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heyidkyay · 8 months

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I guess I’ll take this pain, instead of your name |

Part Twenty-Eight - End

A/n: Ah finally 28 is here!! I'm sorry for the silence, had a lot going on recently, but this is the final part of the series! I can't believe it tbh, though I wouldn't mind writing a few extra scenes in the future just because I love these two a whole lot. But we'll seeee!

Just a warning, this is very similar to the flashback chapters on 24 and the scenes are as the years pass starting from before the time G and Birdie got together, it's ALL from G's POV which was so fucking difficult to write but hopefully I pulled it off. Either way, I hope you enjoy it and thank you to all the love everyone's shown this series, it means so much.

Summary: In life, things changed. The boys you'd once grown up with were men now, and famous ones at that. The type that toured the world and had millions of adoring fans.

The five of you shared a shit ton of history. But you also shared a lot of mixed emotions for one of them in particular, a certain drummer.

Masterlist

It was beaming. First proper hot day they’d had in months. Though in truth, it could’ve just as easily been years seeing as though every weather station was currently claiming a ‘hellish heatwave’ to have taken over the entire country.

It was bittersweet.

George was sat outside on the decking, just by the pool in Matty’s back garden with the rest of the band, Ross in a pair of boxers perched on the waters edge with Adam sporting a pair of bright yellow swim trunks right beside him. The two of them had been doing laps but had seemingly tired themselves out under the hot sun and were now kicking up a lazy wave in the shallow end.

“Oi.”

George glanced away from the duo to find a beer being shoved his way, he took the crisp bottle with a soundless nod just as Matty settled into the lounge chair next to him.

“You not getting in then?” The older boy asked him and George curled his lip just as he wrinkled his nose.

“Maybe. Too fucking hot to be arsed though.” He answered, sticky with sweat but enjoying the warmth the summer weather had to gift him.

Matty laughed under his breath and kicked his leg up to cross it over his knee. “Mum ordered food, if you’re hungry. Lou wanted pizza, so.”

George smiled in retort. He’d skipped breakfast that morning, knowing his presence would only lead to more problems now that his mum was home again, and had been hoping to grab something on the way over but hadn’t had the chance.

“Speak of the devil.” Matty chuckled after and George followed his gaze over to find his younger brother, Louis, scuttling out of the patio’s sliding glass door, water gun in hand and a leggy teenage girl just behind him.

“Get back here, Lou! You’re so dead!” The girl shouted, hair dripping wet and shirt dampened from where she’d obviously been the subject to one of Louis’s antics, but her words were counteracted by the dazzling grin she wore and the bright sheen she had to her eyes.

The younger boy she was chasing cackled loudly in return, face alive as he zoomed past George and Matty on the loungers in an attempt to escape her. But she was hot on his heels.

“Run, mate!” Matty called out unhelpfully, snorting when his little brother tried to make a song and dance out of it when he chose to go around the garden table a few times.

George chuckled quietly, watching the duo from where he was perched, though he could hardly keep his eyes off of the girl, focused on her expression, the way she moved so effortlessly. Matty seemed to notice it too.

“You’ve got it bad, man.”

George startled a tad at his voice but shook his head anyway as he waved Matty’s accusation off, not bothering to argue against it seeing as though his eyes were still trained on one thing.

Besides, it weren’t as though he hadn’t heard it all before, the lads loved to tease him for his apparent staring, the longing looks he threw her, but how could he help it? She was this blazing ball of fire, too fucking hot to reach out and touch, but enticing all the same.

God, he was such a fucking sap.

Matty was still laughing, either at him or the way his younger brother’s face had suddenly fallen in quick realisation, perhaps both, but George could hardly bring himself to care. It’s not like she ever noticed his attention anyway, barely even spared him a hello, let alone a second glance.

“Just talk to her, man. She won’t bite.” Matty told him, as though it was really that simple. But before George could think of a reply, a loud scream echoed out across the garden and he looked up just in time to spot the pair go catapulting into the pool, the girl’s arms wrapped around the younger boy’s shoulders as their bodies cut through the water. “Fucking hell.”

The pair of them were laughing when they reemerged, Louis spluttering whilst the girl just shook the hair out of her face, smile still frozen in place. George’s breath got caught in the back of his throat and his mind went a little fuzzy at the sight of it, witnessing how carefree and gorgeous she always seemed to appear, but especially then.

“You cheat! You can’t do that!” Louis laughed in argument, splashing about a bit. “It ain’t fair.”

The girl merely grinned in retort and reached out to mess the boy’s sodden hair up further, “Sure I can, Lou. An eye for an eye and all that! You wet me with your gun and I tossed you in the pool. Sounds fair enough to me.”

“She’s got you there, mate.” George heard Ross add from the side of the pool, and could hear the mirth that lined his mate’s voice. “Take it like a champ.”

“You get to say that, you’re already soaked!”

“Tell him, Lou!” Matty hollered with that mischievous smile he often favoured.

The girl waded in the water and threw a smirk at Matty, but her eyes lingered on George too for just a second. “You lot getting in or am I gonna have to drag you over too?”

Matty laughed and went to make a stand, but just as he did, he turned his back on the rest of them and shot a sly remark at George, who was still trying to get over the acknowledgment he’d just been given. “Bet you’d love that though, Georgie. Fucking flustered at the very thought, ain’t you?”

George scowled, though he could only watch on as Matty waltzed away, chuckles still bright. He huffed instead and dragged a pitiful hand across his face in hopes to get ahold of himself. But Matty was right, he could feel the warmth of the blush down the length of his back and felt like such a tit for always reacting to the tiniest of interactions she had to offer him.

“Come on, G! Getting old here!”

He swallowed heavily at the sound of her voice, but didn’t dare look up just yet. G. It was a first, that was for sure. Hadn’t really stuck around anywhere long enough to make many friends, let alone have a nickname surface. He only hoped it’d stick, especially if she was the one calling out for him.

“I’m coming!” He said after a quick breath and only then chanced a glance, surprised to find her wild eyes still set on him. She flashed him a pleased grin and- “Shit.” He murmured to himself, almost stilling in place at the realisation that hit him. He was so fucking gone, wasn’t he?

—

London was different to Wilmslow, George had decided. Busier. You could hear the noise of the city at night sneak in through the front bedroom window, and feel the shake of the trains that ran across the back of the lane all through the house. It was nice though, these differences. The City. The noise. Mostly because the quiet never had sat well with him.

“Oi, those carrots won’t cut themselves, you know.”

George found himself smiling at the sound of Dee’s voice and pulled his gaze away from the open back door to see her grinning back at him. She was currently cooking up a storm, spices scattered everywhere and water bubbling from a metal pot sat up on the hob, but she’d wanted to make her famous shepherd’s pie for her favourite niece during their stay, and somehow he’d gotten roped into helping.

Not that he’d ever say no, he’d grown fond of the two women that had welcomed him in with open arms far too quickly- but that was without mentioning the lighthearted threats that had been given if he dared even step a toe out of line with her. Or at least, he hoped they were lighthearted.

“Daydreamin’?”

He hummed in return and went back to his kitchen duties, skinning the orange vegetables and then dicing. “Something like that.”

Dee mimicked the sound with a faint titter of her own and he watched closely as she glanced back out the door and into the garden, seeing the scene he’d been so absorbed in.

Nana (“Can’t be callin’ me by nothing else, my darlin’, family’s family and you’re it now.” Is what she’d claimed from the very start, not drawing any attention to the hitched breath George had given in turn) was perched in a deck chair, one of those fabric ones with the silver metal legs and striped cloth backing, a shovel in one hand and a pot in the other. Cyril, who seemed content to laze about in the hazy summer heat, was sprawled out on the grass right beside her, drool dripping from his open jaw and eyes closed. Nana kept patting his belly every few minutes but he didn’t care to move from his slumber.

Birdie was right there with them as well, only she was knee deep in the flowerbeds, soil painting the skin up to her elbows and blackening the overalls she’d adorned earlier. The pink spade she’d picked out was lost somewhere to the left of her and she was squinting in the afternoon sun, attention drifting back and forth between the flowers they were planting and the seventy-three year old giving out orders. They appeared to be speaking about something or other now though, Birdie trying hard to keep her mouth from lifting into an embarrassed sort of smile whilst Nana merely chuckled away.

“How’s she really been?” Dee quizzed him, plopping the carrots he’d cut into another pot before tossing the steaming potatoes that had just been boiled. The question was oddly quiet for her, enough for George to notice at least, seeing as though the woman had been nothing but a rocket since the minute they’d met.

He wondered if she knew, albeit vaguely. But then shook the thought away, if either of these women knew anything that had been going on back home there’d surely be hell to pay. That he understood. Still, it wasn’t his secret to tell and Birdie had been adamant about it, even after hearing his incentives.

“She’s been alright, keeping busy in truth. Got exams soon.”

The red-haired woman hummed again, staring off into space for a moment before those piercing eyes of hers were drilled into his. He fought not to outwardly react.

“Doesn’t seem alright, what with her walking in all battered and bruised. Looks more smurf-like than human to me.”

George swallowed, stuck on what to say, and it wasn’t like he had something to preoccupy himself with now that the carrots were gone. He sighed softly. “She’s… alright- strong, really. Just a lot going on at school, you know? And her mum’s been busy.”

Dee’s tongue prodded the inside of her cheek at that but turned back to fork the mince she was frying. “Never did like her much. But especially after the funeral.” She revealed and looked almost as though she was gritting her teeth to get the words out. “Din’t come to the reception. Just left little Dove here with us and got on the first train home. Could understand, somewhat. Woman had lost a husband, hadn’t she? But then, I’d lost my brother. Mum, a son, and that little girl out there, well, she’d lost her dad. Her mum didn’t want much responsibility for her afterwards, hardly saw the arse-end of her in the long months after. A visit once in a blue moon and a phone call each Thursday. Honestly believed the kid would stay living here with us, until she swanned back in and swept her back up north.”

A silence settled in the breath Dee took then and George’s emotions warred within. He choked them back and swallowed them down to brew.

“Fought hard to keep her, din’t think the woman was capable of lookin’ after herself, let alone a kid. But,” Dee shrugged then, helplessly. “She’s her mum, ain’t she? Not much we could do about it. Lost touch a bit after that, she wanted distance, said we reminded her too much of him. Claimed our Dove couldn’t stomach the reminder either. So we listened. For her sake if nothing else. Killed my mum though.”

George swallowed thickly. “Can imagine. I don’t know how I’d act if I ever lost her.”

Dee seemed to pause at that, then turned to regard him slowly and with a very sweet smile, one George had never been gifted by an adult in his lifetime. It threw him.

“You’re a good sort, Georgie. Look after her well, don’t you?” Her noiseless chuckle surprised him but then she just shook her head, obviously not expecting an actual answer. He watched on as she inhaled slowly only to then throw the tea towel she’d been clinging onto over her shoulder, wiping the underneaths of her eyes. He didn't know what to say or how to make things better. “Start mashing those spuds for me, would ya doll? Just gonna nip to the loo.”

George could only nod, surprised by the whole event but especially upon seeing Dee suddenly so choked up. He didn’t have much time to dwell on it though, seeing as though Birdie came swanning into the kitchen just after her Aunt had disappeared.

The girl was smiling happily, happier than he’d seen her in a long while, ever even. It made him stop short, if only to take her in. The freckles on her cheeks that the sun had warmed and strengthened. The cheeky smile that dimpled the right corner of her mouth. The wrinkle in her nose that stood out amongst the gentle burn that dotted its bridge…

The twinkle in her eyes as she zeroed in on him.

“Where’s Aunt Dee?” The girl asked, picking up a pea-pod from off the counter and biting into it. George’s face wrinkled in amused anguish.

“Toilet.” He answered her, falling into one of the empty bar stools stood behind. “Finally decided to come help, have you then?”

She stepped closer and smirked up at him. “Nope.” The next bite she took made a massive crunching sound, her grin widened.

George rolled his eyes, before taking the chance to get another good look at her. If it weren’t for the fact that Nana was looming just beyond the door, he’d have kissed her.

The woman was a dainty thing, yes, but fucking terrifying too. And seeing as they’d yet to announce anything between them, let alone anyone else, he didn’t want to rock the boat too hard this early on. A few kisses were just a few kisses, right?

“What’s got you in a mard?” Birdie chuckled, reaching out a dirtied finger to poke at his cheek. He dipped away slightly from the offending hand but didn’t put up much of a fight, reckoned she could be covered in mouldy milk and he’d still want to snog her senseless.

“Nothing, just thinking.” He told her honestly.

She hummed and leaned in closer, pea-pod now gone and her hands tucked into the pockets of her overalls. She was trying to be intimidating, playful. He liked seeing her so alive.

“Try not to hurt yourself there.”

George chuckled, heart beating quicker now. “Always so mean.”

“Hm, maybe. But you like me for it.” She shot back confidently.

I do.

“Keep on wishing, B.”

She snorted, and it would’ve been an ugly sound on anyone else, but this was her. His Birdie.

“Oh, I will.” She half-sung, eyes really shimmering now beneath the long lashes they so often hid themselves behind.

George couldn’t find it in himself to look away, lost on her.

Then a hand was touching his and he felt something press into the palm of his. Her soil covered fingernails danced over the inside of his wrist for a single second just as she leant in to press her soft lips to his cheek.

A peck, a smile, and then she was gone it seemed.

George stared off after her, watched the way her hair fell loosely and how the light only seemed to carve a path for her through the dimly lit hallway. She disappeared round the bend and he took a breath before glancing down into his hand.

His mouth dried up at the sight of the old metal lighter which now sat there. And carved ever so carefully into the metal casing at the very bottom was a simple ‘B+G’.

—

“Move over.” Someone grunted somewhere to the right and George struggled against the urge to elbow his way into a more comfortable position. “Tossers.”

He huffed a bit at that but shuffled further left anyway, creating some more room for the giant twat sat on the other end of the backseat in hopes that it’d shut him up. Louis and Birdie were right there between them, Lou half on top of B, and B half on top of him.

Ross seemed to have gotten the better end of the stick in reality, even if his oversized limbs had been crammed into the back with them. Matty and Adam were more than alright though, happy as Larry sat in the front, fiddling with the radio.

“Will you lot shut up? Might miss it.” Matty snipped, batting away Hann’s hand when he tried to turn up the dial.

“Fuck off, Matty.” Ross shot right back, still sodding squirming. “How the fuck did you even manage to bag the front seat anyway? You’re about the size of my left toe.”

Louis snorted loudly at that, whilst Matty sent Ross a scathing look full of sarky laughter. “It’s my fucking car, that’s why, dickhead.”

Just as Ross drew in another breath to retaliate, Birdie swooped in to save the day, holding out an arm across Louis to signal for Ross to pack it in. “You’re both being annoying, just shut up and stop swearing, yeah? Otherwise we’ll never hear the sodding radio and Denise will have all our heads.”

“Mum says a lot worse.” Louis intoned then, which had them all snickering and Matty high-fiving his little brother whilst looking proud. George hit his head against the window when Birdie ducked slightly to avoid being hit, she winced at the sound it made.

“Sorry, babe.” She whispered and leant in closer to rub the top of his head gently with a soft laugh. No one else was appeared go be paying much attention to them though, all the focus honed in on the radio.

At first, both him and Hann had argued against getting in the car- could’ve just as easily gathered around the stereo in the kitchen for this- but Matt, Birdie and Ross had been dead set on hearing it in the car.

“It’s got to be in the car! We can’t not hear it in the car!” Matty had argued, and not just for the sake of it, only to have then been cut off by B and her rapid agreement, “Exactly! It’s a car song! People only ever listen to the radio when they’re drivin’!” Her accent was always stronger the more determined she got. “So we’re listening to it in the car whether you lot wanna or not, I don’t care if your balls get squished or your elbows don’t fit. We are.”

And that had been it. Enough said.

“You’re alright.” George chuckled under his breath, taking her hand in his and pulling them both down into his lap. She seemed content enough to cuddle further into his side at that and he couldn’t even bring himself to mind, thumbing her knuckles whilst he rested his chin atop her head.

“Oh shit, here it is! It’s coming on!”

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuuccck.”

“Shut the fuck up!!”

“Think I’m gonna shit myself.”

Birdie and Louis laughed at their many reactions and George could only cling on a little tighter to the hand that was keeping him grounded. Never had he felt so fucking sick with nerves.

“Shut up you lot, it’s on! It’s on!”

The car fell dead silent at Birdie’s interruption and they all seemed to lean forward in their seats simultaneously, as though it would give them a better chance at listening in.

“Yeah, and here’s a new one for you.” Huw Stephens’s voice rang out and George could barely believe that they were actually this close, “Just in, and from their recent EP titled Facedown, we’ve got the up and coming sound of The 1975 for you lovely ladies and gentlemen! Buzzing with this one boys, reckon the rest of you will be too. So here it is, this is BBC Radio 1 and up next is The City.”

The whole lot of them broke out into hollers and cheers when the intro played, the entire car bouncing on its wearing tires as they all started to prat about in their excitement. Ross close to shaking Hann’s chair out of its hinges, Louis jumping between the two front seats to turn the dial up even louder, Matty drumming loudly against the dash, Adam kicking his feet, and B, his beautiful B, screaming her heart out for them all as she laughed and clapped and started to sing as loudly as she possibly could alongside Matty’s voice that’d started playing through the speakers.

And all George could think was, fuck.

—

“You’ve gotta run faster!”

“I fucking am!”

“You’re not!” She laughed, the Californian sun warming every inch of her even as it begun to set, “Faster, G!”

“Please, none of that! Hear enough of it back in the bunks, thanks!” Came Matty’s witty quip, earning a few knowing laughs. George turned around to flip him off for it but Birdie appeared to have beaten him to it.

“Jealous much, Matthew?”

“Of G? ‘Course, darling!” Matty quipped as he moved across the sand to drape himself across her back, spliff caught between his fingers. “Should’ve jumped you way back when I had the chance.”

Birdie snorted and elbowed him lightly but didn’t force him away, “Meant of me, you twat. Figured if I hadn’t gotten there first, you might’ve tried your luck with G, Matt.”

“Oh how I wish!” Matty dramatised, sighing loudly as he casted a set of seductive eyes in George’s direction, “Always been gone on you though, our George. I never stood a chance.”

“Yeah, so piss off of her.” George told the curly haired idiot with a small smirk as he made his way back over, a bright orange kite still wrapped around his hand.

Matty took it as his chance to play the joker though and all but dived for him the second he got close enough, planting a sloppy kiss to the side of his face. George couldn’t help the unmanly sound that escaped him at the gesture and could only laugh along with the rest of them when he shoved the clingy lad off.

“Got me good, you prick.” He chuckled, swiping at his wet cheek.

“And that’s only the start of it, mate.” Matty winked, then made his way back over to where the rest of the band had sprawled about on the sand. “Just imagine it, G! I’d even let you top, you know. A proper giver me.”

Ross cackled at the face Georgemade and Hann rolled his eyes with a smile that couldn’t be helped when Matty dropped himself down beside him, though he took the offered joint with no fuss.

“Can just picture the utter chaos it’d cause.” Ross choked out, sighing happily as he kicked his legs out before him, grinning at the very thought.

“I’m alright, thanks.” George felt the need to mention as he wrapped an arm around Birdie’s waist, smiling when the girl melted into him, then let up on the string of the kite when her fingers asked for it.

It’d been her idea of course, the kites. Got three of them whilst they’d been stuck in sound check one morning and brought them back to the venue alongside a shit ton of food. They’d only remembered them a couple days later when everyone had decided to spend a free night out on the beach, just them drinking and enjoying what little time they had when not performing.

“Ah, well you’re the one who’ll be missing out, man!” Matty replied with a lazy smirk and George could only laugh, swaying slightly now as he rested his chin atop the girl’s sun-warmed hair.

“Reckon I’ve already got my hands quite full here, mate.”

“And what’s that meant to mean?” Birdie immediately questioned with a raised brow as she turned in his grip to better face him, “‘Cause I’m pretty sure it’s the other way round, mate.”

“Oh yeah?” George humoured her, he hadn’t even meant anything by it, loved her more than he did the air itself in fact, but it was always fun rilling her up a bit. “How so?”

“Well, you’re proper clingy for one.”

George hissed through his teeth as though wounded, whilst the others oohed.

“Got you there.” Hann snickered and the others appeared to agree. Was he really that bad?

“And two, you don’t think through half the shit you say sometimes.”

George raised a brow at that.

“Yeah, don’t fucking act like it ain’t true!” She argued with the tiny beginnings of a smile, “The amount of times I’ve had to talk you out of a corner. The lot of yous in fact.”

“Oi, this is rinse G hour, not us!” Matty frowned and threw a thumbs down at them. “TOMATO. TOMATO.”

With a snort, Birdie spun back towards the curly haired freak, “Did you just shout tomato?”

“Yeah,” Matty shrugged, nicking back the joint off Adam that had dwindled down to all but a nub, “Had none to throw, did I?”

Birdie looked towards the sky. “God save me.”

And just like that, the whole band started belting out a Sex Pistols classic in unison.

“God save the queen! She’s not a human being! And there’s no future! And England’s dreamin’!”

“Fucking idiots.” She sighed, but the attention soon diverged when a rowdy crowd started making themselves known a little further down the beach.

They all shared a look, knowing it’d be best to head back to the bus before they were soon spotted and mobbed, all groaning unhappily as they forced themselves up onto their feet. George started on the clear up, seeing as though he was already standing, Birdie following just behind him whilst the other boys gathered up the beer and whatever else they’d procured.

Starting the trek back to the bus, stationed just past the marina, George allowed the others to walk on ahead a bit and fell into step with B, wrapping an arm around her shoulders whilst they slowly followed behind.

“You know, you looked proper fit running up and down that beach.”

He chuckled at the sudden remark and let her wind an arm around his waist to better allow her body to mould into his. “Yeah, kite an’ all?”

He felt, more than heard her laugh, before she hummed. The vibration of it rippled across the skin just beneath her head. “Defo. Though you could’ve done without all these extra layers.” She replied, then tugged at the hem of his tee to further drill home her point.

“It’s autumn, B, fucking chilly too. You really expect me to go full Baywatch on the beach just to appease you, ey?”

“‘Course.” She answered and he could tell she was smirking by the wave in her tone. “You look good, should show it off more often.”

He didn’t have much of a reply to offer that. Though it wasn’t because she’d caught him off guard, per say, it was just that he still wasn’t used to the way she so openly complimented him, on everything he did, to each and every way he looked. He’d never had that before. But she gave it to him freely, without cost, without expectation.

“Stop flirting with me.” Is what he decided on when he couldn’t find it in himself to dampen the grin he was now sporting. She peered up at him, wearing a sly smile of her own.

“Why, does it get you all flustered?” She teased, obviously pleased with herself as she poked his ribs. He pinched her hip softly in retaliation and laughed when she wrinkled her nose up at him.

“No, I’m just resisting the urge to bend you over on this beach.”

But hey, just because her comments had him flushing like a teenage boy, didn’t mean that he couldn’t give it back twice as bad. Plus, he loved seeing her melt, the way her cheeks would tint that pretty pink colour and how she’d start to chew on her bottom lip simply to keep from smiling.

“You’ll pay for that when we’re back on the bus.”

“Promise?” He snarked back with another chuckle, tugging her in closer.

She hummed once more, fingers playing with the hand that fell from her shoulder now. “Have to keep it down though, don’t need Matty interrupting.”

George’s lip curled, “Nah, on second thought, I’ll just wait for a venue loo stall.”

He laughed happily when she elbowed his side. “Charming.”

—

It was mayhem. Proper, honest to God mayhem. And he’d no idea how things had gotten so out of hand, who half the people traipsing through his living room even were, but he was fucking happy if nothing else. Over the moon, even.

“Geee!”

George glanced to his left just in time to spot a drunken Matty stumbling his way on over, the man clung to his shoulders the first chance he got and grinned up at him. He reeked of beer and wine.

“So fucking pleased for you, mate. Did I mention that already? Just, proper buzzing for you.” The drunkard rambled, eyes squinted from the extremity of his smile.

George chuckled and wrapped an arm around the shorter lad, happy to accommodate his need for comfort as well as keep him upright. Matty was touchy on a good day, but when you’d got a good few drinks in him he was like a sloth to a tree branch.

“You did mention it, mate.” George replied and withheld his amusement when Matty frowned, “But I appreciate it. Really.”

The frown then etched itself into a smile at that, all fond and goofy as Matty wiggled even closer into his embrace, “Good. Fucking deserve it. You and her both, yeah?”

With a harsh sallow, George felt that tightness he’d been feeling in his chest as of late rise. “Thanks, mate.” He croaked out and then coughed to clear his throat.

Deserve. It was a difficult thing for him to come to terms with, deeming what he did and didn’t deserve. A struggle he’d been dealing with his whole life, and which had only tripled in recent years. The flat was something he’d earned, something both he and Birdie had talked about since they’d both been teenagers. An escape. But they’d already gone and done that, hadn’t they? Left Wilmslow behind, left everyone who didn’t matter behind. Did it make them better than? Safer now? George’s mind was always at war with his head, but as of late, as the band only grew, and as life continued on, it only seemed to get louder.

“Fuckin’ sickkk too!”

Matty’s drunken nonsense pulled him back from his scattered thoughts then and George smiled down at his mate. The flat was sick, they’d spent weeks searching for the right one, him and B, travelled all over London looking, and then they’d found this one. It wasn’t huge, nothing too fancy or grand, but it was home. And neither one of them had ever had much of that.

“Ross, tell him! Tell him it’s sick!” Matty shouted again, having just spotted Ross making his way through the crowd. The giant looked well on his way to pissed too, but seemed to be holding on quite well. George reckoned it was simply down to his height.

“It’s sick!” Ross easily repeated, grinning and letting Matty grab onto him too before the idiot saw someone else he knew and started walking away, calling out promises to find them again soon. Ross leaned in to him then and murmured, “What’s sick?”

George breathed a chuckle through his nose and just shook his head, Ross knew better than to prod any further.

“Flat is looking good by the way, mate. Dunno who half of these fuckers are though.” The bassist commented, glancing out around the room.

George could only agree, “Fuck if I do. Pretty sure Grimmy invited a couple dozen of his mates with him.”

Ross started nodding rapidly at that, raising his beer as he did. “Yeah, spotted that Harry Styles in your loo.”

“In my loo?”

“In your loo.”

“The fuck were you doing in my bathroom with Harry Styles, Ross?” George questioned his mate, bewildered now, but even with the state of him, George knew that Ross could make friends with just about anyone. Send the man into a den full of hungry hyenas and he’d walk out with a pal for life.

Ross simply shrugged, “He was coming out, I was going in, he liked my hair.”

George lifted his eyebrows and pursed his lips, as though that made any sense, “Oh right, yeah.”

Ross hummed then perked up again, “Here she is. The lady of the hour!”

Following the direction of the man’s gaze, George grinned and felt the rest of the room dampen down to a droning droll around him as Birdie walked on over, bottle of wine in tucked under her arm.

“Wahey! Would you look at that!” Ross greeted her cheerfully, roping the girl into a warm hug, “You’ve finally come to see me!”

“I saw you-“ She paused and hiccuped with a half-arsed glare, “-ages ago, you big knobhead.”

“Oof.” Ross sounded, clasping a hand over his hurt heart, “Alright, sorry! Just missed you is all, only had like five minutes with you by the door.”

Birdie pouted then, and George knew she was truly sloshed by the real tears he saw well in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Ro! I haven’t had the chance. There’s all these people here annoying me.” She waved her hand around aimlessly above her head, squinting as she did, before she then huffed. She turned towards George then, all but stepping on his toes to get in his space, not that he minded, “Did you know One Direction are here? In my flat?”

“Our flat.” George corrected with a tiny grin whilst she necked another few gulps of wine.

“What I said, ain’t it?” Birdie retorted, glancing about the room again. “Can you believe Zayn fucking Malik tried to give me a joint too? And I said-“ She hiccuped again then and George reached out to steady her slight;y, “-I told him, right, I said but you’re just a baby! And he laughed at me, G. Laughed! I almost told him that that one song of theirs was shit, but I didn’t. Felt bad for even thinking it. You know?”

Ross was snickering away to the left of them, obviously pleased with the state of their best mate, whilst George attempted to cajole the wine bottle from out under her arm.

“He’s the fit one, ain’t he?”

“They’re all bloody fit, Ross!” Birdie argued with the idiot whilst George sighed, wondering where on Earth he’d found the pair of them, “Got to be ‘cause all them girls love ‘em. Like you lot, I ‘spose.”

That startled quite the laugh out of Ross and he swayed nearer, “You ‘spose? I’m fucking hurt here, are you saying we’re not fit, B?”

She rolled her eyes as though she was annoyed with him for not understanding what she’d meant and groaned, “No, you are fit. Just not as fit as them, yeah?”

George snorted but had finally managed to snag the bottle loose, she frowned and went to take it back, though he seemed to be able to distract her with his next question, “Not fit enough am I, Birdie? Why d’ya not ask one of them to move in with you then?”

The crease between her brow deepened at his ask and her hands came up to wrap themselves around his neck, “‘Cause they’re babies! I’ve just said this, G. Aren’t you listenin’?”

“Think they’re only a couple years younger.” Ross countered but he put his hands up in surrender when Birdie retorted with, “Exactly. Babies, Ross! Tiny little goblin children.”

“Right, yeah. ‘Course.”

George sighed again, “Think it’s time for you to get to bed, B.”

“What? No!” The girl squawked and stumbled in his hold as she reeled backwards, “I’m fine, completeeeely fine! So fine, in fact, that I bet I could do a backflip. Right here. Right now.”

“You can’t do a backflip even when sober, sweetheart.”

“I can too.” She pouted, retracting her arms from around his neck even though he’d yet to relinquish his hold on her. He laughed at her adamancy on the subject though and determined that he’d have to remind her once she’d sobered up.

“Sure, B.” He soothed, carding a gentle hand through her messy hair and tucking a loose strand behind her ear.

“You’re really pretty though, G. Like so pretty I feel the need to bark or something. Like a dog would at a squirrel.”

Ross actually lost his footing upon hearing that and spat what little dregs of drink that remained in his mouth out onto their brand new floor. “Bark??” He questioned her, and even though George was just as baffled as he was, he had the fucking common sense not to quiz a drunken twat. No matter how lovely they were.

“Was that a bit much?” Birdie asked him, smiling dopily now as she started to deflate, leaning more heavily into George’s side. Ross made a face and George cut his eyes at the lad. But the girl didn’t seem to notice nor care and simply carried on, “Do you reckon Cillian Murphy would let me marry him? He was well fit in that movie, weren’t he? That one with all them dreams and Tom Hardy… Fuck, I’d fuck Tom hardy. Wouldn’t you, G?”

George pressed his lips together to keep himself from outwardly reacting, doubting that she’d be all that susceptible to being laughed at, then said, “Yeah Birdie, be mad not to.”

He’d expected Ross to find amusement in her words too but only found the man to be nodding along solemnly, George tightened his mouth to hold back an ugly snort.

“I know!” Birdie went on, and George was practically holding her up now, even as she hiccuped again. “Oh, but he’s not as fit as you, G. Especially when you start doing that thing with your-”

A hand was all too quick to muffle her admission then, and from the dying light in Ross’s eyes George was beyond thankful that he hadn’t given the prick the opportunity to lord something so incriminating over their heads for the rest of their sorry lives.

“Alright, lovely, time for bed, yeah?”

“Oi, she weren’t done, were you, B? What were you gonna say just then, sweetheart?” Ross tried and barely even reacted to the swift kick George gave his leg whilst Birdie pried his hand away from her mouth.

“I don’t remember. But if I do, I’ll call for you! Yeah?”

Ross nodded in quick succession and George took the chance to start leading his girlfriend away from the rest of the party.

He sighed in utter relief once they reached the last door at the very end of the hallway and shuffled them on through. Their bedroom was halfway through the unpacking stage at the moment, just the bed and a dresser had been put together, so he had to be extremely careful when trying to manoeuvre their way past the many boxes that littered the floor.

“Alright there, love?” George questioned after he’d gone and propped the girl down on the edge of the mattress, already making the effort to start peeling off her socks as well as the dress she’d picked out earlier that evening. She looked stunning in it, even now with her hair in disarray and a small stain marring the collar.

She hummed softly in response.

“Tired?” He asked.

“Tired.”

“Thought so,” George chuckled quietly, pulling back the covers so that she could climb in, “Had fun though, yeah?”

“So much.” She answered him, rubbing her eyes sleepily which only removed the mascara she’d popped on whilst getting ready and darkened the underneaths of them. “You?”

“You were there, weren’t you? So ‘course I did.”

“Sap.” She laughed, reaching out to run a hand through his unruly hair. “Love you.”

He smiled and released an airy breath, “Love you. Too much, I reckon.”

She grinned up at him and shuffled further under the duvet, George decided to grab a makeup wipe and help clear up her face, knowing she’d be all stroppy come morning when her skin was horrible and the pillowcases were stained.

“Stay still, you weirdo.” He scolded with a light chuckle when she started to wiggle about beneath his careful hand, “I’m just tryna get this eye shit off for you.”

“Oh.” She whispered, sleep lining every inch of her voice, eyes still wound shut as she hunched her shoulders up towards her ears. “Sorry.”

“No need to be sorry, love.”

“But you’re so lovely to me, G. Always.” She sighed, smiling softly.

“What you deserve, ain’t it?” He replied in the same hushed tone, and there was that word again.

“Hm. I’m glad I have you. And our home too.”

George could only smile as he popped the stained wipe into the little bin nearby.

“Me too, Birdie.” He admitted, sliding in beside the girl to wrap her up in his arms. He could hardly care less about the party still going on outside. He’d locked the door on their way in and Hann had yet to leave, so he was sure that things would soon sort themselves out. Besides, Ross knew where they’d wandered off to if anyone asked so there was nothing more to worry about.

Nothing at all.

—

He could hardly take it.

It was quiet. Eerily so. But his head was too fucking loud. Way too fucking loud.

He’d been spiralling as of late. He knew it. Could read the signs as easily as he could the morning paper, but it’d been a long while since the last. Before he’d left home even.

But he was. Spiralling.

He was free-falling. Had lost his footing somewhere on the curb outside and had yet to land, yet to catch his breath.

But everything was good.

Apart from the not eating. The not sleeping.

Everything had been good.

He was good. Things were good. Things were fine.

Fine. Fine. Fine.

Why was he spiralling again?

He wanted to scream. Throw his fist through a wall and leave it at that. Could feel the agitation he constantly felt cloud him like a cloak.

His foot started tapping away then, and his fingers soon followed. He itched for a drink, something to ease it all, so he stood from where he’d been holed up by his desk all day and stormed through the flat into the living room.

There was a bar cart of sorts set up there, between the sofa and the tele. A wheeled antique cabinet Birdie had seen on one of their evening escapades and reckoned it would serve well when hosting the alcoholics they called friends.

George paused by it for a split second before he flipped the doors open, rattling the bottles inside as another round of thoughts plagued his mind. Friends. Did he have any that weren’t hers?

He grunted and dragged one of the newer JD bottles out, the glass clinking against every other in his fidgety haste. He kicked it closed behind him and wandered his way out onto the small balcony, one of the many things that had sold them on the place all those years ago, and unscrewed the lid.

It was late evening now. Seven, eight-ish or so, at least that’s what he reckoned. The streetlights were lit on the narrow street below and it was just beginning to spit, he raised the bottle up towards the Heavens, toasting the weather’s sardonic humour, before he necked a few gulps.

He hated it. Hated everything as of late. The way he looked. How things sounded. When people would smile at him. Joke. Talk.

He felt trapped. Knotted up with baggage, his head the stone weighing him down. He felt scared. Terrified, even. And he couldn’t for the life of him make sense of any of it.

He sounded like a fucking prick. He knew that. But he didn’t much care, because what was the point in caring anyway? When they’d yet to even start on the next album they’d promised. Yet to even write another song. It was too much. All he ever felt was pressure. Coming at him from all sides. When he was in the studio. When he was at home.

No one could leave him the fuck alone.

“George?”

A voice called out distantly, he was quick to down another shot of the murky liquid and squeeze his eyes tightly shut to simply give himself a second of reprieve, before he stepped back through the balcony doors and into the warmth of the flat.

He grunted in reply after he’d tucked the bottle up onto a high shelf and switched on the tele, if only to make it seem like he hadn’t been stewing in his own head since he last seen her that morning.

“There you are, picked up takeaway on my way home. Figured you might not have eaten yet.” Birdie greeted as she waltzed through the living room, pecking his cheek before heading on over to the kitchen. He watched through the transom window as she placed a white carrier bag onto the counter then make a grab for the plates in one of the higher cabinets, coat already having been shucked off in the hallway and slippers on her feet. “You get much done today then?” She asked him, “Spoke with Matty on my lunch break, he’ll be in London again next week.”

George could only hum, eyes focused intently on the tele screen but not taking any of it in.

“You even watching that? Sound ain’t even turned on, you dafty.” She laughed from the other side of the wall. He heard her riffle through the drawers for something or other, but didn’t reply. “G, babe. You alright?”

“Fine.”

Fine. Fine. Fine.

He had to force himself to breath.

“Fine? Don’t sound it, love. What’s up?” She questioned further, having stopped what she was doing to wander back in.

He gritted his teeth. She only ever prodded. Poking and poking. More and more. Incessant. Never knew when to give the fuck up.

“I’m fine. Just said that, didn’t I?”

She paused, surprised by the bite behind his words. He swallowed heavily, the bitter twang of whiskey still stained his tongue, his teeth.

“Don’t have to be like that, G. Was just asking.” Was what she replied with after a long and silent minute had passed.

George could only scoff, throwing the tv remote he still clung to somewhere onto he sofa behind him. “Yeah, well don’t. I’ve said I’m fine. So leave it, will you?”

She made this face, the same one she always did when she was hurt, but not anything teary or sad, just angered. “This what I’ve got to look forward to each time I come home, then? You and these foul fucking moods you work yourself into. What, all ‘cause tours stopped and the album’s not coming along the way you hoped? Well, boo-fucking-hoo, George. That’s life. Not everything’s perfect. And you don’t get to sit there and take it all out on me, day in and day-fucking-out.”

“Just fuck off, Birdie. I don’t need your shit on top of everything else.” George snipped back and wasn’t fully prepared for the way she shot towards him, snatching up the tele remote to switch the whole thing off just so he’d look at her.

“Don’t call me that when you’re being the prick. I haven’t done a thing wrong, only asked after you.”

George rolled his eyes, already tired of it all. “Leave it out.”

He then huffed and went to grab the set of silver keys that had been left on the console.

She threw her hands up in the air, shoulders hunching. “What the fuck, G? Where’re you going now? You can’t just leave like this.”

“The fuck I can’t.” He snorted unkindly, shaking his head as he shoved the keys into his pocket and made his way back through the house to get to his studio.

“George.” He heard her call after him, but not too far behind. “At least tell me where you’re going so I know you’ll be safe. You’ve been drinking again so you can’t fucking drive. Call a cab or something, head to Hann’s.”

His fists were at his temple then, drilling themselves a hole there, if only to subside some of the torment he felt his mind swimming in. She was at the door a second later, looking lost and hurt, sad now, not angry.

“G, please.”

He didn’t know why but he just laughed a little to himself after having heard her plea, hands falling aimlessly to his sides as he shook his head once more. “I can’t fucking do this anymore.” He heard himself say.

She sighed, this heavy thing that weighed her down before it expanded out into the rest of the room, almost as if it wanted to suffocate not just her but him too. “Can’t do what?”

“This!” He said harshly, hardly even sparing her a glance as he begun to pack away his laptop, his mixing shit, and whatever else cluttered the desk. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“What’s that meant to mean?”

“I just can’t keep fucking pretending! Can’t-” He faltered and faffed his hand about in midair before throwing it downwards to shove a charger into a case, “Can’t carry on like I’m fine. Like everything’s fucking fine, all the fucking time. Like it’ll all work out. Like this is where I’m meant to be.”

A long stretch dragged out between them and all that could be heard was the traffic of the inner city from just outside their flat. He used to love it, but despised it in that second.

“I don’t… I don’t know what you want me to do, George. What you need to make things better.”

He was shaking now, trembling even. Noticed it as his hand faltered when going to pick up the hard-drive sat behind a frame she’d gifted him for his twentieth birthday, one that had sat proudly on his desk ever since he’d unwrapped it.

“I’m gonna go to LA for a bit.” He heard himself murmur whilst he dragged his gaze away from the smiling duo behind the glass. “Stay with Matty, work on the album, explore some of the options out there.”

“For how long?”

Her voice had never seemed so small.

“I don’t know.” He returned and forced himself to continue packing up, tucking his phone into his back pocket and breathing as much as his hollow lungs would allow. “Just, I don’t know, alright. Don’t wait for me, yeah? I’ll figure it out.”

A surprised albeit wet scoff bypassed her mouth then, “What’s that meant to mean? Are you ending things? Is that what this is?”

He squeezed his eyes shut again, if only to appease the swirling storm going on inside his head. His chest ached with the very motion and he fought not to spare her another look as he turned around to head down the hallway.

“George! You can’t just say shit like that and leave.” She shouted, though there were tears in her voice. “If you’re ending things with me, at least have the balls to tell me straight.”

“I don’t fucking know what I’m doing! Alright?” He shouted back at her, the pounding in his head, the whispers, growing in tenfold as he spun around on his heel to stare back the only girl he’d ever loved. “I feel trapped! And I fucking hate it! I don’t want to leave but what else is there? Stay here and drive myself fucking insane?”

She appeared to fold in on herself then, just looked back at him with eyes of dying wildfire and he had to live with the knowledge that he’d been the one to snuff them out.

“We were happy. And I love you. Isn’t that enough?”

The anger was long gone now, replaced only by a hot and heavy pit of grief. “But what if I’m not in love with you anymore?”

George watched her break into pieces, right there on the hallway floor before his very eyes. And he couldn’t even reach out to hold her together, to take back the cruel words.

“I love you.” He croaked, “But-”

“You’re just not sure if you’re in love with me.” She finished for him, wet tears hanging from her chin and drowning out what little flames she’d had left behind her eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

It was all he could think to say.

“Sorry.” She mimicked, “Why? Why now?”

He swallowed, but there was a rock stuck there at the very top of his windpipe. He couldn’t get the right words out. Felt as though all his organs were failing.

She shook beneath his hands and it was that reaction that had him realising that he’d crossed the floor to meet her. He was crying too he found, because when he stared into her eyes she was all blurred and disfigured.

She clung to the front of his t-shirt in that next second and he wound his hands around her wrists, not pulling them away, just holding.

“Please.”

And everything inside him shattered with that one word.

Splintered his entire being, in truth, and sent whatever was left of him ricocheting outwards. She’d gotten caught in the crossfire it seemed and he could only lean in a little closer to press his lips to her forehead whilst she sobbed all she had left to give into his shoulder.

—

Her head was rested against his arm and George did his very best not to move a single inch, even with the turbulence of the plane shaking them this way and that, in hopes not to wake her.

The doctor had given her the okay to fly and although the lot of them had been all too happy spending a couple of weeks hiding away in sunny Spain, working on the album and recovering, it was nice to finally be headed home.

The only thing that had him on edge though, was the life waiting there for them. What would happen once the plane finally landed and they were back on familiar ground? He questioned how long it would take for her to realise the massive mistake she’d made. If she would end things the same way he had.

Probably not, she was a lot of things but cruel had never been a word he’d use to describe her.

He glanced downwards then, towards her. She’d taken the window seat, of course, but thankfully he’d been left with an empty seat on the other side of him. The rest of the boys were stuck a little further up, Ross and Matty conked the fuck out, whilst Hann rewatched one of the many Lord of the Ring films.

She looked peaceful whenever she slept and it always seemed to settle some anxious stirring deep within him when he saw her like that. Reckoned it was only because he could be certain that she was fine, that nothing could harm her with him sat this close. Or at least that’s what he used to think. Couldn’t really claim that now though after he’d been the one to tear her to pieces.

George gripped the hand he held a little tighter with that thought, but not enough to wake her.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our descent into London. The local time is 3:36. Please turn off all electronic devices and stow them away until we have arrived at the gate. For your safety and the safety of those around you, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened and keep the aisles clear until we are parked at the gate. Thank you for flying with us, we hope you have enjoyed your flight.’

He drew in a nervous breath at the overhead announcement, but gathered himself enough to then shift in his seat slightly. He knew that if he didn’t wake her now he’d only drag it out, hold out hope that they’d soon fly through a strange portal and into a whole other world instead of landing in Heathrow like planned.

“Hey, B.” George called softly, jostling the girl sat beside him ever so gently. She sniffed and then took a deep breath in before stretching herself outwards, “B, love. Wake up, we’re landing soon.”

“Hm?” She questioned sleepily, and George could only chuckle as she forced her head further into the darkness his shoulder had to offer.

“About to land, babe.” He repeated again, stroking the back of her head as she continued to rouse herself, “Reckon those pills worked a treat, you passed out twenty minutes in.”

“Praise modern medicine.” Is the reply Birdie gave him and he snorted in return, burying the sound in the top of her head.

“Feeling alright?”

She hummed into the muscle of his chest before pulling away to blink sleepily up at him. “Yeah, neck doesn’t even ache that much.”

“Reckon that’s ‘cause you used me as a pillow.”

With a wrinkle of her nose, the girl then smiled, “I’ll be sure to return the gesture in the cab back then.”

George’s thoughts seemed to still at that and the anxiety he’d been shoving way deep down rose up like the City of Atlantis thought to if Armageddon ever did occur. It must’ve shown on his face too, because Birdie was frowning the next time he glanced over at her.

“What’s up?” She asked him, voice still full of sleep, eyes still bleary.

He opened his mouth to wave her worries away, but found he couldn’t.

“G?” She prodded with a small but beautiful smile. “Go on, you can tell me.”

“I know.” He murmured, but still felt conflicted as his gaze dragged between her own. “I’m just. I-” He lost himself in his head again, each breath growing harsher.

“Me too.” He heard her admit.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She chuckled, smiling again but this time she took his hand in hers. George let it ground him. “It’ll be strange, but we’re together, yeah? Everything will work out.”

He was stuck there, frozen in place, thousands of miles up in the sky, and honest to God gone on this girl. How he’d managed to find her in the first place, he didn’t know, but to have lost her and then won her back also? Well, it gave him the answer to a question he’d been asking for years.

What did he deserve?

What did anyone deserve, really?

He didn’t truly know, but happiness felt like a pretty fair answer.

“I love you, you know that?”

She laughed at him, not unkindly, and he felt her squeeze his hand. “I do. And you’ll be pleased to know it’s very much reciprocated.”

George rolled his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips, “Oh, lovely that. Thanks.”

Birdie grinned as she chuckled, pulling him in close to gift him a quick kiss.

“Love you too, you ginormous sap!”

He could only laugh in retort, shaking his head before he dragged her back in for something a little more substantial.

George felt, more than saw, the grin he was sure matched his and found that he didn’t ever want to pull away again.

Epilogue>

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yourneighborhoodneighbor · 9 months

Text

super cool ghost ice mega slide

(masterpost to my fics while ao3 is down) AO3

fic under the cut

Having another superpowered person as part of Batclan was great, even if he wasn't technically a meta (I'm dead, Duke, that's more of a medical condition-). Having a portable snow maker year round was even better.

Duke had taken to Danny pretty quickly after the younger teen had been picked up off the street, hurt and borderline delirious, surprisingly not by Bruce, but by Jason. Once he had been cognizant enough to realize in which city he was, and in whose cave, he had had a pretty major freak out, believing himself in danger through a mix of the idea that Batman hated metas and whatever had hurt him so badly in the first place.

After Duke had managed to get out of his stupor at seeing whatever it was the kid had become (and seriously, he had seen some pretty unusual things because of his meta abilities, but a 4k HD 1080p 4D experience of a real life eldritch being was not one of them) he had promptly kicked everyone out of the room in the med area (except for Alfred, whom he very politely asked vacate the room) to try and calm the kid down.

After revealing his own meta status, assuring the glowing kid that Batman didn't actually hate metas, he just wanted to protect his city from mind-controlled superpowered people, and that he was safe from whoever had hurt him, the kid had finally calmed down enough to return to a more human-like appearance.

From then it was really no surprise to anyone that the new kid (who could transform into an actual human, and really? Black hair and blue eyes again?) got promptly adopted and revealed information that got an entire branch of the government taken down by the blazing wings of fury of the entire Batclan (even Damian had quickly become attached to the newest kid once his katana was gushed about with the accuracy and fervor of someone who knows how to wield the weapon).

What had been unexpected was the kid having a connection to the Lazarus Pits (which were apparently something called ectoplasm) and being able to help Jason get rid of what turned out to be a huge amount of toxic gunk from himself, leaving him with only the good gunk (Duke tried not to think too much about it), which made the too dead-but-not-really boys bond quickly.

On top of all that the kid was also an engineering and astronomy nerd (as well as had a knack for math and physics), which appealed him to Tim greatly, and he made puns like would die (again) if he didn't, which appealed him to Dick, and, he preferred communicating with means other than spoken words (usually inhuman sounds and growls), which he bonded over with Cass, and he was actually good a baking, which appealed him to Alfred, and he was also already a vigilante, which appealed him to everyone else-

The point being, everyone loved Danny, including Duke himself, so it was a bit hard to get some to spend with him by himself, which was why Duke was going to make the most of this day.

He wasn't actually alone with the young half-ghost, Cass was also left at home while all the others went about some business or another out of the manor, but Duke knew hanging out with both Danny and Cass was often double the fun since underneath the chill facades both of them were actually feral little shits, so that wasn't an issue.

That brought him back to his first point: having a brother who could make no-melt snow on command was the best!

So now here they were, the three of them standing side by side on top of the tallest point of the manor, facing a slope so steep it was almost 90º degrees at first and then bent and curved all over the yard in ways Duke just knew wouldn't pass a safety inspection, those tiny cheap plastic sleds in hand (“for the full experience,” Danny said, even though they certainly had the money to buy other sleds). Duke was regretting some of his choices, looking down, but now he was committed, no way was he quitting, Danny and Cass would tag team on teasing him for the rest of time.

“Ready?” Danny asked, a too wide smile on his face and eyes open with the kind of crazed excitement only someone who was already dead could have.

Cass answered by putting her sled on the ground and sitting on it, position ready and her face mirroring Danny's.

Duke stood corrected, only people who were already dead, and Cass.

He really was going to regret this, wasn't he. Well, too late to back out now. This is what he got for hanging out with the two most unhinged people in the family, he supposed (and that was saying something, considering the kind of family Duke had).

“Sure, yeah, what's a little sled race down a death slope of doom?” the meta answered with more confidence than he felt. He was the Signal! He could do this! Besides, Cass and Danny wouldn't actually let him break his neck and die, right? Right.

Cass patted his shoulder sympathetically (as if-) as he sat down. Here went nothing.

“Remember, whoever makes it down in the least amount of time wins an ice cream! And no powers! You're up first, Duke!” Danny exclaimed as he pushed Duke forward.

Duke had barely any time to process the fact that he was already in a semi-free fall before he was already approaching the tunnels that made up the bottom half of the “super cool ghost ice mega slide” (patent pending). He remembered he did, in fact, need to breath, filling his lungs to the top and letting the air out in a scream.

The meta boy could do nothing but keep screaming as he reached speeds he was pretty sure went against the laws of physics, making loop-de-loops and turns so steep he thought he was going to slam against the side instead of turning a few times.

After what felt like an eternity but also too little time to have actually completed the Slide of Doom (more accurate name, in Dukes opinion), he finally made it to the end, promptly getting bowled over by a gleeful Cass and cackling Danny, who he hadn't even noticed were right behind him.

“Mmfffhblggggheroff-” Duke grunted, turning over and subsequently throwing off the other two into the surrounding snow. Danny accepted his fate, while Cass sat up and grinned at him.

“And?! Wasn't that fun?!” Cass signed excitedly. Duke was about to say it was terrifying, but cut himself short when he noticed he was smiling.

Huh. That actually had been fun. It had been really, really fun.

“We should do that again,” he breathed out. “We should do that again, but all together! More weight means more speed! We can see how far off the finish we end up!”

He was excited now, he was PUMPED! He grabbed Danny around the waist, carrying him like a sack of potatoes and and running up the ice steps (sibling with ice powers for the win-) back to the roof, Cass behind him with the sleds.

He ignored the ghost boy's protests about being able to walk (“and fly!”), eager to enact his new plan.

Once up there, he dumped his brother and accepted a sled from his sister, sitting down on it.

“Cass, sit on my lap! Danny goes on top because he's a lightweight!” he told the others, receiving a token protest from Danny, who got further teased about his half weight by Cass.

Once they were all settled, Duke got really to start them off by pushing with his legs when Danny yelled out.

“Wait!”

Cass and Duke looked up at him with questioning glances. In response, the boy got up, touched the slide and… Oh-hoho, this was gonna be good.

“There, it's extra smooth and slippery now. We're in for some Cool Running!” Danny said, settling back on top of the pile, grin matching his two siblings'.

“Alright, let's break some legs” Duke muttered, pushing forward with his feet.

And damn-

If Duke thought he was going fast before, they were racing the Flashes now!

All three siblings let out manic laughter, whopping and screaming as they held on to each other for dear life, the forces of the turns threatening to pull them apart.

As they neared the finish, Duke saw a shadow, barely having time to process before he was blinded by the flash of a camera.

They kept going a bit after the finish, the speed they came with not letting them stop, eventually colliding with a pile of snow and finally flying in different directions.

Duke couldn't stop laughing where he had landed, full of adrenaline and absolute mirth. A little ways away, he could hear both his siblings in the same predicament.

After a managing to get himself under control and trying to get his breathing back to normal, he sat up, freezing when he saw the amused audience they suddenly had.

“Umm, guys?” he called out to the other two.

“What?” Danny asked, sitting up as well and freezing as he saw what Duke had seen.

Cass was the last to rise, looking at their audience with as innocent a face as she could manage while clearly a culprit to their exploits.

Bruce simply raised an amused eyebrow, Alfred at his side looking perfectly regal while innocently holding a camera in his hands.

“I see you were having fun on your day off,” he stated, lips threatening to curl into a grin.

The three sibling looked at each other, before Cass reached over and simply offered one of the tiny plastic sleds to the man.

All of them were locked in a staring contest for the next few seconds, before Bruce's face finally broke into a grin and he grabbed the sled.

“Thought you wouldn't ask!” he said, turning and running up the steps, yelling back at them for being slow pokes.

The siblings all grinned at each other before running after the man.

Yeah, having access to unlimited snow was great, but getting to spend time with his family in it? Even better. bonus unrelated snow LBM drawing

#dpxdc #batpham #fanfiction #my fics #yourneighborhoodneighbor

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rottenprincessshura100 · 2 years

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Chapter 133-2 recap and notes

The fight against Satan continues to a dramatic end...but is it the end?

Maybe the beginning of the end.....

But first...Yukio is leading his group of exorcists to mount a stealth attack. Yukio offers to use the devil banisher, but Neuhaus won't let him. Why is that?

Neuhaus knows it's a suicide mission. He can only fire that gun so many times until the Armumahel exposure eats his soul. It's like Yukio's guns, only much stronger. He's protecting Yukio and Yukio's soul. Neuhaus is probably going to sacrifice himself in a blaze of glory. Anything to defeat the demon that killed his wife and child. (also, there are so many creepy similarities between Neuhaus and Yukio. It sorta reminds me of Lightning and Rin.)

Shura knows Yukio isn't feeling up to par. Instead of Yukio lying about it. He admits he needs her help and is starting to rely on others for help. He even apologizes to her. Shura is rightfully shocked.

Egyn is apparently a pacifist, when the exorcists attack him Iblis freaks out and attacks. Only Lucy, like a complete boss, takes them both out with Armumahel blades. Both of the demon kings are rendered unconscious.

Rin meanwhile, only has one move that's worked on Satan. So he just keeps trying the same move over and over. Satan thinks it's pathetic and shows Rin how to really do a demon slash. He takes out Lucy's dragon with one swing of his arm and sends Rin flying. At this point, Rin is well aware, he's not going to kick Satan's ass.

Sadly, he also takes out Lucy with his power. Will Lucy survive it? Doubtful.

Looks like Shura just got promoted to arc knight.

Satan is loving his new body. That's not a good thing. He's loving the fact that he can easily use his power. He has no intention of stopping his destruction. His power is too much for Assiah and like Amaimon, he can't control himself. This guy needs his powers bound, but who can do that?

Luckily, little Beez jumps in to neutralize Satan, followed by some impressive arias from Lightning. He creates a stream of compressed air (this can blow out a human body's vital organs, and cause heart attack and stroke. At this point Satan realizes...oh fuck me. I'm getting my ass kicked.

Then Angel shows up like a god-like poser and slices Satan in half. These arc knights are pretty damn powerful, right? Here's a sexy pose for Angel's fan club. He looks ridiculously beautiful, doesn't he?

So, now that Satan is sliced in half. Is that it?

No. Satan is going to make a second blue night. He loved his body so much, that the disappointment will be huge. He's going to go on a second rampage.

The scary thing...who's body is he going to jump into?

What's the significance of Shura taking the lead to protect Yukio? What's the significance of Neuhaus taking the shot with the demon punisher to protect Yukio? Now that Satan is back in Gehenna he'll be back with Yukio shortly, right?

Also, what the heck is happening with Mephisto and Lucifer?

#blue exorcist manga #blue exorcist #shura kirigakure #yukio okumura #ao no exorcist #rin okumura #mephisto pheles #lightning #arthur auguste angel

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kinopioa · 2 years

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Part 2: https://at.tumblr.com/kinopioa/part-1/ms8e0xrl5hl1

Given how badly the Rush and Rush Adventure Adaptations were handled (Tania Del Rio and Ian respectively), I didn't have much hope for Ian in introducing Blaze to Amy and Cream

Let's start

Pretty sure Eggman Nega being mentioned violates the "mandate" on him Flynn stated, even if he isn't seen...

The Salida? Why didn't you do La Salida (The Departure)? Go full Spanish!

Whatever, Vanilla being disappointed about the abode is...eh. Like, she lives in a modest home in canon anyway, not sure why she's semi stuffy here

Anyway, Amy's giving Cream a tour, but then is interrupted by Nicole, who tell them that she notes a weird energy signature in the woods. Said signature is from that silver capsule Nega dropped earlier. Amy and Cream go to check

And then we get this

Nice job making Cream bluntly rude. She's typically snide or tact IF she's implying something indecent in canon, but oopsie daisy here I guess

We then get Cheese to notice a shiny thing, then...

Wait, Yardley drew you with a flat chest in the cover, you're supposed to be flat chested! (No seriously, it's a canon fact). The rest of issues she's incorrectly chested (man this is weird to type). Also dem eyes are too vertical doll cartoony

Blaze is brash about her situation, despite Rush Adv. and Shadow's dimension hopping already occuring. Guess she didn't actually learn from those

So then she and Amy fight, Cream notes that the shiny thing was a freaking broken glass bottle (why would anyone camp then litter in the middle of nowhere?), so then both girls apologize, and Blaze explains how she heard of Sonic since that was brought up in the fight

I like that Yardley incorrectly drew a chaos emerald in the flashback, but then in the same page draws the Sol Emerald at the bottom

Also she snarks at Amy for not realizing it's her. Nice Ian, way to write "the only badass female Sonic character"

Apparently in offscreen events in the Rush Adv adaptation she apparently only got 1 Sol Emerald. Wow...It's been a while since Universe 1 too. Man she's slow

So the girls group up until they find Rouge overhearing. And this is where things get ugly for characterization

No Rouge, you work for the Prez. Doing field work for Gun was a temp thing

After shutting everyone up, Blaze storms off. Rouge questions why she cares for the Sol Emerald since she missed that

Yeah, Ian's gonna have her stereotypically be gem hungry

Then Cream/Cheese get punked on

The bias is fairly noticeable

After all that, Blaze finally is nice to Cream and Amy. But

Wh- You literally saw Amy get kicked. Heck, Amy expressed her distrust of Rouge before this!

But anyway, Rouge uncharistically values stealing a gem over an entire world cuz...Flynn needs his face heel turn every 5 min I guess

Literally the only time Cheese did something this entire arc. Apparently fans at the time complained how poor Cream and Cheese were written by Ian. Shame nothing got resolved 2022

But anyway, as if derailing Rouge's character wasn't lame enough, Shadow and Omega are forced into this too

End of Issue 1 of this arc

Issue 2, and Blaze notes how this doesn't really make sense for Shadow to do this

I'm failing to see how Shadow is well written under Ian

Naturally (or unnaturally as Rouge and Shadow being OOC forces this drama) a fight ensues. Omega's overly quick to using missiles in a tight space...

Yippy ki yay, this is sonething he wouldn't say!

So err, this happens. Reminder that Omega is only destructive regarding Eggman out if pure revenge in games, not just being a loose cannon with blood lust to everything!

In the chaos, Cheese manages to grab the Sol Emerald and fly away. No, this isn't that useful as you'll see in a sec

...I don't think that's how that works? Pretty sure Blaze has to will it

Yeah no, Knuckles in canon games noted that the Sol Emerald's energy was near identical to Chaos Emerald energy. Really shouldn't have exploded in Shadow's face

Also somehow Shadow and Rouge are fine from this

But rather than end here, we have (well they were in a sihouette earlier, but still)...

Team Hooey again- I mean, Hooligan, for extra bloat. And Cream and Cheese end up being ineffectual cuz we HAVE to write them as a damsel in distress set, despite Battle showing us that Cream's the most broken character in the game bar Emerl capable of fighting

Cuz of the distraction of Cream screaming, the others join in the fight against the petty thieves, only for them to escape with the gem cuz of Rose vs Dark infighting

Also more Cheese patheticness

Sigh...

Blaze and Amy get knocked out, and Cream ends up...

"Please do not cry, Ian pissed off enough respectful Cream fans already"

It's annoying how Shadow is blindly doing this mission. He almost seems scared of Rouge

Of course Blaze isn't having it, but immediately we get MORE bloat

End of the second issue

3 and 4 are gonna be lumped together cuz it's 90% mindless fighting

Still, this cover for 3 makes me laugh and be sad. It's such a lie, but it's funny

So we start with Hooligan having Bean be unfunny filler. Skipping

Rose and Dark are hot on their trail. Shadow fails to apologize

"Without regret", nice unapology

Also, "My mission"

What mission?

None of these issues explain when you got it. Your previous mission in Sonic Universe 6 was just getting Chaos Emeralds, not Sol Emeralds. How did GUN even know about it!? Assuming they just picked up on the strange readings today, a simple scouting is necessary once the source is explained.

This never is explained. I'm just gonna assume Rouge made up the "mission" cuz Flynn can't write her well at all, and Shadow has to lack individuality

Remember 06? The game that noted that even if the world or GUN was against him, he'll still fight for himself and the greater good?

This isn't that Shadow. This is a mopey wuss

Anyway, the Rogues finally catch up to the Hooligans and...

I already ranted how these guys were forced to be part of the Kukkus, now Flynn is pulling an Oglice Maurice Hedgehog? Sheesh, he really is Penders under new paint

The Hooligans finally start fighting as I continue to lose brain cells

Especially given

Wh- those aren't your bombs! What even happened!?

You could've just had Bean strategically throw a bomb to explode all the others, but nooo. Make him literally pull a plothole out of his butt

This distraction was long enough for the others to arrive

Weird line Omega. Just...weird

Oh right, Zero Gravity was never adapted. Or either Rivals games....

Or Unleashed, huh. Wonder why

@colony-drop-program @randomthefox

Welp, hit the 30 image limit. See ya in part 2!

Part 2: https://at.tumblr.com/kinopioa/part-1/ms8e0xrl5hl1

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elizababie · 11 months

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J-J-J-J-June Day 01: Treasure

Collab with the beautiful and endlessly talented @just-get-fucking-lost

Jade Manath. Maeve Blackwood. Fluffy F x F.

Special thanks to @cecilebutcher for the prompt list that we shamelessly appropriated-slash-appreciated. So sorry, so much love.

Jade Manath buries bird bones.

She buries bird bones and a sachet of small, round river stones and a bundle of sweet-smelling twigs. She's digging a hole at the fourth corner of her property, the most important corner, the last corner, the one that will offer the most protection, when it becomes apparent that she was not fast enough.

A shadow falls across her path.

She has a guest.

Jade breathes in and in and in through her nose then out, once, sharply through her mouth.

"What can I do for you?" Jade asks. Her words are icily polite even while every syllable of her tone screams, 'what the fuck do you want?'

"What does anyone want these days?" A female voice responds, pedantic and falsely inquisitive. "Money, wealth, fame, someone to spend forever with." Maeve. She whispers into Jade's ear. Even though Maeve isn't in view, her curls are; fiery red and orange strands, curled and sticking what seems to be every which way. The scent of charcoal and birch trees floats forward and wraps itself around Jade's head, a gentle pressure with a slight warning of suffocation. "Trying to hide, little bird?" she asks softly, the smile on her lips audible in her voice.

"Some people," Jade says very slowly, very carefully. "Only want solitude."

She sits back on her heels and puts an imperceptible distance between Maeve and herself. It's not enough. It's not enough by far.

Maeve stands out starkly against the landscape around her. Jade is a product of her environment, dusty brown skin and hair and eyes that match the pale earth, the newly sprouting stalks of wheat, the livestock Jade surrounds herself with. Maeve is a fire blazing in the center of Jade's carefully planted, grown, and protected oasis.

Jade wants to hate her for that. Jade also wants to hate herself for her all-too-human desire to keep warm.

She holds her spade in one hand and the leather bound journal she came here to bury in the other. She's going to have to do something dramatic after this. She's going to have to bury her mother's gleaming gold grandfather clock in the creek. She might even have to find some other, more powerful, treasure and some other, more powerful, spot to bury it in.

If Jade litters the earth with trinkets, they will grow into a force that is equal parts magnificent and impenetrable. They will keep her safe. Jade will sow the earth until she is the only thing that could possibly sprout up out of it.

First, though, Jade has to purge her land of the intruder imposing upon it.

"Why are you here?" Jade asks. She stands and brushes dirt off on her pants. She asks one thing and means another, what she wants to know is how she was found.

What she really wants to know is how she can be lost again.

She doesn't get her answer before muscle memory kicks in. Jade starts back towards her cottage and waves Maeve along after her. "Tea?"

Maeve never stops smiling but follows after Jade. The world around them is painted in dusty, neutral tones and, as always, Maeve makes sure to shine bright right in the middle of it. Maybe one day Jade will see that even plants need to burn every once in a while to start off fresh.

"Why wouldn't I be here? It's not like you're hiding or anything," Maeve says. They cross the threshold into the kitchen together. Jade keeps going, deeper into the guts of the room. "You offered me tea, people who hide from me don't offer me tea." Maeve leans across the doorway and watches Jade work. "Why are you here?"

Jade sets the kettle out to boil and collects herbs. She gathers teacups and thinks about strychnine. A corpse would be a powerful talisman to bury.

Jade has done it before.

"Hiding," Jade says. "Not from you, don't flatter yourself. Just in general. I'm tired. Tired of everything, of all of it." Jade waves her hand vaguely through the air.

ALL OF IT: the Manath druids, her clan starving for leadership, her brother sitting at the helm.

ALL OF IT: Jasper's endless needs. His endless demands. “Sister, we're moving camp! Where should we go?” and “Sister, I ruined everything again! Clean up after me!” and “Sister, mother is dead! Bury her while I fuck around!” and-and-fucking-and

ALL OF IT: eyes and ears, always on her. So many fingers, always pointing.

Jade got sick of it, of taking all of the blame for none of the credit. She never wanted that life anyway. She has never wanted to be a leader. Jade Manath just wants to watch her crops grow.

"Here." Jade sets Maeve's tea down at the table. She left of the strychnine. If Jade is remembering correctly, Maeve is too smart for her own good, she's most definitely told someone where she was going. If she doesn't come back there will be more visitors. Corpses take a long time to bury, Jade can only give them so much of her time without neglecting her other trinkets.

Maeve glances down at the cup and picks it up with both hands, She maintains eye contact and drinks the entire glass.

"Hide away with all your treasures, here at the end of the earth," Maeve says, setting her empty cup down and finally seating herself. Her presence alone makes the room feel warmer, brighter. Doesn't Jade know you need a little sunlight to grow? "Sit on your porch at the end of the day and admire your work, not anyone else's." She smirks, brushing some of her curls back. "I guess deep down we all just want a simple life, solid rewards for the effort put in." Maeve rests her hands on the table, her nails are painted a deep, olive green—But why should that matter?

Maeve pushes her cup towards Jade and nods slightly. "Delicious as always. May I have some more?"

Jade looks at Maeve. She looks back at Maeve's nails. They don't match Maeve's eyes the way they always used to. They don't accent her hair. They're the color of Jade's tea cups. They're the color of the ivy that climbs the walls. They're the color of all the things Jade suspects might be buried down deep inside of her.

HER: Jade.

HER: Maeve?

Jade tucks her hair behind her ears. She is not the person she was the last time they sat across a table from each other like this.

SHE: Jade.

SHE: Maeve?

“No,” Jade says. She tucks her spade into her back pocket and heads for the door. “Come with me. Bring that.” She doesn’t specify what that is. Maeve’s choice is her own. They all have their own secrets to hide from and their own protections to build. Maeve grabs the porcelain cup in front of her and stands, following after Jade without question.

Jade doesn’t mean to smile but it sprouts up anyway: dandelions growing between cracks in the sidewalk. Determined. Improbable. She's silent as she leads Maeve to the most powerful spot in the farm, the beginning, it’s heart.

ONCE UPON A TIME Jade Manath ran away. She ran away from her home, her family, the responsibilities that were not hers but ended up in her lap anyway. She ran away right to the end of the world and then she sat down, she built a fire, she decided that this was far enough.

Everything else sprouted up after that, veins connected to a still-beating heart. That’s where she leads Maeve. They walk to the memory of that first fire. It’s been years-years-years but Jade thinks the ashes might still be warm. The sacred and the holy have that effect sometimes, they live forever.

Jade passes Maeve her spade and keeps her silence. If she says anything the spell will break. If Maeve needs to be told what to do then maybe she does not belong here after all.

Maeve kneels and she digs. She digs and she gently places the teacup into the hole and, using her well-manicured hands, she scoops the dirt back in, gently patting the surface down before she stands and dusts her pants off.

Jade takes her spade back and digs a second hole directly beside the teacup. She sets the spade into its bed and gently tucks it in. She thinks that she's not going to be needing it after all. Maybe nothing needs to be buried in the creek. Maybe her new life is perfectly protected after all.

Jade's mind is made up. She nods resolutely at a job well done and stands shoulder to shoulder with Maeve.

"Come on," Jade says. "Let's go home."

#writing #J-J-J-J-June 2023 #June challenge #Surprising everybody: Jowan was not my first pull for this #Wild I know #saved writing

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mooncalf87 · 2 years

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Scared

(You can always have a little more Buntyforth in the world, damnit.)

"What is she decides she doesn't want to marry me? What if-"

"-Newt-"

"-she loves someone else-"

"-Newt-!"

"I'm not good enough-"

Bunty gave a swift slap to Newts cheek to bring him back to reality. "Newt. She wants to marry you. Trust me, it's normal to be this scared before your wedding. I was an absolute mess before I married Abe, as you probably remember."

"How did you stop being scared?" Newt asked, sitting next to her on the couch infront of the fireplace in the Hogs Head inn.

"Well, I didn't. I just went out there and- well, got married." Bunty said with a quiet chuckle.

Both Newt and Bunty were awake at midnight, sitting infront of the blazing fire in the middle of the inn, also Bunty and Abes house. Newt's nerves weren't letting him sleep so when he went downstairs and nearly ran headfirst into Bunty, who was also not able to sleep, she said the babies were kicking her too hard.

Bunty and Aberforth had been married for nearly three years now, and Bunty was eight months pregnant with their twins. Newt was going to marry Tina Goldstein tomorrow.

"Sometimes I wonder how you do it. You're eight months pregnant with twins and you still manage to be a Magizoologist, and make your husband stop hating everyone he sees." Newt thought out loud.

Bunty gave a small hum and shrugged her shoulders.

"Can I tell you something, Newt?" She asked.

"Of course, Bunty,"

"At one point in time I was in love with you." She admitted.

Newts head snapped over to her with a look of pure shock. It looked like something just clicked in his eyes.

"Around the time if what happened in Paris and onward till I met Abe." She started to explain. "I thought it would only ever be you, but I was wrong. Abe will always be the one I was meant for, you might have been at one point, but I was different then. I've grown. I realized who I am for myself, not just the Broadacre Magizoologist assistant."

"I- I never realized. . . " Newt said.

"I hope you don't think less of me."

"No, not at all, I know your different now. You love Abe."

Bunty smiled asn looked down to her bump. "Ya'know, I think these two want me to be sleep deprived during your wedding."

Newt laughed a little. "I can tell you've been tired lately. Do they do this often?"

"Yeah. Mostly every night. They will usually calm down when they hear Abes voice, but I didn't want to wake him again tonight." She said, running her hand through her long red hair. She rested her head on Newts shoulder and yawned.

"Are they doing it again?" A voice came from the stairs, Aberforth was apparently awake. "Why didn't you wake me, Bun?" He asked walking over to her.

"You looked so peaceful." Bunty said, turning towards him as he sat on her other side. "I didn't want to bother you."

"You wouldn't be bothering me." Abe said as she nuzzled her face in his neck and curled into his side.

Newt recognized that this was a special moment between Husband and Wife, so he took it as his cue to leave.

Bunty listened as his feet walked up the stairs and into the room where he and Tina were staying.

"You're carrying our children, Bun. Its the least I could do. I want you to get at least half a decent nights sleep." Abe said, running his hand through her hair and his other hand rubbing circles on her belly.

The babies kicking stopped mostly and Bunty imitateley slipped off into sleep.

Aberforth smiled and picked her up bridal style and carried her to their room. He layed her down on her side of the bad and pulled the covers up over her.

She turned over in her sleep, both hands protectively on her bump, and she cuddled into Abe once he got back in bed.

The Dumbledores were certainly a special couple. Even so, if Bunty had never changed her last name.

@the-real-bruce-banner (a fellow Buntyforth lover)

#bunty broadacre #newt scamander #newtina #aberforth dumbledore

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unisexobject · 1 year

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Chapter VII. Closer

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader Summary: A callous run-in with a certain someone leads you and Eddie to grow closer, but are your enemies more dangerous than they seem? Trigger Warnings: Violence, blood, past trauma, ptsd, exposed skin, idk Author's Note: I know it has been a hot minute since last, but life has been seriously roundhouse kicking my ass. Next chapter, a character that rhymes with sissy goes snap, crackle and pop...

Having Eddie in the same classes as you was not as enjoyable as it sounded.

He would always grab your arm and start drawing all over, creating little but many illustrations of old rickety houses, lightning bolts, bats, cemeteries and wyverns across your supple skin. It lead to you furiously scrubbing his artwork off during lunch just before you got home, sick of your parents questioning you over your impromptu sleeve and the curly haired metal head who barely left your side.

Eddie also couldn't be quiet, as the constant tapping of his ivory Reeboks or the clinking of thick metal rings practically drove you insane. Let alone his constant whispering of absolute nonsense into your ear - whether it be the melodic tune of his latest hyperfixation or completely inappropriate comments about Mrs. O'Donnel - that nearly made you burst into laughter every lesson.

But the worst of all, was that he needed you to explain practically everything from class to him. Not satisfied until his thousand "but why" 's were answered. Despite his subtle intelligence and unabating creativity, Eddie still needed a little hand here and there. And God was he annoying.

On today's menu, creating original poetry. Great, you thought.

You groaned across the cafeteria table after Eddie had pestered you about helping him write.

"I'm going to see Robin at Family Video first after school, so come over a little later."

Your best friend flashed his pearly grin.

You hadn't seen Robin over the last few days, apparently she was caught up in some business with Nancy and Steve. You hoped that she would be there this afternoon to help you pick out something to watch later tonight.

"Why is Jason Carver looking at you and Y/N like that?" Dustin asked.

His comment pulled you out of your reverie.

The whole table turned their head in unison toward the infamous Jason Carver, or to the balls-and-laundry-basket table as Eddie so imaginatively coined.

It was true. Jason's expression was a little unsettling. His face was hard and stern, like he was in the midst of taming his blazing rage. He barely broke away his piercing gaze from Eddie.

"Maybe he's still pissed about Y/N dunking a big fat bowl of punch on his stupid head." Gareth mused.

His comment earned a light chuckle from the table. You and Eddie smiled in earnest.

"Don't forget how she threatened to fight him too." Dustin interposed.

"Yeah. He's probably like, super embarrassed." Mike added.

"Embarrassed that Eddie has Chrissy wrapped around his little finger." Jeff retorted teasingly.

The whole table laughed, except for you and Eddie.

Your smile dropped along with your gaze. You scratched the back of your neck sheepishly, attention returning to your carrot sticks. They no longer were as appetising as they were when lunch had started, the slender orange now suddenly a nauseating sight.

Eddie remained still and wary - and unbeknownst to you - death staring Jeff for his flippant comment. He didn't have Chrissy wrapped around his finger. It was obvious from the moment that she flashed her wide smile and innocent eyes and asked Eddie if he had "the stuff" that she wasn't interested in him. At least not in that way. Sure Chrissy showed Eddie genuine kindness, but she was more concerned with what he had to offer.

Eddie didn't understand why the thought of him and Chrissy spoken aloud made him so uncomfortable. He had a crush on her not too long ago and felt free enough to share the desires of his heart to you. In fact, it was something he still ruminates on, groaning to himself as he tosses and turns late at night. He wanted to go back in time and smack his past self in the face for acting like such a love sick fool.

But ever since his fire for her fizzled out, he became incredibly anxious at the thought of you thinking that he still liked her.

The second Jeff teased Eddie about it, his heart quickened. He couldn't hide his immediate shift in demeanour. Eddie couldn't understand why he even felt concerned about the whole thing to begin with.

"I do not." Eddie snapped.

Everyone went silent, his sudden change in mood earning confused looks from a sea of naive eyes.

"I mean..." He continued in a much calmer tone. "I don't know what you're talking about."

You started to bite your nails absentmindedly, desperate for something to distract you from the unpleasant conversation that seemed to encircle you.

"Don't you meet her in the woods outside of school all the time?" Gareth asked humourlessly.

That's our spot.

You met Eddie's gaze, a twinge of sadness growing in your chest. Its weeds wrapped around your heart when Eddie stayed silent, his doe eyes boring into yours.

After a moment, he continued on.

"I told you not to mention that out loud Gareth. It's not exactly public knowledge." Eddie seethed, briefly looking around to ensure no one in the busy cafeteria heard.

You looked away from Eddie, unable to decipher the all encompassing distrust that suddenly emerged.

You didn't really have much reason to doubt Eddie, his heart bold and honest on his sleeve. Yet, for some reason you did. These feelings of almost jealousy made you wary.

"I help her take the edge off, that's all. If Jason knew, who knows what he would do to the both of us."

Gareth and Jeff hummed in response, willing to drop the whole thing out of boredom. Like they were a dog playing with a chew toy whose piercing squeak were no longer entertaining.

So, you and Eddie finished your lunch in silence, whilst the rest of the boys returned to mindless chatter. But your mind - as usual - would be consumed by thoughts that your best friend was growing dishonest with you. And soon enough, would learn the dreadful yet all too true past which followed you everywhere.

It was afternoon now and you were at Family Video, hoping to catch Robin to help you rent a film for your post writing session with Eddie. You wandered the aisles, waiting to discover something that would please the both of you.

Eddie adored anything scary and filled with gore, whilst you enjoyed the likes of a good story or some German expressionism. Although, getting Eddie to enjoy a silent film was a terribly hard task. He had never been one to focus and needed dialogue to really capture his attention.

You hoped that whatever weird funk you were in at lunch would dissipate by the time Eddie arrived. You hoped even more, that watching a movie together would put your mind at ease, allowing you to fall into sync with your best friend effortlessly.

You were tossing up between Frankenstein and Nosferatu, hoping for Robin to pop around and help you decide.

"Hey." Steve beamed.

His voice caught you off guard, causing you to drop Nosferatu onto the carpet.

"Shit." You muttered, crouching down to pick it up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Although, based off the looks of it that's what you're after?"

He motioned toward the films in your hands and smiled convivially.

"Yeah, I have a thing for vampires and reanimated corpses it seems." You shook your head, playfully ashamed.

Steve smiled wide and leaned against the shelf, stumbling a little when his elbow missed the surface.

He cleared his throat.

"You doing okay? After Friday, I mean. Thought I'd have to call the cops to haul you away." He mused teasingly.

You genuinely laughed, somehow coming around to the humour of the previous Friday.

"I don't know what you put in that punch Harrington, but it really got my wires mixed up." You replied playfully.

He scratched his chin and flaunted his pearly teeth.

"And here I was thinking that they were already like that."

"Hey!" You chided.

You smacked him on the side jestingly and chuckled at his antics. When he recovered, he took a deep breath.

"So, what are you doing here?" Steve asked, leaning the side of his head on closed knuckles.

"You know, looking for something to watch tonight. I'm just waiting for Robin to help me out."

As if saying her name had spoken her into existence, she magically appeared next to you.

"Nosferatu? I mean it's not bad, but The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is way better. Might relate to it a bit more considering you aren't sleeping these days." Robin remarked, resting a gentle hand on your shoulder.

You and Steve exchanged knowing glances, glint of humour dancing around in your eyes.

"Hello to you too." You replied sarcastically.

"Wait, you're not sleeping?" Steve questioned with a furrowed brow.

Before you could clarify, Robin did.

"Yeah dingus, she keeps having these awful nightmares and crazy nosebleeds. The other day her headache was so bad that she didn't listen to her walkman because the headphones hurt to be on her head." She explained animatedly.

Your eyes widened in embarrassment. It wasn't a big deal and Steve didn't need to know. You were afraid that he would worry or look at you as if you had some serious psychological issues. Not like it would be such a terrible fate, but you didn't think something so odious could be easily digested by someone like Steve.

"Thank you for the suggestion Rob, but I think that's my cue to leave."

You gently squeezed Robin's shoulder to soothe her and hopefully discreetly inform her that she had overshared.

Steve forced a placating grin as he ran a firm hand through his swirly mane.

You waved a kind hand to Harrington as you walked out of Family Video, hoping to God that this weird tizzy of a day would draw to a close soon.

The warm Indiana afternoon faded into a raven sky, set aglow by tiny speckles of constellations. Sprawled across your fuzzy rug still in the same clothes, worry ate at you when Eddie still hadn't arrived.

It was 9pm and you were coming to the conclusion that perhaps he never would. You were slightly worried, yet mostly annoyed. He had pestered you at lunch about helping him with his poetry. But maybe he ended up with Chrissy? The thought kept pervading your mind, never allowing you to rest.

Desperate to get comfortable, you slowly rose from your languid position in hopes to change into something more agreeable.

After you discarded your shirt and jeans onto your bedroom floor, leaving you in just your underwear and white singlet, you slowly pulled on some great sweat pants and woolly socks.

Just as you pulled them on, a sudden yet light tap from your bedroom window garnered your attention. You snapped your head in its direction, heart almost going asystole at the intrusion, until a familiar head of curls came into view.

Clutching at your chest in fear, you watched as Eddie gave a small wave through the window pane. You let out a relieved breath and slowly stalked your way over.

The window opened with a click.

"Eddie." You breathed, voice a little raspy from fright. "What on earth are you doing? You were supposed to be here hours ago."

Eddie hoisted a jean clad leg over the frame and slid into your room with practiced ease.

"Was a little caught up." He groaned in response as he tried to shut your window.

"I was getting changed, you could have just come through the front door."

"Don't worry, I didn't see nothing." Eddie remarked unconcerned, turning around to face you.

As your warm bedroom light hit his pale face, you noticed a shattered mosaic of deep blues and purples across his right eye and cheek. A bright crimson stain trailed down his Helfire shirt that was now soiled in what seemed to be blood. His plush bottom lip had an angry slit in it, revealing layers of tonal reds amongst vivid pink. Eddie looked like he had just come back from hell.

"Jesus fucking Christ." You muttered, taking his injured head into your hands.

"Gentle, sweetheart." Eddie replied, wincing as your hands came to rest on his battered cheeks.

A million thoughts ran through your mind all at once, as if each one were a train colliding directly into one another. Your eyes nearly burst out of your skull as you took in Eddie's injuries, making note of each indigo splotch and dots of dried blood.

"Who did this to you?" You asked incredulously. Eddie swallowed the lump that had magically formed in his throat.

"Jason." He replied, sore lips grazing the inside of your palm.

Eddie gripped your wrists gently and pulled them away from his face.

You remained silent as he skulked around your room, taking a liking to the end of your plush bed. He patted the spot next to him, motioning for you to come sit.

You held your arms over your chest and joined him.

You might have appeared calm albeit shocked, but on the inside you were fuming.

How the fuck could Jason do this? You wanted to stride over to his house and set him alight. You could barely wrap your head around it.

"Eds...why did he do this to you?" You asked softly, still bewildered by his injured complexion.

Your question made Eddie think back to this afternoon.

"Hey freak!" Jason called, cornering Eddie in the school parking lot.

Jason and his posse waited until late, the time of day where it was deserted and when Eddie had finished writing his newest campaign for Helfire in the drama room.

Eddie turned around with a whoosh, only standing mere centimetres from his van. He barely had any time to register what was happening, falling to the ground with a thud.

"Think you could get away with it freak? Hanging around Chrissy. Your little slut threatening me?"

Jason started punching Eddie over and over and over. His rage unleashed and untamed.

Suddenly Eddie was laughing, a wide smirk growing across his busted lip and bruised cheek. Jason stilled his vicious movements, brows furrowed in hesitancy.

"That's it Carver?" Eddie taunted. "I thought you were a tough guy, but you punch like a girl."

Jason blinked in shock and stepped back, before throwing an even harder punch. Eddie rolled to the side and spat out some blood.

"Maybe a little harder this time and you might actually leave a mark." He groaned.

Eddie tilted his head back in roaring laughter, smearing blood across his face with the back of his palm.

Jason took the incentive and hit him harder and harder, growing ever more frustrated. Eddie was becoming battered and bruised, yet he didn't lose the fight.

When Jason stepped away, conceding to Eddie's taunts and the feeling of humiliation, Eddie laughed even harder.

"Come on champ, thought you were trying to prove me wrong."

After several more punches and groans of frustration, they left a manically cackling Eddie in the parking lot, peeling away in Jason's car and driving off into the late afternoon.

"Wait, he did this because of me?" You asked disbelievingly.

Eddie turned to face you, grabbing both of your wrists to anchor you to him.

"No, absolutely not. He's had it out for me ever since middle school. This has nothing to do with you, okay?" Eddie soothed, absentmindedly running his thumb over the back of your palm

You hung your head low, trying to listen to his comforting words. They were failing in their effectiveness.

"There's a first aid kit in the bathroom, I'll be right back." You remarked, slowly slipping out of his reassuring grip.

When you returned with swabs and gauze, you disinfected his many wounds. The sight of deep burgundy against sharp white made your stomach curl. You kept gently dabbing the cut above his eye, mesmerised at how a protuberant head of blood kept returning after several attempts at blotting the skin.

"What's the prognosis doc?" Eddie questioned sarcastically, momentarily breaking his trance from your worrisome complexion.

You huffed, tucking a loose coil of hair behind his ear. You didn't want specks of dried blood to be caught in his mane.

"Well, you're going to be okay. Just a little swollen and bruised, but still beautiful."

Eddie quietly crooned.

"Did you hear that? My little Florence Nightingale thinks I'm beautiful."

"Shut up." You warned, lightly smacking his arm.

You placed all of the soiled swabs and gauze that were still slick with blood into a plastic bag. You closed the lid of the first aid kit from the bathroom and placed it on your night stand.

The soft incandescence of your lampshade casted a warm glow in your room, subtly highlighting Eddie's battered complexion. He looked vulnerable in front of you, an elusive reminder that he was not impervious to pain or brutality. That Hawkins was a terribly violent place and people like Eddie, people who were different were a constant target. A source of retribution.

Just like in the past, people who you care about can be taken from you without warning, without any proper reasoning at all. And in the grand scheme of things, you are forever powerless to stop it.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Eddie queried, nudging his jean clad knee with yours.

Your silence worried him.

"Nothing." You replied instinctively.

Your reply was thoughtless and even Eddie couldn't understand why you even attempted to lie at all. He knew you too well.

What Eddie didn't know, was why you always kept him at arms length. Sure he had an idea that it had something to do with the enigmatic Matt, or your distant relationship with your parents, or even your past life before Hawkins (whatever that consisted of). But he could never really be certain and the weight of that speculation had started to become impossible.

Yet, he let it go and hummed softly in response.

"So um, you're gonna get mad at me for bringing this up but, when I saw you getting...getting-"

"Changed?"

"Yeah, changed. I noticed a little something around your uh...hip area."

Your eyes widened and you shot up from the bed.

"Eddie! You said you didn't see anything!" You practically shouted.

Eddie roared to his feet to join you.

"I know! I know! I didn't want you to feel...violated. I swear I didn't look on purpose!"

You turned to face him, groaning to yourself that Eddie had probably seen your half-naked form. Not just you in shorts and a singlet, but part of your bare things and hip bone.

"Christ, Eddie." You muttered, relaxing back into the mattress.

Eddie joined suit, mirroring your movements out of fear of your wrath for seeing you in such a vulnerable and compromising way.

Another silent moment passed.

"So, is it uh, a tattoo?" He asked quietly.

You turned to face him as his he cast his gaze toward his feet sheepishly.

You let Eddie's question linger in the air, deliberating what to do next. It was a tattoo, but it wasn't done on a whim or for a stupid bet or dare. It was important, a part of something larger, something you hadn't shared with Eddie. Something that even the thought of sharing had you petrified.

"You want to see?" You asked, barely above a whisper.

Eddie now turned to face you, fashioning a delicate expression of caution. He knew his abrasiveness could land him in some deep shit sometimes, but he didn't want this to be one of those times. Eddie had taken notice of how your mood would suddenly shift or how the air would carry something heavy at the drop of a pin. He had never really known what caused it, but he learnt that it was specific to you and he shouldn't push if he could help it. But he knew that moments where you would pull back the curtain even for a mere second were precious and worth savouring.

"Okay."

You cleared your throat before pulling down the right side of your waistband, slowly revealing an inky spot saddled on your hip. The whole thing felt so inglorious, revealing a strange part of skin that Eddie wouldn't have ever seen typically. It didn't feel sensual, it felt deeply pregnable.

Suddenly, the small tattoo was completely exposed, the rest of your waist hidden by the fabric of your singlet.

Eddie's breath hitched. Seeing a tattoo on you did something to him. What that something was, he wasn't quite sure yet.

"It's a butterfly." You remarked, noticing his tacit silence. "A monarch more specifically."

With your statement Eddie chuckled lightly.

"I never would have expected you to have a tattoo." He replied, looking up to your orbs with a mischievous grin.

You hummed sardonically in response.

Before you knew it Eddie ran his thumb over the butterfly, sending sharp shudders down your spine.

"You give me so much shit for my tattoos and the whole time you had one and didn't tell me."

Eddie was smiling to himself, tracing the small orange inking, running his finger tip along the fanned out wings.

"I didn't get this so girls would think that I was hot Eddie." You chided, his hand still resting on your waist.

"You think I'm hot?" Eddie asked, devilish smile growing.

You turned away, desperately wishing for respite from his grin, his burning touch, his all-encompassing proximity. The whole thing was a little too much for you all of a sudden.

Eddie must have noticed, pulling up your waistband for you and shifting away nonchalantly. You couldn't hide anything from him. He was too terribly perceptive and it killed you.

"So why'd you get it?" He asked inquisitively.

You pulled your knees to your chest, attempting to compose yourself.

"My brother always liked them." You replied, resting your elbows on your pale knees. "There used to be a whole cluster of them back home."

Eddie nodded in response, savouring the fitful acknowledgement of your past.

You stood up from the bed and moved to the other side of your room. Opening the cupboard doors, you pulled out a crocheted blanket.

"I don't think you should go home to Wayne looking like that, you should call him and tell him that you're staying here for the night." You mused as you placed the blanket gently into his lap.

Eddie watched in awe as you moved around your room so effortlessly. He hadn't ever been treated with such kindness, softness or sentimentality in his entire life (apart from Wayne) until he had met you.

The way you always thought ahead, about little infinitesimal details that seemed to escape him so frequently, rendered him overcome with wonder. It was this moment that he wanted to cry, not because he was sad or fearful, but because he felt seen, cared for and loved. Even if it wasn't the kind of love that could be articulated in an overt way, it was the kind of love that surfaced so subtlety, yet always in complete abundance.

“How do you even like this movie?” Eddie asked with a sigh. Mock annoyance dancing off his plush lips. He had already grown tired within the first few minutes, struggling to read the German that presented so boldly on the screen.

You turned to your left, studying Eddie’s profile, or more distinctly his nose. You made note of its slanted descent and bulbous tip. You watched how the lowlight of the tv reflected off his pale skin, illuminating little mousy spots that peppered his complexion.

“I don’t know.” You started, nudging your shoulder with his as you laughed.

You looked to the raven words that flashed on the screen.

Does this word not sound like the deathbird

calling your name at midnight?

Beware you never say it - for then

the pictures of life will fade to shadows,

haunting dreams will climb forth from your heart

and feed on your blood.

“You can’t ever deny death. But maybe you can commemorate sacrifice. Right the wrongs dying causes, even if it feels hopeless to do so. Even if you’re depleted of willingness to try.”

Eddie stilled, shock very much evident in his rigid features. You on the other hand had been consumed by heavy and existential ruminations.

He studied the faraway look you possessed within your glowing black irises, drinking in your despair like crisp water in the middle of a dark night.

“And here I thought it was about a hairless vampire.” Eddie remarked jestingly.

It made you chuckle and turn away shamefaced. You hadn’t intended on growing so experiential.

But the movie had eventually ended, leaving you laden and dreary eyed on Eddie’s firm shoulder. He watched you breathe in and out slowly, consumed by the rise and fall of your heavy chest.

He didn’t dare move - despite the stinging pain on the side you rested - afraid you would stir and wake. Even with the absolute shit beaten out of Eddie, he always thought of you in the way he thought of no other.

After gazing at your form as if you hung in the deep walls of the Uffizi like a Botticelli painting, Eddie drifted off into sleep. His body directly craned into yours, with calloused fingertips barely touching, the space between singing to the infinite. The two of you molded together so sweetly, naturally, like two small children unaware of the world's failings and frailty.

#eddie munson x yn #eddie munson x you #eddie x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson #eddie my love

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faithinlouisfuture · 1 year

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I didn't see it in theaters, I was busy around that time and I also wasn't going to drive hours just to go watch a movie when I literally have a movie theater seven minutes away from my house. Like, Louis I love you but there are limits, okay? As for watching it in Veeps, I don't know. Maybe? If I'm not busy around that time because May is always a busy month for me.

As for coming back to Louie Tumblr (for real, not just stalking your page) maybe closer to tour? I'm busy atm with my writing (I have to turn something in by Friday and it's kicking my ass) and my job (that one always kicks my ass).

Also, guess what? The weather is out to get me, there was a storm this weekend, like a honest to God STORM. Long story short, my house used to have three porches and now it only has one because Mr. Storm apparently didn't like two of them, so that was fun.

- 28nation

yeah closer to tour is definitely a good idea! Hope both the writing and the job ease up on you

the storm literally blew away two porches?!? that’s insane! stay safe please!!! the weather here is quite bipolar too, blazing hot one day and raining & pouring the next, it’s been a little chaotic! I’m out of town for a lil bit, so enjoying that for this week, will have to go back to real life after the weekend!

#fz28⚡️#the way I’m being so brave right now (haven’t watched succession yet and am still online)#need to catch up before I see some major spoilers for yesterday’s episode

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toakley · 1 year

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Tumblr Blaze vs Promoted Tweets

Twitter has been going through an...interesting time recently. In the months since Elon Musk's takeover there was an initial increase in users on other platforms such as Mastodon (to a peak of 2.5 million monthly active users) and Tumblr (a 62% increase in downloads of the iOS app in the week after the takeover. Social media platforms live and die based on their users and communities, and both Twitter and Tumblr have been experiencing the effects of this.

My dissatisfaction with Twitter was a primary driver for me logging into my Tumblr account for the first time in years. I wanted to be able to post in multiple formats and actually keep a personal blog rather than the limitations on a platform such as Twitter. That being said, Twitter does have a larger and more diverse user base where I miss some of the content relative to me (generally referred to as #medtwitter) which was significant enough in the medical community that commentary could be found on this topic within the British Medical Journal.

Both Twitter and Tumblr have business models that are primarily driven by advertising revenue. Both services have tried to diversify their revenue streams through subscriber models with Tumblr taking a tongue in cheek approach and adding features like two checkmarks, and crabs to people's dashboards.

Another thing that both platforms have in common is the option to promote posts for a fee. Twitter has promoted posts, while Tumblr introduced their Blaze feature on April 20th 2022 (420, Blaze it haha). I bet Elon is kicking himself that Tumblr beat him to the punch on that one.

With the recent Junior Doctors' Strike in the UK

I felt that if something was significant enough for me to withdraw my labour and take industrial action then people should know about it. Clearly a first step is being present on the picket line, a visible presence at my place of work; but only a limited group will see that without media publicity. Hence, I posted on both Twitter and Tumblr to share this message. Then I noticed the Blaze button on the Tumblr app. If I'm losing pay by not working anyway, may as well double down and pay to share my message I gathered.

So what do you get for your money?

My £10 on each platform offered me the following:

• Tumblr - 2500 impressions

• Twitter - 390 - 3700 impressions (over a 24 hour period)

Right out of the gate, the range in the number of people I can reach on Twitter seems huge. Points to Tumblr for giving me a set number of impressions.

I expected that Twitter would net more engagement, it likely has a bigger user base of people who would be interested in what I was posting and that might generate increased engagement through comments.

The reality was fascinating. I got ~1800 impressions on Twitter, with 19 likes and a single comment.

On Tumblr, I got 3662 impressions (with the campaign apparently still going), with 113 likes, 27 reblogs and 3 comments. Not only did I get more than I paid for from Tumblr, but there was much more engagement with the post. There was also some follow through where users checked out other unrelated posts of mine.

What does this mean?

It is difficult to determine why the posts performed differently. As an AB comparison a lot of things were identical (post content, post timing) while I do not have a big following on either platform (42 followers (who largely do not use the service now) on Tumblr vs 147 followers on Twitter.

Perhaps I had more impressions on Tumblr as Tumblr has less advertisers and so for them to be competitive, my money went further with them. As for why I received notably more engagement on Tumblr, it is likely that the audiences on Tumblr and Twitter are very different. Tumblr's user base is younger and possibly more likely to be left-left leaning in their political viewpoint, whereas Twitter may represent a user base that is broader and has more people that simply don't care about what I have to say.

You can make the argument that my Tumblr post was more successful because of the better engagement, but you also need to consider what the point of my post was in the first place. Is it useful for me to make my post reach people who are already sympathetic to what Junior Doctors are doing? Is it more useful to reach an audience that needs convincing? When using data to make conclusions you need to make sure you are measuring the right thing, and I am not sure in either case there is a suitable metric to decide this.

TL;DR

• The communities on a platform you are advertising to are important

• Engagement and impressions aren't everything

• My personal experience on Tumblr was more positive than on Twitter

#twitter #tumblr #business #advertising #blazed posts #promoted tweets #social networks #social media

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fitzs-trained-monkey · 2 years

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❄ Of Ice -Skates and Sugar Cookies❄

Title: Of Ice Skates and Sugar Cookies

Requested by @thescarletwitchesbiitch

Word Count: Lots

Warnings: Angst and Feels, loss of loved ones, language

Summary: Kol Mikaelson x reader || You had noticed that your flatmate had been acting moody recently - well, more so than usual - so you take it upon yourself to cheer him up. But when you receive some rather heartbreaking news, it seems as though you might find your roles reversed... || Here lies my Masterlist.

If you would like to make a request this holiday season just check out this post for details: Christmas At The Compound

"Come on, Koala. Do it!"

"No." The dark-haired British boy in front of you shook his head vigorously from side to side. "Not happening."

"You can do it; I believe in you!"

You hadn't thought it possible for him to cling to the wall any more desperately than he already was, but apparently, you were wrong. The cackle of laughter that escaped his lips sounded downright hysterical and you found it quite humorous that your usually fearless flatmate was so obviously terrified.

"You believe in me yet you don't believe in the NASA Moon Landing?" His voice dripped with sarcasm. You idly shifted your weight against the thin blades strapped to your feet and flipped some of the loose strands of your H/C hair out of your face, tucking them back under your beanie.

"That's about right. I don't believe in Cleveland or Cincinnati either and I still haven't made up my mind yet about Toledo," You said matter-of-factly. "But I believe you can do anything you put your mind to. So, feel the freakin' Force, Luke." He glanced up and jabbed a finger at you accusingly.

"First of all, you’re not Obi-Wan Kenobi and second, I think I'm fine right here, thank you very much." The boy wobbled dangerously as one foot slid a little too far away from him and with a rather undignified noise he would never admit to having made, Kol flung the entirety of his weight at the wall surrounding the rink and held on for dear life. He looked so ridiculous but you tried your best not to laugh.

Kol Mikaelson was arrogant, childish, and could definitely use a good kick in the ego, but that much had been clear from day one when you’d agreed to let him share your flat in Cambridge, Ontario nearly a year ago. Although, the whole ‘Oh-yeah-I’m-a-one-thousand-year-old-Original-Vampire’ part was something you caught onto later.

You’d always thought of yourself as a warm and open person, but you had been quick to realize that the boy you shared your flat with was not. For everything he had to say about himself - which was plenty - he never told you anything significant about his life. Whenever you asked him something remotely personal, he would shut you down with a glare that sent chills down your spine. Kol claimed that just because the two of you shared a roof didn't mean you had to share a life. He was moody and temperamental. Any conversation with him was like navigating an emotional minefield. Then one night you came home early from work and there was Kol, leaning against the kitchen counter, holding some poor girl in his arms while he bit and tore at her throat with teeth of a nightmarish length and wicked sharpness. Suddenly, everything about him made a whole lot of sense.

Instead of screaming bloody murder, you chose to adopt the Boyardee principle: "Chef don't judge."

You stopped asking him about his life after that and as soon as you did, Kol started to warm up to you. After a while, the British boy started to smile more. You found that he was intelligent and witty and, granted, he was still outrageously full of himself but he was more thoughtful than you had given him credit for. He was also hotter than a blazing fireplace, though you would never say that because Kol was way out of your league. The two of you were just friends and, considering what he was, you were okay with that. You still knew next to nothing about him and vice versa but as long as you kept conversations focused on the present, things between you and Kol stayed merry and bright.

But over the course of the last few weeks, Kol simply hadn’t been himself.

It had started when you had pulled out your Christmas decorations on December 1st. At first, he’d seemed so excited to help. There had been a spark in his eyes as he’d told you about how his family used to celebrate the season with the tradition of holiday bonfires and writing down a wish to burn for luck. But just as he’d opened his mouth to tell you what he promised was a hilarious story from his youth, Kol stopped and the laughter died in his throat. The warm light you had seen in him slowly flickered out, leaving something cold and lonely in his eyes. You could have sworn you saw him blink back tears, but by now you knew better than to ask if he was okay. A few minutes later, Kol stood up and left the flat without another word.

You had laid in your bed for hours, staying up to wait for him. When he came back it was almost midnight. You heard the front door slowly open and shut on squeaky hinges and listened as his shuffling steps retreated straight to his room. When his door shut, you could hear the click of the lock. That was how you knew something was horribly wrong. Kol had always told you how he couldn’t stand being locked inside any room, no matter the size. His door was almost always left open and if it was shut, it was never ever locked.

You hadn’t slept at all that night - how could you? See, the walls of your flat were really quite thin and that was the first time you’d ever heard Kol cry. The sound was quiet, each sob was stifled and choked so you wouldn’t hear it, but you did. Twice that night you heard him scream, and it sounded as if he were biting down on his fist in order to muffle the noise. But you knew better than to ask if he was okay. So you just sat on the floor with your back against the wall, knowing he could hear your heartbeat, and a few moments later you heard your friend slide down to sit with his back against the other side. Each of you was aware of the other, but neither said a word the whole night through, and even if his pride wouldn’t let him admit it - maybe that was what Kol needed from you. Maybe he just needed to know someone was there. Though you didn’t say it out loud, your actions promised him that you would be.

Things were different after that night. Kol stopped talking. His smiles became fewer and further between, and when he did send you one, there was a twinge of something awfully sad in his soft brown eyes. He left the flat early and stayed out late. Most nights he came back drunk off his ass with snow in his hair and he didn’t make it to his room, opting instead to collapse on the couch. (You didn’t mind waiting up for him, it was the least you could do. Even though you knew he didn’t technically need it, you always had a blanket ready for him.) There were a few nights when he didn’t come back at all. Now, when you looked into his eyes, you didn’t see him staring back.

You knew your friend was hurting and you had tried giving him his space, but that emptiness in his eyes wasn’t getting any better, and truthfully, you were afraid of losing him. You hadn’t realized before how much Kol meant to you but watching him destroy himself was tearing you apart. You’d had enough. So, you’d woken up early this morning and stood guard at the door. When Kol got up from the couch and moved to leave again, you met him with a glass of water and informed him that he was coming with you to the park where you would be teaching him to ice-skate.

You hadn’t considered that he might be this bad at it.

“A little help, darling?” He called from his awkward position.

"Nah."

“Oh shit.”

Kol’s bodyweight definitely worked to his disadvantage as he collapsed onto the ice, smacking his head against his oh-so-precious wall on the way down. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and cast a wary glance at his traitorous feet before looking up and shaking his head.

“I’m quitting, Mummy!” He said in a high-pitched voice, flashing you a sarcastic smile.

“Bold of you to assume that I care,” You said, planting your skates on the ice. With a smirk, you held your gloved hand out to help him. The British boy took hold of it and grinned. Your eyes widened. ‘Oh jingle bells.’ You thought.

He gave your hand a sudden sharp tug and though you were quite good on ice, you weren’t that good. You tumbled forward, falling right into his lap. He smirked at you and for a moment you saw a flicker of his happier self shining through the faded exterior.

You rolled your eyes and your cheeks grew hot from his proximity. “Hardee har har, very funny.” You tried to get up but Kol wrapped an arm around your waist to keep you from escaping.

“I don’t recall saying you could move yet, Y/N,” He spoke, resting his cheek against your shoulder and inhaling deeply. He'd done this before and explicitly stated it was because your blood smelled like peppermint. “I think I like you just where you are.” His voice was soft and sent a shiver down your spine and you legitimately couldn't tell if he was flirting or just hungry. You tried to ignore that second possibility. He had to be teasing, right? Kol liked to flirt, he flirted with everyone. But then again, he’d never flirted with you before now, so what changed? Your cheeks burned and it definitely wasn’t from the cold. “Your heart is racing. Might you be flustered?”

‘He wouldn't hurt you. He’s your friend. He’s your very platonic friend.’ You chanted in your head. ‘Who you also happen to live with…’

You scoffed. “In your dreams, Koala.” Wow, kudos to you. That actually managed to sound somewhat convincing. You didn't catch what he mumbled next because the dark-haired boy’s lips were brushing over your jugular and that was very distracting.

“What?” Your voice sounded squeaky.

“I said, ‘Am I in yours too?’” Kol repeated, louder. Okay, well at least he wasn't thinking of killing you, but that meant he was flirting and that notion only made your cheeks flare hotter.

You hoped he didn’t hear the strain in your laughter. “Nope!”

“Want me to change that?” He pressed cheekily. That boy had some nerve. But what if he was being serious? You cursed yourself silently. He couldn’t possibly mean it. Kol had been out of sorts for days and you would be an awful friend to take advantage of him just because you were desperate and lonely.

“No. No, I don’t think I do.” You could feel him frown but he obviously wasn’t thinking clearly. You were doing the selfless thing. He would thank you later. You tried to stand up again but Kol only tightened his grip, pulling you closer. You raised a brow at him. “You gonna let me go, or what?”

"As I said before,” His tone was colder now - needier - but not threatening. It just seemed sad and a little bit longing as his other arm snaked around you as well and he buried his face in the crook of your neck, nuzzling gently. “I like you right where you are.”

“You can flirt all you want, but I’m not letting you out of this. Now, come on, let me help you up.”

Kol’s grip on you tightened again, setting your cheeks on fire. “I already let you drag me out here, darling. Isn't that enough?" He sighed. His hands started playing with the hem of your sweater, tugging and twisting it around his fingers.

"Nope. Get a move on, you coward." Kol sighed.

“Fine.” Then he let you go just like that and you shot up as fast as you could, not really caring if your skates slipped as long as you didn’t fall back into his lap. You clasped his hand and pulled him up, deciding to pretend as if that had never happened.

“Alrighty then,” You said, trying to force the tension from the air. You shifted your skates backward a bit to put some space between the two of you. Stupid feelings. “Now just push off the wall!”

The boy looked down at the shiny whiteness beneath his feet. "What if I don't trust it?" He pouted.

"It's frozen water, dude!" You exclaimed. "An inanimate surface cannot intentionally harm you!"

Kol made a noise that sounded like a cross between a whine and a groan and finally pushed off the wall, holding his arms out for balance. His legs wobbled beneath him as, one by one, he took the tiniest sliding steps towards you. The skates on his feet sliced across the ice, leaving two wavy scratches in their wake.

"See? You're doing it!" You reached toward him, shifting your skates to move slowly backward. Kol looked up at you and grinned. Unfortunately, in the split second he took his eyes off his feet, his skates slipped out from under him and he was sent crashing to the ice… face first. You winced in sympathy pain but couldn't help the giggle that escaped your lips because his fall looked like something straight out of a cartoon.

"Ow." He groaned and flipped himself over. A thin trail of crimson liquid dripped from his nose which was very clearly broken. You shuddered and gagged as he pinched the bridge of his nose and wrenched the offset bone back into place with an audible grinding noise that turned your stomach. He just laid there for a bit, limbs splayed like a starfish while he glanced at you with a pouty expression. “Now that I’ve officially shed blood in your name, can we go home?”

“You’re so dramatic,” You chuckled, shaking your head. “But thy silver tongue shall do you no good in these lands, Mikaelson,” You announced dramatically, doing your best impression of his accent - and completely butchering it. He rolled his eyes.

"Your compassion is overwhelming, darling." If he kept calling you darling then you thought you might spontaneously combust.

"Yeah, yeah - I'm a heartless wretch. I thought we’d that established by now," You joked, skating over to where Kol lay. You offered him your hand and he took it, allowing you to help him up. "After all, it was my complete lack of empathy that dragged your angst-ridden arse here for a little fun."

"Well, that angst-ridden ass is now a bruise-ridden ass. So, thank you!" Kol complained as he brushed the ice shavings from his jeans. You rolled your eyes.

"Falling is part of learning, Koala." You grasped his hand in yours and gestured for him to move with you. "I'll let you lean on me for now, but we're not leaving this stinking pond until you can ice skate."

"Alright, but if I fall again, I'm taking you with me."

"You can try."

Once he separated himself from the wall, Kol was actually a half-decent skater. You held his hand for the first little while to help him keep his balance, but before long he was gliding along on his own and you discovered just how determined he was to get you to fall. He started going for your legs in his effort to drag you to the ice and as he got better, you found it increasingly harder to stay out of his reach. That mischievous gleam returned to his eyes and you were glad he seemed to be having fun.

After about four hours straight of skating - not to mention weaving, jumping, sliding, ducking, and dodging your way out of your flatmate's assault on your balance - you were thoroughly worn out. You slid your way to the edge of the pond where a wooden bench sat waiting for you. Kol followed despite not actually being that tired.

The two of you sat in silence. That was common in your relationship with him and you typically didn't mind it much. However, any silence with Kol was usually the comfortable kind. This one was not. So you took it upon yourself to break it. When you couldn't come up with anything decent to say, you resolved to just clear your throat instead.

"Gesundheit."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Well, that was about as smooth as spiked eggnog. Why did you have to be so bad at this? Just talk to the guy! It's not that hard!

"Hey, um, Kol?" Your voice sounded like a chipmunk's but at least you said something.

The boy glanced up, looking you in the eyes just to make things harder. "Yes?"

"Is it okay if I ask you something?" You wondered, twisting the hem of your sweater around your fingers. Kol glanced down, distracted by your nervous movement.

"I believe you just did," He pointed out. What little confidence you had was rapidly diminishing.

"Yeah, I know. But, I was asking 'cause it's something a little more serious," You said, sounding small. Kol tensed, straightening up as he pursed his lips in a tight smile.

"Ah," He nodded stiffly and looked away from you, fixing his gaze on the pond as he let out a breathy laugh that turned to mist in the air. It sounded dry and forced. "In that case, my answer is no."

You looked down at your gloved hands, biting down on your lower lip in embarrassment. Why did he have to make things so hard? 'Come on, Y/N! You can do this. Just be assertive!' You thought.

"Kol, I really think this is important," You said, still quiet but sounding a little stronger now.

“Well then it's good thing I don't care what you think,” He sneered. Your mouth fell open and the breath caught in your throat. Tears stung your eyes and you bit your lip to stop it from trembling, trying your best to hold his gaze. His words clawed at your heart, and that’s when you decided that you’d had enough. You would not be taken for granted.

“Alright, Kol,” You whispered, your tone dry and sharp. “Have it your way.” You removed your skates and traded them for your boots. Then you stood.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going home now,” You told him, your voice harsh and dry as you tried to keep the tears at bay. “So, go ahead and leave. Burn something, kill something, get run over by a car. ‘Cause it’s not like anybody gives a crap about you, right? So you should just go and do whatever the hell it is that you want. Why don’t you go find yourself a bar and just go drink yourself to death, Kol? See if I care!”

Kol’s eyes widened with shock at your outburst and he opened his mouth to speak but you didn’t give him the chance. You simply turned on your heel and started walking. “Y/N?” You didn’t stop. “Y/N, come back, I didn’t mean it!” You kept walking. “Y/N, wait!” There were footsteps behind you and a hand caught your wrist, tugging you back. You didn’t turn around.

“Let go of me.” You demanded cooly. Kol obeyed.

“I promise I didn’t mean it,” He breathed. "Please. Just wait?"

“No, Kol.” You said, whirling around. “No, I am done waiting. I am done waiting for you to come back to me. I'm done waiting for you to get better, I'm done waiting for you to open up, and I'm done watching you pretend like nothing’s wrong, day in and day out. I am done watching you destroy yourself! So, read my lips, roomie. I CAN'T FREAKIN' TAKE IT ANYMORE!" You shouted.

"Just the other night, you flooded your system with so much alcohol that your heart stopped beating for six minutes and forty-three seconds. Now, you may not care about that, but I do! I care about you, you stupid selfish jerk!

“And I get you don't want that! You just want me to hate your guts, don't you? Well, screw that. And you know what? Screw you, Kol! I’m sorry! I’m sorry I care so damn much! So, if you don’t wanna be around someone who actually gives a crap about what you’re doing to yourself, then just go!"

"Y/N… I-I didn't…" Kol was speechless and when you looked into his eyes you saw no trace of the chilling hardness that had been there before. Just like that, your anger faded away and you gave a shuddering sigh.

"Watching you do this to yourself is tearing my heart out. I know I can't stop you, but I don’t wanna be around to see you fall apart.” Your lips twitched up at the corners to send him a sad smile. “I hope you have a merry Christmas, Kol.” Then, wiping the tears that had begun to fall, you turned to leave.

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” His voice rang out after you. You forced yourself to continue walking.

“Don’t apologize,” You called back, shaking your head as you trudged onward through the snow. “Just find my friend and tell him I want him back.”

"He's right here." In the blink of an eye, Kol was standing in front of you. His hands fidgeted nervously but he looked you straight in the eyes with a weary expression that told you he was being sincere. "I never left you - not really."

"Yes you did."

"Alright, I did," He admitted. "But I wasn't as far as I wanted you to believe."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" You huffed. Kol lifted a finger to your chin, forcing you to look at him. His mouth opened to speak but the words didn't come out. Frowning as if focusing deeply, the boy moved his hand to stroke your cheek.

"It means I… I didn't… know," He started.

"Didn't know what?"

Your friend shrugged. "A lot of things apparently." He sent you a wry smile and brushed his thumb over your cheek again. His smile faded. "I didn't know I was hurting you, Y/N. That was exactly what I was trying to avoid, and for once in my life I thought I was doing something right." He shook his head and sighed. "Guess I had it all wrong again, didn't I?"

You raised a brow. "What was going through your head for you to think that?"

"Well, you were right about what you said earlier. I was kind of trying to make you hate me."

"You'll have to try harder than that, Koala," You sniffed, dabbing your eyes as you cracked a smile. "Why would you want me to hate you?"

"Because for one-thousand years I have broken everything I have ever touched," He told you. He lifted his other hand to cradle your face, grinning with sadness in his eyes. "And you're such a pretty little thing - I didn't want to break you."

You leaned into his gentle touch and offered him a soft smile. "Well, you didn't break me."

"Good," He said softly. His thumbs continued brushing over your cheeks and you knew you were blushing again but you tried to ignore that. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?" He wondered, raising a brow with a cheeky grin.

You hummed, pretending to think. "Only if you tell me what blew this popsicle stand. I mean, something's been eating you alive and even though we've lived together for, like, a year I feel like I hardly know you." Kol nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly.

"I thought you'd be better off not knowing," He said. "Besides, one-thousand years worth of background information makes for one hell of a bedtime story."

"Well, how 'bout you give me the reader's digest version on the way home," You offered.

"Oh, so now we're going back?" He asked, teasingly. "Are you cold, darling?"

"If I stand out here any longer, I'm gonna lose a few fingers."

"Well, in that case-" Kol's hands left your face before proceeding to tangle his fingers with yours. You rolled your eyes and began walking, this time with him keeping step.

"So, What's Making Kol Sad 101 -" You shot him a smirk "- I'm guessing it has something to do with the family you've mentioned a grand total of three times."

Kol nodded. "Your instincts are, as ever, unimpeachable, darling."

"I'm cool like that. My instincts also tell me that the holidays fit into this equation somewhere."

"It really is the most wonderful time of the year." He sighed. "This will be my first time spending it alone." You didn't speak, opting to send him a soft smile instead. He returned it and continued. "My siblings and I had a - let's call it a complicated relationship. But no matter what holiday we were celebrating, be it Christmas or Kwanzaa or bonfire season, we always spent it together - at least that's how we spent the ones I was awake for."

"Long story?" You guessed.

"Shorter than you'd think," He disagreed. "Silver dagger plus some magic tree dust equals one hundred years of naptime. As I said - complicated relationship."

"Sounds like it," You agreed. "How many siblings did you have?"

A small smile crept onto the brown-eyed boy's face. "There was a time when I had six." That smile fell away. "Now, I have two."

You squeezed the hand that held yours and placed your other hand on his arm in a comforting gesture. "What happened?" You asked gently.

"Doesn't matter." Kol took a shuddering breath and his grip on your hand tightened. This was hard for him, you could tell. You rubbed your thumb across the back of his hand to remind him that you weren't going anywhere. When he spoke next, he did so with difficulty. "My four brothers all died in wretched agony. Now, I'm left with only my sisters."

"So why not spend Christmas with them?" You wondered. "I'm sure they'd be overjoyed to see you."

Kol shook his head. "No, they wouldn't."

"How can you be so sure?" The brown-haired boy stopped in his tracks and turned to you. He grasped your hands gently, fixing his eyes on them as he brushed his thumbs across your knuckles. His breathing was rapid because he really was upset, but for your sake, he was trying not to be.

"I can't go home for Christmas, darling." He shrugged with a breathy laugh that was somehow more pain-stricken than tears ever could be. "I don't really have a home to go back to… Everywhere I go, I'm jus an intrusion."

So that was why he left. He thought he was nothing more to you than a burden. He thought you didn't want him around. He thought you were better off without him.

"No! No, Koala, that's not true," You insisted, shaking your head. He smiled at you with a fondness that exceeded that of a flatmate - maybe even that of a friend.

"Yes it is. Although they try their best to hide it, I can see the pain in my sister's eyes every time we're in the same room… They look at me and all they see is the brother they loved more. The one who's dead." He chuckled dryly.

"Kol…" You didn't know what to say, but the boy waved it off like it was fine.

"Long story short, my sisters are better off without me. They've found their happiness and they don't need me around to screw it up. And I know I should be happy for them because, after one-thousand years, my siblings have finally grown up. But I got left behind and there's no place I can go where I belong. I'm here and I have no idea how to spend this month alone." Kol dropped his gaze to his feet shamefully.

Leaning down, you forced your way into his line of sight and gave him the brightest smile you could muster. "You're not alone, Kol," You said. "You're with me! And as far as I'm concerned, there's a housing contract with your signature on it, which says that's right where you belong. You're not a burden to me."

"Then what am I to you?" Kol asked softly. His breath turned to mist and washed over your face.

Icicles pinched your heart as you lied saying: "You're my best friend."

Your flatmate nodded, but he didn't smile. "Alright," He said.

"You know, I forgot to tell you, but my parents are coming to visit for Christmas," You said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

He raised a brow at you. "Really?"

"Yeah." You nodded. "Lucky for you, my mom counts as at least four people, so you're definitely not going to be alone for Christmas!"

"Well, that's sure to be interesting," Your flatmate said, making a face.

"Oh! And they're bringing Dolly!" You added, excitedly.

Kol shot you a strange glance. "Who's Dolly?" His voice sounded a little overly light and his smile was a little strange.

"Only my best friend in the whole wide world!"

The boy put a hand over his heart as if deeply wounded. "I thought that was my title, darling."

You shook your head. "No, you're my best two-legged friend in the whole wide world."

"Two legged?" You watched the realization dawn on your flatmate.

You nodded. "Dolly's my dog."

Kol's smile relaxed into something you thought almost smug. "She's your dog…"

"And not just any dog!" You insisted. "The best dog in this universe or the next!"

"Is that so?"

"Yep."

Kol narrowed his eyes. "I don't know, darling. I have met some pretty fantastic dogs in my lifetime. You really think yours can live up to some of the canines of Europe's royalty?"

You hummed. "That I do."

"She's not one of those snively, pathetic little rat-dogs is he?" The boy teased, elbowing you playfully.

You rolled your eyes and scoffed. "I'll have you know that Dolly is a one-hundred and fifty-four pound thirty six inch tall Irish Wolfhound, fully capable of and trained to trample your sorry ass on my command."

Kol whistled. "That's a big doggie."

"Yeah, but she's a sweetheart," You said, waving a hand. "Got her when I was eight. We grew up together."

"Well, if she's as amazing as you say then I can't wait to meet her." Kol smiled and winked. "Your parents may also come over if they must."

You threw your head back and laughed.

This was going to be a fantastic Christmas.

***

When Kol was awoken the following morning, it was not done in any way one might refer to as 'gently'. Though that was only to be expected now that his rather - shall we say - eccentric flatmate wasn't worried about him biting her head off just for sneezing. Kol had been unnecessarily rude to you when you'd first met, something that he now regretted immensely, and though he tried to make up for it, albeit in his own way, he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to undo that damage. He knew that on some level you were afraid of him, though you didn't want to admit that. You had always tip-toed around him, worried that he might explode, but after her outburst yesterday, Kol had shown you differently. You were less afraid to be yourself around him now, and though that was a good thing, maybe it wasn't such a joy when you were interrupting his sleep.

You burst into his room, switching on the lights with a smile that was much too bright for how early you were in there. "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!" You cheered, flopping yourself onto his bed. Kol stared at you with tired, bleary eyes and an expression that said you were crazy.

"What in the bloody hell, Y/N?" The boy glanced out the window and the world was still dark. He groaned, flinging an arm over his eyes. "Darling, today is not Christmas."

You made a face. "What are you talking about? This whole frickin' month is Christmas!"

"It's really not," He said, shaking his head.

"You bet your sweet ass it is."

"Look, I don't know what ungodly hour of the morning this is, but, I assure you, it is not a time to be up. Go back to sleep," He complained.

"Actually, it's ten-thirty in the AM," You informed him. "There's just a blizzard going on outside so we're snowed in. Which means I don't have to work today. Hallelujah!"

"Oh, good. You can go back to sleep"

"But I'm not tired," You whined.

"Don't care. Sleep." A slow smirk spread across his face. "You don't even have to go back to your room, you can just pass out right here. I don't mind."

You rolled your eyes. "You just had to make it weird."

"It's only weird if you want it to be." He grinned.

You hit his shoulder playfully and rolled off the bed, making your way to the door. "Get up, loser!" You shouted from the doorway. "I made sugar cookies!"

Kol did the only rational thing to do at that moment and threw a pillow at your face which you dodged easily, sticking your tongue out at him. Then you grinned, bounding away with a bubbling laugh and Kol found it hard not to smile too. That smile of yours was dangerously contagious, it was one of the reasons he was so in love with you.

Indeed, cliche as it was, Kol Mikaelson was head over heels in love with his flatmate. He'd been so determined not to fall for you in the beginning, but somewhere along the way, you smiled and that notion got tossed out the third-story window. You were a little strange and a little spastic at times, but you were the sort of person that just radiated warmth, the kind of genuine wholesome warmth he'd been seeking his whole life. You were his polar opposite - patient, fair, inviting, and generous beyond reason. You were so unbelievably kind to him and he had no idea why. Even while he'd been doing his best to push you away, you had stayed up every night with a blanket in your arms and patience on your face, waiting for him to stumble through the door, too drunk to see straight. And every night Kol had fallen for you further.

But he couldn't tell you that. Because you had seen what sort of monster he was and you would never be capable of caring about him the way he wanted you to. Part of him wished he could get you to stop caring about him altogether - that would make things easier for him. If Kol knew you didn't care about him one bit, then maybe he wouldn't have the desire to make out with you every damn second of the day. But no, you had to care. You had to look at him with those big tender eyes. You had to wait up for him to come home and pass out so she could give him a blanket. You had to teach him to ice skate and you had to make sugar cookies at ten in the morning. You would always care too much but never enough. The fact was, the two of you were just friends and Kol would never be able to change it.

That didn't stop him from trying, however.

He'd been flirting with you for months, and as far as he could tell, yesterday had been the first time you'd even noticed. Kol had been trying to be gentle in his advances because he didn't wanna scare you off, but it was honestly frightening how clueless you were in the romance department.

You had no idea how badly he wanted you. Every time he saw your face he was struck by how pretty you were. You were beautiful, though he wouldn't describe you as gorgeous or stunning in the sort of sense that takes one's breath away. No, your beauty was something different.

You were pretty like Christmas lights because of how your presence had the sort of warm glow that lights up a room. Your eyes were pretty like new-fallen snow because of how they sparkled when you talked about something you loved. Your lips were pretty like Christmas presents because he never knew what to expect to come from them. You were pretty like a fireplace; strong and breathtaking but in a quiet sort of way. You were pretty like a homemade scarf because you cared with everything you had. Kol just thought you were really pretty.

But you could also be downright certifiable at times, so perhaps he should have seen this coming. It was probably best for him to go along with your shenanigans.

Kol rolled out of bed, intentionally hitting the floor with a thump just to hear a loud 'What in the-' from the quaint little pottery shop downstairs. He smirked and stood, following the strange human out the door.

You stood in the kitchen, humming while you decorated sugar cookies cut into Christmas shapes. You were a mystery to him. Yesterday it was ice skating, today it was sugar cookies. You looked up and Kol's smirk broadened when your cheeks glowed crimson.

"What is it, darling?"

You shook your head. "No shirt, no shoes, no service," You said, clearly flustered by his lack of that first item.

"Does that mean pants are optional?" He asked, cheekily.

"Pants are absolutely required," You deadpanned. Kol gave a playful groan and turned back to his room. Once he was wearing some acceptable attire, he returned to the kitchen and swiped a reindeer-shaped cookie off the counter.

"Hey!" You reached up and snatched the cookie from his hand. "No!"

"What? Why not?" He demanded, trying to grab the cookie back.

"We have to decorate them first!" You said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Thus ensued two hours of cookie decorating. Well, you were the only predictive one seeing as Kol ate all the cookies he decorated as soon as you deemed them passable. But details. The two of you talked, listened to Christmas music, and wiped frosting on one another's faces.

Until your phone rang.

"Could you get that, Koala?" You asked, as your hands were covered in frosting. "It's just my mom."

Kol sent you a grin. "Don't mind if I do."

Your face fell. "Oh no."

Kol picked up your phone. "Hello Mrs. Y/N's Mum!" He answered, eyeing you smugly.

"Wait… Where's my daughter? Why do you have her phone? Who are you?" The voice on the other side demanded, rather panicked.

"Relax, Miss." He said reassuringly. "Your daughter is just fine, she's standing five feet away washing her hands while she gives me the most ferocious glare I've seen in a year even though she's the one who asked me to pick up the phone. I'm her flat mate."

"Flatmate? As in tall, dark, and hotter than Hades flatmate? That flatmate?"

Kol cast you a sidelong glance. "Oh, so is that how she refers to me?"

"No." Your eyes went wide. "No, no, no!"

"I mean, my name is Kol but I'll take tall, dark and hotter than Hades any day," Kol chuckled.

"Mom! Not another WORD!" You shouted at the phone, trying in vain to snatch the phone from Kol's hand.

"Sorry honey!"

"Please tell me more, Miss. Y/L/N," He encouraged, keeping the phone well out of your reach.

"I haven't even told her anything about you!"

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

"Kol, I'm sure you're a very nice boy and I would love to get to know you, but right now I need to speak to my daughter. Can you please put her on the phone?" The woman's tone made Kol stop in his tracks. It was a tone he'd heard before, the one that's calm but just barely. That was the voice of someone with the kind of news that no one wants to hear.

"Yes, ma'am." He didn't even argue. He just gave you the phone. You took the device from him with a curious look.

"Hey, mom. What's up? Is there something wrong?" You asked cautiously, moving from the room for some privacy.

Now, Kol didn't mean to eavesdrop. He really didn't, but with his enhanced hearing, he just couldn't help it. He was in the kitchen, and you were in the living room, but Kol could hear both your voice and that of your mother as if you were standing right next to him.

"Hey sweetheart. How's my little girl doing?" Kol heard it in her voice again. She sounded tired and weary.

"Mom, I'm fine. A-are you okay? What's going on?"

A deep breath. A sigh.

"I-I think you should sit down for this."

"Momma, you're kinda freaking me out. What's wrong? Is it dad?" You tended to tug on your hair when you were nervous. You were probably doing that now.

"No, sweetie. You're father and I are both fine. I'm-I'm calling about Dolly."

"What about Dolly?" You asked cautiously.

"Oh, Y/N. I don't even know how to say this."

"Say what?" Your voice was shaking. Kol shook his head. He didn't want this, not now, not for you.

"I'm so sorry, baby girl… Last night something happened. Dolly's stomach flipped a-and this morning we rushed her to the vet."

"And?" You demanded, voice rising.

"They said they were sorry, but there wasn't anything they could do."

"No." You whispered. "No, momma, please tell me you didn't-"

"We had to put her down, sweetheart."

"No!" The pain in your voice was more than efficient for Kol to imagine the pain in your heart.

"Dolly's gone, Y/N."

"Why would you do that?!"

"We didn't want her to be in pain-"

"But you didn't even let me say goodbye!"

"Your dad and I thought it might be easier if you-"

"No! No, it's not easier! I can't believe you would do this to me!"

"Oh, Y/N. Wait-"

Kol heard you hang up the phone and stand. You appeared in the kitchen doorway with a smile that would have been so believable if not for the tears welling in your eyes and the conversation he hadn't been supposed to hear.

"Hey, Koala. Um, why don't you finish up in here? I'm just gonna go get some fresh air." You turned before Kol could see the tears slip down your face. But he wouldn't let you get away so easily. He grabbed your arm, forcing you to stop.

"Are you alright, Y/N?" He asked as if he hadn't listened in on every word of that conversation.

"I'm fine," You said tonelessly.

"Y/N…" He moved in front of you to find your face blank of all emotion.

Again. "I'm fine."

Kol frowned and pushed a strand of hair out of your face. "No, you're not."

"You don't need to worry about me, Koala. I just need some fresh air. I'll be fine." Tears spilled down your cheeks and the look in your eyes broke his heart. Now he knew how you must have felt watching him do the same thing.

"It's okay not to be," He spoke gently, placing a hand on your cheek and wiping away your tears. You tried to push him away.

"No, I don't wanna ruin your day. You're not supposed to worry about me," You sniffed, shaking your head.

"Why not?" Did you really not want him around?

"Because that's my job!" You huffed. "It's not your job. It's my job!"

Kol blinked. "Wait...What?" Now, how did that make any sense?

"I can't be selfish," You insisted. "I shouldn't be sad. You're grieving y-your brothers. How can I be so selfish?" You tried to push him away again but he was having none of it. "Let me go, Kol. I don't wanna make you s-sad."

"If I let you go out there in a state like this, darling, it'll be you who gets run over by a reindeer," He joked, earning the slightest smile from you. "And I think that would make me very sad. You wouldn't want that would you?"

You shook your head. "N-no! I'm s-sorry."

"Then enough of this nonsense." Kol put a finger to your lips to stop you from apologizing anymore. "Come here, darling." He wrapped his arms around your waist and you fell apart, burying your face in the soft material of his grey sweater and letting all the tears out. Kol just ran his fingers through your hair comfortingly as he'd done for Rebekah a time or two. He kept himself away from your neck as it had been a while since he'd fed and your blood really did smell like peppermint - no reason to make a bad day worse. "Would you like me to carry you?"

"Where?" You mumbled into his sweater.

"To the couch." He shrugged. He wasn't sure why he'd offered, maybe he just wanted another reason to touch you. "No use bawling your eyes out for an audience." He gestured to the window. There was no one outside, but that didn't seem to bother you.

Your grip on his sweater tightened and you nodded weakly. "Okay."

Kol couldn't help the small smile that brought to his face. His hands were scarred with hundreds of unnamable atrocities and yet you trusted him. He stooped down a little and moved his hands to the backs of your thighs, listening as your heart rate jumped. "Is this fine?" He wondered.

"Yes."

"Good." He squeezed your thighs gently and lifted you off the ground, walking towards the living room and the emotional stability all couches provide. "It's okay that you're not alright, Y/N," He whispered.

"But I don't wanna be a burden," You choked out.

"I'm ninety-percent sure you're not even capable of that," He chuckled, moving to put you down. You fisted his sweater and shook your head.

"Don't let me go?" Your eyes were desperate and it almost scared him because he knew he would do anything in the world if you asked like that.

"As you wish." He sat down and pulled you into his lap, wrapping his arms around you as you cried your sweet little heart out. His chin rested on your head and he tried humming some Christmas songs in hopes that you would calm down.

"I-I'm sorry I-I'm so pathetic," You apologized a few minutes later.

"You're not pathetic," He assured.

"Yes, I am. Your brothers are dead. Dolly was-was just my dog. I should be the one cheering you up." He noticed how you struggled with that sentence in the middle.

Kol gasped. "No! How can you even say that?"

"What?" You sniffed.

"As I recall, Dolly was the best dog in this universe or the next," He stated as a matter of fact.

You huffed a laugh. "Well, yeah. But your brothers-"

"Eh, they weren't all that great," Kol dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Dogs are better than people anyway."

"How do you figure that?" You asked, sitting up. Kol shifted his hands to your hips experimentally and almost cheered when a blush-colored your cheeks but you didn't push him away.

"Well, if I were to lock one of my brothers in a closet for a few hours, when I go to open it, chances are he'll seek revenge. Now, if I did the same to a dog, I open the door and he's just happy to see me. Bottom line, you're daft if you think I wouldn't trade Elijah for a German Shepard any day of the week."

He could tell you were trying not to laugh by the way your shoulders shook and you pursed your lips. "Well, what about-"

"Klaus?" He guessed. "Well, I dunno. See, the problem with Nikkie is he technically was already a dog unto himself. He was both werewolf and vampire so he could shift between forms at any time."

"Well, that's kinda cool."

Kol shrugged. "I suppose so. The dog jokes were better, though. In fact, Klaus actually installed a few doggie doors in our house down in New Orleans so he wouldn't have to shift just to get in and out. He thought no one knew about them."

Kol's heart soared when his little story drew a bout of genuine laughter from your lips. You hid your face in his shoulder, "I bet my dog could beat your dog," You giggled.

"Oh really?" He hummed. "And what makes you think that?"

"Irish Wolfhounds hunt wolves," You said with something devious in your voice.

Kol cursed under his breath.

"Did I say something wrong?" You asked carefully.

"Not at all, love," He smirked. "I'm just regretting never thinking of that myself. I mean, can you imagine the look on my brother's face at getting hunted by a pack of wolfhounds? I'd take a picture and hang it on my wall." You giggled again and Kol only pulled you closer, trying to forget the sadness that weighed in his own heart.

***

The two of you stayed like that for a while, just cuddling and exchanging stories. Some were happy and others were more melancholy and wistful, but neither of you wanted it to end. He was holding you so sweetly and you didn't want Kol to let go.

"I don't think I want to go home anymore," You admitted after a while.

"Why not?" Your flatmate asked, playing with your hair.

"I don't have anybody to go home to. I mean, I've got my parents but no friends. No boyfriend. Dolly was all I really had and now-" You sighed. "Now I don't have her either."

"I refuse to believe that." The boy shook his head. "Come now, someone as wonderful and beautiful as yourself must have plenty of friends."

"No, not really. I annoy people." You shrugged.

"Well, you don't annoy me," He said. "I rather enjoy your company."

"Really?" You wondered. He was probably just saying that to spare your feelings.

"Of course."

"So you're not just being nice out of guilt or pity?"

Kol frowned, searching your eyes intently. You could feel yourself going red under his gaze.

"Is it really so hard to believe that someone might care about you as much as you care about them?" He countered. Of course, it was. You were you. Who would want that?

"Why else would someone like you wanna stick around someone like me?" You chuckled, shaking your head.

***

"Because someone like me is head over heels in love with someone like you."

Kol blurted the words out without so much as a single thought to the consequences. He couldn't help it. He was tired of waiting. Consequences didn't matter. The time didn't have to be right but it needed to be said. Because he might have forever but you didn't and you deserved to know.

"What?" Your voice was small and your expression held utter disbelief.

"I'm in love with you, Y/N," He repeated as if it were the easiest thing in the world to say but it sort of was because you made it easy. "And all those days I was gone, I wasn't. I was sitting up on the roof listening to you sing Christmas songs because I couldn't trust myself near you and couldn't bear to stay away. And every night when I came back after drinking myself off the edge just for an excuse as to where I'd been all day, you were there waiting with that blanket. So if you think I'm not going to wait for you now, you're crazy. I love you."

***

There was no way. You had to be dreaming. It was too good to be true not to mention cliche.

You blinked in surprise. "I-I don't-"

"You don't have to say it back." Kol moved his hands to cup your cheeks. "I just thought you ought to know. Merry Christmas, darling! Your flatmate has been harboring an enormous crush on you since sometime in mid-April. But we can unpack that tomorrow."

What an idiot. There was no way he could be so oblivious. You shook your head. "No, I think now's good."

"Please, don't feel pressured. How about we watch a movie instead? A Christmas Carol perhaps? I've hear that's-"

Where on Earth you got the confidence from, you had no idea but you weren't going to complain. Without warning, you kissed him and without a moment's hesitation, he kissed you back and it wasn't like fireworks at all. His lips were cold but in a pleasant way and they moved against yours with the same intensity as the blizzard outside. The kiss wasn't needy or lustful, just sweet. Sweet like the sugar cookies the two of you had decorated that morning. One of his hands moved from your face to tangle in your hair and the other held your hip, fingers slipping beneath your shirt to caress the skin of your waist. You hadn't kissed too many people before, but Kol was clearly an expert at it and he made you feel special.

When you pulled away, purely for the human requirement of air, he rested his forehead against yours and the smile on his face was pure and warm and blissful.

"You know what, darling?" He said, pressing another kiss to your lips. Kol urged you to lay back and shifted to hover over you. He grinned. "I think Dickens can wait."

That year for Christmas, Kol gave you an Irish Wolfhound pup.

You named him Niklaus.

#christmas at the compound #klaus mikaelson #kol mikaelson #finn mikaelson #elijah mikaelson #mikaelson fam #rebekah mikaelson #freya mikaelson #klaus mikaelson x reader #kol mikaelson x reader #finn mikaelson x reader #elijah mikaelson x reader #the originals #my name is Cas and I write stuff #tvd fan fic #tvdu

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answrs · 2 years

Text

so I'm tentatively calling this Oroboros AU. in which Arceus returns Ingo to his own time... three years before he disappeared. (all you need to know for this snippet is he's adopted as an older brother by the twins, and has been steadily regaining his memory with their help. both Ingo and Ingo keep their names and it should hopefully be clear who's being referred to by context, but in the overall AU the older!Ingo also goes by his title of Warden)

[first draft warning!]

--oroboros au-- The Champion of Sinnoh appears in a blaze of light atop Mount Coronet three months after her abrupt disappearance, in strange clothes and partnered with a typhlosion no one has ever seen the likes of before.

they're immediately set-upon by reporters, before being escorted safely away by several officers and Interpol agents. during the long, repeated interviews and medical checks, a chestnut haired man in a tan jacket approaches her, a theory to be tested brimming in his eyes. a letter has arrived at the station for her, passed on from another agent stationed in a different region. but unlike the hundreds of other letters pouring in from the general populous wishing her well or requesting the newest scoop, this one is oh so curiously addressed to an "Akari". she wouldn't happen to know anyone by that name now, would she? it's really no question that as soon as possible, or at least bureaucratically possible, the returned champion and agent (Booker, she thinks he introduced himself as? pardon her for being too distracted by someone from Hisui apparently being in Unova here in the future- or is it present?) are enroute to a meeting with another faller on the outskirts of Nimbasa City. .. it's a bittersweet melancholy that settles over Ingo as the three await the decision on if he could meet the taken girl. if it really is the Akari he knew, she was a link to his time in Hisui, him a familiar face to help her readjust to this current time, and they had bonded so much in the short months knowing each other as outsiders to a strange world. but until this, Ingo had privately held on hope that this timeline he had returned to was not his own. that his new younger brother would not be subjected to the horrors he himself had faced. he wanted this to be His Akari, yes, but selfishly he hoped dearly for her to be a stranger. because if she wasn't, he dreaded what that would soon mean for his brothers. .. as the shuttle parks, the twins and Elesa shuffle anxiously behind Ingo in the parking lot, not sure what to expect. they can tell he's nervous, even amnesia and years in a different world can change his tells completely, and his repeated adjusting of the worn and tattered hat he insisted on wearing is obvious. the doors open, and before the agent inside can even finish speaking, he's drowned out by an excitedly desperate cry from the figure leaping from the vehicle. it's all the three get in warning before it rushes to tackle the older man with a loud cry of "UNCLE INGO!" Ingo catches her readily, swinging her around in a desperate hug, squeezing her tight with faint "Akari, Akari-" as he nuzzles her hair. her head is buried just as tightly into his chest, and the onlookers won't bring up how they can hear the hitches in both their voices as they share the moment. moral dilemmas and timelines can wait, in this eternal moment he is here to comfort his child and nothing else. @nemesis-is-my-middle-name you managed to kick my brain into gear and churn out this snippet to share with you! :D hopefully it's coherent lol it's like 6am i need to sleep asdfkl

#submas #subway bosses #warden ingo #legends arceus #mine #answrs writes #pokemon #oroboros au

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mcytcares · 2 years

Note

Helloooo I hope your having a good night/day

Could you maybe do a drabble with a Parent Technoblade from the dsmp with a gn hoglin hybrid child? Idk why, but it just sounds cute

Thank you :D

sure thing!! hope this is good :D

PARENT TECHNOBLADE & HOGLIN HYBRID Y/N

Type - Drabble

Familial

DSMP

Note - This involves the DSMP character only. Also this is written with a gender neutral reader in mind :] Also also, this is from Techno's POV (still 3rd person tho!)

Warnings - Chat, if that counts.

Word Count - 581

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Technoblade really wasn't expecting this.

He'd gone into the Nether to get some blaze rods to make powder- he'd used up all of it making a chestful of potions. He carried a whole bundle of rods in his arms, enough to last him a while, and trekked through the Nether. He'd traveled far just to find a good fortress, with one that actually had Blazes. The walk back was going to be a long one, he knew that much.

Much longer than he realized, apparently, because something had attached to his leg. His instincts made him want to lash out, to push away. He doesn't do that, forcing his tense muscles to relax as he looks, annoyed, down at the thing on his leg.

A flash of gold catches his attention first, then pinkish skin. He narrows his eyes down at the little hoglin hybrid, who looks up at him with round eyes, softly huffing. His ear twitches, and the hybrid's gaze follows it. Ah. Must be all the gold he's sporting, that'd make sense. He inhales slowly, his instincts flaring to life just beneath his skin.

He snorts. "Hello."

A snort back. He inclines forward, just enough that his cloak brushes against the floor. He chuffs thrice. "Your name?"

"Y/N." is the response he receives. He nods, slow, replying with a huff, "I'm Techno."

The hoglin hybrid chuffs, then tentatively, grasps his cloak, gold lining the fabric. He lets out a little amused snort before he can stop it. He's really not in a position to be taking anyone in, especially not a kid, but his instincts are all but screaming protect protect protect. Great, just great. Chat, too, is particularly loud.

Technodad!

E E E E E E

aww technosoft!

CHILD

Is that a gremlin

He's about to let out a very long winded sigh when something bumps against his knee. He looks down immediately- the hoglin hybrid is gently bumping their forehead against his leg. A universal sign of affection- crap, did they think he was their guardian or something?! He really just wants to go home and make some potions, but he feels stuck in place. What if something happened to them while he was away? He can't just leave!

Great, now his instincts were really kicking in, enough to cloud his judgement. He moves to get away, but- but-

Another headbutt against his knee. He really is getting soft. He stands, just for a moment, hesitating. He huffs, "Parents?"

A shake of the head.

Our child now! Chat chimes in. His instincts agree, as suddenly there is a child in his arms. What is he doing?

The hoglin hybrid- Y/N- purrs and headbutts against his shoulder. Technoblade definitely does not get teary-eyed. Nope. That doesn't happen. He's got some kid in his arms, and he's not going to cry about it.

He balances the blaze rods and the hybrid carefully, making sure he doesn't drop either. Y/N seems fine with this, content with curling up and grasping his coat, staring intently at his golden earrings.

…

Phil is waiting at the Nether portal when he arrives. He looks surprised, at the form in Techno's arms. Then amused.

"Whatcha got there, mate?"

Techno sighs. "Blaze rods." As if it were obvious.

Phil laughs, you chuff.

"You're takin' after me," Phil says.

Techno rolls his eyes so hard it hurts, but he can't stop the smile that settled on his face. "Shut up, old man."

#technoblade #dsmp #hoglin hybrid reader #philza #dream smp x reader #dsmp x reader #familial x reader #twiggybreak4886 #- 📼#fluff

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kiridarling · 3 years

Text

𝐈𝐍 𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐁𝐎.

thank you so much to @daisy-bakugo for letting me participate in her vice city collab! i had a blast writing this piece, and i’m terribly sorry this is so long that was a mistake (and congrats on 2k!!) also, the phattest of thank you’s to @eijishimas for brainstorming/beta-ing :) you saved me ☺🤲🏼

katsuki bakugou and eijirou kirishima | f!reader, time travel sex, guns, prostitute/stripper idrk!reader, tw!blood (non-descriptive), dacryphilia, squirting, spit roasting, d-penn, shower sex, multiple rounds. minors dni!

— 5k words (yikes)

"Say, Sweetheart. You wanna get outta here?"

Las Vegas, Nevada. April 15th, Year 3036.

"You ready?"

Mina shoots you a look through the golden-lit mirror, wiggling her eyebrows. You roll your eyes and finish dusting the powder off your cheeks before rising to your feet and tugging at the belt of your silk robe. "My answer's the same every night."

Vice City. A strip club and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, where opposites collide—the poor and the rich, the beautiful and the ugly, the smart and the stupid. There's no judgment because here, they're all degenerates looking for a good time, and you're just a pretty face with a good body.

As your silk robe hits the floor, it's kicked to the side with a heel, and you saunter through the beaded entrance to your private room and into the vibrating club. Giving your bodyguard a solid pat on the shoulder as you watch the sea of bodies shake, you complete the ritual.

"No creeps?" You demand more than request. He nods curtly.

"No creeps."

You give him a cute little smile and let your hand linger for a little longer than necessary before stepping into the neon red chaos of the strip club. Because what do the rich and the poor have in common?

They're all addicts.

Surprisingly, humanity doesn’t kill the planet.

Mother Nature's still standing strong—though the sun is a bit swollen—and space exploration solved that overpopulation issue. Bill Gates taught us all how to avoid a climate disaster and Tesla put Ford out of business. Humanity is much bigger than earth now; we're no longer people of the planet, but an intergalactic species that still eat Costco pizza rolls for dinner but killed Cable along with cars with wheels. Costco still exists—Starbucks doesn't.

Still no aliens, though.

"See something you like, Cutie?"

In your defense, he's been standing over here with his friends for ages—almost like they're casing the damn place—but those ruby red eyes kept floating your way regardless, and you'd rather bag it with someone your age before you're requested by another seventy-year-old. The redhead blinks like he's shocked you came over here in the first place—like he didn't watch you sashay yourself to the other side of the club just for him. You suppose the name fits. Cutie.

He looks at you with a strangely giddy look on his face before he's licking his lips and swallowing, eyes flickering to the blondie to his right.

"I'll be back in like, twenty minutes, man."

The blond gives him an exasperated look and groans—his other two friends don't notice. "Eiji—"

"Twenty minutes!" The redhead yells over the music as you not-so-subtly pull him away. Your regular GILF looks your way, and you suppress the queasy feeling in knowing that at least you'll be able to fuck someone from your decade.

"You got a wallet, Cutie?" You purr as you two approach the back room. The redhead winks, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out the fattest black leather wallet you've seen in a long time.

"Don't go anywhere without it," he says, but falters when your bodyguard holds his hand out with a request for fifty bucks. "I—whoa dude, why am I paying you?"

"Because that's how it goes. The young lady gets her share," your bodyguard clarifies. The redhead looks at you for what seems to be for confirmation. You nod.

"Alright," he resigns with a shrug, stuffing a fifty into your bodyguard's sweaty hand. The man grunts but clears some of the beads guarding the entrance to your private room anyways, giving you two enough space to go inside.

"No door? That seems a little...exposing," the redhead snorts to himself before he's holding his hand out, despite the fact that you’re already nestling comfortably in his lap. "Eijirou, by the way."

You take his hand apprehensively, and he snorts at your confused frown. Eijirou's big—painfully so, and you feel small sat upon his thick thighs because you are in comparison—and he has to curve his back a bit so you're at eye-level. "What? No one's introduced themselves to you before?"

You shake your head, "Usually they just throw me onto the bed and get right to it."

Eijirou rolls his eyes at that, and you don't realize he's guiding your hips into a smooth roll until the harsh fabric of his jeans brushes against you in the best way. He moves you in time with the music vibrating the walls, "I guess that makes me more of a gentleman, then."

His lips hover over yours and yet he never advances, doesn't move to kiss you on the lips, nothing—it nearly has you buzzing. So does the hand he pins you to his lap with. "Are you going to kiss me or what?"

"What's your name, Sweetheart," he asks lowly. You give it to him, and he grins.

"Y/N,” Eijirou tries on his lips before he confirms it with a nod. "A pretty name for a pretty girl."

"Aren't you the flatterer," you purr, coiling your arms around your neck. His hand finds your ass and you're almost positive he's going to close the gap between you two until he says:

"Who were you runnin' from, Y/N?”

Years in the business help build a mask and you wear yours well, with that cute little smile as you cock your head to the side and ask, "I'm afraid I'm not following."

"Oh, I think you are," he says, looking you dead in the eyes. The gravity in his face doesn't falter. "Who was it."

As he stares into your soul, your own eyes avert to the sheets. "What's it to you?"

"It's nothing to me, really," he shrugs off his jacket and places it on the bed next to him before returning to his initial position—or perhaps, closer. "But I happen to find you real cute, and cute things deserve to feel safe, no?"

"In case you haven't checked, this isn't a very safe place," you scoff, removing your arms from his neck to cross them over your chest. "And I don't appreciate idiots like you trying to save someone like me just 'cause you wanna get your dick wet more than once."

Eijirou raises an eyebrow but he never stalls, "Oh? This happens often then?"

"I—" you falter, "...No."

"C'mon, Sweetheart," Eijirou tugs you by the waist and you have to press your hands to his chest to keep him from falling forwards. "You don't wanna stay in this place, do you?"

"It's my job," you defend with a huff. The redhead shrugs.

"Sure, but don't you want a little adventure? A little excitement in your life?"

"Like there isn't enough excitement right here?" You snort. Eijirou teeters his head back and forth, though the daring look never fades.

"But something tells me you're bored," he says with a near sarcastic face, clicking his tongue. "Something tells me you find the idea of something new exciting."

You open your mouth to respond but he keeps you from doing so, finally pressing his lips to yours. You nearly squeal in surprise but somehow, you find yourself kissing back with a passion you've never kissed another client with before—and maybe, just maybe, the idea of something new doesn't sound too bad.

Eijirou pulls away with a cocky grin like he knew you'd like it. Like he knew that'd be the catalyst for your response to what he says next, and maybe, he's not as much of an idiot as you thought.

And maybe you’re more of an idiot than you thought.

"Say, Sweetheart. You wanna get outta here?"

"Yes," you breathe, like an idiot, because you were wholly and utterly unprepared for what happens next.

Eijirou gives you the cutest smile, before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a gun.

He sees your expression change and lifts both hands, pointing the black pistol towards the ceiling, "I—hey wait, you're gonna be fine, okay? I won't shoot you."

You cower and he pouts. Apparently, this wasn't the reaction he was expecting at all.

"I swear! I'm mentally stable, see?" He flips it sideways with a grin, "the safety's on."

You hate it that his comment makes you trust him. Slightly.

"C'mon," Eijirou smiles, reaching his gunless hand out for you to take. You do, albeit reluctantly. "I won't do anything too stupid. Just...shake things up a bit."

Shake things up a bit, Eijirou says, and yet the first thing he does is when you two exit the room is press the pistol to your bodyguard’s head.

"Eijirou," you hiss. Luckily no one in the club has noticed, yet, but you doubt their ignorance will last for long.

"I'm gonna need my fifty back, buddy," Eijirou pats the man on the back, and it's strange—you've always thought your bodyguard to be a big guy, but he looks rather petite next to the redhead. Your bodyguard reaches for his walkie-talkie, but Eijirou tuts, tapping his hand away with the tip of his gun.

"Hey dude, I'm not gonna shoot you. See? The safety's on," He repeats, flashing the barrel. Your bodyguard's eyes widen, and so do yours.

The safety isn't on.

"So, that fifty," Eijirou purrs, and your bodyguard stuffs the bill into his chest with a grumble. Eijirou hums, satisfied, and gives the crumpled bill to you without a second glance, too busy nodding to his friend on the other side of the strip club. A noirette from across the way nods back.

Pop-pop!

It's fucking chaos, as anyone would expect when blindly firing into a crowded club. Eijirou keeps a tight hold on your hand as he and his other three boys storm towards the pit bosses working the casinos with guns a-blazing, demanding they fill their pillowcases like a bunch of C-class thugs.

What the fuck did you get yourself into.

"This is not what I meant by excitement," you hiss through grit teeth as a terrified pit boss fills Eijirou's bag like he's a greedy kid with an attitude on Halloween, while your co-workers cower under the bar and pool tables. Eijirou sticks his tongue your way.

"This isn't the exciting part, Little Miss Excitement."

It's the steady sound of sirens that has your eyes widening, and the fact that you're positive they're getting louder. You catch sight of your bodyguard on his walkie-talkie, big body cowering behind the smallest trashcan, and turn back just in time to see Eijirou squint as he aims and shoots bullseye.

"That is."

The police have lost sight of two vehicles carrying the four armed men who robbed Vice City Casino and Club tonight at roughly 2:53 am. Witnesses say they came in a group of four but left with an exotic dancer named—

The moment the blondie from the club sees you walk through the door, he’s tossing the stack of bills in his hand with a sigh.

"Katsuki, Y/N. Y/N, Katsuki."

Katsuki looks nothing but happy, and refuses to acknowledge your presence as he crosses his arms.

"Ei. What the hell did we say about witnesses."

"Um," the redhead rubs his lips together before wearily looking at you, and you hike his jacket further up your shoulder. At least he was decent enough to give you that. She's an exception?"

"Not a fuckin' thing," the blond grunts, turning to you to flash a tight smile. "Goodbye."

"I—wait," Eijirou skates until he's stood over the ash-blond, with a hand on his shoulder and the other braced against the table. Speaking in a quieter voice, he says, "C'mon man. The poor thing was practically begging to get outta there."

The ash-blond does nothing but sigh before shoving a palm into a pile of money to push himself into the kitchen—and subsequently further away from you.

"She's gonna call the cops," Katsuki grunts wearily from the island, eyes narrowed. Eijirou follows.

"She's not gonna call the cops, dude," the redhead scoffs at the outlandish idea. "You heard the radio! At this point, she's as deep in it as we are."

As they continue to go back and forth over the island, you let your eyes wander. It’s a penthouse, and rather homely, with near egg yolk lighting, high walls, and big windows. You can't help but think about how you're in a strangely expensive part of the city before remembering this evening's events. No wonder they can afford such a nice place.

You find yourself smiling at a particular corner with a frustrating amount of photos stuffed on a little glass table, one that contains a selfie of the two housemates in high school uniforms. There's a ring sat in front of it, one that glints gold when you hold it up to your face, and if you squint you can see little flecks of green in the red of the ruby. It looks scarily close to an engagement ring.

"Hey, what's this?"

Both of their eyes rocket from the conversation to see you slip the delicate thing onto your ring finger.

"Don't touch it!" Eijirou tenses before realizing it's much too late for that. "Er—at least don't twist the top."

"The...top?" You ask, lifting your hand until it's at eye level.

"Yeah like, the jewel thingy," the redhead gestures to the ruby—and you can't stop thinking about how it's almost the same color as his hair. Waddling into the kitchen with your eye still trained on the thing, you ask:

"What is it?"

"A time-travel device," the ash-blond grunts. Eyes still full of suspicion, he watches you and the redhead interact over the island with arms crossed over his chest and reclining against the sink. You frown.

"Aren't those usually...bigger?" Because even though it's 3036, time-travel is still fairly new (space exploration took a long time, okay) and all the machines you've seen are at least the size of a shower. And yet, this one can sit on your pinky.

"Kats has been working on some stuff," Eijirou beams and it edges on proud; you notice the ash-blond near blushes with a huff as you hop to sit on the marble counter.

"'S nothin'."

You stare at the thing in faint amazement, and Katsuki kicks off the sink to near the island. Lifting an eyebrow, you say, "You know you could get rich off something like this? Instead of robbing strip clubs for a living.”

The ash-blond scoffs, and you wonder if someone else has told him that before. "If I gave that to the public, I have no fuckin' clue what they'd do with that shit."

And you shrug, supposing he's right—time-travel devices are hard to get your hands on, and that's for a reason. If everyone starts jumping around in the time-space continuum, fucking with shit, the world will promptly and utterly collapse. Sounds fun, doesn't it?

"It doesn't work with a big time range," Katsuki defends with a shrug, sliding his forearms on the counter. "The most it can do is a few hours"

"Not that it makes this any less cool," Eijirou says with a slight bounce. "I personally think it's really fun to play with."

Katsuki rolls his eyes. "That's 'cause you use it to fuck."

You nearly choke.

"I—what?"

"W-Well, okay," Eijirou chuckles sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "But also other stuff! Like when I'm really hungry, I might go to the future and take some of my fries. Future me's fries, that is."

"Or you'll try to take future-me’s goddamn burger," Katsuki growls. You flip the ring over like there's anything left to see.

"How often do you use it?"

"Nightly," Katsuki answers for him. Your eyebrows lift. Oh wow.

"It—it's not nightly," Eijirou defends weakly, huffing and puffing. "Weekly maybe, but—"

"Almost every night," Katsuki sums for him, giving you a little grin. You snort back before your eyes drop to the ring again.

"Uh oh," the redhead almost gasps, fingers thrumming on the island on either side of your being, "She's thinkin' about it."

"I'm not thinking about it," you huff, though your eyes never leave the ring. It's an...interesting prospect.

"Oh, you're totally thinking about it," Katsuki grunts, and you struggle to find where his enthusiasm came from. What happened to goodbye?

"C'mon," Eijirou tempts with a casual toss of the head. He touches your shoulder—Katsuki touches the other. "See what happens."

"What if—" you stare at the ring with pursed lips, fingers grabbing the ruby. "What if it's random? Or if we're not where we expect to be in a few hours or something."

Eijirou shrugs. "It's always a gamble, but that's where the fun is, no?"

You look down at the thing with a sigh. You suppose.

In one quick move, you twist the gem and screw your eyes shut. At first, you feel nothing, but then there's a sudden head rush, and you can easily see how someone can get addicted to this.

You hear a faint sound, one that could be excused as a rush of wind past your ears, before you feel your knees against a hard surface and your body in a different position.

"Oh, I like this much better."

You open to your eyes to a much different sight than you closed them to.

Katsuki and Eijirou look gargantuan when you’re on your knees, your back flush against the refrigerator and eyes watering due to the cock nestled halfway down your throat. You choke in surprise from the sensation, hands rushing to keep Katsuki from cutting your oxygen supply off for good as Eijirou stands impatient, cock hard in his hand and drooling for attention.

"F-Fuck," the ash-blond wheezes, seemingly just as taken aback from the position as you are. "Your mouth is fuckin' heaven."

"C'mon Sweetheart, don't ignore me now," EIjirou purrs, chuckling as the head of his cock hits your cheek with a wet slap. "At least give me a little something."

You grab his cock harder than you would've out of slight indignance, grinning around the other when it makes him hiss; Eijirou joins Katsuki in resting a hand on the fridge door for purchase.

You weren't the best at Vice City for nothing, after all.

"Shit, loosen that grip a little, will ya?" Eijirou wheezes—you don't listen, and his chest shudders when you seem to only move faster.

"'M too fuckin' close, where's that ring," Katsuki blabbers more than he grunts, and you lift your hand just in time for him to twist the jewel again, sending you three rocketing into the past.

You cough and splutter atop the kitchen island, chest heaving as you finally get the air Katsuki's cock allows. The head rush definitely doesn't help, and you find yourself getting dizzy enough to grab for someone's hand.

"Breathe, Princess," Katsuki says, and Eijirou lifts your hand to his chest so yours can rise and fall with his.

"So that's," you wheeze once you're able to get some semblance of a breath back. "That's time travel sex, huh?"

"Yeah," Eijirou says, a little breathless himself. "Addictive, right?"

"A little," you giggle, and find yourself looking for the ring again. Katsuki snorts.

"What, you wanna go back or somethin'?"

You flush red, eyes darting to the walls guilty, "A little bi—wah!"

There's a rush and the room morphs again. You would’ve fallen headfirst into a set of white sheets if it weren’t for the fact that you’re sat on Eijirou’s face.

"Hello beautiful~" the redhead singsongs from below, and you can't help but notice your bra is MIA as Katsuki takes a seat behind

you to run his hands up your sides to put the underside of your breasts.

"Pervert," you snort, though you figure you’re just as bad as he is with two of Eijirou's fingers deep in your pussy and Katsuki's hand on your clit. The redhead's leaving hickey after hickey on your inner thighs and you just try your damnest to not fall.

"Only for you," Eijirou winks cheekily, scissoring his fingers, and your hips stutter against his face when he slides his tongue in between.

"Fuckin' love the sounds you make," Katsuki grunts, before his other hand finds your neck and tightens. "And fuck you're so goddamn wet—you love this, don't you?"

You keen with a nod (and suppress the urge to say no shit, Sherlock), and Katsuki's pinching your clit between his two fingers, licking a fat stripe up your neck and chuckling when you shiver.

"What, your clients don't make you feel this good, Sweetheart?" Eijirou practically moans into your cunt, eyebrows folding when you thread your fingers through his hair and yank. "Bet that fifty was worth it, wasn't it?"

"Y-Yeah I—" you whimper, unable to get a sentence past your shuddering chest. "Guys, I'm gonna—"

The bedroom melts back into the kitchen, you're back in Eijirou’s jacket and not sat on his face. Your thighs and neck are hickey-less and yet, you're still so fucking horny.

"I hate you," you seethe, almost immediately, and Eijirou's grin is so wide it bends his eyes.

"Awe, you love me," he giggles and your frown only deepens as you reach for the ring—Katsuki snatches it out of arms way with a tut.

"Ah ah Princess, don't be greedy now," he purrs, but you couldn't give a shit about being greedy, and it shows in the way you quickly grab for it again. Katsuki passes the ring to Eijirou and it easily becomes a game of monkey in the middle.

"Give it—"

"I don't think so, Sweetheart," Eijirou says, pressing a big hand to your face to keep you from going any further. With a smirk, the redhead twists the ring, and suddenly you're full of him on the kitchen counter.

"Fuck baby, you're so tight," he curses behind grit teeth, sweat practically dripping off his shoulders in rivulets as he pushes your face into the kitchen island so hard it's numb. So are your knees. "You're so pretty like this—shit—"

You barely have the room to whimper, let alone answer, and you find Katsuki perched on the opposite counter, weeping cock in hand. The redhead chuckles as you struggle to take all of him, hips squirming as he aims for places you've never been able to hit on your own. "I'd stick your tongue back in your mouth if I were you, Sweetheart. The money’s a little dirty, don't you think?"

And that's when you realize your knees are elevated upon two stacks of green, possibly some of what Katsuki had been counting earlier, and a twenty swims in a pool of drool under your cheek.

"Oh, but I don't think you care," Eijirou grunts, shoving your face deeper into the marble countertop as his hips speed up. "Dirty fuckin' girl. Bet you'd do anything for a fifty."

"I wanna fuck her," Katsuki rushes as if his mouth moves before he can speak. Eijirou wheezes a laugh.

"What, I can't enjoy this?"

"No,” the ash-blond grunts.

"Hmm..." Eijirou debates, though his hips never stop as he gives Katsuki a look and goes, "How about no?"

Katsuki growls at that, and you find your fingers clumsily twisting the ruby on the ring that sits on Eijirou's finger, sending the three of you flinging further into the future.

"Fuck!"

"This isn't the future I was referring to, but I'm not complainin'," Katsuki grunts with a feral grin. You nearly slip due to all the water in the shower and you're positive that you see the sunrise through the window paint Eijirou's skin gold.

"I gotcha, Sweetheart," Eijirou soothes, rubbing a hand up and down your arms while your nails dig into his shoulders, the red lines jagged from how roughly Katsuki fucks you from behind. "Fuck—you're doing so good for us, taking him so well."

You whimper and Katsuki lands a heavy slap on your ass—heavy to the point where you nearly knocks both you and the redhead into the tile behind him. Eijirou's calloused hands find your clit fairly easily, and that's enough to almost send you over the edge, pussy fluttering around Katsuki's cock.

"She's gonna cum," Katsuki grunts. "Can fuckin' feel it."

"Uh oh," the redhead singsongs, turning to you with a grin. "Were you trying to be slick, Sweetheart?”

Though it's difficult, you lift your head, eyes swimming in unshed tears as you choke, "I—n-no, it's jus—"

You're in the bedroom again—this time your back comes in contact with a dresser, metal rattling from the weight Eijirou slams you into it with. The redhead supports you both with two feet planted into the floor and a hand around your waist, grunting into your ear with an exhaustion that implies you've got to be at this for hours.

"Ei-Eiji—"

"I know, Sweetheart," the redhead coos breathlessly, licking up the sweat that runs down your neck. "Just a few more times, okay? Hold on for just a little longer."

You sob, head thunking against the wall as you realize you have no idea where Katsuki is. Though it's only a fleeting thought because before you know it, Eijirou's dropping you to your feet, bending you in half, and railing you into the wall.

"Goddamn," he grunts, sharp teeth digging into his bottom lip, "this is—this is the best lay I've had in a fat second."

You pant a laugh, hands pressing into the wall to steady yourself, "Good—good to know the fifty bucks was worth it."

"Oh baby, it was more than worth it," Eijirou hikes your leg up as high as it'll go for a deeper angle and he gets it, his growl melting into a semi-chuckle as you squeal, thighs jumping.

"Fuck Ei!" You scream, and he's tugging your hair to straighten your back out.

"You like it rough, Sweetheart?" He pants into your ear, grabbing your neck for a better grip. You nod as much as you can.

"Y-Yeah—I—" Eijirou drops you until you're stood at a perfect 90-degree angle, "I need—need'ta cum, p-please—"

"Twist the ring, Sweetheart," He pants, resting his hand on the wall next to yours. It still glints gold on his fourth finger in the moonlight, "Get us there together, yeah?"

You don't have to be told twice.

"Mph!"

"Fuck!”

Your knees dig into a mattress again as Katsuki fills your mouth. With his cock down your throat and Eijirou's buried deep in your cunt, there isn't much you can do but take both of them at the same time—though you're positive that's what they intended.

"Shit, me too." Eijirou wheezes a chuckle as his hips piston into you, his sweaty chest sticking to your back while he reaches between your thighs to rub your clit. That’s enough to send you flailing over the edge, moan muffled by Katsuki’s slowly softening cock. Then, with a devilish grin (and before the redhead can cum) Katsuki reaches for the ring on Eijirou’s finger and twists it.

“You asshole,” Eijirou groans, and suddenly you three are back in the shower, with Katsuki’s hips battering into yours as the redhead supports your weight from below. Katsuki chuckles before his grip tightens and he’s filling you with another load.

“C’mon Princess,” Katsuki grunts, reaching for your clit. “Come for us again.”

You choke again before you’re digging your head into Eijirou’s muscled chest with a moan, shaking from the aftershocks Katsuki continues to fuck you through them.

Until the room morphs, and you’re face down on the kitchen counter.

“Fucking finally,” Eijirou wheezes with a bitter chuckle, casually flipping Katsuki the middle finger as he's sat on the opposing counter. “Fuck, you're shaking baby, you gonna cum with me? Yeah?“

Eijirou batters into your cervix and that's the catalyst for your third orgasm. You squeeze so tight you think you may have knocked the wind out of the redhead when his chest crashes into your back, and you open your eyes just in time to see the kitchen melt into the bedroom again—in a time you all have yet to visit.

Your legs are thrown over Katsuki’s shoulders as he pushes your back deeper into Eijirou’s chest, both of their cocks filling you so much and so well it brings tears to your eyes. As your thighs quiver with an impending orgasm, Katsuki’s the first to fall off the edge, eyebrows furrowing as his nails dig into the meat of your thighs.

“Oh fuck,” he groans, voice fucked hoarse and lips bit pink. Eijirou nibbles into your shoulder with a gasp as his sweaty hand finds your clit again, neither of their hips ever stopping.

“Cum for us one more time, Sweetheart,” he pants into your neck before adding another hickey to the collection. Your chest shudders.

“I—I can’t—“

“Oh yes you fuckin’ can,” Katsuki growls, and you squeal as he tweaks a nipple. “I know you got one more in there. Give it.”

Your legs kick against his chest with a curse as you orgasm for the final time—this one much wetter than the last.

“Holy shit,” Eijirou nearly laughs, looking at where the three of you are connected. “Did you just squirt?”

“I—“ your face blends red when you see the absolute and utter mess that sits in Katsuki’s lap, before looking away with a determination to never see it again. “...Maybe.”

“Clean up?” Eijirou asks, eyes flickering to the ash-blond. Katsuki shrugs.

“Nah.”

A rush of wind and you’re sat on the kitchen counter. Eijirou’s jacket protects you from getting goosebumps due to a drop in temperature and though you do shiver, you find your body much more unscathed than it was.

“Hi,” Eijirou chuckles a little breathlessly.

“Hi,” you giggle back, a little nervous but in the best way. “So um...we do all of that tonight?”

“I guess so,” the redhead says a bit cheekily, raising an eyebrow. And then, with a wink, “Probably more.”

You stare at the ring on his hand in awe. Whoa.

"I fuck—fine, we can keep her, Shitty Hair," Katsuki grumbles from his spot near the kitchen sink, and despite the sour look on his face, you can't find a hint of it in his voice. Figures.

"Told you he'd say yes," Eijirou beams with a thumbs up.

"Can we...go do that stuff now?" You ask, albeit a bit hesitantly because...well, usually people are asking to have sex with you. Is this how they feel?

"Of course we can, Sweetheart," the redhead beams, before taking the ring off to place it onto the counter. "It was all a part of the future, after all."

#— 𝐊𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐈 #— 𝐄𝐈𝐉𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐔 #bnha smut #mha smut #bakugou smut #kirishima smut #tw.blood #tw.guns

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wastefulautist · 3 years

Text

Dumbest TFATWS contradictions

"Steve would never use a gun" *Storms Hydra base literally guns blazing* "But they were Nazis" >And the Flagsmashers are terrorists, next. "Steve would never kill" *Tosses henchmen off Helicarrier* *Kicks dudes out of windows* *Throws grenades at henchmen* >You'd have to be willfully dumb to think a Supersoldier throwing a Vibranium shield at people's heads is not fatal >Kills way more guys in the first Avengers, but blood only now gets on the shield somehow >Hey, maybe Cap should have, as Sam put it, "tried listening to them..." "But he surrendered" *Throws water fountain at John* >Therefore, still an active combatant. *Didn't actually surrender, but instead diverted blame* >Which makes it a heat of the moment situation, rather than a cold blooded murder situation like antis are making it out to be. >All the bad guys Sam and Bucky killed, you've never ONCE seen them fear for their lives until it was John's turn to fight back. More manipulative bullshit. >Of course, it wasn't the right decision to do it in public, but to act as if it's completely irrational makes no sense. He's a soldier, wtf do you think John and Lemar were doing in Afghanistan? Or Steve Rogers in Germany? >It isn't bad that Steve killed bad guys, but with John, it's a problem because the ominous music, the leering, villainous camera angles, blood on the coveted shield, the shocked civilians (and Karli), made it so. "He was unarmed" >He was a Supersoldier- he IS a weapon >Also, how do you go from being a Supersoldier to being helpless? They're just like John, it's not like he unlocked some new level of power after Lemar died, they didn't even really have a reason to stop fighting, other than the show setting John up. Even MORE manipulative bullshit. >Zemo kills an unarmed guy, Sam and Bucky are like, "Don't do it again, bestie", but John, they're like "This isn't you, give up the shield. No one else has to die." "I'm a Black man carrying the stars and stripes. What don't I understand? Every time I pick this thing up, I know there are millions of people out there who are gonna hate me for it." *Iron Patriot: Ceases to exist apparently* Also, missed opportunity to make Bucky the voice of reason for John after losing his best friend and partner, seeing as Bucky and Steve could have been the perfect parallel for John and Lemar. But no, tag team the shit out of an emotionally compromised man while the show acts like it was the right thing to do. In Civil War, Zemo cautioned against putting Steve Rogers on a pedestal, he can kill or have his actions result in the deaths of any number of people but as long as his intent was good, he can do no wrong, because he's a hero. Sound familiar, antis? Not saying that killing bad guys is wrong, Steve and John are soldiers, a soldier kills, but what's important is that they kill the right people. Antis conveniently omit that understanding when it comes to John though... Think for yourselves, you're ignoring reasonable sequencing of events because you're too sprung on the Steve, Sam and Bucky crew to see the show is using cheap tactics to cover up sub par writing and avoidable contradictions. You'd have to be willfully obtuse to ignore that there are more good things to say about Walker than Sam or Bucky. Antis, tell me you can't comprehend characters with depth without telling me you can't comprehend characters with depth.

credit to https://zemoscurl.tumblr.com/ for the amazing tik tok

#tfatws #john walker positivity #pro john walker #john walker supremacy #wyatt russell

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rosiehunterwolf · 3 years

Text

rainy days

Prompts: Storm

Word Count: 10,561 (i KNOW i'm sorry)

Characters: Jay, Nya, and Lloyd

Timeline: Snapshots throughout the series

Trigger Warnings: Brief mentions of nightmares, brief PTSD, Grief/Mourning

Summary: There are many reasons why people may dislike storms. Maybe, like Kai, they find few things worse than being cold and wet. Or maybe, they dislike the eerie sounds of the whistling wind and booming thunder, like Cole. Or maybe, like Zane, they are concerned about the safety hazards. But for the other three members of the ninja team, storms offer a much more pleasant experience.

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Jay should have been sleeping.

He didn’t know what time it was, but it was late. The rest of his team had gone to sleep hours ago. He could tell by the sounds of their breath- Zane’s clear and even, Kai’s with a rougher edge that came from years of breathing in smoke at the forge, and Cole’s deep with a light snore to it.

The sounds brought him comfort, and Jay felt the tension in his shoulders from hunting down Serpentine all day ease up. It was funny, how, less than a year ago, he had slept in a trailer home in the middle of the desert, no one but his parents for miles around, and even then he had slept in his own room. But now, he was crammed in a small bedroom on the Destiny’s Bounty with three other teenage boys, and he couldn’t imagine life any other way.

Although, that life also included waking up early every morning and spending the better part of the day training and hunting Serpentine, meaning one ought to get a full night’s rest.

It wasn’t that Jay didn’t want to sleep. It had been a long day, and he was tired.

But he couldn’t. It was one of those nights where the wind whistled in the trees and the rain pattered against the windows. There was a dull ache in his left shoulder, the one that usually alluded to-

A flash of light illuminated the room, casting long shadows across the wall for an instant before it grew dark again.

Jay smiled. Lightning storm. Never failed.

Now he was even more awake though, the hair along his arm standing up. He sighed, pushing himself into a sitting position and dangling his feet over the edge of the bed. Groaning, he rolled his shoulders, and they popped. Making his way over to the ladder, he climbed down and tiptoed across the room, easing the door of their room shut behind him.

Thunder rumbled from outside, and as Jay reached a window, lightning lit up the dark ship again. He smiled, feeling excitement bubble in his chest. Storms had always given him an odd elation- although he guessed it wasn’t so weird now, knowing he was the Master of Lightning.

Not that he had succeeded in summoning any lightning without the Golden Nunchucks yet, but the point still stood. This was his element. This was where he was meant to be.

Peering out the window, he saw the rain looked to be fairly light, and decided to go outside. I’m already awake, why not?

As he walked down the hallway towards the doors leading out to the deck, he paused as voices filtered towards him. Curiously, he stepped forward, and froze at the sight of two figures.

Nya had a bath towel in her hands, wrapping it around Lloyd as she tried to dry him off. The kid was scowling, attempting to pull away from her and grumbling something about buzzkills.

“What are you guys doing up so late?”

“Jay!” Nya jumped, dropping the towel and giving Lloyd the opportunity to slip out of her grasp. “You scared me.”

“Sorry. I couldn’t sleep, ‘cause of the…” he waved his hand at the window, “‘cause of the storm.”

She smiled. “Me neither. And apparently,” she added with a grimace, “not this little guy either. Found him standing out in the rain looking like a drowned rat.”

“I did not look like a rat!” Lloyd insisted, stomping his foot.

“Oh, so the drowned part was right then?” Jay snickered. Lloyd shot him a hot glare, and Jay held up his hands. “Geez kid, I’m just joking.”

Lloyd huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I just wanted to be out in the storm. I like watching them.”

“I get that,” Jay told him. “I love watching the storms too. Especially when there’s some killer lightning bolts. I’ve got some great lightning pictures I’ll have to show you sometime.”

Lloyd’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“He can show you tomorrow,” Nya insisted. “It’s two am, and it’s way past your bedtime.”

Jay winced. Geez, he really was going to be tired tomorrow morning, wasn’t he?

“But I didn’t even get to see the storm!” Lloyd whined. Turning to Jay, he added, “You’ll let me watch it with you, won’t you?”

Jay laughed nervously. Great, now the kid was trying to rope him into this to gain an advantage on Nya. No thanks.

…He did have a point, though. From the sounds of it, this was a big storm, and Jay wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep until it passed.

Nya must’ve guessed what he was thinking, because she sighed loudly. “I’ll let you stay up for half an hour more if you watch it from inside.”

“It’s not the same!” Jay and Lloyd burst out at the same time, then froze, glancing at each other. Jay broke into laughter at the look on the kid’s face, and, after a moment, Lloyd tentatively joined in too.

“C’mon, Nya, I’ll be with him. The Bounty is mostly sheltered, anyway. We’re not even flying! Let him out for a little while.”

Nya glared at him. “I don’t know how you talk me into these things.”

“Alright!” Jay whooped, high-fiving Lloyd.

“If he comes down with a cold, I am never forgiving you,” Nya muttered, reaching for her rain poncho. She handed Lloyd a spare one of theirs. “At least wear this.”

Lloyd wrinkled his nose at her, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Wear it, or don’t go at all.”

Lloyd sighed, slipping it on, and Jay had to bite back a laugh. The poncho was much too big on him, coming down to his ankles like some sort of strange dress. Lloyd didn’t look very happy about it though, so Jay refrained from the teasing.

As the three of them trekked out onto the deck, gentle rainfall pattered across their ponchos, and Jay immediately felt himself relax, the stiffness in his shoulders easing. Lloyd perked up too, skipping over to the railing to peer over the side, trying to spot lightning in the distance. Even Nya began to smile, tilting her face up towards the rain.

“See?” Jay teased, elbowing her. “You like it too!”

“I like the rain,” she told him. “It doesn’t mean I have the sense to stand out in the middle of a thunderstorm.”

“I told you, we’ll be fine! It’s perfectly safe here! Stop being such a grouch and come on!” Hooking her by the elbow, he pulled her over to where Lloyd was standing at the railing.

“See any cool bolts, Lloydster?” Jay asked, leaning his elbows on the railing next to him.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes. “Not yet.”

“Well, keep looking. It’s when you’re not watching carefully that you miss all the cool ones.”

Lloyd’s eyebrows furrowed as he squinted at the sky, almost as if he was commanding it to do something. Jay laughed. “You have to be patient, Lloyd.”

“Lloyd doesn’t know what that is,” Nya snorted.

Lloyd bristled at that. “Hey!” he snapped as Jay burst into laughter. He elbowed Nya, hard, and she flinched back with a whine.

“Ow! Kid, that hurt!”

“Hey, don’t think just because I’m smaller than you, I’m not strong!”

“Duly noted,” Nya muttered, rubbing her side.

Lightning crackled down not too far off, leaping across the sky in spindly strands, the flash blazing across the sky. Lloyd’s eyes widened, but he didn’t flinch, not even as thunder boomed loudly, practically shaking the Bounty.

“Never seen a big storm like this, bud?” he asked, grinning up in awe at the light blazing in the sky.

“We weren’t allowed to go out without permission at Darkley’s. And the teachers never let us go at night. Some of the older boys snuck out anyway, but they never let me come with them.” Lloyd sighed, resting his chin on his hands. “I missed all the best storms.”

“Well, you’re in luck, bud, because I come out here to watch storms all the time! And you can join me anytime!” Nya shot him a look, and he quickly amended, “Well, before a reasonable hour, at least. This is a special occasion.”

Lloyd had an odd look on his face, but he smiled tentatively. “Thanks, Jay.”

“You’re pretty brave, out here in the storm like this. When I was your age, I remember always running to Kai’s room every time there was a storm.” She smiled, but her eyes were sad as she gazed off into the distance.

Lloyd shrugged. “I dunno, some of the other young kids at Darkley’s were scared of storms and tried to hide it… but I don’t think that’s me. I’ve never been afraid of them. I can’t really explain it, I just feel a connection.”

Something odd tingled in Jay’s chest, and he sensed a spark coming from the boy, a warm glow, like a soft, green-

Jay blinked, and the sensation passed. He must’ve just been imagining things again. Maybe it was his supposed “elemental powers” reacting to the storm. Jay didn’t understand what the point of feeling them was if he still couldn’t use them without his Golden Weapon.

“It’s dumb,” Lloyd muttered, kicking the ground sullenly.

“Hey, it’s not! I feel some sort of pull to the storm too!” Jay assured him.

“But you’re the Elemental Master of Lightning! That makes sense for you.”

“What about Nya?”

Lloyd turned to look at her, gaze questioning. “You feel it too?”

Nya closed her eyes. “The rain- it calms me. It patters across my skin, wiping all my thoughts and worries away, leaving just me and the storm, the gentle rumbles of thunder filling my mind.”

Lloyd smiled shyly at her. “You do get it.”

“I never thought it was an elemental thing, anyway,” Jay told him. “I’ve always felt this way- long before I found out I was an elemental master. Granted, we didn’t get many thunderstorms in the middle of the desert, more dust storms than anything… but when we did, it always felt special. Every time it stormed, I would always run to sit on the steps of our trailer- my mom wouldn’t let me go any further- and watch the lightning. I had a notebook, where I would sketch it, and once I got a little older my mom got me a camera and I started taking pictures. By the time I was seven, I could name pretty much every type of lightning formation and storm there was.”

Nya smiled. “I remember being pretty intrigued as well. Like I said, when I was young I was scared, but after a little while I realized that the things I feared were the things I didn’t understand. I checked out like, pretty much every book from the library on storms. And I made those little raincatcher things to measure rainfall, and placed them all over the place whenever we travelled to the city. Kai got annoyed whenever I dragged him all the way down there again the next day to check them all. He never understood my “experiments.” I mean, technically it was more of an analytical study, but… tell that to him.”

Lloyd looked out at the storm again as another lightning bolt flashed. “I wish someone had taken me out to see the storms when I was little.”

Nya elbowed him lightly. “You’re still little, silly.”

Lloyd puffed out his chest. “Am not! I’m getting taller and taller every day, and-”

“Okay, okay,” Nya laughed. “Cool it, big shot.”

Shortstack, Jay mouthed above his head, but apparently Lloyd still caught it, he realized quickly, as he was delivered a kick to the shin.

“Ow,” Jay whined. “Will you stop doing that? It’s a good thing you’re not a ninja, sheesh, or you’d be pummeling all our enemies before we could even get them to speak.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, I’d be a great ninja!”

“Let’s not put that idea into his head,” Nya said hastily. “What I was trying to say was, your childhood isn’t over yet, Lloyd. We can take you out to see storms now.”

“Really?” He perked. “Like, all the time?”

“Well…” Nya hesitated. “A good night’s sleep is important. But it’s okay to stay up late once in a while.”

“Aww, I’m gonna get to watch so many cool storms from here! It’s a way better view than my tiny window back at Darkley’s. Or trapped in the Serpentine tombs, I couldn’t even see the sky then. Or when I was alone in the city streets-”

Nya and Jay exchanged a glance of horror. Jay swallowed. “Hey, um, Lloyd, maybe now isn’t the best time to discuss, uh… childhood trauma?”

Nya facepalmed, and Jay shot her a glare. Like you can do better. Sure, he knew he had all the tact of Kai high on Venomari venom, but what else was he supposed to say? ‘Sorry your childhood sucked so bad?’ Somehow, he didn’t think Lloyd would appreciate that.

Lloyd didn’t seem to be listening to them anyway, still babbling on even after Jay and Nya finished their intense glaring match. “D’you think Kai would like to watch the storm with us?”

Jay snorted. “Hard no, bud.”

Nya grinned. “He hates getting wet, Lloyd. You couldn’t lure him out here with the green ninja gi itself.” She paused. “Well, maybe you could with that. But not with anything else! He wouldn’t like it. And he would complain about it until you wanted to chop your ears off.”

“The others aren’t too big on storms,” Jay told him. “Kai’s a hydrophobe, Zane would just spend all his time harping about ‘safety’ and ‘taking proper shelter’ during a storm, and Cole complains that they’re too loud and throw off his focus, although- and you didn’t hear this from me- I think he’s just a big ‘fraidy cat.”

“In short, they think we’re weirdos. It’s their loss though, they’re missing all the cool views from out here.” She waved her hand at the sky as a barrage of lightning bolts showered down across the horizon, paling the sky as Lloyd gasped in amazement.

“Oh, that’s a sweet one!” Jay whooped, raising his phone and snapping a picture with it.

Nya eyed him. “Jay, if you keep that out in the rain, you’re going to end up wrecking it.”

“If I put it in my pocket I might miss all the cool pictures!”

Nya rolled her eyes. “Okay, but I’m not buying you a new one.”

“Can you show me all your lightning pictures when we go back inside, Jay?” Lloyd asked, dangling his arms over the edge of the railing.

“Can I? Oh man, I’ve got hundreds in there to show you-”

Nya cleared her throat, and Jay glanced down at the time on his phone. 3:12? Had they really been out here for over an hour already? He grinned sheepishly at Lloyd. “Maybe just a couple photos tonight. We can look at more tomorrow.”

“Alright, but you hafta promise to show me all the good-” Lloyd broke off in a big yawn, revealing his small, gleaming fangs, and Nya smiled softly at him.

“Think that’s our signal for bed, kid.”

“No! No, I’m not tired at all-” Lloyd slapped his hand over his mouth before he could yawn again.

“Hey, we let you stay up way past your bedtime, mister. You don’t get to complain now.”

“But I’m gonna miss the storm,” Lloyd whined, although he let Nya drag him back towards the doors by the arm.

“The storm’s beginning to pass now, anyway,” Jay assured, stretching a hand out as the raindrops began to lighten. “It’ll be back though, eventually.”

Lloyd grinned at him. “And we’ll be ready to watch it?”

“That we will, bud.” Jay reached forward, ruffling Lloyd’s hair. “That we will.”

---

After long days of stifling, dry heat, the evening rain came as a relief to everyone. Lloyd sat on the roof of the Brookstone residence, watching and feeling the rain pour down. He hoped Mr. Brookstone wouldn’t mind him sitting up here, he had been kind enough to let them stay with him until the repairs to the Destiny’s Bounty were complete, and Lloyd didn’t want to overstep his boundaries.

Lloyd felt like this cool summer storm was just what the city needed, not only because of the dryness, but because of the darkness that had scoured the streets here only nights before. The Overlord was gone- he had made sure of it- but he couldn’t shake the feeling of grime left in the city, and hoped the rain would be enough to cleanse it.

“We thought we’d find you up here.”

Lloyd glanced behind him to see Jay and Nya gingerly picking their way across the rooftop behind him, before plopping down into a sitting position beside him.

“See any cool lightning?” Jay asked.

“Not yet. All I’ve heard is a little thunder. It seems to be mostly rain.”

“Good,” Nya sighed, turning her face up to the sky as rivulets streamed down her face. “We need it.”

“How you doing, bud?”

It took Lloyd a moment to process that Jay was talking to him, and he turned to him, blinking. “What?”

Jay grinned. “Y’know, great and mighty ‘Master of Gold’ and all that- or have you already gotten over that? Too insignificant for you?”

“It’s ‘Golden Ninja,’ not ‘Master of Gold,’” Lloyd grumbled.

“Yeah, whatever. How you doin’? You just fought like, the biggest battle of your life a few days ago. You can’t tell me you’re not at least a little tired.”

“Speaking of which,” Nya frowned, tapping lightly at his bandaged leg, “You’re still supposed to be resting that for another two weeks. You shouldn’t be climbing up here. Or letting the cast sit out in the rain.”

“Here.” Jay pulled off his jacket, tossing it over Lloyd’s cast to keep it dry. “That’ll help. That way, you can stay out here for a little longer.”

Lloyd shot him a weak smile. “Thanks, Jay.”

Jay didn’t return it, watching him carefully. “You sure you’re okay?”

Lloyd lowered his head. “I’m fine. It’s just a lot to take in.”

“Sure is,” Jay whistled, rubbing at the gold silk of Lloyd’s gi. “It seems like just yesterday you were a little bratty, messy haired kid we were dragging, kicking and screaming, onto our ship.”

Lloyd rested his chin in his hands. “Feels both like yesterday, and a million years ago. So much has changed since then. I feel like a completely different Lloyd, now.”

“One thing hasn’t though.”

He looked up at Nya. “What’s that?”

“You’re still our heart-of-gold little brother.” She slung an arm around his shoulder. “Nothing, not some prophecy, not the tea, not the Overlord, not even your special, shiny new powers are going to change that. Ever.”

“I know,” he whispered, leaning into her. He felt Jay wrap a hand around his other side, and, for a moment, just let himself be held.

“We’re proud of you,” Nya murmured after a moment. “I know it hasn’t been easy getting this far, but now, thanks to you, all of Ninjago is safe.”

He leaned back slightly, elbowing both of them. “Yeah, well I couldn’t have done any of it without you guys.”

“You big sap,” Jay laughed, ruffling his hair.

Lloyd felt a grin split his face, shoving Jay’s hand off. “Well, it’s true! If it weren’t for you guys, I’d probably be in Pythor’s stomach right now.”

Nya choked a laugh. “Thanks for that grim reminder.”

“What, you forgot about Pythor?” Jay teased.

Nya shrugged. “I didn’t forget, just… compared to the Overlord, Pythor seems much less intimidating, now.”

“That could partially be due to the fact that he’s probably half-digested inside the gut of a giant, dead snake.”

“Ewww!” Nya jabbed him, hard. “Lloyd, that’s disgusting. Ugh, now I’m not going to be able to get that image out of my head all night.”

“Hey, better him there than here,” Jay said, leaning back to lay on the roof, letting raindrops sprinkle his face. “After all the training and fighting we’ve done over the last few months, I just want a break from villains.”

Lloyd shot him a glare. “We’ve done? Last time I checked, it was me doing most of the training.”

Jay sat up again, sputtering. “Hey! The rest of us weren’t exactly sitting on our bums, were we? Back when you were just a little sprout, we were the ones busy saving Ninjago! And who taught you everything you know, hmmm? You weren’t an easy student, you know that, right?”

Lloyd laughed. “Okay, buddy.”

“Don’t you ‘okay, buddy’ me! If it weren’t for me, you’d still be shattering all our lightbulbs! Remember who taught you to control the lightning!”

Lloyd blinked at him, pretending to look thoughtful. “I thought that was Nya.”

“Nya?! I’m the Elemental Master of lightning!”

Nya laughed, knocking her leg gently against his. “Stop messing with him, dude. Let him have this one.”

Lloyd mockingly rolled his eyes. “Yeah, alright.”

Silence fell between them, but it was a comfortable one. Lloyd closed his eyes, cherishing the feeling of rain dripping through his hair and the warmth of his friends at his side.

It was funny how something so horrible had brought him to these people, this moment- something he would never give up for the world.

“Do you think the Overlord’s really gone?”

That remark earned him two very shocked glances.

“Where did that come from?” Nya spluttered.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Jay agreed. “You defeated him. We all saw it.”

Lloyd shook his head. “Yeah, I know, it’s just… if the Overlord’s dead… my father is cleansed of the venom… and the Serpentine are good now… where does that leave us?”

Jay and Nya exchanged a glance. “What do you mean?”

“Things are so different, now. I’m not even the green ninja anymore. I’m wearing-” he tugged at his golden gi, “this. Being a ninja is the one place I’ve felt like I really belong, but if the world is at peace now, where are a bunch of ninja and a Samurai supposed to fit into it? It’s crazy, how we’ve spent the last months- the rest of you guys, over a year- training for this one big moment. And now it’s over. What happens next? What happens to us?”

“There’s no way to tell the future, Lloyd,” Jay murmured. “We won’t know until it’s here. The world is going to change around us- people will change, circumstances will change, our lives will change. But do you know what won’t change? Us. We might look different in the future. Act different, live different, I don’t know. But this group- this family- is never going to change. This-” he gestured at the sky above them, “is never going to change. Do you remember how, before your green ninja training got so intense and demanding, we would always go out to watch storms together? And yet, even after all those months, your first instinct was to come back to it again. Those kinds of things don’t just go away.”

“Jay’s right,” Nya agreed. “This is always going to be our special thing. Just like we are your special people. Time can’t erode memories. It can’t erode love.”

Lloyd smiled, as lightning cracked across the sky in the distance. “You’re right. The future is open to us. No matter what happens next, nothing can change who we are.”

---

Nya flopped over on the armchair, sighing.

It had been a long night.

After a villain had been defeated, Nya always looked forward to coming home, back to the Bounty, and just sleeping for about fourteen hours straight.

That hadn’t happened this time.

Even just coming home to the Bounty hadn’t been as warm and welcoming as it usually was. The hallways had felt empty, desolate, the rooms lifeless, and their bedroom bare except for the few things her and Lloyd had left behind- the rest of the guys’ beds made unnaturally neat and spotless, as if no one had slept in them for months.

Which, they hadn’t.

As the guys had filed in, she had tried to focus on the fact that they were here now, not the emptiness they had left behind in those months after Zane had died. Even Lloyd, who had been the only one to stay with her, had felt distant and standoffish in those days, hardly speaking to her or anyone else.

Ushering everyone off to bed had been a whole other fiasco. All the guys that had left had taken a moment to adjust back into the Bounty again, but Zane had been the worst. He had spent a long time just walking around the ship, staring at things and saying nothing. Poor Lloyd had been shaken about losing his father- after a while, Cole had insisted on sitting with him instead so that she could go check on Kai- who had still been trembling from Chen’s staff. It had taken her hours to get him to drift off.

She knew that she better head to her bed soon- if she didn’t sleep herself, Cole would come to chew her out- but she wanted to make sure everyone was staying asleep before she did. It would be just like them to get out of bed as soon as she was asleep.

She must have drifted off at some point though, because when she blinked open her eyes again, the gentle patter of rain sounded against the side of the Bounty. Lightning illuminated the room, and she stretched, getting out of the chair and walking over to the window.

As she reached out to close the curtains, though, she noticed the deck lights of the Bounty were on. Frowning, she pulled open the doors and walked outside.

Jay and Lloyd were leaning on the railing, staring at the sky. Neither of them spoke, but their elbows bumped together comfortingly. Nya felt a flash of frustration that Lloyd had managed to sneak out of bed already.

“Hey, I can’t believe you guys came out here without me,” she teased, walking over to stand on the other side of Lloyd. “This is our thing.”

Lloyd shrugged. “Sorry. You were sleeping.”

Nya narrowed her eyes. “You were supposed to be, too.”

“I was-” he yelped at the glare Nya shot him. “I swear! I was! But the storm woke me up.”

She sighed, letting it drop. For now.

“What are you guys thinking about?”

Lloyd shifted on his feet. “My dad-”

“Griffin Turner,” Jay said at the same time.

Nya and Lloyd looked at him. “...What?”

Jay blushed slightly. “The Elemental Master of Speed? From the Tournament?”

Lloyd snorted, and Nya rolled her eyes. “We know who he is, Jay. Why are you thinking about him?”

“Speed is a dumb element. Y’know, I wouldn’t even really consider it an element. Like- he can run fast. So what? The elements are supposed to help you create stuff. Speed isn’t a tangible thing you can make.”

Lloyd laughed. “You’re still upset about that, Jay?”

“What? It doesn’t make any sense! Like, speed isn’t an element, it’s an ability. Like, you know how Cole’s the Elemental Master of Earth and has super strength, right? Makes sense. So, shouldn’t, say, an Elemental Master of Lightning, be super fast?”

“Oh, I see what this is about,” Nya grinned, leaning over to poke Jay in the arm as Lloyd dissolved into giggles. “Someone’s jealous.”

“I am not jealous! I just think that it makes a lot more sense that an elemental master who possesses the power of lightning, which is made of light, literally the fastest thing in the universe, should be the fast one, not some random dude who claims his element is ‘speed.’ Like, that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard! He’s not a true elemental master if you ask me.”

“Someone’s still upset about my father saying he wasn’t special,” Lloyd whispered loudly into Nya’s ear, and she slapped a hand over her mouth, trying to contain her laughter, as Jay kicked Lloyd’s ankle.

“It is interesting, though,” she admitted after they had all calmed down a little bit. “That there are others like you. I thought you five were the only ones in the world with powers like this… but elemental masters of Shadow? Metal? Nature? It’s crazy to think how many people there were that were just like you guys living in Ninjago with us, and we never even noticed.”

“Well, not just like us,” Jay muttered. “We are the four elements of creation… and Lloyd’s the Elemental Master of Energy, so we’re hardly comparable to their sub-par elements…”

Lloyd elbowed Jay in the ribs, and he yelped. “Yeah, it is kind of crazy… and it makes me wonder. Did every elemental master in existence decide to come to the tournament? What if there were more, ones that saw through Chen’s tricks and didn’t attend?”

Jay’s eyes widened. “Oh, I’m sure there aren’t more-”

Nya grinned, winking at Lloyd. “Oh yeah, wouldn’t that be awesome? What do you think they could be? Maybe Master of Space? Wood?”

“Maybe Silver! Or Plasma! Water?” He paused, frowning. “Actually, I’m surprised there wasn’t a Master of-”

“Let’s not get outrageous, here,” Jay insisted. “What do you need those for? Lightning is plasma, and frankly those others just sound useless-”

Nya snapped her fingers. “What about a Master of Crystal? Or, I know, a Master of Thunder!”

“Okaaaay, people, now we’re just laying it on me!” Jay snapped. “Thunder is stupid! Storms are my thing!”

“I dunno, Jay, I think it could be cool. What do you think, Lloyd?”

“Oh yeah, that would be awesome-”

He was interrupted by a loud bang of thunder, and Lloyd and Nya burst into laughter.

“Looks like the universe agrees with us, Jay!”

“Are you kidding? If anything, that was showing that it disagrees with you!”

Lloyd smiled, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “Relax, big shot, we’re kidding. No one could ever replace you.”

“Hey, you don’t get to call me that! Only we can call you big shot.”

Lloyd looked at Nya, and she nodded. “He’s right. You’re the only big shot around here.”

Lloyd whined. “You guys keep saying that like it’s a good thing but I feel like it’s supposed to be offensive.”

Nya laughed, and Jay ruffled his hair. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, big shot.”

Lloyd narrowed his eyes at him. “Stop that.”

“Make me.”

Nya pushed the two apart as they broke into a scuffle, rolling her eyes. “Guys, stoppit, you’re going to miss the lighting.”

They stopped at that, turning their gazes up to the sky as a bolt shot across the night, fizzling out at the end. Smiling, the three of them leaned forward on the railing, watching as the light show commenced.

---

Nya loved the rain.

The rain was carefree, playful- it took away a need for words, for thoughts, for worries. The rain didn’t bother with such frivolous things. It just was.

She hadn’t understood the tingle under her skin, however, every time rain was about to come, the slight ache in her bones leading up to every storm. These things had finally been made clear when she had found out that she was the next Elemental Master of Water- but everything else had become foggier.

Now she didn’t know who she was, what she was meant to be, what was supposed to become of Samurai X, if she would ever be able to truly fit in with the ninja group-

And most of all, she didn’t know how she was going to get her little brother back.

Right now, she hated the rain.

It was cold and heavy and grim- it only served as a reminder that she had failed. Her element was the one thing that could get Lloyd back, and she couldn’t even control it.

“Hey. I’ve been looking for you.”

Nya jumped nearly a foot in the air at Jay’s voice, and he put a hand on her shoulder, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” The smile quickly faded as he got a better look at her. “Geez, Nya, you’re trembling.”

“Am I?” She hadn’t even noticed.

“Here.” Slipping off his jacket, he wrapped it tightly around her, before pulling her into a hug. For a moment, Nya let herself relax against him, the steady beat of his heart soothing her.

“How’s Cole doing?” she asked after a moment. She had hoped her talk with him earlier had helped- although the Earth Ninja had still seemed to be upset about his new, ghostly form. Not that she blamed him.

Jay was quiet for a moment. “He’s hanging in there.”

Nya squeezed her eyes shut. Wasn’t one teammate to worry about more than enough? Why did destiny seem to throw everything on them all at once?

“Hey, you’re wearing your gi.”

“Huh?” Nya blinked her eyes open, glancing down at the maroon and blue garment she was wearing. “Oh. Yeah. Sensei said I should wear it now.”

Jay grinned. “I take it your training is going well, then?”

Nya shrugged, looking away.

“Hey.” Jay took her hand. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s going okay, I guess. I’m a lot better than I was. But I’m still nowhere near the level of you guys.”

“Are you kidding? We wouldn’t expect you to be! Nya, it’s only been a few weeks since you started training. Me and the guys have been at it for years, and were training for several months before we even got a decent handle on our powers. You’re doing great so far.”

“Yeah, but, it’s not enough. And we don’t have months. I need to be a good Master of Water now.”

Jay’s expression softened. “Nya… we’ll find a way to save him. With or without your powers.”

“I just…” she stopped, gulping back a sob. “I just wish I could be more useful.”

“Me too.”

Lightning spit the sky overhead, followed by a mighty rumble of thunder. They watched it, but there was no joy in it this time around.

It wasn’t the same without Lloyd.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Jay wrapped an arm around her, murmuring, “Nya, you’re freezing. Let’s get you inside.”

She went without any protest. After all, the storm had nothing to offer her, anymore.

---

The storm that night was gentle, which Lloyd was grateful for.

Nya and Jay had assured that they’d be perfectly fine not going out- in fact, they didn’t want to- a lie, they just didn’t want Lloyd to feel left out.

They thought he didn’t want to go out. They thought he was forcing himself to go just because he wanted them to go and he wanted to go with them. But that wasn’t the case. Lloyd really did want to go outside. Morro had stolen so much from him- his family, his mind, his control, his own body- he wasn’t about to allow him to take his love for the storms, too.

So what if storms were filled with the same howling winds that reminded Lloyd of him, the sensation of the breeze reminding him of the chill across his spine as the ghost slipped into his body?

Lloyd wanted to do this. He really did.

He was just… scared.

“You sure you wanna do this, green machine?” Nya’s voice, a hand on his shoulder.

Lloyd nodded stiffly. “If I don’t step out of these doors now, I never will.” Without giving himself any time to change his mind, he leaned forward and pulled open the doors.

Immediately, he was sprinkled with rain, and stepped further out, letting the droplets wash over him.

Then a breeze hit him, and he clenched his teeth, curling his fists into balls.

It’s okay. You’re in the rain. The rain will protect you from ghosts. Jay and Nya are here, too. They will protect you from ghosts.

As if to solidify his point, Nya slipped her hand into his, and he squeezed it back, forcing himself to take long, slow breaths- in and out, in and out, in and out.

“Bud?” Jay put a hand on his back. “You good? You don’t have to do this. We can go inside. Try another time.”

Lloyd shook his head. Breathing out slowly, he took a shaky step forward- then another, and another. Winds tickled past him as he walked, but he ignored them, every step his confidence building until he stopped in front of the railing of the Bounty.

He watched the dark sky, holding his breath, waiting.

Nothing came.

He bit his lip. He needed this. He needed to know that the spark was still there, that Morro hadn’t taken it away-

Suddenly, a blazing warmth glowed in his chest, and Lloyd smiled- just as a mighty burst of lightning shattered the night sky.

He still had it.

A warm weight pressed in on either side of him as Jay and Nya joined him at the railing, the lightning illuminating their faces so that they almost seemed to glow.

They were here now. They would keep him safe.

Things weren’t okay, not yet. Far from it. But he had taken a step today. And he would continue to take steps until things were okay again, and his family was going to be beside him every step of the way.

Morro was gone now. It was about time Lloyd stopped letting him win.

---

Lightning flashed.

Nya, in his arms, limp and weak, the light fading in her eyes. The green venom splashed across her dress.

Thunder boomed.

Nadakhan, standing over him, laughing as he waved the Djinn Blade at him- the one that had trapped all his friends, the one that had left him all alone. He was the last one left.

No, he reminded himself firmly, squeezing Nya’s hand tighter. I’m not alone. Nya’s not dead. She’s right here next to me. All the others are safely sleeping inside the Bounty. I stopped him. He’s gone now.

Nya glanced at him. “You okay?”

He sniffed, wiping at his nose with the hand that wasn’t firmly gripping Nya’s. “Honestly? Not really.”

Nya looked up at the sky. “Me neither.”

“I’d thought I’d lost you.”

She turned back, letting her fingers skirt his jawline. “I know. I’m sorry. But you didn’t. I’m here now. It’s all over.”

Jay breathed out, leaning his head on her shoulder. For a long time, they just stood there, staring out at the storm, saying nothing.

“Beautiful night for a stargaze, isn’t it?”

He turned to see Lloyd walking towards them, grinning as he gestured at the stormy skies above them.

Nya rolled her eyes at him, and Lloyd tossed his head in her direction, his sopping wet hair spattering her with water. Not that it made a difference in all the rain.

“Normally I’m the one who has insomnia-inducing nightmares and doesn’t sleep,” he teased, pushing his way between them to lean on the railing.

Jay caught Nya muttering something about “joking about childhood trauma” and “we should all go see a therapist,” and the alarmingly cheerful grin Lloyd shot her made Jay think she might have a point.

“Who told you we had nightmares?” Jay asked.

“Jay, most people don’t come outside in the pouring rain, in the middle of a thunderstorm no less, at three am in the morning just for the fun of it.”

Jay grinned. “Yeah, well we’re not ‘most people.’”

Lloyd shook his head, smiling. “It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it. I just thought I would join you.”

“What about you,” Nya probed. “Why are you up this late?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said simply, his lips popping on the p. When they stared at him, he blinked. “What? It’s because of the storm!”

Nya rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Hey, If you don’t have to talk about it, I don’t either. Besides, that wasn’t a complete lie. Look.” Lloyd held out his arm for them both to see. It looked like a perfectly normal arm to Jay, but Lloyd was looking at them expectantly. “Feel it.”

Nya raised an eyebrow at him.

“Just do it,” he insisted.

Jay reached forward, pressing his fingers against Lloyd’s forearm-

And promptly jerked back as it vibrated beneath his touch.

“Woah.”

Seeing the look on his face, Nya quickly reached forward, her eyes widening as she pulled back. “What is that? Why are you buzzing?”

“I think it’s the storm,” Lloyd said. “My powers must be reacting to it. Sensing the lightning.”

“Does it hurt?” Jay asked.

He shook his head. “No, just tingles a little bit.”

“I didn’t even know you could do that,” Nya whispered, running her fingers along his arm again.

“I couldn’t. Not up until recently. This only just started happening.”

“Woah. Like a built-in storm sensor. Now you’re like us! I can feel a bit of a tingle when there’s a lightning storm on the way, and I know Nya can feel the rain coming. Ours aren’t quite as obvious as yours, though.” He gestured to Lloyd’s arm.

Lloyd examined his arm. “That’s awesome.”

Nya snorts. “Not so awesome when it wakes you up every time there’s a thunderstorm.”

Lloyd gave her a gentle shove. “Stop trying to blame it on that. I know you were already awake anyway.”

Nya snorted, looking away.

Lloyd frowned. “You guys sure you’re okay?”

Jay nudged him. “We’ll be fine, green bean. We always are.”

Jay watched him, wondering if he would probe further. But he simply nodded. “Okay. I trust you.”

Jay smiled. That was one of the things he liked best about Lloyd.

Sometimes, silence said more than words.

---

Rain pattered against the glass doors. Lloyd glanced up from where he was sitting on the too-large bed.

The royal family’s hospitality was greatly appreciated, but the room was so big. Lloyd wasn’t used to having so much space, or such fancy things- he wasn’t even used to having his own room. The six of them crowded into the little cabin on the Destiny’s Bounty was the only thing he had known for a long time.

He wanted to get out.

Walking over to the balcony doors, Lloyd pushed them open, quickly pulling them closed again behind him, so as not to let the rain in.

Walking over to the railing, he hopped up, sitting on it and letting his feet dangle over the edge. The bedroom might not have been his taste, but the view of the city from here was absolutely breathtaking. Lights were scattered throughout the dark landscape like reflections of the stars above, and the rain created a light, pooling mist that shrouded the city in an air of mystery and wonder.

He couldn’t have been sitting there for more than half an hour when Jay and Nya suddenly dropped in next to him from seemingly out of nowhere. Lloyd jumped, gripping the railing below him tightly as he narrowly avoided falling the very long drop to the city streets below.

“Geez, guys, don’t sneak up on me like that. How did you even get here?”

Nya winked at him. “It’s a ninja’s secret.”

Lloyd felt his nose wrinkle. That doesn’t make any sense. “I’m a ninja, too. Doesn’t that mean I should get to know the secret, too?”

Nya shook her head. “Sorry, green machine, that’s not how it works.”

Lloyd sputtered at her. “What do you mean that’s not how it works? How else would it work?”

“That part’s a secret.”

He threw up his hands. “You’re impossible.” “Nya Smith,” she grinned, shouldering him playfully. “Tormenting brothers since the day I was born.”

“I’ll say.”

“Hey, you weren’t even there for most of it! Kai had it way worse than you.”

“Trust me, you’ve more than made up for it.”

“Oh, come on, I know I’m actually your favorite sister.”

“You’re my only sister.”

“Ouch. Hit it where it hurts, why don’t ya?”

“You walked right into that one, and you know it.”

The three of them burst into laughter, and even as the sounds faded, they still sat with massive grins on their faces, swinging their legs back and forth gently, occasionally kicking at someone else if their feet accidentally knocked against each other. Jay got a little too aggressive in one of his attempts and nearly knocked Lloyd off the balcony for the second time that night. Lloyd shot him a glare, and Jay at least had the sense to look sheepish.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve done this,” Jay murmured after a while. “Just the three of us, standing out in the rain, watching the storm.”

Lloyd sighed. “Yeah, well, it’s been a long couple of years.”

“You can say that again,” Nya agreed.

They fell silent again, and Lloyd felt bad for pitching the air into a grim mood. He was struggling to think of something more lighthearted to say, when Jay suddenly spoke up.

“So… about the princess…”

Lloyd immediately changed his mind. The grim mood was fine.

“What about her,” he mumbled, even as he felt his face turn cherry red.

“Oh, he totally likes her,” Jay gushed, reaching a hand behind his back to give Nya a gentle shove in the shoulder. “I told you!”

Nya snorted. “Have you even talked to her yet?”

“A bit,” he insisted, indignantly. Then, realizing he had answered too defensively, he quickly amended, “But it’s not like that.”

“Suuure,” Jay laughed. “That’s what they all say at the beginning.”

“She’s the princess! Even if I did have feelings for her, it’s not like something could ever work between us.”

“Yeah,” Nya agreed. “The stuffy, rich type? Not a fan. She’s probably not good enough for you. You can do better.”

“What?” Lloyd sputtered. “No, that’s not what I meant- not like that! I mean, she’s not like that!”

Jay snickered at how flustered he was getting, and Lloyd elbowed him in the ribs.

“How do you know? You’ve known her for like, what, a day?”

“Ooh, she got you there, green machine.”

Jay’s remark earned him another jab in the ribs, and he yelped. “Would you stop doing that?”

Lloyd ignored him. “It’s not like you’ve known her any longer than I have. You have no more idea what she’s like than I do.”

Nya shrugged. “All I’m saying is that she’d have to be one hell of a girl to even come close to being worthy of you.”

“Nya!” Lloyd cried, ducking his head as both of his friends went for a hair ruffle. “Stop it, you guys! I’m not a little kid anymore!”

“You’re right, you’re not,” Nya sighed. “I could hardly believe my eyes when I got back from searching for Master Wu. You were a good two inches taller than the last time I saw you, at least, and your hair was longer, done differently-” “Don’t forget his deep, manly voice,” Jay chimed in. “I’m so upset I missed the voice cracking phase!”

“I’m not,” Lloyd muttered.

“Jay, look at this boy,” Nya gushed, grabbing Lloyd’s face between her hands. “Can you believe this is the nine-year-old we snatched up off the street all those years ago?” “Never in a million years,” Jay laughed. “Look how handsome he’s gotten.”

“Guys!” Lloyd cried, pulling away from them. “Stop being embarrassing!”

“Lloyd, you’re our baby brother,” Jay teased. “It’s our job to embarrass you.”

Both of his friends leaned against him, laughing- only to jerk back a moment later with a yelp.

“Lloyd!” Jay shrieked. “What was that?”

Lloyd blinked at him. “What was what?”

“Didn’t you feel that?” Nya stared at him with wide eyes. “It was like we were shocked or something!”

“Oh.” Lloyd lifted his hands up from where they were resting on the railing, holding them up for Jay and Nya to see- revealing the small zaps of green energy sparking from them, occasionally arcing between his fingers. “I guess that was me. Sorry.”

Jay blinked owlishly at his hands. “What the… you’re not doing that on purpose, are you?”

Lloyd shook his head. “It’s happened before, while you guys were gone. I think it has to do with the storm.”

“Your powers really are getting stronger,” Jay murmured, taking one of Lloyd’s hands- prepared for the small shock this time- and examining it.

“And your eyes,” Nya breathed.

They both looked at her. “What about them?” Lloyd asked.

“They’re flickering.”

“What?”

“Lemme see.” Lloyd turned his head to look at Jay, and the blue ninja sucked in his breath. “They are.”

Lloyd frowned. “That is new.”

“It’s cool,” Jay gushed. “I wish I could do that.”

Lloyd shrugged. “I’m not sure it’s really that great. Now I can accidentally shock all my friends, hooray.”

“But think of using it on enemies! You’d be like, a human taser!”

“Jay, you’re our human taser.”

He grinned. “Oh. Right.”

“It does look pretty cool,” Nya admitted. “Kind of like those glow-in-the-dark star things you would stick on your ceiling as a kid.”

“I had some of those!” Jay yelped. “They were awesome.”

“Of course you did.” Nya rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “I wanted some, but we never really had a budget for it, so I checked out some star atlases from the library instead.”

“When did your eyes turn green, by the way,” Jay asked. “I had gotten so used to them being red.”

Lloyd shrugged. “I dunno, sometime while you were gone, I guess. I wasn’t really keeping track of the days.”

“How convenient for you.” Jay poked a finger near his eye. “Are you sure these aren’t just colored contacts? Is someone trying to bluff about his powers?”

“Jay!” Lloyd suddenly tried to lurch towards him, but he felt something grab him from behind.

“Run, Jay! I can’t hold him back forever!” “No one’s holding me back!” he muttered at her, but Jay was already vanishing over the roof’s peak, nothing but a blur of blue on the dark night sky.

“This isn’t over, Jay! No one calls me a fraud and gets away with it!”

“Settle down, Killer,” Nya giggled. “You know when you’ve been bested.”

“But I’m the green ninja,” Lloyd pouted.

“Yes, and you’re also the baby.”

“Am not!”

“Are so! Now, get to bed. It’s late, and you don’t want to be too tired to guard the princess tomorrow.”

Lloyd narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m too old for bedtimes. You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Maybe not, but you’re going to listen to me anyway.” Darting forward, she snuck in a quick hair ruffle before darting up onto the roof.

“That’s only because I care about the princess’s safety!” he called after her.

“Sure, keep telling yourself that.”

Before Lloyd could reply, the thunder boomed loudly, drowning him out, and by the time it passed, she was gone.

“Traitor storm,” Lloyd muttered, and the sky rumbled cheerily back at him.

---

The rain was heavy that night, so much so that Nya was soaked within seconds, her long, black strands of hair sopping wet, the dampness causing the ends to curl. Her dirty, worn, battle-stained gi was plastered to her skin, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

After all, how could such a small discomfort even hold a candle to the scalding pain in her chest?

How could any of this had happened? How could she just have gotten Lloyd back from the icy grips of death, only to lose everyone else to those same, prying hands?

She hadn’t wanted to believe it. When Lloyd had come back, soaking wet and shivering from the rain, the most defeated look on his face Nya had ever seen in her life-

She had been angry with him, at first. How could he tell her something like that? How could he send her whole world crashing down with a single sentence? How could he have watched as everything had gone so wrong? She had known that it wasn’t his fault, not at all. But she hadn’t known what she was feeling or how she had been supposed to handle it.

And as quickly as it had come, the anger had vanished, giving in to horrible, nauseating despair. They were gone. They were really gone.

She had hugged Lloyd tight, crying into him until Misako and Pixal had dragged them away, bringing them to a small, abandoned warehouse where they had spent the night. And the next night. And the next.

Not that time really felt to be passing anymore. It was so quiet, with only her, Lloyd, Pixal, Misako, and Dareth- and Pixal and Lloyd had hardly spoken a word, to her or anyone, since that night.

She knew they were grieving too- but maybe the thing they all needed most right now was someone to talk to.

She tilted her face up slightly, letting the raindrops slip down her face and mingle with her tears, washing them away.

“You shouldn’t be up here.”

Nya glanced over her shoulder, letting out her breath. “Lloyd.”

“We’re trying to stay hidden, remember? We can’t risk standing up here and being spotted by the Colossus or the Sons of Garmadon. You should come inside.”

“I will in a minute.”

They stood there in silence for a moment, nothing but the sound of rain splashing against the concrete and the distant rumble of thunder between them.

“Come here,” Nya waved at the empty space beside her. “Watch the storm with me.”

Lloyd hugged his arms over his chest. “Nya, we really shouldn’t be up here.”

“Just do it for a minute. Then we’ll go inside, I promise.”

Lloyd sighed, before reluctantly walking over to join her, resting his elbows on the railing of the rooftop terrace. The view of the storm wasn’t anything special from here- in fact, it was rather poor, with several tall buildings blotting out the view of the sky- but they weren’t really in a situation to be picky.

She liked this better, anyway- looking directly at the storm would be too painful.

“How can you do it?”

Lloyd’s voice startled her- based on the way the last couple days had been going, she hadn’t expected him to speak to her unless absolutely necessary.

“What?”

Lloyd grimaced, as if he was anxious to elaborate. “Why do you still want to be out here? Why do you still want to watch the storm?” He dropped his gaze, carefully avoiding her as his voice faded to a soft whisper. “Everything just reminds me of them.”

Nya turned her gaze back towards the city. “Exactly, it reminds me of him.” Softer, she added, “It’s all I have left.”

Lloyd was quiet for a long time after that, and when she finally turned her gaze back to him, his eyes were hard. Pushing back from the railing and blinking back tears, he snapped, “Jay’s gone. Forever. They all are.”

Before she could respond, he was darting back inside, and Nya put her head down, sighing.

Jay, I wish you were here. You would know how to make him feel better.

But he wasn’t. Lloyd was right, they were gone. All he had right now was Nya, and, standing there, drenched and shivering and pathetic, she wasn’t sure how much help she could really be to anyone.

Thunder rumbled overhead, and Nya glanced up. She hoped, if he wouldn’t listen to anyone else, he would at least listen to the storm.

---

Three pairs of footsteps drummed against the deck of the Destiny’s Bounty. Jay leaned his head over, letting the wind blow his wet curls, as he whooped happily, his cry echoing in the night air.

“Aww, girl, it’s so good to have you back,” he sighed dreamily, brushing the side of the ship with his hand.

Lloyd grinned at him, rolling his eyes. “Alright, Jay, we’re as happy as you are to have the Bounty back, but don’t make this weird.”

“He’s just anxious for the next repair,” Nya laughed. “He’s been driving me crazy trying to fix random things around the Monastery. The training bots, the mechs, even the toaster. And nothing’s even broken! He’s just making it worse.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault there’s nothing for me to do! I’m not just going to sit around and do nothing.”

“Well, hopefully, she won’t need any fixing for a long, long time,” Lloyd said. “The Bounty’s been damaged enough to last a lifetime. After the Colossus, I thought she was gone for good.”

“I know,” Nya agreed. “I’m so impressed that the city was able to rebuild it exactly the same!”

“Well, I’m sure it’s not exactly the same,” Jay argued. “There’s gotta be some issue somewhere, right? Something I can fix?” Nya waved a hand at him, laughing. “Don’t worry, Jay. We’ll find something for you to do.”

“Well, it will have to wait until later,” Lloyd announced, pointing towards the clouds in the distance that were sparking with lightning. “We’ve almost arrived at the storm!”

As they got closer, Nya locked in the steering, and the three of them headed towards the front of the ship as the Bounty sailed deeper into the storm.

Quickly, the rain began falling harder, and thunder echoed in their ears.

“Now this is how you stormgaze right!” Jay cried, laughing as rain fell on his face and lightning illuminated his bright blue eyes, his powers sparking between his fingers.

Glancing back at Lloyd and Nya, he saw both were sporting large grins. Lloyd was also sparking, his green eyes glowing, and as Nya reached her arms out, raindrops swirled around her.

After a bit of the adrenaline had worn off, Lloyd leaned against the railing of the Bounty, throwing his head back to toss the strands of wet hair out of his face.

“The others are not going to be happy about us taking the Bounty for a joyride right through a storm when they’re trying to sleep,” he laughed.

“It’ll be the last time they sleep in the Bounty for a while,” Nya agreed. “I bet they’re wishing they decided to stay back at the much more peaceful Monastery right about now.”

Jay put a hand over his mouth, sniggering. “I bet we only have like five minutes before Kai comes storming out here, demanding that we turn the ship around this instant.”

Lloyd shot him a sharp grin. “No, he’d never want to come out here and get all wet.”

Nya giggled. “Yeah, he’ll just stare at us through the windows, giving us death glares.”

Lloyd choked so violently that he doubled over, grabbing onto Nya’s shoulder for support. The water ninja tried to help him, but she was laughing hard herself. Jay grinned at them, struggling to breathe in between laughs.

“Can… you… imagine… the look on his face?” he wheezed, wiping tears from his eyes.

The hair standing up on the back of his neck was the only warning Jay had before a lightning bolt whizzed down less than ten feet away from him.

Shrieks sounded from the others as they leapt back, just as the edge of the Bounty burst into flames. Nya quickly directed two jets of water at the fire as Lloyd and Jay scrambled out of her way. When the last spark was gone, she stopped, breathing heavy, staring at the burnt area in shock.

Suddenly, she whipped around, glaring at him. “What the heck, Jay? You were supposed to be warding off the lightning!”

“It’s not my fault!” he shrieked. “You’re the one who distracted me!”

While the two of them shot each other smoldering glares, Lloyd walked over to one of the storage crates being kept on the deck, and pushed it over to the burned area, trying to cover up the charred floor the lightning had left.

“If one of us gets struck by lightning,” Nya warned, “Zane will never let us outside again.”

Jay waved her off. “It’s fine. I’m probably like, immune to lightning or something, and I’m willing to bet Lloyd is too, since he’s shown connections to my powers and the storms in the past. So long as you don’t get struck, we’re probably fine.”

Nya rolled her eyes. “Well, that’s reassuring.”

“Yeah, Jay,” Lloyd agreed, scratching the back of his neck. “There’s a few too many ‘probablys’ in that statement for my liking.”

“Oh, come on,” he grinned. “I’ve already got Zane and Cole on my back about everything 24/7. You guys are supposed to be the fun ones!”

“Hey,” Nya said, “I’m not making you do anything. You’re a young man. You can do what you want. Just don’t blame me if you end up comatose in the medbay because your brain got fried by lightning.”

“That would be ironic,” Lloyd snorted, and Jay elbowed him.

“You’d at least visit me, right?”

Nya shrugged. “Maybe. If you were stupid enough to get struck by lightning, I don’t know if you’d deserve that.”

Lloyd laughed. “Better luck next time, buddy.”

“You shut up. You could jump off the side of the ship right now, and she’d spend a week crying over you.”

Nya bit back a smile. “Maybe. But don’t,” she added quickly, pointing a finger at Lloyd.

He stared at her incredulously. “How dumb do you think I am?”

“Mmm… depends on the day.”

Jay burst into laughter, and Lloyd shot him a glare. “Thanks, Nya. That was a rhetorical question, by the way.”

“If you didn’t want an answer, you shouldn’t have asked the question.”

Lloyd stuck his tongue out at her, and Nya stuck hers back. Jay laughed, elbowing her. “Real mature. I’d expect that kind of thing from Lloyd-”

“Hey!”

“But you?”

“Like you’re any better yourself, sparky. Don’t you still sleep with that weird zebra thing-”

“His name is Mister Cuddlywomp, and he’s a bear-”

“Guys!”

“What, Lloyd?” Jay snapped, turning towards him. “Can’t you see- woah.”

Lloyd was pointing towards the horizon. Dark clouds formed in swirling shapes, gently disturbed by the winds of the storm. Arcs of lightning flashed between them in an almost rhythmic fashion, casting a gentle light on the clouds that made them appear to glow. It was like something out of a fantasy.

“Holy crap,” Nya breathed. “It’s beautiful. How lucky is it that we get to see this?”

“It’s because we’re willing to come out so late,” Lloyd smiled, bumping against her shoulder lightly. “The others may be warm, dry, and cozy in their beds, but they’re missing out on this natural beauty.”

“Their loss,” Jay said. “It’s the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen. And we’ve been all around Ninjago- even in different realms- so that’s saying a lot.”

“That’s okay,” Lloyd murmured. “I like doing this, just the three of us.” He glanced at them. “It’s our thing, y’know?”

“Aww, Lloyd,” Nya smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Yeah. It’s our thing.”

“It’s special, in a way the others wouldn’t understand.” Jay beamed at him, throwing an arm around his shoulder. “I wouldn’t trade these moments for the world.”

#ninjago #ninbingo #my fic #rosie writes #ninjago lloyd #ninjago nya #ninjago jay #im really vibing with the tone/mood of this one #also jay and lloyd are such a mood #and so fun to write #love their dynamic #hope you guys enjoyed it too #reblogs greatly appreciated!#as are comments!#thanks for reading!

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