#where those twins were doing a weird dance in front of a fake mirror for like a bajillion hours

[pies-writes-and-more]

Hey I have a request!! Can you write a scenario with Bokuto, Tsukishima, and Sugawara where reader has a LOT of moles/beauty marks? I have 5 on my face alone, 3 in a line on my neck and more. It makes me insecure because it looks weird. Anyways, thank you sooo much! I absolutely love your writing!!!

Warnings: potential swearing as usual, insecurities about beauty marks/moles

Characters: Bokuto Kōtarō, Sugawara Kōshi, Tsukishima Kei, all with a Gender Neutral Reader (let me know if you find something gendered so I can fix it!)

A/N: thank you for the request darling! Sorry for the long wait!! Hope this is what you had in mind :) Also, all of them are right: you are beautiful!

Haikyū Masterlist

You didn’t understand why Bokuto seemed to only ever kiss your face exactly where you didn’t want him to.

You could stand in the mirror and point out things you didn’t like about yourself but your beauty marks were something you were self conscious about. You used to cover them up with light makeup every now and then but lately you hadn’t had the time or patience for it, so you just avoided looking at them.

But Bokuto, even after months of being together, seemed to somehow feel the opposite. He would press a kiss exactly on the moles on your face and when you were in private, he’d kiss the ones falling down your neck. He seemed so infatuated with them and you could never understand why.

One day he caught you trying to apply makeup again, finally sitting down and trying this new method that could cover up anything according to a makeup artist you’d seen on social media. His eyes wide and you could’ve sworn his hair drooped, “What’re you doing???” He screeched, immediately snatching your makeup from you.

“Bokuto!” You whined, huffing as you paused the YouTube video playing in front of you to pout up at him, “Give it back!”

He shook his head like a four year old, stomping his feet slightly, “Why’re you covering them?” He asked you, hands on his hips now.

There was no point avoiding the topic now. You sighed and glanced at yourself in the mirror, half of them covered and the other half just staring you in the face. “They’re ugly,” you whispered quietly, avoiding his eyes.

“Ugly?” Bokuto scoffed and sat down next to you, hugging his knees to his chest and setting your makeup down. “How could they be ugly?”

You had heard this before. All of your friends and family always went, “No Y/N, you’re perfect!” But it was always so fake. You knew they were just saying it to be nice.

But Bokuto just paused, watching you for a moment and handing you back your makeup. You blinked up at him in surprise, noting his small smile. “If it makes you feel better, go ahead. I want my love to always feel their best. But...” he let out a nervous sort of chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “I really like them,” he admitted sheepishly.

You knew he was being honest just because of the rosiness that was touching his cheeks. He squirmed in his spot, now avoiding your gaze. “Why?” You asked after a moment.

Bokuto straightened his posture for a moment before carefully choosing his words, “Someone once told me they were places your partner kissed you the most in your past lives. And...” he hesitated, cheeks glowing red now. “And I’d like to think I was with you in every one of our past lives so I want to keep kissing you there so you’ll love me in our next life too!” He blurted out quickly, rocking a little in his seated position.

You just stared at him. Sure you had heard of that little theory too, but you hadn’t ever had someone seriously retell it to you. But hearing it from him... you looked at yourself in your mirror again. It didn’t change how you felt about them. You still weren’t a huge fan. But hearing Bokuto genuinely love them... at least it lessened your insecurity about him hating them.

“I think you’re beautiful, Y/N,” Bokuto continued after a second, smiling at you and scooting closer to you. “If you need this makeup to help you see how beautiful you are, then go ahead! But I think you’re the most perfect human being out there!”

Your eyes teared up slightly, just hearing how sure he was. He smiled at you, pressing a kiss to your cheek before immediately looking through your makeup bag, “Can I try?” He asked excitedly, holding up a mascara tube and lipstick.

“You want to try wearing it or putting it on me?” You laughed, your face no longer feeling hot with embarrassment and shame.

“Both!” Bokuto grinned, begging you to teach him what each product was. He always knew just how to cheer you up, no matter what.

He knew you still disliked your marks, but Bokuto would continue to kiss them every chance he got unless you ever asked him to stop. He still wanted to recognize you in his next life, so even if those weren’t the marks you’d have, maybe he could give you some others you’d like more.

Sugawara’s fingers always traced over the beauty marks on your face, beaming when he pointed out that you two were twins for having moles together. He always had a smile on when he talked about it, always spoke about it so proudly like it was a mark of status or beauty.

But unlike Sugawara, you weren’t all that proud of it and you didn’t just have one. You often just gave him a smile and switched the topic, and though you always loved the feeling of his fingers dancing along your skin, sometimes you’d pull away to do something or distract him with something else if you felt like he was touching your marks too much.

He hadn’t realized it before, but came to the realization that maybe you didn’t like your marks when he caught you editing a picture of the two of you, your fingers magically causing those little spots to just disappear.

“What’re you doing?” Sugawara frowned, hugging you from behind and peering from over your shoulder.

“Just editing that pic of us before I post it!” You told him happily - it was such a nice photo and with a few simple touches, it would be perfect.

Sugawara watched you for a little longer, confirming his suspicions before knocking you on the head with the side of his hand.

“Hey! Suga, what the hell?” You groaned, rubbing the top of your head slightly. “What was that for?”

“Stop erasing my baby!” He shouted at you loudly, making you laugh nervously at just how loud he was being.

“I’m not erasing your baby!” You insisted, shaking your hands in front of you. “Just... my marks.”

Sugawara’s frowned stayed on his face as firm as ever, “They’re a part of you. And I love all of you. I love every single inch of your skin, whether you have a mark or not. I love you because you’re not like a cookie cutter version of a person, you stand out in the most beautiful of ways. I want you to be different, I want you to draw all the attention so I can say that one is mine.”

You smiled a little at his words, hearing the conviction in his voice. But your eyes glanced sadly at the photo, just wishing you didn’t have them.

“Hey,” he spoke softer this time, touching your chin up to look at him, “If you really don’t like them, fine. We all have our insecurities after all. But please don’t tell yourself you’re less beautiful because of them.” His hand slipped your phone from your own, peering at your editing work. “You looked like a completely different person,” he admitted with a sort of sad smile. “Still beautiful. But different. I like the version I have here with me.”

Sugawara’s arms were suddenly wrapped around you in a rib-crushing hug, his voice telling you firmly all the things he loved about you and how much he wanted to scream to the world every single thing that made him crazy about you. Eventually you were practically unable to breathe in his arms as they just got tighter and tighter and the two of you fell on the floor laughing after wrestling for a bit.

The photo is eventually posted unedited like he wanted, and now when you look at it, you feel just a little bit more loved, regardless of your marks.

Tsukishima knew even before you two were going out that you were self conscious of your marks. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with them, to be honest, they made your face that much more attractive, but you hated them so he always pretended like they weren’t there for your sake.

But he had caught you picking at one of them, as if absentmindedly thinking you could tear it off and everything would be okay.

His eyes narrowed as he realized what you were doing, reaching over to swat at your hands, and glaring at you from across the library table where two of you were supposed to be studying.

“If you start bleeding, I’m not taking care of you,” he scolded you, though you knew for a fact that he had started keeping bandaids in his bags for you cause sometimes you were that clumsy.

“Sorry,” you responded sheepishly, folding your hands in front of you in an attempt to stop picking at them. Your eyes focused on the sheet of paper in front of you, but you weren’t able to actually pay attention to anything on it. It was like an itch you couldn’t get rid of, an obnoxious little bump in your otherwise relatively smooth skin. Why did it have to be there?

Tsukishima watched as your eyes stayed still on your homework, obviously not actually reading anything. He sighed and reached over again, poking at your nose, “If you think I’m going to let you destroy your grades and your perfect body, I’ll hit you harder than I have before,” he threatened. He meant to say it gentler, in a somewhat more supportive and comforting way but his words were still as harsh as ever.

You gave him another shy smile, trying not to show just how uncomfortable you were, “They just get annoying sometimes,” you told him after a moment when he didn’t immediately go back to his work. “I feel like if I could tear them all off... maybe I’d look better.”

Tsukishima’s nose scrunched up slightly in annoyance, tilting his head up so his eyes were glaring down at you, “Do you think I’m going to let anyone talk about my partner like that? Idiot, if I heard those words from anyone else I would have your head by now."

You laughed a little, thinking about how Tsukishima got upset if anyone even said something remotely mean about you (”The only one allowed to bully you is me, Y/N, forget anyone else’s opinions. They’re all beneath you anyways”), “I just feel so... spotted with them. I feel like everyone always looks at them and there’s so many of them I can’t even hide them all.”

Tsukishima listened, he really did. He didn’t wave you off like usual and tell you to forget your insecurities because you were definitely the most perfect person out there so you had nothing to be insecure about. He listened and then just sighed, leaning back in his seat slightly and watching you.

“I think you’re magnificent,” he stated quietly, his eyes dashing away from yours as a blush brushed over his cheeks and nose. “I don’t want you picking at them because you’re just going to hurt yourself and I don’t want you to hurt yourself.” He paused for a second and then finally met your eyes. “Yamaguchi used to hate his freckles, but it’s probably the thing that I notice the most about him. They fit him so well in a way that I can’t describe. He wouldn’t be the same without them, he’d just be... someone else. Without your marks, you’d be someone completely different. I’m in love with you and all of you.”

You watched him as Tsukishima actually told you his emotions and spilled his love for you, a smile gracing your lips eventually, “I love you too, Tsukishima,” you mumbled after he finished, playing with your fingers.

“You better. Now come over here and give me a kiss before we start studying again,” Tsukishima smirked a little and you just rolled your eyes. You were going to argue back that he could just lean over the table and kiss you but he refused so you ended up having to go over to him, where he just pulled you on your lap and placed a quick kiss on your lips then on all the marks on your face. “Now go study.”

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[translightyagami]

Mikalight Week fic: 24-Hour Gym

a short mikalight fic for, what else, @mikalightweek. wrote it sort of quick? and its not explicit but is very sensual and there’s a lot of body talk and you can basically assume they fuck after the fic (i was TOO LAZY to write the smut). Anyway.

This fic is rated BPBB, for Bench Pressing Bodacious Babes.

Quiet and soft humid air filled the gym. From the window, Teru watched him with his standard issue NPA duffel bag slung over his shoulder, laughing at a text on his phone. When he looked up, they almost met eyes and Teru turned, facing his reflection in the wall-length mirror. His black hair hung in lank strands beside his face; his grey T-shirt collar darkened into a full-leaf of sweat over his front. The gym door bells jingled as he came in, cheeks pink from the mid-winter outside and a wary smile on his face.

Of course, Teru recognized him. Kira. Light. Above the brown trendy haircut floated his full name, the kanji confusing for a minute until – congealed and solidified – the meaning existed. While Light checked in with the sleepy front desk clerk, he talked loud and high-pitched. It was a voice unlike the one Teru heard in the warehouse, the one that told him after the police and that little white haired boy were dead, to go home. To make up an alibi. And to meet him, at this little 24-hour gym, in ten days.

Watching Light’s mirror twin walk to the back lockers, Teru lifted his dumbbells on autopilot – eleven, twelve, twelve, no wait – before setting them down, grabbing the towel he tucked into his jogger’s waistband. Nervous sweat and exertion sweat mixed together, all mopped away by a monogramed hand towel. When he glanced back up, Light was at the rowing machine.

For twenty minutes, they waltzed: Light moved to a machine, doing his reps, while Teru went to a different machine, did his own program. (An unceasing eye for detail made note that Light lifted about ten under Teru’s lowest weight.) Having shed a jacket now that he’d warmed up, Light worked in a loose white tank top that hung low in the sleeve holes. Every so often, when he reached to grasp a bar, his chest swooped in and out of view. Teru caught scar tissue, though never a long enough glimpse to know its shape. He stood from the arm extension machine and walked to the bench press. All the way he felt two sharp eyes peering at him from a leg machine.

Teru set the plates: two 10 kg., and then two 2.5 kg. plates, an unusual though not overwhelmingly larger weight than he lifted on a normal night. Foolish and near school-boylike, he wanted to show off in front of the other man. After setting the weights, he leaned back and rested his head beneath the long metal bar – and waited. The sound of God walking, a long stride with confident footfalls, was familiar in Teru’s ears. Head haloed in florescent, Light bent above the metal bar with arms outstretched.

“Do you need a spotter?” His tone suggested a joke – ha, ha, who else but me – but Teru only heard the question in serious.

“Yes,” he said, and it was then he realized these were the first words he’d spoken to Light in public. How apt, how right, that their exchange be God extending his hands to help Teru carry such a heavy burden. Light hovered his palms just around the silver length, eyes trained on Teru as he wrapped fists at either end and – oh! – lifted. Every rep, staring directly into a brown-eyed microscope, and Teru almost shook, lost his strength, when their hands nearly brushed. He managed ten reps before gently resting the bar back in place. Sweat dripped off his neck and above him, it made gems across Light’s forehead.

“Wow,” Light said. “You’re pretty strong.”

“T-thank you,” Teru cursed his stutter. He didn’t expect the compliment and it made a little flower burst inside his concrete encased heart. The flower only grew the longer Light looked at him, smile just a pink curve, eyes unnervingly genuine. It was a look that fake people in movies gave each other – Teru hated how much he liked to trust it. God had to be genuine – a kingdom of justice would never stand on false ground. Light’s stare trapped him with a weight deeper and heavier than any dumbbell, and when he glanced away, Teru gasped. His breath had flattened in his chest.

Light left first, at midnight, and when Teru went to his own locker at one thirty am, he found a note shoved into the air slits. On the note was a phone number and curt letter L for a signature. He folded it into the smallest triangle he could, having memorized the number, and set the paper beneath his tongue. As Teru packed his things, nodded to the gym employee, walked into a cold and calamitous city sidewalk, the paper poked and scraped the inner wet flesh. Pain in little bites followed him on his walk – each bright moment a moment of God beside him. Do you need a spotter? A question, a divine extended hand. Wow. You’re pretty strong. Strong, a warrior disciple, God’s most beloved. And, at the platform for his train home, he swallowed the dissolving note – communion.

Teru started working out in high school, when a gym teacher suggested a natural physical ability like his could use sculpting and recognized in him a perhaps genetic inability to play on a team. Ever since the first time, he took to the regimentation, the preplanning and trackable results of gym life. Within the walls of his usual club – the membership to which took up an embarrassing but necessary amount of his pay – Teru found ritual. A work out was an offering to the divine in his own body, and now it became religious practice, a modeling of himself into a better tool for Kira’s will.

This late night arrangement became weekly. On Tuesdays, Teru and Light worked out in the same hole-in-the-wall 24-hour gym, just them and one employee. Two owls dancing around the machines, Teru knew both their stares were gobbling each other’s body behaviors like so many tasty mice. He saw in Light a similar high-school athletics resolve, although the way his muscles smoothed rather than fit into shapes spoke more to sports than targeted workouts. Teru resisted his own snobbery in this observation – though he found a dedication to the perfecting of the body rather than to sportsmanship more pleasing. Kira had his reasons, maybe, for choosing athletic pastimes. There too was a certain leanness to Light’s body as well. Even with a layer of more authoritative muscle, he looked vulpine, foxlike in his lithe frame. His posture retained the slight slouch that many people who were slim in their young adult hood had; in fact, Teru only recognized it since he himself trained it out of his own habits a year prior.

And, yet, the flurry of observation – itself a thrill in its artificial intimacy – didn’t compare to those few minutes where Light leaned over, put his elegant hands out, and spotted Teru’s bench press. He took to doing them more often than his usual schedule. Combined with the bigger weights, an unevenness grew in his routine that Teru would never have allowed before. He couldn’t stop himself though. Anything for a few moments close enough to Light to see the split of his lips, the sweat trickling over his flushed cheeks.

On the fourth week, while Teru wiped down the leg press after he used it, Light approached him.

“Hey,” he said. “Isn’t weird how we’re always in this place together, but we’ve never learned each other’s names?”

“Mikami Teru,” Teru said. The tone was straightforward, and his volume normal – and still he imagined how imprudent he sounded. “I don’t usually go to this gym.”

Light narrowed his eyes and shook his head, just enough to say not the plan. Up his back, Teru’s spine stiffened. It was no joy to disappoint Light.

“Well,” Light said, slick voice untwisting the frustration in his gaze and presenting a smile that bordered on pretty. “I’m Yagami Light. I’ve really admired your routine. Maybe sometime we can meet up. I’m no good with workouts, not like you.”

“Oh. Yes.” Teru nodded. Meet up? Before he could ask a clarifying question, Light spoke over his concerns.

“Call me tomorrow,” he said. “I’m free after five.”

He walked away, not leaving a number except the one boiled in Teru’s stomach. No matter how heavy the weights he lifted, no matter the volume of the baby crying on his bus home, all Teru thought of was his phone and tomorrow after five. His palms itched.

He called at five twenty the next day, having rushed home after a meeting went long, and Teru never heard a worse noise than the ringing before Light picked up. On first answering, his tone was unpleasantly gruff, accusatory – a man in the drag of an older, wiser man. It clashed with the smooth youthfulness of Light’s voice in the gym, which only returned when Teru tentatively said his own greeting.

“Oh! Mikami,” Light said, a balm over the scratches left behind by his put-on masculinity. “You’re calling so late. I thought maybe you forgot.”

“No,” Teru said. “Never. I don’t forget important things.”

“Mm,” Light said. Behind his voice was a tapping sound, someone hitting paper with a pen. “I’m honored to be an important thing. Say, I didn’t catch it before, but where did you say you lived?”

Teru sat on a kitchen stool; he’d been standing, impatient, in the breakfast nook as though preparing to run to wherever Kira needed him. But the question set him down – why did Light want to know? And was it safe to say over the phone? Realizing he’d left dead air too long, Teru muttered that he lived further south – about an hour from the 24-hour gym.

“Oh, I see,” Light sounded mildly perturbed to be have been waiting. “I was just thinking, my girlfriend is making cookies and I thought I’d send you some. Do you have an address that’d be good?”

His girlfriend? Teru didn’t press but his stomach sank. However the phrase stung, he listed his apartment address in dutiful detail. In his ear were the soft scratches of Light’s pen writing everything down and, once he finished, Teru coughed. He didn’t want the phone call to end.

“Did you play sports?” His question flowed out in a proper, clear way, and Teru congratulated himself on how normal he sounded. “Maybe in high school?”

Light went quiet and when he spoke again, the words were cold.

“I played tennis,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

“I only wondered because,” Teru scrambled for something less damning to say, “you’re in such good shape but don’t like to work out. And usually that’s because of sports, I find.”

“Ah,” a low simmer melted Light’s voice. “You like to work out, don’t you, Mikami?”

“Mm,” Teru said. “I enjoy the time to work on my body. Physical fitness is a key to leading a good, worthwhile life.”

“Interesting,” Light said. He tapped his pen before popping his lips. Their wet click was at once disgusting – the body, the spit, the base physicality of it – and alluring – the body, the spit, the parts of Kira blessed by his own inner spirit. “I’ll send those cookies tonight. Expect them at your door around midnight, hm?”

“Oh.” This wasn’t about cookies. “Yes, I’ll look for them then. Thank you, Light. That’s very kind of you.”

“I’m always kind to my friends,” Light said.

At midnight, Teru heard the curt knock of the one he waited for. Standing in the hallway of his apartment building, wrapped in a coat, green sweater and black jeans, was Light. He smiled when Teru gestured for him to come inside – a good, well-raised smile. In a small childish part of himself, Teru wished to return such a pleasant smile. Instead, he nodded and raised his eyebrows as Light pressed a plastic box into his hands.

“I wasn’t lying, before on the phone,” he said, shaking off his coat. “My girlfriend was baking. She insisted I take some to meet my new friend. My recommendation?” Light swung around, coat on his finger and a wryness to his expression. “Toss them. Misa can’t bake.”

“How unfortunate,” Teru said. I’m a passable baker, he thought.

Light walked further into the one-bedroom space. He put his coat onto the black lacquered hat rack’s lower rung, ran a finger across the tight gray rectangle couch, and complimented the large entertainment center Teru built. When he let it slip that, in fact, he’d built it himself, Teru saw a curl of interest in Light’s gaze.

“I’ve always liked building too,” Light said, shrugging. “But never something so well constructed.”

He wandered into the sitting room and looked to his feet, a play-acted shyness. Nothing in his body language bar the glance down suggested timidity. Teru followed, although he knew his own behavior was less confident. Light flicked his eyes up and stilled Teru’s movements.

“I’m proud of your actions,” he said. “How well you served me, served the kingdom Kira hopes to build.”

A tremor worked through Teru and he sat, unable to keep his legs steady. To be acknowledged made him eager and fraught. Without thinking, he bowed his head, and a warm palm pressed over the back of his neck. Light murmured something.

“What did you say?” Teru asked, eyes going blurry the longer he stared at his own lap.

“I said,” Light slid a finger beneath his chin, tipping Teru up and into his line of vision. “Do you think you could bench press me?”

“I,” Teru frowned, his instinct to refuse presenting weakness. He fought past it. “I can try.”

The smile from before – polite, the kind a mother asked for during family pictures, toothless – warped into the brilliant split Teru recognized from the yellow warehouse. Light smiled in high volume, loud and greedy.

“Perfect,” he said. “Let me undress.”

“Undress?” Teru’s resolve wavered and he stood.

Light shrugged, already popping the button of his jeans.

“Won’t you need better traction?” He asked. “My clothes might cause your hand to slip.”

Breathless, Teru watched God strip down to a pair of black briefs. Shirtless, the two pink scars he saw glimpses of before swiped just beneath Light’s nipples, which hardened in the air-conditioning. Mental deduction took Teru up to chest surgery, although he couldn’t pinpoint the reason. As he stared, Light’s eyes took on impatience not unlike when Teru slipped up in the gym.

“Do I not please you?” Light raised his eyebrows, swinging out his hands. “Do you find God wanting in some way, Mikami?”

“No, no,” Teru covered his mouth. “I apologize for the imprudence. I only was curious.”

“Keep curiosity to the cats,” Light said. “Now, lay back and we’ll try this.”

Teru pushed his coffee table to the side and laid himself down on the sitting room rug. Flat on his back, Light leaning over him almost nude, a strange helplessness infected him. No matter what happened next, he had no real choice other than what Light chose for him. It didn’t help that Light’s gaze had an almost lepidopterist’s leer – staring at a captured butterfly and wondering what pins to use on its corpse. Teru shook himself inside; Kira didn’t think of him as a butterfly. He was a servant, a faithful one, and Kira found him strong.

Stretching up his arms, Teru cupped his hands and met Light with his own stare.

“Whenever you’re ready,” he said, “slowly place your waist in my right hand and your thigh in my left.”

Light nodded, walking around to stand next Teru’s shoulder. He bent in a gentle arc and his waist was the first thing to touch against Teru’s palm. In a shift, the confidence of before didn’t echo in Light’s actions now. He was cautious, still leaving one foot on the ground as he laid himself into Teru’s grasp. A muffled groaned left Teru; even with his weight distributed away, Light was still heavy.

“Um,” Light said. “Is it okay to let go?”

The question was human, quiet, and Teru wanted to file it away suddenly. He took a deep breath, wiggled his fingers where they held Light, and nodded.

“Go ahead,” he said. “I’ve got you.”

Light gasped as he lifted his leg. Balanced between Teru’s straining arms, he hovered untouched by anything but air and the other man. Teru was in pain – not just from the difficulty of holding up an adult man but from how good Light felt. He was warm, soft, and yet at the same time hard, solid muscle beneath the skin. Gritting his teeth, Teru heaved and lowered his armload until Light’s hip was just above his mouth.

He couldn’t help himself; Teru kissed the bare skin. His lips slid just so over goosebumps, tasting hints of salt and body lotion. Even partway through, he wanted to kiss the vulnerable hip again – memorize the flavor of Kira against his mouth. Light trembled and let out his name in a rasp.

“Mikami,” Light whispered. “Fuck.”

No answer occurred to him, so Teru lifted Light back up. As charged as the moment was, a small part of him celebrated being strong enough to, in fact, perform one bench press of another human. Light squirmed in his hands, too much, and without warning, Teru’s grip loosened. God fell out of his palms and landed hard on Teru’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

“Ah,” he shouted at the same time Light yelled, “Fuck!” They sat in sore heap. Teru rubbed his hands together, over and over. He’d failed; he let Light fall, hadn’t been strong enough to keep him stable. With trepidation, he glanced toward the other man prepared to see anger in God’s eyes, but instead Light stared back at him with arousal. His eyes were hot, molten, and his movements became languid.

“You’re so strong,” Light said, and now his voice was like nothing Teru ever heard before. There was a wildness mixed in with hunger. Light looked at him, and Teru wanted to be devoured.

“I knew the moment I saw you,” Light crawled up Teru’s aching body, his words like lava poured from his mouth. “You would be my strongest one.”

“I want to be strong for you, God,” Teru let out. “I want to serve you, be your sword.”

“Oh,” Light laughed, and it was an abrupt sound. Teru couldn’t say he liked it but the brightness in Light’s cheeks was good.

“You’ll serve me very well,” Light said, brushing Teru’s hair away from his ear so he could speak into it. His voice burned into the delicate shell. “Mikami.”

“Teru,” his voice came out a little weedy, yet Teru met Light’s hot gaze with his own resolve. “Call me Teru.”

[me-and-your-husband]

Honey, I’m Home (Part 2)

Summary: After Steve went on the run from the government after the events of civil war, you await the day you can see him and your daughter again. When that day comes, a new hope s found.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader, Dad!Steve Rogers, Mom!Reader

Warnings: Angst, fluff, bearded steve

Word Count: 2.1k

Part 1

Sam opened the back door of the black Cadillac Escalade for me to take a seat inside. I did so as Bucky took his place in the passenger’s seat. When Sam got in, he started the car, put his seatbelt on, and put the car into drive. We sat in silence for a few moments, before I finally spoke up, the empty noise becoming too much to avoid.

“Where are we going?” I questioned as Sam’s eyes briefly met mine in the rearview mirror. Bucky drew a deep breath and huffed it out.

“After what happened at the airport, we brought Jane to a safehouse in Germany. After everything transpired and Steve broke the rest of the team out of custody, we all became fugitives. We’ve been on the run for the past year and a half,” Bucky clarified.

“Steve and Jane are in another safe house in the Canadian Rockies with the rest of the team that were on his side,” Sam added. I hummed in understanding and turned my face to look out the window.

Soon after, we were boarding a plane, using fake passports, of course. Once the plane successfully took off, Bucky put on a set of headphones and Sam nodded off. I noticed a small pad of paper and a pen in the seat pouch in front of me, and so I took it out and began sketching. My hand danced around the rough paper, crossing over lines and margins. I sketched from memory, and from what I remembered my daughter to look like.

I stared down at the completed sketch, coming out quite like the way I remembered three-year-old Jane. It was not as smooth and professional as Steve’s sketches, but you could still be impressed by it. My eyes started to fill with tears, the realization finally hitting me like a tsunami hits a small island.

I was finally going to see my family. After all this waiting, suffering, I was finally going to run my fingers through my daughter’s hair and tell her it was going to be alright. I was finally going to kiss my husband goodnight after a day of playing games at the beach and having a family picnic. I was finally going to have back the life that I missed so dearly.

I let a few tears make their way down my cheeks, before wiping them discreetly with the back of my hand. I looked to my right to see Bucky slipping his headphones off, a loft jazz tune revealing what he was listening to. Steve listened to the same type of music. It reminded him of a time when things were not so complicated.

“She looks almost identical to you, now,” Bucky said, staring down at the drawing on my lap. “She still has Steve’s blue eyes and blonde hair, but if not those then she would be your twin,” Bucky said as a smile crept onto my face, just imagining her. My five-year -old girl. My five-year-old girl. So much time has passed.

    I sit in silence and can’t help but wonder to myself the worst. What if she doesn’t remember me? She will. She has to, right? I’m her mother, there’s some type of bond there where you just, know, right?

My overthinking is interrupted by the flight attendant letting us know we’re landing over the intercom.

               When we land, I get out and am immediately glad I decided to wear a jacket. I never really believed people when they said that Canada was that cold, until now. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, trying to create some friction induced heat, but that did little. Luckily, Sam packed accordingly.

“Here, put these on over your clothes,” he said as he handed me a fluffy parka, a pair of sweatpants, a weird beanie (which I would later find out they called “toques” in Canada), some mittens, and winter boots.

“People actually live in the cold like this?” I queried, to which both Sam and Bucky chortled.

“Yeah, I guess so. I mean, we’ve been doing it for the past couple of months,” Sam stated.

“You think this is cold? Try spending a winter in Saskatchewan, Jesus, it’s got nothin’ on Alberta,” Bucky added.

“Is that where we are?” I questioned, and Bucky confirmed it with a hum.

Sam led us to another car, this time it was a black Dodge Ram. I guess if we were going to the mountains, we would need a heavy-duty vehicle, one meant to trek mountains.

I stepped up onto the foot rail, and hoisted myself in. We fastened our seatbelts, and I managed to read the time over Sam’s shoulder; 4:39 PM. It was already getting dark, a behavior I assume was regular during Canadian winters.

Sooner than later, my head fell against my chest as I slept a bittersweet sleep, thankful for the rest, as it would pass the time and bring me closer to seeing my family, but also not wanting to miss a single second of the journey to my imagination.

 When I awoke, it was to Bucky shaking me lightly and whispering my name. I blinked back the sleep, and drowsily climbed out of the truck. I took in my surroundings. It was pitch black outside, but it only felt like nine or ten. I spun around, to see a huge, cozy looking hotel with trees and snow surrounding it. My mouth hung agape as Sam and Bucky ushered me into the hotel.

Sam checked us in for a one night’s stay, and as much as I wanted to see my family, the sooner the better, I knew that not Sam nor Bucky were accustomed to drive through the snow in the dark.

Bucky and Sam ended up sharing a bed, whilst they insisted upon me having the other one to myself. They made it out to be them just being courteous, but I really think they knew Steve would destroy them for sleeping in the same bed as his best girl.

               The morning consisted of a quick pot of coffee to wake us up, and then we were right back on the road, Bucky driving this time. Casual conversations were made, just them asking me what I have been up to for the past while. Nothing much had happened, but I didn’t want to seem like a bore, so I only told them the interesting bits.

               Soon, we were in the mountains, occasionally stopping for gas and snacks at random pitstops. I couldn’t help but feel like a little kid on a road trip, constantly wanting to ask, “are we there yet?” or “are we almost there? How much longer?”. Eventually, Sam announced that we would be there in about five minutes, which really grabbed my attention.

“By the way, he doesn’t know you’re coming,” Sam said, which barely fazed me, as I was too excited. My leg bounced up and down like a giddy teenager during an exam, and I could feel my heart beating in my throat.

          In a short amount of time, we pulled onto a gravel road, which had recently been neatly shoveled. It weaved through a thick forest, sometimes catching deer in the headlights. The path was shadowy and was barely lit, considering the trees looming over us blocking the sun. The rocky sound of driving across gravel and freshly packed snow filled our ears as we made our way down the trail.

         Soon enough, which felt too long even in itself, we came to a clearing. In the middle of that clearing, was a huge, three story log cabin, with multiple vehicles, varying size, type, model, year, color, and brand, scattered around the lot. Before my jaw could fall off its hinges, a familiar female giggle caught my attention. I turned my head to look through the window, to where I saw Wanda and Vision having a snowball fight. I guess Vision must have reconciled with Wanda, and realized that our side was the right to be on.

      The truck pulled up to the front of the house, and I slowly, as if mesmerized, took of my seatbelt. Wanda and Vision greeted Bucky and Sam, and they froze when they seen me. I gave them both a small wave and a smile as my feet hit the soft snow, and I may have come across as rude for not greeting them properly, but that could be saved for later. I turned my head to Sam, who quickly understood what I was getting at.

“Inside,” He stated, gesturing towards the big double doors of the manor. My heart skipped a beat as I clambered up the few steps leading to the porch and grasped the wood door handles. I took a breath in and swung the doors open. My eyes wandered the wood interior, before getting caught in a movement at the other end of the hall. I sprinted to where I saw that movement, and looked to my left, where some type of bedroom was located.

       Clint sat on the bed, holding a framed photo of his wife and kids. Before he could see me, I made my way back down the hall, and started frantically running around the maze of a place, trying to find my family. It was around noon, so it was very likely that they could be in the kitchen, eating.

      When I finally reached the huge kitchen, nobody was to be found. I let out a small sigh, but before I turned to walk out, I heard a voice coming from the next room over.

“Okay, Janie! Ready or not, here I come!” said that voice I knew all too well. Butterflies erupted in my stomach as I took fast steps to the entrance of that room, the living room.

        Standing beside the fireplace, was Steve Rogers, but he was different. His back faced me, but I could still see him in the mirror above the fireplace. He had a harder look to him, but those soft eyes I always adored were still there.  He had grown out his hair, and now had a nicely trimmed beard. I took a sharp breath in, which must have alerted him that someone was there. He always joked about me being the only one who could sneak up on him.

       His eyes met mine in the mirror, and his clenched jaw softened. He slowly lifted his head and spun around to face me. My breaths were shaky as he slowly took a step towards me.

“God, please tell me it’s you, Y/N, because I think if I have to convince myself that I’m seeing you one more time, I’ll go crazy,” He pleaded, his brows knit together.

“Yes,” I said, my voice cracking as my vision started to blur with tears. “It’s me, I promise you it’s me,” I said, as I ran towards him, immediately wrapping his arms around me and pressing his nose into the crook of my neck. I inhaled a long, sharp breath through my nose, missing the way he smelled, as well as the way he felt, the way his voice sounded in the morning, the way looked as his muscles flexed under his shirt when he was working out, and the way his lips tasted on mine. After I felt my tears had permanently stained his gray Henley, I pulled away. His blue eyes were so easy to get lost in, but the overwhelming need to kiss him, to feel him again, outweighed anything else in that moment. Our lips were together in an instant, in a passionate kiss. My hands rested at the back of his neck, and his on my cheeks, his body heat instantly warming me up from the chilly climate of Alberta. After we both pulled away for a breath, he rested his head against mine. I ran a hand down his beard clad cheek, and scratched it gently, to relay that I liked it, which elicited a smile from him.

“I missed you,” he whispered.

“I-“

“Daddy! What are you doing, are we still playing hide and seek?” said a little girl’s voice. My breath caught in my throat. Steve looked over my shoulder, and back to my eyes. He gave me a knowing look, and I slowly turned on my heels.

“Mommy?”

“Baby…”

“Mommy!” Jane screamed as she dropped her stuffed rabbit and sprinted towards me. I fell to my knees and held my arms open for her. I held her in my arms like that, like the day she was born, for what felt like forever. I don’t even remember exactly when Steve wrapped his arms around us. Silent cries and sniffles could be heard coming from either one of us.

Finally, I was where I should be, home.

Thank you guys so much for the support on the first part :)

Would you guys want an epilogue?

[toothpastecanyon]

Mizar the Mediocre, Chapter 2

Alcor gets a summons from a strange Mizar. Maybe there's still something to recognise, here.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

______________________________________________________________

 There were no rolling green fields to speak of at this golf course. A grey, squat building lounged across the side of a parking lot here. It had a flickering open light, a man smoking by the entrance, and a strangely-painted sign that might’ve indicated it was the place to go for mini golfing if the background and text hadn’t been neon green and neon yellow, respectively.

 “We’re here,” Ashley said, and then: “Or maybe not. It looks like it closed ten years ago.”

 “Closed? Nah, the open sign’s on!” Mart hopped out of the car. “Race you to the doors, sweetie!”

 “What? Dad, I’m not-” She watched him take off running for the building. “Gonna race you…? Okay, cool. Good talk.”

 Alcor snorted. She shot him a slight grin.

 “My dad’s ridiculous, seriously.”

 “Aww, he’s trying.” He watched Mart stumble up to the smoking man, pant a few times, then try and offer a high five. The man walked away fast. “We’d better go get him.”

 “Yeah, before he- oh, stars, he’s dancing now. Come on, demon guy.”

 A cloud of scratch cards billowed out as Alcor opened the car door. He took a moment to check his face in the mirror before following Ashley - brown eyes? Check. Rounded ears? Yep. Was he missing anything else… Oh, wings! Better stash those away for now.

 “Alcor, you coming?”

 “Yeah!” He quickly caught up with Ashley as she reached her dad. “Hey, uh, maybe you guys shouldn’t be calling me Alcor, um, in the course. That’s a demon name, might freak people out.”

 “I mean, it’s not exclusively a demon name,” Mart said. “I knew a dude called Alcor once. Cool guy. Said his parents were Twin Souls fans - wait, were you in that weird movie about-”

 “No!” He snapped. “Okay, we’re doing a fake name-”

 “Martin!”

 “That’s your name.”

 “Yeah buddy, we can be name twins!”

 “How about Dee?” Ashley gave him a sly grin. “Last name Mon.”

 “Heh, very funny, but-”

 “Sam Onion! No, no, how about… I. P. Freely! Hehe, no, seriously…” Mart scratched his goatee as he stared at Alcor’s suit. Then he snapped his fingers and said: “I got it, I got it!      Mr Monopoly!”  

 “No. I’m not going in there as Mr Monopoly.”

 “Aww.”

 “I’ll just stick with Tyrone, okay?” Alcor hesitated. “Or… Dipper. Dipper Pines.”

 Ashley raised an eyebrow. “Pines? That sounds kinda familiar-”

 “Dipper Pines it is!” Mart reached over and gave him a clap on the back. “Nice to meetcha, my absolutely totally human friend! Now, would you perchance care to ye olde join us in the game of thy most miniature of golfs, good sir?”

 “I can ditch the suit if you’re gonna talk like that.”

 “Aww, Al- I mean Dipper!” He chuckled. “Caught myself there. Anyway, team, let’s play some mini golf!”

 With that, he threw an arm around Dipper and led him in through the front door, and… Dipper couldn’t help but smile at that. The comfort this Mizar already had hanging out with him, the warmth in his voice calling him Dipper… It was nice. Really, really nice.

 “Hey, this is a party! What you think of the tunes, Dipper?”

 “Oh, my stars, Dad. Don’t dance. Don’t-      Dipper!”  

 “Huh?” Dipper blinked, and suddenly registered the raging techno music inside the building. “Oh, this is-”

 “This is what the kids listen to, right!” Mart bumped Ashley with his hip. “Come on, Ash, let’s raise the roof!”

 “Ohhhh, my stars, I’m not associated with you.” She let out a startled giggle as she hid her face. “Dipper, help. Make him stop.”

 “Can’t stop, never gonna- ow, my shoulder.” Mart rubbed it. “Right, not supposed to raise you over my head… what were we doing again? Oh, yeah, mini golf! Where do we start putting?”

 “Probably over there.”

 Alcor pointed at a desk just off to the side from the entrance. It was a little hard to see but for the neon lights striped across the front. A few sections were flickering, making the whole thing an annoying distraction; it was hard to tear your eyes away and see the lady behind the darkened counter, or the unlit pricing sign above her head. Even Dipper had to squint as they walked over.

 “Looks like… seven dollars a head.”

 Mart jumped. “Seven dollars? That’s… uh… three and seven…”

 “Twenty-one dollars for all of us.”

 “Twenty-one dollars!”

 “Uh, you okay paying that?” Dipper reached into his own pocket. “I can probably-”

     “No! No no no, I got it! Twenty-one dollars is, uh, nothing to me, seriously!” He popped his dressing gown’s collar and strode on over to the desk. “Let me do the talking. Hi! Hello? Ma’am?”

 “Huh?” The lady looked up. “Oh, a customer! Hello, sir, would you like, uh, a day pass?”

 “Yes! I’ll have three, thank you!”

 “Okay, that’ll be twenty-one dollars.”

 “Wow, that’s a real good price! A steal!” With a grin, Mart reached into his wallet and slid a couple bills across the counter. “I can do you one better, though. How about… three dollars?”

 The woman just stared at him for a second. Somehow, the pumping music in the background made the silence even more awkward.

 “Um… sir, are you trying to haggle with me?”

 “Mmmmaybe?”

 Uh, well, I’m just here to work the register. So… that’ll be twenty-one dollars?”

 Ashley groaned. “Dad, just pay the money.”

 “Okay, okay! You drive a hard bargain, ma’am. You’re a strong, independent - I respect you! I respect you so much, I got the money… rrrriiiight…”

 Dipper could feel a hand pushing its way into his back pocket. With an eyeroll, he materialised a wallet.

 “...ooooooverrrrr- here!” Mart brandished it with a triumphant grin, and popped it open. “There’s - only twenty-one dollars in here?” He looked over to Dipper with an expression of genuine concern, and put a hand on his shoulder. “Dipper… you doing okay, buddy?”

 “No, I’m fine, Mart. I’m-” He shot a look at the cashier. “I don’t need money, okay? It’s on me-”

 “No, no, I’ll get this-”

 “Mart-”

 “I insist! I’ll put it on… this card - here you go, ma’am. It’s fine.” He gave Dipper a one-armed hug as he handed his wallet back. “You don’t need to thank me.”

 Dipper watched the cashier hesitate for a long moment before swiping Mart’s card. It went through, and she slid it across the counter.

 “Uh, alright, then… you’re all good, I guess.” She backed away. “I’ll get your clubs.”

 While she disappeared into a store room, Mart turned back to Dipper. “You know, if you ever need a place to stay-”

 “Dad, he was trying to tell you. He’s a demon.” Ashley pressed her face into the counter. “You didn’t have to go and make a scene, he probably could have just paid.”

 “Oh.”

 “It’s okay,” Alcor tried for a smile. “It’s, uh, very nice of you to offer, but I have my own place.”

 “Really? Where?” Mart’s grin came snaking back. “Does it have a couch someone could theoretically sleep on?”

 “Um, sorry Mart, it’s just a field in the Mindscape. It’s got a bunch of sheep in it, that’s kinda it-”

 “SHEEP!”

 Mart yelled that loud enough to startle the cashier as she came within earshot again. Alcor cocked his head.

 “Do you… not like sheep or something?”

 “No! I mean, I like ‘em, I wish ‘em well, but they scare me a little, I’ll be honest!” He rubbed his shoulder. “Maybe it was just the ones at that petting zoo I worked at, but they’re mean little fluffballs, I tell you! With sharp hooves, and, well, they’re weighty under all that wool, and- oh, you’re back! Hi, ma’am!”

 “Um,” the cashier blinked several times. “I have… your clubs?”

 “Ooh! Are you ready, team?” Mart clapped his hands together. “We’re going golfing!”

[marshmallowprotection]

Tangled AU

Hi, this is a mess.

Let's say that the Choi boys were the children from a neighboring kingdom but their parents were killed, and thusly, they were just taken in by Rika and V.

Rika and V soon discovered that the youngest twin was blessed with hair as white as snow, as white as the moon. Research into a lot of old fables and stories told them that Saeran was blessed by a rare flower that bloomed from a mystical force, and although it saved his life, people found out about the power and killed their parents for it.

V and Rika tried to keep the boys safe in the castle area but Rika became more and more consumed by the power of Saeran's abilities and stole him away in the night. She had always dabbled in magic but this was intense and true magic that could power her and gift her enough power to... control others and force them to be happy forever as well as alive to worship her out for a long time.

V tried to help her and show her that the world wasn't cruel and she didn't have to abuse magic like that, but she took Saeran when he was two or three and ran off. V was distraught but they could not find him or Rika.

They continue the search but the queen and the prince were... seemingly gone from sight. Saeyoung is the one that says that lanterns would be a smart idea to pull them back if they're out and lost. It's smart, and it shows that he just wants his brother back and safe. 

So, they do that for years on end until their eighteenth birthday comes around, and Ray finds a chance to see the floating lanterns in person thanks to the help of this mischievous but curious thief who only does it because she wants that crown back before the team that she's working with come after her for their prize.

To be fair, she was very nice after he did bonk her with a frying pan the way that he did. She just tries to get him to go home and turn around so she can escape but God, they wind up getting chased by some determined guards and ruffians along the way while this boy—

Is fawning over flowers and the scenery!

Taking him to meet ruffians didn’t help. Judas and Minji were far too cool for their own good. 

“Hey, stop doing that! Have you really never left that tower?” 

“...No, never, I can’t remember ever leaving my tower.” 

“Oh. Well, jeez, Rabbit.” 

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

“Your hair reminds me of a snow white rabbit.” 

Well, Ray did have company up there, and that’s with a little chameleon that he decidedly called Vanderwood. Weird name, but hey, Lila’s not going to judge the dude if he’s been sheltered all these years. Sassy little thing but at least Ray has had some company over the years. 

Not evening dragging this boy into a ruffian bar was enough to take him down and get him to stop chasing his dream. What’s Lila’s dream anyway? Well, she doesn’t like song and dance but she wants some money to finally live without struggling to get by after she ran away from her bad household. That’s all fine and dandy, but— 

Now, if only Lila hadn’t had the misfortune of enraging one angry stallion named Zen, they would be great. The two of them manage to escape peril after the uh white horse gives chase for quite some time, and they narrowly avoid the guards that he brought with him, al a Yoosung and Jaehee. Of course, that lands them trapped in the process. 

“This way!” 

“...Now, did you plan to trap us in a flooding cave?”

“I’m doing the best I can on the fly!” 

“...Uhuh.”

“Your little friend there is giving me a judgmental look.” 

“You think?” 

Which, of course, is a great time for them to remember that Ray has literal magic hair that glows and sustain life. Lila didn’t know how to feel about that but like, it is working and that’s something that she can’t deny. Like, wow, there really is a magic boy living in the woods with his mother for some fucking reason that she does not understand. It sounds fake, and she’s always been a realist but this is definitely real. 

Well, she can’t deny that he’s not stealing her heart the more that she’s around him, his smile is just... hard to ignore. His manners are great but he’s got that tendency to just be honest and sincere. Of course, Rika has been following after them and she catches Ray when he’s alone and warns him that this girl is just going to leave him high and dry. 

Ray can’t imagine that she would ever do that. 

Not even or some silly crown. 

“Mother knows best, Ray.” 

“She’s not like that.” 

“They’re all the same. I know, Ray. I’m a woman. I know how dangerous we can be.” 

“I won’t believe it.”

A promise is a promise, so, they do spend the day together getting ready for the lanterns. Ray finally gets to see and do so many things that he’s only thought about. And yes, he’s getting his hair done because he deserves to feel pretty and have flowers. And God, holy fuck, if Lila doesn’t feel her heart racing when this boy smiles and seems so happy. 

Yet. 

Something about this town... something about the colors... something is telling Ray that he should be paying more attention to his surroundings but at the same time, he’s having so much fun learning and taking in the sights that he doesn’t think about it too hard. Maybe it has something to do with what he heard about the lanterns being for a missing prince. 

Ray does get to see the lanterns up close, and it just feels right. His dream is really right in front of him and yet, his heart quickens when he sees Lila smiling at him, too. His mother wasn’t right. She wasn’t right for once in his life. Rika isn’t right. 

“You’re beautiful,” she says, quietly. 

“Huh?” Ray glances back at her, “Did you say something?”

“I said... it’s beautiful, your dream.” 

“...Yeah, it is.” 

They almost kiss. 

Almost. 

Lila just gets too nervous. 

Ray pulls away, unsure of what to do. 

The return to shore briefly and separate for only a moment. Yet, that moment is enough for the goons to get knocked out before they can attack Ray who can’t believe they’ve said that Lila just left him with the crown, but there’s a boat just leaving with a figure on it. Rika appears, and saves him, and as much as Ray is upset, he can’t deny what he saw.

Those ruffians, by the way, I’m firmly stating that it’s probably Echo Girl and one of the Glam Choi girls. Anyways, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way. Well, it earns him a trip back to his tower where he assumes that he will stay forever from now on. He takes a deep breath and thinks that this is it for him for the rest of his life. 

He trusted and it got him hurt. 

Until the moment comes that he realizes something. 

The clues.

The signs. 

Everything that he saw. 

He’s...

He’s the missing prince. 

Rika comes into the room and he confronts her about it. She stares at him for a long moment as he demands to know the truth. 

Fortunately for Lila, she may have been double-crossed but she’s got ruffian friends on her side, you know, like JUDAS AND MINJI, who break in and save the day at the same second, as well as Zen, you know, poor guy had a change of heart about the criminal. By the time that she makes it back to the tower in the knick of time, she found Ray tied up, and Rika knocked her down a firm strike of magic—

Oh, God, there’s blood. There’s so much blood in a matter of seconds and Lila just hits the ground. Ray manages to get rid of his gag, and he begs Rika just to let him save her life, and he won’t ever fight back. Rika considers it, and sighs, it is a bore for her, but she can’t have this boy fighting her anymore. It’s nothing so she’ll allow it. 

“I’m sorry.”

“No, Ray, I’m sorry. I wish that I had told you that... I found my dream. My real dream.” 

“...?”

“You. I decided that I wanted my dream to be you.”

“Lila, please.” 

Ray apologizes for thinking that Lila would willingly go out of her way to leave him and she apologizes for leaving him alone for even a moment. She does care about him and that’s why she has to do something. Ray leans in, and she just swoops in and cuts his hair with the shard of glass that she gripped so tightly with her hand that it cut into it. 

Rika screams as his hair reverts to the same color of red that belongs to his skin brother, and in her tirade, she manages to stumble out the window and plummet to the ground and her doom. 

Ray is left begging for Lila not to go, for her to not have done that at the cost of her life. He thinks that it’s all for naught. He may be free but the person that made him happy is gone. Well, maybe not, he thinks, as he cries and the room is illuminated in the color blue for the flower that powered and cursed his hair from the start. 

And suddenly, she’s awake again and she’s breathing. 

“Lila...” 

“Look at you, guess I can’t call you a rabbit anymore.”

Ray snorts, a stupid laugh leaving his lips at her poor attempt at trying to make the situation lighter at hand. 

And well, Ray is able to make his way back to the castle where he presents himself to the palace, people are shocked and let him go in right away without even questioning him. Ray doesn’t know what to think of that. At least, until they reach the throne room and he’s left staring into a mirror. No, not a mirror, he is looking at a twin. He is looking at his twin. 

They both burst into tears and hug each other, because their missing piece is now once again whole. V is just relieved to see that the boys are happy and safe once more. 

THERE’S MORE BUT MY BRAIN IS FRIED

[folkloreguk]

Halloween Everyday (M)

A/N: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! This was written by an introverted, shy person who never goes to parties and I hope some of you relate to it lmao, also I dedicate this to the lovely anon who told me they had read one of my optional bias scenarios over 10 times, I love you and thanks for waiting for my writing :((( 

words: 4.3 k

genre: smut (optional bias x reader)

[my masterlist is in my description, since I can’t tag it here anymore]

„The party is at his house! His house!“ your friend yelled through the phone, and you grimaced, removing the device from your ear.

“I don't want to need hearing aid when I'm 25, so would you please stop screaming,” you answered, laughing. “And I know. You've told me like 600 times in the last two days. It doesn't matter if I go, nothing would happen anyways.”

Your friend let out the most dramatic sigh you had ever heard in your life.

“I still don't get it. You've hooked up with guys before. Why not him? You basically drool whenever you talk to him!” she spoke. Your cheeks felt hot at her words. Thank god she couldn't see you, because she sure would have teased you for it.

“Other guys aren't him,” you explained. “I love hanging out with him and his friends, and I'm fine whenever we do. But as soon as we're alone for two seconds, I freak out. Why does he have such an effect on me?”

“That sounds like you came straight out of a movie,” your friend laughed. “What? Are you gonna faint when he looks at you for two seconds?”

“I might,” you joked, but you weren't lying completely. H/N and you had been friends for months, but you mostly saw each other at college, where you were joined by his and your group of friends. And to say you were attracted to him was an understatement. Before you met him, you thought boys like that only existed in books. Funny, but not offensive. Confident, but not cocky. Cute, but simultaneously the hottest person you had ever laid eyes on. You almost didn't believe him when he told you he wasn't in a relationship.

And now he was having a Halloween party at his and his friend’s house. Of course your friend was going to force you to go. You knew no matter unless you died before, she wouldn't accept any excuses of you not going.

“Okay listen. You don't have to ask him to marry you,” your friend went on. “But you need to make at least a move on him. I know he thinks you're hot.”

You almost choked on the sip of water you had taken.

“What?!” you asked.

“My senses tell me!” she said.

“Oh shut up! What kind of senses are those supposed to be?” you asked.

“Listen, just trust me. And promise me you'll come with me. I have to go now,” she spoke quickly. You were still shaking your head and grinning.

“Alright, we'll see. Bye,” you told her, hanging up. A second later you opened your laptop, trying to find a Halloween costume for the party that you were now definitely going to. After getting some ideas, you started actually having fun. You hadn't dressed up for Halloween in a while, and the thought of creating the perfect costume excited you. The more time you spent on it, the more you began to look forward to going to the party.

~Halloween~

��What do you think the others are gonna be dressed as?“ your friend asked. You were currently doing her makeup, but she was making no attempt to hold still.

“No idea, I'm really excited to see it!” you replied. “Now, if you want to look decent, you need to hold still.”

She laughed in response, moving even more. You sighed.

“I'm finally gonna be the princess I've wanted to be since 2nd grade,” she said in a dreamy voice. “And even better, I have my prince right here!”

You laughed.

“Super Mario isn't a prince,” you stated.

“Whatever. Princess Peach and Mario are gonna be the best couple costume at the entire party,” she bragged, reaching for your red cap. You pulled away before she could take it off your head, making her laugh. Ever since you had been little, you had loved playing video games. Especially Super Mario had been one of your favorite characters, so you took it as a perfect opportunity when your friend said she wanted to be a princess for Halloween.

You had changed Mario's original outfit a little. The pants had turned into a blue overall dress with the usual red shirt and red cap, along with white stockings and black heels. When you had finished your friend’s makeup and you stood side by side in front of the mirror, you were pretty damn happy with yourself.

“You were right,” you said. “Whatever happens or doesn't happen tonight, I'm not gonna freak out. I'll simply have fun.”

“That's the spirit,” she replied happily. “Let's go!”

~

The second you had set foot inside the party, you were in the ultimate Halloween mood. The house was decorated with fake spider webs and ghosts, the lighting was dim and had colors such as green and orange.

“Wow, they really went all out for this,” you admired.

“See? And you almost didn’t go,” your friend said, linking arms with you. The hallways were full of people, as you didn’t arrive very early. Now and then you waved at someone you knew. But the one person you were looking for wasn’t to be found. You got a few compliments for your costume, putting you in an even better mood. A creepy remix of a popular song was playing from the speakers in the living room.

When you entered the room, it became louder and you spotted people dancing and chatting lively. Darth Vader was making out with Tinker Bell in the corner, the weird sight making you laugh to yourself.

“Let’s get something to drink!” your friend talked loudly over the music, gesturing towards the kitchen. In response you nodded, making your way through the sea of people.

While you watched your friend pour juice and alcohol into a cup, you let your eyes run over the party guests. A boy dressed as a very realistic looking zombie walked past you, and you followed his frame. As he exited through the doorframe leading into the hallway, your look got caught on something. It was a familiar figure.

When H/N spun around and you locked eyes, you almost laughed out loud. He was wearing the same red cap you had on your head, and the red shirt and blue overall looked extra good on him. You saw him laugh and making an attempt to come to you. But there were at least ten people separating you two, and furthermore everyone at the party knew him, and wanted to greet him.

So you simply looked at each other, laughing as your friend made a dramatic sound next to you. Apparently she had discovered H/N too.

“Oh my god, when did Mario get so hot?” she said, making you laugh. “No offense, he’s still yours, though.”

“That’s very noble of you, Princess Peach,” you replied, laughing and barely taking your eyes off him across the room.

For around five minutes you just stared at each other from afar while people kept talking to you and him, while you really just wanted to finally greet him. Something about the environment of the party, the late time and the Halloween mood made you feel less stressed around all the people. Almost like you wished you could have been alone with him, something you rarely felt.

At some point you noticed your friend walking into the living room while you were still talking to someone you knew. You wanted to follow her, not being used to being alone at parties, but you were currently discussing your other friend’s costume, which consisted of around six rolls of toilet paper and too much masking tape.

Suddenly, someone tapped your shoulder. Smiling you spun around – and were greeted by your costume twin. H/N was grinning broadly, holding his arms out for a hug. Gladly you took his offer and slung your arms around his neck, breathing in his scent for a moment.

“Super Mario, huh? Someone’s stealing my idea,” he announced.

“How come I’m the one who stole it? Maybe it was you who stole it from me,” you laughed.

“I’ve planned this for months,” he spoke, grinning proudly. Your friend hadn’t been wrong. He really did look hot. A strand of his hair had fallen in his face, and you had the pressing urge to push it out of his face.

“Okay, I guess you won,” you admitted. “I only ordered this costume a few days ago and wasn’t even sure it was gonna arrive on time.”

“What would you have worn otherwise?” he asked.

“Honestly, I don’t think I would have went at all,” you replied, feeling a little shy. “My friend actually dragged me here.”

“I’m so glad she did,” he said, the second you had finished your words. His blunt honesty didn’t exactly cure your shyness. He was doing the thing he always did. When he looked at you, like he was challenging you to look back, his lips curled into a little smirk. If only you could have divided his confidence among you two, things would have moved much faster between you. Suddenly, the music in the living room went dead quiet. He tilted his head, giving you a questioning look.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m about to leave you all shook,” a male voice shouted. You hadn’t seen the guy, but it already made you laugh. H/N and you walked into the living room side by side.

A guy dressed as a magician was standing in the middle of the room. A small circle had built around him, people whistling and laughing.

“I, the great Kevin, will make this tv remote disappear,” he announced. Then he did an awkward countdown, followed by him throwing the remote in the air a few times and then less than secretly handing it to his friend behind him.

Now, there were three kinds of reactions to his “trick”. One, the people who thought he was ridiculous and were really just waiting for the music to be turned on again. Two, those who were very aware of how obvious the whole thing had been but laughed nonetheless, simply because it had looked funny. And three, the completely drunk kids who were, in fact, more than shook upon completion of the trick.

H/N and you applauded, giggling uncontrollably at the situation.

“I didn’t know you had organized a professional magician, props to you,” you joked, making him laugh. It felt good to see him happy because of you.

“Two Marios!” someone suddenly yelled into your ear. His voice was almost as familiar to you as H/N’s. It was his best friend after all. When you turned to him, you noticed his costume. Luigi stood in front of you. When suddenly your best friend as Peach walked up to your group, it was too funny not to laugh.

“Guys, this calls for some Mario Kart,” H/N’s best friend announced. “H/N get the Nintendos, I’m about to demolish all of you!”

All of you seemed thrilled at the idea. You were reminded of your childhood, and couldn’t stop grinning at the memory.

“I’m not even sure where they are though,” H/N said. Then they began discussing. They lived in the house with their other friends, and it seemed like that combination made for a messy household. After a while they decided they had last seen the Nintendos in H/N’s room.

“Just go and see if you find them!” his best friend urged.

“Fine,” he replied. “Y/N, you wanna help me search?”

You hadn’t listened properly, and it took you a good three seconds to realize he had been talking to you.

“Oh! Sure,” you said hastily, before you could overthink your decision. You gave your best friend a slightly panicked look, and she grinned back at you, waving her hand as if she wasn't going to see you for a while. It made your stomach turn in a mix of nervousness and excitement. Stop it, you told yourself. Nothing's gonna happen.

You followed him upstairs, gaining laughter and compliments for your matching costumes on the way. Only then you realized, you had never seen his room. Yeah, you'd been at his place a few times, hanging out with friends, but you had always stuck to the downstairs area.

It was pretty common, really. Comfy looking bed, messy worktable, one of the walls covered in posters of his favorite artist. You knew, because he had told you about them and made you listen to their music. The street lamp outside created a streak of light through the window. When H/N closed the door behind him, it was suddenly rather quiet, the music now sounding muffled, like you were dreaming.

The dim light created shadows on his face, complimenting his handsome features. The second he made eye contact with you, the all too familiar shyness overcame you once again. Quickly, you turned away, strolling over to his window. A few people were standing outside, drinking from beer bottles and laughing.

“I'm gonna be honest, I don't at all think we're gonna find the Nintendos here,” he spoke from behind you. Still watching the people outside, you chuckled, perplexed.

“Why did you say we should look for them then?” you asked.

“Because we all wanted to play so bad…,” he said, “...and I wanted to be alone with you.”

For a moment you thought you hadn't heard right. Then you started blushing terribly.

“Stop! You're making me shy again,” you spoke against his window. Your palms lay flat on his table which stood in front of the window.

“See? That's why I like being alone with you,” he went on. “You're extra cute when we're alone.”

You jumped just a little when your realized just how close his voice was to your ear. He must had been standing right behind you. Shortly, you wanted to impulsively ruin the moment by saying something stupid that you would later regret. Then you made up your mind, staying quiet.

Slowly, you turned your head, and then your whole body. His familiar features were right in front of you, his deep eyes looking into yours playfully. You really couldn't help it. Involuntarily, you gazed at his lips. How were they shaped so perfectly? And so kissable? It drove you insane. Suddenly, they curled into a grin.

“I was wondering,” he began,”Would you mind if I kissed you?”

Too bedazzled to answer, you shook your head just slightly. Smiling, he lifted his hand to your cheek, tilting his head a little.

When your lips touched, you both instantly deepened the kiss. Within seconds, your hands were grabbing fistfuls of his hair, his Mario hat falling off in the process. He was pulling you towards him, his hands on your sides. It felt even more intense, considering how long you had thought about this moment happening. Endless times you had imagined what it would feel like. But it was so much better than that.

As time went on and neither of you seemed to want to pull away, he touched the small of your back, and then your thighs. Swiftly, he lifted you up a little, signaling you to sit on his desk behind you.

As you did, your legs wrapped around his waist and you tasted his tongue, playfully fighting with yours. He was so close, his chest pressed against yours, and you almost felt like you couldn't breathe. But it felt way too good to stop.

As you leaned back a little, he took the opportunity to leave open mouthed kisses on your neck, biting your skin teasingly here and there. It sent shivers down your spine, and you only wanted him more with every of his actions.

So you started pulling off is overall, revealing his red shirt underneath. As you did so, he did the same to you, the upper part of your dress now by your hip. Impatiently, he tugged on the neck hem of your shirt, so his kisses were lower, almost on your chest.

His other hand was caressing your thigh, where your skirt had ridden up all the way to your waist by now. Impatiently, you fumbled with his shirt, hands slipping underneath it. His skin felt smooth and he sighed as you ran your fingers down his front to his pants. Finally, you tugged the material up and he lifted his arms, letting you take it off. Again, he did the same thing to you. For a few seconds you kissed again, your hands running over each others now bare skin eagerly.

In order to pull off your skirt completely, you jumped off the table and he got rid of his overall while you did so.

“You look amazing,” he said, his voice short of breath. Then, he grabbed your hand, leading you over to his bed. As you reached it, you softly pushed him down so he was sitting on the edge of the mattress. Putting your legs on each of his sides, you straddled him, smiling at him playfully.

Again, your lips crashed onto each other hungrily, his skin feeling warm against yours and his hands not staying still for a second. You felt the muscles of his shoulders beneath your fingers and you pulled away for a moment, only to kiss down his neck slowly. At the  same time you rolled your hips against the bulge in his underwear. In response, his grip on you became tighter and he let out a strangled noise, letting his head hang back for a few seconds, his eyes shut tightly.

The sight of him and the tension between your center and his hips made your head feel dizzy, nothing but him on your mind. You continued your actions, making him swear under his breath. You were pretty sure you had never seen anything more attractive than him beneath you at that exact moment.

Deciding you wanted to keep seeing him this way, you climbed off him, getting onto your knees in front of him. Your hands linked into his underwear, showing him you wanted it off.

“Come here,” he spoke, moving back into the middle of on his bed, “We can’t have your knees get bruised, can we?”

Shyly, you smiled at him, shaking your head. As he took off his underwear, you joined him on the soft mattress. You began by lowering your head to his stomach. Softly, you kissed over his toned muscles while your hands went from his thighs to his hard member. The moment you wrapped your fingers around him, he sighed in relief.

You gave him a fleeting look, noticing how he watched you. His lip was between his teeth and his jaw clenched tightly. Teasingly, you pumped his shaft slowly, placing a few last kisses on his lower stomach. You moved downwards, taking the tip of his cock into your mouth. Tasting his pre-cum, you swirled your tongue around him. Your ears picked up the sound of his head falling back into the pillow as he cursed under his breath.

Gently at first, you took more of him between your lips. He groaned in an almost pained way, as you started to bob your head lightly, covering the rest of his member with your hands.

“You're so fucking good at this, baby,” he mumbled, followed by another loud sigh. At the nickname you blushed terribly, but his praise only motivated you further. Before this night, you never knew you could get off purely by hearing a boy moan because of you. Now you knew just how possible it was. Your stomach flipped with every time he said your name and his thigh flexed under your hand.

As much as you enjoyed the sight of him completely under your spell, you couldn't ignore the tension between your own legs. So you slowly kissed back up his stomach and his chest, along his jaw and then his lips. His hands cupped your cheeks for a while, while your tongues battled for dominance. Meanwhile, he reached behind you to open your bra.

You sat up to take it off completely and he followed, his hands instantly massaging your boobs as you sat in his lap. Softly, you whimpered, as he took one of your nipples in his mouth, his tongue rolling over the sensitive bud. At your reaction, he hummed against your skin contently, paying just as much attention to your other nipple. At the same time, he ran his hand along your inner thigh, until he reached your center. A shaky breath fell from your lips when his fingers pressed against your clothed clit. You were dripping wet by now, and you swore if he had continued his actions, you could have cum right there and then.

By now you really weren't sure how much longer you could have waited. You almost had to peel him off you, but then you got up, so you could finally get rid of your underwear. At the same time, he reached for his nightstand table, taking a condom out of it and ripping it open. When you looked down, you noticed you still had your white stockings on. Shrugging, you decided to simply keep them on.

He helped you back onto the bed and you let yourself fall, his soft sheets catching you as you smiled to yourself for a moment. Noticing your smile, he returned it. As he climbed on top of you, you felt like he had never looked more handsome than in that moment. With his disheveled hair, his cute grin and flexed biceps by your head.

“Are you sure you want this?” he asked. As you listened to him, you noticed again the sound of the party outside his room. It all seemed so far away, like a whole foreign world.

“Yes,” you whispered, nodding your head eagerly. When he reached down to guide himself into you, you watched his face. His lips parted slightly in pleasure. They were red and swollen from kissing, and there was a small hickey on his neck. Your stomach fluttered knowing it was you who created it. Steadily, he moved his hips against yours, and you closed your eyes for a while, finally getting the release you had desired for so long.

“You feel so good,” he groaned as his cock brushed over your g-spot over and over. A billion small stars danced on the inside of your eyelids at the sensation. With time, he picked up pace. Neither of you seemed to still think a straight thought, shaky breaths and irregular moans the only thing coming from you. For a moment you felt like you should have kept quiet, but judging by the sound of the music outside, you probably could have shouted and no one would have heard you.

At some point he took one of your legs, lifting it up to your stomach. You moaned at the new angle, the fire in the pit of your stomach only growing. His hips slapping against yours, you dug your hands into the blankets beneath you, grabbing fistfuls desperately. For what seemed like the thousandth time tonight, you had a moment of disbelief. Was this really happening now? After all those months, all those nights you spent thinking of him, this wasn't a dream after all.

His forearms were next to your head, hands clenched tightly. His brows were furrowed and his eyes shut in concentration. As his movements became harder and less controlled, you slowly felt the knot in your stomach come undone. Your walls tightened around his member and his name fell from your lips.

Not much time after you, he reached his high. His last thrusts were sharp and sloppy at the same time, and the noises he made were pure music to your ears. He slowed down, until he pulled out completely.

Sighing, he rolled to his side, plopping down next to you. Instinctively, you cuddled up to his side. You felt shy when he smirked down at you, but then he put his arm around you and you realized it was kinda silly to be shy after all that just happened. For a few minutes you were both quiet.

“So, what's the best costume you've seen here tonight?” he suddenly asked. At first, you were surprised at his random question. Then, you answered and you fell into a conversation as he made you laugh like he always did and you felt more at home than you ever had, being alone with him. Later, he changed the subject again.

“You know, maybe we should go back downstairs, I wanna make sure Kevin the amazing hasn’t burned down the living room yet,” he said, earning a giggle from you.

“It’s the great Kevin,” you reminded him, and he laughed. “But you're probably right.”

After you had slipped back into your matching costumes and fixed each others' hair as well as you could, you left his room. The party didn't seem to have changed much from earlier, only were people more drunk now.

H/N didn't seem to want to leave your side any time soon, as you walked through the rooms together, checking if nothing had caught in flames yet. And you didn't mind one bit. When you suddenly ran into his best friend, in his Luigi costume, it hit you. There had been a reason why you had gone to his room.

“Did you find the Nintendos?” he asked, as if you hadn't just disappeared for like an hour.

“No,” H/N simply said, and you struggled not to grin at his innocent tone. Either his best friend knew or he didn't want to know, but he didn't ask any further questions.

Later, when more of the guests had gone home, and there was a rather small group of people left, you watched a scary movie in the living room. H/N's arm was around you as you leaned into him, smiling happily. His hold on you tightened every time there was a jump scare and you buried your face into his shoulder. While everyone was focusing on the movie, he turned his head, his lips at your ear.

“I wish it was Halloween every day,” he whispered, grinning at you knowingly.

[douxreviews]

The OA - Season 1 Review

By Billie Doux

(The first part of this review is spoiler-free. I'll discuss the ending underneath the adorable spoiler kitten.)

The OA is an eight-episode series currently available on Netflix that was created by Brit Marling, who plays the lead, and Zal Batmanglij. It tells the story of a young blind woman named Prairie Johnson, missing for seven years, who returns home unexpectedly.

Prairie, no longer blind and inexplicably referring to herself as "The OA," won't tell the FBI or her parents (the wonderful former Borg queen Alice Krige and equally wonderful Walking Dead alum Scott Wilson) what happened to her during the seven years she was missing, although there are physical indications that she was imprisoned and abused. Instead, she begins telling her story to five random people in an abandoned house at midnight. The story, and it's a wild one, is told in chapters on successive nights throughout the succeeding episodes, and it has a dramatic effect on the lives of the five listeners, all of whom are from the local high school.

The ending of this series, or possibly first season since there are rumors that there may be a second, is controversial and is generating a lot of discussion. For me, The OA isn't so much about the ending, although I'm one of the viewers who found it quite powerful. It's my opinion that The OA is about the strength and transformative power of storytelling. We've all read books that have changed our lives and made us see the world in a new way. That's what this story did for the OA's five acolytes, four of whom are high school students: Steve, a violent outcast who deals drugs; druggie Jesse; brilliant and disadvantaged Alfonso; Buck the youngest who is trans and struggling to make his parents understand him; and Betty Broderick-Allen, a teacher.

I'm not sure if I can wholeheartedly recommend The OA. Some are finding it utterly fascinating and well worth watching (like me. I thought it was), while others are pissed about the ending and think it was a huge waste of their time. Caveat emptor?

And now, some spoilers. If you're planning to watch The OA, go no further until after you do!

What was real?

It appears that Prairie Johnson was kidnapped and imprisoned for seven years. She was blind when she was kidnapped, and regained her sight before she returned. Her five acolytes indeed used "the movements" she taught them to distract the school shooter long enough to keep him from killing the children in the cafeteria. Were the five actually sending the OA through an interdimensional portal so that she could rescue Homer and the others, or was that all in her head?

Honestly, I was about to give up on this series while watching the first episode, until I got to the end when the "I was born in Russia in 1987" thing started, oddly coinciding with the title sequence. Who puts the title sequence at the end? It was like saying, the story actually begins here. Of course, her childhood in Russia and the way she came back from the dead was very secret princess. It was so unbelievable that this was the point where I started wondering if OA was making the whole thing up. Or if maybe she believed it, but was stark raving mad.

There are so many hints and parallels throughout that make it seem possible that OA is either lying about her past and her seven years of imprisonment, or that she is mentally ill and honestly believes things that are not true. Her parents kept her medicated for nearly her entire childhood because of her unbelievable stories. There were multiple references to her head injuries. After her return home, the doctors in St. Louis said she should be committed. In the final episode, she is again being medicated and has an ankle monitor. There are also many indications that OA is psychic, which could be true even if she fabricated the whole thing.

After I finished the series, I rewatched the pilot, searching for clues. The first thing she asked when she woke after jumping off the bridge was, "Did I flatline?" She said that she was trying to get back to where she'd been held captive, even though she knew that they were gone. She also said, "We all died more times than I can count." The first thing she did when she arrived in her childhood home was attempt to find Homer Roberts on her computer, and later, she did. Although why couldn't Steve and Alfonso find evidence of her story online, too?

Did Hap exist, or was his search for proof of life after death a way that the OA used to humanize her captor? During the series, we often see things from Hap's viewpoint, even to his trips to find other NDE survivors and that strange murder of his friend at a morgue. (What the hell really happened in that morgue? What was that other guy doing?) The OA told her five acolytes that her father was a miner, and Hap's house was situated at an abandoned mine. When the OA was little and her name was Nina Azarova, her father forced her into freezing water in order to cure her fear of her nightmares of drowning in an aquarium, and note the similarity to Hap repeatedly drowning his captive subjects. Plus, the series began when the OA jumped off a bridge, and the kids on the school bus in Russia went over a bridge. Note also the use of glass or plastic during the OA's seven years of imprisonment and in the final shooting scene.

The neighborhood that the OA and her acolytes lived in was outright creepy. It looked like a typical suburb on the surface, but it consisted of jarring and oddly naked tract houses and there were often strange objects in the street. And I dare say most suburban neighborhoods don't have a half-built abandoned house sitting in the middle of an empty street? There was also the weirdness of the OA's instructions to her acolytes to leave their doors open while they were at her storytelling seances, something I found uncomfortable in present-day America; was that because the FBI instructed the Johnsons that "doors should remain open at all times"?

Steve, the OA's first follower and the character who changed the most, was introduced with a jarring, explicit sex scene right in front of a picture window showing that strange neighborhood. A drug-dealing bully with rage issues, Steve was the one who chose the other acolytes — except for teacher Betty Broderick-Allen, who basically chose herself. Grief-stricken by the recent death of her twin brother, Betty at first appeared to be a closed-minded teacher parroting the views of a rigid educational system uninterested in connecting with children who are different. Phyllis Smith is wonderful as Betty, and I thought her developing relationship with Steve, and in particular, the night she gave away her inheritance to save him from the goons from Asheville, was one of the high points of the series. I also really loved the scene where the OA impersonated Steve's stepmother and talked Betty out of expelling Steve, especially the bizarre little detail of one of the OA's fake press-on nails popping off while they were talking. Note that the OA guessed correctly that Betty had just lost a sibling, another bit that made me think she was psychic.

So let's talk about the ending.

The scene where Alfonso found the books under the OA's bed was very Usual Suspects, but it was also ambiguous. Yes, the OA could have used those books to create the details in her story, but she also could have been reading about subjects that had a relationship to her life, couldn't she? Why did Alfonso look in the mirror and see himself as Homer? And here's the big one for me. What was FBI agent Elias doing in the Johnson home alone at night, and why was he so weird and unconventional in the first place?

After I finished all eight episodes, I checked out a lot of articles and reviews on the internet. What seems to upset critics the most is the insertion of a school shooting into the narrative, supposedly out of nowhere. (That, and the admittedly silly interpretive dance "movements" that were intended to open the interdimensional portal.)

Honestly, I don't think the school shooting came out of nowhere. The focus of the entire series was saving the lives of children, and the five acolytes were all from the high school. The OA's story began with the Russian children dying on the bus, and then focused on five youths trapped under glass and killed and revived repeatedly in Hap's basement. Plus, it seemed to me that Steve fit the profile of a possible school shooter, and even though he momentarily reacted to the OA with anger in the pencil-stabbing scene, he was the one who changed the most, and for the better, over the course of the story.

We're now hearing that there may be a second season in the works. I cannot imagine what a second season could be about. Almost anything they do to answer questions about what happened in the first season might ruin the whole thing. Then again, what if the OA really did go through a portal in the end? What if Homer, Rachel, Scott and Renata do exist and are still imprisoned, waiting for her to rescue them?

A few bits:

-- OA may have meant "original angel." I thought that it could have been an interpretation of the word "away."

-- I didn't notice it the first time through, but there is a lot of purple, the color of royalty (secret princess), magic and spirituality.

-- There's Braille, too. There are actually strips on Braille on Khatun's face during the afterlife scenes. Also, the OA kept touching her white bedspread that had knobby protrusions like Braille.

-- How on earth did the OA and Homer write the symbols representing the movements on their skin? They couldn't touch each other; could anyone physically do that? Was that the reason the OA was told to make her arms longer during that scene with the bill and the trench?

-- Why were there potted plants in Hap's underground prison?

-- Why did the OA's mother Nancy freak out in the restaurant?

-- Loved the tiny blue quail eggs in milk for breakfast, and the bit in the afterlife about swallowing a bird.

So what is this show? Is it pretentious arty crap, or is it a powerful story about storytelling, mysticism and life after death? Lines are open. What did you guys think?

Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Identical Twins

Characters: Dean x Reader, Sam, Melanie (OFM)

Word Count: 3,606

Warnings: evil twin, crazy twin, mentions of bouncing from foster homes, a little bit of angst, a little bit of fluff, nothing too bad

Request: Hey can you do a dean x reader where the reader finds out she has a identical twin on a hunt and the twin turns out to be crazy and tries to take dean from her and in the end they have to figure out which is the real reader and dean asks a question only she knows,thanks :) 

Author’s Note: If you want to be tagged, leave an ask or message and I’ll add you! Same goes for my Series Rewrite! If you want to request a fic, please send them in! I love writing what you guys want!

Feedback is always appreciated

Tags at the bottom

“Sweetheart, we’re almost here.” Dean said from the driver’s seat.

“Yay, I am so looking forward to busting my ass off only to receive no thanks afterwards.” You said sarcastically, covering your eyes as you tried to take a nap in the backseat. But due to Dean’s loud ass music, you weren’t going to get any sleep.

“That’s the way to live.” Dean said, laughing. He sped up and zoomed down the road, entering a small town in Texas where you would be staying for hopefully the next few days. You hoped this case wouldn’t take much longer than that but there were some cases it took a couple of weeks.

Dean got to the motel you were staying at and you got checked in faster than you thought it would. The front desk person was giving you weird looks but you thought nothing of it and entered your room, falling on the bed.

“No, no, don’t fall asleep. Hey, it’s late and there is a 24-hour bar across the street that is calling our name.” Dean said, pulling you up. You whined in protest but turned that whine into a moan of appreciation when you felt Dean’s lips on yours.

“Come on, guys, there are other people rooming here too.” Sam complained. You tried to pull away to spare Sam’s feelings but Dean followed you, making sure he made the kiss extra noisy for Sam’s displeasure. He pulled away and licked his lips with a smirk.

“Fine, I’ll go with you but you better make my time worthwhile.” You said with a smirk, getting up and shedding your jacket, leaving you in only your flannel and tight jeans. It was the beginning of autumn so it wasn’t too cold out and therefore, you dind’t need your jacket.

“Sammy, you coming?” Dean asked with a grin.

“No thank you. I am going to try and get some sleep.” He said, taking off his shoes and jacket.

“Lucky. At least your boyfriend isn’t trying to drag you to a bar at almost midnight.” You teased. Dean chuckled and tucked you under his arm, walking you to the door.

“Yeah, don’t come back drunk.” Sam said with a laugh.

“Okay, Winchester, that was one time and you swore you’d never talk about it again.” You said, walking out of the room with him. There was no need for a car since it was literally right across the road. You walked into the bar and grinned at the lively music coming from the jukebox and patrons dancing and having a good time.

“Alright, let’s get this started, shall we?” Dean said with a grin, walking to the bar.

“What can I get for you?” The bartender asked when Dean sat down.

“Two beers for right now, thanks.” The bartender nodded and went to retrieve the bottles.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to change the music.” You said, taking some quarters from Dean’s jacket pocket.

“Okay.” Dean said, kissing your lips. You grinned and walked away from him, your eyes on the juke and your heart on a song that you hoped was in there. You knew Dean would appreciate this one and you couldn’t wait to see what his reaction would be when you put it on.

If there was one thing you loved about Dean was that when he thought no one was listening, he would just let all his inhibitions go and let loose. To everyone else, he was this hard ass, cold, intimidating man who can make monsters tremble just by the mention of his name.

What they didn’t know was that when he was alone, he let all of that go and he became the biggest girl you’ve ever known. You’ve actually caught him trying to dance to Betty Davis Eyes by Jodie Mitchell. It was on your playlist and he found it. You caught him singing to it and you were so sure you were going to get caught by laughing but that wasn’t the reason you were caught.

No, you decided to join in and dance with him, singing alone to the awesome song. He didn’t stop either and danced until the song was over. Then he made you promise him that you wouldn’t dare speak of this to another soul for as long as you lived.

This was last week.

You loved him with all your heart and you didn’t know what you would do without him.

You got to the juke and smiled widely when you saw it on there. The original singer, Kim Carnes, was the version on the juke but you didn’t care. You loved her just as much. You put the money in the machine, waiting for the machine to finish the song it was on.

You couldn’t wait to see what Dean would look like when it came on.

Dean was waiting for you by the bar, sipping his beer.

“Damn, in all my years living, I’ve never seen a man as gorgeous as you.” Dean heard from behind him. He was about to tell whoever was there to beat it but he frowned when the voice sounded like yours. He turned around, staring at your face, wondering what you were doing.

“What are you doing?” He asked, confused a bit.

“I’m flirting with you. Unless you have someone already on your arm.” You said, touching his arm.

“No, seriously, what are you doing? Is this some kind of new game you like to play?” Dean asked.

“Ooh, game? You want to play with me?” You said, smirking and biting your lip.

“Y/N, what the hell is going on with you?”

“My name isn’t Y/N. It’s Melanie.” The girl who looked like you said with a frown. The real you walked back with a smile on your face but when you looked up, you lost it. Who the hell was Dean talking to and why was she so close to him.

“What’s going on?” You asked, walking beside the girl, looking at her. Your eyes widened when you found yourself face to face in front of a mirror. Well, that is what it felt like because this girl in front of you looked exactly like you.

“That’s what I’m wondering.” Dean said slowly, looking between the two girls.

“Who are you and why do you look like me?” You asked slowly, automatically thinking of a shifter, which was ironically the monster you were looking for. You looked at Dean and he slightly nodded, thinking the same thing you were. His dad’s wedding ring that sat on Dean’s right ring finger was pure silver and one touch to this girl’s skin, it would sizzle and hurt like a bitch.

“My name is Melanie but why do you look like me?” She asked, crossing her arms. Damn, she even sounded like you.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” You said, holding out your hand. “My name is Y/N.” She shook it with a smile, a smile that was too annoying to look at. Did you look at annoying when you smiled?

“Dean.” Dean said, holding out his right hand. The girl shook it with another smile, her skin still her skin and not burning. You frowned, wondered who this girl was. You didn’t have a sister growing up and your parents never mentioned another daughter, much less a twin of yours.

“Dean, I’m suddenly more interested in why I have a double of me than sitting at the bar, drinking.” You said to your boyfriend, him agreeing with her.

“Where are you two staying?” Melanie asked.

“The motel across the street.” You answered.

“Oh! Same here!” She said with a giggle. That I why the attendant was looking at you weird.

“I think Sam might be able to help us with this one.” You said, taking a few gulps of beer before leaving the place with Dean and Melanie.

“Who’s Sam?” She asked.

“His brother.” You said, walking to the door, getting out the key.

“Is he as hot as you are?” Melanie asked, looking at Dean.

“Save it, Melanie, he’s my boyfriend.” You said, walking inside.

“Wow, I would have thought you would stay out at least until 2 am.” Sam said, looking up from the book he was reading.

“We brought someone with us and there is something you should know…” You trailed off.

“No, Y/N, I’ve heard your conversations with Dean about that. I am not about to leave this room so you three can sex it up in here.” Sam said, disgusted.

“What? No, Sam, that’s not what this is. First off, stop eavesdropping. Second off, this might be something serious and we need your help.” You looked at Dean and nodded. Sam watched Dean enter the room and then another you walk in behind him.

“Holy shit.” Sam said, standing up.

“Damn, he is tall. How tall are you?” Melanie asked.

“6’4”.” Sam answered, staring at her.

“Wow, I love my men tall.” She said with a smirk. You cringed because you could never picture yourself with Sam, even though she is a completely different person.

“Okay, my parents never mentioned a twin, much less that I had a sister. So, what’s your story?” You asked her, sitting on one of the beds, Dean sitting next to you.

“Well, I am adopted but I’ve met my birth parents and they never mentioned a sister, just like you said.” She said, looking at you.

“Who are your birth parents?” You asked.

“Miranda and Carson Carter.” You frowned when those names didn’t match up to your parents’ names.

“That’s confusing because my parents are Y/P/N.” You said, looking at Sam who already had his laptop out. He was typing fast, no doubt hacking into some government website to figure this out.

“Okay, I got something,” Sam said, clearing his throat.

“Wow, that was fast. How did you do that?” Melanie asked. She wasn’t a part of the Supernatural and you hoped to keep it that way.

“Doesn’t matter. All that matters, is that your parents are the same. They used fake names, Melanie. Apparently, they didn’t want either child to know they had a twin. They just wanted one girl and so they separated you two, keeping Y/N as a daughter.” Sam read.

“Seriously, where are you getting that from?” Melanie asked but you stood up, preventing her from asking anymore questions.

“Wow, okay, this is so overwhelming right now. Why don’t you go back to your room and we’ll talk tomorrow, yeah?” You said to her.

“I know! Why don’t you come with me? I mean, I find out I have a twin and I would love to get to know her.” She said with a huge smile. You weren’t used to seeing yourself as this happy. That wasn’t who you were at all. You looked at Dean who smirked and stood up.

“I think that is a great idea, Melanie. You two ladies will have so much fun.” Dean said, with a smirk, putting his hands on yours and Melanie’s back. You glared at him, not enjoying this one bit. You loved being an only child. You’ve expressed how you felt about identical twins. You wanted to be the only kind that was you.

“Sure, why not.” You said, forcing a smile. She clapped and grabbed your hand, pulling you out of the room. The last thing you saw was a smiling Dean, waving at you from his room. You were going to kill him later on.

As much as you needed the sleep, Melanie wasn’t letting you sleep at all. She really wanted to get to know you, despite you telling her that you had work in the morning.

You two talked about everything you possibly could: your childhood, your teen years, your high school life, your college life, your romantic life and a lot of other things. You learned that she bounced from foster home to foster home, always imagining wat it would be like to be in a family.

You felt bad for her because it was like your parents picked the better child. Too bad she couldn’t meet them because they died years ago from cancer. You also learned that she was, in her words, kind of a slut. You didn’t mind that because a girl has needs too, but she went a little over board with this one.

You two stayed up all night talking, never getting a wink of sleep. Around 7 am, a knock was heard on the door and you bounced up, basically running to the door so you could get away. You opened it up to see a smirking Dean leaning against the frame.

“You two have fun?” He asked, walking inside.

“Oh yeah, a blast. We talked all night long.” You said, a forced smile on your face.

“It was awesome. So, what are you guys doing today?” Melanie asked.

“Working. I told you I was in the FBI with them.” You said, being very vague about what you did for a living.

“Right, right, okay, hey, could I borrow some clothes? We look the same size and my luggage got stolen last night when I came in.” She asked with a smile.

“Sure, that’s fine.” You said with a sigh, following Dean back to his room. You walked in and Sam was about to say something but you stopped him with a glare. You grabbed some clothes she could wear and handed them to her.

“Keep them, you probably need them way more than I do.” You said. She smiled and walked to the bathroom after taking them.

“So, how was it?” Sam asked you when she was gone.

“Remember the time when you met Becky and she couldn’t stop asking you questions?” Sam’s eyes widened in realization when you asked that.

“Damn, poor Y/N.” Dean said with a laugh.

“Don’t you start laughing. I am not finished with you. You are so going get it when we’re done here.” You glared at your boyfriend, sleep begging you to join it but you refused. Melanie came out of the bathroom and you swore, you were looking in a mirror.

“Okay, Melanie, we have work to do so I’ll see you later, then.” You said with a smile, ushering her out of the room. You closed the door with a sigh, dragging a hand down your face.

“Did you get any sleep?” Sam asked.

“Not a wink. But that’s okay, I’ll manage. Just keep that woman away from me. God, am I that annoying?” You asked with a pout.

“Never.” Dean said, pecking your lips.

You managed to get some work done and you thought maybe you were going to finish this case easily but that all changed when you excused yourself from the table at the diner to go to the bathroom. You were almost done when you saw Melanie behind you with an evil grin on her face.

“Melanie, I didn’t expect to see you out here.” You said, frowning when you saw her look. You were probably 4 or 5 towns over and you dind’t think she would be here.

“Yeah, well, you don’t expect a lot of things.” Before you could do anything, Melanie wacked you over the head with something hard and you slumped to the floor, passed out. Melanie smirked and quickly switched out the clothes, taking yours phone and anything you owned on you, putting you into one of the stalls.

She walked back out and smiled at Sam and Dean. She knew she had a two and she knew she would run into you at that bar. She’s been watching you and the brothers for a few weeks and she’s learned a thing or two about the unknown.

“Ready to go?” Sam asked, paying the bill this time.

“Yeah.” Melanie said, sounding more like you. She walked out with the brothers but stopped Dean with a kiss, pulling him into her.

“Seriously, guys, we have bones to burn.” Sam said, getting in the car. Melanie kissed Dean for a few more seconds before pulling away.

“What was that for?” He asked.

“You are just so yummy.” Melanie said, getting in the backseat. Dean chuckled and nodded, getting behind the wheel. You were still passed out cold when they left the diner.

“Ma’am, we’re closing.” You groaned, your head moving to the side as you opened your eyes. You groaned and waited for them to focus, looking at an older man who bit his lip.

“What?” You asked, sitting up from the ground.

“We’re closing right now.” The man said, helping you up.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” You said, remembering what happened hours earlier. You smiled politely at the man and left the restroom, leaving the diner. It was night fall already but you were seething. Who does this bitch think she is, trying to take your place.

Why was she asking you all sorts of questions about your life when she barely talked about hers? She was trying to take your place and you had a feeling that meeting her wasn’t coincidental.

You looked around the parking lot and saw only a few cars there, probably from the workers and you signed, going over to one of the nicer ones and tugging on the handle. Thank the Lord it was unlocked. You got on your knees, hot wiring it and taking off as soon as you could, putting the diner in the past.

You drove to the motel room and got out, rushing to the room, glad they were still there. You saw the Impala in the lot so you knew they were still here. You knocked on the door and when the door opened, you were staring at yourself.

“Melanie! What a surprise, come on in.” Melanie said, sounding more like you than the whiny voice she had earlier. You glared at her and walked in to see Dean on the bed without a shirt and Sam on the other, reading a book.

“Hey Melanie.” Sam said, looking at his book again.

“I’m not Melanie, she is. She knocked me out at the diner and took my clothes and everything.” You said, pissed off to the max. Sam and Dean sat up, on alert now. No one messes with the people Dean loves.

“Whoa, okay, start from the beginning.” Dean said, pulling on a shirt.

“She’s lying. Why would I hurt my own sister? “Melanie said, standing next to you.

“Dean, come on, I’m your girlfriend.” You said, looking at Dean’s eyes. You and Melanie were identical, it was very hard to tell you apart. Dean looked at Sam with confused eyes and Sam walked over to the two of you.

“Okay, this is hard.” He muttered.

“Seriously, Sam, you can’t even tell me a part from her? I thought you were smarter than that.” You sassed him.

“That is definitely her, she always sasses you.” Dean said, standing up as well.

“Are you two shitting me? We spent the whole night together, talking about everything. Don’t you think she would have picked up on something by now?” Melanie said, playing you very well. Damn, you dind’t know you were this easy.

“Alright, question time then.” Dean said.

“Did you not hear what I just said? We spent the whole night together.” Melanie said with a roll of her eyes.

“I know how to solve this. I bet everyone in here would just love to know how you sang and danced to...”

“Okay, this is her. We don’t need to go into details.” Dean said, going to your side.

“No, I know the song you danced to. I am your girlfriend and have been for the past 3 years.” Melanie said, crossing her arms. You smirked and knew she would never be able to guess this.

“Alright, what is it?” You asked her.

“His favorite song, Ramble On by Led Zeppelin.” Melanie said. You looked at Dean and raised your eyebrows, knowing that it was the wrong answer. Dean smirked and slung an arm around your shoulder, pulling you in close.

“Not even close, sweetheart.” Her eyes widened, knowing she was caught and she tried to make a run for it but Sam beat her to the door, shaking his head. You got out Dean’s phone from his pocket and called the police.

You learned that she actually killed her adopted family for “keeping her and her sister apart” and then tried to find you, stalking you for weeks at a time. They took her away and you sighed, glad it was all over.

“What was the song you danced to?” Sam asked when things were normal again.

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to.” Dean said, grabbing your waist.

“Oh no,” You said, pushing him away. “No, I am mad at the both of you. Am I really that replaceable? Am I really not that unique that someone else can just take my place and you two would never notice? No, you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.”

“Way to go, man.” Sam said with a chuckle, slapping Dean’s back.

“But, baby,” Dean tried saying.

“Don’t think I’m done with you either Sam. Oh no, your punishment is just starting.” You glared at the brothers, grabbing your bag and headed into the bathroom, locking it. You needed to rewind from the long ass day you had. You smirked when you heard the brothers fighting.

The likely scenario that would happen is they would punish themselves without knowing it and you could just sit back and watch it happen.

Forever tags:

@not-an-angel-boy @maddieburcham1 @ginamsmith @mogaruke @whit85-blog @inlovewithbja @spn67-sister @kdfrqqg @jarpadandjensenaremyheroes @roxyspearing @supercalifragilistic26 @mishamigose @cobrakai1967 @essie1876  @innernightwerewolf @wishedworld

Dean tags:

@akshi8278 @winchesterandpie @mega-mrs-dean-winchester @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester @spn-applepie-imagines @tahbehonest

Other tags:

@jensen-jarpad @notnaturalanahi @27bmm

[enbysaurus-wrex]

All-American Boy chapter 3

Chapter 3

Take a chance, take your shoes off, dance in the rain.

-Panic! at the Disco, I Have Friends in Holy Spaces

Cas:

Cas squinted his eyes at his roommate. “What’s larking?” he asked, head tilted slightly and eyebrows knit together.

Dean barked out a laugh, bending over to clutch his stomach. “LARPING,” he clarified. “It stands for live action role playing. It’s not a Shakespearean bird, you loon.”

“Larks are real birds, Dean,” Cas said, smirk forming on his lips. “What does live action role playing intail?”

“Uh, basically it’s like an RPG in real life. You run around with foam swords or beanbags for magic and just… role play. It’s fun,” Dean said with a casual smile.

“Who’s all gonna be there?” Cas asked. It wasn’t as if he were shy or anything. It just took him a while to warm up to new people and crowds freaked him out a little bit.

“Uh, Charlie, of course,” Dean said, scratching the stubble forming on his chin as he tried to remember who all was coming. “And Gilda, probably. Kevin and Channing, Garth, and a few others. Not too many people but we need the numbers in order to be a university recognized club, you know.”

Cas nodded. “Yeah. Sounds fun. Will I have to buy anything or will stuff be provided?”

Dean shook his head. “No, we’ve got a few extra supplies for newcomers but if you come to more than two games you have to purchase your own and pay the five dollar club fee.”

“Sounds reasonable. What class are you?” Cas asked, curious. He’d played several RPGs before so he was familiar with how they worked… mostly. It wasn’t as if he’d played D&D or WOW. Just stuff like Dragon Age and Skyrim.

“I’m a warrior so I’m DPS. But you have your orcs who are the tanks, mages can be DPS or healers depending. You also have rogues which can specialize in archery or short range weapons like daggers or whatnot,” he explained and Cas nodded again. He figured it would be something like that.

“Great,” Dean said, opening his wardrobe and pulling out a foam longsword.

Cas chuckled. “Where did you get that? Narnia?” he asked, not able to hide his amusement.

“Nah,” Dean said with a shrug. “Just kinda a closeted nerd.”

“Well, in my opinion, closets are for clothes. You should always be open about who you are. Why hide it?” He recognized the hypocrisy in what he was saying of course. If only he could just practice what he preached. But it was easier said than done. Especially with his upbringing.

“Well, the game’s tonight at sundown,” Dean said, pulling some costume chainmail from the closet as well. “What do you usually play as? You’re a mage in Dragon Age, right?”

“Elf mage. But I don’t have a costume. Or ears…” Cas said with a frown.

“And they haven’t put up any of those Halloween Express stores yet… We could always try Goodwill. I’m sure you could turn some ugly dress into a mage’s robes. And Charlie actually has Hogwarts robes you could wear inside-out to hide the school insignia,” Dean said, looking him up and down. “They might be a little short and maybe a little tight in the arms, but I’m sure they’ll fit. They’re kinda loose on her.”

“Not all mages wear robes you know? Dorian in Dragon Age kinda just wears a tunic with leather and gauntlets underneath.”

Dean nodded. “And thigh highs,” he said with a chuckle. “And a wicked-ass curly mustache.”

“They aren’t thigh highs,” Cas corrected. “Probably just knee highs with leather pants.”

“And he forgot a sleeve, because he’s an ‘edgy Tevinter,’” Dean said, still chuckling.

Cas snorted. “I thought he was just doing that to be sexy,” he said and Dean barked out another laugh.

“Yeah, well, you can be whatever kind of mage you want. I, myself, go for the knight in shining armor look,” Dean said with a wink.

Cas tried not to read too much into it. He knew they were just playing around. He wasn’t ready to get his heart broken again.

Half an hour and one city bus later, Cas and Dean were walking through Goodwill, looking through the dresses in the women’s section.

“You’ll probably need a large or an XL since most women aren’t as… built as you are,” Dean said, looking through the appropriate sizes.

Cas nodded. “Most women also aren’t six foot,” he said, knowing he’d probably fit an XL better and going straight to that section. He tried not to think too hard about the fact Dean called him built. It was just an observation. Nothing more.

“What about this?” Dean asked, holding up a white tunic style dress with cut-out sleeves.

Cas observed the dress, picturing wearing black jeans and boots with it. It would be a bit like what Dorian wore. Enough to make it work anyway.

“That could work if I put a belt around the waist and chest…” Cas mused.

“And Charlie has black arm-warmers you could wear as gauntlets. It’s not perfect but…”

“It’ll do,” Cas said, grabbing the garment and making his way towards the dressing rooms.

In front of the mirror, Cas stripped off his tee shirt and slipped on the dress. Other than his collar bones showing, it seemed to work pretty well. Maybe he could wear a scarf with it to make it more ‘magie.’ Afterall, he wasn’t supposed to be Dorian. He was just Dorian inspired. He could even draw on a goatee using eyeliner to set him apart from the character.

Back at Birchwood, Dean and Cas went to Charlie’s room to bum the arm warmers and some eyeliner off of her. She was so excited Cas was joining them tonight, she gladly gave over the supplies, telling him he could keep them for future cosplays if he’d like.

“Are you sure?” Cas asked, looking down at the black pencil and bit of fabric in his hands.

Charlie nodded. “Oh yeah. I have way too many sticks of eyeliner because my parents always give me makeup as stocking stuffers. And I’ve only worn the arm warmers once. They’re a little too emo for my tastes,” she said, cringing slightly.

Dean laughed. “I always seem to get car accessories in my stocking,” he said, shaking his head. “I have this huge collection of air fresheners and no car to put them in.”

Cas smiled fondly, remembering Christmases past. “I would always get more candy than one person could eat and my dad would end up stealing most of it even though I hid it under my bed.”

“Parents…” Charlie said, shaking her head and Cas tried not to be saddened by the memories.

“Parents,” he said in agreement.

After eating breakfast for dinner at Westwood (and yes, it was just as packed as Dean said it would be) the three of them made their way out to the Quad.

“Dean!” a small-framed blonde girl shouted and ran up to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders. He picked her up and spun her around.

“Missed you kiddo,” he said into her hair before setting her down.

“Jo,” he said, addressing the girl. “This is Cas, my roommate. Cas, this is Jo. She’s Bobby’s daughter and a freshman in Honors College. She has an on-campus job so she got to come up a week earlier, but unfortunately has been just too busy to stop by and see me.” He ruffled her hair and she slapped away his hand.

“Bobby who owns the auto shop?” Cas asked.

Jo nodded. “Yup. That’s my daddy. Grew up around cars my whole life but what I really want to do is teach. Well… and coach. I’m on the volleyball team here.”

Cas’s eyes bugged out of his head. “You’re in Honors College, have a job, and are in a sport? That’s a lot.”

Jo shrugged. “It’s not that bad. I tested out of a lot of the required classes and have a couple of semesters of college credit under my belt so I’m only taking twelve credit hours.”

“Tell him what you wanna teach,” Dean said, sounding rather proud of her.

“Physics,” Jo answered, a bit shyly. “I’ve always been drawn to the sciences, you know?”

Dean put his arm around her, pulling the girl to his side. He kissed her on the top of the head.

Cas felt like he was going to be sick. It didn’t come as a surprise that Dean had a girlfriend. He just wasn’t prepared for how bad it would feel. It had only been a week but he was falling for the man. Hard.

Dean:

Dean couldn’t be more proud of Jo. He kissed the top of her head and smiled down at her, her eyes shining back up at him. He knew the girl had a crush on him and that she had since they were children. They had always been really close and were open with their affections. But for all the heart eyes she made at him, he had only ever thought of her as a sister. It’s not as if he’d never told her that either. He figured she was just holding out until the day he changed his mind. Which was never ever going to happen. It wasn’t that Dean didn’t find her attractive. She was very cute. It was just that it would be so… weird. They’d known each other since daycare.

“Hey, Dean,” Max said, approaching with a small wave, his twin sister Alicia right behind him.

Max on the other hand… He’d met the dark skinned boy in freshman biology and had been harboring a crush ever since.

“Hey!” Dean said, letting go of Jo to hug each of the twins. “How are your moms?”

“Oh, you know. They’re cops so they never get a day off together but are disgustingly hopelessly in love,” Max said as he fake gagged. “It’s sickening.”

Max and Alicia were adopted, their parents dying in a car crash when they were very young. Sheriffs Jody and Donna had taken them in when they were in grade school.

“Hey!” Alicia said, suddenly remembering something. “Max and I are going to a drag show tomorrow. Wanna come?”

“Is it a Prism thing?”

Max nodded. “Yep.” He turned to Charlie. “Didn’t see you at the first meeting, Charles.”

“Been busy with RA stuff,” Charlie told him.

“And gaming,” Max said with a laugh.

“And gaming,” Charlie repeated sheepishly.

“Oh, love the outfit,” Max said, finally noticing Cas.

His friend suddenly looked shy. “Thanks. We, uh, got it at Goodwill actually.”

“Nice,” Max said with a nod. “Hey, Dean, come meet the rest of the gang.” He ushered them towards where Gilda, Kevin, Channing, and Garth were chatting with two brunette girls. As soon as Charlie approached, Gilda was immediately at her side. “Guys, this is Annie and Krissy.”

“Alex,” the one brunette corrected.

“They’re both freshman in the prospect teaching program,” Jo said.

“Prospect?” Cas asked, doing that cute head-tilt thing he always did.

Jo nodded. “Yeah, they don’t accept you into the teacher’s college until your junior year. You have to take a test and everything.”

“But you can take the test sooner than that since you have so many credits built up?” Dean asked, putting his arm around her again.

“Maybe. I’d have to ask my counselor,” Jo admitted.

Dean nodded. “Maybe you can get your program counselor early,” he suggested. Freshman had a different guidance counselor their first year as a ‘general counselor’ and after that they got a counselor in their majors.

“Enough yacking!” Charlie said with command. “As your queen, I demand no talk of the outside world once one’s feet step into Moondoor.”

“Moondoor?” Cas asked, looking adorably confused.

“The Quad,” Dean whispered with a chuckle. “It’s what we call the kingdom the game takes place in.”

Cas nodded, suddenly looking serious.

“Now then,” Charlie said, clapping her hand behind her back and walking in a royal fashion. “I want each of you to split up into two teams. You will have fifteen minutes to strategize before the game begins.”

Cas stood back while the group formed into two teams.

“Wanna be on my team, Cas?” Dean asked.

“Sure,” the dark-haired man nodded. “Who else is on our team.”

“Team Badass is you, me, Max, Jo, and Krissy,” Dean said with a smirk. “And Team Loser over there is Garth, Alex, Kevin, Channing, and Gilda.”

“Charlie isn't playing?” Cas asked, a look of confusion on his face.

Dean shook his head, chuckling softly. “Nah, she is. She just floats around to wherever she's needed. Keeps things interesting,” he said with a smirk.

“Alright good people of Moondoor,” Charlie said, approaching the front of the group once again. “What be your team names?”

“Team Badass!” Dean shouted, earning a ripple of laughter from both teams.

“Acceptable,” Charlie said. “And your team?” she asked the second group.

“Team Ass-Kickers!” Garth shouted, putting out his palm to be high fived by Kevin.

Charlie chuckled and shook her head. She instructed each team to go over their teams plan of attack. After fifteen minutes she addressed the whole group again.

She cleared her throat several times and everyone stopped talking. “Let the game commence!” she shouted and Dean let off a battle-cry.

Cas:

LARPing turned out to be complete and utter chaos with people attacking one another with foam weapons, firing fake arrows, and throwing bean bags from a pouch around their waists and shouting spells like “incinerate!” and “immobilize!” at one another. In the end, Team Badass won.

Cas was so tired, he fell asleep that night the minute his head hit the pillow. The next morning he was sore, but a good sore, the kind of ache he felt after an extra long run.

He ate breakfast with Dean and Garth (nobody else was awake) and spent the late morning into the afternoon watching Stranger Things on Netflix with them.

The entire LARPing team met for dinner at seven at the Student Center. Cas had never belonged to a group before. It felt nice.

After dinner, he was invited to go with them to see a drag show but he politely declined. He had no issues with drag or even transgender people. He just wasn’t ready to go to an event like that.

On Sunday he went out to the Quad to read his chapters while Dean and Jo were at the recplex lifting weights. Soccer practice stared that week and Dean wanted to make sure he was at least in some sort of shape before the season began.

Every day that week, at five pm sharp, Cas went to the soccer field to watch Dean practice. Sometimes Jo, Charlie, or Garth would join him, but on Thursday he was alone watching the brilliant man he was falling more and more for each and every day wipe the field with the rest of his teammates. It was no wonder the guy was there on an athletic scholarship.

As a midfielder, it suddenly became obvious how Dean stayed in shape despite his, admittedly, horrible eating habits. He glided across the pitch like it was made of ice. Cas knew nothing about sports but he knew he was one impressive specimen, that was for sure.

After practice, they would always grab a bite to eat. Sometimes they were alone, other times, one of their friends joined. Oftentimes, it was Jo. Cas tried not to get jealous every time the two of them casually touched. He knew going into this that Dean probably didn’t go for men, and even if he did, clearly he and Jo were devoted to one another and Cas did not intend to be a homewrecker.

Dean:

It was after practice on Friday night and Dean was beat, even after the amazing waffles he’d just had at Westwood. If he was being honest with himself, the carbs were probably making him even more sleepy. Thank goodness Cas just wanted a simple night in playing video games. Dean could be down with that. Maybe Charlie or Garth would join them later.

After kicking off his cleats, he bent over to peel of his socks and shin guards and threw them in the corner of the room where his laundry bin was.

Cas wrinkled his nose as he put the game into his XBox 360. He’d been playing Dragon Age Inquisition on PS4 and this was the first time he’d booted the 360 up since he’d been rooming with Dean.

“You should have brought some of those car air fresheners with you, hang them by your stinky laundry.”

Dean chuckled and went over to retrieve his shin guards. “You’re no spring rose after a jog,” he told Cas before throwing the rancid object at him.

Cas ducked to avoid it. “Watch it,” he said, pointing a finger at him with false seriousness. “I will tell Charlie on you.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?” Dean asked, lifting up the other shin guard as if he was going to throw it.

“Do you want to watch me play Mass Effect or not?” Cas asked, sitting down on his banana chair and raising an eyebrow at Dean.

Dean rolled his eyes and took a seat next to Cas in his own gaming chair. He was more of a PC gamer himself and was glad Cas had brought along a television and a couple of consoles. Not knowing where to put them, the tv was sitting stacked on top of the mini fridge/microwave combo Dean rented and the consoles were stacked on top of the empty plastic milk crates Dean had packed his stuff in. It wasn’t pretty but it worked.

“Okay, what’s this game about?” Dean asked as the start menu loaded.

Cas pressed start and began creating his character.

“Uh, it’s a decision making sci-fi RPG. It has a bit of a Star Trek influence and is story based. There are more lines of dialogue than your average tv show. So, the gameplay is kinda… lacking, but it got a lot better by games two and three. Your decisions carry over from game to game as well as the friendships and romantic relationships.”

“Romantic relationships?”

“Yeah, you can sleep with members of your crew.”

“How very Kirk of you,” Dean observed with a chuckle.

Cas nodded as he focused on getting his character just right. “Yeah, they actually had a limited edition Mass Effect Cards Against Humanity pack. One of the cards was ‘fuckable aliens.’”

Dean snorted. “So, like blue chicks or something?”

“There are those,” Cas said as he chose his characters background and class. “But there’s also a few other human and alien options. More so in games two and three.”

“So, who can you fuck this game?”

“Well, since there’s no gay romance option in ME1 or I usually go for Liara - your typical hot blue alien chick - and then kind just roll the dice in Two,” he said with a chuckle. “But I’m pretty much just holding out for Kaiden in Three. Sometimes I’ll go for Cortez but-”

“Wait,” Dean said, swallowing hard. “You’re gay?”

“Um... “ Cas looked nervous. “My Commander Shepard is for sure.”

“No,” Dean shook his head, standing up quickly. “Are you?”

Cas looked down at his controller. He was still in character creation mode. “You went to a drag show. You’re friends with Charlie and Max… I didn’t think you’d have an issue with-”

Dean shook his head. No, if Cas were gay that would change everything. “It’s a yes or no question, Cas.”

Dean wasn’t sure why he was freaking out so much about this. Hell, he identified as bisexual so it wasn’t a homophobic response. But, nonetheless, the knowledge that Cas might be into him made him uneasy. Maybe it was because he was still so fixated on Max?

“You’re not forcing me out of the closet, Dean,” Cas said, looking up at him with fire in his eyes. “I don’t get what your issue is but-”

“Hey,” Dean said, kneeling down and putting his hand on the other man’s shoulder before he decided to smite him or something. “I’m just… going through my own shit. It has nothing to do with you.”

“So you don’t have an issue if I’m-”

“Not at all!” Dean said, squeezing his shoulder and looking him dead in the eyes. Those deep blue beautiful eyes. “I… It just came as a surprise, that’s all. I’m totally cool with it.” He shot him a charming smile. “I’m sorry, okay?”

“Okay…” Cas said tentatively before turning back to the tv.

To be continued...

http://archiveofourown.org/works/13196649/chapters/30569769