”

Saint clucked his tongue. “I’m unimpressed.”

“What else is new?” Sirius said.

Saint went to smile, when his eyes flickered behind Sirius and he raised his eyebrows. “That.”

Sirius turned around, and quickly schooled his expression. The cameras were going wild, and in front of all the flashing lights was Remus, hand-in-hand with Leo Knut.

“They make a sunshine pair,” Saint said from beside him. “How’re you feeling?”

Sirius touched two fingers to one of the black-leather moons on his jacket sleeve. They were meant to go with Remus’ stars. He remembered planning for them. He’d thought…part of him had thought if he’d worn them tonight—

“Cloudy sky,” he replied to Saint.

“I was gonna say dappled sunlight in…” Saint glanced around. “A dark forest.”

Remus and Leo were wearing dress shirts, collars rumpled and unbuttoned at their throats, each in a smooth shade of cream. Their hands, decked out in golden rings, were laced together, and they both wore pale gray slacks, slim cut, and laceless nikes.

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun…hmm, but don’t I spy some burning jealous?

“What are we going for here,” Saint raised an eyebrow. “Left in a hurry and didn’t get the dress code?”

“We’re going against me,” Sirius replied, slipping his hands into his pockets and trying to stand straight. “That’s all.”

“Sunlight in a dark forest, indeed.”

Sirius watched them looking out over the flashes, and tried not to look surprised when golden eyes met his own. Remus’ expression didn’t change either. Instead, he simply blinked, then looked away. Leo, tall and lean, leaned into his ear, and Remus smiled. The cameras popped like champagne.

I love right here, Sirius remembered his own voice, the feeling of the soft skin by Remus’ eye beneath his thumb. I love right here when you smile.

“I need to get backstage,” Sirius said shortly, and turned on his heel.

“I’ll be watching.”

“Don’t I know,” Sirius called as he weaved his way through the crowd, heading backstage. The woman with a radio in her ear looked annoyed and nervous when he slipped past her, and radioed that he had arrived to whoever it was that needed to know.

“Sirius!” Alice called, hands full of makeup brushes and up in the air. “Jesus Christ, do you think I have all fucking night?”

Sirius shrugged out of his red carpet jacket—which someone took—and slid into her chair. “Sorry, Al.”

She twirled a protective cape around his shoulders, snapping it at the base of his neck. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty. But then again, I think everyone’s pretty.”

Sirius closed his eyes, letting her begin. “People are.”

Alice had just finished contour when Sirius all but felt his mother’s presence. A shift in the air. A cooler wind. People standing up straighter and shivering.  

“Sirius,” his mother’s face appeared in the mirror. Her red lipstick was the brightest thing about her, and even that was almost mauve. Her dress was tight around her breasts, but cascaded in thick waves of velvet behind her, and she wore tall leather boots. It almost looked like armor. “You’re very late, darling.”

“Sorry,” Sirius said. “Saint and I got caught up in the crowd, I guess.”

She hummed. “You two looked fetching out there. He’s much more pleasing than that other boy ever was. His family is important, too.”

It was true, that his mother had never liked Remus much. Though, Sirius couldn’t compare him and Saint. They were two different oceans.

“Get dressed,” his mother breathed, and was already snapping her fingers at one of the other models before Sirius could say another word.

“All right?” Alice asked him quietly.

Sirius looked at himself in the mirror. Her contour made his face look almost gaunt, as was the general makeup for all of the models, and he knew he’d be given dark eye makeup next, his hair fluffed into perfect curls.

“Fine,” Sirius said, and closed his eyes to let her work.

Sirius was shrugging into his given outfit—a billowing longcoat, 20th century in fashion, and a longer tunic made almost entirely of the thinnest black silk. It would shimmer when he walked, he knew, and his tall, lace-up boots, the flat sole so thin and delicate that he almost felt barefoot, would disappear beneath the shimmer. His mother was cold, stubborn, and cruel sometimes, an unfeeling, yawning sort of dark, but she was talented.

“Lord Vader,” came a voice from behind him, and Sirius laughed even before he turned to face Thomas Walker.

“Sounds about right,” Sirius said, and they clasped hands, pulling them into a one-armed hug. “You look fantastic, though.”

Thomas spun slowly on his heel, letting the long, loose fitting white linen of his button-down—which went out in two, tuxedo-like tails at his back—flare out above his slim, black trousers. He wore a thin scarf of distressed wool.

“Like a fallen gentleman, no?” Thomas grinned. “I might try and steal these pants. And maybe the shirt for Noelle.”

“Oh, yeah,” Sirius smiled, spying Noelle’s green eyes behind his shoulder. “She’ll love that.”

Noelle wrapped her arms, which were draped in a transparent green cloth, around Thomas’ waist. “Thanks for thinking of me, T baby.”

Thomas laughed in surprise. “Who let you back stage?”

“I’m a Tremblay, they’ll let us in anywhere.”

Thomas turned his head to capture Noelle in a soft kiss.

“See you after, hm?” Noelle said. “I’m gonna go say hi to my friend, she’s walking tonight, too.”

“Yeah, we’ll ride to Honeyduke’s together.”

Noelle raised an eyebrow at him. “You coming, Black?”

“Saint all but owns the place,” Sirius said. “Of course I am.”

Sirius walked. He didn’t look down, or hear the cameras. It wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, to be up here, not able to see past the lights—but something tonight was different. It felt as it had the night of his and Remus’ first kiss.

In that show, he had had one, thin line of black lipstick traced over the center of his bottom lip. It had marked Remus’ throat and cheeks like soot by the end of it all.

Remus had been waiting for him back stage.

“Come here,” Remus had whispered, and laced their fingers together.

“Where?” Sirius had answered, surprised by their palms pressing together.

But it hadn’t been a place. Remus had pressed them back in between clothing racks, and crashed their mouths together.

Here, Remus had whispered, and kissed him again.

Sirius felt the absence of the stage lights like a wash of cold air, and he stretched out his back, letting his stony face drop a little. He glanced around, but there was no one to be found. His cheeks were warm just thinking about it.

“Good,” his mother said as he passed her by to take off the makeup, and that was all.

XOXO

Saint looked across Honeyduke’s and felt like it was his. Logan was laughing with Thomas and Noelle, and he had Kasey Winter beside him, securing tickets to one of their favorite bands to see together.

“Done,” Kasey said, and flashed one of his rare smiles.

“I knew you were my favorite,” Saint took a sip of his drink, and Kasey scoffed.

“Me or my mom?”

“Maybe a little of both. Oh, and we’re going to sushi beforehand.”

Kasey’s smile was larger now. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. You gonna leave with that drummer again? What’s her name?”

Saint smiled. “Oh, Sally. And I make it a habit to always leave with the drummer.”

Kasey just shook his head. “Yeah, yeah. I’m getting a drink and leaving you to your one-liners.”

Saint watched him go, feeling settled, and set about scanning the room for Sirius. He was sure he’d know if he was there—people tended to swarm to Sirius, even if he didn’t ask for it. It was part of the reason they were so close. People flocked to Saint, too. So, they asked for each other’s company. A more intimate, calm part of life. Sirius was quiet. Saint wasn’t, but he let Saint , for a moment, be that way, too. Saint was loud. Sirius wasn’t, but Saint had his ways to fire him up.

“Another drink, sir?”

Saint looked over his shoulder, only to turn all the way around, interest peaked. The bartender had sandy hair, and a strong jaw, his cheeks textured by acne scars in some places. He had brown eyes—save for a sliver of green in one.

“Only if you have one with me,” Saint said, and glanced down at his name-tag. “Luke.”

Luke arched an eyebrow, pressing the heels of his palms onto the bar between them, revealing rolled up sleeves and some type of vine tattoo, wrapping all around both of his forearms.

“I’m working, sir.”

“Is that a later?” he nodded at the tattoo. “Nice.”

“I don’t think so,” Luke said.

“Oh, no?”

Luke scowled—how did he look so handsome doing that?

“Do you make it a habit to go home with all the waiters, too?”

Saint didn’t let his expression flicker, just smiled nice and slow.

“Hillrock,” Saint said. “Neat.”

The barkeep turned away.

Ouch. Looks like not everyone worships at your alter, Saint.

XOXO

The elevator doors opened, revealing the party to Sirius one outfit after the next. He had changed for the afterparty—the first of three. He wore a tight, thin black t-shirt and dark jeans. He hadn’t bothered to wash off the dark, smudged eyeliner from the show. His combat boots went up to just below his knee, and had the same nearly naked feeling sole. It made him feel soundless, like a shadow.

Maybe that’s why it was easy to find Remus and stand beside him without him stirring.

“You’re a little underdressed,” Sirius said without looking at him.

“Says the boy wearing a t-shirt,” Remus replied evenly.

Sirius scowled. “I meant at the show.”

“People like to be surprised,” Remus replied evenly.

“Who’s Leo?”

“My boyfriend.”

Sirius turned towards him. “You didn’t tell me you were coming home.”

Remus matched him. They were nearly chest to chest. “You didn’t say a word to me in class.”

“You didn’t—“

“I had the last word,” Remus snapped. “I figured maybe you’d finally have something to say back.”

Sirius stared at him, heart pounding in his ears. For a moment, he let himself look. At the golden eyes, hair more blond than ever from the summer’s sun. Sirius couldn’t stand that mouth set in a frown.

“Guess not,” Remus said softly, lips dropping open in the way they used to before they kissed.

Sirius all but felt him vanish into the writhing crowd.

XOXO

Finn looked up when a flash of color on the morning-silent street outside caught his eye. He set the books he was holding down, took the pen out from between his teeth.

Green.

“What the hell?” Finn laughed as he pulled open the door to his bookshop to find Logan standing there. “It’s five in the fucking morning, what are you doing here? Couldn’t sleep?”

“Never did,” Logan said, and that’s when Finn saw that Logan was still in his suit from the livestream.

“Ah, I see,” Finn said, eyes flicking up and down his broad form. He swallowed dryly. “The nature of afterparties, I suppose. Well, you—you look good. For someone who’s been up all night, I mean.”

Logan just smiled, one of his small, secretive ones. Finn watched as he stepped forward so they were almost toe to toe in the doorway.

“Wh…” Finn’s voice dropped off with a breathless laugh. He couldn’t help but look at Logan’s mouth. His full lips that could speak a language Finn couldn’t even begin to describe.

Logan just reached up to the base of his own throat and unclipped the fleur-de-lis clasp there. In one smooth swoop, he drew his short cloak from his shoulders and around Finn’s, right over his worn gray t-shirt, clicking it in place. The fabric brought a gentle scent, and he figured it must be Logan’s cologne.

“Something green,” Logan said softly. A warm, early morning breeze ruffled his hair, pushing the curls forward. Finn couldn’t move. “What are you doing here?”

“Inventory,” Finn whispered, then cleared his throat. “Inventory.”

“Okay,” Logan said. “I’ll help.”

[evening-starlight]

Warm Beers

     McKenzie Shoupe always had strong feelings towards JJ Maybank, but they were always platonic. At least she thought they were. But when she slowly runs out of warm beer excuses for the funny feeling in her stomach whenever JJ's around, Kenzie thinks they might be more.

---

New Series Babys!! This one’s OBX because I just watched season 2 and am OBSESSED.

Taglist is open! Dm or Comment to be added.

All Works Master List

Warm Beers Master List

1

Word Count: 1582

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    The music and laughter greet McKenzie's ears before she can see the party. She smiles to herself, knowing her friends are waiting for her by the fire. The sand gives way under her bare feet as she treks to the boneyard, greeting other people she knows on the way.

    "Shoupe Jr, what's up?" John B. yells, jogging over to Kenzie with an unopened can of beer for her. He swings his arm over her shoulders while guiding her towards the fire, where the rest of the group sits on logs. "Where does daddy dearest think you're at tonight?" Kenzie rolls her eyes as she takes a drink of the beer, making a face afterward.

    "Why the hell is my shit warm, Routledge?" John B. laughs and points at their blonde best friend.

    "Because JJ was in charge of the ice, and what does JJ do best?" Kenzie laughs and waves to the rest of the pouges, not forgetting to flip off her favorite, JJ Maybank.

    "Forgets shit," The group, including JJ, say in unison. JJ flips everyone off but smiles brightly. This was Kenzie's favorite spot in all of Outer Banks. The Boneyard with her four best friends, drinking beers by the fire and poking fun at each other. "So, where does Shoupe think you're at tonight?" JJ asks, making room on his log for his favorite girl to sit.

    Kenzie takes the seat and leans into JJ as he wraps his arm around her shoulders, playing absentmindedly with the strap of her bikini top. "At Sarah Cameron's," Kenzie says, drinking more of the disgustingly warm beer. "I haven't had her over in over a year, and he still thinks we're best friends." She laughs, shaking her head at her oblivious dad. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he lets me use her as an excuse because he knows I'm doing something with the people who give him high blood pressure." JJ scoffs and holds a hand over his heart in mock hurt.

    "Are you trying to tell me that your father doesn't approve of us?" Kenzie pushes JJ away with her elbow with a stupid grin. "I'm hurt, Ken, hurt." The group laughs with a shake of their head at JJ's theatrics. He fakes a pout while Kenzie steals his favorite red hat but really doesn't mind. She's the only person who's allowed to steal and wear his clothes.

    JJ wouldn't say he necessarily has a soft spot for McKenzie Shoupe, but if she asked him to jump, he'd ask how high. It's a mystery how the deputy's daughter and the town's bad boy became such good friends. All they know is that they can't go a day without each other.

    Kenzie lays her head on JJ's shoulder as she continues to joke and talk with her friends. An annoying feeling in his stomach makes him groan, gently pushing the girl off his shoulder. "Hey, you okay, J?" She asks, hand already feeling his forehead. The feeling gets worse, and he feels his face heating up.

    "I think the warm beer did something. My stomach isn't feeling too well right now," He mumbles. "I'm heading back to the chateau." He gets off the log and smiles at his friends. "I'll see you all up there later." JJ moves to leave, and Kenzie gets off her seat too.

    "I'm coming with you. I got to pee anyways," She says, shrugging. JJ lays his arms across her shoulder with a quick goodbye to the group, and they begin the short walk to the house. "You sure you're okay, J? You don't usually leave a party that soon after it starts," Kenzie worries. JJ would stay until the sun came up and after many boot and rallies. He was the party-going king.

     "Yeah, something just felt really off. But at least I learned the warm beer lesson," He jokes. McKenzie sighs with a nod. "You didn't have to come with me, you know? I'm a big boy who can take care of myself." She laughs and pushing him slightly away, only for him to push her back harder, nearly tripping her. The small amount of booze coursing through their system makes the situation funnier.

    "I know you can, but I honestly had to pee like a racehorse," She laughs, relief filling her as she sees the chateau coming into view. Kenzie should have honestly peed before she left, but she was too excited to think about it. The thought of seeing JJ again fueled her forgetfulness.

    "Well, Ken, I'm sorry to say, but you'll have to wait in line. I have to pee," JJ says before taking off in a sprint towards the house.

    "You mother fucker," She yells back, laughing as she chases after him. They wrestle and yell at each other as they trip up the steps until Kenzie gets the lead and slams the door in JJ's face. It won't be a long hold, but long enough to get to the toilet first.

    Kenzie barely reaches the restroom before JJ caught up to her, narrowly missing her waist as she dashes into the bathroom, already pulling down her pants. "Suck my dick, JJ," She laughs, sighing in relief as she finally gets to empty her bladder.

    "Only if you ask nicely, Ken," JJ prompts, grabbing a step stool from under the counter and standing on it like he's about to empty himself in the sink.

    "Oh my God, are you going to piss in the sink?" Kenzie asks in disgust. JJ smiles at her and starts unzipping his jeans. "Holy fuck, you're so unsanitary, Maybank."

    "Well, then look away," He exclaims, still undoing his pants to pee. "Unless you want to see my dick," He adds. McKenzie gags, shielding her eyes with her hand. "Oh, come on, you can't say you're not the least bit curious," JJ prompts as Kenzie hears the liquid splashing in the sink.

    "If you've seen one dick, you've seen them all, JJ." Kenzie jokes before wiping herself and pulling up her pants, looking the opposite of JJ.

    "I would like to disagree on that one, Ken," JJ rebuttals, situating himself back in his pants. The odd feeling is gone, so JJ chalks it up to having a full bladder. "See, dicks are just like pussys," He starts but stops when he sees Kenzie following him out without washing her hands. "Aren't you going to wash your hands?"

    Mckenzie raises an eyebrow as she says, "In the sink, you just pissed in? Not until it's bleached and gutted." JJ laughs and lets her lead them to the kitchen. "You were saying? About dicks and vaginas?"

    "Right," JJ starts again while he hops on the kitchen counter, watching Kenzie wash her hands in the sink there. "They're all different in their own beautiful ways." Kenzie chuckles at her friend's drunken analogy.

    "Is that your way of comforting yourself because you have a small peen?" Kenzie asks, turning around towards the boy, who immediately starts to protest. "No, no, it's okay. Like you said, everyone is beautiful in their own way," Kenzie jokes.

    "You want to see it and judge for yourself?" JJ asks, jumping off the counter, hands already on his button. Kenzie laughs, shaking her head before looking at the opening door. Kiara stops in her tracks, causing the other two boys to bump into her.

    "What's going on in here?" She asks, eyeing the situation. Kenzie is red and smiling while JJ's hands are on the hem of his pants.

    "JJ's trying to show me his micro-peen," Kenzie quips. JJ growls and lunges at her, causing her to squeal out a laugh and dodge his attack. She runs through the living room, laughing maniacally at JJ's continuous curses and insults while the rest of the group gazes on.

    JJ finally catches Kenzie, pinning her to the ground with her hands above her head. They're both panting and smiling at each other. "If someone didn't have a small penis, they wouldn't be so worked up over me calling them tiny dicked," Kenzie says, shrugging as best as she can in her compromising position.

    "Would you two just kiss already and stop this stupid thing you got going on? I'm tired of watching the constant pining," John B. sighs, plopping onto the couch. Kenzie suddenly feels claustrophobic with JJ on top of her, her heart beating faster and throat closing up.

    "Off," She mumbles, moving her wrists out of JJ's grasp as he slowly dismounts her. They stay silent as John B. puts turns on the TV, ignoring the awkward tension he caused between the two friends. JJ tries to hand Kenzie his hat back, knowing it's her favorite keepsake of his. She shakes her head timidly, squeezing between John B. and Pope, with her legs to her chest.

    "Why'd you guys leave?" JJ asks, setting the hat on the coffee table and planting himself next to Kie on the second sofa, avoiding Kenzie's watchful eye.

    Kie shrugs, bumping shoulders with JJ purposefully. "It's not a party without our party king there. Besides, too many Kooks showed up and ruined the vibe."

    McKenzie tries to ignore the angry feeling in her stomach, watching the two friends talk. She doesn't even know why she feels that way, but it only grows as JJ leans on Kiara. So much so that Kenzie has to avert her gaze to the animated show on the television, legs still clutched to her chest.

[ghostofskywalker]

oh you're definitely gonna have to write that Musical fic because i need it 😂😂

here's a little something 😂 it’s not exactly what i wanted but couldn't help myself (based off this post)

The lights were already off as Sam and Bucky walked into the theater, something they were thankful for. They couldn't exactly walk around wearing sunglasses in the evening, so baseball caps were the only disguises they had. Sam had suggested something less conspicuous before they left, but Bucky shook his head and assured his boyfriend that they weren't going to get recognized. Not wanting to push the topic (and they were already running late) Sam just sighed and grabbed their baseball hats before they left the house.

There were a small area of open seats in the back of the theater, and they settled in comfortably right as the curtains opened for the first time, and the play began. Critics had called it a "must-see" and "astonishingly accurate," but Bucky found that he disagreed almost immediately. He didn't know what kind of sources the playwright had used, but they had left out some glaring details and flubbed the ones they did include.

Firstly, the kid they had playing Steve before he got the serum was too tall. Then, the man who was supposed to be playing him was too short, so it looked like Steve and Bucky were the same height.

Sam noticed something was off as Bucky tensed, and he looked over. "What's up?" he whispered. If it was any other play, at any other moment in time, he wouldn't have dared to speak in the theater, but he didn't even know Steve's experiences in the 40's that well and he could tell something was wrong. Besides, there was no one else in their general vicinity.

"I thought this was supposed to be accurate," Bucky said, an annoyed look on his face.

Sam stifled a laugh, and they heard the sound of someone shushing from somewhere else in the theater, so they both shut their mouths.

That silence didn't last long though, and soon Bucky watched as Steve (or rather, the slightly too-tall man playing him) jumped on a grenade while he was in training camp. "See?" Bucky whispered, nudging Sam's arm. "That never happened."

"No that part's right," Sam whispered back. "He mentioned it to me one time while we were swapping war stories, when we were looking for you."

"That bastard!" Bucky said, slightly louder than he should have. Thankfully, there was a musical number on the stage (one that definitely did not happen in real life) and it didn't seem like anyone heard his interjection. "He never told me that!"

Sam just laughed, and he was about to speak when they noticed one of the ushers approach where they were sitting. "I'm going to have to ask you to stay silent," he said. "Or exit the theater."

Sam nodded and looked over towards Bucky, who was already walking out the door. "Guess we're going then."

The air was cold as Sam jogged slightly to catch up with Bucky. "You okay?" he asked. He expected to see a somber expression on his partner's face, Instead, it looked like he was trying to hold back laughter. "What's so funny?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"That music was terrible," Bucky said, bursting out into laughter.

"Is that why you just left?"

"Look, if I'm going to be subjected to two hours of grossly overplayed war stories about Steve, half of which aren't even true, at least make the music good."