#yellow-eyed figurines staring at you as you eat

[llycaons]

I can’t even lie. if there was an mdzs/cql themed cafe in my area I would definitely go

[bush-viper-cutie]

sMuggled Art

Pairing: young muggle!snape x muggle!reader

Word Count: 5, 262

Rating: E for Everyone

Plot:  Severus is forced to take work in his father’s coworker’s wife’s store where he meets (Y/n). Severus’ view of the world seems dark, and you don’t really make things any better, but there is yet hope to change his mind! 

Warnings: None

A/N: Another request completed for anon! Since Severus doesn’t go to Hogwarts he has (my best attempt) at his North England accent. Hope you like it and the next on the list is the long awaited Crystal Ball part 4! :D

Posted: 8/31/20

Masterlist

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(Y/n) = Your Name

 ~ * ~ * ~   = time skip

 ~ * ~ * ~

~ * ~ * ~ = POV switch

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~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

The front door slammed and shook the walls; Severus and his mother both jumped knowing what was soon to follow. His father was home and it didn’t sound like work had gone well again. His father walked into the kitchen where Severus was eating, his mother was wafting the cigarette smoke out the window before hastily dropping it into a water-filled pan in the sink and turned to her husband.

“They cut our pays. Again!” His father pulled on the fridge door so hard the entire thing moved forward several inches, scraping the tile.

That was Severus’ cue to escape to his room. He didn’t like being in the same room as either of his parents, though he could tolerate it when they were sober. All they ever did was order him around or ignore him on good days and yell at him on bad ones. Drunk, however, he knew what awaited him. He gathered his books and left his half-eaten cheese sandwich on his plate and turned to leave.

“You.”

His father’s gruff voice stopped him in his tracks. He turned, staring up at him as he took a long swig of beer and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

“You need to start earnin’ for this ‘ousehold.” He stepped closer and stared down at him over his large, hooked nose. His black eyes looked hazy and dark circles made his face look much older than he was. Anyone could look at his face alone and guess an age ten years older than he was, except his large square shoulders and huge bulging muscles would make anyone second guess themselves. He slid his jacket off himself and let it drop to the floor, flexing his arms and leaned over the doorway, blocking Severus’ exit. “T’morrow. I’m takin’ you ‘round to Malv’s wife’s store. They’re lookin’ for an extra ‘and.”

“Doin’ what?” Severus squeezed his eyes, regretting having spoken.

His father smirked and bent down to Severus’ hunched height. “Doin’ wh’ever they ask s’long as it pays.” He shoved him out of the kitchen and slammed the door.

Severus straightened his shirt and cursed to himself, heading upstairs. He closed his bedroom door and sat on the edge of his bed. He had plans tomorrow to do the homework he’d been putting off for the week. He was already falling behind in school, which wasn’t a good enough excuse to get out of doing work. It wasn’t like his parents cared whether he stayed in his disgusting school. His father had, on more than one occasion, talked to him about quitting and starting work in the mill, but there was no bloody way he was throwing out his only chance of leaving this horrid town.

He kicked his nightstand in frustration and winced as the leg snapped with a crunch and the whole thing came toppling over. Pencils and loose paper fell out, along with his black leather-bound journal. It was the most expensive thing in the house, given to him for his eighth birthday by his grandfather before he died.

His father had wanted to sell it, but it wasn’t even worth the cost of gas it took to get to the pawn shop across town. His grandfather had paid good money for it, and in the end, it stayed in Severus’ possession, used to hold his rubbish drawings throughout the years.

He picked it up and started sketching out the broken furniture and shading it as best he could. He sighed and closed it, throwing it back on the pile of loose doodles.

~ * ~ * ~

The next morning he picked out anything that didn’t have obvious patches or holes to wear. He even combed through his hair, per his mother’s orders, and brushed his teeth, ready for work. He dumped out his school supplies from his bag and packed his journal and a few pencils. He hated having nothing to do and carried it with him everywhere. He liked drawing in public because normally no one talked to him when he did, and if they did, he could ignore them with ease and pretended to be too focused on his art.

“Severus! Get down! Now!” His father’s deep voice roared through the house.

He growled to himself and slammed his bedroom door shut, marching down the stairs to where his father stood waiting with his arms crossed.

“Don’t make me late for work,” his father growled.

He was always late for work.

Severus nodded and slipped on his shoes, tucking the laces inside and pulled the door open. His father pushed him aside and walked out first, heading to his old grey car with the paint coming off the sides. He looked around for his mother but she was in the kitchen, smoking again.

“There food I can take? …For breaks?” he called out.

She didn’t respond and he headed out. He walked around to the passenger side and did his best to unjam the car door, finally needing help from his father to get it open. He sat down, hugged his bag to his chest, and buckled in.

~ * ~ * ~

He stared at the rain droplets racing down the window as they drove a few minutes into town. The shops were just opening as the car pulled up to the curve of a street of small and old looking store fronts. The most immediate store had a metal sign with their store name stamped on and rusting on all the edges. It was still in better condition than the wooden sign from the store next to it with bloated letters from all the years of rain.

His father slammed the door closed and walked around the car, pulling the passenger door open with such ferocity the car wobbled in place.

“I’ll pick you up after work. ‘Round seven. ‘ere’s your papers.” His father handed him three folded pieces of paper and pulled him out of the car, slammed the door closed and walked back around. “Don’t mess this up, Severus. Or you’ll be dealin’ with me.”

Severus nodded, clutching his papers and watched his father’s car pull into the street and head back around towards the large looming factory in the distance. The smoke from the factory mixed with the grey clouds, hiding any hints of the sun outside.

He covered the papers from the rain and walked the few steps to the door and pulled but it wouldn’t budge. He pressed his forehead to the window and peered inside, watching as a silhouette of a short woman approached.

He backed away as the door unlocked and a pale, sunken-faced woman with big bushy brown brows stared up at him through golden glasses. She pulled on her string of waxy pearls around her neck and looked him up and down.

He stared back at her and extended his hand with his papers his father had given him. She unfolded and shuffled through them, humming affirmatively after each one.

“I can use you.” She stepped back and let him in out of the rain into the yellow glare of the ceiling lights. “Was ‘oping you’d be… more like your father.”

She squeezed his arms and he recoiled into a shelf, hitting his head against the sharp wood.

“But I s’ppose jus’ your height will do.” She led him through several tight spaces between shelves of porcelain figures and around the front counter into the back room.

The back room was brighter than the main store, using whiter light, and there were larger stacks of boxes piled in the corner behind a single round table where someone sat reading.

“This is (Y/N). Do what you’re told. I’ll be back ‘round noon to check up on things ‘ere. Or might be back sooner. Don’ know yet.” She eyed him up and down with squinted eyes and exited the back room.

After a few awkward seconds the front door creaked open and closed. Severus stood there doing his best to avoid looking at (Y/n), instead looking down hoping his hair would hide his burning face.

~ * ~ * ~

~ * ~ * ~

A tall boy with long inky hair stood awkwardly in the doorway, looking at his shoes, glancing up at you every few seconds, and clutching his beige tattered bag in his arms.

You set your book down and stood. “Sorry about my mum… She can be a bit…” you shrugged, not knowing exactly what word best described the creature that was your mother. “What’s your name?”

His eyes flashed to your face and back down to his shoes, a light blush spreading over his cheeks. “Severus.” He turned his head to look at the wall of advertisements for new porcelain figures and let his hair fall over his face.

“Welcome, Severus. It’s pretty easy what you’ll be doing. Just… restocking and opening boxes while I dust and sit at the counter.” You turn to face the boxes and brought one down on the table with a grunt. You pulled on the tape and opened it up, taking out the little porcelain figure wrapped in tissue and plastic. “You can just set them on that cart over there and wheel it out into the store.”

Severus looked over at the cart and nodded.

You stood there awkwardly, waiting for him to say anything or ask any questions but all he did was hang his bag on one of the hooks on the wall and avoid your eyes.

“The sheet there says what number box to open and how many figurines to take out every morning. Just… let me know if you have any questions or can’t find something… I’ll be in the front.” You closed the box and headed out, closing the door to the back room and went to flip the ‘closed’ sign to ‘open’.

~*~*~

You spent the hour dusting the figures all over the store before finally sitting down on the stool behind the counter – a little high for your liking – and opened up your book once more. Severus had begun restocking the figurines, preferring to wonder around the store like a lanky giant than ask for your help. You tried concentrating on the words beneath you but watching him struggle to find the shelf full of porcelain ducks while carrying a glossy yellow one with a blue umbrella was entertaining enough.

The first customer of the day came through and bought about six of the forest series figures. As they walked out you spotted Severus’ look of disgust and laughed, catching his attention.

“You should see them over the Holidays. The shelves need constant restocking.” You watched a tiny smile grow and felt the air around get significantly lighter.

“But what are they for?” He stepped closer but avoided your gaze.

You shrugged, “They collect them.”

“Waste of money,” he mumbled and continued finding where the last of the figurines went.

~ * ~ * ~

It was around noon now and like she had said, your mother was back. She pushed the door open with her pink faux-leather purse and sneered at Severus in the corner as he replaced some figures a customer had just bought moments ago.

“Got anythin’ nicer to wear? You’re drivin’ down the prices with those pants of yours. They’re too short.”

“Mum,” you cut in before she could embarrass him further. “No one’s even noticed him.”

She turned back to Severus. “Ever think to tuck in that shirt?”

“No,” Severus snapped. He crossed his arms over his chest, somehow looking smaller than before.

Your mother scoffed and headed to the counter, shooing you out. “Go eat your lunches.”

You jerked your head to the back room, inviting Severus to join you. He shuffled in ahead, going straight for his bag.

You unwrapped the brown bag in the corner and took out your sandwich, turning back to Severus. He was bent over the table scribbling in a journal. You pulled the other chair out and sat down, peering over and seeing it was the beginnings of a doodle.

You watched him for a few minutes until he looked up and closed it.

“What were you drawing?” You finished one of your sandwich halves and waited for his reply.

His eyes flickered to you and he licked his lips, getting ready to answer. “Its… Just nothin’.”

“Your tongue was sticking out… You looked pretty concentrated.”

“I wasn’t drawin’ nothin’,” he growled and put his stuff back in his bag. He laid his head down, letting his hair spread out on the table.

You stretched out your finger and snuck a feel, smiling to yourself. You wrapped your last sandwich half and pushed it up to him. “Want my sandwich? I haven’t bitten it.”

He dragged his face up and looked down at the sandwich half next to his elbow. He looked back up at you and raised his brow.

“Take it.” You nudged it closer.

He took the sandwich and began eating. “I don’t take bribes, just to inform you.”

You gave a giggle and enjoyed the slight blush that spread over his cheeks. “You think I’m giving you my sandwich so that u can show me your art?” You leaned forward and grinned. “I’m just being nice.”

“Nice?” He shook his head, “No one’s just nice.”

“What?” You laughed. “People are nice all the time!”

He turned to you, furrowing his thick brows and leaned in. “Everyone wants somethin’. Even if it’s just to feel good ‘bout themselves.”

Your grin shrunk and you looked deep into his eyes, seeing he was speaking his truth, even if you disagreed. You sat back and mulled over what he said, seeing a bit of where he was coming from. What you didn’t understand is how someone could actually think that.

He set down his sandwich and got up from the table, walking over to the bathroom and locked it. You looked at his bag and thought back to the doodle he had been working on. You looked back at the locked door and back at his bag. What sort of stuff did he draw with a mentality like that? He frowned when he restocked, snapped angrily at people, and believed the world to be selfish.

You reach in his bag and pulled out his black leather journal, opening it from the back forward and flipped through pages until you found the first doodle. It was a scribbled mess, but it had begun to take shape into one of the tiny lamb figurines, cowering from a large grey wolf with an open drooling mouth.

You flipped to the next page and saw a broken stand and a few shattered bottles. The next page was a broken mirror and the next a burning house. The page after caught your eye. It was a swing set in the foregrounds and a group of teens talking by the slides of the playground he’d drawn. All of the teens had smiling faces and ice cream cones or popsicles in their hands. Were these his friends? But why did they look so far away? Regardless, his skills were amazing. Everything looked so detailed and precise.

“Couldn’t resist?” A cold low voice spoke from above.

Severus’ hands came down above you and snatched up his book. You turned around and stood to face him, red in the face with embarrassment and shame.

“I-I’m sorry I… I just… It was only a few pages.”

He was fuming, lips turned down with bared teeth. His eyes glistened as he clutched onto the journal. “You can keep the rest of your ruddy sandwich.”

“No, please. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking… I was just curious and I let it get the better of me… I really am sorry. I swear I only looked at a few drawings. I’m sorry. Really.” You were a fool for not realizing how upset he’d be. You’d thought worst case scenario he’d be annoyed, and once the band aid of you looking at his art was torn off, he’d be more open to going through it with you. Best case you’d put the journal back before he came back and your curiosity would be settled.

He stepped forward, towering over you. “No. You’re not. You got what you wanted… So why would you be sorry?”

“Because I didn’t consider your feelings. I thought you wouldn’t care so much about your art. I didn’t think you’d really care.” You hugged your arms closer and watched his expression change.

His furious black eyes took in your figure and he looked down at his book. His frown turned softer. “I don’t care. It’s pointless to care.”

He turned away from you and walked into the bathroom. Within seconds he was back out with empty hands and left the back room to continue stocking the shelves in the store. You made your way to the bathroom and saw he had turned the faucet on the book, soaking it in the sink.

Tears coated your eyes as you blinked, turning the other pages of the journal and seeing nothing but smeared figures and smudged faces. You hadn’t expected such an extreme reaction… but it was still all your fault. You should have realized some people could be very sensitive about their art… even if you hadn’t seen anything that personal in it.

~ * ~ * ~

The next four hours was spent in silence as you helped in the front desk and occasionally restocked some figurines. Severus had refused to even look at you, keeping his eyelids half closed in boredom the rest of the time and responded to only your mother.

The last customer left, and the shop was ready to close. The next hour was spent dusting and counting money until finally your father’s car pulled up on the curb.

“Time to close,” your mother pushed you and Severus out as she locked the shop door and dropped the key in her pocket.

Severus’ bag was noticeably more empty than it had been when he walked into the shop. You clutched your bag closer and felt the journal you had slipped into your bag. You weren’t really sure what you were going to do with it… but you wanted to make things right with him.

You father honked and your mother and you got in his car, leaving Severus standing outside the shop in the rain. You watched him sit against the door and pull his legs in, resting his head on his knees. Your father pulled away from the curb and you sat back, wondering what to do.

~ * ~ * ~

The night air was cold but the rain had stopped shortly after dinner. You gripped onto the handlebars of your bike and squinted at the signs as you rode passed. The torch in your hand kept flickering and the rows and rows of identical houses made biking all the way to Severus’ house in the dead of night seem like the worst idea of the century.

You kept your feet still as the wheels turned on their own down the hill, taking you to the last neighborhood of Spinner’s End. You stopped a few houses away from the house you believed to be Severus’. You took out the note where you’d written his address and shined your torch at the letters written sloppily on his dented mailbox.

You ditched your bike in a bush across the street and headed to his house. You placed your hand on the gate and breathed out, pushing it open and walking down his cobblestone walkway and up the two steps to his front door.

You knocked a few times and heard a door close inside and then quick footsteps. The front door swung open and a tall woman looked down at you. Her eyes made her look cross, but her down turned mouth gave off a sullen air about her. She looked you up and down and crossed her arms.

“S-sorry,” you stammered. “Can I speak to Severus?”

The woman’s sad mouth turned up at the ends. “Severus? And what would you wan’ with him?”

Did she find it funny you wanted to speak to him? “I’d just like to.”

Her smile pulled up higher to show her yellow crooked teeth. “Run ‘long back to where you came from, brasser. Come back when we ‘ave the money to spend.” She slammed the door.

Your mouth fell open and you backed away, shaking with anger. If you could go back several second you’d’ve hit her long pale face square in the nose. She may not have realized who you were and the fact your mother was currently employing her son, but that still didn’t giver her the right to talk to you that way.

You headed out of their property and noticed a shadow on the pavement coming from the house. You turned just in time to see a dash of black hair as Severus pulled his head back inside his window. You looked at the windows at the front of the house and made sure no one was watching you from there before heading around the brick wall to the left side of the house. Severus was hiding under the windowsill, only the top of his head was visible from down where you stood.

You climbed the low wall and shined your torch on the dead dried grass, spotting a ladder. You jumped down and dragged the ladder, pulling it out as long as it’d go, and propped it up on the side of the house. His window wasn’t that high up and the ladder seemed sturdy enough so you climbed, clutching your bag under your arm as best you could.

You reached the top and looked down into Severus’ eyes as he sat under his windowsill still with a red face. You sighed and looked around his room. His door was closed and it looked safe enough, away from the eyes and ears of his horrible mother.

“Are you going to invite me in?”

Severus nodded and moved back awkwardly, still on the floor of his room.

You threw your bag in and ducked inside, doing your best to not fall on your face. You sat in front of him and pulled your bag close. “Severus, I wanted to talk to you and apologize.” You looked around his messy room. “Though I was hoping to do it at your front door but… I suppose this is still the least weird apology I’ve given in my life.” You smiled hoping to lighten the mood.

He shook his head and pulled down on his hair. “I heard… I-I mean…” He pressed his face down into his hands, hiding his red face. “I’m sorry my mam called you a… She… She ‘ates everyone. Please don’t…” He sighed.

You laughed, “Don’t worry. It’s not like you called me that.”

He looked up and watched you behind his hair as you pulled out his black journal.

“I… was a jerk earlier. I got curious and went behind your back… You don’t deserve that… So… Here.” You extended his notebook out to him.

He pushed his hair back and frowned. “It’s ruined. I soaked it.”

You nodded, “Well… The art is no longer in there. It was really smudged. But I cleaned it off as best I could and spent all evening drying it… The pages are dry and hold pencil led well enough again… See?” You flipped to the first page where you’d written:

‘I’m Sorry I’m Awful

Please Don’t Hate Me.’

He took it and flipped through it, feeling the paper with his long fingers and rubbing at the occasional left over smudge. He looked back up at you with still furrowed brows. “But why? We aren’t friends… What d’you expect to get from this?”

You raised your brow and pushed your hair aside. “Still so cynical. But you’re right. I do want something – Two things actually. One, for you to forgive me. And two, to be friends. You seem pretty alright and your art was really good, from what I could tell.”

His face softened and he looked back at his journal, closing it and placing it between you both. “Friends?”

You laughed. “Yeah. What? Have too many to squeeze me in?”

He shook his head. “No, it’s just…” He gripped his knees and bit his lip. “D’you know we go to the same school?”

You blinked, taken completely aback. “We what? Really? I’ve never seen you around.” How had you not noticed him ever at school. It wasn’t that big of a school, and most students knew each other through their parents who most all worked at the mill.

He nodded, bringing his head lower and letting his hair cover his face again. “You’re too popular t’even know I exist.”

You laughed at that word. “Popular? I’m not popular.” You couldn’t believe what he was saying.

“You’re always around all those people…”

You giggled, “They’re just my friends…” It suddenly struck you that he’d been watching you before. As you were cleaning up his journal you had noticed several groups of students he’d drawn. Besides the one at whatever park, some of the settings were school settings. But it hadn’t clicked that it was your school he had drawn. “Severus?”

He looked up, his face was no longer red, but a light pink blush remained on his pale cheeks.

“Did you want to be friends with me before? At school I mean?”

He shook his head.

You frowned, confused about what he was trying to say. If he didn’t want to be friends why was he watching you? Why did it seem he had an interest in you if he wanted nothing to do with you? “Then what? I don’t get it.”

He shook his head again. “Nothin’… I forgive you. You should go before my parents catch you in ‘ere. My mam will lose it… and you wouldn’t want to see that. Things get weird when she does.”

You nodded and stood, zipping up your bag and turned to the window. You wanted to stay longer, figure out what the hell was Severus’ secret. Why was he so secretive!

You swung a leg over and felt for the step, ducking through the window and finding the step again with your other foot. You looked down to make sure everything was okay and took a step down. You turned back and froze. Severus was back to kneeling next to the window and his face just inches from yours.

“S-sorry! I thought I should be close enough to catch you if the ladder started tiltin’…” His cheeks reddened even more and spread to his neck.

You nodded and looked into the deep wells of his eyes, seeing yourself reflected in their dark depths. He got closer, letting you stare at him longer.

Another explanation popped into your head, for why he’d been the one to know you existed despite never having met him. Why he’d observed you with your friends. Why he cared about your social differences….

“Do you have a crush on me, Severus?” you smiled.

His eyes widened and his mouth fell open slightly. The blush that had been spreading down his neck turned red again, and he looked away, giving you a curtain of inky hair. He turned back with more composed features. “Of course I don’t! Why would I? I-I just met you today and… and I was just sayin’ that stuff about school because I-I noticed you once. That’s all!” His voice was deep and harsh.

You rolled your eyes at his weak attempt at intimidation. “Just admit it! Why else would you be acting so weird about being friends and caring about how ‘popular’ I am even though I’m not?” You climbed back up the ladder and pushed him aside to climb back through the window.

He stood and squeezed his hands into fists, no longer cowering. “Just because I’ve seen you ‘round doesn’t mean I ‘ave a crush on you!”

You scoffed. “Do we have any classes together?”

“No.” He crossed his arms.

“Do we have the same lunch together?”

“No.” He started tugging on his sleeve.

You smiled again. “There are over a thousand students in our crummy school and hundreds during lunches and somehow you know I’m not part of those hundreds in your lunch?” You laughed again. “Explain that.”

His face got even redder. “Well.. I-I… I-it…” He shut his mouth and clenched his jaw. “Fine. I DID. ‘appy?”

Your smile dropped. “‘Did’? When… Why did you stop?” Why did you care?

He huffed. “I told you. It’s pointless to care… about you…”

You looked down at his greying socks. You weren’t sure why his words kind of stung.

“Why d’you look like that?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know…” You bit your lip. “I think I… Liked? That you had a crush on me?”

He scoffed, “Why? S’you could feel good about yourself?”

You shrugged again, feeling tears grow in the corner of your eyes and wishing you could escape such an awkward turn of the argument.

There was a long pause.

“D-d’you like me?”

Your head shot up and your faced burned hot. His eyebrows were raised and his crossed arms were loosening the longer you took to respond. “I… might have taken an interest in… you.”

“You’re interested in me?” His face pulled up into a grin suddenly. “Is that what you’re sayin’?”

You scoffed, “I didn’t say that exactly!”

He laughed and stepped forward, still towering over you. “I felt you feel my hair! I was right! I knew it!”

Your jaw dropped and if your face wasn’t red before it was now the color of a tomato. You did remember doing that. “I… I don’t know why I did that!”

“That’s why you want me to admit I ‘ave a crush on you,” he shrugged and stepped back, looking as if he’d won.

“Aha!” You quickly put your finger up. “You DO have a crush on me!”

He placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. “I’ve already won. You ‘ave a crush on me – and you didn’t even realize it.”

What had this day turned into. Being suddenly told this morning you’d have to train someone knew at the store and now it was passed midnight and somehow you’d accidently confessed a crush you’d also gotten today? The day was as messy as the clean up for his journal that now lay forgotten on the floor.

You held your hands up in defeat. “Fine… So maybe I do… But you do too!”

He curled his finger and pressed it to his lips. “Alright… I do…”

You smiled down at your shoes and stood there awkwardly for a minute before decided to just go for it. You stepped forward and kissed his cheek, accidently touching the corner of his mouth and pulled away.

Your face burned. “Ok… Bye – !” You turned and headed out the window, quickly climbing down and let the ladder down on the ground gently.

You climbed the brick wall and looked back up at Severus.

He was touching his cheek as he smiled and waved. “S-see you t’morrow!”

You put your hand to your mouth and giggled. “See you.”

He looked smug suddenly and you rolled your eyes playfully.

You quickly jumped down and ran to your bike, hopping on and peddling back up the hill, trying to pull your giant smile back to normal.

~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

Masterlist

Request: “may I request a muggle young sev x muggle reader please idk a story or headcanon really anything you want I just love the way you write young severus okie dokie thank you for reading 🥺❤” – Anon

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Welcome to General Taglist!!:

@bionic-otp​

@severuslovebot​

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[yoongi-sugaglider]

Forget Me Nots

A wealthy young man falls overboard while vacationing with friends only to find himself with amnesia and a pretty young wife who seems determined to remind him what hard work and dedication really mean.

Warnings: Strong language, angry Min Yoongi inaccurately portrayed based upon the writer’s imagination,angst, eventual super fluff.

Pairing: Eventual Min Yoongi x reader

Word count:2695

A/n:So here we have a fresh new fluff chapter~ I was so trying to aim for angst and failed because this story makes me so soft lol. Anyway, the pups mentioned in this chapter are based off of real pups. Champion aka Thunderchicken is based on my three legged Shepherd and Kaia is based on an old friend’s doggo. That being said I will post a picture at the end of the chapter of Champ just to endulge in bragging over my precious boy~ I hope you all enjoy this go round and if you like it let me know~ I thrive on your opinions~

<<Chapter 6---Chapter Eight>>

It had begun raining by the time they managed to make it to her home. The discharge itself had gone smoothly enough. Though a mountain of paperwork had been signed and an hour long wait in the pharmacy for Yoongi’s medication had left them both in a foul mood, everything had gone off without a hitch.

“So...this is home?” The sound of Yoongi’s hesitant words snapped y/n out of her thoughts and she turned to him, her lips turned up into a halfway convincing smile.

“Yea it is. I...I mean we, have been living here for the last 4 years. The rent isn’t too bad, and the neighborhood is nice and quiet so we don’t have to worry about any trouble from the neighbors or anything.”

He nodded, eyes searching the faded yellow paint that covered the facade of the house as if looking for something familiar. The house itself was modest, white trim covering the sills and siding of the roof. The overhang of the porch sagged a bit to the side, leaning as if burdened by the weight of many years of neglect and time. Two weathered wicker chairs stood just to the side of the cream colored front door, looking as if they saw pretty regular use for relaxation on cool summer nights.

His eyes scanned the aged roof, frowning at the beat up look of it. He had a feeling it leaked when it rained and somehow that unsettled him a bit. The front yard itself was small but just beneath the porch there grew several flower beds, all filled with vibrant signs of life in the form of flowers blooming in all shades. For a moment he watched as a butterfly flew from flower to flower, drinking delicately the nectar of life before his eyes returned to his companion’s….wife’s nervous stare.

“Is everything okay?” Her trembling voice filled the car and he cringed at the sound of worry that blended into a pain that crept into his chest at the regret of having made her feel this way.

“It’s fine. I’m just...trying to remember.” His frown lightened a bit and quickly eased into a lighter smile. “I’m fine.” He sent her a reassuring smile, his hand coming to the door handle and tugging at it. “Let’s get inside huh? My head’s starting to ache a bit and I’m kind of starving.” He chuckled, pulling at the door handle again. “No matter how much hospital food a man eats in there you never really get full on it huh?” He tugged at the door handle again, frowning at it as once again it refused to budge.

“Oh, ah.” Y/n reached across him, gently brushing aside his fingers before slowly pulling the door handle up and towards her. “It kinda sticks, you gotta pull up before you pull it towards you.”

He jolted a bit as the door swung open, another frown lighting his face as he stared down at the handle. “Huh…” He huffed as he stepped out of the vehicle, pausing for a moment as the world swirled around. The doctor had mentioned that he’d have to fight a bit with vertigo before it faded away.

Shaking off the feeling he slammed the door behind him, jogging lightly to catch up with y/n as she ascended the front 3 steps.

“Careful on that middle one, it’s old and I swear it’s going to cave in one of these days.” She turned to give him a small smile as her fingers pushed the house key into the lock. “One of these days I’m going to get around to fixing it. I’ve just been so busy what with tourist season and work and..ah...eh…” She shrugged noncommittally.

She held her breath, steeling herself with a silent prayer to the heavens that her friends had come through for her. She was quickly reassured though when she opened the front door and stepped into the entryway that lead to the living room.

Yoongi stepped in behind her, eyes alert as he looked desperately for something familiar.

The living room was modest enough, the pale yellow that’d covered the front of the home continuing on inside. The warm glow of afternoon light that streamed through the front window now that the rain had stopped lent the room a welcoming vibe that instantly set him at ease as it really felt like home. The furniture was older, seeming to be different types of thrift shop finds.

A worn couch sat in the middle of the room, flanked by a waist high end table behind it that was covered in several small animal figurines of various types of blown glass and two small yacht models. The coffee table that stood just before the couch was covered in magazines of different types as well as two coffee mugs that stood atop what looked to be coasters with yachts on them similar to the two figurines. A modest flat screen hung from the wall, slightly crooked in its mount and blankly reflecting the room back at him.

He stared a moment in the reflection of the tv, taking in his fresh out of the hospital look. A loose black jacket covered his thin shoulders, matching black jeans with rips in the knees and a white mask that he’d gotten off one of the nurses just before he’d been discharged hugged the curve of his chin.His hair hung lank and limp in his eyes, a shade of minty green that he frowned deeply at as if it didn’t fit right.

His eyes continued to search for familiarity in the room as y/n set down her keys on the end table beside one of the tiny yachts. He noted the  pairs of shoes by the door, several that looked like they belonged to her along with a pair of work boots that were covered in dried mud and a pair of black tennis shoes that looked like they could have belonged to him.

Y/n padded over to him, having kicked off her shoes in favor of a pair of comfortable looking slippers. She held out a pair of brown slippers to him, the inside covered in soft looking fur that somehow he knew would be comfortable the moment he stepped into them.

“These are yours.” She whispered quietly, a shy look coming over her that caused him to smile down at her sweetly.

“Thank you y/n.” He gently took the slippers from her. A bold moment gripped him and he leaned forward, gently brushing his plush lips against the worried crease between her eyebrows.

“Relax. I’m sure it’ll start coming back to me soon enough.” He gave her a sweet smile, dropping the slippers to the floor before sliding his bare feet into them and sighing at the feel.

“Comfy?” She whispered, a slight blush to her cheeks as she stared up at him from the cover of her long lashes.

He nodded, though his attention was drawn elsewhere when a small whine jerked his attention to the hall that lead deeper into the home.

“Wh...what was that?” He squeaked, his voice higher pitched than she could have ever thought possible.

“Oh that was Champ and Kaia.” She forced her voice to sound cheerful despite the nerves coursing through her.

Oh please let Champ behave himself. She prayed desperately to whichever gods may be listening at the time.

“Ch..Champ and…”

“Kaia? Our dogs. They’ve been locked up in the bedroom since this morning so they’re probably dying to come out and see their Daddy. They missed you Yoongi.” She began making her way to the bedroom, not paying much attention as Yoongi anxiously backed his way onto the sofa.

“Dogs? Those...those don’t sound like dogs.” The whimpering echoed through the house again, the full bodied whine of a German Shepherd waiting to greet his owner.

She gave off a laugh as she rounded the corner, waving a hand dismissively in his cowering direction.

Yoongi whimpered, unsure what to expect as a rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins. The sound of scrambling paws reached his ears, causing him to draw his legs up onto the sofa in a defensive position as the sound of his wife’s voice coo’d through the bedroom door to the beasts.

“It’s alright Champ, mommy’s here. Back up.” There was a paused in which Yoongi stared wide eyed at the dark expanse of the hall.

“That’s a good boy. Wait.” She commanded in a more firm tone before the sound of the door opening reached his ears.

“Champ slow down!” Y/n shouted. Paws scratched at bare wood floor and Yoongi screamed as the sight of a three legged dog raced in his direction. The dog growled and barked all the way, skidding to a stop in front of a still screaming Yoongi who now held up a throw pillow between him and the dog as a means of defense. Close at the large black and white dog’s heels trailed a golden lab, her tail wagging happily and tongue hanging from the corner of her mouth as she barked happily in unison with the shepherd, though her’s was decidedly more happy than threatening.

But the distinction was lost on Yoongi as all he saw was teeth and muscled fur waiting to rip his throat out.

“Champ, oh my god shut up. You know him!” Y/n said as she rounded the corner, hands on her hips and a frown on her lips as she scolded Champ.

The dog glanced back at her, sitting on his haunches and quelling the rumble in his throat as he waited patiently for his Mistress to tell him what to do.

Kaia, her golden fur shining brightly in the evening sunlight had edged her way closer to Yoongi, snoot resting on the edge of the couch as she watched him struggle to crawl farther away from her.

Y/n made her way to the ever escalating situation, snatching at Champ’s collar and pulling him away so that she could reach Yoongi.

“Hey, babe relax.” She held up her hands, trying to pull his attention off the dogs and on her.

His cries of fear had quieted, though his eyes never left the golden brown stare of Kaia who still watched him with an adorably happy look on her face.

“Kaia, back up honey.” Y/n said quietly. The curious dog complied immediately, showing her obedience as she backed up to where Champ sat and sitting beside him calmly. She nudged him with her snoot before going back to staring at a terrified Yoongi.

Y/n sat beside Yoongi, her hand settling on his trembling arm as he clutched at the small pillow like a lifeline.

“Hey.” She quietly called for his attention to which he complied, his wide eyed stare wavering between her own and the dogs who now sat quietly at a distance. “I’m sorry Champ came at you like that.”

“Wh...why?” Yoongi whimpered.

She tilted her head slightly in questioning, wondering what he could be asking.

“Why did he act like that? I thought he was ours?” Yoongi waved at the dog who was now chewing on an itchy spot on the side of his back leg.

“Oh..well.” She glanced back at the dog before returning her attention to Yoongi. “Well...before we got him he was pretty heavily abused. The people that owned him hit him and denied him food and just...were awful.”

Yoongi gave her his full attention, a small stretch of sympathy pushing through the fear at the dog’s story.

“He was about 4 months old when he escaped from them. But he ended up getting hit by a car. They...well they tried but couldn’t save his front leg. The entire thing traumatized him and now anytime he smells hospital on anyone he kind of freaks out. Doctor says it’s PTSD which doesn’t surprise me honestly.” She glanced over to the dog who seemed to have calmed down considerably.

“His name is Champ. Well, Champion. We decided to call him that because of how much he’d survived.” She looked to Yoongi, noticing he’d calmed down as well. The formerly stiff man had lowered his legs to the floor, feet flat on the ground though he still held on to the pillow.

“I’m sorry Yoongi.” She whispered, head bowed in shame.

“Hmm?” His eyes followed the downward motion of her bowing head. “Sorry?”

“Yea. For not warning you. For not making the introduction slower and easier for you. I keep...forgetting that this is new to you. That...that you don’t remember.” She glanced up at him, eyes filled with tears as she bit her trembling lower lip.

He seemed to finally relax fully. Placing the pillow to the side he gathered her hands into his own. “Hey...hey.” He waited patiently for her to look up at him once more. “It’s alright. Yea they scared me half to death but honestly it’s just because I wasn’t expecting them.” He looked over at the two dogs who had settled down, curled around each other on the floor, Kaia giving Champ a bath as Champ watched the two humans with a mild sense of interest.

“Champ. Come here.” Yoongi said, trying to hide the trembling in his voice as he decided to be bold for a moment.

The Shepherd perked up, scrambling up eagerly and walking over with his adorably lopsided trot. His lower lip curled under his teeth, though more in an awkward doggy grin than as a sign of aggression.

Yoongi reached his hand out, allowing the curious pup to sniff it before reaching out to pat him gently on the head. Y/n grinned happily, wiping away her tears as Champ pushed his body up against Yoongi’s leg, plopping down on his foot and allowing Yoongi to rub his sides.

Kaia whimpered, sadness evident in her as she wanted a share of the attention as well.

Yoongi watched her tail thump on the ground. “What’s Kaia’s story?” He asked as his knuckles rubbed Champ’s sides much to the lovable pup’s joy.

“Kaia? She’s been with me for...wow for almost 9 years now. I found her on the side of the road, a half starved pup. Honestly I didn’t even know what color she was until I’d given her a bath and a good brush down, that’s just how dirty the poor baby was.” Y/n motioned the retriever over, giving her an affectionate rub down. Kaia shoved Champ out of the way, forgoing the hand sniff of invitation for placing both front paws on Yoongi’s lap.

With little to no shame she gave him her seal of approval with a slobber filled kiss to the cheek. Yoongi chuckled, rubbing the loving dog on the sides as he allowed her to give him a few more doggy kisses before gently pushing her out of his lap and wiping his cheek.

“Well, is there anything else I should know?” He asked, patting y/n on the leg.

Anxiety jolted through her at the question. “Any...anything else?” She squeaked.

“Yea, we don’t have any fire breathing dragons living in the basement or ghosts haunting the attic or anything right?” He chuckled at the question, drawing a relieved laugh from the shaken girl.

“God no nothing like that. These two are it.” She smiled at the dogs. They scampered off, having investigated the newcomer and found him worthy, to play tug of war with a large rope that had been hidden in a corner of the living room.

“Good.” He nodded, watching the two dogs romp around. Champ didn’t even seem to be bothered by the missing forelimb. He kept up with his aging sister no problem, even out pacing her when the rope had gone flying across the room to land in front of the coffee table.

“With me home...our family’s complete.” He whispered to himself, watching the dogs with a newfound affection.

“What did you say?” Y/n asked as she made to stand.

“I’m glad to be home.” He replied, smiling up at her happily.

***

Champ~ The happiest tripod💚💚💚

[denbroughbill]

you’re just like a dream

summary: richie tozier and mike hanlon reminisce about things that were, and work on things that could be word count:  3,675

a/n: i finally wrote something for my otp !! if you are interested in a mike and richie fic, please give this a read. i would love to hear everyone's thoughts on it !

read it on ao3 here richie tozier was the only one of his friends who didn't have a car. it didn't bother him much, as his friends were nice enough to pick him up if he needed a ride to work, or just for a parked car conversation late at night. it used to be richie and bill together, like they did most everything, but his parents gifted him a vehicle for his 18th birthday and he more than gladly placed old, reliable silver in a safe corner of the garage soon after. richie sat shot gun in the sweet red honda civic since then, arm hanging out the window. but he couldn't ask bill for a ride today, not when he's last minute gift shopping for him. richie couldn't ask anyone, really, as they were all busy today. he's been real spoiled lately, having a plethora of chauffeurs to choose from, but his feet served him well. the walk to the little antique shop the friends thrifted at together wasn't far from richie's house, but he must have taken a wrong turn somewhere because he was face to face with an old record shop. it was not his desired destination, but he shrugged and pushed through the glass door anyways.

he walked down the only skinny aisle in the middle of rows and rows of nothing but records, old and new. the walls had with fading band posters that were overlapping each other, turned in every direction, and there was a small selection of cassette tapes in a corner of the room. the checkerboard tile floor squeaked beneath richie's yellow converse, the squeaking went silent as he stopped dead in his tracks. he stood in the seemingly empty store in the middle of the aisle, just long enough to distinguish what was playing through the speakers. the sounds of the temptations flooded his senses and he sighed a bit, relaxing. the same song played in the waiting room of his father's dentist office when he visited him at work, and they requested it on jukeboxes when they would eat lunch after church, as a family - bittersweet memories.

however, richie's spirits were instantly lifted when he stumbled across the cure's disintegration album. pictures of you was bill's favorite song, boys don't cry was richie's, and they took turns belting the lyrics when had a little extra time to take the back roads home from school. it was a no brainer this was the perfect gift, so he made his way to the counter. richie was just about to clear his throat lightly for someone to help, but just then, someone popped from behind a self on the other side of the counter, and his breath caught in his throat. "mike?" "hey, rich," mike hanlon grinned behind the counter. richie laid the vinyl down on the counter and as star struck as he was, reached across with no hesitation. mike chuckled under his breath as richie brushed his thumb against his eyebrow, admiring tiny vertical cuts. "yowza, when did this happen?" richie asked, now with mike's jaw in his hand as he turned his head ever so slightly to the left, just to get a better look, and mike turned his head with no problem. the two boys didn't have some dramatic falling out, it's only been a year since the two saw each other, but for richie, it felt a lot longer. mike had never been lucky enough to convince his parents into letting him attend derry high with his friends, and by sophomore year, he quit trying, so they never bumped shoulders at school. the hanlon farm wasn't too far outside of town but richie just never could bring himself to bike over - not after the last time they hung out. "beverly helped me with it," mike smiled as he explained, his face still in richie's hand. "you still hang out with beverly?" richie asked, genuinely shocked. his face was close to mike's as he looked closer at the brow, he could smell mike's aftershave. mike laughed and finally pulled out of richie's grasp. "yeah, she's the only one who still comes and visits," richie could tell he was joking, but he still felt a bit hurt. richie liked mike, always had. he made sure mike didn't trail too far behind the group when the went out and caught a movie, when the sidewalk was too narrowed as they walked, he always pushed mike in front of him. richie and beverly were close, and he couldn't believe she never mentioned mike when they cut class to share a cigarette. he tried to laugh too, though mike scanned the sticker on the back of the album, and didn't bother to bag it. "do you remember-" he paused to laugh, "remember the time eddie and stan argued with us over who was better?" richie nodded, smiling stretching across his face. he remembered all too well. the four boys occupied a booth at the small breakfast diner near the arcade and eddie used all his pocket change to request handsome devil by the smiths on the jukebox. they argued for so long over which band was better, their milkshakes had melted and blended themselves with the whip cream, overly sweet cherry stained the glass red. he shrugged his shoulders a bit, adjusting his glasses, and said simply, "we won that contest." "hell yeah, we did." mike laughed, and the two boys high fived. "just like heaven is better than anything morrisey's ever written." this is one conversation richie could dive into. "it's so rare for smith to be in a romantic, happy mood. that's why the song is so perfect." richie said like it's been rehearsed, leaning against the counter on one arm "it's perfect, but like-" "still something wistful about it, you know?" mike nodded, smiling softly. "yeah. something that makes you feel like it won't last," and richie nodded, too. richie took a glance at the retro wall clock above them on the wall, then to his wrist watch. it just happened to be 7 o'clock on the dot, but he wasn't too sure when this place closed. or if mike would even take richie up on the invitation he was struggling to offer him, this being the first time in a while the two have bumped into each other. he bit his lip, hesitant for only a second, then spoke. "hey, i'm not sure when you close up shop," he noticed mike curiously raise a brow, the one with the slits in it, and richie's voice gave up on him. he cleared his throat. "do you wanna hang out, or something?" mike took a look at his own watch. "would you look at that?" he said with a laugh, "i close up shop at 7 on sundays, rich. perfect timing." he instructioned richie to wait outside the shop as he cleaned up a bit, and richie obligated. he used the small wait as a quick smoke break. richie watched mike move up and down the aisle through the shop windows, he moved quickly, like it was routine, or like he was ready to meet richie outside. he shuffled through records, reorganizing them and mumbling to himself. when mike looked up and caught richie staring, he laughed and shook his head, then waved to him through the glass. richie couldn't hear him, but mike's perfect smile made him feel some sort of way. he waved back, then looked towards the ground. richie didn't raise his head when he heard the shop door close or the keys jiggle as mike locked it behind him, he just took one last long drag of the cigarette between his lips. "where are we heading, exactly?" mike asked, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. richie crushed the cigarette under his heel and pointed down the street. "here, follow me." he began to walk, but stopped at the traffic light when he didn't hear any foot steps behind him. mike laughed. "you sure you don't wanna... i don't know, drive there?" richie shook his head, then slapped his palm against his forehead. "fuck, i forgot. everyone had a car besides me." the drive was shorter and more convenient than the walk on derry's tattered sidewalks could've ever been. richie directed mike to a little comic book store, just a walk down a set of stairs made of brick hidden under a two family house. it's a cute little hole in the wall kind of place, that only two old friends could know about it. mike laughed as they approached the place, he eyed the flickering neon superman logo in the window. "this place hasn't closed down?" richie patted his back pockets, then dug around in his jacket pockets to pull out a set of keys. "god, i hope not. i'd be out of a job then, hanlon." once inside, richie flipped the switch and a couple of fluorescent light fixtures flicked a bit before turning on. the shop was small, and looks like it always has to richie, but mike's eyes widened like a child in a candy shop, memories flooding back. mike took a few steps forward, head turning in all directions to admire the old store, before pausing and taking a step back. "don't tell me, rich," he began, kneeling down to inspect the old carpet. "is this seriously the stain from when you spilled your slushie?" it was a hot summer day in derry and richie refused to listen to the shop owners, trying his best to sneak in giant gulp 7/11 cup under his t-shirt. mike couldn't keep from snickering and it eventually diverted attention to the two sneaky boys. richie tried to elbow mike, maybe get him to shut up, but he spilled his drink instead, the drink he spent all his pocket change on. it stained his shirt and the comic book store's outdated roller rink carpet. richie squatted next to mike and put a hand on his shoulder, "that it is, friend. the cheap bastards that own this place never replaced the carpet." the memory made mike feel warm and fuzzy inside, as silly as it may have been to remembered something like that. he laughed and shook his head, in a way like he couldn't believe it, then stood back up to inspect the rest of the store. richie toyed with a shelve of figurines close to the front of the shop as mike wandered the place. they were small, cheap figurines, not worthy enough to be locked behind glass. richie was rearranging them into sorts of action poses, almost finished by the time mike traveled back to him. mike didn't bother him, though. he pivoted towards the counter by the cash register, where loads of little trinkets and shiny things were locked below glass. under the surface of the counter, there were tiny pins and buttons with logos on them, patches, bumper stickers and belt buckles. "it's crazy they hired you," mike's voice took richie's attention, and he turned his head to watch as mike the items locked away, hovering his finger above the glass. "that they didn't recognize your goofy face. i would personally ban you from the record shop." he slipped behind the counter and stood in front of mike, glass case in between them. he propped his arms on the counter and rested his head in his hands. "you wouldn't have to worry about me, mike. your record shop has tile floor, not carpet." mike stood up straight, taller than richie even on the step behind the counter. "since when did you have a player of your own, anyways?" richie shook his head, "not for me, it's a gift." the fluorescent lights against the brightly colored comics made mike's eyes hurt after working all day. he thought looking at richie was a lot calmer. he wasn't upset that they hadn't talked in a while, he never thought richie forgot about him, he understood people get busy. mike's glad richie stumbled into the record shop earlier, and that they were the type of friends who could pick up where they left off. this store may hold old memories, but the night was young, and mike was ready to catch up, maybe make some new ones. "do you wanna go back to my house and listen to some records?" mike asked, practically blurting it out. he stumbled over some words before rubbing the back of his neck, smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "i mean, if you want." richie nodded quickly, maybe a little too enthusiastically. he waved his hands towards mike, motioning for him to scoot awake from the counter. he did just as such, and richie jumped over it. "smooth." mike acknowledged the skill and it made richie smile, he's been practicing for a while. he flipped the light switched and slipped out the door behind mike, then locked up. it was a lot colder now, richie hunkered down in his jacket and wrapped his arms around himself. "come on," mike smiled, throwing his head in the direction where the car was parked. "we can listen to the cure." richie picked up his pace, walking close to mike now. "you promise?" when he asked, the two boys he see his breath in the cold air, and it fogged up richie's glasses. mike laughed, and assured him, "i promise." mike let the car heat up before pulling from the parking lot. he drove with the windows up, and the heat fogged the windows a bit. richie had been passenger in a lot of car lately. beverly liked to drive fast and dangerously, it was a bad habit of hers but she never seemed to stop at stop signs. unlike ben, however, who was just as a safe driver as eddie. he never started his car until richie buckled up, even if it was with an exasperated sigh. even though richie was shot gun in a car he hadn't been in for a while, it didn't feel new to him, it didn't need any getting used to, just like hanging out with mike again. he slipped right in, and laid his head against the cold glass of the window, watching the town of derry pass by under the blue raspberry sunset. "i'll show you in spring / it's a treacherous thing," mike sang softly under his breath to the cassette playing. he sang softly because he wanted to, just like he did everything. mike hanlon wasn't an extravagant person, he was a very under the radar type of person who did the bare minimum, but boy, did he do it well. richie always admired that about him, and how things came easy to him. the car ride reminded him of laying in the back seat of his parent's car when he was younger, street lights glaring against rain puddle in the streets. he could've nodded off if the drive wasn't so short. the two used the back door of the hanlon house hold as entrance and richie made extra careful to step over mike's dog as they sneaked to mike's room. as soon as mike softly closed the door behind them, they both let out a sigh of relief and laughed at each other. mike plopped down on his bed, as there was no reason to give richie the grand tour of his room, everything was exactly as he remembered it. the wall close to the bed had milk crates stacked on top of each other, from floor to ceiling, filled with books and vinyls. mike sat up to slip the record onto the player, which gave richie just enough space to squeeze next to him on the bed. he set the needle down and the comforting crackle that accompanied the beginning of a record never failed to put richie at ease. the two boys sunk into the bed after the first song finished, richie dreaded getting to comfortable because one of them would have to sit up to flip the record over. for now, he squinted his eyes and traced glow in the dark star constellations on the ceiling with his index finger. "hey, rich," mike whispered. he turned to look a richie, but he was busy outlining the little dipper. "do you remember the last time you were here?" richie remembered very well. it was the night of a day that didn't go very well. the argument him and his mom had wasn't over anything important, but she was too intoxicated to hear his side. she threw an empty bottle in his direction, and luckily missed, the broken glass pieces scattered the living room carpet behind richie. his mom broke down to her knees and tears form in her eyes as she apologized immediately after, but he didn't stay listen. he rode his bike to mike's, the tears streaming down his face were hot but the wind blowing in his direction was cold. he waited on the picnic white fence and smoked an entire pack of cigarettes while he waited for mike's car to pull into the drive way. richie didn't explain or speak very much at all, but mike tried his best to comfort him. but richie just said, "yeah, i remember." mike laughed softly, sitting up, now. "you stayed for like a week," and his parents never bothered to call around to see which friend's house he was staying at. "you helped with all the farm work, you borrowed all of my clothes." riche laughed too. "yeah, i taught mr. chips how to play dead." "and high five!" mike recalled. "we went swimming in that lake, remember?" "in the cold of the night and were sick for the rest of the month? yeah, i remember." and they kissed that night, too. after they ran back to mike's car, dripping wet. they laughed for what felt like hours, surprised they both went through with actually jumping in the ice cold water that time of year. they became so close that week and they stared at each other with furrowed brows in mike's car, trying to comprehend the fact that there was another person - another living, breathing person - the truly understood them. there was a pair of bright eyes that made richie feel like he was at home. the windows of the car were fogged with warmth and richie's felt like his face was burning, the air between them becoming more compacted and harder to inhale. in a matter of seconds, the laughter stopped and their lips pressed together. but neither of the boys chose to recall that moment out loud. richie sat up and yawned, stretching his arms out. he looked at the sleeves of his jacket as he reached for the sky. a worn, denim jacket, where holes were began to form on the elbows due to old age. what a coincidence that he would bump into mike today while wearing the jacket he never returned. "who's the record for, anyways? you said it was a gift?" mike asked. "oh, it's for bill," richie answered, raising his glasses to rub his sleepy eyes. mike nodded, even though richie couldn't see him. he picked at the frays of his ripped jeans as a cocktail of regret and jealous stirred in his stomach. it was him who leaned in to the kiss that night, and he hoped it would convey everything he felt for richie then. he was okay at speaking his mind, but his heart seemed to speak a different language. mike never told richie is exactly what that kiss was supposed to mean, and as close as the boys became that faithful week, they drifted apart even quicker. mike was confused and didn't want to hurt richie, so he strayed far, far away. the only noise in the room was robert smith playing softly. "i'm not dating him or anything, if that's what you think." richie spoke up, sitting at the edge of the bed now. mike nodded again, that was all he needed to hear. "i kissed her face and kissed her head / and dreamed of all the different ways i had / to make her glow," he cleared his throat and richie turned to him. there had to be some reason they bumped into each other today, and mike wasn't going to let this chance get away from him again. he pulled the unsuspecting boy by the borrowed jacket collar and pressed their lips together. the kiss was so much more than mike had hoped for, all those times he spent thinking of richie over the year were incomparable this this one moment. "why are you so far away?" she said / "why won't you ever know that i'm in love with you / that i'm in love with you," it was passionate, intimate. it felt as though they were the only two in the world, as if they never drifted apart. richie sighed against mike's mouth, letting his body melt against the other boy's. they were as close as two humans could possibly be but mike's hand didn't move from the collar of richie's jacket, begging for more, more, more. "you / soft and only / you," they pulled away just slightly enough for richie to slip his tongue from between his lips. "you know," richie whispered softly against mike's lower lip, breath warm. "i was never mad at you," mike whimpered under his breath, nodding slowly against richie. "lost and lonely / you," mike kissed richie as if he could suck all the negative energy the boy ever experienced out of his body. the kiss was so deep, both felt a shiver through their spines, bodies drawn together magnetically. they kissed with fervor, mike cupping richie's face in his hands. "good," he whispered into richie's mouth. they unfortunately had to pull away to breath but they were light and hazey, their heads spinning in the best kind of way. the long await kiss was rushed and messy, lips were skewed and felt like they were bruising now. they would have a chance to try again, and again, and again, but to them, that one, intense kiss, felt just like heaven. TAG LIST: @stanlons, @steve-harringtwin, @eddskaspbrak, @alpharichie, @b-buh-billy, @pizzas-are-ufos, @trashmcuthtczier, @tozierzzz @reddiebrekmyheart, @richiestoziers, @wyeet,  @yousaidyes, @spookerlymarsh, @eddiekaspbraks-inhaler, @istanuriss, @stealtheeggos, @stanleyyuriss, @grownups-are-the-real-monsters, @trashmouthers

[fanofawesomethings]

Worlds Cross Part 1

Another one of @bixbitesmeepmorps‘s OC adventures.

If you want a fan fic of your own, message me and I will tell you my prices and availability which is almost always open.

Wheat Town’s prized baker, a round man whom Bixbite calls White Stomach because of his apron, laid out a triple layered cake on a table outside the bakery. A collection of colored frosting at his disposal he planned to paint the naked cake when he spotted Bixbite enter the town’s square.

           “Oi, Red Girl, ‘mere!” He called. “Yur gonna love what I got for you toda!”

           Bixbite saw the three layer cake on the table and assumed it was for her which made her rush straight to him.

           “Golly gee, is that for me?” Bixbite asked, her mouth watering because she’d tried the baker’s pastries before.

           “Nonono!” The baker jumped in front of the cake, arms held out to protect it from the ravenous Gem. “I mean inside, not this one! Let me go get it!”

           Afraid she might eat it with his back turned, the baker walked backwards watching her like a dangerous animal and then rushed inside. She heard metal objects crash and fall because of his haste. He came out holding a tray of baked turnovers with white frosting inside; but all Bixbite saw was triangles with white inside.

           “Enjoy,” he said.

           The heat of the turnover didn’t affect her, Bixbite ate it. She swirled the mush around in her mouth—her way of tasting it. “I like it, White Stomach!”

           “It’s Roberto, I tell you that every time you come here,” he sighed.

           As Bixbite at the tray clean, she couldn’t help eying the cake she was so quickly denied. Roberto began covering it with the base white layer of frosting and moved on to adding splashes of colored icing when Bixbite was halfway done with the tray.

           “White—I mean Roobarto, why couldn’t I eat the cake?” Bixbite asked.

           “Because, dear Red One, this cake is for a special occasion. Gorgi’s daughter is getting married and she wanted me to make his wedding cake. Genio! It is perfect! I spared no skill.”

           “What’s a married and what’s a wedding?”

           “What? You don’t know? Child, married is…is…amore at it’s finest! It is when you tell your sweetheart you want to be with them and only them forever.”

           An image of Onyx popped in Bixbite’s mind the second he finished. She was flustered.

           “And this is the piece to make it a great night: the wedding cake! And make it the best cake in all of Wheat Town. Al inferno con quell'altro panettiere, I am the greatest!”

           Bixbite eyed the cake differently, eyes widening with wonder. Eating the cake wasn’t her intention with it anymore. Roberto finished icing the middle layer, moving down to the bottom, when he noticed Bixbite staring at it with a longing expression.

           “You got a someone in mind, Red Girl?” He smirked, bobbing his brow at her.

           “Onyx,” Bixbite said out loud and then she slapped her hand over her mouth when it came out impulsively.

           “Haha! You are in love, Red Child! Amore is beautiful! It is everything, I live for it! So tell me, tell me, who is the lucky someone?”

           It was too late to deny anything. “H-How would I know—if I’m in love?”

           “Adorabile!” He laughed which made Bixbite pout because he wasn’t taking it seriously. “Listen, child, only you will know when you are in love. It means you want to be with this someone forever. You like making them laugh and when they cry you cry. You do anything for them. Al diavolo questo! Here!”

           Roberto dipped his knife into the cake’s middle layer and took out a small piece. He placed inside a plastic containing alongside an edible rose and a tiny Bride figurine.

           “You give this piece to your sweetheart, you tell them you love them and you want to be with them!”

           “What? B-B-But…I…” Bixbite stuttered.

           “Nonono buts. Life is short! Go give it to her and come back and tell me about it!”

           Bixbite was walking out of Wheat Town, passed Jason’s house, holding the piece of wedding cake inside the plastic container when she wondered to herself what happened. Roberto’s words made her self-conscious and when she came to the entrance of her forest she hesitated to step inside.

           “What do I do? Should I—? But I really want to—give—it to her.” Bixbite paced around in circles while her mind did the same.

           She thought about Onyx. Bixbite somehow always found time everyday to think about Onyx. She loved thinking about her. Every time Bixbite thought her it made her smile. The memories of being alone in her mountain for so many years seemed distant almost gone to her. Even I-14 and that night did not affect as much when she thought about Onyx. She held the cake with higher regard and she finally entered the forest towards her cave.

           The cave entrance was open. When Bixbite left she sealed it because Onyx had also gone out for a run; she was beside herself with joy because she was ready to give Onyx the piece of cake. Bixbite held it like a precious rock, both hands keeping it steady. She entered, joyful and giddy. But her stomach fell and the hold she had on the container loosened with her shock. It wasn’t Onyx.

           Lime green skin, though obscured by the darkness inside, ran up and down a slender thin and tall body. A figure stood inside inspecting the cave while ignoring Bixbite at the entrance; at one point their eyes met, but the figure went back on to exploring. It was another Gem, whose stone was embedded in her navel. It took a moment to remember but Bixbite had seen this kind of Gem before; they were standing at the doorways, bowing at the blurred Gem elites when Bixbite was made. Those Gems had a distinguishing feature that—even though was covered in shadow—the figure had: a long nose. A Pearl with short hair framing her head like a bowl with a large yellow bow tied around her neck like a noose.

           She finished her inspection, her nose held high above her head, and started walking around further back. To Bixbite’s horror she stopped beside the pile of rocks and Onyx’s chair. She bent down and plucked out the bubbled Plum, holding it with indifference.

           “Um excuse me,” Bixbite beckoned staying at the entrance.

           “What is it?” The Pearl asked; a nasally voice coated by an air of superiority that seemed miles high for someone who was inside another person’s abode. “I’ve very busy you know.”

           “A-Are you another Gem? I-I’m Bixbite.” Bixbite inched closer, cautiously. “I-It’s nice to meet you.”

           “Yes I’m certain it is. Anything else?”

           Bixbite circled her and stood opposite her with Plume in between them.

           “How did you know I was here?”

           “Frankly speaking that is classified information. Suffice it to say I have what I came here to get.” When she turned the ends of her giant bow slapped Bixbite across the face. The Pearl carried Plume with her out.

           “Wait! That’s Onyx’s friend, c-can you give her back?”

           “Onyx? Psst, figures she had a part to play in this betrayal. Inform her that I will return for her Gem later. Good bye.”

           Alarmed, Bixbite acted without thinking and jumped in front of the Pearl’s way.

           “What do you want with Plume? Who are you?” She demanded.

           The Pearl then inspected Bixbite with a wondering eye that focused primarily on Bixbite’s breasts trailing to her backside. Bixbite covered her body. The other Gem exhaled and her gemstone lit up. A small ball of light flew out and formed into a device the Pearl took in her other hand. She flipped the machine on and sparks flew out; lightning fast, she stabbed Bixbite in her stomach.

           All Bixbite felt was a jolt of pain and a burn on where the Pearl stabbed her. SNAP! Bixbite dropped the cake. Her body exploded in a puff of smoke, and her Gem fell on the ground.

           “What a failed experiment,” said the Pearl.

           As she walked out of the cave she stepped on the plastic container, not even feeling it.

              Comfort. A blanket of tranquility wrapped itself around Bixbite. She couldn’t move her body, she couldn’t feel any of her fingers, yet she wasn’t alarmed by it. There was no cause for alarm despite everything. It was like sleeping in bliss. Bixbite didn’t want to escape it.

She saw herself floating. She was nude. Light covered her body; her hair was gone and her skin was no longer magenta. Strangely, Bixbite felt an urge to make her hair grow. The thought appeared in her mind and she watched her own hair grow, stopping when she saw it happen. As if nothing else mattered, Bixbite then felt mischievous. She concentrated on her breasts and jokingly thought they should grow. The Gem’s bosoms expanded and Bixbite giggled to herself.

“Bix!” Onyx’s voice penetrated the void Bixbite found herself in.

           Her Gem glowed until the light blinded her. On the outside, Bixbite’s Gem floated off the ground. The projection of light that was her body appeared until it was fully formed, and then Bixbite dropped to the ground. The light entering the cave stung her eyes; focusing she saw Onyx holding her.

           “Bix, what happened? Are you hurt?” Onyx cried, tears on the edges of her eyes.

           “O-Onyx…what…happened?” Bixbite rubbed her eyes and then she noticed a weight pulling her forward with a lung.

           Much to hers and Onyx’s surprise, Bixbite’s chest was much larger than what it was last time. Round mounds of flesh with a weight the magenta Gem wasn’t ready for pulled her down.

           “Were you…always that…big?” Onyx asked.

           Bixbite shielded her chest, embarrassed, until she remembered what happened. “Onyx, a Gem took Plume!”

           “What?! Who?!”

           “She was a Pearl and she said was going after you when she gets back but she took Plume!”

           Onyx’s chest puffed in outrage. “She hurt you and she took Plume! Did you see which way she went?”

           “No. She hit me with something and then—” Bixbite spotted her slice of cake on the ground, crushed beneath the cracked container. She let out a small whimper of sadness which was when Onyx spotted a footprint of icing.

           Onyx slammed herself on the ground and followed the trail into the forest. “I’ll crush her!”

           The ground cracked with the weight of Onyx’s rage. She threw the boulder out of her way and leapt into the forest after the trail than was thinning and thinning with each step the Pearl took.

           The broken pieces of the wedding slice turned to dust in Bixbite’s devastated hands. The frosting was mixed with the dust on the floor and the cake itself was broken. She dagged the tip of her finger and tasted the icing, only to make herself feel worse. The forest was being split by Onyx’s rampage. Bixbite picked herself up and followed.

           Not too far from the cave the icing footprints were gone. Onyx put her hands in the dirt, examining the consistency in the forest floor before looking for any irregularities. She had combed enough of the forest to know what was normal and what wasn’t. Every stick on the ground, ever leaf scattered, she noted. Everything seemed the same until she spotted a miniscule twig, snapped in two. Luckily she didn’t have relay on small clues when a bigger indication startled her and Bixbite.

           An explosion of smoke and fire rocked the mountain. The smoke bellowing from it soared into the in a matter of second after the thunderous roar. Another tremor shook them a few seconds after. Onyx didn’t give it a second to think, running before the second explosion. She ran passed Bixbite without saying a word to her; Bixbite saw the rage crinkling her face. Bixbite tried to follow but she would never be as fast as Onyx.

               The Pearl twirled the orb on the ends of her fingers like a plaything. Shaking it violently the floating Gem inside didn’t move much, and she was disappointed. Another ball of light hovered out of her navel Gem, a small device appeared and the Pearl pushed a few buttons on it to turn it on. The screen above the little button turned on and a red light started flashing. She was halfway across the Battlefield when the explosion startled her; her proud composure was shattered and she nervously darted her head towards the source. She regained her snobbish calm when the source wasn’t near her.

           Nearby, the Pearl was able to see the bright lights Bixbite and Onyx didn’t. Flashes and light followed by smaller explosions lit up the forest on the other side of the mountain. She could also hear battle cries. The Pearl looked at her device again and then made it retreat in her Gem. Without any rush and a smug face full of curiosity she strolled leisurely towards the noise.

           “On your immediate left, Amethyst!”

           “I’m on it!”

           “Steven, above you!”

           “Thanks, Garnet!”

           The Pearl’s nose peaked through the bushed before her eyes. She saw three Gems surrounded a corrupted monster. The other Pearl caught her attention. Her lime eyes followed to the next and widened when she saw the small Amethyst and strange Gem she’d never seen before. But most importantly she was stunned at the small human that accompanied them.

           Pearl blocked the monster’s dagger-like pincers from the front, keep its many eyes focused on her while the other were behind. Garnet seized its back claws and held them down; another row of eyes were on its back too. Meanwhile the pincers for legs it had swung at Amethyst who snapped her whip from a distance. The monster spun around, throwing Garnet and Pearl off, and aimed one of its mouths in the sky. A spout of white substance shot out and flew into the sky where it erupted seconds after. The shockwave tossed Steven over like a napkin.

           “Its got a real fire in its belly, huh,” Steven remarked, giggling mostly to himself.

           “We have to keep both its eyes distracted,” said Garnet. “Also, nice joke, Steven.”

           “I’m all over this one!” Amethyst yelled.

           Grabbing the ends of her feet she spun into her spinning ball form and shot herself onto the monster. Once attached she circled all around its body, making sure to loop over its eyes.

           “What’re ya’ waiting for!?” She screamed.

           “She can’t hold it for very long. Garnet, break its front legs and Steven, catch it with your shield when it falls,” instructed Pearl. Garnet complied, leaping into action. Steven scurried after, at a much less graceful speed.

           The monster stomped its four legs into the ground in a panic for its stolen eyesight. Garnet dodged the sharp ends left and right, not flinching even if the leg buried into the ground inches from her. She grabbed the first and then second front leg and squeezed on them tight. The monster screeched with pain and fell forward, onto Steven’s shield that he manifested beneath it, catching it.

           Pearl jumped under the shield. She aimed the tip of her spear towards the monster. A ball of dancing light formed on top and she shot it up. The ball of energy struck the shield and propelled the monster on the other side high into the air.

           “Wow, Pearl that was amazing! I didn’t know your energy thingies had so much oomph to them!” Steven praised, bright eyed.

           “Well, there’s still a lot of myself I haven’t told you,” said Pearl, just a little bit smug.

           “HEY!” The three back on the ground look up. Amethyst clung to the monster’s orange, scaly body for dear life. “Did you forget about me?!”

           “Oh my goodness I did!” Pearl gasped. Suddenly the confident Pearl became skittish and frantic. “We—we have to do something!”

           “I’ve seen her go higher,” said Garnet, calm as ever.

           Amethyst clung to the monster’s scales. Thankfully they held against the strong wind zooming passed her. Finally able to see, the monster thrashed around in the air until one of its legs brushed by Amethyst; the monster spotted her. The leg swung and snared Amethyst by the collar of her clothes. Amethyst barely knew what was going on before the monster swung her off, throwing her across the forest. In throwing her, the monster threw its trajectory off and it veered to the opposite side.

           “We need to poof and bubble that monster before it gets away,” said Garnet.

           “R-Right,” Pearl agreed but only just, concern for Amethyst.

           “But what about Amethyst?” Steven asked.

           “She’ll be alright, Steven, let’s go,” Garnet ordered.

           Steven took one last look back, unable to shake the feeling of unease he felt. He watched her purple speck in the air land before following after the two Gems.

           The Green Pearl took another look at the device. The blinking red light continued to beat with the same pace as when she pressed the buttons.

           “The ship will be here any minutes to retrieve me,” said the Pearl, but a greater worry made her unsure. “But Alabaster said every Off Color I see I have to incapacitate and bubble for her. Well…I supposed one more shouldn’t hurt.”

           Her pencil thin body allowed for her to travel as a swift speed when running. Ignoring the condition the forest way to hide her presence, she ran nonstop until she finally found a downed Amethyst in the middle of a crater.

           “Ugh, my head. I’ve got to start bringing bandages. Steven’s not the only one who has to protect his looks,” Amethyst joked to herself, rubbing the bruises running up and down her arm. She flung her hair over her head and messed it back to its original shambles. “Come out, I heard you a mile away.”

           The Pearl recoiled, surprised she was noticed. But the green Gem was clever, diabolically so; she remembered the other Pearl whom the Amethyst was friends with. She cleared her throat.

           “Amethyst, it’s me, Pearl,” she imitated.

           “Hey, P. You stayed behind, what about the baddie?”

           “You’re more important to me than bubbling that monster.”

           Amethyst blushed a little. “Aww, Pearl, no need to be so gushy over me. I can take a beating or two.”

           “But all I care about is you, Amethyst. I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt.”

           Amethyst was speechless, blown away by the abruptness.

           “Come here,” said Pearl.

           Enamored, Amethyst got up and awkwardly waddled towards the brush. She was on the edge of her seat, wondering what Pearl had in mind. But when she was close enough, the green Pearl came out of the bushes, holding the weapon she used on Bixbite earlier.

Amethyst didn’t have time to dodge. The Pearl plunged the weapon into Amethyst’s stomach. Her body lit up, streams of light like zigzags appeared and scurried all over her body. The last thing Amethyst saw was the face of her friend on a different form. SNAP! A second later, Amethyst was poofed, her gemstone landing at the Pearl’s feet. She waved her hand over the Gem and a bubbled formed enclosing it.

“That’s too wrong Gems. On a single excursion no less. Maybe I’ll finally get my say on the ship,” said the Pearl, looking into both of them she had juggling for space above her hand. “Assuming Alabaster can fix you, of course. If not, I supposed I could shatter you. You two did, after all, cause me so much stress.”

The Pearl held the two bubbles close to her navel. A light radiated from it which swallowed the Gems inside. She shivered an uncomfortable sensation off. Suddenly something caught her eye.

           Across the empty field she could see Onyx running at her fastest speed towards the forest, no doubt, she thought, going to the source of the explosion. The off world Gem had yet another malevolent form in her wicked mind.

           “If they destroy each other it will mean less effort on my part to bring in more wrong Gems. Alabaster will love them, especially that sneaky little Off Color, Onyx.”

The Pearl called upon her gemstone once again. An Amethyst appeared, but the glimmer on the gemstone was different from the one once on Amethyst’ chest.

“A fake substitute wasn’t a waste after all, was it, Pearl?” Green Pearl waited for Onyx to enter the forest and get into earshot. She picked up a large rock and threw it against a tree; the crash caught Onyx’s attention and raced towards her. The Pearl hid in the shadows.

Onyx found the crater where Amethyst landed but no one else. Her anger ad her hurry to find the Pearl who took Plume distracted her, making her miss the details in the area that pointed to the perpetrator watching from afar. Suddenly another explosion sounded nearby; Onyx gritted her teeth and dashed. Just before she took off, the Pearl jumped out and threw the fake gem like a discus. To the Pearl’s smugness it got caught on Onyx’s suit, tight.

“Make sure you’re rough on those Rebels,” said Green Pearl.  

[sportarobbie-shorties]

CXXVII - Long, Fun Day

Sportarobbie Fanfiction - The 127th Shortie

Warnings: None :)

Summary: Lazy Town is a small town - a very small town - and the kids don’t really get to experience other places and big cities. With Milford and Bessie being too busy, Robbie and Sportacus decide to take the kids to the nearest city for shopping and having fun.

Robbie and Sportacus smile as they watch the kids play on the playground. They don’t really play like they used to.

They’ve grown older obviously, so now instead of playing make believe, they talk and joke while also playing on the swing and climbing on the monkey bars. Robbie thinks it’s nice actually because now the kids aren’t as noisy, but of course, it is a little sad.

Robbie thinks about what kids these days do when they’re older kids. Robbie doesn’t know any other kids than the ones of Lazy Town, so he isn’t sure. He can sort of picture a group of friends shopping, eating at restaurants, and going to the movies.

That isn’t possible in Lazy Town, or at least not in the scale most people would think about. Lazy Town is such a small town, you’d have to go some place else to do all of that.

Maybe they could do that.

“Hey, Sportaslip.” Sportacus turns his head to Robbie with a smile. “Yes, Robbie?” “Don’t you think the kids would like to see a big city? You know, Experience the excitement and hugeness of it all.”

Sportacus nods. The kids have spent pretty much their entire lives in this small town. Sportacus doesn’t know how things were before he came to Lazy Town, but while he has been here, he and Robbie have taken the kids to a zoo once, and Stingy’s been to the city once to get his ears pierced.

He knows Stephanie hasn’t always lived here so she might have come from a bigger city, but she has spent a very long time in Lazy Town already. A big city would probably be quite an experience for her as well, after all this time.

Sportacus smiles at Robbie: “I think they would like that.” He looks over to the town hall, knowing Bessie and Milford are in there, busy with work.

“Miss Busybody and the mayor are always so busy, having to run this town. Maybe we should take the kids to the city?” Robbie nods with a smile, and it’s already a deal.

Sportacus and Robbie go ask the kids if they’d like to go for a little trip to the nearest big city, and they get an excited response. They quickly set the airship up so that the kids can ride at the back safely, and they’re on their way.

“How long is the flight going to take?” “Long enough for your whining to kill me.”

The kids, fortunately for Robbie, stay quiet enough for most of the trip, but once they land, the kids can’t stay calm. Sportacus has to make them stay in the airship for a moment to take a deep breath and to remind them there’s a lot of crazy traffic out there, so they should be careful.

“Also, Sporty, you’ll have to try not to flip around all over the place, like you usually would”, Robbie says teasingly, and Sportacus shakes his head. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

Robbie and Sportacus lead on as they go walking in the city. The kids gasp at all the huge buildings and all the cars whizzing past. They walk through the marketplace, amazed at all the stands, the smells, and the people. The kids get maybe even too excited, and when crossing the street, they have to hold hands to keep everyone safe. Ziggy almost got lost as well.

The group goes to a huge mall, and Sportacus stops them by a fountain for some rules.

“Okay guys, this is our meeting place. If you get separated from the others, or if you’re ready to go, you come over here. And everyone gets the same amount of money to use. You can buy anything, as long as it’s within the budget.”

“And it’s legal”, Robbie adds in. Sportacus thinks it is a very valid point, but he shakes his head, not believing the kids would really get anything illegal.

Stingy clears his throat and raises his hand, asking for a permission to speak. Robbie rolls his eyes: “Yes, Stingy?” “What if I find something expensive, over the budget, but I really, really, really want it?” Sportacus chuckles: “Then we can negotiate.”

When Sportacus gives permission, everyone starts heading different ways. Stingy and Pixel go wandering together, while Trixie follows Stephanie. Ziggy clings onto Sportacus: “Can I come with you?” “Yes, of course, Ziggy.”

Pixel and Stingy head to an electronics store first, though it doesn’t seem like they’re going to buy anything from there.

“Pixel, look at this.” “Yeah, so?” Stingy points to a small electronic device: “Look at the price tag!” Pixel lets out a tiny gasp: “Woah, that is expensive!” “Yes! And you could easily build that yourself, couldn’t you?” “Yeah, I could. All of this is really expensive, and to be honest, I can’t see anything I couldn’t make.” Stingy nods, and they get out of the store.

Stephanie gets fascinated by the fancy cosmetics section. It’s all so white and shiny, and the shelves are filled with different brands Stephanie didn’t even know existed. While she looks at all the products wide-eyed, Trixie follows behind her, understanding even less than Stephanie of all the things on the shelves.

“Hey, Trixie, smell this perfume!” Trixie sniffs the bottle and makes a funny face. “That’s weird! What is it?” “I have no idea”, Stephanie giggles. She continues going through all of the products, showing Trixie the strangest ones she finds, and Trixie smiles at her amazement.

Next, Pixel and Stingy step into a jewellery store. Stingy stares at all of the shiny, golden things, gasping at the diamonds. He just loves shiny things. Meanwhile, Pixel follows him around, grinning at Stingy’s excitement.

“Do you think I should get new earrings?” Pixel shrugs: “I don’t know.” “Well much help you are.” Pixel chuckles: “Hey, if you want to get new earrings, get new earrings.” “But should I?” Pixel shakes his head.

Stephanie decides to let Trixie pick where to go next. Turns out Trixie wants to go to the book and art tools shop. There she looks at all kinds of fancy pencils, sketchbooks, and also regular books. Stephanie is very happy to see Trixie embracing her hobbies she usually keeps quite hidden.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about making my own comic book”, Trixie mutters quietly. “Really? That’s so cool!” Stephanie exclaims, smiling wide. Trixie grins: “Yeah. It’s about a superhero that’s like, half penguin. So they’re really good at diving and they can slide on their stomach like a penguin.” Stephanie compliments on the idea, and they continue talking about the possible comic, and all of the hero’s adventures.

Stingy and Pixel go to the game store, which is quite obvious. They look at all of the newest games and also some merchandise. When walking past random games, they point at some game and say: “I bet I could beat you at that game.” Which results in a heated, but joking conversation about why the other could beat the other in the game.

Stephanie goes shopping for clothes. She tries on a lot of clothes - all pink. Trixie is her personal judge, rating all of the clothes. Stephanie also gets Trixie to try something on. Stephanie thinks it looks good on Trixie, but Trixie doesn’t agree.

Sportacus smiles at Ziggy as he walks back to Sportacus and Robbie, holding a big box of candy. Sportacus shakes his head and crouches down to be eye-to-eye level with Ziggy. “It’s okay that you’re buying all of this candy. This is quite special after all. But promise me, you won’t eat it all at once. Okay?” Ziggy nods with a smile: “I promise!”

After the candy shop, Robbie and Sportacus get to wait for Ziggy outside of a toy store. Ziggy doesn’t take long, and soon he comes back with three small toys. He gives Sportacus one of them: “This is for you. I was going to get myself a superhero, but then I wanted to get you something as well, so I got one for both of us!” Sportacus smiles brightly at the sweet gesture and gives Ziggy a hug.

Ziggy then turns to Robbie with a smile: “I got you something as well!” He gives Robbie a small villain figurine. “I thought you’d prefer a villain over a superhero, but I did get you the kindest looking one because you’re really nice.” Robbie accepts the tiny villain, almost tearing up. Sportacus smiles at him and gives him a kiss before they all head to the meeting place.

Once they’ve all gathered up again, Stingy has bought two new pairs of earrings; yellow flowers and rubies - they’re fake, but at least they’re shiny. Pixel, on the other hand, has found a band T-shirt, and he also bought a new video game, while Trixie bought professional drawing pencils and a fantasy book she has read before, but really likes. Stephanie bought a new notebook for writing things down and a pink summery jacket.

Robbie and Sportacus take the kids to see a movie at the movie theatre, and after that, they go to eat at a restaurant. It’s not the fanciest of them all, but it’s a lot fancier than anything they’ve had in Lazy Town.

At the end of the day, the kids are tired, and so are Robbie and Sportacus. The kids sleep through the flight back to Lazy Town, while Robbie tries his best to stay awake so that he can talk to Sportacus, so Sportacus won’t fall asleep.

“Did we have a fun day?” Robbie asks through a yawn. Sportacus nods: “Yes, we did. A long, but fun day.” “Are you still awake?” “Are you running out of things to talk about?” “No... I’m just too tired to think of anything.” Sportacus laughs, and soon Robbie falls asleep. Sportacus smiles at that - Robbie really deserves some sleep right now.

[thingsyoucanread]

Dandelions and Cowslips - an ereri oneshot

First of all, I want to start with an apology. My grammar might fail me, and there might be some typos in this (could be a fuckton too, who knows?), but not only is this the first fic-thingy I’ve ever posted, but it’s also in English, which is a secondary language for me. This is just a way for me to exercise my English. It’s a total of 1605 words, go me. I obviously don’t have a beta-reader either, so you get this wreck instead. Sorry.

Ereri (Levi/Eren), AU, Angst, Heavily Implied Major Character Death, there’s nothing canon about this other than the characters, hopefully it’s not ooc, I APOLOGIZE IF IT IS, OKAY? 

A smile so bright it blinded me. A melodic laugh.

I picked up the strand of hair, and softly smiled. The sunlight reflected off of the chestnut curls, and for a moment I was unsure as of whether I had a ringlet of hair or if it was liquid gold softly caressing my skin as it rested in my palm. But soon enough, reality caught up to me, and I carefully ran my thumb over the silken strands.

A tunic, light and white, just like clothes should be in the summer, dancing in the wind.

The light box with the almost sterile padding seemed so bleak in comparison with the beautiful, warm curls. Everything paled in comparison to the curls. My hand. My skin. My home and my surroundings, my breathing and my heartbeats. Everything seemed so... flat, so pale and so dull.

Hands grasping for each other, unyielding glee filling the air around us.

With great care I placed the curl on the padding, and studied the silk ribbon that held them together. It was yellow, as yellow as the dandelions that had dug their way through the asphalt, as yellow as the buttercups that almost seemed to wrap themselves around the fence, as yellow as the cowslips that grew beneath the light blue rhododendron. 

The sun shone in that bright and warm way it only does when you are happy, and you laughed in such an angelic way when you placed the flower crown on my head that I couldn’t help but laugh as well.

The lid silently clicked, as if it was apologizing, when I closed it. I didn’t have the heart to ignore it, and quietly whispered that I accepted the apology. It may be a lid, but it’s the lid attached to the box I love so vigorously, so how could I possibly bring myself to deny it?

The box was light, and I think it’s made of birch, the light and beautiful wood. I remember how birches always seems to fascinate you, for you found it so fantastic that something so common still could possess such unique beauty. So the box had to be birch, right?

You used to say that I’m like a dandelion, and laughing loudly you would ask me what you reminded me of. I would always think for a bit, a blush tinting my skin as I mumbled that you were like a cowslip.

The box stood right in the middle of the small bookcase, where I always placed it, and I studied the glass-dog that sat to the right of it, head tilted and a lopsided ear. We had bought it at some small art museum once. You had spotted it and fallen in love with the immortalized German shepherd puppy, but the moment you noticed the price tag, you quickly started to pretend like the figurine wasn’t anything special.

I had followed you with my gaze, and when you started to ramble on about how pretty the miniature bear with blue undertones would look in our living room, I couldn’t help but grin.

Sure, it was quite expensive, and you knew how I despised buying things we didn’t really need, so I understood why you pretended we didn’t need it.

But we needed that glass dog.

You had spoken so enthusiastically about how when we got home we would visit you sister and pick some raspberries, and I was just happy that we could do something so peaceful together.

I stepped into the kitchen, and poured myself some tea. The cup was in reality quite ugly, worn down and chipped, and the odd bouquet pattern was almost completely worn off. The wooden chair creaked a bit, just like old, well used chairs should when you sit down. The tea had a pale red tone, and I couldn’t bring myself to even take a sip.

It went so fast.

I stood up and poured out the cups content into the sink before rinsing the cup. Neither the water nor the detergent was able to remove the reddish brown stains that seemed to stain the porcelain, and I rigorously scrubbed the porcelain over and over and over again, but they didn’t vanish.

I slammed the cup onto the counter next to the teapot, and left the kitchen.

One second we were holding hands happily laughing, and the next we weren’t.

I glanced out the window, and decided it was time to weed the garden. The neighbors would look at me strangely, but they never offered their help since that time I screamed at Petra to leave me alone.

We never even had the time to react before the sound of skidding tires against the gravel road drowned out your laughter.

With a pair of spotless brown shoes, that I scrubbed one extra time just to be sure before I stepped through the door, on my feet I started my weeding-round around the garden.

Your hand was torn from mine, and your laughter came to an abrupt stop. The cries of the gulls were drowned by mine, and I grasped your hand again once I found you. Your tunic was no longer light and white.

I meticulously mowed the lawn, and noticed how Hange and Erwin, the couple next door, nervously followed me with their eyes. Once, we had been the closest of friends, eating dinner together every Tuesday, and every Saturday I would help Erwin renovate the attic into a nursery, whilst Eren and Hange groomed the garden.

It should’ve been me.

I would come down with Erwin just around the time we would start making dinner, and the four of us would cook together before we sat down to watch some shit movie we found on Netflix and picked simply because of how bad it seemed.

But that was Before.

Your eyes that once shined so incredibly brightly were now so unfathomably dull, and you wouldn’t answer me when I begged you to do something, anything. My eyes burned and my hands were stained. But you wouldn’t listen.

I let my eyes graze over Hange and Erwin again, and my hands trembled as I turned to the plum tree to pick the ripe fruit. I had seen how afraid Hange looked, how their eyes seemed to water as their gaze followed me, and I understood them. I had killed their friend after all, so it’s only natural for them to be afraid. I wish it wasn’t so, but wishes does not heal snapped necks.

The driver, a middle aged man, had called for help, but I only clung to you, sobbing and screaming. Your beautiful hair was dulled by crimson, and I was so scared, so, so scared.

I placed the plums in the casket I always had standing under the tree, just as we’ve always had. Eren had somehow managed to convince me when we had bought the tree, that even though it was new we could never know when it would bear fruit, and ever since we’ve let the basket stand there. Just in case.

I hated that man. He had been on his phone, never noticing neither the turn or us before it was far too late, and you paid for his idiocy. I hate him. 

I was aware of how Erwin asked their daughter to go inside and play with her toys, and the happy six year old happily listened to the suggestion. I hate how lonely I am.

The funeral was only a prolonging of the suffering. The priest, an old man by the name of Dot Pixis, seemed teary eyed when he called me up to bid my farewells. It was the same Dot Pixis that had officiated me and Eren, only three years earlier.

I turned towards the rhododendron to weed the flower-bed beneath it, only to come to an abrupt halt as my eyes fell upon a bright yellow flower with it’s petals standing out against the green grass around it.¨

He had given me his condolences, and I had bitterly told him that it wasn’t me lying in the coffin as I placed down a bouquet of cowslips on it. Someone had called me a widower, and I had thrown the candelabra by my side after the distant relative who spewed that shit. Never. I am never a widower.

I could hear Hange and Erwin talking from the other side of the fence, but it was like a distant murmur.

His murderer had worn a hat to the funeral, and I have never hated anyone as strongly as I hated that man as he fucking apologized. Dot Pixis had, with the assistance of two of Eren’s closest friends, dragged me away from him when I began to scream, in both panic and fear, but most of all loneliness. An apology does not mend a broken neck.

I dropped to my knees, staring at the flower in front of me, before I with a sob wrapped my hands around the stem and tore. When the flower didn’t break off, my yanking grew more violent, and my sobbing grew louder and more panicked. I could hear someone running towards me, and I had just crushed the flower in my hand when I felt Erwin’s arms wrap around me, holding me close as I screamed and fought to break free from his grasp. I failed to do so, as he only tightened his grip around me and held me closer to my chest as his betrothed gently uncurled my fingers in order to get the flower out of my grasp, hushing comfortingly as they did.

I hate dandelions.