#I wanted to make it slightly suggestive. gotta fix that in the morning or whenever I get to it

[reedraws]

About a year and a half ago, I designed a Hadesgame outfit for my oc Ruby, and it's about time to update! I'm still working on the upper half of her dress, but I'm so much happier with the pose and silhouette.

I also have to design her daughter Jana, who'd be a nymph of some sort and the light of Ruby's life. Nothing will make her stop working, but she'd come close for Jana.

❃❀✿ commissions / Ko-Fi / Store ✿❀❃

#art #artblr #myart #digital art #artists on tumblr #ruby #ocs #oc art #oc #hades #hades game #hades game oc #hades fanart #hades ii #hades 2 #hades oc #hades art #hades 2 art #oh damn it the arc of her back disappeared while I was arguing with shading #I wanted to make it slightly suggestive. gotta fix that in the morning or whenever I get to it #Lore Olympus OC #Lore Olympus #hadesgame

[amane-by-together]

Pocky || Amane Yugi

genre: fluff

summary: [name] and amane doing the pocky challenge

warning: like a hot chocolate, it's sweet but heated ;)

“[name]...” Amane entered his bestfriend's apartment and showed her the plastic bag that he was holding. “I went to the nearest store and bought you some food.”

“Oooh~!” [name] looked behind the couch, she looked at the plastic bag with curiosity. “What did you buy?”

“Two boxes of chocolate pocky and two cans of Sprite.”

[name] smiled blithely at him, then Amane sat next to her and placed the plastic bag at the table in front of them. The female grabbed the remote and turned on the television. Amane grabbed the box of pocky from the plastic bag, opening it and took a snack. “Amane-kun, can I have some?”

“Ah sure, here you go [name]-chan.” Amane pulled out a pocky stick from the box and gave it to [name] earning a grin from the female.

[name] and Amane have a pretty platonic type of friendship. They met when they entered Middle School during the entrance ceremony. It was a clumsy encounter because they hit their heads first thing in the morning.

So the two of them have to endure the whole day with a red bruise on their foreheads. They started by apologizing and they ended up grinning and blushing at each other.

Because of that incident, Amane sort of developed feelings towards [name] as they got closer. It started as a infinitesimal crush to an astronomical one, to the point that he will internally scream and blush whenever their hands will accidentally brush against each other.

Amane fixed his gaze towards [name], who was grinning from ear to ear while watching the show from the television as she takes a bite from the pocky stick. He felt the tips of his ears when [name] caught him staring. “Is there something on my face?” she asked.

Amane shakes his head no while smiling. He wanted to say “No, it's just that you're pretty and I can't help but to stare at you.” The thing is that he's too shy to tell her yet sometimes he playfully flirts with [name] using cheesy pickup lines.

Since [name] is the type to fall for someone easily, she eventually falls for his charms and has no idea what to do whenever she's around him without blushing and stuttering.

“Ne, [name].”

“Hm?”

“Wanna play the pocky challenge?” Amane shakes the box of chocolate pocky in front of [name]. “It depends if you're up to it of course, it's fine if you don't want to.”

“Well...” [name] puts her pointer finger under her chin to think about it. The Pocky challenge is well known and it involves two people on each end of the stick and bites it till it reaches the middle. [name] was confused about the goal of the challenge because basically, the Pocky challenge can lead to a kiss—“Sure, let's try, Amane-kun.”

The two of them faced each other cross-legged on the large couch. Amane grabbed the snack from the box and waved it in front of [name]. “Of course, there will be consequences~” he smirked.

“The first one to pull away will treat the winner whatever they want~”

“What kind?” [name] questioned. “Food related?”

“Sure.” Amane tilted his head and smiled at [name] teasingly. “I better get a box of donuts when I win~”

“Deal.” [name] narrowed her eyes at Amane. “I'll win this thing you'll see—”

“I'd like to see you try, sweet cheeks~”

[name] blushed as she pulled back away from Amane. “What's with the nickname—?”

“Felt like it~” Amane raised the pocky stick near his lips. “Come on we gotta start now—”

“Why are you having the chocolate part?” [name] pointed out her brows creasing at the sight of Amane in verge of biting the stick.

“Do we really have to fight about this—?” Amane deadpanned at [name]'s complaint. He brushed his hair between his fingers and sighed. “Okay, I'll let you have the chocolate part, only because I want my donuts when you lose.”

“So you pretty much choose the donuts than me—?”

“No no, I don't mean it like that! I rather choose you than the donuts—” Amane covered his mouth when he spat out those words to [name]. Both of their faces turned red like two strawberries looking at each other. “I mean, ugh, can we just get this over with?”

[name] fanned her face while adjusting the neckline of her shirt. “Sure, l-let's get this over with.” she grumbled under her breath.

Amane bites the end of the pocky stick and motioned [name] to take a bite. [name] hesitated at the moment but she didn't want her pocket money to go "sayonara" because of the donuts if she loses.

[name] took a deep breath, then she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and after that she finally took a bite of the snack.

The two of them started to nibble on the snack between them. Amane was looking at [name] while biting closer towards her as if to taunt her to pull away from the stick. [name] notices that Amane, in a closer look, he looks so breathtaking, and she can see how detailed his amber irises are.

It reminded her of the crescent moon.

'Calm yourself, you're just a best friend.' [name] tells herself causing her to snap out from her trance. She bites the snack into tiny pieces while closing her eyes, afraid on what's going to come. 'Just don't pull away no matter what!'

Amane grinned a bit at the sight of his crush closing her eyes. He notices that the two of them are only a few bites away to the middle. Then an idea came inside his mind that would probably make [name] pull away.

Amane wrapped an arm around [name]'s waist as they were almost reaching for the middle of the pocky stick, tugging her closer while tilting his head slightly. He smirked, he's sure that can fluster [name] to make her reel away and win the game.

[name] slightly opened her eyes and saw that Amane is holding her in an intimate way. Their lips are just a few inches apart for them to totally kiss. She slightly squirmed when she felt Amane's hand carressing her waist, still nibbling on the stick and his gaze fixed on hers.

The dark haired boy flashed her a quick grin whilst the pocky still remains between his teeth. [name] blushed, she wanted to pull away but she wanted to win the game. So, she'll just close her eyes instead no matter what happens just to save her pocket money from Amane's evil scheme.

'Aww she's closing her eyes' Amane thinks while holding her chin between his thumb and index finger as he started to lean in, biting the remaining pocky.

He stopped when he almost grazed his lips against [name]'s. Amane tugged her closer by the waist causing [name] to place her palms on to his chest.

Amane was confused since he knows that in this position [name] would pull away, but she didn't. Deep inside, Amane wanted to kiss [name], and the game he suggested is kind of an excuse to smooch with her.

There are two choices in this situation, it's either one of them will pull away or the two of them will kiss whether they will still be friends after that.

Amane finally made his decision. 'Ya know what, screw it.' he thought to himself before delicately places his lips against hers.

[name] felt her cheeks grew warm and the sound of her heart beat roaring through her chest. The person whom she fully liked since the beginning of middle school is kissing her right in the spot. Her knees grew weak on how she felt his soft lips moving with hers in sync, it was clear that they were yearning for this moment.

Amane wraps his arms around [name]'s waist while kissing her passionately. He slightly flicks his tongue against her lips, tasting the chocolate from the pocky, and then he slips his hands under her shirt caressing her skin underneath. [name] wrapped her arms around his neck deepening the kiss.

The two of them broke the kiss for air but their lips are slightly apart from each other.“Sorry, it was hard to resist...” Amane apologized.

“That was my first...” [name] mentions.

Amane smiled mellifluously. “Same.”

He leaned his forehead against hers. “I love you.” Amane confessed while tucking a strand of hair behind [name]'s ear. “I really do, ever since we were in middle school...”

“I love you too, Amane-kun.” [name] smiled while ruffling his hair.

“I've been meaning to tell this but, will you go out with me [name]?” Amane grabbed her hands while nervously waiting for an answer.

“Of course, I'll go out with you.” [name] smiled blithely as her eyes were sparkled with mirth. To her surprise, Amane tackled her into a hug letting out a little laugh from the latter.

“Yayy!” Amane cheered then after that he nuzzled his face against [name]'s neck as he planted light kisses causing her to giggle since she's ticklish.

“Wait—Amane that tickles—” she grinned when Amane pursues by peppering kiss to her neck and then he stopped, resting his head on the crook of her neck while smiling contently.

“It's just that...I'm glad that you're finally mine...” he mentions while wrapping an arm around her. “I love you, [name]...”

“I love you too, Amane...” [name] runs her fingers through his choppy hair then planting a kiss on his forehead.

Few moments after that the two of them are now bundled up in a blanket while eating pocky, their eyes glued on to the television, watching a horror movie. [name] was about to eat another pocky until she felt Amane's hands trail underneath her shirt. “Amane?” she chuckled while glancing over to him.

“You're very warm [name]~” Amane tells her. “Just focus on the movie, don't mind my hands...”

“Okay then...” [name] gently pats his head and grabbed another pocky stick from the box. Then her face heated up when his hands slightly trails upwards. “A-Amane—?!”

“What?” Amane lifted his head and looked at [name] innocently. “Something wrong, [name]-chan?” he asked while he subtly trailed his hand towards her thigh making her squeak.

“N-nothing, haha~” [name] shrugged it off, swatting the pocky on her hand. Amane smiled as he leaned in to peck her lips.

[name] stood there in shock, completely distracted by the kiss. Amane snickered as he grabbed the pocky stick from her hand and plopped it between his lips. “Hehe~”

“That was so low—” [name] muttered while blushing.

“Here I'll let you have a bite.” Amane leaned in once again with the pocky still between his lips.

“Let's just watch.” [name] slightly evades from him, pointing at the television but not breaking eye contact with Amane. Amane sweatdropped in response, then he smiled while petting her head.

“But I get to do this okay?” Amane slips his hands underneath [name]'s shirt. She opened her mouth to protest but sighed with a smile. Amane gave her a close-eyed grin while blushing.

And for the rest of the day, the two of them ate pocky while watching the movie that was played in front of them.

===============================

a/n: here's another oneshot *cough* two days till the next chappy of tbhk manga *coughs* like and reblog this post if you love this oneshot~

#amane yugi #anime #amane yugi x reader #hanako x reader #fluff #jibaku shounen hanako kun #yugi amane x reader #yugi amane #tbhk #amane #jshk #im so single istg

[fangirl-writes]

The Brewed

Benny Weir x Reader

Warning(s): None

Notes: A little treat for my MBAV followers. You can thank @faithiebrock01​ for the request and I hope I fulfilled your expectations! This episode was hard to write for because it jumped around so much.

Summary: Follows the plot of Season 1 Episode 11 “The Brewed”

If someone had told you that morning that you were going to be up against zombie versions of your high school teachers-

Well, you probably would have believed them.

You grew up across the street from Benny and Ethan and consequently were best friends with the nerd squad.

And you’d been through a lot. So, really, it wouldn’t have surprised you.

But any warning would have been nice.

Because barricading yourself in the girls bathroom wasn’t how you wanted your afternoon to go.

“Ethan!” You cried. “Benny! Someone! Help!”

With your back against the door, you fumble in your pocket for your cell phone. Hitting Benny’s number. “Come on, Come on, Ben, pick up your phone.”

“Y/N?”

“Benny!” 

“Oh, hot stuff, thank God you’re safe! Where are you?”

“In the girls bathroom by the science lab. Where are you?”

“Too far away from there.” Benny said. “We’re in the bathroom on the other side of the school. Sarah’s not picking up, Erica’s MIA , and we’re not desperate enough to call Rory yet. But don’t worry. Teacher’s will never enter a student washroom.”

“I don’t think the unwritten rules of education apply when they’re mindless zombies, Ben,”

“You know who’s fault this really is? Sarah’s. ‘Why don’t you fight your own battles.’”

There was a banging noise and Benny screamed before the line went dead.

“Benny? Benny? Hello?” You started panicking. What happened? Did the zombie teachers get Benny?

You chewed on your lip in worry.

Yeah, you were worried about Ethan, too, he was your best friend, but Benny...

Well, with Benny there was always something else there. A aching feeling in your chest whenever he would flirt with other girls, butterflies in your stomach when he would compliment you or save you from the supernatural thing of the day. You loved all your friends, but Benny...you loved Benny more.

There was banging outside the door and you pressed yourself up against it, trying to keep whatever it was out.

“Y/N! It’s us! Ethan and Benny!”

“Benny?” You threw open the door and jumped into his arms.

“Hey, I’m here, too,” Ethan pouted.

You smiled and quickly hugged him.

“Come on, let’s go before they come back.”

As you all made your way to the science lab, they caught you up to speed on the zombie situation with the coffee, the ectoplasmic refractor, and the pig brain.

“Who would have thought that the bio-lab had such big pig brains,” Benny said, staring at the jar with a weird kind of joy.

“I guess, I did,” Ethan replied, grabbing the handle to the teacher’s lounge.

“Into the lion’s den, you muttered and you all stuck your heads in the room.

“Ok, over there, follow me,” Ethan whispered, crouching and crawling under the teacher’s foosball table.

Ethan went first, followed by you, and then Benny who was covering you as the zombies walked by, groaning.

“Ok, so,” Ethan hit Benny’s arm as he watched the teacher stalk by, his hands grabbing your arms, protectively. “we throw the pig brain, grab the coffee, and we’re home free.”

“I don’t think you understand the meaning of home-free.”

You glared at Benny as his phone rang.

“Turn that thing off!”

“Oh, so when I tried to call you again you didn’t answer but now-”

“Not the time, Y/N!”

“Hello? I can’t talk right-  What? Really? That’s amazing.”

“Benny!” Ethan whisper-shouted.

“500 minutes, unlimited text. 30 bucks! That’s good, right?”

“Hang up!” You scolded.

He did so and stuffed his phone back in his pocket.

“Ok. Pig brain..” Ethan said, unscrewing the lid. “...is go.”

He threw the jar and watched as the zombies made their way over to it.

“All right. All right. I’m going for it.”

He quickly crawled over the the coffee dispenser and pulled a cup from the stack. “Ok. Ok. Right here. Ok. Ok.”

“Too many, oks, Ethan,” You whisper-shouted.

He turned around and screamed in surprise as one of the teacher zombies eyed him. “I dropped the sample.”

Benny pushed you behind him. “Take, Y/N. I’ll get the coffee. You guys go!”

“But Benny-”

“Go!”

Ethan dragged you out of the room and you both hid around a corner, breathing heavily.

You heard footsteps and looked at Ethan worriedly.

“Benny?” He whispered uncertainly. “Is that you? Benny?”

The footsteps drew closer and closer.

You threw yourself in front of Ethan and yelled, making Benny, who was the perpetrator of the footsteps, screamed and clutched the coffee maker to his chest.

“Benny!” You said, sighing with relief.

“Benny, are you okay?” Ethan asked.

“Never better. Check this out.” He leaned against the lockers with you and showed off the coffee maker and then-

“Cool!”

You all stumbled backwards in fear as the masked Rory appeared from seemingly nowhere. 

“Is that hot chocolate?”

“Rory!” You whined.

“Gotcha!” he exclaimed, pulling the mask off his head. “Check out what I swiped from the teacher’s lounge! Hicks took this from me in September!”

“Wait, you were in the teacher’s lounge?” Ethan asked.

“Candy, games, TV, couches!”

“Zombies?”

“Really?” Rory asked, innocently. “I just thought they were all really grumpy.”

Ethan sighed, shaking his head. “Whatever. We have to get this coffee to the chemistry lab.”

“Chemistry?” Rory said, wrinkling his nose and shaking his head. “Boring. I’d rather smack me some zombies.”

He put the mask back on. “RV away!”

He disappeared with his super speed.

“We better rearm,” Ethan said and Benny sighed, leaning his head against the lockers. 

You help Ethan dislodge the fire extinguisher and you all head to the lab.

“Let’s get this cure going, huh?” Benny says and you narrow your eyes at him.

“Are you okay?” You ask.

“Never better. Let’s go.”

***

Sarah hands Ethan the ectoplasmic refractor.

“Oh, thanks,” Ethan says. “Did you see my mom?”

“We exchanged a few words,” She replied.

“Benny, are you sure you’re okay?” You said, placing your hand on his forehead. “You’re really sweaty and burning up.”

“Yeah! I’m fine,” He pushed you off him. “I’m pumped! Let’s do this zombie cure!”

“There’s definitely something going on here,” Ethan said, looking into the microscope. “These cells are like neurons. Like brain cells, but they’re mutating.”

“Ok. Mutant neurons. Cool.”

“Benny-”

You were cut off by the banging at the door.

“Company!” Sarah shouted. “Speed up the geeking!:”

“You can’t rush science!”

“You can if you don’t want your brain eaten!” You replied, handing Sarah the fire extinguisher.

She blew them back from the door.

“What happened?” Ethan questioned. “The neurons are gone.”

“What?” You asked.

“Just looks like plain old coffee now. It’s like it’s cured itself just sitting there.”

“Maybe it has to be fresh?” Sarah suggested, hitting the fire extinguisher again.

“Hot! That’s why the zombies hate the fire extinguisher. It’s cold!”

“Great...” Benny said, swaying a bit. “So we just wait here until January?”

“Can we just blast the air-conditioning or something?” Sarah asked, frantically.

Ethan laughed nervously. “Sounds like a plan. Benny, pack up. We gotta fight our way to the mechanical room.”

“Who are you kidding?” Sarah said. “They’ll break you like a fingernail. I’ll do it.”

“Oh!” Ethan laughed again and Benny clutched his upper arm. “If you wanna go.”

“Totally. Next zombie rescue is on us.” Benny said, practically leaning his whole weight on you. “Brain...”

“Benny, what’s up?” Ethan asked.

“He’s been bitten!” You cried, pulling up his shirt sleeve.

“Benny! Why didn’t you tell me?” Ethan asked.

He hissed in pain as you inspected the bite. “I thought you might...get cure...Fix...Benny. Can I bite your head?”

“Y/N...” Ethan said, grabbing you by the upper arm and pulling you away from Benny as he backed away slowly.

“Where the hell is Sarah...” You mutter.

“Benny, just stay with me. Not right with me, but, you know. ‘Cause of the biting thing.”

Benny’s head was in the table now.

“Just hang on, Ben, ok?” You said. “Hang on!”

The zombies moaned as they burst the door open.

Benny fully transformed and turned on you.

You screamed and you and Ethan grabbed onto each other.

The window crashed behind you and more zombie arms grabbed at your shirt and arms, you struggled against them and Ethan pulled you away with him as you both were back into a corner.

“Come on, Sarah,”

Ethan grabbed the fire extinguisher and blew it at every teacher it would reach.

Benny, the abnormally strong zombie, pulled it from Ethan’s hands.

“Benny!” You screeched and he looked over at you with dead eyes, he started coming towards you, he was face to face against the wall with you when-

The air conditioning kicked on.

One by one, each zombie hit the floor, their cells going back to normal.

You gasp as Benny hits the floor in front of you. You fall to your knees next to him and Ethan followed suit.

You pull his head into your lap and stroke his head as he started going back to normal.

Sarah comes back in. “We good?”

Ethan sighs. “Yeah. The zombies are all cooled off and catching some Zs.”

He yawned. “I get tired just looking at them.”

“You know what we need? A coffee.”

You laughed wearily.

“No. I’ll pass, thanks.” Ethan replied.

Benny picks his head up off your lap slightly to mutter. “Half-calf, low-fat, latte mochaccino. No foam.”

His head falls back into your lap as you giggle.

He looks up at you, picking his arm up to run his hands through your hair. “I love your giggle...”

You only giggled again and press a kiss to his forehead. “I’m just glad you’re back to normal. I was a little scared for you there.”

He chuckles. “You missed, you know,”

“What?”

“This.”

He pulled you into a kiss, lips meeting lips instead of his forehead.

Sarah and Ethan shake their heads.

“And the zombie movie comes to an end. Happily ever after.”

**** “I can’t believe I like that guy,” Sarah said with a wrinkled nose as “Cute Boy” and “Lazy Barista” talk to the press.

“This stinks. We saved the day.” Benny said, an arm around your shoulders.

“We?” Ethan said with a laugh. “You almost bit Y/N’s face off.”

“You mean like this?” He replied before kissing you all over your face, making you squeal and laugh.

“Augh. No. Gross.”

You laughed, pushing him off you. “Sorry, Benny Boo, but we unsung heroes have to take the high rode. Right, Sarah?”

You all looked over to find Sarah had disappeared.

“I hate their vampire speed.”

Sarah knocked the coffee cups out of the posers hands and the three of you watched them look around confusedly. 

“Great! The high road.” Sarah replied, coming back.

Fin.

#benny weir imagine #benny weir x reader #MBAV #my babysitter's a vampire #mbav imagine #mbav x reader #my babysitter's a vampire x reader #my babysitter's a vampire imagine

[ao3theskyisblue]

(Seeing You) For All That You Are

Summary: 

"How is it that whenever we meet, it's when at least one article of clothing is missing?"

"Disappointed?"

"Of course not."

*An alternate first meeting (and meetings after that) where TK and Carlos can't seem to meet up without being at least partially naked beforehand.*

Read on ao3

Wow, it’s been a while. Gotta love online school and the faulty concept of time right now 🙃 

I may or may not have gotten this idea over the exam season, and literally right after I sat my ass down to work through this fic. 

I hope you enjoy! 😊

~~~~~~~~~~

TK wasn’t quite sure how he found himself in his current predicament.

It might have been his rebellious side resurfacing from his teenage years, because when he saw that the hotel pool was open 24/7, safety at your own discretion, he thought it would be a brilliant idea to go at 3:07am, thinking he’d have the pool all to himself. It was an awkward time of the year to take a vacation after all, most office workers would be working in the middle of September, and school had just started.

He had coincidently just graduated from his undergrad at NYU, deciding to apply to become a firefighter at the last second. Since he was a little late in his application, he had a bit of free time before getting serious about his future career. His father had suggested they take a small vacation away from the hustle and bustle of the city to explore the wild – namely, hiking near the Five Finger Lakes.

He had overheard the receptionists mentioning how it had been a slow week, with tourists generally dissipating after the end of August to go back to their busy lives. So, what better time than to experience an empty pool in the early hours of the morning to wind down?

After hiking for the entire day to enjoy what nature had to offer, Owen had collapsed on one of the beds and slipped right into a deep slumber, leaving TK still high from the adrenaline rush of the hike. It was then that he remembered the pool the receptionist had kindly mentioned when they first checked in, and plus, showering in the communal showers there will prevent him from accidentally waking up his dad, who clearly needed the rest.

And lo and behold, he was correct. Other than his own quiet footsteps and the low buzzing of the diminished ceiling lights, the pool was completely empty.

Doing a few laps at his own pace, he ignored how his mind persistently nudged at him to go over every single detail of his firefighter application he had handed in earlier that day, hoping to find some flaw in the stack of documents he couldn’t fix for the 20th time anymore.

Maybe music will help.

It was easy to let his guard down when he knew he was alone – no one to judge him on his music genre, or his singing abilities. Which is how he found himself singing at the top of his lungs to Cody Simpson’s Pretty Brown Eyes, rocking his hips to the beat in what he knew was a very exaggerated manner.

The hotel lobby had been playing the song on loop for some odd reason, and the nostalgic throwback had the song quickly stuck in his head as he hummed along to the lyrics.

What was that saying, dance like no one is watching?

And that was how he found himself slamming his back against the wall of the shower stall, gesturing wildly as he half-laughed, half-sang the lines ‘hey there pretty brown eyes, whatcha’ doing later tonight?”

Everything was going splendidly. He was about to sing the next line, leaning down to pick up his bottle of body wash when it happened.

They say fate greets you in mysterious ways. It either sledgehammers you to the brutal truths of reality, or-

“Would you mind if I spent a minute with you?”

Or it greets you with a voice singing the next part of the song that wasn’t his own.

An ice-cold sensation of wakefulness hit him all at once, when he realized that that wasn’t his voice. TK froze, the next lyrics falling short as he stopped mid-dance move to look around wildly. And he made two observations.

There was someone in the shower.

He was going to fall.

He barely had time to be embarrassed by the sound of surprise he made at both realizations as he frantically moved to grab something – anything, to help with the very unfriendly meeting he was going to have with the concrete soon. Unfortunately, the only thing within his reach was the shower curtain, which did nothing to break his inevitable plummet to the very hard floor.

Dammit-

“Are you alright?”

TK groaned as he pressed the heel of his hands to his forehead, mentally assessing if there were unusual onsets of pain anywhere before deciding he was fine. Looking up, his eyes widened at the ethereal sight that greeted him.

There was a very noticeable part.

But apart from…that, standing in front of him, all towering and absolutely gorgeous, was a man. At least, TK thinks it was a man and not some god the universe decided to send down to torment his existence.

‘All animals were created equal’ his ass. Orwell was right, some were definitely more equal than others.

The man was sporting abs that would make even the best washboards jealous, water droplets dripping down the column of his neck and reaching his chest, seeming to be in a race to see which one would reach his –

TK quickly averted his gaze, his mind screaming at him to do the exact opposite, but he had manners he liked to uphold. And the residual level of self-control.

The mysterious man made a sound of realization before there was a quick shuffling, and a quiet “you can look now” in a very amused tone, and TK slowly turned to look at the man again, who was now extending a hand to him. The water droplets had now successfully made it well past the half-way point, and TK was definitely not silently cheering for the left one as the race continued towards the low-strung towel the man had haphazardly wrapped around his waist.  

“Hi.” He blurted out, unconsciously letting the beautifully crafted hand pull him upright.

“Hi.” The man mused, their hands slowly releasing from each other’s grip. TK noticed the man’s eyes drifting down quickly and was that appreciation in his gaze? He couldn’t tell and decided not to dwell on it as he quickly grabbed his towel to wrap around his own lower half, cheeks now a brilliant colour of all the shades of red.  

“It’s nice to…be acquainted. With all of you. Not that I was looking.” Foot insert into mouth, now.

“Mmh, right.” Or better yet, maybe praying for the ground to swallow him whole would be better.

“This is turning into one of the most awkward first meetings I’ve ever had.” TK cleared his throat in what he hoped was a casual manner, but that was definitely pushing it as this was anything but casual. “And I’ve met some people running on two hours of sleep and six cups of coffee.”

The man laughed, the deep undertone resonating within the walls of the shower room, and TK felt his own lips tipping up into a large grin at succeeding in making light of the situation.

“If it’s any solace, this is one of the best first meetings I’ve had.” The man chuckled, moving to cross his arms over his chest, sadly obscuring TK’s view of the water droplets and the resulting winner of the race.

Shame.

Though, he couldn’t really complain as the movement further accentuated the man’s biceps, and wow, how does he even fit into his clothes?

Shaking his head, TK’s grin turned into a smirk when he remembered how he had found himself in this position in the first place.

“So, I see you’re a man of culture as well.” TK raised an eyebrow, opting to shift his weight to the side in a flirty stance, further showcasing the curves of his body. The man furrowed his eyebrows slightly in confusion. “Cody Simpson fan?”

TK watched as the man snorted, shaking his head. He tried very hard to pretend that he was not very obviously staring at the wet curls coming loose at the movement.

“Not really. I’ve just heard that song in particular more times than I can keep count. Especially from my siblings.” The man rolled his eyes in exasperation, and TK grinned.

“They all have good taste then. The song suits you very well.” TK wanted very badly to wink at the end, but decided to hold himself back. This was only their first meeting after all, he didn’t want to scare him off that quickly.

“You too. The first word of the song at least.”  TK blinked, bewildered, because he didn’t have brown eyes –

Oh.

Oh.

He distantly wondered if his cheeks could successfully cook a rotisserie chicken at the temperature they were currently at right now.

“Did you need to finish your shower? I’m sorry for interrupting.” TK quickly changed the subject, opting to ignore how the man’s eyes glinted knowingly.

“I was about to get dressed, actually. But now I’m kind of glad I didn’t.” The man smirked. TK rolled his eyes good-naturedly, reaching out to swat at the bulky shoulder. He was about to retort something smart back when they were interrupted by the loud ringing of a phone, and TK smiled in understanding when the man shot him an apologetic look.

“That would be my sister wondering where the hell I am. I’m – I’m sorry to cut this short.” The man gestured toward the general locker area, and TK waved his hand reassuringly.

“No worries. Go ahead.” TK tilted his head towards the locker rooms and took a moment to appreciate the retreating back of the man before heading into the shower stall to finish off what he had barely started.

He hadn’t expected the man to wait for him, but TK couldn’t help but feel a small sliver of disappointment when it was completely quiet when he made his way to the lockers.

He hadn’t even asked the man for his name.

The disappointment quickly dissipated when he saw a small sliver of – was that a paper towel? stuck between the crevices of his locker with messy writing on one side that looked like someone had been in a rush while writing it.

Hey! I’m so sorry but something came up and I have to go, but it was nice meeting you! Let’s do this again someday!

TK didn’t need a mirror to know he was sporting a silly grin, eyes immediately drifting down to the number written hastily on the bottom, wasting no time in taking out his phone to input his new contact.

Looks like he had a chance to ask the man for a name after all.

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

He did not, in fact, ask the man for his name.

It’s been nearly four months, and the nameless man was still saved in his phone as ‘Left Droplet’ because for one, the left droplet would have definitely won, and two, because he didn’t want his dad to accidentally see him receiving text messages from a ‘hot shower man.’ He debated over that or ‘pretty brown eyes,’ and, embarrassingly, he had spent the first couple of days switching between the two.

They had texted non-stop since then, and as they moved from one random topic to the next, names were the absolute last things on their minds. Left Droplet was slowly but surely becoming one of TK’s best friends, and they didn’t need to be on a ‘know your name’ basis for him to know that they shared something special.

What he’s learned so far in their texting spree was that the man was from Austin, Texas (1743 miles, 6 states, not that he was counting), an aspiring police officer who had just started in the police academy, the youngest of five, and too good to be true.

TK was still in honest disbelief sometimes that a man in his caliber could even exist, and to top it all off, he even chose to work in a similar field.

Currently, he was standing on the sidelines at the annual fire academy retreat for lessons on team bonding, occasionally glancing up from his phone at the uninteresting beach volleyball game going on between four of the more enthusiastic students.

Left Droplet: The person who came up with a beach retreat of all things to relax should be arrested

TK snickered at the most recent message, thumbs moving quickly to type out his own response.

TK: I thought you would enjoy activities that involved fewer articles of clothing

Left Droplet: Depends on the person I’m with

He really should have realized the uncanny coincidence before he spotted a familiar figure off in the distance. He thought he recognized the way the muscles rippled across the man’s back when he moved, the familiar strands of curls shifting slightly when he moved.

Wearing nothing but swim shorts.

When he managed to convince himself that no, his eyes were definitely not playing games with him, that it wasn’t a mirage, that the man standing a little further away was indeed the man he had been furiously texting with, TK finally made his move.

Carefully closing the distance between them, making sure not to make any sudden movements to deter from his surprise attack, TK grinned as he covered his target’s eyes with the palms of his hands. He could feel him tensing slightly, probably thinking that it was some random stranger.

Ironic, considering.

“We have got to stop meeting up like this.” TK murmured close to the man’s ear, and they grinned in tune with each other. They both laughed and TK’s grin widened when warm hands lifted to cover his own, thumbs gently caressing the inside of his wrists.

“You’ve got to admit there is a certain charm to it.” The man chuckled, and TK slowly released his hold, green eyes meeting warm brown ones once again. He briefly noted that those eyes drifted down quickly at his own lack of clothes save his summer shorts.

“What is the future Austin PD doing all the way out here?” TK asked, intrigued, as there had to be plenty of beaches in Austin, and while this beach was a good five-hour drive from New York City, it had to be a nearly two-day road trip from Austin. He was given an exasperated sigh as an answer.

“Apparently team bonding for us meant extended road trip, and this was just one of the stops.” TK took a chance to look behind the aspiring police officer to the others also a part of the trip, and interestingly enough, they were all caught up in their own game of frisbee. Or, what looked like a frisbee.

“You know what amazes me?”

TK turned back to the person standing in front of him, an unconscious smile tugging up the corners of his lips.

“What’s that?”

He watched, fascinated, as the man extended his hand once again, his eyes shining with laughter.

“I’m Carlos, it’s nice to see you again.” The man, Carlos, says, and TK has to bite his bottom lip to hold back a laugh. “I was hoping to finally have a name to go with your number when we met again, and not just ‘pretty boy I met in the shower.’”

“TK.” Accepting the extended hand, he couldn’t help but notice how their hands lingered in each other’s hold before finally separating. “It’s nice to see you again too. And to have a name to put with the face.”

“So, I’m guessing you’re also here for ‘team bonding?’” Carlos rolled his eyes at the last part, and TK nodded, tipping his head back towards where the other members of the fire academy graduating in a few weeks were.

“Yeah. Which mostly just consists of the more enthusiastic extroverts making merry while the rest of us stare at our phones.” TK deadpanned, a warmth spreading through his chest at Carlos’ responding grin. In a leap of confidence, he reached out to take Carlos’ hand in his, making sure to put on his most charming smile.

“Since you seem to be also standing on the sidelines, want to accompany me to some ice cream?” TK made sure to widen his eyes a little, dipping his head down and looking up in a way he’s practiced since he was ten when he wanted ice cream cake for dinner. Even his father, who tried his hardest not to dote too much could never resist.

He hid a smirk when he saw Carlos visibly startle, before shaking his head and smiling brightly.

“Lead the way.”

Works like a charm every time.

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

They weren’t dating.

Not really, anyway.

There was the constant texting, the occasional facetime, and the fact that TK probably knew more about Carlos than the man himself.

There was the one memorable moment when Carlos had texted him, absolutely frantic, about what the hell he was supposed to wear to a wedding when he forgot all about it in the whirlwind of other life events and found the invite underneath some papers on his desk. They had facetimed then, and TK had to hold back his laughter at the sight of Carlos’ closet almost completely empty, piles of potential outfit options messily strewn all over his bed.

“You know, there’s always the option to just not wear anything.” TK snickered, and couldn’t hold back his laugh at Carlos’ deadpan stare into the camera like he was in The Office.

“Not sure the bride and groom are going to appreciate a police officer showing up naked to a wedding reception.” Carlos drawled, narrowing his eyes as TK snorted.

“They obviously have poor taste then.” TK grinned, eyes scanning lazily over the outfits on Carlos’ bed, trying not to linger on the latter and instead focus on the clothes. “The navy one. The second one on the left? Go with that one.”

TK found himself tilting his phone to try and peek at the skin that Carlos wasn’t showing, before mentally groaning when he remembered the view was given from Carlos’ end, and he couldn’t exactly reach through his own phone to shift Carlos’ a little lower.

A true shame, really.

“I have to get going in…5 minutes. Wow am I glad I’m not a girl at times like this.” Carlos muttered, and TK could hear rustling in the background as Carlos practically snatched the outfit and was most likely putting it on.

“If you were a girl, maybe you would have actually remembered days before instead of hours.” TK smirked, watching in amusement as Carlos tapped the speakers on his phone in an attempt to showcase his annoyance.

It was rather counterproductive judging by the unabashed grin on his lips every time TK could catch a glimpse of it through the hurried movement.

“Remember to send pics!” TK practically sing-songed, before bidding a quick ‘good-bye,’ leaving himself staring at the facetime screen of his phone for a while, a giddy smile on his lips.

Even with facetime, he hadn’t quite seen the entire picture Carlos painted, and appreciating him through a screen was never enough. He wanted to see for himself how the material folded around his body, feel the warmth through the soft fabric, smell the –

And that’s enough of a digress.  

TK was also pretty sure Owen knew about the mysterious texts even though he never asked him outright. He knew his father was waiting for him to say it himself, but it was all so new (on a technicality basis), and TK didn’t want to accidentally break the glass before even lifting it off the shelf first.

Okay, so the ice cream date-not-date was fun, and the late afternoon shoreline walk after that was honestly very romantic. TK had boldly kissed Carlos on the cheek in parting before the two left in their own separate directions as they headed back to their homes.

They lived in two different worlds, and practically on opposite sides of the country (that may be an exaggeration, but still). The only way they met was by coincidence, both of them very obviously avoiding the subject of planned meetups.

It had been another two months before it happened again.

.

“How is it that whenever we meet, it’s when at least one article of clothing is missing?”

TK should honestly be surprised at hearing the voice from the person he yearned for every time over the phone so close in his vicinity, but didn’t even turn around before quipping back, “disappointed?” Smiling when he felt a hand slip around his waist, he willingly let himself be pulled in for a side hug.

It was only their third time meeting like this, in a gym shower of all places, but Carlos’ voice has since been ingrained in his memory. He leaned into the hold naturally, putting down the shirt he was seconds away from pulling over his head to wrap his arms around Carlos instead.

“Of course not.” Carlos murmured, and TK reveled in the feeling of warmth that wasn’t just from the skin-to-skin contact, looking up to see Carlos already looking down at him, eyes crinkling fondly.

“Are you going to tell me we’re sharing the same gym now?” TK mused, squirming slightly when Carlos pinched the skin above his hip in admonishment.

“The officer I’m shadowing got called out here to help with a case. This gym happened to be close to where I’m staying, so I thought I would try it out.” Carlos tilted his head, and TK immediately knew what he was going to ask.

“There was a little accident at the station and the equipment room is out of order for the meantime, and coincidentally, this gym is also close to where I live.” TK explained, groaning when Carlos’ eyes glinted knowingly.

“You mean, when you thought it would be a great idea to microwave the eggs that you forgot to cook thinking it would be faster, only to cause an explosion?” Carlos asked innocently, and TK huffed, stepping out of Carlos’ embrace to glare at the audacity.

“I did not tell you that so you could make fun of me.” TK knew he was pouting slightly, but was a little too peeved to care. It didn’t seem like Carlos got the memo, because the smile on his face only grew wider, morphing into an unabashed grin.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Just like when you told me how you thought microwaving frozen meat will make it defrost faster. What did the microwave ever do to you? The poor thing.” Carlos teased, laughing as TK didn’t even hesitate to shove his shoulder in reprimand, his own lips twitching upwards.

“You know, I’m only taking you for your word when you say you’re actually a good cook. I have yet to see for myself.” TK scowled, crossing his arms over his chest and definitely did not feel gleefully accomplished at how Carlos’ eyes seemed to linger on his arms.  

“Let me show you.”

TK paused, looking up to see Carlos watching him with an unreadable look in his eyes, though he sounded determined. “I’m off until tomorrow morning, so if you’re free, would you like to have dinner with me?” Carlos continued, and TK noticed how he seemed to shift his weight slightly, fingers twitching at his sides as if – as if he was nervous.

And there it was.

The dancing around each other, the avoidance of the elephant in the room. Carlos had just offered him a steppingstone to cross the distance between their chasm of a raging river, and TK –

TK had a shift.

He didn’t, but he couldn’t – not like this.

They were simply two halves who happened to meet at the wrong time, placed into each other’s lives at the wrong moment, and…they needed time. Time to nurture whatever it was between them, time to just…be with each other.

TK wanted so badly to take Carlos’ offer, but after tonight…what then? They would still be 1743 miles apart, in two different worlds, living completely different lives.

A long-distance relationship between two first responders in two different states was bound for disaster, and TK would rather drown in his sea of emotions than mess up what he had with Carlos right now.

Swallowing back the overwhelming onslaught of emotions, TK looked down at his bare feet against the cold rubber floor sheets. He didn’t know they could actually feel cold, but right now, in this moment, it was like walking on ice.

“Carlos, I– I’m sorry. I can’t.” TK wasn’t sure if the other people in the room felt the temperature drop a couple of degrees. “I have a shift.” He winced at the blatant lie at the end, and if he could hear the lie plain as day, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what Carlos had heard considering he was a police officer in training now.

The silence after that was deafening.

They’ve had their share of silence, but those were usually filled with warmth and comfort as they simply let themselves enjoy being in each other’s presence. Like that time when they sat next to each other, sharing bites of the other’s ice cream. Or that time when their hands grazed lightly against each other as they walked along the beach in the golden light of early sunset.

This kind of silence shattered the glass TK had sworn not to break.

“Okay.”

TK knew he shouldn’t have looked up.

Carlos had one hell of a poker face, but his eyes…

His eyes told him everything that was left unsaid.

The hurt. The reluctant acceptance. The frustrating trace of understanding.

TK hated the last one the most.

TK knew Carlos somewhat understood their predicament, but he had chosen to take the leap anyway- and TK had taken that bout of confidence away from him.

Sometimes life just outright sucks.

He wanted, so much, to explore whatever it was that was between them. He wanted to experience what it was like to see Carlos’ bed hair in the morning, witness his morning routine, know his quirks and find out his pet peeves. Most importantly, he wanted to get to know Carlos, heart and soul, through real-life conversation rather than some electronic device that could only do so much.

He wanted so many things, and yet, all that he could get out was,

“I need to go.”

And that was the last thing he said before they entered an entire month of silence.

.

The first time TK heard Taylor Swift’s song The Story of Us, he hadn’t quite understood the line ‘I never heard silence quite this loud.’

He hadn’t even noticed his phone being awfully quiet since Carlos had come into his life until the texts stopped.

One month.

One month of their not-relationship-but-also-kind-of-relationship hit a pause button.

An entire month of TK drafting out messages, checking the punctuation, saying them out loud to test the authenticity, before deleting the entire thing only to start again moments later.

He wasn’t even sure Carlos wanted to hear from him again, so his thumb always hovered over the ‘send’ button, overwhelming doubt surfacing at the last second to have him tossing his phone aside and giving up altogether.

Rinse and repeat.

So, when Carlos’ signature text tone finally sounded 32 days, 8 hours, 4 minutes, and 21 seconds after that fiasco of a conversation, he had practically leaped over the entire dining room table to get to his phone on the kitchen counter.

Carlos: Do you think fate could ever be kind to us?

TK felt the wetness slipping down his cheeks before realizing he was even crying at the simple question that had broken their wall of silence. Alone, he was free to laugh wetly as he pressed the heel of his hands to his eyes, wiping away the residual tears hastily. The hand that held his phone clenched it tighter, as if afraid the message would suddenly disappear, and he shakily tapped on the screen to open his keyboard.

TK: I don’t know about fate,

TK hesitated in typing out the next part, wanting to make sure that Carlos would understand, beyond all doubt, that he truly did believe in a someday.

They would have their time.

TK: but I think we make a pretty great team.

The next message that greeted TK through the screen had his lips stretch in a watery smile.

I believe in us.

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

It was a Wednesday.

A hot, humid, and sweat-inducing Wednesday.

TK didn’t know why he was at a waterpark of all places, but his father had decided it was about time to have some ‘father and son bonding time’ and since it was one of the hottest months of the year, a waterpark it was.

He hadn’t even bothered to check where the waterpark was even located, instead trusting Owen to get them there and back.

He probably should have checked the brochure.

“You know, I’m starting to think the universe just doesn’t want me to get to know you with clothes on.”

TK startled at the voice that has seamlessly established a home within his heart so close to him, and felt the familiar flutter in his chest when he was greeted with the face of the man he was irrevocably in love with.

The revelation should have honestly been staggering; the seemingly simple four-letter word always guarded close in lock and key. But it was Carlos, and TK wasn’t sure he knew how not to love him.

Was that even a possibility?

“Must be absolute torture.” TK tried for a teasing tone, but the amount of emotion that those words held weren’t missed by Carlos’ astute nature, and he graciously sank into the offered hug. This was their first meeting after their sort-of-fight, and no amount of HD phone screens could beat the 3-D figure of the police officer in his arms.

“On the contrary,” TK rolled his eyes, laughing all the same as Carlos’ eyebrows wiggled playfully. “I’m quite enjoying it.” Carlos reached up to gently grasp one of TK’s hands that had been wrapped around his shoulders, bringing it up to his lips to delicately kiss the back of it.

“Okay, you need to stop trying to make me swoon.” TK groaned, though the bright grin on his lips told the exact opposite, and Carlos knew it.

“It’s been sixty-seven days since our last meet. Leave me alone.” TK couldn’t help an endeared tilt of his head at the low whine in Carlos’ voice, leaning forward to press a quick but meaningful kiss to the corner of Carlos’ lips. He hid his smile at the slightly stunned look, squeezing the hand that was tightly held in his.

“If you’re going to be this sappy after not even a month of us being apart, maybe we should meet in a year and see how things go.” TK teased. He watched, pleased, as Carlos immediately looked like he had bitten into something sour.

“I don’t think I can handle that.” Carlos said seriously, and once again, TK was taken aback at the raw sincerity in the man standing with barely any breathing distance before him.

“I feel the same.” TK murmured, knowing that Carlos had heard the other meaning behind his words by the way he brushed his thumb over his hip slowly.

“So, what on earth are you doing at a water park a million miles away from New York?” Carlos asked, a welcome subject change, and TK snorted.

“One, we really need to work on your geography because I’m pretty sure that’s not a thing. Two, would you like the sappy answer, the creepy answer, or the complete boring truth?” TK stepped out of their hold slowly, though still keeping their hands intertwined. Carlos chuckled, gesturing for him to continue as he knew TK was going to tell him both anyway.

This man knew him too well, and it was a wonderous feeling.

“My heart felt yours beat in the rhythm of Venture River Water Park and knew our bond couldn’t survive if I didn’t answer in tune.” TK scrunched up his nose at how cheesy that sounded, but continued anyway. “My dad wanted some family bonding time and decided to drive to the furthest waterpark he could get away with without pissing me off. I minored in Hacking 101 and tried to find your Myspace from 2003 for your darkest secrets but instead found your Instagram through your LinkedIn and saw your story so I came here so I could see you.” Carlos’ eyebrows seemed to climb higher and higher at each answer, eyes widening comically at the last part.

“Do I even want to know which one is which?” Carlos asked slowly, expression switching rapidly from terrified to bewildered.

“They’re in no particular order. Nor are they discordant.” TK grinned, this time not even holding back his laugh at Carlos’ unimpressed stare.

“You know, you do have my number. You could have just asked me for my Instagram instead of going through that loophole.” TK rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“What fun would that be?”

“Are you deliberately seeing how many rules you can break in front of a cop? As a flirting tactic?” Carlos asked incredulously, and TK could see him looking just a touch impressed, if not a little disgruntled.

“I don’t know, is it working?” TK grinned, eyes shifting slightly to see his dad still surrounded by the same women five minutes ago, looking a little out of place but still smiling politely into whatever conversation they were having.

“Always.” His eyes drifted back to Carlos, feeling his heart thudding pleasantly in his chest at the fond look that hadn’t left his gaze. He was sure his own eyes were betraying every single emotion he was feeling but couldn’t say, so he opted to lean in closer to touch their foreheads together gently.

“I really am happy to see you again.” TK said quietly, not wanting to disrupt their bubble of intimacy.

“Me too, Terence Khalifa, me too.” TK immediately reared back at that, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the self-satisfied grin on Carlos’ face.

“Did you just call me Terence? Khalifa?” TK scowled as Carlos snickered, clearly enjoying his reaction.

“It’s been what, more than half a year? I thought I would try my chances.” Carlos laughed, and TK rolled his eyes, his lips twitching up helplessly into a smile.

“I’ll give you three chances.”

“Thor Klausen.”

“My dad may be an avid fan, but no, try again.”

“Tiger Kage. With a K, of course.”

“Are you kidding – “

“Not really, Tyler Kennedy.”

TK blinked, the rejection on the tip of his tongue before he realized that he couldn’t exactly reject that, since it was exactly what the letters stood for.

What –

“How did you – “ TK studied Carlos’ innocent expression intently for a moment, before huffing. “You knew.”

“When we went for ice cream the second time we met,” Carlos’ tone seemed to soften at the memory, and TK couldn’t help mirroring the warm smile. “you dropped your wallet. When I leaned down to pick it up for you, your driver's license slipped out slightly.”

TK furrowed his eyebrows, replaying that scene from a couple of months ago again mentally. Because what he remembered was –

“I asked you to hold my stuff when I had to go to the restroom. I never dropped anything…” TK’s eyes widened in realization, reaching forward to swat Carlos’ arm in reprimand.

“You sneaky SOAB!” Carlos raised an eyebrow at that, a questioning look in his eyes.

“SOAB?”

“Son of a bi-“

“TK!” Carlos quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes darting quickly to the group of kids making their way towards them, eyes narrowing as TK’s laughs were muffled in the palm of his hands.

“-businessman.” TK grinned cheekily when Carlos let go, nudging him lightly. When he lifted his gaze again, he noticed his father now alone, the women gone somewhere else and staring at him with a puzzled expression, eyes squinting in the sunlight to try and make out who he was with.

“You should probably get back.” Carlos said, following his line of sight, and TK swallowed past the pit growing in his stomach.

“Carlos, I–“

“I know.” Carlos murmured, reaching to squeeze his arm gently. “I know. I’ll see you soon.”

TK hadn’t realized he was wringing his hands together restlessly until a familiar warmth covered them, carefully stopping his movements.

“Hopefully, the next time we meet will be with all our clothes on.” TK joked weakly, but Carlos took it in stride as always.

“By now, I’m not sure I’ll even be able to recognize you with actual clothes on.” Carlos mused, eyes shining impishly, and TK shrugged, unperturbed.

“I’ll be sure to walk in my birthday suit more often down the street to minimize that problem.”

“Please don’t. I don’t want to have to arrest you for public indecency.” Carlos groaned, though TK knew he would do no such thing.

“All worth it if it means I’ll get to see you again.” TK whispered softly.

There was a moment where they both stared at each other, each wearing delicate smiles, before TK gave Carlos’ hands one last squeeze. Turning around, he didn’t look back as he headed back to where Owen was still standing, watching him with an unreadable expression.

He knew that all his resolve would crumble the second he turned around.

And so, he marched forward.

The news caught him off guard on a mildly chilly afternoon in August.

“Austin…as in Austin, Texas?” TK blinked at his father, who was standing a little way away from him, seeming almost nervous.

“Do you know of another Austin?”

“No dad, I was just…” TK trailed off, a whirlwind of thoughts swimming through his head.

Austin.

Texas.

Carlos.

Carlos.

“They asked for my assistance in re-building one of the firehouses there, Station 126, and I thought it would be a great opportunity,” Owen explained, running a hand through his well-kept hair anxiously, before holding up his hands.

“-Look, if it’s too sudden, we don’t have to-“

“When do we leave?” TK couldn’t help the excitement creeping up in his tone, and he knew his father was probably thinking he was crazy, agreeing to move halfway across the country so suddenly without even needing to process it a little bit.

“Are you sure? Austin isn’t a simple few hours drive from New York, son, if you need to think about it more – “

“Dad.” TK sighed in fond exasperation, walking closer to pull his father into a tight hug. “I’m sure. Very sure. I promise; besides, it might be good for us.” TK murmured, and felt his father squeeze him a little tighter, his originally tense muscles relaxing.

“Alright.”

TK was practically vibrating the entire week before the move, and although he was a little sad leaving his old team, they all understood and wished them the best. He knew Owen knew there was definitely something else he wasn’t telling him, but took his enthusiasm in stride.

In the end, he opted to keep the move a secret from Carlos for now, wondering if it would be a nice surprise when they finally did meet.

Officially.

.

Austin was…different.

For one thing, the service seemed to be a little better. TK could remember the numerous occasions where his phone had cut off randomly from the plethora of skyscrapers blocking signals.

So far, everyone had been very welcoming, and he was already getting along with the new crew that they were slowly putting together. They were in the middle of playing 10 questions, and Paul had been amidst his explanation of why he had the entire collection of the Sherlock Holmes series when there was a sound of wheels against gravel in the entrance bay.

“That must be Austin PD checking up on us.” Owen hummed offhandedly, and TK immediately felt his heart leap to his throat.

“Looks like your explanation will have to wait for later, Strickland.” Judd patted Paul’s shoulder in passing, and TK followed quietly after his crewmates as they headed down the stairs. He knew he shouldn’t have his hopes up, because Austin PD wasn’t just consisted of Carlos alone, and it could literally be anyone.  

“Captain Strand? I’m officer Reyes, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

Okay no, that voice was definitely –

The world seemed to sharpen in the display of wondrous colours as he laid his eyes on Carlos, standing in his police uniform in front of his father, who was currently shaking his hand.

To think he actually thought Carlos couldn’t look even better, he just had to show up in full uniform.

TK hid a small smile when he saw Carlos looking a little confused, obviously recognizing Owen from somewhere but couldn’t place where quite yet.

“Likewise.” Owen smiled politely, and TK had to hold back a laugh when his dad’s eyes widened slightly in recognition, obviously putting together whatever was about to happen in his head as the pieces all came into place. “These are some of the members of my team. Marjan, Judd, Paul, Mateo,” everyone lifted a hand or offered the officer a kind smile at the introduction, with Judd giving Carlos a fist bump.

“-and TK.”

And that was when surprised brown eyes clashed with brilliant green.

TK stepped forward slowly, chuckling softly at how wide Carlos’ eyes were, multiple emotions surfacing one after the other as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, officer. Fully-clothed this time.” TK teased, and that was what finally brought Carlos out of his stupor.

“So, TK Strand, huh?”

Right, practically a year of knowing each other, and they forgot to somehow throw their respective last names in the list. Carlos’ voice sounded a little emotional, and honestly, TK could relate, from the way his own body wanted to be as close to Carlos as physically possible, but they had time for all that later.

Right now…

“That should be my line, Carlos Reyes.”

They stepped forward at the same time, engulfed in each other's arms as reality finally dawned on them.

The distance between them was 0 miles, 0 states, and an abundant amount of time.

They finally got their chance.

#Tarlos #Tarlos fic #tk x carlos #Just a little something

[incognitoman1-2-3-4]

Observations - A K18 Short Story

A/N: To celebrate this blog turning three years old, I wanted to revisit an old Krillin & Eighteen story I had written some time ago and publish it here on my Tumblr with some minor improvements. If you would like to read it, I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Feedback is much appreciated! 

K18 Forever ❤️

The serene ocean tide crawled ever closer towards Eighteen as she patiently roamed through the latest issue of her favourite weekly fashion magazine. Enjoying her mid-morning reading session, she mentally noted what items of clothing she pined to purchase and which ones she wished she could erase from existence.

“Seriously, who would want to be seen in that?" She vented to herself, squinting her eyes in disdain at the eccentric patterns on the outfit.

She flicked over to the next page, carefully readjusting her sunglasses. Well, they weren't exactly her sunglasses. She had successfully snuck them out of Krillin's bedroom while he was resting. It was a good thing that he was such a heavy sleeper, as well as being extremely generous with his belongings.

Little did Eighteen know that Krillin had awoken from his deep slumber and was now standing by the porch of Kame House. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the refreshing summer air before deflating his chest back to normal size. A content smile gradually etched itself across his dry lips; Krillin's infatuated eyes admiringly mused over Eighteen.

Sitting alone by the ocean's edge, she appeared as angelic as ever. Her face emitted a unique elegance unrivalled by any other. Krillin attentively observed Eighteen's subtle body language; her relaxed posture was a rare, yet pleasant sight. He decided to make his presence known, promptly advancing towards the shoreline.

The sound of Krillin's muted footsteps instantly caught Eighteen’s attention. Choosing to cast her magazine aside, Eighteen flicked her sunglasses to the bridge of her nose, fervently chewing on her bottom lip; he looked as fine as ever.

Despite his initial protests, she was so glad that Krillin acquiesced to her relentless insistence that he should grow out his jet black hair. Better yet, since the summer weather had come around, sightings of him without a top were becoming more and more frequent, permitting herself to gaze upon his well-toned muscles in all their splendour.

Sadly for Eighteen, Krillin had clothed himself this morning with a t-shirt that she had bought for him on their most recent trip to the mainland. Regardless of whether her little monk was topless or not, she didn't care what anyone said or thought about his appearance. To her, Krillin was simply stunning.

"Finally decided to get out of bed, uh?" Eighteen cordially greeted Krillin as he rooted himself on her left side. He retaliated swiftly with a kiss on her warm cheek.

“Well, you know me. If I ever get the chance to have a lay-in, I'll take it." He assuredly replied, spotting that his sunglasses were loosely hanging off of Eighteen's ears, "I see you've stolen my sunglasses again.”

"Hey!" Eighteen asserted, raising her arms in defence, "I didn't steal your sunglasses. I'm just borrowing them.”

"I ain't complaining." He then proceeded to straighten his sunglasses up for her, before adding, "You actually look kinda cute with them on.”

Without saying a word, Eighteen showed her appreciation of Krillin's kind comment with a habitual gesture. A gesture he didn't see all too often. But when he did, it meant the world to him.

"I've noticed you do that from time-to-time.”

"Do what?" She tentatively asked, feeling as if she had suddenly entered a "deer in the headlights" type situation.

"Don't worry. It's nothing bad." Krillin reassured her with a warm timbre in his voice, "I've just noticed that whenever I give you a compliment or if you see something you like, you have this tendency to needlessly brush your hair aside.”

Eighteen eyes immediately darted up to where her right hand was currently placed. It was exactly as Krillin described. She instantly felt the soft blonde tangles that ran between her fingers. In an effort to combat her self-consciousness, she instinctually moved her hand unto her lap.

"Have you seriously never noticed?" He enquired, watching Eighteen's face grow slightly perplexed.

"Not really, no. But if it's weird, I'll stop.”

"Weird?" Krillin answered calmly, pulling his knees up to his chest, "Take it from me. That hair thing you do is far from weird. It's just a quirky habit you have. That's all.”

“Habit?"

"Yeah. Everyone has them." Krillin added, lifting his eyes to the cloudless blue sky above him.

At that split-second, Eighteen's concerns morphed into curiosity. Now that she gave it some consideration, Krillin did have some fairly odd traits of his own. Realising this, Eighteen violently crashed her hands together with excitement. The resounding clash of her hands drew Krillin's eyes away from the empty sky and unto a far more captivating sight.

"You know, you sometimes start to laugh nervously when I stare at you." Eighteen astutely remarked.

Shaking his head from side-to-side, Krillin firmly disagreed with a great amount of confidence, "Erm- I believe you're imagining things because I'm pretty sure I've never done that before, babe." His confidence, however, was misplaced.

Eighteen silently folded the arms of Krillin's sunglasses, delicately resting them on top of her magazine.

"W-what are you doing?" His query reeked with diffidence.

Eighteen purposefully ignored him, electing to silently close the gap between them instead. Krillin dared not move, especially since Eighteen developed a kittenesque sheen in her eyes. She fearlessly pounced on him; Krillin willingly collapsed unto his back. The space between them was now non-existent. What quickly followed was inevitable.

"Ahh, damn it." He humbly admitted, "I guess you're right.”

"See," Eighteen gloated with raised eyebrows. She remained on top of him, resuming her point with a velvety inflexion, "and I think you laugh because you don't know what else to do when I have my eyes set on you.”

Krillin could provide no reply as strands of Eighteen's hair lightly tickled his besotted face. Her strong emphasis on the word, 'you' drew forth another excitable chuckle. Now that she had brought it to his attention, he couldn't stop himself. Nor did he want to.

Satisfied by the result, Eighteen distanced their proximity, if only by the smallest of margins. This gifted Krillin the chance to not only wipe off the soft sand from his back but also reveal another fascinating observation he made about Eighteen.

"Here's a good one!" Krillin's child-like enthusiasm gripped Eighteen, staring back him with a sense of anticipation, "You always make sure that the TV or radio volume is set at an even number.”

"You're kidding, right?" Eighteen answered him with a doubtful snicker.

"I am 100% serious. There have been times where I have deliberately set the volume at 19 and then I catch you changing it to 20 or 22-“

"Or 18?" She noted with a sense of irony.

“Exactly!"

"I can't say there's a valid explanation for it.”

"The only thing I can think of is that because of your name, you naturally prefer even numbers." Krillin's off-the-cuff reasoning technically made sense.

However, Eighteen wasn't fully convinced, logically stating, "If that's the case, then maybe my brother likes his volume set to an odd number.”

"That's gotta be true." He firmly agreed, "You should ask him the next time you see him.”

"Speaking of my brother, you two share a habit.”

"No way!" Krillin exclaimed with great elation, 'What is it!?”

"I wouldn't get too excited if I were you.” Eighteen warned him, hinting at the fact that this habit wasn't exactly a positive one, "You and Seventeen need to learn how to eat without talking at the same time.”

"Huh. I never would have imagined your brother doing something like that." Krillin remarked bemusedly. Even though he didn't know much about Eighteen's twin brother, he was relieved to discover that they did have something in common, even if it was as trivial as talking with their mouths full.

"Believe me, he's almost as bad as you." Eighteen slyly teased, sneakily resting her head on Krillin's shoulder. Sticking to the subject of her brother, she casually suggested to him, "Perhaps on my next visit to Seventeen's place, you could come with me.”

Eighteen almost lost her balance due to Krillin's sudden jolt. She fixed her eyes on him, studying the agitated expression which had rapidly overtaken him as he paced back and forth in front of her.

"D-do you think that's such a good idea?" Krillin responded apprehensively. This wasn't the first time the topic of Krillin meeting up with Seventeen had occurred. Whenever she mentioned it to him, he would quickly change the subject or brush it off with a fake smile. She decided it was time to tell it to him straight.

"What, so you don't want to meet him then?”

“N-no, I would like to meet him." Krillin unconvincingly replied.

Eighteen candidly returned with a stern tone, "Really? Because your face is telling me something completely different.”

Krillin halted in his tracks as Eighteen's words escaped her mouth. Disappointment followed her as she looked away from him, turning to face the transparent ocean.

Sitting back down on the sand, Krillin hoped he could clearly convey his anxious thoughts: "I really do want to meet your brother, Eighteen. I guess I'm just afraid that he’s gonna think that I'm not good enough for you. Or maybe we won't get along with each other.”

Eighteen's face perked up at Krillin's response. She could understand why he felt apprehensive towards her brother. Nevertheless, she desired to put his concerns to rest.

Taking a hold of his shaky hand, she sincerely reassured him, "Honey, you have no reason to be nervous. Seventeen is fully aware that we've been dating for a little while now and he seems pretty chilled about it. I mean even if he wasn't, I don't need his approval, or anybody else’s for that matter. I just think that we've been together long enough to pay him at least one visit from the two of us.”

"So, I don't have anything to worry about?" Krillin asked with a hint of courage in his voice.

Eighteen strongly shook her head, “None whatsoever. Besides, worst-case scenario, I’ll kick his ass and make sure he doesn’t even think about messing with you.”

Swiftly rising to his feet, Krillin boldly proclaimed, "Alright then! We better get going!”

"Go? Go where?”

"Well, I said that I wanted to meet your brother, didn't I?" Krillin clarified cheerfully, offering his right hand out towards Eighteen.

Gladly accepting Krillin's outstretched arm, she arose from the ground, asking with an ebullient expression, "You want to meet my brother right now?”

"Sure!" Krillin confirmed confidently, "I wanna do whatever makes you happy, Eighteen!"

His elegant blush was infectious; Eighteen's cheeks were being painted with an identical rose coloured hue. She tenderly caressed the sides of his face.

It simultaneously occurred to both Krillin and Eighteen that their impromptu decision to visit Seventeen was going to be a big step in their relationship. It was a step that neither of them could have even imagined taking when Eighteen first stepped foot inside Kame House. But they were so grateful that they had each other to take it.

As their bodies gently swayed, Eighteen inquisitively inquired, "Why are you so good to me, Krillin?"

The man in question instinctually released a nervous chuckle, before answering with a heartfelt resonance, "Because I love you.”

Neither of them knew for certain who exactly initiated the kiss. But one thing was obvious: neither of them cared. Their hands crawled around each other's bodies as their kisses grew more and more intense. It was a good thing Master Roshi and Oolong weren't around to see this. Krillin and Eighteen rarely got to physically express themselves since their housemates always stood around like vultures.

As Eighteen's fingers stealthily crept underneath his shirt to dance around the surface of his stomach, Krillin passionately pecked her neck, leaving little imprints of where his lips had been. It was yet another adorable idiosyncrasy Eighteen so dearly treasured about Krillin.

Soon enough, they carefully rested their foreheads against each other, leading them to stare intimately into each other's eyes. The exhilarating adrenaline which had thrust them into the moment was gradually settling down. Their pounding hearts were left playing catch up.

"Hey, Krillin?” Eighteen softly uttered, effortlessly attaining his gaze, "Before we leave, I just wanted to say thank you for doing this. You have no idea just how much this means to me.”

Little dimples appeared on Krillin's cheeks at the sight of Eighteen's signal of satisfaction.

"You just did your hair thing again.” He eagerly noted.

Eighteen embraced her little quirk proudly, "I know.”

"So, should we get ready to leave, babe?” Krillin asked, reaching down to grab Eighteen’s magazine and his sand-covered sunglasses.

"Hold on a second! I think I’ve forgotten something!”

“Huh? What did you forge-" Cutting off Krillin's sentence, Eighteen boldly pressed her lips onto his. She simply couldn't resist the alluring taste of Krillin's sweet kiss any longer. He gladly welcomed the interruption; he didn't mind being silenced if this was his reward for doing so.

Practising a rare instance of self-control, Eighteen gradually withdrew from their brief kiss, playfully stating, "Okay, now I'm ready.”

With every passing day, it seemed that Krillin and Eighteen managed to discover new things they adored about each other. From big gestures to small habits, each one brought them closer together and caused their love to deepen.

Taking flight to the endless blue skies above them, they joyously marvelled to themselves at where exactly their relationship was taking them. Their desired destination excited them. But the journey to arrive there excited them all the more.

THE END ❤️

#krillin #android18 #android eighteen #k18 #dragon ball z #dbz #dragon ball #db #android 17 #chestnut family #dbz fanfiction #k18forever

[cheeriecherry]

Birds Of A Feather [3/7]

Hawks x Fem!Reader

Warning: some swearing

Part 3/7

The months pass in a blur, your days busy and hectic. Yet despite the chaotic pace, you find your heart growing lighter. You’ve begun to acquaint yourself with your fanbase, stopping often on slow patrols to sign autographs and take photos, and they seem to appreciate that. Especially the kids.

You and Hawks have also been maintaining your lunch ‘dates’, with him calling you up to his office whenever he’s free, talking and laughing about the goings on in your lives, what you liked, why you wanted to be a hero. Those were the days you usually ended up patrolling together, and the people on the street had come to expect that when one of you was around, the other was not far behind.

You considered him a friend, even though he was technically also your boss.

Still, even though you found his presence comforting and uplifting, you had never been the one to initiate your meetings. He was a busy guy, often talking and planning with other pros and higher-ups, and you figured it wouldn’t look good for him if you barged into his office unannounced.

Until today.

You’d managed to steel your nerves enough to wander up to his floor, lunch in hand. You packed a little extra today, since he’d mentioned last week that he wanted to try your chicken curry the next time you made it. Hopefully he’d like it.

...but what if he didn’t?

You stop in front of his closed door, listening carefully for the sounds of voices. If he already had someone in with him, you’d turn around and walk back downstairs. No harm, no foul.

...but what if he wasn’t busy, and just didn’t want to see you?

“Stop being dumb,” you mutter to yourself. You raise your hand to knock, but right before your fist collides with wood, you think better of it.

Who were you kidding.

You turn on your heel and make to leave, but barely get a step before a feather hooks into your collar and fixes you in place.

“Hey there, chickadee!” the owner of said feather saunters around the nearest corner, a bucket of chicken under one arm. “I was wondering when you’d start to come up on your own. Not gonna lie, this friendship was starting to feel a little one-sided.”

You’re sheepish, ducking your head and shaking the feather away. “Sorry Boss,” you say, “I didn’t know if you’d be busy with anyone.”

He wanders over to you and tosses an arm over your shoulders. “Nah,” he tells you, nonchalantly flinging open his door, “Meetings are in the mornings, that way I’m usually free by lunch. Guy’s gotta eat, yeah?”

He tugs you inside, and you take your usual seats by the window.

“I brought some extra curry,” you hold a small container out to him, “you said you wanted to try it.”

“Oh, hell yeah!” he snatches it from you, popping the lid off and digging right in. Judging from the pleased noise he makes, he thoroughly enjoys it.

“This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted, holy shit.”

You laugh quietly, shaking your head. “It’s just curry.”

He’s still chewing when he speaks, “Curry I’d pay for. Why’d you become a hero when you could’ve been a chef?”

You throw back and forth at one another a few times, your wings fluffing up when you found something funny and were trying to keep a straight face, and when he reached forward to wipe a smudge of sauce off your face.

It’s about fifteen minute into the hour when he asks, “So, what’s new in your world?”

You slump back in your chair, scrunching your face up in distaste. “Hoo boy. Do you want the easy answer, or the honest answer?”

He thinks for a moment. “Easy.”

“Nothing much, then.”

“And the honest one?”

You run a hand down your face with a sigh. “The apartment I rent is under new management. They’re evicting everyone in the whole building to turn it into fancy condos. I’m so stressed,I’m worried my feathers are gonna start falling out.”

Hawks hums empathetically. “I’m glad stress doesn’t affect my feathers.

“Yeah,” you snicker, “otherwise you’d be bald.”

That earns a pained laugh from him, wings twitching slightly as he thinks to all the times he’s had to deal with useless nubs.

“Seriously though, chickadee, if you need a place to crash…”

Your eyebrows quirk up in surprise. Did he just offer his couch to you? You’d been looking for apartments with adequate square footage, but everything you’d seen so far was either not as big as the photos, or so far out of your price range that you’d have to pick up extra shifts every other day. And you only had three days left before you got the boot.

“Ah...I wouldn’t want to put you out like that. Besides, I’m a terrible houseguest; feathers everywhere, awake at weird hours, terrible taste in TV, never wear pants…”

He laughs, genuine and joyous. You’d be more into it if it wasn’t at your expense.

“Sorry, sorry,” he says, though amusement is still clear on his face, “it’s just funny how you’re so cool and composed at work, but a total mess at home.”

You cross your arms and feign indignance. “Well, I can’t keep up the persona all the time, now can I?”

He gets that strange expression again, though it’s been a while since you last saw it.

“No,” he’s quiet, “I guess not.”

You lull into somewhat of a tense silence, taking a few more bites of curry. “How about this,” you suggest, “If I don’t find a place in the next few days, I’ll take you up on your offer?”

He thinks about it. “Deal. On one condition.”

“Sure.”

“If we like how it works out, living together and stuff, then...you stay.”

Your wings puff up in total surprise, soft pieces of down flying off every which way. “I can’t afford that!” you squawk, “not even a fraction of it! Hawks, this is too much-”

“You pay what you can,” he says sternly, “and I’ll foot the rest. And if you really want to make up for it, you can cook that curry more often.”

It was, of course, assuming you didn’t grow to hate each other so much that you tried to rip one anothers’ heads off, as new housemates sometimes do. 

You give it a good amount of thought, though. You don’t like owing people favours, or having persuasive reasons hanging over your head...but the likeliness of finding a suitable home in your time frame was...slim.

“Fine,” you relent, “it’s a deal.”

You shake on it.

#hawks x reader #takami keigo x reader #bnha x reader #mha x reader #winged reader au #its a short part but bear with me #or is it bare #beir?

[satorisa]

Falling: Chapter 2 - In which Satoshi Actually Gets to School on Time

Rating: T

Summary:  "I wanna forget all this burden in my past."

Alternate Reading: AO3

This is so dialogue heavy it’s kind of ridiculous, but sometimes all you gotta do is talk your feelings out. 

“—tosh—”

“Sa—shi!”

“Satoshi!”

He opened his eyes. Takeshi loomed over him, hair disheveled and eyes wide with concern. Satoshi felt warm until a chill cut through his bones; he was drenched in sweat.

“Bro, you alright?”

“…does it look like I’m alright?” Satoshi croaked. His chapped lips and parched throat made it difficult for him to speak.

“Aight. If you’re giving me attitude, you’re gonna be fine.”

Takeshi’s bedhead disappeared. Satoshi expected his roommate to leave him alone and float back to dreamland, but the door creaked open as Takeshi stomped out. His footsteps crescendoed as he returned, and his gravity-defying hair that rivaled Daisuke’s at the moment popped up by Satoshi’s bedside.

He propped Satoshi up, fluffing his pillow before handing him a bottled water. Takeshi placed a cold compress on Satoshi’s forehead and watched, eyes surprisingly sharp, Satoshi take a sip.

“Bad nightmare?” Takeshi asked.

“Yeah.”

“Do ya remember what it was about?”

“No.”

“Wanna go for a walk?”

“Isn’t it too late for one?”

“So? Do ya wanna go on one or not?”

Satoshi checked his phone. The lock screen read 2:07 AM.

“…yeah. Let’s go for a walk.”

Takeshi helped Satoshi down from the top bunk. They both put on a light jacket before heading downstairs, slipping on their shoes before walking onto the empty streets of Azumano. Satoshi looked at the darkened windows of the houses lining the road before glancing up at the night sky. His eyes then lingered on the street lamps above them before they flitted over at Takeshi.

He had his hands in his pockets. Their eyes met.

Takeshi said nothing.

The muscles in Satoshi’s body relaxed and he focused on the rhythmic count of his footsteps. He noted that Takeshi’s were slightly off from his.

“How long has it been since my last nightmare?” Satoshi asked.

“Truthfully? Last night,” Takeshi answered with nonchalance. “But most nights, you don’t keep me up with all your, um, noise.”

Satoshi didn’t like the hesitation he heard in Takeshi’s response. He bit his lip. “…sorry about that.”

“Don’t apologize, bro. Better out than in, I always say.”

They made it to one of the busier streets. A lone sedan passed by as they stood at the intersection, unmoving despite the lack of traffic and the green light for pedestrians.

“You know, I never expected you to be this…”

Takeshi raised his eyebrow.

“Accommodating? Responsible? Understanding?” Satoshi paused, irritated he couldn’t find the right word to express himself. “You never seemed the type.”

Takeshi frowned. “I know I come off a certain way, but that doesn’t mean I’m a douchebag.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.”

“There ya go apologizing again!” Takeshi sighed. “Do we have to make one of those jars where ya have to toss in one hundred yen every time ya apologize?”

“Absolutely not,” Satoshi barked.

Takeshi’s laugh echoed before it petered off. His eyes were focused on the sidewalk at the other side of the intersection. Satoshi followed Takeshi’s gaze; there was nothing there. Takeshi sighed next to him.

“Yanno, I had the wrong idea about you for the longest time, too. I thought you had your whole life in order. That you were some stoic hotshot the world couldn’t touch.

“Then I lived with you and, I dunno, bro, I can’t imagine going through the half the shit you went through and are still going through. And I’m not sayin’ that ‘cause I pity you, nothin’ like that, but only now do I see how much you’ve been hiding and struggling with.”

“It’s a little pathetic, isn’t it?”

“Nah. What you’re goin’ through ain’t pathetic. Not at all.”

Another lone sedan passed by.

“Are you just being nice to me because you’re my ‘brother?’”

Takeshi glared at Satoshi. “Bro, do ya really think I’m doin’ this because I’m obligated to?”

“Sometimes, yeah.”

Satoshi felt so small under Takeshi’s scowl. He braced himself for Takeshi to scream at him. After all, those weren’t words you just admit to people.

But Takeshi just wrapped his arm around Satoshi’s shoulders and pulled him closer.

“Goddammit, Satoshi, how many times do we have to hammer this shit into your head? Me, Daisuke an’ my parents aren’t doin’ this because we’re obligated to. We’re doin’ this because we care, you dumbass.”

The warmth and physical affection felt so awkward, but Satoshi didn’t hate it. He leaned his head against Takeshi’s, trying to hold back the tears stinging his eyes.

“…because all of you love me?”

Takeshi pulled away, resting his hands on Satoshi’s shoulders and staring at him straight in the eye. He had the biggest grin on his face.

“Damn, straight, Satoshi! It’s because we love you!” Takeshi scooped Satoshi into a hug, skewing Satoshi’s glasses from the sudden ruckus and scaring the sentimentality from the situation. “I love you, you stubborn son of a bitch!”

“Okay! Okay! Let go of me!”

“No!”

Satoshi attempted to fix his glasses while in Takeshi’s vice grip, but he couldn’t and decided to weakly return Takeshi’s hug. Only then did Takeshi let go.

“Wanna grab some ice cream before we head back?” Takeshi asked.

“Yeah. Sounds good.”

They ducked into a nearby convenience store and, after an awkward exchange with the cashier, they walked out with their goods: Takeshi had a popsicle, and Satoshi had an ice cream bar. (And they also had a bag of assorted frozen treats to bring home.)

“Now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way,” Takeshi began, nibbling on his popsicle as they headed home,” level with me, bro.”

“Yeah?”

“What might’ve caused your terrible nightmare?”

“Why are you asking me that question?”

“Your nightmares were terrifying when you first moved in, but they’re pretty tame now, so I was wonderin’ if somethin’ might’ve triggered it.” Takeshi paused. “Don’t tell me it’s the Dark Mousy portrait!”

Satoshi shrugged. “Maybe? I’ve been working on it for a while though, so I don’t think that’s it.”

“Fair. Then, what—”

“Harada asked me to tell her about Dark.”

Takeshi smacked Satoshi’s arm.

“Hey! What was—”

“Bro, in what world do you think you’re in any position to be doing that right now?”

“She was adamant!”

“Then you should’ve been more adamant!” Takeshi sighed. “Satoshi, I know that it’s something you’re working on, but you really should care more about yourself. Please.”

…

Takeshi and Satoshi never made it to school on time.

They would always get there right when the gates would close and the teachers on tardy duty would scold Takeshi for keeping Satoshi from punctuality before letting the boys in without any consequences. And, when they would arrive in the classroom, their homeroom teacher would target Takeshi for his rampant tardiness while Satoshi quietly slipped into his seat without much of a fuss.

(In reality, it was actually Satoshi keeping them from getting to school before the first bell. Takeshi learned that Satoshi was a pain in the ass to wake up, so he usually spent his morning at his desk. Whenever Satoshi would meet his eyes while rushing to get ready, he always saw a judgmental smirk on Takeshi’s face.)

But Satoshi, for once, actually got up while Takeshi was getting ready. The two left for school at a reasonable time that morning and bumped into Daisuke and Risa at the school gates.

“Congrats on waking up early!” Daisuke greeted.

Risa giggled next to him.

Satoshi rolled his eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

Takeshi patted his back. “Bro, this is monumental for you.”

“Shut it.”

Risa and Takeshi began talking about some K-pop song that just dropped. And Daisuke began talking to Satoshi about his plans for the art club.

Satoshi appreciated this distance from Risa. As long as Takeshi and Daisuke were there, he had a safe buffer.

Thank god he wasn’t in the same class as her.

…

Inspector Saehara locked the door behind them. The sun had set a while back, so he and Satoshi stepped onto the evening streets of Azumano. They were on their way to grab fried chicken for dinner before heading home.

Office workers were only just clocking out, so the two passed by commuters in business casual. Passersby were either alone, rushing off someplace, or leisurely strolling about, socializing in groups. Inspector Saehara and Satoshi also passed by students either on their way to cram school or back home.

In the middle of a conversation about stocks, a young woman wearing Azumano High’s uniform bumped into Inspector Saehara. She furiously apologized before rushing off as her pigtails bounced behind her, muttering something under her breath about being late to cram school again.

“Do you wanna go to cram school?” Inspector Saehara asked. “I know your grades are good, but it wouldn’t hurt if you’re aiming for a prestigious high school.”

“I have a Bachelor’s degree, remember?”

“I know,” Inspector Saehara huffed. “It was just a suggestion.”

“Then suggest it to Takeshi. He needs it more than I do.”

“Nah. He’s already decided on going to Azumano High.”

“Why? He’s got the potential to aim for a better school.”

“He wants to stay close to home.”

“That’s a waste.”

“Yanno, there’s more to life than success,” Inspector Saehara said. “I may not show it, but I do miss Ma terribly when she’s overseas, so I appreciate having Takeshi around.”

“And he made that decision because of you?”

“Yeah. He knows he might be at a little disadvantage when applying to universities, but he’s got plans to make up for it.”

“Then why are you and Saehara-san forcing me to stay in school for at least one more year when you’re not pushing Takeshi to try harder?”

Inspector Saehara let out a guffaw at this. His reaction only confused Satoshi more.

“I dunno about you, but it seems a little unfair for me to let a fifteen year old go straight into the workforce, college degree or not.”

“I don’t know about you, but it seems a little unfair to me that you’re forcing me to ‘relearn’ things I already know in the hope that I may want to waste away another three years of my life in high school.”

Inspector Saehara just laughed at Satoshi’s snarky comment.

Satoshi didn’t see his reply as a joke. The Saeharas laughed at the strangest of things and made a big deal over the littlest of things. Even after living with them for a while, their theatrics were still foreign to him.

“I suppose, but Ma and I don’t want you to shoehorn yourself into that path. And who knows? You may change your mind between now and December!”

“I highly doubt it.”

Inspector Saehara laughed again.

Besides, even if Satoshi, for whatever reason, decided he wanted to waste another three years in high school, he had already gone through the college experience once. After high school, he only had two options available to him: work or attend graduate school. He certainly didn’t want to toil through studying again, so the latter option was off the table.

Honestly, Satoshi didn’t understand Inspector Saehara and Mama Saehara’s insistence on him “living his youth.” Were they nostalgic of their own youth? Trying to live vicariously through him? Or was there something here that Satoshi wasn’t understanding but that they, two bona fide adults, did?

Which only then begged the question…

“Why did you and Saehara-san decide to take me in?” Satoshi asked.

They stopped at a crosswalk. Satoshi glanced over at Inspector Saehara, but the older man’s expression showed nothing. It was his usual gruff face, disinterested with the bustle surrounding them.

“I was wonderin’ when you were gonna ask that question,” Inspector Saehara admitted.

“I didn’t think I could. It seemed a little rude to ask after all your hospitality.”

“It ain’t rude. You’re curious, and you have the right to know,” Inspector Saehara said. “I want you to feel comfortable asking us for stuff, yanno. I don’t want you feelin’ like you can’t or shouldn’t.”

“But— ”

“You shouldn’t have to feel responsible for my, or anyone’s, feelings. How I feel is on me. And if somethin’ you ask makes me uncomfortable, I’ll let you know.”

Inspector Saehara ruffled Satoshi’s hair. He looked over at the older man who had the biggest grin on his face. Reassured, Satoshi allowed a small smile to slip.

“As long as you keep your word on that, I’ll try to get more comfortable about asking for stuff.”

“Atta boy.”

The light turned green, and they crossed the street.

“Anyways, uh, Ma and I were already planning on taking you in,” Inspector Saehara answered. “We waited to see if the Niwas wanted to adopt you, since Daisuke’s your friend an’ all, but he said it’d probably be better for you if we took you in.”

“Did he say why?”

“Nope. Figured your close friend would be excited to live with you so, if he had something against it, then he prolly had a reason why.”

“Did you know about it before taking me in?” Satoshi asked.

“About your issues an’ stuff? I had an inkling that something was up, but I only really knew when ya told us about it.”

“…how did you and Saehara-san take it so well?”

Inspector Saehara just smiled. “Honestly, Satoshi, this ain’t Ma’s and my first go around with somethin’ like this.”

The words danced on Satoshi’s tongue. They screamed in his head. He wanted to know what Inspector Saehara meant, to learn about another situation similar to his. Inspector Saehara noticed Satoshi’s face, scrunched in thought, and let out a hearty laugh.

“One day, Ma will tell you about it, alright? It ain’t really my place to share it.”

“…fine.”

“Now then, where should we grab chicken from today?”

…

Yet another art meeting ended. The fangirls that initially joined had long left. In their stead were passionate first-years, crazy about art and simultaneously enamored with Satoshi’s handsome visage and artistic prowess.

The second and third years contended that Satoshi had the personality of a wet block of tofu. They all bickered for a while for a while until Daisuke broke it up.

Satoshi laughed at this. Everyone gasped.

“I think I might need to ban you from smiling for the safety of my club,” Daisuke joked, handing Satoshi a warm black coffee from the vending machine.

Satoshi nestled the drink in his hand, nursing it like a baby chick before looking out the window. He spotted the art club members in a group, arguing about something until they noticed Satoshi looking at them. They waved enthusiastically, and he returned their gesture, albeit calmer, with a small smile, and the group returned to their conversation absolutely giddy.

“Maybe you should,” Satoshi quipped.

Daisuke laughed before pulling off the tarp covering Dark’s portrait. It looked complete to the untrained eye, but Daisuke knew there was still work to be done.

“You’ve made really go progress on this,” Daisuke said. “Are you planning on doing something with it?”

Satoshi shrugged, examining the painting while sipping on his drink. He noted spots he wanted to work on while Daisuke continued to study it.

“Why don’t you give it to me?” Daisuke suggested. “I think my mom might appreciate it.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“What else would you do with it?”

“Give it to Harada.”

Daisuke made a face, trying to hold back from saying what was on his mind. He had a way of wording his thoughts as gently as possible, but the facial journey to his decision said everything.

“Whatever you want to say, Takeshi’s already said it but worse,” Satoshi said as he got ready to work, squeezing some paint onto his pallet. “Don’t feel like you need to sugar-coat it for me.”

Daisuke sighed. “I think this is a terrible idea.”

“Thanks,” Satoshi drawled. “I’m aware.”

He glanced over at Daisuke again to see if he could gather anything  from his friend’s expression. Illuminated by the setting sun, he witnessed yet another facial journey: introspective instead of judgmental.

Perhaps Daisuke had something to say about Risa, especially since he was the closest to her out of the trio of boys. Maybe there was something hidden behind her loud screeches whenever Takeshi would hound her about something or the silent, composed smile she had whenever Satoshi found himself alone with her.

But Daisuke just kept it to himself, giving Satoshi a reassuring pat on his back before working on his own painting.

Satoshi knew that telling Risa about Dark was threatening the distance between them. He preferred those smiles compared to her screaming into his ear. As long as Risa behaved herself around him, he knew that she wasn’t comfortable in his presence.

For his sake, he wanted it to stay that way.

…

Satoshi woke up at a reasonable time yet again. To celebrate his achievement, Inspector Saehara gave them some money to buy some nikuman.

And so, they stood in front of the convenience store by the school, watching students pass by while they nibbled on their steamed buns and sipped on their milk.

Takeshi looked down at his phone for a bit, and Satoshi spotted Daisuke and Risa walk by. He nearly called them over when he noticed the exuberance in Risa’s expression: shining, just like how she looked like when she was around Dark.

“…shit.”

…

Satoshi woke up that morning to an empty room. Takeshi planned a team-building event for the newspaper club that day, so he said he would be out for a while.

After stretching, Satoshi headed downstairs. Inspector Saehara stood in front of the stove, focused on the pan of scrambled eggs.

“Good morning, Saehara-san.”

“G’morning, Satoshi,” he greeted. “Yanno, you can call me ‘Pa.’”

“Absolutely not.”

He sighed before turning off the stove, setting the pan of eggs to the side to cool. The rice cooker sang, signaling that the rice had finished cooking, so Satoshi helped Inspector Saehara set the table.

“Saehara-san, do you think me telling Harada-imouto about Dark is a mistake?” Satoshi asked once they both sat down to eat.

“I appreciate you asking me questions an’ all, but do ya have to ask me now?”

“I wanted to ask you when Takeshi wasn’t around.”

“Can we eat first though?”

After saying their thanks, Satoshi gulped his food down. Inspector Saehara watched in awe before shaking his head and digging in. Once he finished, Satoshi had already cleaned up his spot at the table and washed most of the dishes.

“So?” Satoshi started as he finished cleaning up the table.

Inspector Saehara sighed. “Do you think it’s a mistake?”

“Daisuke and Takeshi—”

“I ain’t askin’ about what they think. I’m askin’ about what you think.”

Satoshi didn’t answer. He focused on washing the dishes, feeling the warm water running over his hands, the soap clinging to his skin. The sound of the faucet said everything.

“Satoshi, what do you think?” Inspector Saehara asked again.

He finished rinsing the last dish. Satoshi placed it on the drying rack before turning off the water and facing Inspector Saehara.

“…I don’t know.”

Inspector Saehara got up from the table. “Alright. Let’s go call Ma.”

“No, don’t do that!” Satoshi protested. “It’s late over there and I don’t want to bother her.”

“Yer not botherin’ her.”

“Yes, I am! This whole thing is ridiculous—”

“This ain’t ridiculous.” The stern tone in Inspector Saehara’s voice startled Satoshi. “Whatever problem yer havin’ is a problem so stop trying to minimalize it. ‘sides, Ma’s better at figurin’ out emotions than me.”

Satoshi held back from protesting and silently followed Inspector Saehara to the master bedroom. The older man grabbed his phone and dialed Mama Saehara before lying down on his bed. Satoshi sat next to him, uncomfortable about calling Mama Saehara, when she picked up. Her face appeared on the tiny screen, and she looked drowsy.

“What do you want, Pa?” she asked.

Inspector Saehara handed the phone to Satoshi. Mama Saehara perked up immediately.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Satoshi’s breath hitched. “I’m sorry to disturb you, Saehara-san, but—”

“Honey, no, please don’t apologize. It’s alright.” He heard something move on her end. “What’s wrong?”

He took a deep breath. “Do you think me telling Harada-imouto about Dark is a mistake?”

“Do you think it’s a mistake?” she calmly echoed.

“Daisuke and Takeshi think it is, but I genuinely don’t know. It feels like it is, though.”

“Why do Daisuke and Takeshi think it is? And why do you think it is?”

Her soft tone asked questions Satoshi had difficulty answering. He preferred hearing someone speaking to him, interrupting him, calling him out, explaining things to him, than hear his timid voice struggling to respond to something so simple.

“Daisuke and Satoshi said that I should take care of myself first. And, for me honestly, it scares me.”

Mama Saehara was silent. She pondered for a bit before nodding and responded. “I do have to agree with Daisuke and Takeshi about taking care of yourself but, funnily enough, sometimes facing things that scare you is actually taking care of yourself.”

Satoshi blinked. “What do you mean by that?”

“Daisuke and Takeshi mean well. They want to protect you from getting hurt, so they’re telling you not to do it. And, if you’re not ready for it, Pa and I would stop you from doing it , too.”

“But I don’t feel ready for it at all!”

The decision felt like taking a step into the woods without a flashlight. Whenever Risa approached him, he felt like he was drowning, terrified that she would ask about Dark. Why did he have to face something he had no strength to acknowledge just because one stubborn, teenage girl wanted to now about her forgotten lover?

“Sometimes, you won’t feel like you’re ready, and that’s okay,” Mama Saehara answered. “But you don’t have to go through this alone anymore. We’re all with you now.”

“At the end of the day, what you do is your decision,” Inspector Saehara said. “If you don’t want to help Harada-imouto, then tell her you can’t help her anymore. And if you want to, like Ma said, we’re with you every step of the way.”

“What type of answer is that?” Satoshi asked. “You two are the adults here. Don’t you have something clearer than that?”

“Sorry, Satoshi, but this isn’t a decision we can make for you,” Mama Saehara answered.

Satoshi wanted to scream. Why did this situation have to be so difficult to deal with? Calculus was no problem; he could derive and integrate equations all day, but this? This whole damn thing made him so uncomfortable, and he hated it.

Daisuke and Takeshi told him this wasn’t a good idea. Inspector and Mama Saehara told him otherwise. How the hell could he make a decision when he didn’t have a unanimous answer?

“You know, Satoshi,” Inspector Saehara began, shaking Satoshi out of his thoughts, “I was in that situation, too. Everyone around me thought that I was making a terrible mistake to the point that I began to second guess my decision.”

“And?”

His expression softened. “I ain’t gonna lie, the whole thing was hell, but it worked out alright in the end.”

“That’s a terrible answer,” Satoshi grumbled.

Inspector Saehara laughed. “I suppose it is.”

Satoshi glanced down at Mama Saehara. She looked lost in a happy thought.

“Saehara-san,” he called, catching Mama Saehara’s attention,” what do you think?”

“I don’t have a personal anecdote like Pa, but I think you should go for it. If you’re able to think about something like that, then you should give it a shot. And, speaking from personal experiences, you’re a lot stronger than you think you are. If the whole thing gets difficult, you can always take a break before jumping back into it.”

Satoshi mulled over her words while looking at Mama Saehara. She was wide awake, comfortably sitting up in the bed by the lamplight. Was that what it looked like to be an adult? Able to take on other’s burdens while giving advice, looking like they’ve been unaffected by the toils of life?

“Thank you, Saehara-san. And sorry again for calling you this late.”

“You’re very welcome, Satoshi. And please don’t apologize. I’m glad you called me for this. She yawned. “Unfortunately, I have a packed schedule waiting for me, so I must now depart. Au revoir, my loves.”

She hung up. Satoshi handed the phone back to Inspector Saehara.

“We’ll be proud of you no matter what decision you make.”

“…why?”

“Because you finally asked for help. Thanks for letting us know.”

Satoshi never understood why the Saeharas celebrated such small things like that. Sometimes, he felt like they treated him like a kid, but the pure elation on their faces whenever he accomplished something said otherwise.

These menial things meant a lot to them, and he couldn’t take that away. Not when their idiosyncrasies began to grow on him, too.

“Let’s go out for some coffee,” Inspector Saehara sad. “You look like you need that pick-me-up.”

“Is that fair to Takeshi?”

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

…

Takeshi happened to spot them through the window on the way back home from his outing. Risa was with him, and she casually followed Takeshi in while he sauntered over to where Inspector Saehara and Satoshi sat. Satoshi watched, amused, as Takeshi scolded his father for leaving him out of “bonding time with Satoshi.”

Eventually, they settled down before directing their attention towards Risa, begging her to join the Saehara family for an afternoon snack. When she relented, Takeshi and her fell in line to order.

Inspector was busy enjoying the brownie he bought with his coffee. Satoshi was about to return to people-watching when he noticed Takeshi’s familiar expression while joking about something with Risa: radiant with just a touch of gentleness.

…oh.

…

Daisuke and the rest of the club had long left. Satoshi, content with the work he had just finished, began cleaning up. He draped a tarp over his canvas and gathered up the brushes, dumping them into his water cup. Palette in hand, he picked up the cup and was about to leave the room—

Risa opened the door, bathed in the blue glow of the evening.

“Oh!”

Satoshi blinked at her startled reaction. “Hello, Harada. Takeshi keep you long again?”

She shook her head. “Oh, no. Ritsuko just finished something up for the robotics club, so I kept her company.”

“Isn’t she the club president?”

“Yup.” Risa laughed. “I don’t get how she gets that stuff and likes it, but it sure is interesting when you see the final results.” She noticed what Satoshi was holding and stepped out of the way. “Whoops. Sorry about that!”

“No issue, Harada. Did you need something, though?” he asked.

He made his way to the bathroom and Risa followed. “I just figured we could walk home together if you were still here.”

Satoshi raised his eyebrow. “What about Fukuda?”

“She has cram school today, so she rushed out.”

“She’s been busy?”

“Yup. It’s been hard to see her lately.”

They got to the bathroom. Satoshi stepped in and after he finished cleaning everything, he came out to see Risa sipping on a strawberry milk. She handed him a can of black coffee that he accepted, and they headed back to the art room.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re trying to bribe me right now.”

“Maybe.”

He glanced over at her, and she giggled. Satoshi became painfully aware of what this meant to the two of them, and Risa felt so far away from him in that instant. He had to quell the desire to crush the can in his hand.

“Why haven’t you asked about him sooner?” Satoshi asked.

“Mm, I don’t know. I felt like I needed to brace myself for it. And that you needed to prepare yourself for it, too.”

“Was that a hunch of yours?”

“Yup. You’re not very easy to read, Hiwatari-kun.”

They reached the classroom. He let Risa go in before he followed. Satoshi tidied up while Risa busied herself with her phone.

How sharp was Risa’s intuition? Even Daisuke and Takeshi had difficulty seeing past his unexpressive face. Yet, without much effort, Risa could see past everything.

Terrifying.

When Satoshi finished putting away all the art supplies, he looked at Risa. She laughed at something on her phone and, when she noticed Satoshi looking at her, she put her phone away and smiled.

“Ready to head out and talk about my special someone?” she asked with that lilting tone.

“No.”

“Then is there something on my face?”

“No.”

Her amusement gave way to confusion. “Then…?”

Satoshi sighed. He couldn’t delay the inevitable any longer.

“Do you want to see what he looked like?”

Risa’s eyes sparkled. He urged her over to the covered painting and slipped the tarp off, revealing the completed Dark Mousy portrait.

And Satoshi, bathed in the blue flow of the recently set sun, could only stand there and watch as the pure elation in her face gave way to tears.

Dammit.

…

“You’re giving it to me?” she asked after she calmed down.

“Yes. The paint’s still drying, so I’ll let you know when you can take it home.”

Risa sniffled before looking at the painting again.

“What’s his name?”

“Dark Mousy.”

She giggled. “What a silly name!”

“Indeed.”

She continued to admire the work. Her eyes glistened under the fluorescent lights, and her smile wouldn’t leave her face.

“You don’t want to learn more about him?” Satoshi asked.

She looked at him and beamed brighter than the lights above. “Nah. I think this is enough for today. There’s always another time to find out more about him.” Risa slipped off the desk and straightened her skirt. “Anyways, let’s head out now.”

“Yes, we should.”

Satoshi covered the portrait. He took the club room keys out of his pocket and, after turning off the lights, locked the door behind them. They made their way towards the faculty office.

“I’m in the mood for some crepes. Wanna grab some on the way back? My treat.”

“I’ll pass.”

“Aw. You’re no fun.”

#satoshi hiwatari #DNAngel #dn angel #d.n.angel #risa harada #satorisa #takeshi saehara #my fanfiction #my writing #falling

[x1musings]

“did you just call me your girlfriend/boyfriend?”+ “are you jealous right now?”

☆pairing: hangyul x reader

☆request: #35 + #94 from 101 prompts by anon

☆genre/au: fluff (but slightly angsty), suggestive, fwb-to-lovers au

☆word count: 1.7k

☆a/n: ok i lied, i said that this will be fluffy, but it ended up being angst-ier (?? is that a word?) than i intended. it was harder to get back into writing than i expected, so this took a while to write. but i hope you guys like it. please let me know your thoughts!! i love reading your reactions, whether it’s through tags, replies or asks so please send me all of your thoughts/reactions/criticism etc.

☆song recs: get mine get yours by christina aguilera, gotta love you by mario and urs by niki (i listened to so many niki songs as i wrote this so if you haven’t heard her songs, go check them out! if you want more recs, hmu)

you awake to the feeling of soft kisses on your bare shoulder, fingers stroking your stomach, and the sun barely peeping through the curtain. you don’t open your eyes, but you couldn’t hide the smile that appeared on your lips as you bask in the soft touches you were feeling across your skin. 

“you’re awake.” you could feel him smile against your neck.

you open your eyes, squinting as you adjust to the light streaming though the curtains. “good morning.”

hangyul lifts his head from your neck, and wiggles his eyebrows as he says, “want me to make this morning even better?”

you laugh, shaking your head. “how are you this needy already? aren’t you tired from last night?”

“nope, not one bit.”

he positions himself over you, wrapping your legs around his waist. he attacks the other side of your neck with his lips and teeth, leaving marks as he trails his way up to your jawline. you tangle your fingers in his hair, enjoying the feeling of him all over you. he peppers soft kisses along your jawline, until he gets to your lips. just as he’s about to kiss your lips, your phone rings.

hangyul groans quietly at the sound of the familiar ringtone, as he rolls off you to let you answer the call. he knew exactly who was calling, and he knew that you would never let him go to voicemail. hangyul hated the way you smile as you pick up the phone, the way that your voice sounds oh-so-chipper as you greet him, and the way you are enthusiastically agreeing to meet up with him. it was like hangyul wasn’t even there, and he hated that the most. the way that you made him feel like he meant nothing to you.

it wasn’t always this way for him. at first, it was easy being with you. it was just best friends fooling around together whenever they needed to blow off some steam. it was just stress-relief, he had convinced himself. he was perfectly fine with being your wingman, helping you with your relationship problems. but now, he hated the thought of you being with someone else, especially not with one of his friends. he knew he was entering dangerous territory, but he couldn’t do anything to stop himself from catching feelings.

he was so caught up in his angry thoughts that he didn’t realise that you had ended the call, turning on your side to look at him.

“whatcha thinking about?”

“nothing,” he huffed. “shouldn’t you be going to meet him now?”

you took in his clenched jaw, narrowed eyes glaring at the ceiling, and fingers tapping on his bare chest. it couldn’t be, you think to yourself. “are you jealous right now?”

hangyul scoffs as he gets out of bed. “why would i be jealous? it’s not like we’re dating.”

you nod slowly as you watched him pull his shirt on and make his way to the bathroom, knowing better than to push him when he gets in this mood. “will i see you later at seungyoun’s dinner party?”

“of course.” he slams the bathroom door closed, and you take it as a sign to leave him to his thoughts.

you sigh as you fall back against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. you liked what you had with hangyul; it was easy being with him. the sex was great, and the pillow talk after was even better. you could open up to him in a way that you couldn’t with other people because you always felt safe with him. but did you want an actual relationship with him? what if you screwed up this relationship like you did with all of your previous relationships? and worse, what if it ruined your friendship? could you risk it?

you shake the thoughts out of your head. just because it was weird between you two now, didn’t mean that hangyul suddenly wanted a relationship. you were jumping the gun; there was no reason to overthink this when it could just be you reading the situation wrongly. you get out of bed, pulling your clothes on.

you pause at the bathroom door. “hey, i have to go help seungyoun with his party now, so i’ll see you later?” you wait a few minutes for a reply, but when you don’t hear anything, you walk away.

you somehow managed to keep all thoughts about hangyul out of your head throughout the day, but when you see him enter the apartment, you couldn’t think of anything else but him. his hair is pushed back, and he is dressed up in a white button-down shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, black ripped jeans and black sneakers. and he had never looked better. you spend the night trying your hardest to concentrate on what your friends are talking about, but your attention kept going back to hangyul, like your whole body is hyperaware of his presence. 

hangyul didn’t bother hiding the fact that he was staring at you. he watched as you spoke to seungyoun, and he couldn’t tell what bothered him more: the smile that you’re wearing on your lips that seemed to be reserved for seungyoun or the way that he kept touching you. every few seconds, his hands would move from your hair to your shoulder or your arm, and each touch had hangyul biting his inner cheek. it was when seungyoun moved in close to whisper in your ear that hangyul snapped. 

he put his drink down and walks over to you two. he slings his arm around your shoulders, pulling you into his chest. he turns to seungyoun with a forced smile. “so, what are you and my girlfriend talking about?”

seungyoun raises his eyebrow, a barely hidden smirk playing on his lips. “girlfriend?”

you force a laugh out, trying to save this situation. “i think he’s drunk right now. come on, let’s sober you up.”

you pull him away from seungyoun, making your way to first empty room you could find. you push him in and close the door behind you. you turn to find hangyul standing right behind you, caging you between his body and the door.

“did you just call me your girlfriend?”

“yes.” his voice and eyes are devoid of the usual teasing, instead filled with sincerity.

 “why? you were the one who always said that this is just sex, that we weren’t dating. you even said that this morning, so what changed?”

hangyul looks away from you, trying to find the words to explain exactly what had changed. sometime between this morning and this moment, he had given up pretending that he didn’t have feelings for you. he had made up his mind to tell you the truth tomorrow, but when he saw you with seungyoun, something in him snapped. he couldn’t wait anymore, not when he could lose you to the guy you clearly had a crush on. when he turned back to you, his determination and confidence is clear on his face. he didn’t have a big speech ready, so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“i love you.”

he doesn’t wait for your response before crashing his lips against yours. he is desperate, he knew that he couldn’t articulate his feelings for you with his words, so he had to show you. each of his touches, strokes and tugs laced with silent i love you’s and please choose me’s. and you lose yourself in his frantic touches.

you don’t know how many minutes passes as you kissed him back, but soon enough you two broke apart, still staying close to each other as he rests his forehead against yours. the room is silent, besides the sound of the two of you catching your breath. you open your eyes and take in the way hangyul looked. you could see the resignation on his face, it was clear as day even with his eyes closed.

you break the silence by laughing. “i hate you.”

hangyul opens his eyes and stares at you with shock. “what?”

you glare at him, but you knew there was no fire behind it. “you made me lose the bet i had with seungyoun.”

hangyul pulls away from you slightly, his brow furrows as he asks, “what bet?”

“well, seungyoun thought that you had feelings for me, but i denied it. so, he bet that he could make you confess by the end of the night and i took him up on it. you made me lose, asshole.”

there’s a beat of silence as hangyul processes what you said. he groans, dropping his head on your shoulder as he realises that his friend had played him. “that’s why he kept touching you.”

“wait, that’s why you came over like that? because he kept touching me?” you laugh in shock.

hangyul lifts his head, pouting slightly. “yes! i was jealous of how close you two were and how you were smiling at him.”

you put your arms on his shoulder, tangling your fingers in his hair. “and how exactly was i smiling at him?”

the sadness in his eyes broke your heart. “like he was the only person in the world that mattered to you.”

“hangyul…” he pulls away from you completely, leaving you feeling empty at the lack of contact between you.

“look, if you’re going to reject me, just do it. i’m not sure if i can go back to how we were, but if that’s what you want, i’ll try… for you.” he stares at the wall beside you as he speaks, knowing the second he looked at you, he would break down.

you lean back against the door. you didn’t know how to fix this, so you decide to be honest.

“i do like you, hangyul. i just don’t know whether it’s completely platonic feelings or if there’s romantic feelings.” you step closer to him, pressing your hand over his heart. “but i’m willing to find out. if that’s what you want… we can try dating.”

his head swings in your direction, his eyes wide with shock. he expected you to reject him, but you… didn’t. “really?”

“on one condition.”

“anything.”

“you have to be patient with me. you know my history with dating, so please be patient with me.”

he smiles, and you are in awe of how bright his smile looks. “i promise.”

he moves in to kiss you, but the beep from your phone makes him freeze. you pull out your phone to look at the notification.

[txt] i won. you owe me pizza

#sorry the ending is super rushed #x1 #x1net #x1 scenarios #x1 imagines #x1 au #x1 fluff #x1 angst #lee hangyul #101 prompts #mine: x1 #mine: fluff #mine: angst

[freudensteins-monster]

I Need a Hero! 

Following on from Ooh! Barracuda!

Despite what Darcy had promised, their third date had ended with them still fully clothed, kissing goodbye on the street outside the restaurant they were supposed to be dining at, all because some asshat let mutated wannabe velociraptors escape from a lab in Nova Scotia.

And though they both claimed to want a do-over, culminating in the stereotypical post-third date activities, that first interrupted date was the start of a holding pattern.

They made reservations at another nice restaurant and Bucky walked Darcy to her room at the tower. They made out against the door – the inside of the door, as the hallway had hears, and high resolution cameras – but then Bucky cut it short claiming he had an early training session at the upstate facility in the morning.

Okay, thought Darcy. Except she learnt later on that he had volunteered for it the morning of their date.

The following weekend JARVIS found them an old school dance hall and the pair got dressed up in their 1940’s finest and went out dancing. Bucky walked her to her door again, and again cut their goodbye kiss short claiming tiredness because of the training upstate, and the travel, and the dancing.

Fine. Except Steve had mentioned two days later that Bucky had been putting extra sessions in at the tower gym – including the night of their dance hall date.

Darcy invited him around for a home cooked meal and suggested they watch something from Bucky’s “must see movies of the last 100 years” list. She instigated a little Netflix and Chill action, only for Bucky to put the brakes on claiming he wanted to see how the movie ended.

Really? It’s not like they couldn’t have paused the damn thing, Darcy would grumble to Jane later.

For their next date she pulled out the big guns: a slinky, sleeveless, little black dress that showed even more skin than the blue-grey number that had prompted Bucky to ask her out. When she opened the door Bucky’s knees almost buckled at the sight of her (or the girls) and Darcy thought she was on to a winner. She was flirty and affectionate on the way down to the lobby, and Bucky seemed to be reciprocating, but of course, their luck being what it was, the second he opened the car door for her his phone rang with an emergency Assemble.

Fair enough. He couldn’t fake an Assemble, but he didn’t have to look so damn relieved about it.

The mission took three days and when Bucky returned Darcy was caught in the middle of Jane’s latest breakthrough, so it ended up being a full week after their last failed date before they could reschedule. This also gave Darcy plenty of time to plan a course of action to address the elephant in the room, which basically boiled down to “talk about it like mature adults in an adult relationship”.

“This suuuucks,” Darcy groaned to her empty apartment as she waited for Bucky to knock on her door.  Thankfully she didn’t have to wait too long; a minute later and she would have chickened out.

“Hey doll,” he greeted her with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. “I missed you like crazy this week.”

“Yeah, well, it’s been a crazy week,” she joked lamely, as Bucky made himself comfortable on her couch.

“Did you have anything in particular in mind tonight? I was thinking we could try that Caribbean ramen place Tony was going on about and maybe start one of those Star Wars trilogies everyone seems to love. Sam wants to watch them at the next team movie night, but you know he and Clint will just talk over them and it’ll just ruin my first viewing.”

“Speaking of firsts,” Darcy interjected, grasping at any excuse to get the crappy portion of their evening over with. “Do you not want to have sex with me?” Bucky balked and couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eyes. Darcy cursed herself for having the subtlety of Thor’s hammer, but sat as close to him as she dared and powered on. “Considering how you were looking at me the day you asked me out, I’m going to go out on a limb and say you find me attractive, but you keep pulling away from me when things get hot and heavy, and I know you’ve been making up excuses so you can cut out early. So… what is it? Why are you embarrassed to tell me no? Is it a religious thing – do you not want to have sex before marriage? A medical thing? Do you not want to have sex at all, or just not right now? Whatever it is, I just need you talk to me about it and tell me where you’re head’s at so I can adjust my expectations accordingly, okay? Because right now I feel like an asshole for trying to move us in a direction that you’re clearly not comfortable with.”

It took Bucky a minute to reply, his mouth opening and closing as he tried and failed to find the right words, but eventually he turned those beautiful stormy eyes of his in her direction and took one of her hands in his.

“First off, of course I find you attractive. When it comes to brains and beauty I think you leave Hedy Lamarr in the dust,” he assured her with a smirk. “And don’t go twistin’ yourself up thinkin’ I only want you when you’re wearing one of those maneater ensembles of yours. Done up and dressed down, soft and sexy; I like the whole package, sweetheart.” Darcy couldn’t help but blush. “And I do want to have sex with you…”

“But…”

Bucky sighed and squeezed her hand just a little bit tighter. “But… Nobody but doctors have seen me without my shirt on since I came back to myself, and I can’t stop worrying about what you’ll think.”

“About?”

“All this,” he replied with vague gesture.

“Your arm?”

“You gotta remember that I got the knock off version of the serum; I ain’t like Steve,” he added, anxiously rubbing his shoulder. “I might heal fast but my scars don’t fade like his do. At least, the ones Hydra gave me didn’t. It’s not pretty, and I just don’t want to see you pretending like they don’t upset you.”

“Of course they upset me, Bucky. But only because I wanna tase every Hydra goon in the balls for what they did to you. Seeing your scars isn’t going to make me want you less. Solid muscle and solid metal, cocky and self-conscious; I like the whole package, Sergeant Barnes,” she teased.

“Oh, yeah?” he smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Ugh, dude. Don’t make me fall on my sword.”

“Huh?”

“JARVIS, can you play my favourite fanvid?” she asked the ceiling with a sigh.

 “Of course, Miss Lewis.”

“What are we watching?”

“Just… watch,” Darcy cringed as she shushed him. “And try not to hate me or, like, run screaming from the room in search of a restraining order.”

 🎶 Where have all the good men gone, and where are all the gods 🎶

Bucky knew this song. He heard it every now and then when he was passing by Jane’s lab on the way to or from Tony’s, but it would always cut out when he got close. He’d asked Darcy about it once and she claimed it was her ringtone. Now that he thought back on it she had definitely been lying but he’d been too distracted by her bashful smile to notice it. He turned his attention to the television fixed to Darcy’s living room wall and as the song continued dozens of hastily edited together video clips were thrown up on the screen. Video clips of him. There were paparazzo footage of him and some of the team leaving a bar in DC after they’d gone out for drinks on Sam’s birthday, some video of him lifting weights in the gym for that Avengers Tower behind-the-scenes thing that Pepper had organized, though it was slightly pixelated as the editor tried to zoom in on his arms. There was even news footage from his missions with the Avengers, and a few of his missions against them.

“Is that… is that the Winter Soldier in Germany?”

“Um… yes?” Darcy winced.

“People like that – you like that?” he asked incredulously.

“I know it’s awful of me, and you have every right to hate me for making light of something that is obviously so awful, but seriously dude, you were built like a friggin tank! I don’t know what you were eating when you were hiding out in Romania, but damn!”

After a few more minutes of crippling awkwardness Darcy finally asked JARVIS to cut the feed.

“So…

“So… I hear this song playing in your lab all the time. Just how often have you watched this thing?”

“I plead the fifth,” Darcy blushed.

“JARVIS, how many times has Darcy watched this video?”

“Don’t answer that!”

 “This is Miss Lewis’s 57th viewing of this particular Youtube video.”

Bucky looked rather pleased with himself. “Fifty-seven…”

“Okay, listen, I may have left it playing on loop one afternoon while I cleaned my apartment. I have not sat here and watched it fifty-seven times.”

“I can remember at least four separate instances where I’ve walked past your lab and interrupted this song.”

“So? That’s just four times.”

 “Miss Lewis also asks me to loop her into gym’s security footage whenever you and one of your teammates are sparring.”

“JARVIS? What the hell?” Darcy screeched as Bucky doubled over with laughter.

 “I apologise, Miss Lewis. I just thought Sergeant Barnes would appreciate having all the evidence at his disposal.”

“Go away, JARVIS.” Darcy sighed and tried not to combust from blushing as Bucky chuckled at her embarrassment. “Okay, fine. As you can see from Exhibits A through to like friggin J: I find you stupidly attractive. So, you don’t have to worry about me being upset about your scars from an aesthetic point of view, because if it’s not painfully obviously, I want to see you naked. Real bad.”

Then it was Bucky’s turn to blush. “Can I kiss you, doll?”

“Please,” she begged with relieved smile. “Anything to stop me from embarrassing myself further.”

They started tentatively at first, but soon things started moving in a horizontal direction, with hands toying at the hems of shirts and brushing over zippers, and Bucky pulled back. Darcy did her damndest not to let her disappointment show and waited patiently for Bucky to tell her how he was feeling.

“Do you think we could, uh, relocate?” he asked, surprising her as he tilted his head towards her bedroom door. “I don’t know if I’ll want to… I mean, we can try…” he stammered.

“Whatever you’re okay with. Whatever you want,” Darcy promised.

Bucky swooped in for another kiss before lifting Darcy up off the couch in one smooth movement, smiling like an idiot as she giggled in his arms.

“JARVIS, play us out.”

🎶 Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat / It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet / I need a hero! 🎶  

#i need a hero #wintershock #mutual objectification #darcy lewis x bucky barnes #darcy lewis #bucky barnes #freudensteins-fics

[fics-not-tragedies]

In a Week: Chapter 7 🌲

I feel like a poser writing about walks in the woods when I wasn’t even in a stupid park since like summer. Somehow I forgot how it’s like to be in a place inhabited by the wild. Also I forgot how weeks work, Thursday was yesterday, oops.

Words:  2619; Warnings: none, but really, none; Summary: Andrew and Flo wander back into the woods to retrieve the missing pieces of clothing they’ve left by the creek last night.

Hozier tag list:

@letoursilencebreaktonight​​​​​​​​​​​​; @angelpeachamber​​​​​​​​​​​​; @sgt-morgan​​​​​​​​​​​​; @julessbrown​​​​​​​​​​​​;

Monday, 10:15am

“Are you sure you’re done with the coffee?” Flo teased as they stood from the breakfast table, nodding to his three empty cups as she tucked her chair in slightly. She was feeling full, content, more at ease than she prepared herself for today and when she looked at Andrew, his sleepy smile and scrunched up face, she reminded herself just how much fun she was having.

Fun.

She rolled the word around in her head for a while - it was like she already forgotten how it worked.

“I needed it, em, quite desperately this morning” he grumbled back, half smiling, still achy, pushing his glasses back on to cover his eyes as he stood, “…don’t be too judgy…”

“I’m not judging you” she laughed, her hair fanning over her shoulders as they shook, “Besides, I think I ate more than you ever did in that one breakfast sitting.”

“Quite impressive” he replied, like he really meant it.

Andrew thought about pressing his hand against the small of her back to guide her out of the restaurant, anything to touch her again, but she was already ahead of him, her strides nearly twice the speed of his. Then, sensing his sluggishness, she turned her head to look over her shoulder, indicating for him to hurry up with a wiggle of her finger. He huffed. At her side again, he raised his eyebrows from under his glasses, as they thanked waiters and shuffled out of the restaurant, passing the bar and back out into the lobby.

Andrew had been relatively calm until this point. It was only when she turned to him with an expectant look on her face that he realized he didn’t actually have a plan. He’d spent an hour or two last night before he could fall asleep, alcohol keeping him awake, trying to put together the perfect week for Flo - the complete stranger who he had somehow come to know more deeply than logically possible. This week was about her, everything was suddenly about her and his original intention of resting and taking some time alone had been thrown out the window.

But now she was waiting for his green light, the curious tone of her expression making him nervous. She demanded so much from him, without actually asking for anything. He had ideas, parts of the days sculpted out roughly in his head, but they weren’t perfect yet. Andrew decided to buy himself some time, give her the option to pick something first, whatever she wanted.

“So, em, what’s on the agenda today, love? What do you want to do?”

“Do I have to plan everything today?” Flo replied, pulling her jumper sleeves to her palms and crossing her arms with indecisiveness, “You promised me a wonderful week, remember?”

“I’ve got few things planned for, em, later but you gotta pick first. Your move.”

Flo thought hard for a moment and Andrew laughed when he saw the idea strike her, her expression too obviously plastered on her face. He loved how easy she was to read, how he could tell that she cared when she said she didn’t, how he knew when she was hungry or thirsty or when she was feeling insecure.

“Okay, fine” without further explanation, she grabbed his arm to drag him down one of the corridors feathering off from the lobby, down to the back patio, her march determined now that she just settled on an idea.

“Wait, em, where we going?” Andrew chuckled, his free hand quickly scooping back the hair that had come loose in the movement.

“The woods” she announced, the suggestion from earlier at breakfast too good to resist. So what if she had to resist Andrew again? She could do it. Right? Right?

“Oh-” Andrew drawled, “then I think we’ll need something to, em, distract those wild animals, I don’t think they’d, em, be scared of your underwear.”

Monday, 10:25am

She bit her lip when he again kept moving in silence, a few steps ahead of her as always when he took the lead, navigating through the woods like he spend here his entire life in here. Flo shook her head as he turned another left and ran a hand through his hair which was falling into his face. The woods looked much different in day time.

They were passing by the branches she saw last night and they look quite familiar or it was just a false impression, because to her all of the trees really looked the same. Andrew pushed apart the thick bushes, just like he did last night and she silently followed him, watching him push them further apart and she moved onto the patch of green grass covered in small flowers walking carefully, passing under his long arms quickly and stopping at the tiny meadow by the creek.

All of the clothes they’ve left there were still laying under the small bush close to the creek. They were still damp, from the rain that were pouring in the night, but they were still in the exact spot they were laid and there wasn’t any sign of animals tracks near them.

“Looks like you were right” Flo said, picking up her underwear and pushing it deep into the back pocket of her jeans, “boars doesn’t fancy lace lingerie.”

Andrew couldn’t help, but laughed a little, wrinkles appearing at the top of his nose.

Monday, 10:35am

He picked up his flannel shirt and tied it around his waist, tucking the sleeves into his pockets, so they wouldn’t disturb his movements. Fixing the sunglasses back onto his face he sat down onto the grass right by the shrub and inhaled the fresh air deeply.

“Don’t you ever think about smoking in here” Flo scolded him before he even had the chance to think about the pack of cigarettes that longed in his pocket.

“I’m not…” he mumbled, turning his head to look at her. She was kneeling by the tranquil water, her hand dipped into it, stirring the surface. The water was cold, but it was the pleasant kind of cold, the one you yearn for in the hot summer.

Flo tilted her head just to have a better look at Andrew, the smug smile on his lips never disappeared whenever she was close to her. There was something in that woman that captivated him fully. He felt like she owned his soul, even though he knew her only for one day now.

“You really seem like the man of the woods” she giggled a little, playing with the water again, feeling how it cools her fingers.

“I just simply like being here” he ran his hand through the grass, feeling the damp soil under his palm that didn’t had the chance to become dry in the harsh summer sun, “I like, em, the sounds of the forest, the birds sing so beautifully…”

“Probably not as beautifully as you do” she was smiling widely at him, brushing the strands of her fair hair from her face, while her other hand was still playing with the creek’s water.

“The birds are much more beautiful in every field.”

“No, you’re just too humble, Andrew…”

Monday, 10:40am

A wild creature roared from the opposite side of the creek, striding towards them. It was a boar, a huge one, streaks of dark fur well visible on its both sides. It roared at them again and they both quickly stood up, Andrew arm extended towards her and she gently grabbed his large hand, her fingers entwined with his somehow like Flo always did it, the gesture automatic.

He pulled her closer as they started to back off slowly, trying not to annoy the boar even more.

“Just… be calm” Andrew mumbled, squeezing her hand a little tighter.

“It’s just a boar, it can’t eat us!” She raised her voice a little and the boar roared at them even louder, moving towards them.

“You ever climbed a tree?” He pulled her closer, his long arm languidly wrapping around her shoulders, like somehow he tried to shield her with his own body from the dangerous creature.

“No, never…”

“Then it’ll be your first time” Andrew quickly turned around, pushing Flo to the front with his arm and started to running through the forest with her pressed firmly to his side, “come one, love, let’s climb that one!” his long finger pointed to one tree that was few meters away from them and they ran to it as fast as they can.

Monday, 10:45am

“I think we’ll have to, em, spend few moments up in here” Andrew said, looking down at the boar family that was looking for a full course meal in the ground right below the tree they were both sat on.

“At least we have our clothes back” Flo held onto the thick branch she was seated on, trying not to fall onto the ground right between the boars.

“I can tell you’ve never climbed a tree before” he chuckled a little, seeing how she clutched with her whole body to the mossy trunk of the tall tree they both climbed for safety.

“And I’ve never run through a forest desperately trying to escape a really annoyed boar” she added, looking up at him. He was few branches above her, sitting on a particularly wide one with such ease, looking like he was comfortably hurdled up in a leather arm chair rather than on a really big piece of a still living wood. His curls looked absolutely stunning in the morning sun, the different shades of auburn and maroon visible only now, in the once-a-lifetime experience and she was living through it now. Those black-hued sunglasses were back on his nose, but it felt like somehow he was reading her mind, because when she thought how badly she wanted to see his muddy eyes he just simply took them off and stuffed them into the pocket of his flannel shirt.

“Come here” he stretched his long arm for her to hold onto and she carefully stood up, her body trembling and he held his hand like it was a lifebuoy. After she threw her underwear into the back pocket of her jeans, she took few small steps and looked up at him again, letting out a shaky breath, before she decided to move upwards, “Don’t worry, I got you, honey.”

His both arms were wrapped around her waist now, carefully helping her onto the branch he was sitting on. When she finally hopped onto the wood next to him she felt exhausted, sweat dripping down her back, her breath caught in her throat. Flo rested her forehead against his arm for a moment, but only for a brief one, every touch they exchanged was sending shivers all over her body and she was frightened she’d fall to the ground.

“You should teach people how to climb, really” she breathed, breaking the silence that fell between them like the thick morning fog.

“It comes naturally to me” he flashed her a wide smile and she was glad she still held his hand, because that damned smile would be the reason of her quite literal downfall.

“You sit here like the king of this forest… perhaps you really are a fae” she raised her eyebrow at him, receiving a small giggle as a response, his nose wrinkling as he tried not to laugh out loud.

“Those boars don’t look like they want to listen to me” he stretched out his long neck to look under the tree, only to see them digging in the ground closer to the trunk of the tree they were sitting on.

“If you’d use your charm on them I’m sure they’ll listen” Flo changed her position, trying to balance herself on the branch, clutching his arm tightly. The sleeves of his flannel were rolled up and she could feel his hot skin under her fingertips, dying inside just to caress it, just to touch him in more proper manner, feel more of his skin, “... maybe if you’d sing them a song they’ll go away, but since you’re like a Snow White it could summon more of them” she laughed a little, fixing her straw hair behind her ears and Andrew couldn’t help and joined her, the sound of their giggles filling the forest.

“If you’d like, I could, em, sing you something… if you want to, of course. I don’t have my guitar here with me, but, em, I can go acapella, just for you” he looked at her, tilting his head to the side, seeing how she tried to nest her on the branch, before she finally pressed her back against the trunk, legs hanging from both sides of the branch they were sat on.

“No man ever sang to me while sitting on the tree, so I think I’ll take that opportunity” she winked at him and it seemed like his face turned an even darker shade of pink, “Do you have any songs about woods, Andrew?” Flo asked and her question somehow felt like a challenge to him.

“I have a few of songs about woods, which one do you want?”

“Surprise me, Andy”

“Flo…” he breathed out, before clearing his throat and awkwardly pulling one leg up and onto the branch, then leaning closer to her.

She could feel the tension that grew between them with every minute they spend together. And she couldn’t deny the fact that there was something wondrous about the man that shared the branch with her. Somehow his eyes seemed like the perfect shade of green that reminded her of that kind of muddy bog water she’d like to drown herself, yet she never planned to become his version of Ophelia.

“My head was warm

My skin was soaked

I called your name 'til the fever broke

When I awoke

The moon still hung

The night so black

That the darkness hums”

His words, like the most precious poetry, leaving his mouth, the dulcet tone of his voice filling the air hypnotizing her somehow. It seemed like every time he sang Flo was catapulted to another realm, with him as the guide that showed her the wonders of other world.

“I raised myself

My legs were weak

I prayed my mind be good to me

An awful noise filled the air

I heard a scream

In the woods somewhere”

There was only his voice and the occasional chirping from birds that had nests above their heads. Andrew’s eyes were half closed, she noticed how his lower lip trembled slightly with the last word of every verse.

“A woman's voice

I quickly ran

Into the trees

With empty hands”

A fox it was

He shook afraid

I spoke no words, no sound he made”

The way he sang was much more than captivating. She could stay on that branch with him forever, listening to the peculiar, yet overly pleasant way, every letter rolled of his tongue and entwined with the sound of silence.

“What if I kissed you now, Andrew?” She mumbled under her breath, the thought slipping out of her mind and coming up onto the surface, her face in a quite appealing shade of crimson.

“What?” his eyes grew wider, the muddy greens staring right into hers.

“I think they’re gone…”

“Who?” He asked her, pulled back to Earth from his singing haze.

“The boars, Andrew” Flo said, before slowly moving down the tree.

“Oh-” he hoped she’d repeat herself, say that again, but louder, for him to hear properly, for him to answer that question, “yes, they’re gone now.”

Miss Florence, I’d feel honored to kiss you back.

#In a Week #hozier fanfiction #hozier fanfic #hozier fic #hozier series #hozier chaptered fic #andrew hozier byrne fanfiction #andrew hozier byrne fanfic #andrew hozier byrne fic #andrew hozier byrne series #andrew hozier byrne chaptered fic #fanfiction #fanfic #fic #series #chaptered fic #hozier/flo #hozier x flo #andrew hozier byrne/flo #andrew hozier byrne x flo #ahb:chaptered_fic

[jamesbuchananxsteviegrant]

Shaken Up | Bucky x Steve x Reader (Fluff, mild Angst)

Category: mild Angst, Fluff (Suggested) Age: 13+ Trigger Warnings: passing out, physical illness (fever) Ship: Bucky x Steve x Reader Summary: Bucky And Steve Find Reader Passed Out Request: “So a couple weeks ago I was really unwell and ended up with a migraine so bad I fainted… it was rough lmao Could you maybe write something about stucky x reader finding their girl passed out and how they’d react? I was alone when it happened to me and lord knows how terrifying it was waking up on the ground with a busted lip, alone, not knowing how long I was out for😬” Contains Spoilers for: N/A Word Count: 1,509

---

Just under two hours to go.

Two hours until her soldiers get back from the mission she really wished they weren’t on. She’s been counting down the minutes since they left at nine AM this morning, and now it’s six-thirty PM.

It was all going well until around midday when she suddenly felt very nauseous. Felt a headache coming on, her body was sweating yet she was shivering cold, she started to cough more often than normal, and that leads her to where she is now, curled up on the Bucky’s bed - that they all sleep in - in the American flag pattered blanket of Steve’s that Tony got him as a joke a few years ago on his one-hundredth birthday.

The TV is playing a show that the woman is no longer paying an ounce of attention to. She can’t. Her head keeps zoning out. The headache becoming progressively worse. There’s tears streaking her face that she’s not even acknowledged.

Part of her feels bad because she remembers what her two lovers remind her every time they go out on a mission without fail.

“You call us if you need anything, alright? No matter what it is, if you need us, ring and we’ll come back. Look after yourself, okay?”

They both tell her so many times whenever they’re going out for missions and yet here she is. She’s held the phone in her hand a number of times, finger hovering over both their names - trying to decide who’s most likely to answer - yet she ended up locking the device and dropping it beside her.

Sighing, (Y/N) slides off of the bed, wrapping the blanket around her, deciding to go and grab some water - and also see if Tony, Pepper or Bruce were around to see if they could recommend anything - but she barely manages three steps toward her door when the thudding of her feet on the carpeted floor becomes too much for her head and she’s falling. Then nothing.

///

“Hey, how’d it go?” Nat asks the two soldiers who exit the lift on the common floor.

“Eh, not bad. Wasn’t anyone particularly smart so it’s up to the court now.” Steve sighs, removing his helmet as Bucky removes his gloves.

“Cool. Fury wants a briefing tomorrow at eight.” She confirms, the pair nodding.

“(Y/N) around?” Bucky asks.

“Haven’t seen her all day. Probably in her room doing what she always does when you two are on missions,” She pauses, a small smile playing on her lips. “Waiting for you to get back.”

The two men chuckle and shake their head.

“She’s cute.” Steve grins.

“She’s definitely smitten.” Nat teases, receiving a playful punch from Bucky as they pass her to get to the lift once again.

“So she should be.”

The second Steve and Bucky are both in the elevator, their lips are together, hands wrapping around each other.

“Hello.” Bucky grins at the blond, Steve only chuckling in response and cuddling up against him.

“Hi.”

“You okay?” His voice is muffled against the blond’s hair.

Steve nods.

“Better now we’re home.” He smiles. “M’tired.”

“Plus one to that.” Buck agrees.

The elevator dings and they exit, sighing as they smell her perfume that’s always lingering the hallway of their floor.

“Who’s room are we betting she’s in?” Steve chuckles.

“Definitely mine.” Buck grins, both of them heading over to the Winter Soldier’s room. “Friday, tell (Y/N) we’re coming in.” He calls, knowing (Y/N) always asks everyone to get FRIDAY to announce their entrance since she fears unexpected door knocks.

It’s not until the door opens and their eyes widen that FRIDAY responds.

“I’m afraid Miss (L/N) is unconscious right now, sirs.”

“Oh my God, (Y/N)!” Steve calls out, dashing to her aside.

“(Y/N)!” Bucky adds at the same time, also running over.

The pair drop to their knees, helping her turn over onto her back and acknowledging her sweat-covered body, heavy breaths and trembling. Then the blood. The blood on her head. The blood on the corner of the dressing table. It doesn’t take a genius to work out what happened.

“Friday, what’s wrong with her?!” The blond shouts, eyes scanning up and down her body. The blood makes sense - she fell and hit her head - but the sweating, the trembling, the obviously change in her skin tone.

“Miss (L/N) has been showing signs of an intense fever since twelve-fifteen this afternoon, sir. It got progressively worse throughout the afternoon and she collapsed at eighteen-forty-two.” The AI confirms, Bucky’s wide eyes glancing at the clock that shows almost nine o’clock.

“Holy shit, baby. Come on, we’ve gotta get her too Bruce.” The brunet says to Steve who nods in agreement.

“You got her?”

The Winter Soldier nods and lifts the woman up in his arms, panicking at the sight of her pale face.

“Come on, doll, open those eyes for me.” He coos, shaking her slightly, hoping to get any response out of her.

“BRUCE!” Steve yells, practically shouting as he throws the doors open to the medical bay.

“Captain?” Bruce responds, coming around the corner with a raised brow at the man’s loudness.

“(Y/N)’s passed out - Friday says she has a fever - she’s also bleeding, think she hit her head on the dressing table. Please check she’s alright.” The blond pleads, Bucky laying her down on the bed.

“Friday, can you write up her symptoms?” The medical expert calls out to the AI.

“Of course, Doctor Banner.”

Bucky and Steve are hand in hand as they look over their girl’s trembling body.

“She was out for nearly three hours.” Cap murmurs.

“She’s dehydrated.” Bruce comments, scanning over the write-up of her symptoms. “That’s why she passed out, too low a blood pressure. She’ll be alright, I assure you both. The wound on her head is nothing, just a scratch.”

The pair nod but don’t look any less concerned. Eventually, Banner manages to get them to sit down in the chairs by her bed and just allow him to get her all fixed up.

It’s about an hour later when the woman’s eyes flicker and open, disliking the brightness of the lights in the room.

“Friday, can you turn down the lights by (Y/N).” Steve calls, both of them not having taken their eyes off of the woman for a second.

“Of course, Captain.”

“Hey, doll.” Bucky breathes, smiling down as he’s now stood over the bed.

“Welcome back, sweetheart.” Steve adds.

It takes the woman a second to recognise her surroundings and feel the faint pain in her head and sweat coating her body to remember everything that happened.

“You could’ve at least gotten showered and dressed whilst waiting for me.” She groans, sarcasm lacing her tone as she recognises their dirty uniforms from their mission.

The men can’t help but grin and shake their heads.

“Too busy being worried shitless about our girlfriend, doll. I can assure you, getting cleaned up and dressed was not at the top of my mind when I came in my room and see the love of my life laid face down on my floor, bleeding, sweating and shivering.” He responds, tone just as sarcastic. Teasing.

(Y/N) gives an apologetic smile to the men and shrugs.

“Sorry. I like to shake you up every so often.”

Steve chuckles and leans down to kiss her lips.

“Don’t. It was awful. I thought my heart stopped beating, I swear.” He shakes his head.

“Plus one to that.” Buck adds, also kissing her.

“You had a really bad fever, sweetheart. Why didn’t you call us?” The blond adds, his somewhat serious expression taking back over.

The woman glances away, too embarrassed to even respond.

“Doll, what’s wrong?” Bucky whispers, leaning over and stroking his flesh hand through her hair. “You know you can call us if you need to.”

“In case of an emergency. This wasn’t an emergency.” She mewls, subconsciously leaning into his strokes.

“No. You call us if you need us. Not if it’s an emergency. You needed us to look after you and that qualifies as needing us.” Steve explains, walking around to stand on the opposite side of the bed to Bucky, meeting her saddened, partially embarrassed, gaze.

“It was an important mission…” Her voice is quiet, knowing she won’t win this.

“Not as important as you. Never as important as you.” The brunet finishes.

“I love you both so much.”

“We love you too, sweetheart, more than words could ever describe. Now, do you wanna tell us what we can do for you?” Steve quizzes.

“Could really do with-“

“Some ice-cold water, with lemon, in that pint glass that Buck got me for my birthday, and a lot of cuddles.” Bucky finishes, mocking her voice and watching her grin, giggling afterwards.

“Am I that predictable?” She whispers.

“Nah, you’re just our girl, and we know what our girl needs.” He winks.

“Let’s get you to bed.” Steve chuckles, lifting her up into his arms.

“Yes, sir.” 

#Marvel #MCU #Steve Rogers #Bucky Barnes #Captain America #Reader #MC #Love #Romance #Stucky #The Winter Soldier #Stucky x Reader #Steve x Bucky #Steve x Bucky x Reader #Pass Out #Collapse #ill #Sick #Headache #Faint #Fainted #Fainting #Unconscious #FRIDAY #Bruce Banner #Hulk #The Incredible Hulk #Doctor #Medical #Injury

[rorykillmore]

okay this is for @transrobro who requested a catra/scorpia fic! which is a dynamic we’ve really only just picked up but that i already have so much love in appreciation for, in no small part thanks to jay’s scorpia.

jay... i am so grateful to be able to celebrate another year of us being friends <3 this sounds like. cHEESY but your kindness and generosity really does touch everyone around you even in the smallest gestures (my mom still treasures her groot ornament.) and you have a wonderful talent for making me laugh REALLY hard which i oftentimes find i really. need tbh. thank you so much and i hope you congratulate yourself on this year; it has certainly had its ups and downs but i know you have taken a lot of important strides over the course of it and i am proud of you!!!

She thinks about how lucky she is to be here, right now. To have not lost herself entirely to that all-consuming anger.  To have come out the other side and still have friends who care about her, and want to forgive her.

“I just feel like... I already have everything I need.”

One of the many, many differences between Catra and Scorpia is that Scorpia is a notorious early riser, while Catra is notoriously... well, not. And she wouldn’t compromise that for just anyone or anything, but she’s spent the past few days since her little outing with Zero meticulously planning this out, and she knows she’s going to get too restless if she waits it out much longer.

Besides, she’s not exactly sure what the protocol is for when Christmas morning is supposed to... start.  Better safe than sorry.

“Hey. Scorpia.”  Catra leans over her sleeping form and uses one finger to give her forehead a gentle prod.  “Wake up.”

Scorpia’s eyes flutter and eventually focus on Catra as she stirs, her expression moving from surprise to delight, with the tiniest underlying hint of uncertainty (definitely new, Catra has noted in the weeks they’ve been in this world together).  “Catra!” She sits bolt upright, forcing Catra to draw back quickly to avoid a painful collusion of their foreheads. “Did -- did we have plans today? Did I sleep in too long? Oh, I knew I shouldn’t have stayed up to finish that season of Parks and Recreation...”

“No -- no, you’re fine. It’s still early,” Catra reassures her quickly, not bothering to add that she has no idea what ‘Parks and Recreation’ is.  A nature documentary, or something? “Sorry to wake you, I just -- I have something I want to show you.”

It’s not much of an explanation, and Scorpia could very easily be skeptical of why Catra would sneak into her apartment after the sun’s barely gone up for such vaguely defined reasons.  But it’s Scorpia, of course, so she just says, “Oh! Exciting. Okay. Um -- should I go get Emerald?”

“Let her sleep a little while.  We’ll get her later,” Catra promises, because she tentatively has something in mind for Emerald - who, for the record, is a lot harder to shop for than Scorpia - as well.  She fights the urge to lower her ears in embarrassment.  “For now, let’s just -- I mean, this is... for you, specifically.  So.”

The look on Scorpia’s face makes her feel both pleased and guilty. Catra can only describe it as awed -- stunned, even, like Scorpia never in a million years would have expected Catra to wake her up just to tell her she’d done something nice for her.  Catra supposes she hasn’t really given her much reason to.

“Give me five minutes!”  Scorpia springs up, amending over her shoulder as she springs into her closet, “--Three minutes!”

“Take your time,” Catra tells her, unable to suppress a goodnatured roll of her eyes.  “I know you have your morning routine, or whatever.”

“It’s fine. I have a speedrun version prepared for emergencies! -- Hey, Catra?” Scorpia sticks her head out of the closet a moment later, suddenly hesitant.  “You know you... I mean, I don’t want you to feel like you... have to do stuff like this. For me. I mean, I’m over the moon, don’t get me wrong, I just --”

Catra holds up a hand to stop her, because she’s already figured out that this isn’t just obligation, or the desire to fix things, on her part. It feels -- well, okay, nervewracking right now, because she isn’t entirely sure what Scorpia’s reaction is going to be once she sees the actual gift.  But Catra’s sure it’ll feel good eventually.  “It’s Christmas, silly.”

She gets a slightly nonplussed look in response, which... figures. So Catra goes on to explain,  “It’s a thing they do in this world. A celebration. You, like -- buy presents for people, among a bunch of other weird, colorful traditions.”  She can already envision Scorpia’s panic at the realization that she hadn’t somehow magically known about a holiday tradition that didn’t even exist in their own world, so she quickly adds,  “Yeah, I didn’t know about it either, until a couple of days ago. So I just threw something together. It’s no big deal.”

The way Scorpia is looking at her, eyes bright with emotion, suggests that she very much thinks it’s a big deal. Catra looks away.  “You’re hyping yourself up.”

“I am so completely just the right amount of hype. Just a sec!”

“Take your time!” Catra tells her yet again, fond exasperation taking the edge off her usual prickliness. “I’m not going anywhere.”

It’s a promise she takes more seriously than Scorpia probably really knows.

----

“Okay. So. I didn’t know how to wrap it.”

Catra awkwardly hoists the present in her hands, well aware that it looks absolutely nothing like the neatly wrapped gifts with the perfect bow finishes that she saw in all those display windows in Metropolis.  Instead, hers is a clumsy mess of tape and shiny red paper, an immediate betrayal of the fact that Catra has never done anything like this before.  But then, she figures, Scorpia already knows that.

“It’s perfect!” Scorpia beams, completely undeterred.  She takes the gift from Catra in one claw and tears carefully at the wrapping paper with the other, and Catra notes that the messiness probably does make it a bit easier for her.

If she was anxious about her presentation, though, she’s even more anxious about the gift itself. Scorpia pulls back the wrapping to reveal a large, leatherbound book with no title on its cover. Even though Catra is sure she must be puzzled, her enthusiasm does not seem to be dampened as she shoots Catra an inquisitive look.

“Open it,” Catra says simply, trying to keep her expression neutral.

Scorpia does... and Catra watches her expression change from curiosity to shock as she takes in the contents of the book’s pages. A soft, stunned exhale quickly prompts Catra to leap to explain,  “It’s, uh. A scrapbook, basically. But like... a special, high tech one I bought in Auriga.  You can upload photos directly onto the pages, and mess with the colors and stuff. I -- uh. I started it for you.”

Truthfully, Catra didn’t have very much to work with. An old picture of her and Scorpia, and one she took with Emerald a couple of months ago, and a couple of silly candids she snuck of Entrapta. And then Catra’s rough attempts at scenic photography; a few shots she took of some of the prettier places she knows around the Southwest. Since... that’s kind of become their home now.

“Catra...” Scorpia whispers.

“Well, I -- I mean, you have to fill it out, obviously.” Embarrassingly, Catra can’t seem to stop talking, her tone bordering on defensive for no definable reason. “Which will take a while. But I know you like that kind of sappy stuff. Making memories, and all that --”

She gets cut off with a sudden huff as Scorpia frees one arm to pull her into a tight hug.

And Catra, despite Scorpia’s best efforts to convert her, is still not really... a hugger.  But she’s learned that she’s capable of making a few exceptions. And if her eyes are stinging a little, well, she makes sure she’s blinked any wateryness away by the time Scorpia lets her go.

“This is -- it’s the most wonderful thing you possibly could have gotten me. I am going to keep it forever,” Scorpia declares, making Catra’s cheeks warm sheepishly.  “I -- I have to get you something! And Emerald! Stay right here, I’ll --”

“Scorpia,” Catra finally manages to cut in quietly.  “I’m sure Christmas hasn’t really been the first thing on Emerald’s mind, either. She’ll understand if you’ve gotta do some belated shopping.  And... you really don’t have to get me anything.”

Scorpia falters a little, concern seeping into her expression as seamlessly as it always has for Catra’s sake.  “Hey. I know you’re trying to do the whole, you know,  ‘making amends’ thing, but if you think that means you don’t deserve a gift...”

“It’s not that.”  Catra shakes her head.  “This isn’t a ‘me hating myself’ thing. Don’t worry. It’s just that...”

She thinks of the note written on the inside of the back cover of the scrapbook. The one she deliberately hasn’t pointed out because she doesn’t want to stand here in front of Scorpia while she reads it.

She thinks about how lucky she is to be here, right now. To have not lost herself entirely to that all-consuming anger.  To have come out the other side and still have friends who care about her, and want to forgive her.

“I just feel like... I already have everything I need.”

Scorpia opens her mouth to respond, but for once, she doesn’t seem to know what to say. So Catra reaches out - a rare gesture of her initiating affection - and squeezes Scorpia’s claw in her hand.

“Merry Christmas. Or whatever stupid thing people say.”

Slowly, Scorpia’s expression melts into the kind of soft, adoring expression that Catra still doesn’t quite feel she deserves. “Merry Christmas, wildcat.”

As for anything else that needs to be said, well -- Catra will wait until she takes her leave, or until the next time Scorpia flips through the scrapbook if need be. Whenever that might be, Catra’s message in her messily scrawled handwriting will be there waiting for her.

Scorpia,

I suck at words, sometimes. Writing them down’s easier. I know I haven’t been a very good friend, so now I’m gonna help you fill up this book with a bunch more good memories to get rid of the bad ones. You deserve to be happy, and if this world gives you that, then I guess I really do owe it one.

Thank you for giving me another chance.  I won’t waste it.

Love, Catra

#god you know what i just realized #this is supposed to be in the same 'universe' as my fic for fate but im like #posting this one first because i just decided to edit it first skjhdgkg #its fine you dont need to have read that one #ANYWAYS MERRY CHRISTMAS! #fic #christmas gifts

[lakesandquarries]

from the perfect start (to the finish line)

Aubrey and Ned, from beginning to end.

Massive spoilers for TAZ Amnesty episode 28.

title from “youth” by daughter.

Read on AO3 or under the cut!

The day after Aubrey officially moves in to Amnesty Lodge, Ned shows up. He comes armed with a box of Halloween decorations, a bag of candy, and a wide grin.

“I found some extra decorations lying around,” is what he tells her, but it quickly becomes clear these were carefully chosen for her.

Most people might have found the red lace curtains and pumpkin string lights and light up ghost tacky, but it makes her room feel more like home. He helps her unpack, too, something she hasn’t bothered to do in years. Staying still feels unreal, almost unnatural. Even now, some small part of her is ready to leave any second.

Ned seems to recognize the impulse. “So, how is it, living here? You’ve been on the move for the last few years, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, been doing shows all over. I like moving around. It’s cool, to get to see new places.”

“I understand the feeling. I’ve done my fair share of traveling too. But there is something to be said for a more….sedentary lifestyle.”

“Yeah. It’ll take some getting used to, though.”

The last thing she puts up is a photo in a relatively plain frame, of a woman with dark brown hair and bright brown eyes, her dark skin a perfect match to Aubrey’s.

“Family member?” Ned asks, nodding at the photo.

“My mom. She’s gone, now,” Aubrey explains. “Don’t have much family left anymore.” Ned looks a little pale, awkward with the sudden change of topic, and Aubrey nearly laughs at him. He’s quiet for a while, working out what to say.

“You have family here,” is what he settles on.

---

Painting Ned’s face is not how Aubrey expected to spend her Saturday night, but she doesn’t have much of a desire to complain. As the only person Ned knew with experience wearing makeup, he’d enlisted her to try and do his. This episode of Saturday Night Dead is a old vampire movie, so she’s trying to make him look pale and eerie.

“You know, vampires don’t really look like this,” she says as she covers his face with more white Snazaroo.

“Well, we know that. But the general populace does not.”

“True. But shouldn’t we trying to fix those kinds of stereotypes?”

Ned shrugs. “I think our job is just to kill the bad guys.”

Aubrey huffs. “Well, excuse me for thinking proactively.”

Ned chuckles. “C’mon, we don’t need to worry about anything like that for a while. Right now, our job is to relax and have fun.”

“And paint your face white.”

“Is that not the epitome of fun?” Ned smiles at her, an odd look with the paint. “That being said, you may need to hurry this up. We go live in….about 20 minutes.”

“Beauty takes time,” Aubrey says, but she decides to stop fussing with the paint and move on. It’s a shame it’s such a simple look; Ned is a wonderful canvas. He doesn’t squirm or complain, simply sits quietly and lets Aubrey do her work. “You should let me do real makeup on you sometime.”

“Is this not real makeup?” Ned asks, opening one eye.

“I mean like, let me do some kind of Look. Eyeshadow, highlighter, lipstick, the whole nine yards. I think you could rock it.”

Ned smiles at her. “Well, if you think I could pull it off...I trust your judgement. We’ll have to do that sometime.”

---

Aubrey’s the first one to catch Ned limping. Duck doesn’t have the best grasp of what normal human abilities are, but Aubrey is very familiar with the limitations of the human body.

It’s not until she finds a cane in the back of the newly painted Crytonomica van that she realizes what’s up.

“Hey Ned, this yours?” she asks, pulling it out. She was supposed to just be helping with Saturday Night Dead, as she does whenever she can, but this requires further investigation.

Ned looks at the cane disdainfully. “The doctors gave it to me, after the….incident at Leo’s.”

“You can talk about it, Ned.” She knows everyone’s been avoiding talking about the Pizza Hut Incident around her, too worried for her fragile emotional state to dare mention it. “I can handle it.”

Ned chuckles awkwardly. “It’s not that, it’s... I’m the one who can’t handle it, really.”

“Are you supposed to be using this cane, Ned?”

“Well the doctor told me to, but, what does he know? I’m fine, friend Aubrey, just dandy. Nothing wrong at all!”

“You sound like Duck right now,” she says, folding her arms.

“Is that your way of calling me a bad liar?”

“Yes. Now tell me the truth.”

Ned sighs. “It’s embarrassing, having to use a cane like that. I’m not old enough to be needing one yet.”

“There’s nothing embarrassing about using aids like that. I’m on medication, is that embarrassing?”

“Well...no...but-“

“You could have died, doing what you did. You saved people’s lives. There’s nothing embarrassing about getting hurt saving lives, or about needing help.”

Ned huffs. “When you put it like that I sound completely ridiculous.”

“That’s because you are. But I think I know of a way to make the cane at least a little more fun to use.”

She insists he meet her at Amnesty Lodge tomorrow, and the next morning she presents her gift - his cane, painted with bright flames creeping up it.

“Now it looks cool, and you have to use it or I’ll be sad.”

“Well, we can’t have that, can we,” Ned says.

He presents it flamboyantly on Saturday Night Dead, a gift from the Lady Flame herself, a powerful artifact imbued with magical properties.

—

The letter is singed where she touches it, bad enough that she’s tempted to ask someone to read it to her, but she decides against it. This is between her and Ned.

Dear Aubrey, she reads, and bursts into tears.

Duck finds her sobbing on the floor twenty minutes later, the letter a safe distance away from her. Her hands are balled into fists, steam rising off them as she tries to keep her entire body from igniting. Duck makes the mistake of placing a hand on her shoulder and pulls away burnt.

“Aubrey,” he says, kneeling down next to her. “You found your letter?”

“Mhm,” she says, wiping at her eyes frantically. Duck sighs.

“He called me a hero in mine. Said he didn’t have what it takes to be a real hero.”

“He was a hero,” Aubrey says hoarsely.

“Yeah.”

“He - he wrote his real name,” Aubrey says, trying to swallow the tears that threaten to cut off her words. “He told me to hate him. Duck, he died -” she chokes on the word, hiccuping halfway through it - “he died thinking I hated him. He died wanting me to hate him. And now - I can never -” her words dissolve.

Duck scoots closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, which luckily has cooled by now. “He knew you cared. He probably wrote that in there ‘cause he knew you’d forgive him.”

“He’s more of a hero than anyone I’ve ever met,” Aubrey says, then bites her lip. “I mean - not that you’re not, I just -”

“Nah, you’re right. I didn’t take a bullet for anyone. But look, Aubrey, you can’t blame yourself. That’s not what he’d want.”

“But -”

“Nope, no buts. C’mon, he wouldn’t want you beating yourself up like this.”

“Yeah, well, I want him back, but we can’t always get what we want, can we?”

“This ain’t your fault. He knew you cared about him. You should’ve seen how he talked about you.”

Aubrey lifts her head slightly, looking at Duck. He gives her a tired, worn smile.

“He bragged 'bout you like you were his kid, practically.”

“I felt like I was, sometimes.” Duck leans his head against the wall, thoughtfully, then looks back at Aubrey.

“We gotta….preserve his memory, in some way. Kirby’s cool and all, but….well, he’s not much of a showman.”

Aubrey smiles, a little broken but better than nothing. “What are you suggesting?”

“I’m saying….well, I’ve been thinking, and Ned wouldn’t want us wallowing around, right? I say we do a special episode of Saturday Night Dead. Saturday Night Ned, if you will.”

“I think I’d like that.” She’s never been to a funeral, but Aubrey has helped with nearly every episode of Saturday Night Dead. This, at least, she can do.

—

It feels wrong, being at the Cryptonomica without Ned, but Aubrey pushes through the grief and puts on a show. There’s no movie, this time. Instead, she and Kirby and Duck and any other people they can get tell stories about the enigmatic figure that was Ned “Insert Name Here” Chicane.

Aubrey digs up videos she took, the time she secretly filmed Ned practicing a monologue and a really stupid argument he had with Duck about whether pineapple goes on pizza and a short video of him passed out in the lobby of Amnesty Lodge, a blanket draped around his shoulders and Dr Harris Bonkers PhD in his lap. Kirby shares some of his own, videos of Ned singing show tunes while assembling the newest Cryptonomica exhibit, glaring at the camera when he realizes it’s filming. Duck has no footage, but he does have some copies of tickets he gave Ned for increasingly bizarre antics over the years. Aubrey’s favourite is his 12 tickets for illegally feeding animals - apparently Ned made friends with a raccoon at one point.

The ache in her chest never goes away completely, but it softens. It starts to become something she can live with.

The show wraps up after two hours, but Aubrey has one last speech.

“To everyone who tuned in today, who came by to share their own stories, thank you. I know not everyone liked the Cryptonomica, or even Ned himself, but the outpouring of love has been beautiful to witness. Thank you, Kepler.” She grabs Ned’s cane, smiling despite everything. “Let’s give it up for Ned “Brave” Chicane.”

If she listens carefully, she can almost hear the applause.

#taz #taz amnesty #taz amnesty spoilers #aubrey little #ned chicane #i'm still so fucking upset this is my way of coping #cora writes #adventures of cora

[finn-nelson-for-the-win]

The Good Life: Chapter 11

Hello, my lovelies! This chapter is very long and incredibly late, but it’s finally here!

Need to get caught up? The Good Life: Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4 , Ch5, Ch6, Ch7, Ch8 , Ch9 , Ch10

If you want to be added (or  removed) from the tags list for this story, just feel free to let me know!

@pink-royaute @believethaticanandiwill @milllott @likeashootingstarfades @i-dream-of-emus @eveerez @saintsisterwriter

The Good Life: Chapter 11

Rae was laying on the couch, watching Rocky fondly as he played with his favorite squeaky toy before momentarily getting side-tracked with chasing his own tail, and idly scrolling through social media when she heard the front door open.

“Hello,” Finn called out as he walked through the door and relocked it behind himself.

“Hiya Finn,” Rae called back as she waited for him to walk into view, “How was work today?”

“Long and boring, but what’s new? How was your day?”

“Also long and boring,” Rae chuckled, “I feel like everyone at work today was either sick, on vacation, or just away from their desk and I had to pick of the slack to make sure the department overall finished what we needed to before the weekend.”

“I’m sorry. Has Rocky been pretty relaxed like this or has he been a complete menace?”

“He was really high-energy and kept jumping around when I was walking him earlier, but he’s calmed down a lot now.”

Finn lifted Rae’s legs up off the couch so he could sit down only to place them on top of his lap again.

“Have you talked to Anna about when she wants him back?”

Finn leaned forward to pick Rocky up off the ground and bring him into his arms to properly greet the puppy.

Even though they had only been taking care of Rocky for little over a week now, they had already established a reasonable daily routine and had gotten used to the sound of his quiet whines when he wanted attention and the constant, dull pitter-patter of his nails on their wood flooring.

“I texted her this morning and she said that her flight lands really late Saturday night, so I could bring Rocky over any time on Sunday.”

“Cool,” Finn mumbled before lifting Rocky up to rest him on his upper chest, “I’ve gotta admit, I think that I’m gonna miss the little bugger when he’s gone.”

“Yeah, I think I will too, but Anna dubbed me Rocky’s official aunt, so I think we could at least ask to hang out with him and take him off her hands from time to time.”

“That would be nice,” Finn mused as he sat quietly on the couch for a few moments until Rocky began to squirm and try to climb off of Finn.

Finn lifted Rocky and placed him on the floor and the puppy immediately walked over to the black and gray dog bed they had bought for him.

“You must have really tired the little guy out on that walk,” Finn mused when he saw Rocky curl into a comfortable position on the dog bed and fall asleep almost immediately.

The two sat in comfortable silence as they watched the puppy fall deeper and deeper asleep until his gentle snores could be heard even from across the room.

“We should do something tonight,” Finn said suddenly.

“Uh, like what?”

“I dunno, what do people our age normally do on a Friday night?”

“Party, go drinking, hook up with strangers only to regret it the next day,” Rae suggested, earning a laugh from Finn.

“Let’s do that then,” Finn said before continuing, “Drinking or partying, I mean. My coworkers are always talking about different bars they’ve gone to, so maybe we could try going to one of them.”

“I’m not sure that the ‘Friday night bar scene’ is really for me. I’m not even a fan of going to the pub on the weekends with the gang if I have a choice because it gets so busy there!”

“Well we don’t have to go to one of the crazy bars or night club-like bars.”

“What did you have in mind then?”

“There’s a place that my coworkers are always raving on about where it’s part-bar-part-coffee-shop and then you can play unlimited board games and card games while you hang out.”

“Huh,” Rae mused as she considered the idea, “that might not be all that bad.”

“Perfect, we can check that place out and if we’re miserable we can go somewhere else. Sound good?”

“Yeah, that works for me!”

“Cool, are you gonna change your clothes?”

“Should I change my clothes? Are you changing your clothes or do I just look that bad?”

“No! You look fine, you look great,” Finn backtracked, “I just wanted to know when you wanted to leave or how much time you needed to get ready.”

“Oh, I guess I could change. I wore these clothes to work, but they’re all covered in puppy hair now,”

“Alright. I’m gonna change too, but whenever we’re ready we can go.”

Finn and Rae both walked down the hall in the direction of their respective bedrooms before Finn hesitated and turned around.

“What are you gonna wear?”

“I dunno. Are we trying to dress nicely or just comfortably? What were you thinking?”

“Maybe we could dress up and look a little nice today. Nothing too fancy, just a bit nicer than I’d usually dress going to the pub.”

“Like what you’d wear if you were going on a date to a bar, casual but nice.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I suppose,” Finn stuttered out.

Finn turned around and walked into his room, quickly closing the door behind him to avoid letting Rae see how red his cheeks had gotten at the suggestion that they were going on a date.

When Rae had changed clothes and spent just a few minutes fixing her hair and putting on a little bit of makeup, she left her room, closing the door behind her.

“Are you just about ready to g—oh my god,” Finn began before trailing off into silence.

“What? Is there something wrong with what I’m wearing?” Rae asked as she looked down at her outfit.

Her navy-blue dress fit her well in the chest but was just the right amount flowy and loose around the hips so that the fabric swayed lightly with each step she took. The dress was simple, decorated only by subtle metallic embroidery throughout all the fabric and a diamond shaped cut out just below the bust to show off a small bit of skin. The dress was a bit short, only hitting mid-thigh on her tall frame, but she had paired it with a cozy, dark-gray cardigan that was only slightly shorter than the dress itself. Though Rae had yet to put them on yet, she was carrying in her hand her gray suede ankle boots with a chunky heel that she had been waiting for the right opportunity to wear them.

“No, there’s nothing wrong with your outfit,” Finn choked out after he realized he had been staring at Rae in awe for entirely too long, “You look incredible!”

“You clean up pretty well yourself, Finnley,” Rae replied with a smirk as she reached for the collar of his buttoned shirt and gave it a playful tug, “And would you look at that, our clothes even match!”

Finn looked down at his own clothes and noticed that the dark blue shade of Rae’s dress was almost identical to the color of his own shirt. He was wearing his favorite pair of dark wash jeans that he has been told makes his butt look particularly good, but the outfit was completed with his matching distressed gray leather boots and leather jacket in a similar color.

Finn chuckled nervously as Rae sat down on the couch to put on her shoes and as she zipped up the zipper on the back of each of her boots, she looked up at Finn with a cheeky smile.

“Now it definitely looks like you and I are going on a date!” She said, adding a wink when Finn sputtered audibly.

“Did you want to drive or take a taxi to the bar?” Rae asked when Finn had yet to say anything intelligible for a few moments.

“Oh, well I could drive, if you’d prefer. I was planning on us just taking a taxi so we can drink and not worry about having to drive home afterwards. But I can definitely be your designated driver for the night if you’d rather that.”

“No, we can take a taxi! I just was wondering. Are you ready to head out now?”

Rae walked into her room to make sure she had her phone and her purse while Finn ensured that Rocky’s water and food bowls were full in case he woke up from his nap and was hungry while they were gone.

Rae met Finn at the front door and the two left their apartment and headed towards the street side where the taxi would pick them up.

They only had to wait a few minutes for their ride to pull up to the curb in front of them and before long Finn and Rae were sitting side-by-side in the back of the car on the way to the bar Finn had suggested they try.

When they pulled up to the bar, they could see that there were a lot of people and most of the tables were full, but even on first glance it was clear to see that this was no ordinary bar.

Once they walked inside the building, Rae could see that in the center of the room was a massive circular bar area with shelves of just about every type of alcohol imaginable. The music playing was fun and energetic, but it was a far cry from the thumping bass and loud remixed pop songs that are played at most bars she had been to thus far.

“Hello there! Is it going to just be the two of you tonight?” ask the red headed hostess who had tattoos covering both arms almost entirely.

“Yes, just two. Thank you,” Finn replied with a polite smile.

“Perfect! Leslie will show you two to a table,” the hostess replied before turning to the petite blond waitress nearby, “can you please show this couple here to table number 65? Thank you!”

Rae looked at Finn when the hostess referred to them as a couple and mouthed the word “couple” before raising her eyebrows suggestively, causing Finn to turn away to hide the blush creeping into his cheeks.

“How are you two this evening? As she mentioned, my name is Leslie and I’ll be your waitress for the night. Have you two been here before?”

“No, we have not,” Rae said as she took a seat on one side of the booth that they were led to and Finn sat down opposite from her.

“Oh! First-timers, huh? Well you’re gonna have a great time, I promise! Pretty much how it works is that you pay a set price and you can play all the games you want to for however long you want to. You’re also more than welcome to order any food, drink, coffee...pretty much, you name it and we’ve got it. I’ll give you two a moment to get settled and I’ll be right back to see if you wanted to order any food or drinks, alright?”

Rae and Finn took a couple minutes to look through the menus that had been placed in front of them.

“Are you going to start off with a drink or did you want to get some food?”

“I’m not really hungry, so I’ll probably just start with drinks for now and maybe get something to eat in a bit.”

Finn and Rae both continued to look over the menus until Leslie returned to their table carrying a handheld tablet to input their orders.

“Alright, are you two ready to place an order for some food or drinks?”

“I think we can go ahead and order some drinks,”

“Perfect, what can I get you, love?”

“Uh, let’s see,” Rae mumbled, “can I get a Moscow mule, please?”

“Good choice! And for you, handsome?”

“Uh, I’ll start off with an old fashioned, please”

“Sounds good! I’ll go ahead and bring both of those right out!”

Rae and Finn stood up from the table and began to peruse the massive shelves stacked nearly from floor to ceiling with every board game imaginable, most of which neither had ever heard of before, that covered two walls of the building.

Finn and Rae continued to drink, play games, and have fun until they were both sufficiently drunk and noticed that the bar was less than an hour from closing for the night.

“Are ya ready to get ride home?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty tired and it’s getting late, I think,” Rae said as she and Finn began putting the most recent game they had played into the box to return it to the shelf it came from.

While Rae went to put away the board game, Finn paid their tab and waited for Rae to join him near the exit of the bar.

“How much do I owe you for my portion of the check?” Rae asked as they waited on the sidewalk outside the bar for the taxi they had ordered to arrive.

“Don’t worry about it. It was my idea to go out to the bar tonight, so it’s the least I can do!”

“Oh wow! That’s so gentlemanly of you,” Rae replied with a dramatic flutter of her eyelashes, “you’re the kind of date that every girl dreams of!”

“I try,” Finn replied with a sleepy smile as he pulled Rae into a one-armed embrace.

Before long the taxi arrived to pick them up and took them back to their apartment.

Unlocking the door and trying to enter the apartment while being as quiet as possible was no use when they opened the door and saw Rocky sitting just inside the doorway wagging his tail in barely contained excitement at their return.

“Hello baby boy! Did you miss us?” Rae asked as she walked into the apartment and brought Rocky into her arms while Finn shut the door behind them and locked the door.

Rae carried Rocky into her bedroom and set him down beside her on her bed while she removed her shoes and changed out of her dress and into a comfortable pair of leggings and an oversized band tee.

“It was fun getting dressed up and all, but I’m not sure that it’s worth all of the effort,” Rae huffed as she walked into the kitchen where Finn was currently grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator with Rocky following right at her heels.

“You looked really nice tonight,” Finn began before pausing to consider his words, “but I don’t think you need all of that. The hair, makeup, fancy clothes...that sort of stuff. They’re nice, but they’re not very ‘you’.”

“I’m not so sure that something being ‘me’ is actually a good thing,” Rae joked.

“I’m serious, Rae. You’re great. I like ‘you’,” Finn added with a smile.

“You’ve had too much to drink,” Rae said as she shook her head and took Finn’s bottle of water out of his hand to take a drink.

“Pehaps, but I still mean what I said,” Finn stated.

“Did it really bother you that much whenever I referred to tonight being a date or us being a couple? I didn’t mean anything by it, but you really didn’t seem to like it very much,” Rae mused aloud after she handed his water bottle back to him.

“On the contrary, I probably liked it too much,” Finn chuckled lightly as he rubbed the nape of his neck with his free hand.

Rae and Finn stood quietly in the kitchen for a moment before Finn glanced at the clock over his shoulder.

“Are ya still tired, Rae?”

“Not really. Are you?”

“No, not anymore. Do you wanna have a few more drinks with me?”

Rae shrugged and walked towards the cupboard where they kept their bottles of liquor.

“Pick your poison, Finnley,” Rae replied with a cheeky smirk.

A few rum and cokes later, Rae was sitting on the couch next to Finn with her legs sprawled across his lap while Finn was nursing his third beer after having decided to lay off the hard liquor for the rest of the night.

“Alright, your turn, Finnley. Truth or dare?”

“Uh, truth,”

“Alright...why did you really want to move in with me?”

“What do ya mean?”

“No one seems to believe the whole ‘I’ve been wanting to move out but hadn’t found the right opportunity’ explanation you’ve been giving,” Rae said in her best imitation of Finn’s voice, “least of all Archie and Chloe, but I’m sure they’ve been harassing you about it as much as they have been bothering me about it, huh?”

“Yeah, Archie has been keeping a really close eye on me for the last couple months since I initially volunteered to be your roommate, so he’s definitely not buying my story. It’s true, though. My story that is,” Finn replied.

“‘But…’ I sense there a lot more to the story than just that. So, spill.”

“Fine. I guess I just,” Finn began before rubbing his hands over his face as he gathered his thoughts, “I didn’t like the idea of you living with anyone else.”

“What do ya mean?”

“I just heard you talking about all the people you had considered living with and how you were starting to get desperate to find somewhere to live or roommates. I didn’t like the idea of you living with people you didn’t know but it just dawned on me that if I moved out of my da’s house sooner, I could be your roommate since no one else you knew of was looking for a roommate.”

“So you just didn’t want me living with a complete stranger?”

“Pretty much. Especially not when I had the means and desire to move out and get an apartment.”

“Wow, that’s really nice of you,” Rae said with a smile, “and here I was thinking that you just liked hanging out with me so much that you wanted to live together to take it a step further!”

“That was just an amazing perk of living with you,” Finn replied with a smirk, “Enough about me. Truth or dare, what will it be this time, Rae?”

“Uh, I’ll go with truth this time.”

“Alright, what have Chloe and Archie been saying to you about us living together?”

“Oh, nothing particularly surprising, really. Chloe is just overprotective and worried that living with you will make me realize that you’re a total slob and make me hate you as a person. I’ve had too many shitty roommates in the past, so Chloe just wants to make sure I don’t hate where I’m living and who I’m living with yet again.”

“And Archie?”

“I think he’s just confused because you never mentioned anything about it to him beforehand. I think he might feel like you were keeping secrets from him and he’s your best mate, so he might be a bit hurt.”

“Oh, I didn’t think of it like that, but maybe you’re right.”

“Yeah,” Rae replied as she leaned forward to grab her drink off the coffee table in front of the couch and finished the remainder of it in one gulp, “I think the gang in general is convinced that we’re secretly shagging though.”

“What?” Finn sputtered at Rae’s blunt statement, causing her to giggle.

“It’s true! Every time I see Izzy, she’s disappointed to find out that we’re neither dating nor secretly hooking up. I think Izzy has been spending a bit too much time online or watching shitty romantic comedies,” Rae chuckled.

“Why would they think that though?”

“I dunno why exactly, but to be fair, I know why Izzy might think there’s something going on between us.”

“Why is that?”

“Ugh, this is so embarrassing,” Rae began with a groan, “but when I was about sixteen and I first met you and all the gang, I had a bit of a crush on you.”

Finn raised his eyebrows in surprise and Rae lifted her hand up in front of him to stop him from speaking just yet.

“Now before you say anything, just know that I was young and naive and you were too fit for your own good and had half-decent taste in music, so teenage Rae fancied you a bit, obviously. But as long as I’m being honest, I technically had a crush on Archie before I developed a crush on you.”

“I see,” Finn replied as he tried to suppress the smile pulling at his lips, “but just between you and me, you fancied me a lot more than Archie, right?”

“And this is why I didn’t wanna tell ya,” Rae scoffed and rolled her eyes at Finn.

“Sorry, Rae. I’ll drop it, I swear. Just one question though: do you still think I’m fit?” Finn replied with a suggestive eyebrow raise.

“You’re such a dickhead,” Rae muttered as she turned her head away from him as he continued to smile at her and try to get a reaction out of her.

“Oh, you know that you love me,” Finn pleaded when Rae removed her legs from his lap and scooted over to the far side of the couch away from him.

“I think you mean ‘loathe’.”

“Please Rae, don’t be like this. I was only joking,” Finn begged as he moved over on the couch to close the distance between them again.

“Go away. I just decided that I hate your face and no longer want you to be Rocky’s unofficial uncle. Effective immediately,” Rae pouted as she lightly shoved Finn’s chest to get him away from her.

“Anything but the dog! I can’t stand the thought of him growing up without a proper family. We can make this work, I promise,” Finn replied in mock desperation as he reached out to grab Rae’s hands after they left his chest.

“Fine, but I’m still mad at you.”

“Please don’t be mad at me, Rae!” Finn begged as he scooped Rae up off of the couch and set her on his lap in one quick movement, “I love you!”

Rae rolled her eyes at Finn’s overly dramatic gestures and chuckled, signifying that she had in fact already forgiven him.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Finnley. I think it’s time for both of us to get some sleep.” Rae added as she reached a hand up to run her fingers through Finn’s hair absentmindedly.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Finn replied with a sleepy smile as Rae climbed off of his lap and sat down on the couch beside him, “good night, Rae!”

Finn leaned forward just as Rae began to stand up from the couch, grabbing one of her hands to bring her closer to him and placing a tender kiss on her lips.

A/N: Ok, so this chapter was actually REALLY hard for me to write, haha. I had the entire chapter mapped out and mostly written over a week ago, but then I decided that I didn’t like the direction that I was taking the chapter in and y’all didn’t deserve the kind of drama and sad feels that I was going to dish up in the chapter, so I had to re-write like 3/4 of the entire chapter to keeps things a bit lighter. I’m still not totally happy with the chapter, but I was too determined to get something (anything) posted soon rather than spending an eternity nit-picking my writing like I know that I am capable of doing.

A lot of stuff has been changing in my personal life as of lately—some good, some not so good—but I’m just trying to hold myself together and go with the flow as much as I possibly can. With that being said, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep any semblance of a normal posting schedule or not until somethings in my life settle down a bit, but I just ask that you please bear with me while I try to get my shit together.

I know when I teased that there would be some crazy stuff happening in the next few chapters it might have scared/alarmed a few of you, but I can assure you that I’m not going to make this story take a complete 180 and introduce anything too crazy that I don’t think you all can handle, so fear not my darlings!

The next few chapters are going to have some fun stuff, some minor drama, and some other stuff that is going to help set up the story for what I want to come up next, but I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and those to come.

Until next time: Stay awesome, my friends! :)

#mmfd #my mad fat diary #mmfd fanfic #my mad fat diary fanfiction #my writing #finn-nelson-for-the-win #The Good Life #the good life: ch11

[builder051]

Flight, part 3

This is the last “real” episode in H and P’s pregnancy arc.  There will be a short epilogue coming tomorrow, and that’ll be a wrap on this 9-month storyline.  Just to reiterate, I will absolutely still write for Hildur and Pierce, and they will have 2 timelines for future prompts: pre-baby and post-baby.

This chapter is pretty long, and, as with all my arcs, it achieves my eventual goal of briefly placing all 5 characters in the same place at the same time.

A couple quick warnings:  We’re still having a baby, so mentions of associated anatomy/gore/medical procedures ahead.  Also mentions of Pierce having medical issues of his own, but the specifics don’t factor in, so the mentions are vague.

Find the previous installment here.

Find character info here. (You will have to scroll down.)

Catch up on the arc here.  (Scroll down to Bostonians, and see the fics under Multi-character arc.)

_____

“Ok.”  Pierce sniffles.  “I’m just…I’m really happy.”

“I’m happy too,” Hildur whispers.

Kris pops her head around the curtain.  “That’s what I wanna hear.  You ready to have a baby?”

“Yes,” Hildur says.  It’s soft, but there’s no hesitation.

“Yes,” Pierce echoes.  “We are.”

_____

“How do we feel about music?” Kris asks.  She holds up a Bluetooth speaker with one hand as she fixes a surgical cap over her tight curls with the other.

“Yes,” Pierce answers immediately.  “Please.”  The hushed voices and clatter of surgical instruments on the other side of the curtain send his happy anticipation back toward the realm of fear.

Hildur nods.  She looks to Pierce.  “I mean, if you want.  I’m alright, really.”

“Pain meds are wonderful things,” Kris says with a laugh.  “What do you like?  We pay the big bucks for premium streaming.  All the channels.  No commercials.”

Pierce barely understands the technical jargon, and he doubts Hildur does at all.  She still plays records on her turntable at home.

“Like…the radio?”  Hildur cocks her head.

“Jazz,” Pierce says definitively.  “She, um.  Likes jazz.”

“Can do.”  Kris disappears around the curtain, and after a moment the swell of a saxophone fills the room.  “It’s gonna be a party in here.”

Pierce chuckles nervously.

“Hey.”  Hildur leans into him.  “I feel…a lot better.”

“I’m glad,” Pierce says.

“It’s not completely gone, the…you know…”  She blinks and trails off without finding the words.

“Hm.”

“Well, you don’t, but…I’m ok.”  A crease appears between Hildur’s brows.  “I’m sorry.  I’m not…making sense.”

The way the drugs have loosened her up is nothing short of amazing.  Even her hair seems closer to gold.  Pierce is seized with the urge to draw her again, to capture her raw beauty and joy before they’re once again masked with anxiety.

“No, it makes sense.”  Pierce smiles.  “This is…really happening.”

“Yeah.”  Hildur beams.  Pierce can count on one hand the number of times he’s seen such a jubilant expression grace her face.

“Alright, Hildur,” Kris says from the other side of the curtain.  “Here we go.  Your numbers look much better.”  There’s a bit of mumbling between the nurse and the surgeon, then Kris continues.  “You tell me right away if something doesn’t feel right, ok?”

“Ok,” Hildur agrees.

The song tapers off with a long note, and there’s a beat of silence before the next one begins.  Pierce is positive he hears metal on metal.  He tries not to imagine a scalpel gripped in a gloved hand.

“Number one thing is to keep breathing,” Kris reminds them.  “No holding your breath, ok Hildur?  And you too, Pierce.”

“Oh.  Yeah.”  Pierce quickly exhales and forces himself to breathe in again.  He listens to the percussive beat in the music, letting it carry him along.  It works for a while, but then his heartbeat rises to a pace faster than the tempo, and he feels clammy sweat beading on the back of his neck.

“Ok, there we go,” Kris’s voice murmurs.  Then her tone imbues with excitement.  “I see him, Hildur.  He’s beautiful.”

Hildur gives a little gasp of happiness.  She squeezes Pierce’s arm.

“Here he comes.  I got him.  He’s beautiful.”

“Go hold him.”  Hildur lets go and all but pushes Pierce off the bed.  “I want to hold him.”

When Pierce stands up, he feels like he’s moving under water.  The curtain ripples slightly, and the motion carries to the drab beige walls and pools up on the floor.  “Ok, sweetheart.”  His voice is loud in his own ears, but Kris’s continued commentary fades to a faraway echo.  Pierce steps around the divider, blinking hard to clear his head.

“Here he is.”  Kris turns 90 degrees, and Pierce’s breath catches in his throat.  She holds the baby, supporting his tiny head and shoulders in her gloved hands.  He sees Hildur in the shape of the nose, maybe himself and his brother in the lips and chin.

He is beautiful.  But his skin is blotchy and wet.  The umbilical cord hangs along with something else loose and fleshy, dripping blood onto the crisp blue surgical sheet before they disappear inside Hildur.

It’s perfect and natural and gorgeous, but seeing it so close is strange.  The text and cartoonish drawings in the pamphlets he’d perused are nothing like the real thing.  Pierce’s stomach rolls just as the baby begins to wail.  Pierce wants to hear it.  He wants to hold his son and comfort him and welcome him into the world, but different instincts take over before he can stop them.  He rushes for the door.  His hands tremble so much he can barely get it open.

“Pierce?  You ok?” Kris calls after him as he trips out into the hallway.

Pierce can’t answer.  He can’t swallow.  He can’t breathe.

There’s a lounge at the end of the hall with a water cooler and coffee maker.  Pierce hopes there’s a trash can too, but he doesn’t get the chance to find out.  He only gets halfway when his stomach can’t take it anymore.  He braces against the wall and retches hard, but all that comes up is bitter saliva.  At first he’s grateful.  Then he realizes he hasn’t eaten at all today.  They left home before breakfast, and who knows what time it is now.  There he goes again, not taking care of himself.  Ruining things for their little family.

���Whoa, man, you ok?”  Somebody touches Pierce’s shoulder.

“Hm?  Ugh,” Pierce chokes.  He isn’t sure if he wants to swallow or spit out the acid coating his tongue, especially now that he has an audience.

“It’s alright, bud.  Trust me, you ain’t the first guy to get overwhelmed.”

Bile runs down Pierce’s chin.  He shakily wipes it on his sleeve.  “Um.  Thanks,” he mutters, straightening up.  The hand keeps a grip on him until Pierce is steady on his feet.

“Sure.  No problem.”

Pierce removes his glasses and scrubs at his streaming eyes, then puts them back on to take in the concerned face looking up at him.  The young man has a whispy moustache and dreadlocks pulled into a short ponytail.  There’s a young woman behind him, holding a cardboard tray of Starbucks cups.  Pierce doesn’t know her, but the man is familiar.

“You…work here, right?” Pierce asks, eyeing the man’s scrubs.

“Yeah,” he says.  “Well, not here here.  General ward.  Upstairs.”  The young man nods.  “I was your nurse, wasn’t I?”

“Yeah.”  Pierce remembers him now, but not his name.  “You let Hildur in to see me.  I…thank you, for that.”

“For sure.  It was the right thing to do.  You’re Pierce, right?” he asks.  “I think I’m good with names, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you were, like, Kevin or something.”

“No, Pierce is right.”  Pierce smiles.  “And you’re…?”

“Oh.  Khalil.”  He holds out his hand.  Pierce rubs his sweaty palm on his pants before shaking it.

“And this is my girl Jamie.”  Khalil puts his arm around the young woman’s shoulders and pulls her slightly forward.  “Well, our girl.  Hooking me and Krissy up with the good stuff today.”

“Hey.”  Jamie lifts her tray in greeting.  “How are ya?”

“Yeah, how are you doing, man?” Khalil asks.  “It’s good to see you on this side, instead of as a patient.  But you feeling alright?”  He narrows his eyes as if doing a visual health check.

“I, uh, yeah,” Pierce stutters, embarrassed.  “Just…the baby, and the…and the blood…”  He shakes his head, hoping to knock some sense into himself.  “I should be in there, with them.”

“Ay, congratulations!” Khalil grins.  “But like I said, it’s overwhelming.  You dizzy?  Or sick to your stomach?”

“I’m ok,” Pierce says.  “I just… she went into labor first thing this morning, and I just… I’m fine.”

“No, you’re all shaky.”  Jamie makes a sympathetic face.  “Here, you like frappuccinos?  If Kris is in a delivery, she’s never gonna sit down and drink it before it melts.”  She offers Pierce one of the drinks.

“No, thanks, I’m alright,” Pierce tries to say again, but Khalil cuts him off.

“You really look like you could use something to raise your blood sugar.  I may not have prescribing power, but I do have power of suggestion.”  He pushes a cup into Pierce’s hand and unwraps a straw for him.  “And right now, salted caramel mocha is good medicine.”

Pierce looks down at the swirl of whipped cream.  The nausea crashing against his ribs turns toward starving, and he takes a long sip.  Almost immediately his vision clears; his brain feels a little less like it’s vibrating inside his skull.  “I’m…  God. Thank you.  So much.”

“Yeah, of course.  It’s a big moment.  We’re really happy for you,” Jamie says.

Pierce takes another draught.  A door opens down the hall, and Khalil waves at someone over Pierce’s head.

“I wondered where we lost you,” Kris says, bumping Pierce’s elbow with hers.

He nearly chokes as he tries to swallow.  “I’m sorry I left, I, um, I couldn’t—”

“Don’t worry about it, baby.”  She looks to Khalil.  “Thanks for finding him.  And feeding him.”

“That’s your drink we sacrificed,” Khalil says with a joking smile.

“Hey, if you’re fueling up Mr. brand new daddy, I’m happy.”  Kris laughs.  “Thanks for coming to see me, guys.  But I gotta go back to work.”  She starts to walk backwards.  “Pierce, whenever you’re ready.  The nurse cleaned him up a little bit, and we’re finishing getting mama patched up now.  It’s gonna be a lot calmer from here on out.  You have a healthy, beautiful son.”

Pierce nods as he lets it sink in.  “I have a son.”  He follows Kris down the hall, suddenly in a rush to catch up to her. “Come on,” he says to Khalil and Jamie.  “Come see my son.”

“It’s ok, bud.  Go ahead,” Khalil says, staying put.

“No, please.  Come meet him.  You’ve really helped us, more than once now.”  Pierce pauses outside Hildur’s room.  “Come meet Hildur.  Meet our family.”

“I’m good with it if you’re good with it,” Kris says with a shrug.  She enters the room ahead of Pierce.  “Hildur, baby, you got some visitors.”

“I guess we’re visiting, then.”  Khalil holds the door for Jamie, but they both hang back while Pierce bounds up to Hildur’s bedside.

The curtain is tucked back into the wall, and clean blankets cover her legs and still-swollen belly.  Hildur’s hair is shiny and straw-colored, and she’s still smiling.  A bundle of sky blue rests in her arms.  Pierce can just see the small face between the folds.

“Pierce,” Hildur breathes when she sees him.  “Come see.”

He kisses the top of her head first, then turns his attention to the baby.  His cheeks are round and a bright, healthy pink. He stirs in Hildur’s arms and flutters his fine blonde lashes.  Pierce doesn’t want to look away, not even to blink.

“Oh my goodness.  He’s adorable,” Jamie whispers from across the room.

“He is,” Hildur agrees, still remarkably calm despite the presence of these strangers.

“Sweetheart, this is Khalil, my nurse from, you know, when I was here,” Pierce quickly explains.  “And his, uh, friend Jamie.”

“Kris is my sister, too,” Khalil adds.  “And he is adorable.  All of you guys are.”

“Thanks,” Pierce says softly, looking down again.

“What’s his name?” Jamie asks.

“We hadn’t decided for sure…”  Pierce meets Hildur’s eyes, hoping to cram apologies for everything left undone into a single glance.  “But, is…the one you like?  Is that what you want to do?”

“Mm-hm,” Hildur breathes.  “Yes.  Lars.  And for his middle name, Pearson.  Like the Icelandic tradition, but spelled like the American last name, not like your name.  So his teachers don’t mess it up.  And he’ll have the double-P in his initials to keep up your family tradition, too.  Kind of.”

“Lars Pearson Peabody,” Pierce murmurs.  “That’s perfect.  He’s perfect.”  He leans in to kiss Hildur again.  “You’re perfect.”

She tucks her chin, and a loose strand of hair falls into her eyes.  “I’m not,” Hildur says.  “But…  But this is.  All of this.”

“You’re absolutely right.”  Pierce returns to his place perched on the edge of the mattress.  “It is.”

#my ocs #Hildur and Pierce #hildur gorisdottir #pierce peabody #hildur's pregnancy 2k18 #sickfic #angst #hurt/comfort #labor and delivery #hospitals tw #emeto #emetophilia #kris tyler #khalil tyler #jamie merriweather

[bestiesandagents]

All I Want for Christmas is Drowley: Day 7 - Christmas Trope

White Christmas

Trope: Fake Dating Additional Ships: Sastiel Word Count: 5090

This is an performers!AU based off the movie ‘White Christmas’. Sorry it seems a little rushed, I did as much as I could in the time I had.

Sam and Dean had always been inseparable. When they were kids, Sam would follow Dean around wherever he went, and unlike some big brothers, Dean didn’t mind one bit – he enjoyed it, even. It only made sense that when they grew up, they would end up working together. They were performers, spending their lives traveling from one city to another, up until they decided to buy their own theatre up by their Uncle Bobby’s inn. Their goal was to be able to recruit enough acts to have a variety show for the grand opening on Christmas Eve.

“A comedy act? Really?” Sam asked skeptically as he read over the bio for the act they were auditioning that night.

Dean shrugged as he rummaged through his closet. “They’re apparently pretty successful – consistently sold out shows in venues way bigger than ours.”

“So, why are they bothering to audition here if they’re doing so great?”

“Remember Gabriel?” he asked as he started to change his shirt. “One of the guys is his brother – he recommended us.”

Sam frowned. “Why would he do that?”

“I dunno,” he muttered, avoiding looking at his brother. “Guess he knew we were trying to open the place, and figured…”

“You asked him to, didn’t you?” he accused.

Dean sighed. “Okay, fine. I found out that Gabe’s brother was a successful comedian, so I thought I’d see-”

“Why, though? Comedians were never in our plan.”

“Yeah, but these guys will bring in a lot of business. We need that.” He cast Sam a sidelong glance. “And they’re pretty damn good looking, too.”

Sam gave an exasperated sigh. “Not this again. I’m not interested in dating anyone.”

“Well, you should be. You need to learn to relax, Sammy, you’re killing me over here.”

“I am perfectly relaxed,” he protested.

Dean scoffed. “No, you’re not. You don’t know how to stop working for five seconds!”

“Oh, and you do?” Sam demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t see you dating anyone either, Dean.”

“Well, I’m a lone wolf. It’s different.”

He rolled his eyes. “Right. Well, I’ll start dating when you do.”

Dean sighed in temporary defeat. He’d bring it up again at some point, but he knew he wasn’t getting anywhere at the moment. Besides, it was about time for the audition.

Castiel and Crowley assumed the personas of an angel and a demon when they took the stage, and watching their banter, Dean could see why they were so successful. Even better, they were even more attractive in person, or at least Crowley was. Dean had a hard time taking his eyes off of him.

“Gotta admit he’s hot, Sammy,” Dean leaned in to mutter quietly.

“Uh… yeah,” Sam surprisingly breathed in reply. That was enough to tear Dean’s eyes away from the stage for a few seconds – long enough to see that Sam’s eyes were fixed on Castiel, the corners of his lips curling up as the comedian spoke. Well, this was promising.

After Castiel and Crowley finished their skit, Sam and Dean invited them to sit and talk with them to get to know them a little more. As Dean saw how little their demeanor changed as they walked off the stage, he had to wonder just how different their comedy personas were from themselves.

“Thank you for coming out to audition,” Dean said as Castiel took the seat across from him, and Crowley sat beside him.

“Honestly, I do not believe we would have if Gabriel had not recommended it,” Castiel admitted.

“Yeah, about that-” Sam started, but Dean hastened to cut him off.

“That was really nice of him to do. So, how did you two get your start?”

“We were at a comedy club when there was an earthquake,” Castiel explained. “The building collapsed, and I would have been crushed, had it not been for Crowley.”

Dean looked at Crowley with wide eyes. “Seriously?”

“It was no big deal,” Crowley said with a shrug. “I only broke my arm saving him.”

Castiel shot him a poorly disguised glare. “As a way of repaying him, I agreed to partner with him.”

“And it was the best decision of your life.”

“It was… certainly profitable.”

“Well, I think we’d love to have you on here,” Dean said, looking at his brother. “Don’t you think, Sammy?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Sam agreed.

“Of course you would,” Crowley dismissed their words with a wave of his hand. “But we’re not sure we’re interested.”

Dean forced his expression to remain calm. “Oh?”

“You’re wanting to open with a big Christmas Eve show, correct? Have you checked for the projected forecast?”

“No snow,” Sam nodded. “We understand how-”

“No one comes to this area unless it’s to ski,” Crowley interrupted. “And they won’t be doing that if there’s no snow, now will they? Therefore, this lovely little theatre will not take off. We’re not signing onto something doomed to fail.”

“Yeah, but if we get the word out that the two of you will be performing a never-before-seen act, that’ll get people in, snow or not,” Dean pointed out.

“Oh, so now you want us to write up a whole new skit, just for you?”

“We have been working on something,” Castiel reminded his partner. “We could do it.”

“Look, we’re not trying to put you out,” Sam said with a small sigh. “We get that this place might be a little small-scale for you, but… I really enjoyed your act and would be honored to have you as a part of our show.”

He smiled at him. “Perhaps it would be beneficial for us to get an idea of what the rest of the show is like – that way we can make an informed decision. Could we see what you do?”

“You want us to perform for you?” He looked at his brother questioningly.

Dean shrugged. “Seems fair enough. Just keep in mind that we haven’t warmed up our voices.”

He and Sam got up onto the stage, deciding with little discussion to do one of their oldest songs. It wasn’t a fancy performance, by any means – it was mostly just them singing, though there were some simple steps involved – but it had been perfected over the years. When they were finished, they walked back down from the stage, about to resume their seats.

Crowley stood before either of them could sit down. “Dean. What area of the business are you in charge of, exactly?”

“Uh, I write the songs and do the marketing,” Dean answered cautiously.

“Excellent. Marketing is just what I wanted to discuss. Could we step away for a moment?”

He frowned slightly, unsure of what exactly Crowley’s motivation was. But stepping away with him would leave Sam and Castiel on their own…. “Sure.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to-?” Castiel started, but Crowley cut him off.

“No, best to simplify the conversation. You stay here – get to know Sam.”

Dean didn’t miss the way Castiel’s eyes narrowed as Crowley turned away, but he didn’t pause to think much of it before following him backstage.

“Your brother single?” Crowley asked, peering out from the curtains at the couple sitting at the table.

“Irritatingly so,” he sighed, the pieces starting to click into place. “He refuses to relax.”

“He can’t be as bad as Castiel,” he said as he turned to face him. “He’s stiffer than the angel he pretends to be on stage. His inability to do anything other than work is starting to ruin my life.”

Dean started to smile. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I’m thinking that it will be a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Winchester.” He extended his hand to him and Dean shook it.

“Likewise.”

Dean and Crowley had their work cut out for them. Sam’s eyes consistently drifted towards Castiel whenever he entered the room, but whenever Dean tried to push him in his direction… nothing. And he couldn’t get a read on Castiel to save his life.

“You’re sure he’s interested?” he asked Crowley a few days after they had hired them on, as they had lunch at Bobby’s inn. It was where Sam and Dean were living currently, and they had gotten Crowley and Castiel rooms there for a discounted rate.

“Definitely,” Crowley said confidently. “He can’t take his eyes off Sam whenever you two are performing.”

“Yeah, Sam’s the same way with him,” Dean sighed. “I just can’t get him to do anything about it.”

“Well, Castiel is definitely not going to make the first move.”

“So, I guess we’ll just have to make it for them.”

Crowley looked at him thoughtfully. “What do you suggest?”

He thought about it for a minute. “Sammy likes to go on runs at an ungodly hour in the morning – always ends with him relaxing in the dining room before anyone else is up. Think you can get Cas there?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

The next morning, the two of them watched victoriously from outside the window as Sam and Castiel talked, and then Sam leaned in for a kiss. Satisfied that Castiel was responding well to his advances, Dean and Crowley slipped away to Crowley’s room to share a celebratory drink.

When Dean met up with his brother later that day, though; he didn’t look anywhere close to happy.

“Hey, Sammy,” Dean greeted him tentatively. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” Sam sighed. “Just… rough morning.”

He frowned. “Rough…?” He had made out with Castiel that morning! How was that rough? “What-?” Before he could even figure out what to ask, though; Castiel entered the room.

“Hi, Sam,” he said, his face lighting up when he spotted him.

The color drained from Sam’s face. “Oh, uh… hi,” he muttered without looking at Castiel. “I should… go.” Before either of them could say another word, he all but ran out the door.

Dean looked at Castiel, searching for some kind of explanation, but he was just frowning at the spot where Sam had previously been standing, his forehead creased in confusion.

“Is something wrong?” he asked worriedly, turning to look at Dean.

Great question. “Uh… no, no, I’m sure everything’s fine. Don’t worry about it, Cas.” He quickly excused himself from the room, then pulled out his phone and sent Crowley a quick text, ‘Drinks tonight?’

By the time Dean got to the bar, Crowley was already there and had ordered Dean his usual.

“Thanks,” he said as he sat down, downing half of his whiskey in one drink.

“Sam as moody today as Cassie was?” Crowley guessed.

“Yeah,” Dean sighed. “I dunno what the deal is! They seemed happy this morning, but then Sam just…” He shook his head, taking another drink.

“Yes, Castiel looked like a dejected puppy when he showed up for rehearsal today. One of the many reasons I fail to see the point in relationships.”

“Tell me about it,” he muttered.

Crowley arched an eyebrow at him. “Do you think that might be Sam’s problem?”

Dean didn’t even have to think about the question before shaking his head. “No way. Sam’s not like me. Sure, he’s been refusing to find himself someone special, but I can tell he still wants that. He’s one of those people who looks wistfully at old married couples.”

“Castiel, too.” He shook his head slightly. “So, what could be holding Sam back, then?”

Dean thought about it as Crowley waved for the bartender to get them another round of drinks. “Maybe…” he murmured softly.

“What?” Crowley asked eagerly.

“His last relationship, it… well, it wasn’t a good one,” Dean explained hesitantly, knowing that Sam wouldn’t be comfortable with him sharing too many details with Crowley. “It drove a wedge between us. Some of the things he says sometimes… maybe he’s worried that that might happen again. We’ve always been so close, it… well, it was a hard time.”

“So, what do we do?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “I talk to him about it, I guess. Not sure how much good it’ll do, though.”

“Well, it’s a start. Until then…” He raised his glass. “We drink.”

It was a couple drinks later that an idea started to form at the edge of Dean’s mind. “I’ll start dating when you do,” Sam’s words echoed in his mind.

“I’ve got it!” he suddenly exclaimed, slamming down his empty glass.

Crowley looked at him in surprise. “You’ve got… what, exactly?”

“How to get Sam to date Cas! I need a boyfriend – or a girlfriend, doesn’t really matter.” He smiled at Crowley triumphantly, while the other man looked at him as though concerned that he might have had a few too many drinks.

“I thought you said you didn’t do relationships?” he asked slowly.

“I don’t. But if I’m in a relationship, he’ll see that it’s okay for him to be in one.”

“Alright… that’s not an altogether stupid idea. But just who do you plan on jumping into a relationship with up here, in the middle of nowhere?”

“I dunno,” Dean muttered, his smile dropping as he looked down at the new glass that had been placed in front of him. “I mean… it would probably help to be someone I know…”

“I may not be an expert in relationships, but I do believe that’s rather important.”

“And preferably someone I’m attracted to,” he continued thoughtfully. “And – and click with. Someone who’s smart, and… makes me laugh.”

“Yes, and how exactly do you plan to find Mr. or Miss Perfect?” Crowley asked reasonably.

“I don’t...” He froze before slowly turning back to Crowley. “I think I already have.”

“What do you…?” His expression dropped. “You cannot be serious.”

“Well, why not?” Dean asked. “You’re single, we – we get on well, don’t we?”

“Yes, but-”

“And you… I mean, you do find me at least somewhat attractive right?” he asked uncertainly. Sure, Crowley flirted with him occasionally, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he was attracted to him. Crowley just had that kind of personality.

He rolled his eyes. “There isn’t a soul alive that wouldn’t find you attractive, Dean.”

Dean smiled down at his drink, his cheeks heating up slightly.

“But I don’t date,” Crowley continued.

“Not even to get Cas off your back?” he pressed, looking back up at him.

He scowled. “How long?” he asked after a few seconds.

“I dunno… a couple weeks?”

He sighed as he took a sip of his drink. “Fine.”

“Really?” Dean asked hopefully.

“I want those two morons to get together, so I’ll do what it takes.” He set his glass down and turned to face him. “Now, let’s make it official.”

“What…?”

Crowley grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into a kiss.

“You know,” Dean said as he got dressed the next morning. “I’m kinda liking this plan.”

Crowley chuckled from where he still lay on his bed. “It does have its moments, doesn’t it? I would have gotten you into bed sooner, but I have a policy against sleeping with coworkers.”

He raised his eyebrows at him. “Hey now, you don’t know you would have gotten me into bed. You would have tried.”

“Oh, please.” He rolled his eyes as he got up and rested his hands on Dean’s hips. “You would’ve been putty in my hands.”

“I really wouldn’t have been.”

“No?” He leaned in, catching Dean’s ear between his teeth. “Too bad you have to be going,” he murmured in a low voice. “Otherwise I would bend you over the bed right now.”

He tried and failed to suppress his shiver.

Crowley smirked as he stepped back. “Like I said – putty.” With that he turned away and started getting dressed.

Dean sighed as he continued getting ready, realizing that he wasn’t going to win this. Maybe he had gotten in over his head with Crowley. But he had to admit, if he were to actually date someone – not that he ever would – Crowley was just about the only person he could imagine he would. He certainly wasn’t going to consider dating him for real, though. No, as soon as Sam and Castiel were together, they could go back to being friends. Though… maybe they could still sleep together, on occasion.

He wasn’t sure how he managed to get so lucky, but as he walked out the door, Sam was coming down the hall.

His brother stopped when he saw him. “Dean?” His eyes narrowed. “This is Crowley’s room.”

“Uh, yeah,” Dean said innocently. “Yeah, it is.”

He sighed. “Seriously? Didn’t we decide that sleeping with coworkers is unprofessional?”

“No. We decided that one-night stands with coworkers are unprofessional.”

Sam’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “If this isn’t a one-night stand, what is it?”

On cue, the door opened and Crowley stepped out, his arm sliding naturally around Dean’s waist. “Oh, morning, moose.” He looked up at Dean. “Lunch around noon?”

“Sounds great,” Dean said with a smile.                                                          

He pecked him on the lips, then turned and walked off.

Dean turned back to Sam, who was blinking at him in disbelief. “You and Crowley? For real?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Why not?”

“I mean, he doesn’t exactly come across as… cuddly.”

“He was plenty cuddly last night.” That part was actually true, too. The last thing that Dean had expected was for Crowley to want to cuddle after sex, but he had been pretty insistent about it – not that Dean had been putting up much of a fight.

“What happened to you being a lone wolf?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “Crowley just… he makes me happy.”

His expression softened into a smile. “Well, if he makes you happy, that’s good enough for me.”

“Thanks, Sammy.” They fell into step beside each other as they made their way down to the dining room. “You know, you could be happy, too.”

“I am happy,” Sam insisted, but his smile slipped slightly as he spoke, making the words that much less convincing.

If Dean and Crowley had thought that Sam and Castiel would be ready to jump in together the moment Dean was off the market, they were sorely mistaken. Two weeks later, and not only were they still not together, but Sam was still doing everything in his power to avoid him.

“I don’t get it!” Dean exclaimed as he and Crowley sat in what might as well be referred to as their room these days. “Nothing has changed…. Did we get it all wrong?”

“We can’t have.” Crowley shook his head. “We saw them make out, Cassie is still pining over Samantha… how’s he doing?”

“He seems sadder every day,” he sighed, looking at the ground. “I’m starting to wonder… maybe us dating is doing more harm than good.”

He was silent for several seconds, then Dean heard the rustle of his clothing as he stood. “Take off your shirt.”

He looked up at him in disbelief. “Crowley, sex is not going to help with-”

“Take off your shirt,” he repeated firmly.

Dean sighed and stood up, stripping his shirt over his head and throwing it down onto the chair.

“Lay down on your stomach,” Crowley instructed, motioning towards the bed.

He shot him a skeptical look, but did as he was told. A few seconds later, the bed dipped as Crowley sat behind him, and then he began rubbing his shoulders.

Dean sighed. “That feels good.”

Crowley hummed in acknowledgement of his words, but otherwise remained silent as he massaged Dean’s back and shoulders.

“I lied,” Dean admitted quietly a few minutes later. “About why I want Sam in a relationship so bad.”

He was easily able to translate Crowley’s continued silence – it was an invitation to continue, without making him feel any pressure to do so. It was funny, how well he understood Crowley, after knowing him for just a few weeks.

“I mean, I guess – yeah, I do want him to relax, but… that’s not why. I just…” He took a deep breath, feeling, not for the first time, as though he were being crushed under the weight of his guilt. “I’ve looked out for him my entire life, and I don’t resent that, but… I wish he had someone else who could be there for him for once…. I wish that I could have at least some semblance of my own life that’s not completely centered around taking care of Sammy….” He shook his head, the tears sparkling in his eyes mercifully not visible to Crowley. “I’m selfish.”

“Dean.” Crowley’s voice was soft, yet firm. “You are the most unselfish person I know.”

“But I’m not,” he protested.

“It was your idea to buy a theatre in this area, was it not?”

“Yeah…” Dean answered, confused as to where he was going with this.

“There are many locations throughout the country that would have been far more profitable for you and your brother, particularly with how this winter is predicted to go. Of course, one bad winter could put your uncle out of business…. If only there were something more than ski slopes to draw people in, like a theatre that features a few well-known talents. Am I wrong about your reasoning?”

“No,” he admitted with a sigh.

“At first, I thought you were an idiot,” Crowley continued. “The worst businessman in show business that I had seen. And then I thought you were just a hopeless sap, and… well, I do still think that, but I’m starting to see that that might not be such a bad thing.”

That managed to get a laugh out of him. “Gee, thanks.”

“My point is, you are the most compassionate person I have ever met. It’s not selfish for you to want your own life – it’s normal.”

Dean was quiet as that sunk in. “Thanks,” he muttered softly as he sat up, shifting to face Crowley and brushing their lips together lightly. “Even if you are right, though; that doesn’t mean I should be interfering with my brother’s life. Maybe we should… call it quits.” He swallowed down the lump in his throat, surprised by just how difficult that had been to say. It wasn’t like he was actually breaking up with Crowley – they had never really been together in the first place. But… maybe some foolish part of Dean was starting to wish that there had been more to their little charade. He knew better than to hope that Crowley felt the same, though. A real relationship with him was never going to happen.

Crowley was silent for a few seconds as he stared down at his lap, but then he nodded. “Yes, you’re… probably right.”

“I’m sorry, Sammy,” Dean finished his confession. “We shouldn’t have tried interfering in your lives like that.”

Sam shook his head, clearly a bit overwhelmed by what Dean had just dumped on him. “I just… I don’t get it. Why did you think dating Crowley would make Cas and I get together?”

“Well, you… after how Ruby came between us, I thought that maybe you were worried that might happen again.”

“No, that’s… that’s not it at all,” he sighed.

Dean frowned. “So, what is it, then? Because I know you like him, Sammy. What’s holding you back?”

He sighed again. “It’s… my past. Cas is an amazing person, and he has no idea the things I’ve done… Ruby, the drugs… if he knew about all of that, he wouldn’t want anything to do with me. And I’d rather not have to hear him say it.”

“That is not true,” a voice spoke from the doorway.

Sam and Dean spun around to see Castiel standing there, Crowley right behind him.

“Cas, I…” Sam started, but Castiel interrupted.

“Sam, if it is all the same to you, I would like to opportunity to make the decision of whether or not I want anything to do with you myself. And as it happens, I want a lot to do with you – regardless of your past.”

Dean grinned as he slipped out of the room, deciding to leave the two of them to talk things out.

“So, you led him here?” he asked as he closed the door behind him.

“Of course,” Crowley answered proudly.

He chuckled as they set off down the hall together. “What happened to us not interfering anymore?”

“That wasn’t interfering, that was merely giving Castiel all the information. It’s amazing how admitting one little thing can change so much.”

Yeah. Like, how if Dean were to admit that he had somehow managed to actually fall for Crowley, his ex-fake-boyfriend would never want to talk to him again.

With Christmas Eve came a sold out show and high spirits for most of the crew. Dean was pretty sure he was the only one who’s mood was less than one hundred percent, but he was happy for his brother and for the business they were bringing Bobby, even if his own life had taken an unpleasant turn.

And really, it was a ridiculous. A month ago, he had hated the idea of being in a relationship. But a month ago, he hadn’t known Crowley… possibly the only person in the world who hated relationships more than he did. Just his luck.

“You know,” Sam said as he stepped up beside him. “Just because it was fake, doesn’t mean it couldn’t be real.”

Dean tore his gaze from the door that Crowley had just left through to stare at his brother. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he denied.

He arched an eyebrow at him skeptically. “Right.... Look, you and Crowley were good together – real or not. So, if you like him…”

“I don’t,” he lied, turning to straighten the already straight stack of programs. “He’s just a friend.”

“You don’t stare at your friends like that. Dean, weren’t you just getting onto me a few days ago for denying myself with Cas? Now here you are, doing the same thing.”

“No, I’m not, Sam,” he snapped, looking up at him again. “Because Cas actually liked you back.”

Silence fell between them, and Dean cursed himself for saying that aloud as he turned back to the programs.

“Did Crowley tell you that?” Sam asked softly.

“He might as well have,” he muttered bitterly.

Sam started to say something else, but Dean rounded on him. “Just drop it, Sammy.”

“Okay…. I’m sorry.”

He sighed. “It’s fine, just… don’t say anything to him, okay?”

He hesitated before he reluctantly agreed. “But maybe…”

“Whatever you’re going to say, the answer is no. Now, we open in five hours. We have work to do.”

It was an hour till curtain when Castiel came rushing in. “Dean! You need to look outside.”

Dean frowned. “Why?” What was going wrong now?

“Just trust me,” he insisted with a smile.

He looked at him curiously before shaking his head resignedly, and then walking out the back door. Immediately, the vision was obscured by white flurries as snow fell all around him. A joyful laugh escaped him as he walked out further, reaching out a hand and watching the snow flakes land on it, then instantly melt.

“A white Christmas, after all,” Crowley’s voice rang out as he stepped up beside Dean.

Dean smiled at him. “Looks like you were wrong.”

“Hmm… perhaps it wasn’t the only thing I was wrong about,” he murmured, looking ahead.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Dating. It isn’t so bad, really. At least… dating you isn’t.” He looked up at him, and Dean’s breath caught in his throat.

“What are you saying?” he asked, afraid to hope.

“I’m saying – let’s date for real this time.”

A smile spread across Dean’s face, but before he acted on the impulse to grab Crowley and pull him into a kiss, he paused. “Wait. That wasn’t a question.”

“No,” Crowley said matter-of-factly.

“Well… how do you know I want to date you?”

He rolled his eyes, then glanced behind them. Dean followed his gaze to see Sam and Castiel in the doorway, pretending not to be watching them.

“Are you…?” Dean shook his head as he turned back to Crowley. “Sam told me he wouldn’t tell you!”

“Oh, he didn’t. He told Castiel-”

“Who told you,” he sighed. “Guess I can’t complain.”

“We did have it coming,” Crowley pointed out. “I have to admit, I’m not entirely sure whether your brother was acting in revenge, or in reciprocation.”

“Prob’ly both.” Dean shrugged as he turned back towards the door. “Well, I suppose we should get back to work. We do have a show to put on.”

“One thing first.” He grabbed Dean’s hand, spinning him back around and pulling him into a kiss. “Okay,” he said as he pulled away. “Now we can get to work.”

The show was a great success. Nothing went disastrously wrong, and the audience seemed to enjoy it. The final act was Crowley and Castiel, and Sam and Dean watched them from the wings, with rather similar smiles on their faces.

“Now,” Crowley said as they concluded their act. “Let’s hear it one more time for the very talented, and incredibly handsome men who made tonight possible – Sam and Dean Winchester. Sorry, ladies and gents, but they’re both spoken for.”

Dean rolled his eyes as he and Sam took the stage again for the finale of ‘White Christmas’. The rest of the cast gradually came out and joined them, some in song and some in dance; though, Crowley and Castiel remained on the sidelines, whispering together in a way that made Dean immediately suspicious.

He didn’t have to wait long to learn just what they were whispering about. As the song came to an end, and all of the cast lined up to take a bow – Castiel and Crowley on either side of Sam and Dean – the brothers had barely finished singing before they were both seized and pulled into a kiss. There were definitely some gasps, laughs, and cheers from the audience, but Dean didn’t pay them any mind, his entire focus on Crowley’s lips. The two of them didn’t break apart until the curtain had been drawn shut, separating them from the audience.

“I hope you have a very merry Christmas, Dean,” Crowley said as he drew back to look Dean in the eyes, his expression far softer than it usually was.

Dean was probably grinning like an idiot, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, at the moment. “I think it’s gonna be the best one yet.”

#drowley #crowlean #dean x crowley #crowley x dean #all i want for christmas is drowley #drowley:fanfic #my work