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#and then went ''ohhhh yeah that makes sense' when I pointed out we live in scotland and the school building was drafty and COLD
tmae3114 · 1 month
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A recurring funny thing in my life is people who have coincidentally only seen me in one Clothing Mode seeing me in another one and having their mind absolutely BLOWN by it
because it's never just a reaction like "oh, I've never seen you in a skirt before!" or something like that. It's "you wear trousers now???" and "you own dresses???" and stuff like that
I can only assume that whatever causes this comes from the same source as whatever weird vibes I give off that cause people to forget I have a gender
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the actual problem in My Personal Weatherman isn't that segasaki doesn't want to or doesn't know how to confess his feelings, it's that yoh is absolutely not ready to hear it.
segasaki said "come live with me and I will take care of you" which is, as he later points out, very close to formulaic japanese confession and marriage proposal, and yoh went, gotcha, domestic slave. they had sex for the very first time and yoh doesn't say "ohhhh, you're into me, this is why you want me in your house and in your life, that makes sense ", or something reasonable, yoh says "ugh, chores" which is: fucking cold, dude. segasaki fell in love first, and he is acutely aware of it! every time he sees some space for pushing, he pushes the relationship forward, but he's terrified that yoh is going to run off from him! so he doesn't act like a boyfriend, until he does, and yoh still fights him even on their date, refusing to accept: food, hand, clothes.
do we really think yoh will hear "i like you, let's be together forever" and will be like "yeah, nice"? while he's still saying "I hate you" because he can't deal with his emotions?
this is why segasaki is relieved when yoh is jealous. because they're progressing. this is why segasaki keeps saying "don't you hate me, though?" while they're close, while they're on a date, while they're having sex: because it's bullshit and segasaki is right there with him, doing these things, obviously not disliking yoh.
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taikanyohou · 2 years
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i still haven't found an "analysis" about that but idk it's just gets to me how vegas is all over pete? i know at first he used as intimidation but after that i think he kinda became obsessed with the look on his face and that's why he's ALWAYS touching him. especially his neck and lifting up his face, holding his chin. im probably not making sense but i just kssjdjdj scream a little bit with this
hiiiii anon!!!!
ohhhh ok LETS TALK ABOUT THIS.
so. yes. vegas very much most definitely used touch as a means of coercion and intimidation. case in point:
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now. i wanna talk about sexual violence. and why i 100000000% know/believe that vegas has been a victim of sexual violence, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation as a child.
vegas' behaviours and patterns of display of abuse are EXTREMELY cyclic. they are well lived through, well orchastrated, repeated. what im tryna say is from the show, what we know is the cycle of abuse goes as follows:
vegas' dad abuses vegas -> vegas abuses pete.
so i wouldnt even bat an eyelid if the patterns of sexual violence he's used on pete, like the touching, the groping, the kissing/licking/breathing on pete's neck in episode 11 is something HE HIMSELF went through as a victim of his father's ways of securing contracts and deals. bc vegas' behaviours and patterns of display of abuse are EXTREMELY cyclic. they are well lived through, well orchastrated, repeated.
but then of course, the dynamic shifts when pete starts peeling layer after layer off of vegas, until he's nothing but a boy in his pyjamas with bruises on his face from his father's abuse and a sobbing mess on the floor holding his dead hedgehog. that wasnt part of the plan, for pete to see all of that.
and pete saw it. and never once mocked or laughed at him. but instead, he supported him through it. talked him through it. pete touched vegas in a way vegas has never been touched before - both in the metaphorical sense, but also when he touched his knee and vegas' entire body just shook and he cried. the reverence in pete's touch vs the violence in the way everyone else has touched him before.
but yeah. and then its like. vegas cannot stop touching pete after that. when he realised pete wants it. when he KNOWS that if pete consents to it, how much more meaningful it can be. so he touches. and touches. his waist, his neck, his thumb all over pete's cheeks, holding his face, stroking his thumb across the palm of pete's hand, kissing pete's hands. its the reverence in vegas' touch in a consensual sexual context, that pete has never experienced before. and its like. vegas NEEDS that physical contact. hell, even if its foreheads touching. he NEEDS it. like i said, vegas knows how to use both his body, and how to use a body, to get what he wants out from it.
and the only selfish thing vegas wants from pete, and pete's body, is to give pete every single ounce of pleasure that he can provide him and nourish him with. and when he SEES how pete reacts to the way he touches him, it only drives him even more. i'd go as far as to say in some sick kinda twisted way that vegas wants to be all of pete's firsts and lasts, and i wouldnt even be lying or exaggerating by saying that.
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klaptl · 2 years
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KLAP Translation Part 5 (Camil)
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A few days after that――Home visits have finally begun.
It was a first for all the families I visited, and they all seemed perplexed by it all, but we were able to have meaningful conversations. All that's left is...
Koyomi: "Camil-kun! Good timing. So about the agenda surrounding your home visit..."
Camil: "......?"
Koyomi: "Here, you wrote a mistake on it and I would like it if you could fix it..." 
I pointed towards his submission hand out.
Koyomi:"It's good you have a lot of dates available, but here you said you wanted it after 2am right? So would you――"
Camil: "It's not a mistake. That's what I meant."
Koyomi: "Eh... R-Really?"
Camil-kun firmly nodded.
Camil: "Around that time is when we're most energetic. ...Does that not work?"
Koyomi: "W-Well...! For UMA like Camil-kun, that's probably not too unusual but..."
Koyomi: "Well 2am is a bit late..."
Camil: "Because it's bad for your skin if you don't get enough sleep?"
Koyomi: "Yeah that... Wait, not not that. For humans, generally we're asleep at that time..."
Camil: "Oh... Like culture shock?"
Koyomi: "In a sense..."
Koyomi: "Well, at any rate, everyone else is the class has finished theirs, so all that's left if you, Camil-kun, so..."
Koyomi: "Could I come visit now?"
Camil: "...Hmm...
That doth not present an issue."
Koyomi: "D-Doth? ...Well either way, I'm glad it's not an issue. Then, starting now we could get going."
Camil: "Certainlー"
Koyomi: "Hmm... What should I do? I could come visit at night but..." 
I'm more worried about whether I can stay awake...
Camil: "......"
Camil: "What about coming over now?"
Koyomi: "...Eh, you sure? I could come in the evening?"
Camil: "It's okie. When I think about it, I'm always sleepy so the time doesn't really matter."
Koyomi: "...Is that so..."
Camil: "Over there. My home is at that apartment."
Koyomi: "Ohhh... That's surprisingly normal. I thought vampires would live in more scary, western-style buildings."
Camil: "Hmmm… There are buildings like that. Did you wanna go to Europe now?"
Koyomi: "N-No, I'm fine...!"
Afterwards, we went up the apartment elevator, and he guided me to his room but...
Camil: "...Here."
It was a dim room without any windows. There were ominous, shaking lit candlesticks.
There was a lamp that looked like it came from a prison. Along with that, were fruits unbefitting of the atmosphere. But...there was a computer and TV. And then a full-on...!
Koyomi:  "C-Coooooffin...?!"
A coffin laid down in the room occupied over half of the space.
Camil: "Oh... That. It's my bed."
I was taken by surprise but Camil-kun gave a curt answer and quickly went towards the chair in front of his computer.
Camil: "So then, what do you do in a home visit?"
Within this dimly lit, eerie appearing room, Camil-kun is unmoved, which confirmed that he was too abnormal, albeit a little late. I straightened my posture and looked straight forward in his direction.
Koyomi: "Ahh, yeah. Generally we verify your living situation, and review if there's any problems or complaints...basically?"
Koyomi: "Well to put it more simply, I would like to take the opportunity and take my time talking with you."
Camil: "Hmmm...? Like some sort of chit-chat?"
Koyomi: "Chit-chat may be the wrong term..."
Camil-kun murmured "Ohhhh" in response and nodded. I don't know what would be going through his head but...
Camil: "Then I know what I have to do. Okay... Would you come here?" 
He abruptly beckoned me to come to him.
Koyomi: "...? What is it?"
He stood up from the chair, and had me sit there in his place.
Koyomi: "Eh? Eh? W-What, Camil-kun? Why do I have to sit here?"
Camil: "...? You said you had to review my living situation...So I thought I'd show you. Here."
Camil-kun quickly did some things on his computer. Afterward...
"Vampire Eternal Story"
Koyomi: "...Eh?"
It was probably some sort of online game. That was what he booted up.
Camil: "I basically just play this. This just about makes up my everyday life..."
I felt pressured as he looked at me with such clear, brilliant eyes. I had no choice but to play along.
Later...
Camil-kun pushed that it'd be faster to explain by doing rather than telling――I ended up spending hours playing the game and caught little glimpse of him in his everyday life.
Camil: "Oh, there's a fire trap there, so you need to properly shield..."
Koyomi: "Wait what?! Wait! Time out! Time out!"
Even though he had warned me, the player I was playing, "King Camil", was suddenly attacked and engulfed in flames.
Koyomi: "Wahh! It got me..."
Camil: "But it was a good fight. If you can get a grasp of the terrain, then you can job change into a worthy messiah."
Koyomi: "That sounds like something someone unemployed would call themselves..."
Well, whatever.
...In the end, I was dragged into Camil-kun's antics, and of course, talking with him so carefreely while time marched on would only have on conclusion.
Suddenly, I saw the time was already 11:00PM. It was almost time for the next day.
Koyomi: "Wha... What? It's already this late?!"
Koyomi: "I-I'm sorry, Camil-kun. I didn't think we'd talk this late...or even play all this time...!" 
I hurriedly flustered around to get ready to leave for home, to which Camil-kun just shook his head.
Koyomi: "Urgh, I'm such a failure of a teacher...!"
Camil: "...Are you going home already? The night has just begun."
Koyomi: "But it's already 11 o'clock at night, that's no time to do the home visit."
Koyomi: "Well, I can't really say anything since I didn't do anything to even label this a home visit..."
Camil: "I see... Then, I'm gonna jump into the world of 0s and 1s to go save the world.
Koyomi: "The world...? Ohh, the game world. Well it's fine to jump into it..."
Koyomi: "Wait, is the reason you're sleepy during the day not because you're a vampire but because you don't get enough sleep from gaming?"
Camil: "Vampires are weak against the sunlight, the time of day doesn't matter. Meaning...that's right."
Koyomi: "No no, don't say that so proudly! That's not good... You need to sleep properly."
Camil: "But only I can save the world..."
Koyomi: "Even if you say that with such an anguished face..."
Koyomi: "A-Anyway, make sure you don't oversleep before school. Then I'll be off. See you tomorrow."
Camil-kun waved his hand seemingly in response to my parting words but... It seemed he just wanted to return to his game ASAP. His back was turned to me and his heart wasn't in it at all.
Koyomi: "...Don't play your game and sleep properly, okay?"
Camil: "Mm... I'll try, but I can't make any promises."
Koyomi: "You don't need to be so forceful with that second half..."
Later… 
After leaving Camil-kun's place, I made a stop to the convenience store on the way home.
Koyomi: "Oh, this is..."
By chance, there was a magazine talking about the game from earlier. I found myself somehow absorbed reading through it.
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imsosocold · 1 year
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A very (un)comprehensive review of Hollow Mind: 
 What do i do what do i do what do i do what do i do 
Me: Looking back at this episode makes me sad but I’m also glad that the capacity of emotion is still there, however faint.
Lomes: Glad you’re finding positivity within all this because I’m going to lose it one way or another. Put the soy jack face here and have that be the entire reaction. 
Sunniva: Honestly, to me these memories make everything make less sense in retrospect. 
Me: “Nothing went right, we must forget it all and dream sweet dreams.”  
Welcome into the world of Gnosticism, through the child of the Red King and the White Queen.
Jorah: I can’t wait to see the leatherman.
*******************************************************************
Jorah: Hunter not knowing what bananas are is an underrated joke.
Me: “They’re not bananas, it’s a yellow baseball glove.”
Lomes: It’s purple guy. 
Me, trying to do a Petscop voice: “That’s a dead kid.”
Sunniva: Petscop au coming soon.
*******************************************************************
Us getting jumpscared everytime the curse pops out: Never mind it is FNAF.
*******************************************************************
Me, seeing the portraits: Don’t mind me. 
But, like, imagine there was a portal in the lake water like I theorized and Caleb stepping into it to go in a flash of light, it’d look so cool, like he was swallowed by the darkness of depths. Philip with his nightdress fluttering around his legs as he runs.
Lomes: I’m hung up on the fact Belos called Caleb his friend and not his brother. 
Me: Don’t start crack theorizing, you foolish fool.
Lomes: They were really good friends, in fact they were practically brothers.
Me: No.
*******************************************************************
Lomes, looking at Grimwalker pit: Damn, postpartum depression be hitting hard. 
Me: Mood.  
Sunniva: What pro forced births think abortion is like.   
Jorah: How and why are there so many? Are Grimwalker’s bones made out of sticks? 
Sunniva: They’re made from wood so…
Jorah: Ohhhh yeah. Are they in the category of Palisman? 
Lomes: Not exactly.
Jorah Where did they get their names from? 
Me: They were once a separate species at some point.  
Jorah: How?  
Me: I don’t know but I thought they’d be realm walkers or something, beings who could traverse between realms without needing a portal.
Jorah : That’d be cool. 
Me: Yeah, it would’ve been.     
******************************************************************** 
* Sees the Palismen souls get crushed.* 
Jorah: Wait, is Belos free from his curse?
Me: No. 
Jorah: How? ???    
 Lomes: And how did they ever believe Belos could talk to the Titan? 
Sunniva: How did Belos bring back Basilisks? 
Me: Look, Orange Pip befriended Death and trix gave him some gifts.
Jorah: Imagine if Belos was allergic to Palistrom wood and his “curse” was the world’s worst allergic reaction. He’s also allergic to the Grimwalkers as well. 
*******************************************************************
Me: It’s the romantic dream-like shadows of art!
 Lomes: More sensory overload personified.  
Jorah: You mean the Collector’s not made out of hopes and dreams who was wished to life? :(
Sunniva: Remember when we thought  the Collector was the witch equivalent of the Grimreaper?
Me: What do when you’re watched by a God that isn’t yours? 
Jorah: Do you think the Collector is jealous of the sun?
Me: What.
Jorah:  Eyes always go to the sun to greet and worship it. It is a founder of life. Do you think the Collector was jealous?
 Lomes: Isn’t that the plot of MLP?
Jorah: No, that was over cycles. I thought he was sent down to live on the  planets he once watched over only to wreck them further.
♪ He attacked the sun with a gun, he attacked his one and only friend.♪ 
Me: That sounds more like the sun god and the moon god. I used to think they had a sibling though, from the sun since the sun is a star.
Jorah: Oc time?
Me: Of course.  
*******************************************************************
Lomes: The Collector is really a bitch, really toxic. Still can’t believe what they did in Season 3.
Me: Yeah, I thought they would have a Gregg and Mae relationship.  
Sunniva: I’m surprised Belos let them do all this though.
Jorah: Imagine if the Collector took on different appearances to mock Belos, like maybe taking on a younger form of Belos and  mimicking him.
Me: I’ve seen you caught on to Chihiro and AI Chihiro. 
 Jorah: Who isn’t caught up on non robot AI? 
 Lomes: There’s only females so far though, where are the cool AI guys and enbies? 
Me: Junko is definitely an enby. >:(
Lomes: Damn u right, sorry. 
Sunniva: Honestly Belos and Cole are just ‘ easy to piss off vs little shit.’  
Jorah: Cole is such a boring name [ Noelle], you should’ve chosen Sunny or something.  
Me: Omori Wittebro AU coming soon.
*******************************************************************
Jorah: “My rich gay uncle isn’t rich?!!”
Sunniva: ‘Belos pops up from behind him.’
Me: “ Don’t worry Hunter, I’m still gay.”
Lomes: 10/10, the actual episode can’t compare.
*******************************************************************
Jorah, while watching Belos interact with Hunter: Belos is very momcore.
*******************************************************************
Me: I’m sad there was no memory damage or erasure or even false memories added. 
Jorah: I’m thinking of a Dr0 au!!!  
Me: Hendrika would be his new name. 
Jorah: What about his nickname? All characters need a cool nickname.
Sunniva: Hetty is a popular nickname that means “home ruler” which holds a lot of thematic weight but it could be mixed up with Hettie  which is “ estate ruler” which holds different connotations.
Me: Ria.   
Sunniva: Like Rheia? 
Me: No, it’s spelt differently.
Jorah: How?
Me: ...
Sunniva: It’d be cool if the Collector was Belos’s “royal advisor.”
Lomes: I get a Noelle and Deltarune player dynamic from the situation-
Jorah: N-N-Noelle???
Me: It’s just a nickname-alias, not the same! Oh, we’ve come full circle topic wise-
Lomes: Basically Noelle mirrors Belos and the player is God-
Jorah: I’m getting Chara vibes from Belos but in reverse-   
*******************************************************************
Me: I know none of this would’ve happened if Orange Pip and Caleb came across the Quakers instead. If only they had been taken in by Roger Williams… 
Sunniva: None of this would’ve happened if Caleb wasn’t a little bitch who explained himself and didn’t abandon-
Lomes: He was an abused kid not thinking straight and looking for an escape-
Sunniva: So was his brother! And regardless Caleb was still selfish-
Lomes: Orange Pip was the selfish one, refusing to change-
Sunniva: It was not that simple and it seems Caleb didn’t help-
Jorah: “DON'T KNOCK IT 'TIL YOU’VE TRIED MY LIFE OF SIN!”      
Me: I see Caleb and Orange Pip’s relationship in a Goodnight Pun Pun way, obviously in a platonic way, where both of them are unhealthy and toxic for each other. Anyway, you’re forgetting that religion is also a main motivator of Philip, religion has always been a leading factor of war-
What we really learned is that if you ever disagree on something, don’t say anything!
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For the ask thing: what’s your take on Luke and Emily??? I know some people see her as like a horrible mom or whatever and some people are like she’s a great mom and can do no wrong so I was just wondering your take? For me it’s somewhere in the middle, like on one hand Luke was 17 so he had some concept of running away and stuff but on the other hand… like I think it depends on how you read the situation, like if you interpret it as Luke is neurodivergent and Emily didn’t understand that then like sure yeah, I’ve seen people say they makes her a terrible mom and stuff but really it was the early 90s it would have just been a misunderstanding like Emily didn’t understand the situation fully because it was the early 90s lol but on the other hand if Luke was skipping school and stuff I can understand her frustration…? So like I think the both played a part… So what’s your take basically lol
ohhhh boy anon, this really does seem to be a point of contention in the fandom, huh?
i've seen it both ways as well and honestly, i'm in the middle too. personally, i've noticed that most of the people who think Emily is a terrible mother are on the younger side - which makes perfect sense. when i was a teenager, i hated my mom. we fought all the time. our personalities clashed constantly and she just didn't know what to do with me - which, looking back, is entirely understandable. teenagers are the worst. but it's not their fault. (most of the time - there are absolutely exceptions)
but on the other side, absolutely no parent is perfect 100% of the time so i disagree with the "Emily can do no wrong" take, too. i think she was doing what she thought was best, but at the end of the day i think they were both in a situation where neither was going to end up happy with the other's decisions.
if there's one thing we do know, it's that Luke is stubborn as hell. and that coupled with being 17, he's going to be hard-headed and obstinate and lash out a lot. even the best parent in the world can't deal with that sort of thing all the time. eventually, it's going to end in a fight.
but i'm not saying it's all on Luke to bridge the gap between him and Emily - because it's absolutely not. Emily is the parent here, it's her job to protect her son; to look out for him and try to guide him in the right direction. but here's the thing - she's figuring all of this out alongside him. it's not like she has the answers to everything, she's just trying to do what she thinks is best.
and like, from her perspective - i get it. having your only child want to go into the music business, or really any facet of the entertainment industry, must be absolutely fucking terrifying. it's a brutal world that chews people up and spits them back out with no regard for who they are as a person - what person in their right mind would push their kid into that?? (and yes, that's a dig at parents of child stars bc let's face it - most of them are awful)
but Luke's passionate about music. anyone can see that. I think Emily might've just been blinded by her fears and worries and she let it get in the way of Luke's happiness. which is unfortunate, but not altogether surprising.
what's really unfortunate is the fact that he died before they got the chance to reconcile. for all we know, Sunset Curve could've gotten a record deal after the show at the Orpheum. Luke could've gone home the very next day and had legitimate proof that his dream was going to come true. and maybe Emily's worries would've been eased enough that she could be happy for him, proud of him. but that didn't happen.
but if anything, I think the fact that Emily and Mitch are still celebrating Luke's birthday proves without a doubt that they loved their son. I think they live with their regrets every day, wishing they could go back in time and fix things, but they can't.
and also, the fact that Luke went to visit them so many times?? if he'd truly hated his parents, he would've stayed the hell away from them. but he misses them just as much as they miss him.
so, honestly, I think what the show portrayed was an honest relationship between a teenager and their parent. it's not easy for either party, but personally i think they show more than enough to let us as an audience know that there was love there. they just maybe couldn't express it in the ways they wanted to.
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imagines-r-s · 3 years
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sticking it - j. farabee
chapter 8
a/n: idk why this chapter took so long, but here it is. it’s very domestic and wholesome, so enjoy it. honestly i’m sad we’re so close to the series ending, but there will be more y/n and joel from the sticking it au i promise. and as always, lmk what you all think
taglist: @butgilinsky @barbienoturbby @sunsetholland @lovenhlboys @sortagaysortahigh @hockey-racing-fubol @oopsiedoopsie23 @iwantahockeyhimbo @dreamsndior @itsurgirlgracie @heartshapedkissxs @lwstuff
warnings: more high school musical references, a sprinkle of angst, friends fighting, idk if it counts as an innuendo or suggestive content, but some of that (not a warning, but Adrian content and ‘no thoughts, head empty’ Joel)
sticking it masterlist
wc: 6.1k
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  “All I’m saying is that it doesn’t make sense that she’s the only one standing, singing to Troy about scoring a basket. Like what if someone showed up to the game late and didn’t get the memo to twist the signs around and stay seated, you know? And it’s not just Gabriella standing up,” you said, grabbing multiple outfits to choose from for the movie night that you had been invited to. 
“Well, I don’t think that it was really an ‘ok, everybody. One person is going to be staying up, but everybody else stay seated and lift your sign’ sorta thing. I feel like it was just a heat of the moment thing,” Joel replied as he walked out of the bathroom. 
“Yeah, but it still doesn’t make sense. And I’m curious to know if that mid-game duet actually motivated Troy or if he was just annoyed or something.”
“If you sang to me mid-game, I would honestly probably throw a stick at you. Out of love, obviously.” 
“That’s sweet of you, not really, but I’ll take it,” you said, turning towards Joel, “I don’t know what to wear to movie night.”
“It’s not really like you have to try to impress anyone, it’s just movie night,” Joel said, as he scrolled on his phone, “but you look hot in anything, so I’m chilling.”
“You’re definitely just saying that,” you said, rolling your eyes.
“Yeah, you’re right. You in the mornings is kinda concerning, not your best look,” he said, pointedly.
“That was not an opportunity for you to say something like that, I will throw a chair at you.” 
“That’s concerning, but well deserved. I’m sure it would be out of the kindness of your heart, so I respect it.”
“You better respect it, Farabee.”
“Oooh, the last name. I’m shaking in my boots,” he said to which you immediately shot a glare his way, “actually, you’re very hot when you’re mad, not gonna lie.”
“Better watch yourself, Beezer, you’re on thin ice,” you said, jokingly.
“Good thing I know how to skate, babe,” he retorted, making his way towards you. 
“You’re annoying,” you huffed as Joel wrapped his arms around you in a bear hug, “Bee, you better stop.” He lightly pecked the top of your head before stepping back, “wait, what was that?”
“What? The hug or me kissing the top of your head?”
“Both?”
“It’s called a display of affection. I know you aren’t familiar since you show your love by threatening to throw chairs at the people you care about, but that’s what that was.” 
“Oh, it was nice,” you said, which caused Joel to chuckle.
“God, I love you,” he paused for a moment, clearly contemplating something, “this is kinda random, but have you ever thought about posting about our relationship? Or is that a no in the gymnastics world?”
“I mean, yeah, I have thought about it. I just haven’t because I didn’t know how you felt, but if you want to post it you can.”
“Why don’t you post it first?”
“Why don’t you? You brought it up?” you questioned. 
“You confuse me so much sometimes and I’m usually confused, so it makes it kinda worse,” he said honestly.
“How about whenever we get back here tonight, we post at the same time?” you offered.
“Sounds okay with me. Come on, we have to go if we want to make it on time,” he said, softly. 
…..
“Hey, it’s Short Stack and Beezer,” Travis said, as he opened his front door.
“I still don’t know why you of all people call me Short Stack, Tiki Bar,” you said to which he simply shrugged before opening the door more to let the two of you in. 
“Ooh, Short Stack, Karly has something for you. I think she went upstairs,” you sent a confused look to Travis, “it’s nothing bad, just go.” You rolled your eyes as you made your way up the steps.
“Karly?” you called as you walked closer to her and Travis’ room.
“I’m in here,” she called. As you walked into her room, you quickly noticed her shuffling through the things in her closet, pulling out a box that had clearly been wrapped in a hurry. 
“What’s that?”
“Just open it, I hope you like it,” she rushed. 
“Um, alright,” you tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box to reveal what looked like a regular denim jacket, “a denim jacket?” you said, earning an eye roll from her. 
“Take it out of the box, Sunshine.” You picked up the corners of the jacket to see that there were multiple patches with the flyers logo and bees on the sleeves, turning it around to see a number 86 and Farabee on the back.
“Karly, wha-”
“Look, I know you and him haven’t announced it officially yet or anything like that, but I figured that you would like it. I even got the bees on there for obvious reasons. I wouldn’t be upset if you didn’t wear it out, but you needed one,” she said, gently.
“I- Wow, I love it, Karly. Thank you,” you said, giving her a quick hug. 
“You should wear it downstairs or at least show him at some point.”
“Oh no, I was just going to keep it in a bag in my closet for a while until he inevitably finds it,” you said, sarcastically.
“No need for the sass, Sunshine. You should try it on though, I want to see what it looks like,” she suggested, her smile only growing as she saw that it looked amazing on you, “oh yes, the bee patches really add to it. Definitely a great choice on my part.”
“Always the humble one. Come on, we have to start the movies eventually.”
“Wait, you’re wearing it downstairs?” she asked, to which you simply nodded as you walked ahead of her down the stairs. 
Travis was the first to notice your arrival downstairs as he talked to Joel, smiling as he saw that you were wearing the jacket that his girlfriend had stressed over for days, “hey, y/n, I’m really liking this new look.”
“Hey man,” Joel started as he had his back turned towards you, quickly turning around after hearing that you arrived downstairs, “watch yours-” He immediately recognized that similar jacket that many of his teammates significant other wore to games, a perfect sign showing off their boyfriend or husband. “Wait, hold up.”
“Yes,” you answered, already knowing what he was going to ask.
“Swag,” he answered simply as he walked closer to you to examine the jacket. “Are those bees? Why are there bees?”
“Hmm, no idea. They’re just randomly there,” you retorted. 
“Beezer, did you get knocked in the head at practice or something? I’m very concerned, dude,” Nicole asked from beside Nolan. 
“Why are there bees? I don’t understand,” he asked, frantically.
“He’s hopeless,” Nolan whispered to Nicole.
“Bee, did you forget your own name?” you asked.
“Bee,” he paused, “ohhhh, that’s me. Those are for me, wait, turn around,” you rolled your eyes as you turned around to see the back of the jacket, “oh, that’s my name.”
“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock,” Kevin said, concerned from the whole exchange. 
“He’s just having one of his moments. Be nice, Kev,” you said, holding back a laugh as you turned back towards your boyfriend who looked like there was something wrong, “Bee, you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I just- you got my name on a jacket. You usually aren’t this nice, but this is something nice, so I’m just worried something is wrong with you,” he said, genuinely. 
You visibly gaped as the guys around you howled in laughter as Karly spoke up, “technically, I got her the jacket, she’s just wearing it.”
“Ohhh, okay, that makes more sense.”
“Damn, y/n/n, how badly do you treat the poor kid?” Scott asked from the couch.
“Better watch yourself, Scotty,” you said, shooting him a glare. 
“Let’s just get the movie started before Short Stack attacks someone,” Travis added. 
Drawing names to see who would pick the movie, Nicole picked out the movie, Stick It, which had always been one of her favorites. It was expected for people to be getting up during the movie, but when you noticed Nicole missing from seeing her favorite movie, you became worried that something had happened, “psst, did you see where Nicole went?” you whispered over to Joel. 
“No, did you see where Nolan went?” he asked you, which caused you to grow suspicious as you noticed both of them were gone. “Maybe they’re just making out in the kitchen or something?”
“Why would they be making out? They’re just friends.”
“Dude, they’re still friends in the same way you and me are still friends.”
“No, because if something were going on she would tell me and I think it would be obvious.” 
“Look, I know I’m oblivious, but you choose to ignore a lot of obvious details just because.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“Fine, if we get up and find them together or doing something romantic? I don’t know, but either way, you have to post that we’re together first, but I choose the caption.”
“Is that a bet?”
“Yes,” to which the two of you shook on it. 
“Hey guys, how many of you think there’s something going on with Nolan and Nicole?” Joel asked the group. 
“Oh, yeah, I’ve noticed for months, they just haven’t done anything about it out of fear of what y/n will think,” Karly said like it was some simple statement. 
“What do you mean that they fear what I would think?” you asked, causing everyone to look at you. 
“Short Stack, you are literally this little spitfire that could attack at any moment, they just don’t want to upset you,” Travis added just as the pair walked back into the living room, “ah, here’s the two lovebirds now.” 
A flash of panic crossed Nicole’s face as Nolan blushed, “no, I just needed help getting drinks and Nolan was right there.”
“Okay, then where are the drinks and why does Nolan have a hickey?” Scott pointed out. 
“I forget them in the kitchen and Nolan burnt himself with a curling iron,” she offered. 
“Karly, did you leave your curling iron in the kitchen again? Silly goose,” Travis said. 
Joel quickly noticed how quiet you were from beside him, “hey, babe. What’s wrong?”
“I’m okay, I’m going to go and get a drink really quick,” you said, softly smiling before heading into the kitchen. Everyone’s eyes followed you as you retreated back to the kitchen, Nicole sighed, the guilt of not telling you finally hitting her. 
“Do you want me to come with you?” Nolan offered.
“No, this is definitely between the two of us,” she answered before following you, “y/n/n, look-”
“Nicole, it’s fine,” you said, filling a cup with ice. 
“It’s obviously not, I know you better than that,” she said, gently, waiting for a response from you, “look, this honestly hasn’t gone to anything serious yet because I knew I needed to tell you. I know I shouldn’t have kept it from you and that you would have been fine with it, we just didn’t want anyone to know. No one really knew, Karly just picked up on it because she’s Karly and everyone else figured it out. And I know you knew something was going on, you just didn’t want to accept it.”
“I don’t have an issue with it, I would have rather you just tell me straight up what’s happening, but I had to find out because Joel made a joke and you couldn’t give Nolan a hickey where it wasn’t visible,” you said honestly, filling your cup with water. 
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to offer, there wasn’t really another reason other than we didn’t know how you would react,” she said, leaning back on the kitchen counter as you stared at the cup in your hand, “y/n/n, please say something. I’ll break it off if-”
“I would never make you break things off with him and you know that. How long has this been going on?” 
“Uh, we’ve liked each other for a while, but didn’t do anything about it until you had to go back on crutches, so maybe a few weeks.”
“Gotcha, gotcha.”
“Are you mad at us? It was my idea, Nolan said we should just tell you, but-”
“Nic, please. I’m not mad, I knew something was up, I was just more focused on other things. Does he make you happy?” you asked, looking back up at her, smiling at the small blush that had rushed up to her face. 
“Yeah, he really does.” 
“Then, I’m chilling. Come on, you already missed half of your favorite movie making out with Nols,” she laughed as the two of you made your way back. 
“You good, y/n/n?” Kevin asked as you sat by Joel again, who wrapped his arms around your shoulder. 
“Maybe you should ask Nicole, just to make sure y/n/n didn’t attack her,” Scott added. 
“Eh, I’ve known her for years, I have a few strategies,” Nicole said, simply. 
“Oh, shut up, Nicky,” you said, jokingly rolling your eyes. 
“I know damn well that you did not just say Nicky,” she said, shocked. 
“Oh, did I?”
“You want to take this outside, babe.”
“Hmm, maybe tomorrow.” 
“I’m concerned, but this is entertaining,” Travis said, to which everyone else agreed.  
“I’ll record it and post it on world-star,” Joel added. 
“Thanks, babe. Oh and Patty Lapone, if you hurt her, I will bust your kneecaps,” you said, faking sweetness.
“Understandably, so,” Nolan said, honestly. 
“Glad we’re on the same page. And Nicky, don’t hurt him either.” 
“Noted,” Nicole said.
“Hey babe, you know you have to post us first now, right?” Joel said, smirk growing on his face, “and I get to choose the caption.”
“You’re letting him choose the caption?” Karly asked, “good luck, Sunshine.”
…..
“So, do you know what picture you’re going to post? I have mine picked out,” Joel asked you as you finished your night routine. 
“I’m still upset that you won that bet, but probably the picture of us that’s my wallpaper,” you said, patting your face dry. 
“What picture?” Joel asked, confused as to what you meant. 
“Oh, Karly took a bunch of pictures the day we were at the lake and the one that’s my wallpaper is the one where you’re about to throw me in the water and I’m laughing at you. Or I might post one of the pictures Nicole took of us where I’m wearing your jersey,” you explained. 
“Ok, one, why haven’t I seen these and two, why didn’t you send me them?” 
“Oh, I don’t know, you never asked.”
“I never knew.” 
“Same thing?” you offered before walking out of the bathroom to sit on your bed as Joel grabbed his bag to start packing for the next day.
“Ok, well get the post ready and I’ll caption it,” Joel said, holding his hand out. 
“Please keep it reasonable, I am an example to tiny humans.”
“Kids?”
“Same thing,” you said, handing your phone over to him, already open to instagram. 
Joel had been thinking about what he would caption this post for the rest of the day after you had talked about going public. Quickly typing up the caption and tagging himself, he posted it, “okay, all done.”
“It didn’t take you that long?”
“Yeah, I know. I kinda figured it out earlier,” he said, shrugging and handing you back your phone. As you saw the notifications for the post, you opened it to see the picture of you two captioned ‘the bee to my honey’. 
“That is so incredibly cheesy and adorable,” you said, smiling at your phone, “Karly already commented upset that you didn’t give her photo credit though, but she said the caption wasn’t terrible.”
“Yeah, I’m so good with words, babe. We’ve established this.”
“You’re truly something. Wait, are you captioning yours ‘the honey to my bee’ because that way it’s just in reverse?”
“Yeah, we’re just that cool,” Joel said, handing you his packing list, “will you go over this with me to make sure I have everything?”
“Superstitious King, ok, um, your garment bag with your suit?” you continued down the list as you heard him respond to everything you said, “Glasses? Glasses? Why do you have glasses on this list?”
“Because I need them to see?” he said, confused by your question. 
“Since when have you worn glasses?”
“A while actually, I just don’t wear them all that often,” he shrugged. 
“Wait, what do they look like on you?” you asked, watching as he contemplated showing you before reaching in his bag and grabbing his glasses case. 
“If you make any jokes, I will never wear them around you again,” he said before putting them on. “Ok, one joke, and that’s all.” He was shocked by how quiet you were, “y/n/n, please just make the joke already while I’m prepared for it.”
“Oh no, I actually don’t have a joke this time. You look really good in glasses.” 
“Oh, a compliment?”
“Ha ha, yeah, I can be nice sometimes. But no, you genuinely look hot in those, you look hot in general, but like, now especially,” you continued rambling. 
“Awe, you’re being nice and I made you nervous,” he cooed. 
“You don’t make me nervous, Farabee,” you said, rolling your eyes. 
“Oh, I don’t? Okay,” he took steps closer to you standing in front of you and placing his arms on either side of you, smirking as he heard your breath hitch, “you sure I don’t make you nervous?”
“Y-you don’t,” you replied, watching his actions closely as he leaned his face closer to yours, placing his hand on your thigh before leaning beside your ear. 
“Okay, then,” he whispered before standing back up to finish packing, a smirk lacing his features. 
“That was rude,” you pouted, to which he simply shrugged. “Yeah, that’s not going to work, babe. Karma is a real thing,” you said, watching as he furrowed his brows.
“What do you mean?” 
“Karma,” you said, before just grabbing a longer shirt of his for pajamas and heading to the bathroom to change. Coming back minutes later to see Joel in bed, leaning against the headboard, already looking your way. 
“y/n,” he said, cautiously, “please say there’s something underneath my shirt.”
“I don’t know, Bee, is there?” you asked, pulling the comforter back on your bed as you laid down for bed. 
“I don’t like this game, it’s not that fun,” he said, moving down to lay his head on your chest, your hand instinctively going to his hair. 
“Karma is karma, pretty boy,” you said, chuckling when you felt him start to trace patterns on your thigh, obviously looking for a way to tell if you had shorts on. “You have to be up in a few hours and Kevin and Nol will barge in here tomorrow morning if you aren’t on time.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Are you going to answer my question?”
“You didn’t ask a question.”
“You’re really annoying sometimes. Are you going to answer my statement?” 
“You still love me though and I won’t answer your statement,” you said, softly, knowing that he was ready to fall asleep. “Goodnight, Bee.”
“Goodnight, babe.”
The alarm for the start of Joel’s day went off way too soon, but he knew he needed to get up. Quickly turning off his alarm to avoid waking you up, he got up to get his shower and get dressed for his day. 
After getting a text from Nolan that they would be at your door in about 5 minutes, he decided to tell you goodbye, “y/n/n, baby, it’s time for me to go.”
“You don’t have to go, tell them you can’t go,” you said, half asleep, barely even realizing what you were saying. 
“As much as I wish I could, it doesn’t work like that, babe.”
“Well have you tried to see if it would work?” he chuckled at your question. 
“I love you and I’ll see you in a few days, alright,” he kissed the top of your head before grabbing his bags and heading out to the living room to wait on Kevin and Nolan. Taking a seat on the couch as he waited, he heard the bedroom door open with footsteps following, “you should go back to sleep.”
“I have to go to PT in a few hours, so might as well be up,” you said, “plus, I kinda want to say bye to Kev and Nols.”
“You have PT at noon, it’s almost 5am. Once we leave, please try to get some sleep.” 
“Awe, Bee, you worried about me?”
“Unfortunately I’m always worried about you and you’re such a chaotic person that it’s reasonable and the concern only ever grows.”
“That’s true, I am kinda chaotic,” you said, causing him to chuckle. 
“Just a tad.”
The sound of the key turning and door opening drew yours and Joel’s attention away from each other for a moment, “sup, bitches,” Kevin’s voice rang out. 
“What the fuck, Kev?” you asked, grabbing a blanket from your couch, wrapping it around you. 
“Rise and shine, y/n/n. Hope you slept well, now we have to leave, so say bye to your boy,” Kevin added, turning back to leave again. 
“Ok, I have to get going, shawty bae. Go get some sleep, text me how PT goes, and tell Adrian I said hi. Bye, babe,” he kissed the top of your head once more before grabbing his bag and heading on his way. 
…..
“So, no lover boy today?” Adrian asked as you stepped into his office. 
“No, not today,” you said, sitting down on the bench, “him and the boys have an away game tonight, so they left this morning and will be back in a few days.” 
“So, I assume things are going well?” he asked, rolling his chair over to you. 
“Yeah, things are going very well. We posted about us being together officially on instagram last night.” 
“Oh, wow. Instagram, that’s crazy,” he said, sarcastically. 
“Hey, shush. It’s a bigger step than you think.”
“Oh, yes. The power couple that you two athletes are, hmm. Forgot about that.”
“Stop, it’s not that crazy. It just kinda is a big step in my opinion.”
“Well, I am happy for you and I’m also proud of you for actually listening to me and staying off your knee.”
“Hey, that rhymed,” you softly interrupted. 
“Ha ha, so funny. Anyways, with how it looks now, I say you’re good to start training again,” he said, taking the time to examine your knee. He could tell that you had actually listened to what he had told you, just like he hoped you had. He was excited to see you back to where you needed to be. 
“Like training training? Or just training?”
“Training training. Just be careful and don’t overwork yourself. I am aware that there isn’t much time before you have the U.S Championships, but don’t rush it. Take your time. Quality over quantity. Okay, Superstar?”
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” you said, excitedly, jumping off the bench to hug Adrian, “thank you.”
“Hey, I didn’t do anything, this is all you. But if anyone can do this, you can. Just take care of yourself, alright? I don’t want all my work to go to waste,” he said, jokingly. 
“Wow, I see how it is. I see how it is.”
“You know I’m joking, Superstar. Don’t even.”
“Do I, Adrian? Do I know that?”
“Just leave already,” he joked, “you have a lot of work to catch up on. Good luck, y/n/n.”
Knowing that the boys were either at lunch, wrapping up morning skate, or getting settled, you shot Kevin a quick text to call you whenever he had the chance; your phone rang only a few minutes later. “Hey, is everything okay?” Kevin’s concerned voice rang through.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Adrian cleared me to train again.”
“Aye, let’s go. Alright, so you have like, what? Two weeks before you leave for the U.S. Championships?” 
“Yeah, Marcus and Michelle already figured out all my travel arrangements months ago, so no worries there. I’m just worried about the fact that I have about 12 practices, but Marcus will probably worry and have me practice less, so about 10 practices? And what if-” you rambled. 
“No, we’re not doing the ‘what if’ conversations right now. Or anytime soon for that matter. You’ll get it. And if you have to simplify it for now, then that’s how it’ll be, but you stressing out right now is not going to change the number of practices you have or how they go. Only you can be the one to determine how practices go.”
“Since when did you get all wise, Kev?”
“I read this really inspirational fortune cookie earlier, it caused me to have a whole epiphany on life. Same old, same old.”
“Alright, wasn’t expecting that one, but I’m here for it. What are you guys up to?”
“What are we up to? Or what is Beezer up to?” Kevin asked, knowingly. 
“I was honestly just asking in general, but since you brought him up-” the two of you took a little bit of time to catch up. Him filling you in on how morning skate went and how the lineups for the game were looking. He also told you how the team was looking good this morning and that if they played how they needed to, they could easily win. 
You were still on the phone with Kevin by the time you pulled into the gym parking lot, “hey, I have to talk to Marcus about training, but I’ll probably talk to you after the game. Tell Bee I’ll talk to him later too. Bye, Kev.”
“Stay safe, be careful, make wise choices. I’ll talk to you later, y/n/n.”
Walking into the gym this time was different, almost similar to your first time back after everything, but right now you had the ability to train and to work how you needed to. You just needed to get back into your element. 
Knowing that the only practice going on was for the younger kids, you made your way up to Marcus’ office. Knocking gently on the door, you opened it to see him and Michelle sitting near his desk. “So, what’s the verdict?” Marcus asked, expectantly. 
“Well, there’s two weeks until Championships and I need to get this dismount,” you said, watching as the two of their smiles only grew. As the three of you went over everything that Adrian said, the three of you planned out the next two weeks. 
“Alright, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning practices, you can spend the whole practice on beam, drills, and conditioning, but afternoon practices you need to do other events.  Then, Tuesday and Thursdays will be working on other events, and Saturdays is just a markthrough day for routines,” Michelle explained easily, which showed that they had already thought of this beforehand. 
“And we’re going to ease into it again, but this time from doubles. We both know you can easily get back to where you need to and we also believe that with how determined you seem right now, you’ll be fine. If you do okay with doubles, we’ll move onto triples as soon as we can. If anyone can do it, you can,” Marcus said, honestly. 
…..
Checking his phone after the game was over, the smile on Joel’s face quickly grew at all the encouraging texts he had gotten from you. Quickly replying, he looked up to see most of the guys sharing knowing looks, “what?”
“Nothing, we can just easily tell who texted you from the way you looked at your phone,” Nolan pointed out. 
“You don’t really hide it, so it’s kinda obvious,” Carter added. 
“Well yeah, I don’t have a reason to hide it. My girl makes me happy,” Joel said, turning to see Kevin giving him a pointed look, “okay, maybe one reason to hide it.”
“Didn’t she have a PT appointment today? Any updates?” Scott asked, walking towards the younger guys.
“Oh, yeah. She got cleared and starts training again tomorrow,” Joel answered, causing all the team to smile.
Rushing to finish getting ready, so that he could FaceTime you, he grabbed his bag and made his way to an empty hallway to talk to you. The phone rang only a few times before you picked up, “hey, baby. You did really good at your game.”
“Thank you, thank you. I was thinking of you when I scored,” he said, watching behind you to see you walking around the apartment. 
“That was really cheesy.”
“Yeah, I realized that after I said it, but it’s the thought that counts,” he retaliated, causing you to chuckle, “did you get everything figured out with your coaches to start practicing again?” 
“Babe, you just won a game and you’re worried about my PT and training schedule?” 
“Well, I don’t have an explanation, but I get hockey 24/7 for the next few days, so I kinda want to hear about your life and gymnastics,” he said, honestly, which only made you smile. 
“Yeah, we got my training schedule figured out. I start practice again in the morning, but luckily I was able to work it out to where I have a day of just beam work to mostly do the dismount and drills and then the rest of the week is for other events. But I will have to travel for this meet, which I haven’t had to do in a while.”
“Oh, it’s in Texas? Right?” he asked, causing you to hum in agreement, “and how long before you leave?”
“Well, I leave the Wednesday night before, podium training on Thursday, and then, competition Friday and Sunday. And then I’ll be back Monday.”
“Ah, so I get to know how you feel when I’m on the road.”
“Yep, and you’ll know much it sucks,” you said, rolling your eyes. 
You were happy that Joel was happy and playing the sport that he loved, but him being on the road often threw off the routine that the two of you had with each other. Waking up next to each other; either making or getting breakfast; him driving you to practice before going to his; jamming out to music as the two of you prepared for your day; the list goes on. 
“Awe, you just miss me so much. It’s understandable really.”
“Don’t get cocky, Farabee,” you said. 
“It’s okay to admit that you-”
“Bee, I will hang up on you,” you threatened.
“Babe, you would miss me too much,” he said, making you roll your eyes once again. 
“Bye, Beezer,” you said, hitting the end call button. 
He simply smiled at the action, knowing well enough that if he called back you would decline and that you were too stubborn to call him back. Quickly sending you a goodnight text, he made his way back to the locker room, not missing all the chirps the boys had to say in response. 
…..
You spent the Monday and Wednesday of that week working on drills to be able to do the dismount. With the boys still gone until Friday, you spent your practices wisely and used any extra time that you could at the gym. Your routines were getting back to where they needed to be and you couldn’t have been happier. The drills that you were doing to work your dismount were also working out very well. 
“I want you to try a few triple dismounts. Just a triple and by tomorrow I want you to go for the 3.5 twist. The drills you’re doing aren’t really doing anything at this point, you’ve basically mastered them. So, I do believe if you really work towards it, you could get the quad twist by Olympic Trials, you will compete a 3.5 for U.S. Championships, but with the way practices are going I firmly believe the quad is only a few tries away from you,” Marcus told you as you did your beam warm up.
“Marcus, I-”
“You’re doing the dismount,” Michelle added as she passed by. 
“Just go for a triple, that’s all I want to see today. Once you do one, you’ll get back in the groove of things and you’ll be able to do more than one today. You got this, y/n/n, I know you can, you just have to get past the mental block.”
You knew he was right. As you thought about the skill, you knew it was basically a step away from you. If you went for it, with the way the drills are looking, you would have it. And from there, it’s just the 3.5 and then more work towards the quad. You knew you had the skills, you just had to remind your body of that fact. 
Taking a deep breath, you started your beam routine. Hitting all the skills that you had, you made your way back and forth on the beam until you got the the start of your dismount. “C’mon, y/n, you got it. Just breathe,” you heard Marcus as you took another breath before starting the dismount. Going for the roundoff, you started for the twisting part of the dismount, watching and twisting three times, you opened up, shocked when you landed the dismount. 
“Twinkle Toes,” Marcus beamed, “you did it.”
“Huh?” you said, realizing what you did, “wait. I did it.”
“You did the triple. I knew you could. I need you to do a few more, just to create the habit. Land at least five and then switch to bars.” 
“Alright, yeah,” you answered, quickly realizing that you were one step closer to your goal. Doing the next five took a little bit of time, but you were getting used to the landing and the skill itself. After finishing, you moved onto bars. 
“Did I see a triple dismount?” Nicole asked as you walked over to the chalk box.
“Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t,” you said, shrugging. 
“Does that mean you’re trying the 3.5 again soon?”
“Most likely tomorrow. You will be seeing it soon, I promise.”
…..
When Joel noticed that he got home early enough to come surprise you at practice, he jumped at the chance. Quickly dragging Nolan and Kevin with him - considering they were his ride - he asked them to head to the gym. Once they entered, they got settled in the overhead seating area, he quickly found you standing with Marcus near the beam. 
“C’mon, Twinkle Toes, in order to get the dismount back, you have to get on the beam,” he heard Marcus say. 
“Look, trust the process. I’m mentally preparing for it before I go for it.”
“Are you actually going to get on the beam at some point today? Or will you still be mentally preparing by the end of practice?” 
“Shush, it won’t take me that long, I promise,” Marcus sighed. 
“Just get on the beam, that’s all I need.”
“Alright,” you got onto the beam, walking towards the end as you prepared for the dismount. 
“Ok, just keep the same habits, just twist faster and open up a little bit later, you got it,” Marcus reassured you. Taking a deep breath, you prepped for the dismount. “C’mon, Twinkle Toes.”
Joel and the boys watched closely as you went through your habit of mentally visualizing first, watching you go for the round off and start twisting. “Wait, she’s going for the 3.5,” Kevin said. The three of them all held a breath as they watched you go for the dismount, letting out the breath when you landed it. 
You landed it. “Wait, I did it. Marcus, I did it.”
“I told you so, your boys are watching by the way,” Marcus said, causing you to look up to see the boys smiling to which you simply waved, “I need you to do some more of those either today or tomorrow, but you can go see your boy.”
Rushing over to the stairs to go see Joel, he met you at the bottom of the staircase, “hey, honey.”
“Hey, Bee.”
“You did the dismount,” he said, smiling. 
“I did the dismount,” you reiterated, matching his smile as he picked you up and spun you around.
“I’m so proud of you, you have no idea,” he said as his lips met yours. 
73 notes · View notes
thiswasinevitableid · 3 years
Note
Indruck 22 for the meet uglies?
Here you go! I went SFW on this one
you’re on a date with this awful, awful person who keeps getting under my skin because my friend and I have been eavesdropping all night and your date says something that makes me snap … I thought it was a first date, not a three year relationship
“...such a waste of money. I mean, why spend all that to get something tacky on your skin?”
Indrid rolls his eyes at Barclay from across the counter of the Amnesty Lodge coffee shop, the cooks arms and hands sporting a plethora of tattoos rivaled only by Indrid’s collection.
“I dunno, l like the one I got.” The other man--who seems to be on the worst first date of his life--shrugs.
“You honestly think you and Juno couldn’t have spent that money on something else in college?”
“I mean maybe but, uh, we were earnin our own cash, figured we got to decide what to spend it on.”
“Hmmmm” the first guy sips his coffee, “sounds like a typical excuse for someone who doesn’t want to admit a mistake.”
“C’mon, that ain’t fair-”
“Ugh, stop saying ain’t! I can’t take someone who talks like that to meet my family.” Before the target of his disdain can respond, he snaps his fingers, “hey, buddy, can I get a refill or what?”
“The station for black coffee refills is right there, sir.” Barclay indicates the very obvious corner of dispensers, his voice the kind of calm that Indrid knows means he’s memorizing this guys face to warn other staff about.
They earn a brief reprieve while The Asshole leaves the table. When he returns, he’s shaking his head.
“God, have you looked at the photos they’ve got up? Who the fuck wants to look at bones?”
Indrid quickly glances at his friend to be sure he’s permitted to start a fight. Barclay nods.
“Quite a lot of people.” Indrid spins on his stool. “I’ve sold a number of them just from the display here. So perhaps you could keep your rude, unclultured, close-minded, obnoxious mouth shut.”
The man balks, looks to his companion for help. He offers none, mouth trying to form words and only coming out with halves of ones (except for the “fucks” which are plentiful).
“Oh my fucking god, you agree with him! That’s it, I’m out.” The Asshole pushes back from the table and storms out. The remaining man leaps up, panicked.
“Fuck.”
“It’s okay man, shitty first dates happen to all of us.” Barclay offers from beside the bakery case.
“I mean yeah, they do, but that wasn’t one of ‘em. That was my boyfriend of three fuckin years.” He dashes out of the shop, sparing a final glare at Indrid as he does.
Indrid trades a sheepish look with his friend, “Oops.”
-------------------------------------------------
“I’m glad you finally get to meet Duck!” Aubrey grins over her shoulder as she and Indrid wind down the hall at the office Kepler magazine.
Founded by childhood friends, Kepler worked a combination of print and video content that saw its subscribers and revenue climb while other publications struggled to stay afloat. Aubrey was head of the video team, though she contributed content to the magazine in the form of interviews about environmental activists of color and sustainable gift guides.
Kepler has three sections: travel, science, and environmental writing. Indrid now has the honor of being one of their primary photographers. He started two weeks ago and is thoroughly enjoying his work and the company of the other staff. The only person he’s yet to meet is Duck Newton, one of the founders and main reporters, as he was off on an assignment.
Aubrey knocks, gets a friendly “come in” and ushers Indrid into the office.
Looking at him from behind the desk is The Asshole’s Boyfriend, whose face goes from open and friendly to confused, then to perturbed.
“You okay?”
“I, uh, fuck, n-ye.” Duck sighs, “remember how I told you Alex and I split after a shitty date in a coffee shop?” He points at Indrid, “this was the fella who, uh, expedited the process.”
“Ohhhh.” Aubrey frowns, then shrugs with a smile, “whelp, he’s our new photographer. We’ll see you around.” She hurries them outside once more, shutting the doors. As they head back the way they came, she whispers, “his ex was a huge fucking dick, so if word gets out everyone is gonna think you’re a fucking hero.”
“He didn’t seem to see it that way.”
“It was only a few weeks ago, so it’s still pretty fresh. He’ll heal from it okay, Duck’s a tough cookie. And I’m sure you guys’ll get along eventually.”
---------------------------------------
“Juno, please, you gotta come with me.”
“I would bud, except it’s April and I’s fifth wedding anniversary that weekend. And no, we already have plans, so we can’t just take over this assignment as part of the celebration.”
“Fuck” Duck leans back in his chair.
“...You really asked everyone?”
“Ye-no, fuck-”
“Duck.”
“I ain’t asked Indrid yet.”
“There it is.” Juno smirks, “you gotta ask; besides, we were gonna have him do illustrations for the feature, but photos would be even better. And we both know it ain’t his fault y’all broke up.”
Duck nods, promises to ask Indrid after lunch. He finds the photographer flipping through his files from his shoot for next issues cover. His silver hair is pulled back, red glasses sitting on the desk beside him so he can gauge color correctly.
Duck kind of wants to pull the silver locks just to see what happens. It’s not his fault Indrid looks like his Sophomore roommate who he had a raging crush on, only with more tattoos and a much more captivating face. Pity he helped fuck up Duck’s last chance at a stable relationship.
“Hey, Indrid, you got a minute?”
The photographer cocks his head.
“I, uh, so we got a feature on this whole chunk of places touting themselves as ‘sustainable romantic getaways. I booked a bunch of places, but a lot of ‘em will turn me away if I turn up solo. And the person I was supposed to go with ain’t an option any more. Neither is anyone else. You get my drift?”
Indrid pinches the bridge of his nose, “you realize this is a terrible idea, yes?”
“Hey, we been workin together just fine. Ain’t we? Wait, fuck, I ain’t been treatin you bad even when I’m tryin to be professional, am I?”
“No, you’ve been perfectly polite. But there’s a world of difference between being cordial in an office and going on what’s functionally a vacation together.”
Duck crosses his arms, “I ain’t about to lose eight hundred bucks in deposits.”
Indrid blinks, then chuckles, “Fair. What day do we leave?”
-------------------------------------------------
The temperature rises and the air dries as they speed south on Five. Indrid fiddles with games on his phone as cover for the list of “will this be a disaster or not” he’s mentally constructing. So far the signs are positive; Duck isn’t very chatty, but neither is Indrid. They have similar tastes in music, which makes much more sense when Duck explains he was a burn-out in high school. He also isn’t agitated by Indrid stimming, which makes it easier for the photographer to relax and enjoy the drive.
But they haven’t spoken about the elephant in the car, and Indrid resolves not to be the first to do so. No point in poking the sore spot if he doesn’t have to.
They stop at a Sinclair for gas. Duck reaches into his glovebox for something as Indrid climbs out, comes away with a photo instead. It’s one of those ones from a photobooth, faded but unmistakably him and his ex. His face falls for a second and Indrid scurries into the Dairy Queen attached to the convenience store.
As he waits in line, he turns one fact over in his mind like a picture he’s trying to make sense of; it would be easier to let their awkward first meeting go if he did not genuinely like the other man. He’s charming, in a quiet way, and very friendly. He’s built like the guys Indrid always got useless crushes on in college, usually third tier frat boys or--if he was lucky--a bear a few years older than him who liked his men on the odd side.
He doesn’t like seeing Duck sad. The sadness isn’t something he can fix. The stalemate between these two facts annoy the living hell out of him.
He’s next in line, glances up to confirm what he wants, and gets an idea. Last week, he overheard Duck talking with Aubrey about roadtrip snacks of their youth.
“One chocolate dipped cone, on me.” He holds the treat out to the other man.
“Oh. Uh, thanks. These are my favorite from when I was a kid.” Duck’s smile returns.
“I remembered. Or, ah, that is, I remembered you saying that.”
The smile changes, “you didn’t need to.”
“I wanted to. Shall we?”
“Yep. Uh, you gonna be able to drive and eat that at the same time?”
“Do not doubt my ability to consume ice cream under difficult circumstances, Duck Newton.”
They make it to their first stop unscathed. It’s what Duck refers to as, “eco-bespoke,” a fancy spa and hotel built in a former school, the kind that was made in an era of beautiful instead of grim educational architecture.
“Goats!” Indrid claps his hands, delighted, at the two animals stabled near the main building. One of it’s supposed sustainable elements is the small farm that helps feed the on-site restaurant. Duck smirks and Indrid suddenly feels the gulf in their upbringings, “Ah, I suppose they’re not exciting to someone who grew up in a rural town.”
“Nah, but they’re damn cute.” Duck checks the tag on their room keys, “okay, we’re in the green building, room 2B.”
Indrid snaps some photos as they cross the grounds, more to remind himself of things he wants to come back to later than anything else. He’s busy studying a strange mark on the wall by their door when Duck says, “I can sleep on the floor.”
“Why--oh” he stares at the single bed, “in retrospect, we should have seen this coming.”
“Yeah.” Duck drops his bag near the closet, slides the door to look for spare linens. Indrid summons his courage, finds it lacking, and so bolsters it with nonchalance.
“It’s a king, we could easily share.”
“You’d, uh, you’d be okay with that?”
“It is only narrow definitions of masculinity that mean something like sharing a bed is inherently sexual.”
He’s not entirely sure that made sense, but Duck nods, “You want the right side or left?”
“Right, please.”
“Great. And, uh, Indrid? Thanks for rollin with all this. I, uh, I know it’s fuckin weird but this is a huge feature for the magazine and we woulda been fucked if we had to pull it.”
Indrid gingerly sits on his side of the bed, “You’re welcome. And I don;t know about you, but” he smiles, catches Duck watching him intently in the mirror, “I’m enjoying myself so far.”
------------------------------------------------------
“Why has an activity that renders one incapable of using their thighs been deemed ‘romantic?” Indrid mumbles, face-down on the bed to offer his burning legs relief.
“Fuck if I know.” Duck groans as he sits next to him, “Kinda fun, but if I was doin this to get you in bed, I’d be fucked.”
“I am in bed” Indrid teases.
“And if I tried to put the moves of you you’d toss me outta it. Assumin I could even move myself that close.” Duck nudges him, then clears his throat, “uh, I mean, not like we’d be doin that-”
“Nono, point taken.” Indrid rolls over. The horseback ride was one of the “couples exclusives;” a trot out to a beautiful oasis for a gourmet picnic. Indrid got some excellent shots, including one of Duck with honeycomb dripping down his chin, which he will not be offering up to editors but may keep for himself. For it’s beautiful composition, of course.
Mercifully, their next stop is the pool. Indrid settles himself in the hot tub while Duck types some notes on his phone. Then his friend doffs his bathrobe and Indrid may as well be in a dream. In the steaming, echoing paradise of multi-colored tile and ecstatic shouts, Duck stands like one of the angelic fountains at its heart has come to life.
“You okay there, ‘Drid?”
“Yes.” He hopes his lack of glasses means Duck will mistake his blatant staring for trying to get his vision in focus.
“Then scoot your cu--uh, your butt over so I can sit down.”
Indrid gladly moves aside, finds he’s so comfortable with Duck pressed against him that he begins nodding off in the warm lull of the water. When the other man nudges him, saying it’s time to go, he finds a strong arm draped over his shoulder and Duck’s smile the most relaxed it’s been all trip.
Their last task at this location is to locate the speakeasy somewhere on the premises and order the “lovers delight” (only available to couples). To do so, they follow clues purple light bulbs, doors that lead to tiny, art-filled rooms, secret staircases, and a false supply closet to a dark wooded, dimly lit, incredibly pleasant bar looking out over the property. The drink turns out to be a massive goblet (more a bowl that someone stuck on a stem) of ginger syrup, prickly pear juice, and silver tequila.
It also turns out to be incredibly strong. So much so that when they get back to the room, Indrid loses his balance getting his shoes off, which makes Duck laugh, which results in both of them flopping onto the bed.
“S’fun. You’re, you’re real good at the clues. Should, should go to an escape room when we get home.”
“Wasn’t, hic, that hard. They, they want, hic, want you to find it.”
“Take the compliment, goofus” Duck pushes his shoulder.
“You’re, hic, the goofus.”
“Nuh uh.” Duck sticks his tongue out. Indrid does the same, then licks his cheek just to hear him laugh.
Duck rolls onto his back, giggles dying down to a contemplative sigh, “He woulda hated this.”
“Your ex?” Indrid crawls to stay close to him.
“Yeah. Everythin I like, or, or thought was fun, he thought it was a waste of time or just plain worthless. He, he wasn’t like that at the start. Dunno what changed. Probably me. Probably got borin. Got worse.”
Indrid is not so drunk that he believes he can fix this. But he’s just drunk enough to stroke Duck’s cheek and murmur, “No. Nono, hic, you’re th’best.”
He doesn’t remember falling asleep after that, but he must have, because his phone is beeping at them to get up and face the day. They do so with to-go coffees in one hand and their bags in the other, neither speaking of the night before until Indrid has turned the car into deeper desert.
“Sorry for gettin on a thing about Alex last night.”
“It was a three year relationship; goodness knows you’re allowed to have feelings about it.”
“Even relief?”
Indrid glances at him, “Of course.”
His friend leans back in his seat, sipping from his travel mug, “That’s half the reason I been in such a funk. I feel like I oughta be sad, then I feel guilty for the fact I’m relieved instead. But if I really was that unhappy in it, why did I hang around so long? Maybe that was the best I deserved, y’know?”
“I know the feeling, yes, but I can’t say I agree with your statement. You deserve someone who sees you for who you are and adores it, not someone who loved what you once were and became bitter when you grew.”
Duck looks at the console between them, at Indrid’s chipped black nails and the hand he hopes isn’t shaking. He squeezes it a moment longer than necessary, “Thanks, ‘Drid. It’s nice to hear that from someone who’s still gettin to know me. Juno and them, they’re my friends, I know they’re in my corner but, uh, sometimes I worry that anyone new is gonna find me dull or somethin like that.”
“I’m sure some people would, just as some take one look at me and decide I’m a weirdo who they don’t want to deal with. But I can say with certainty that I don’t find you that way.”
Duck grins all the way to their destination. It’s a quirky trailer park full of amenities and built mostly from salvaged materials, doing it’s best to run off the grid. It also gives each trailer a theme, and Indrid flaps his hands when he sees they’ve been booked in the “The Cramps” themed one.
“Hell yeah.” Duck mirrors his excitement as they open the door. Their haven from the desert sun is full of kitschy horror artifacts and a much smaller bed than the previous spot. There’s no debate this time; Indrid settles on the right, Duck on the left, and they settle in for a nap before venturing out to work.
They take in the bar, the arcade, the mini-golf course, and the “couples supply room” (“damn, didn’t know they made eggnog scented massage oil” “ooh, I like how that smells”), but Duck turns out to be most excited to rent a stargazing kit and guide Indrid out into the dark desert. They’re on their backs, shoulder to shoulder and munching chocolate covered fruit, when he discovers the source of his glee.
“There!” Duck points to a crackling streak of silver.
“A meteor” Indrid wiggles happily as a second one speeds through his view.
“It’s the Perseids, and this is a damn good place to watch ‘em. Look, there’s another one.” He’s breathless each time and Indrid’s heart threatens to beat hard enough to crack the earth at the sound.
“Did you ever wish on stars when you were little?”
“Yep. Never asked for much worth notin, though I’m pretty sure I wished once to just wake up and be a boy. Or, uh, guess for everyone to see me as one. What about you?”
“I wished...I wished for someone to do things like this with, some who’d kiss me and tell me that they didn’t need to wish because what they wanted was right here.. I love the world, I want to see so much of it, that’s half the reason I chose my profession.. But when I was young I thought I’d be with someone when I did. I thought it was easy to find that kind of love. To be worthy of it.”
“Hey now” Duck rolls onto his side. He’s backlit by the moon, meteors zipping behind him as if they, just like Indrid, are pulled to him, “what happened to all the stuff you said in the car about deservin someone who adores you?”
“It’s easy to apply such things to you, harder to believe them about myself.”
“How come?”
“Because you are everything a sensible person could want in a man and I am not.”
“That’s where you’re wrong” He sets a hand next to Indrid’s shoulder, “Can think of at least one sensible fella who wants to get to know you a whole hell of a lot.”
“He’ll get to know me plenty, we’re co-workers.”
“There are different kinds of gettin to know someone.” Duck dips down, brushes their noses together, “for instance, the last few days I’ve gotten to know you’re a damn good travel companion and that Ned was smart to hire you. But I’ve also gotten to know there’s some things about you I really wanna know.”
“Such as?” Indrid’s fingers find Duck’s sides.
“Such as whether you wanna go on a date with me when we get back. No assignment, just the two of us gettin some time together.”
“I want nothing more.” He leans up to kiss him, feels him shudder happily when their lips meet. Indrid wonders how long it’s been since someone kissed Duck like they meant it, and resolves to make up any deficits with an enthusiasm that would put horny eighteen year olds to shame.
Indrid nips Ducks ear, “you know, were it not for the threat of mosquitos and scorpions, I’d suggest we make good use of the non-food items in that basket.”
Ducks grin lights Indrid up like a comet, “Then howsabout we go test just how conducive our trailer is to romance?”
Indrid kisses him adoringly, “Lead on, sweetheart; I’ll follow you anywhere.”
29 notes · View notes
mellowswriting · 4 years
Text
A Good Thing
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pairing || Marcus Pike x fem!Reader
warnings || pregnant!reader so a bunch of pregnancy stuff, a lil bit of angst but mostly fluff, soft Marcus, lotsa tears, food mention, overuse of italics probably oops
word count || 2,173
a/n || Welcome to the first installment of the Dad!Marcus series! Ever since @absurdthirst‘s amazing Marcus fics put Marcus as a dad in my head, it has been living here rent free and I couldn’t help but indulge myself and anyone else who loves the World’s Best Boyfriend™. Side note, this gif is the exact facial expression I’m imagining when he realizes what you’re trying to tell him
Main Masterlist  |  Join the taglist!
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The positive sign on the pregnancy test made you feel like you were going to throw up again for the third time that evening alone. You could feel your heartbeat through your entire body, your breaths coming and going in ragged bursts.  The test clattered slightly when you set it on the bathroom counter, a product of your trembling fingers. There was no telling how far along you were; the curse of an irregular period granted you no real timeline. It was like any logical mind you had went straight out the window and all you could focus on was the fear, each thought coming and going too fast for you to even catch your breath.
You rubbed a hand down your face, trying to calm your racing heart, and in turn, your racing thoughts. Marcus wanted kids, you knew that. Hell, the two of you had just talked about it last week, how you both wanted kids in the future. You laughed a humorless laugh at the fact that you agreed on waiting a bit longer for kids all the while being pregnant. How ironic. No matter how many times you repeated to yourself that Marcus would be happy about this, an ugly conglomeration of anxiety and fear bubbled in your stomach. The excitement was there underneath it all, you could feel it. But the one anxious question that bounced through your head overwhelmed everything else.  
What the hell were you going to do if he wasn’t ready? 
It didn’t help that you knew Marcus would be home any second and god knows he would be able to tell something was going on with one look at your face. Your sweet, sweet Marcus. He read you like a well-worn novel over and over with familiarity and love, his hands gently bending your spine and dog earring his favorite pages. With eyes screwed shut tightly, you repeated to yourself in a hoarse whisper, “It’s going to be fine. Marcus will be happy about this. It’s going to be fine. Marcus will be happy about this.” 
“Sweetheart? I’m home!” Marcus’s voice filtered up the stairs and through the closed bathroom door, and your breathing hitched. Your hands still trembling, you shoved the test in your pocket and slowly made your way down the stairs, heading right for the sound of Marcus clattering about the kitchen. There was no point in putting it off. The sight of your boyfriend pulling containers of Chinese food from paper bags made you smile despite your anxieties. In the first moments of returning home, you felt Marcus looked his cutest. His hair was always mused and all over the place, tie either loosened or hanging over his shoulder completely undone, eyes tired but happy. He wore a similar smile when he turned to you, but it dropped the moment he took in your disheveled state. “What’s wrong?”
Yeah, you were right. 
“Marcus, honey -” You started, but the smell of takeout suddenly had your stomach lurching despite already being empty. You pressed your knuckles against your lips, willing your body to stop dry heaving. A warm hand slid down your back comfortingly; it brought you back to the many times he held your hair back for you when you were hungover or had the stomach flu, and tears pricked your eyes.  You knew the whole hormone thing was wild, but holy shit. “Mm, fuck...hold on.”
It’s going to be okay. Marcus will be happy about this. 
“Are you sick, sweetheart?” Marcus asked, his eyes and voice full of worry. He pulled you closer to his side and led you into the living room to settle you onto the couch before sitting next to you. You couldn’t help the small laugh you gave when his hand pressed to your forehead and slid down to your cheeks. “You don’t have a fever. Have you been throwing up? I swear, you always manage to get sick around this time of year, it’s like the world’s worst superpower.”
It’s going to be okay. Marcus will be happy about this. 
“Marcus.” You interrupted his rambling, the tears threatening to fall. “Uh, I-I... fuck, okay…” 
Marcus’s hand settled on your shoulder softly, his fingertips rubbing small circles into your skin. He said nothing and you knew he was trying to encourage you to go on, but you couldn’t get the words past the lump in your throat. Instead, you pulled the test out of your pocket and pressed it into his other hand. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, his confusion obvious, and the second it clicked in his head, his eyes went wide. You were bouncing your leg without even realizing it, the nerves needing some sort of physical outlet before you exploded. 
“Wait, you’re pregnant?” Marcus whispered, his voice an octave or twelve higher in his surprise. He exhaled, loud and hard, and the hand on your shoulder tightened slightly before sliding to the sweet spot where your neck and shoulder met. His eyes met yours and holy shit. The sight of your boyfriend, the man you loved more than anything in the world, staring at you with those warm chocolate eyes shining with tears and wonder and happiness… “We’re having a baby?”
You nodded and laughed wetly, only then realizing that you were crying openly, but you didn’t care. Not when relief and excitement surged in your chest, threatened to drown you in the warm waves that filled you to bursting. The back of your hand brushed the tears away quickly. “Yeah, we are, Marcus. We’re having a baby.” 
The smile that broke out on Marcus’s face could have lit up the entire planet. That’s exactly what he was - the sun. Your sun. Everything he did warmed you; every kind gesture, every kiss, every smile. He filled you with warmth and life and fostered something bright and beautiful to grow within you, no longer just an inexpressible sense of belonging. It was tangible. 
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re happy about this, Marcus.” You murmured, your eyes slipping closed in your relief. “I was so scared.”
“Scared? Why were you scared?” Marcus asked.  
“We just talked about waiting to have kids. I don’t know, I just…” You sighed. “I was worried that you weren’t ready, that this...wouldn't be a good thing.” 
“This is a good thing. You think so, right?” Marcus clambered to his knees in front of you when you nodded emphatically, his excitement as palpable as a hyper puppy, and he buried his face in your belly, whispering quiet ‘oh my god’s over and over. Your entire body shook with your bright laughter, one hand curling in his hair to hold him close. It was perfect, watching him nuzzle against your belly, his face wet with his own tears that soaked into your shirt. You could feel him rumble as he spoke right into your stomach, “This is such a good thing.” 
You couldn’t find the words to express your happiness, your relief, but you didn’t need them. Marcus knew. He leaned up with a final kiss to your belly and settled his hands on either side of your face to give you a soft kiss. No matter how many times you shared soft moments like this, it always felt like the first time. The soft glide of his lips against yours, his tongue swiping at your lower lip before drawing it between his teeth to nip at it gently...it killed you every time in the best possible way. The hard press of plastic against your hair made you crinkle your nose and pull away, batting his hands away from your head. 
“Marcus, I peed on that, get it out of my hair!” You cracked up at the guilty expression on his face as he put it behind him on the coffee table. It disappeared the second he started laughing too, and the two of you devolved into a fit of laughter, clinging to each other as you shook. “Ohhhh my god. I don’t think I could possibly be happier.” 
Marcus hummed where he plastered himself against you, chest to chest, and you relished in the warmth. That is, until he suddenly scrambled to his feet and took off for the stairs, leaving you with empty arms and a confused laugh. He shouted for you to “just hold on!” when you called up to him to ask what the hell he was doing, your voice still laced with amusement. You could hear the sound of rushed footsteps, drawers opening and closing roughly, and just when you were about to call out for him again, Marcus flew around the corner and returned to his spot in front of you, on his knees and panting like he just ran a marathon. 
“What in the world was that about?” You ask with a laugh, brushing his hair out of his face gently. 
“I...I have been trying to find the perfect time for this for weeks, and I couldn’t think of a more fitting moment.” Marcus exhaled shakily as he presented a small black velvet box in the space between you, and your heart stopped in your chest. His voice quivered, “You have made me the happiest man in the world being the mother of my child. Please...please do me the honor of being my wife, too.”
“Oh...my god. Of course, of course I will.” You whispered, the tears returning to your eyes unbiddenly. You leaned down and kissed him, hard and passionate, desperate to make him feel just how ecstatic you were. Marcus’s empty hand gripped the back of your neck tightly and pulled you into him, both of you kneeling on the floor and crying like a couple of weirdos. 
You peck his lips, then his jaw, his cheek, his nose - you kiss all over his face even when he scrunches up his nose and chuckles at your antics. Once you felt like every inch of his handsome, blushing face had been lavished with your affection, you nuzzled him gently, brushing your nose against his. Marcus was practically shaking beneath you and you knew. You knew he had deep seated fears that you would abandon him, that you would drop him out of nowhere like others before you had done. It was something he told you in the dark of night, in those moments when fears felt like they could be bared without a disastrous fallout. Not you, though. Their loss, you had told him. You hated that Marcus Pike, truly the sweetest man you had ever met, had to experience such loss and heartbreak, but you had no issue in being the one to show him just how much good he deserved. 
“God, I was wrong.” You said as you watched Marcus slide a beautifully cut engagement ring onto your left hand. “Now I couldn’t be happier.” 
“Yeah?” Marcus whispered with that dazzlingly bright smile, leaning into your hand when you brushed his tears away. “Me too.” 
That dopey grin followed him the entire night and you couldn’t think of a prettier sight. You traced your fingertips over the crinkle at the corner of his eyes and they deepened with his smile. You both went straight to bed once dinner had been eaten - the need to hold each other and rest was too much to ignore after the intense day you had. 
“We have so much to do.” Marcus said, his voice low and rumbly in that delicious way you loved. “I think we should move my office to the guest bedroom, that way the nursery is upstairs. Won’t have to walk as far, they’ll be nice and close by. Shit, we gotta get you on those prenatal vitamins, too. I guess the doctor’s appointments come before that though, right? Plus -”
“Breathe, Marcus. We have plenty of time. Well, except for the doctor part. Let’s start looking for one in the morning, yeah? Gotta get a good one.” You rubbed circles into his chest, smiling when he hummed happily. Marcus settled his hand above your belly button, his thumb swiping back and forth gently, and you couldn’t help but slide his hand lower, right between your hips. “They’re right here, honey. Safe and sound.”
Marcus’s breath caught in his throat and he drug you against him, that needy part of him rearing up and itching to have your back flush against his chest. The feeling of his large frame curled against you made you feel safe, cared for. He made you feel safe. Your Marcus and the new life the two of you had created together. - your little family. You shivered at the feeling of the kisses he peppered against your neck and shoulder and laced your fingers with his where they splayed between your hips. The last thing you saw before sleep overtook you was your fiancé’s hand cradling your belly gently, your hand atop his, and the glint of moonlight reflecting off of your engagement ring. 
That night was the best sleep you ever had.
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katierosefun · 3 years
Text
well, even though literally no one asked, am i going to do a whole analysis on how the red album is also lowkey about tcw? sure. sh, let me indulge 12/13 year old me.
state of grace:
our wonderful opening track. the lyrics “just twin fire signs / four blue eyes”—from this line alone, i think a lot about anakin and ahsoka and obi-wan, just because what color are their eyes? blue. check and mate.
but on a more serious level: “and i never saw you coming / and i’ll never be the same” speaks to how each of these characters’ lives were interrupted by the presence of the other. obi-wan certainly didn’t expect anakin to come into his life, and i doubted anakin ever expected ahsoka to come into his life.
“love is a ruthless game unless you play it good and right” and “these are the hands of fate / you’re my Achilles heel” speaks to how this whole theme of love and how both raw and burning and ruthless love can shine in this specific universe. specifically anakin’s kind of love. additionally, the idea of Achilles heel...i’ve already discussed the parallels between Achilles and anakin and don’t feel like rehashing, but it’s def. worth noting.
“this is the golden age of something good and right and real”...golden age. the war was messy and terrible and shouldn’t have ever happened, but also, i think for that brief moment, disaster lineage was at least together.
red
look me in the eye and lie to me about how this song doesn’t sum up the exhilarating rush that must have been being around someone like anakin skywalker.
“losing him was blue like i’ve ever known / missing him was dark grey all alone / forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met / but loving him was red”: this entire refrain is about that kind of ruthless, very fiery-seeing-red-everywhere kind of sensation that comes with love. (or, as the song alludes, a kind of dangerous love.)
and if we’re talking about dangerous kind of love—“fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there’s no right answer / regretting him was like wishing you never found out love could be that strong”...thinking thoughts about how there must have been all these times for the people around anakin to clash heads. bro. what even is that.
“remembering him comes in flashbacks, in echoes / told myself it’s time now, gotta let go”. ha ha. you ever think about the people who live after order 66 and wonder what the hell happened to the person they loved. ha.
treacherous
alright, time to put on the anidala hat. this song is supposed to be all about loving someone and constantly feeling like you’re sliding down a slippery slope. a treacherous path—a reckless path—and yet, and yet, “i like it”.
the whole concept of these two being put in a whirlwind romance matches perfectly with these lyrics: “i can’t decide if it’s a choice / getting swept away / i hear the sound of my own voice / asking you to stay”. this mess of a relationship that probably shouldn’t have happened, but it happened, and now the only choice for these two is to hold on...bro.
i knew you were trouble.
ohhhh god, do i need to explain how this is an anidala song or—
“i was in your sights / you got me alone / you found me”,,,the fact that anakin skywalker really looked at padmé amidala after ten years and automatically went “i love her”. a part of me will always sigh and want to pat anakin’s head that please, please, please control yourself, but what am i supposed to do anyways—
but also, the way this song also addresses all the dangerous things that come with a love that probably shouldn’t have started / shouldn’t have been born with so many secrets. the damning / basically self-loathing lyrics like “the joke is on me” and “shame on me now” is honestly kind of sad, and while i don’t think padmé ever regretted loving anakin (and i’ve covered this so many times, but i think anakin and padmé genuinely loved each other), there was def. a sense of constant danger and fear that one day, all the secrets will come tumbling out / something’s going to happen. and all that ultimately bubbles over in revenge of the sith, right when padmé looks at anakin and just doesn’t see him anymore.
all too well
tbh, this song deserves a whole long post on its own, but i’ll try to be concise. i genuinely think this could be about any of the tcw characters / tcw pairings, but because it’s my post and my obsession, i’ll discuss the disaster lineage. there’s something so quietly sad about the line “but you still got [my scarf] in your drawer, even now” and how that speaks to how obi-wan has anakin’s lightsaber / how anakin has ahsoka’s lightsaber both as himself and as ahsoka after ahsoka left the order / after order 66. the fact that you still have a piece of someone you love(d), long after they’re gone...
the fact that this song is so full of memories and longing and aching and grief over a loved relationship. thinking about the lyrics “you tell me about your past, thinking your future was me” is especially sad because while i don’t think anakin was ever completely open about his childhood / past, i like to think he must have told some stories to obi-wan and padmé and ahsoka about happier moments—and you have to wonder what kind of future anakin saw for himself with his loved ones.
“maybe this thing was a masterpiece until you tore it all up” speaks to how for a rare, rare moment, we see anakin skywalker as the hero we’re all supposed to like—and we see how it all crumbles apart so fast.
“but you keep my old scarf from that very first week / because it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me” hits especially hard when you think about how vader still has ahsoka’s lightsabers, or the fact that everything goes “back to when i loved you so / back before you lost the one real thing you’ve ever known”...thinking. a lot about anakin and how the love he felt / received from his friends were real, realer than anything that palpacreep could ever give him. it was all real, and now they’re all memories.
22
okay, this is just a fun song so i can’t really apply it anywhere, but i like to think there must have been a birthday somewhere along the line / some kind of happy event where there’s some chaotic tcw fam shenanigans. ditching the whole scene and “end[ing] up dreaming instead of sleeping”...i like to think they must have had some kind of happy moment like that.
i almost do
this song honestly reminds me the most of anakin and ahsoka. do you ever think that ahsoka might have wanted to reach out to anakin at some point? how “it takes everything in me not to call you”—how she might wish that she could talk to him again but every time she doesn’t, she almost does. (and ha. this makes their S7 reunion even more painful.)
the whole “i bet you think i either moved on or hate you” and “i bet it never ever occurred to you that i can’t say hello to you and risk another goodbye” speaks mostly to that very same reunion. the fact that ahsoka and anakin leave so many things unsaid—the fact that ahsoka restrains herself, cites that reason for the fact that they’ll just catch up another time...when that another time never happens.
we are never ever getting back together
hahaa, i can’t quite laugh about this but also i can because i kinda made a crack edit of disaster lineage + this song over the summer, and it really is just a joke but also...lol vader + ahsoka + obi-wan, but more specifically ahsoka and vader in their reunion in rebels lol. they’re never getting back together, geddit? they “used to think [they] were forever” and “[sigh] he calls me up again and is like i still love you and like,,,this is exhausting, you know?” yeah, me too sis. 🙄
stay stay stay
okay, okay, okay, maybe going a little bit into crack-y happy tcw feelings, but all i’m saying is that i love the image of these dorks staying for each other, you know? the whole “you took the time to memorize me” and “all those times that you didn’t leave / it’s been occurring to me i’d like to hang out with you for my whole life” and “no one else is gonna love me when i get mad” makes me kinda soft but also sad knowing that one of the tragedies of tcw fam is that no one really stays.
the last time
highkey the whole clovis arc in season 6. but anyways, especially the lines about “this is the last time i’m asking you this / put my name at the top of your list” speaks a lot to me about this hunger (yeah, this is @ anakin) to be someone’s first choice. it’s about the anger and jealousy and dull pain of knowing that everyone else’s priorities are elsewhere (and that’s not their fault, but you still feel like it is).
but if we’re thinking about the clovis arc especially, i think a whole lot about anakin + padmé, as well as anakin and obi-wan, esp. in these lyrics: “you wear your best apology / but i was there to watch you leave” and “all those times i let you in / just for you to go again”. we know anakin and padmé were...going through it in this arc, but specially anakin and obi-wan’s conversation—the one where obi-wan’s trying to reach anakin? we see obi-wan briefly open up (ie. about satine!) and anakin quickly shuts it down, and when obi-wan leaves, we see the pain on both of their faces because this wasn’t how the conversation was supposed to go.
but also, if we’re circling back to anakin and padmé’s relationship in this arc especially: the really, really painful lyrics about “this is the last time you tell me i’ve got it wrong” and “this is the last time i say it’s been you all along” and “this is the last time i let you in my door” and “this is the last time / i won’t hurt you anymore”...this arc truly explores just how deep the hurt can run when you have a secret relationship. how quickly love can blur into possession and jealousy and anger, and we see that in how anakin and padmé just...both crumble apart, especially in that one bit when padmé basically says she doesn’t want to see anakin for a little while. like. idk. it’s just sad, because this arc really showed just all the issues and problems within a relationship built on lies.
holy ground
oh god, what a fun song. but anyways, just to kick things off: “and darling, it was good / never looking down / and right there where we stood / was holy ground” speaks to a relationship that was good, even if it was wild and brief. which. disaster lineage.
the whole “i guess we fall apart in the usual way / and the story’s got dust on every page” and “i see your face in every crowd” vibe too—these idiots miss each other, and they probably see each other where they’re not supposed to. there was nothing unusual about their falling apart, of course, but something about this song compels me to think about how even in the grief and pain that ultimately drags ahsoka and obi-wan down especially, i think they still are fond of their happier memories with anakin.
also, “tonight i’m gonna dance for all we’ve been through” and “but i don’t wanna dance if i’m not dancing you” makes me a little sad because i think a lot about the fall of the empire and how the whole galaxy is out celebrating, but there’s a certain togruta woman who can’t completely celebrate because now she knows that. her whole family. really is gone.
sad beautiful tragic
this whole song is so tragic, but. anyways. more tragic disaster lineage vibes. the words “words, how little they mean / when you’re a little too late” makes me want to scream because i think a lot about how in rebels, ahsoka tells vader that she won’t leave him—not this time—and obi-wan crying that he loved anakin—the real tragedy here is that these were all words that anakin should have known deep down, but he didn’t, and they all felt late. their timing is terrible.
and “in dreams, i meet you in warm conversation” screams to me this one passage about how obi-wan dreams about anakin, although those dreams are anything but warm. but the idea of how obi-wan still dreams and how “time is taking its sweet time erasing you”—because in the kenobi novel especially, obi-wan explicitly struggles...a lot with anakin’s loss. he definitely gets...sad and tries to remember how the hell it all happened. he keeps pulling out anakin’s lightsaber and just. forcibly puts it away because he knows looking at it would cause just more grief and oh yikes.
the lucky one
ngl i forgot how fuckign good this song is,,,bro. anyways, i think this def. speaks to the og prequel trilogy trio especially, because i think they were all seriously going through with the whole...reputation thing. thinking mostly about how anakin, padmé, and obi-wan are all supposed to be these heroic / cool / beautiful figures who everyone’s supposed to look up to when in reality, they were all struggling with something. also lol the fact that obi-wan and anakin were both propped up as war propaganda figures in-universe because of palpacreep def. speaks to that whole “they’ll tell you now you’re the lucky one”.
and “they tell you that you’re lucky / but you’re so confused because you don’t feel pretty, you just feel used” and “you wonder if you’ll make it out alive” hurts the most, i think, just because how they apply to all those in prequel trilogy. anakin, obi-wan, and padmé—not to mention all the other jedi and the clones, oh god, the clones—were all fighting a war that ultimately didn’t matter, and they were all fighting a war that didn’t leave them as heroes. it just left them as pawns.
but i think if there’s any hope—any hope at all in this song, i think it’s in the last lyrics: “and they still tell the legend of how you disappeared / how you took the money and your dignity and got the hell out” reminds me the most of probably ahsoka and rex, or the people who survived the mess that was the clone wars. granted, rex didn’t exactly have the choice that ahsoka had, because she was the one who really made the big decision to look around herself and say “nope, i can’t be a part of this order”. she got the hell out.
everything has changed
hear me out, but i just think this makes for a cute anakin and ahsoka song, esp. their very cute beginnings. just like. as soon as they meet each other, both of them are ultimately changed. the fact that ahsoka has been noted to be the key to understanding who anakin is—the fact that it’s ahsoka’s relationship / interactions with anakin that ultimately makes him a better person because they’re siblings, your honor—yeah. very much the cute “all i know is we said hello”...the lyrics going on about “i just wanna know you better” and “your eyes look like coming home” makes me soft because. i think that while yes, they had their own rocky beginning, the difference between anakin and ahsoka’s relationship vs. anakin and obi-wan’s (rip i love anakin and obi-wan and i genuinely believe that obi-wan was the best teacher for anakin, and i think their bond is incredibly special, but.......boys please communicate better) is that i think anakin makes a really explicit effort to make sure ahsoka knows that like. he wants her around.
idk—i’m not saying obi-wan didn’t want anakin around! but i think one of the greatest tragedies of their relationship is that anakin always seemed to just. not click with obi-wan’s own demonstrations of love / i want you to be here messages. (the gambit duology goes a little more into this—only in those books, anakin and obi-wan actually talk a little about their feelings! which is nice!) but anyways, point being: anakin and ahsoka really looked at each other and were like “oh yeah. you’re my idiot now.” and i think that’s really cool of them.
starlight
oh god, this is kind of an anidala song but i also am tempted to say obitine song just because of that one line about “pretending to be a duchess and a prince” because,,,lol duchess geddit? and overall just think it’s really cute because. summer love!!!
but also, i do see this as an anidala song because “he was trying to skip rocks on the ocean, saying to me / don’t you dream impossible things?” because i see anakin as most certainly that dreamy-eyed boy who looks at padmé and is just. like that. (and we see a whole ton of that, esp. in aotc and how padmé initially is like “this is a terrible idea” and eventually winds up falling in love anyways, as one does.)
begin again
this song is odd because it doesn’t really give me overwhelming star wars feelings, but it does remind me a little bit of how ahsoka must have felt getting with the rebels crew. because i think ahsoka must have “watched it begin again” when she noted kanan and ezra’s interactions with each other, and i feel like when she’s with ezra, she sees a lot of the young padawan she used to be, and i think there must have been a point where she recognizes that “what’s past is past”. she’s watching everything begin again.
the moment i knew
this is another one of those songs that makes me sad about anidala because it seems like they’re always getting interrupted? the idea of being told that someone’s going to show but it might not happen because life (ie. war! there’s a war!),,,and still not being able to be really that sad about it in public makes me sad. just. i’m reminded of this one moment in tcw where anakin has to leave early because of something and just. the lyrics “what do you do when the one who means the most to you is the one who didn’t show”—like, of course, we see anakin sneaking off, but i def. think in that one tcw episode, we get a glimpse of. how lonely life might be if you’re just. waiting for someone to come home, only to realize that they might not show.
come back...be here
ha....hahahahaa weirdly both anakin and ahsoka and obitine feelings? give me a second.
okay, so as for anakin and ahsoka first: “i can’t help but wish you took me with you” hits hard just because of the time anakin tells ahsoka that he knows what it feels like to want to leave the order. just. oh god.
and then there’s this bit of “this is when the feeling sinks in / i don’t wanna miss you like this” hits hard, esp. considering the whole utapau arc where anakin accidentally slips in ahsoka’s name. he misses her, and i don’t think he really wanted to show that—but it sinks in so hard and fast for him, and it hurts so much oh god
also, the “right when i was just about to fall”: i know that in this context, fall is supposed to mean falling in love, but. the fact that anakin is literally about to fall like,,,a few days after his reunion with ahsoka. i cry now!
as for obitine: ahahahaha. pain, esp. considering how they probably separated after their year on the run? thinking about how that goodbye must have been like—mostly thinking about how there’s so much history between the two. how strange it is that they “didn’t know each other at all”, and how they might have had “the feeling they could know so much without knowing anything at all”, and now i think about how both of them could have “stumbled through the long goodbye”. i think a lot about those years of separation and how satine confesses how she had been in love with obi-wan for a long time—and how that in itself...wondering how or when satine knew for certain that she had fallen in love with the young jedi who came to her aid. thinking about how her “falling in love in the cruelest way” is how that whole falling in love—and realizing just how in love she was—is so cruel, because like. you know. when you’ve been in love / are loving someone for like...ten years....that’s kinda intense ngl
girl at home
lol this song doesn’t really fit with anything star wars related because i don’t think anyone in tcw would actually cheat on their loved ones? still 100000/10 a bop of a song though, and i still think it’s one of swift’s more mature songs, 10000/10 recommend.
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petri808 · 3 years
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Inukag Royalty Au *in honor of Tanabata coming up, it was worked into the chapter 😊
“Oh, look Rin, there’s a traveling marionette show today. Do you want to watch?” She and Kagome had been wandering around the marketplace when they stumbled onto it.
“Yeah!” The child squealed in delight. “I’ve seen them before and they’re really good!”
“I think we got here just in time,” Kagome scanned for a seat. “There,” she pointed, “let’s sit down before it starts.”
It was quite amazing to see this group of traveling entertainers. Such troops would pass through her own kingdom, but Kagome was rarely allowed to leave the castle to watch them. From what she could see on their signs, they put on different shows for adults with a variety of acts, and puppet shows for the children, staying for a few days before moving onto the next town. The story they were about to perform was a classic tale of the star-crossed lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi. It was cute, albeit a bittersweet tale of eternal longing. Just as the show was getting ready to start, Kagome felt a body sit down beside her. She glanced over with her peripheral to make sure they weren’t a problem and noticed a familiar set of claws on the persons hands.
“Prince?” Kagome whispered not wanting to draw attention. “What are you doing here?”
“Miroku and I saw you two,” Inuyasha whispered back.
Kagome leaned forward a tiny bit and noticed Miroku on the other side of Inuyasha who nodded in recognition. “I see…”
“We we’re bored,” Inuyasha threw in, “so decided to join you.”
The comment made Kagome chuckle, which then caught Rin’s attention, who looked over and saw the men. The child’s eyes lit up at seeing her uncle and in her excitement, she got off her seat and quickly plopped herself onto Inuyasha’s lap.
“Guess I’m just a chair now,” he chuckled too. "Behave and watch the show or I’ll kick you off my lap.”
“I’m always a good girl,” the child retorted with a grin before turning back to the stage.
And she was. Rin sat enthralled by the whole production. They really were as good as she’d portrayed to Kagome. From the quality of the marionettes to the actor’s voice work, they truly pulled you into the story. But for the adults, it brought on a different wave of emotions, at least it did for Kagome. While the story was beautiful, she could identify with Princess Orihime’s longing for the one she’d fallen in love with despite her father’s rules… and to be torn apart because of it… At least, the Princess in the tale got to see her love once a year. Kagome won’t be able to do the same. She didn’t notice the small frown growing on Inuyasha’s face, because she avoided looking in his direction. He was her Hikoboshi, but she didn’t want him to notice the moisture clouding her eyes or realize how much the story was having an effect on her.
Once the final act was complete, the puppeteers came out from behind the curtain to bow to the audience’s wild applause. It was a great success for most including Rin who was clapping and bouncing on her uncle’s lap with excitement. Kagome was happy the child enjoyed the performance even though it took a toll on her.
“I love this story…” both Kagome and Inuyasha mumble at the same time, causing them to stiffen and turn to face the other.
“You do?” Inuyasha questioned.
“It’s sweet,” Kagome responded with heat coloring her cheeks. “Even though I feel bad for them.”
“Me too.” Inuyasha mumbled. “It’s not fair.”
Her eyes slightly widen, fully understanding what he was feeling in that moment. But as much as she would have loved to say more, Kagome knew she couldn’t, not in public like this.
“What’s not fair?”
Leave it to Rin to bring them back to the present.
“Oh, um,” Kagome quickly gave her attention to the little girl. “What uncle Inu means is it’s sad that Orihime and Hikoboshi only get to see each other once a year.”
After a brief pause, the child’s eyes widened. “Ohhhh,” Rin acknowledged her understanding. “Yeah, that’s not very fair. But at least they found someone.” She turned around and looked up. “Isn’t that a good thing uncle Inu?”
Again, the innocence of a child worked wonders for lightening the mood.
“Yes,” Inuyasha smiled down at his niece. “It is a good thing.” But his eyes drifted towards Kagome as he continued. “I’m sure Hikoboshi appreciates all the time he gets to spend with his Orihime.”
For several seconds the pair hold a gaze with one another. No words needed to communicate a sense of longing despair. Kagome may have been painfully aware of Inuyasha’s insinuation, but so was Miroku. The princes guard cleared his throat loudly, breaking the moment. “Inuyasha, we should get back to our patrols.” He spoke matter of fact.
“Right,” the hanyo grumped. Miroku constantly warned him about letting his true feelings slip, and even though he knew his friend was just looking out for him, Inuyasha didn’t need to like it. He sighed. “Okay Rin, time to get off. Uncles gotta go back to work.”
“Okay!” Rin jumped off his lap and stood next to Kagome who’d also risen to her feet. “We should finish our shopping and get back to the castle too,” she took hold of the child’s hand. “Say goodbye to your uncle Rin.”
“Bye uncle Inu!” She waved as the pair made their way back into the throng of market goers.
For the rest of the day, Kagome pushed aside the incident in the marketplace. Why think about it when it would only make her sadder at her circumstances, especially since for Rin it had been a fun experience hanging out with her uncle. She didn’t want the child to see that side of life for as long as possible. Even at dinner, Inuyasha was quieter than usual, but Kagome didn’t want to assume anything, so she went about her routines like normal pretending everything was fine. Sometimes it was easier to ignore reality. That is until Rin was already tucked into bed and Kagome headed towards the library to get some reading done. If there was one thing that could take her mind off most things it entailed drowning her thoughts in an academic book.
Most of the time.
Of all the stories that troop could have chosen for a children's play, why a sad love story? Why not a fanciful fairytale like a prince saving a princess from an evil villain or an adventurer searching for treasure and fame? But it wouldn’t be fair to pin all her woes on the performers. The Tanabata story was a popular one after all. Kagome sighed as she shifted in her seat to pull her legs up and under her body. The book she'd chosen was about medicinal herbs because she was curious about useful treatments. She'd hoped the interest would be enough to pull her away from thinking about the play, but it wasn't working. Maybe she just needed to give herself more time to process everything. 'Or maybe you need to do the opposite and stop thinking about anything!' Kagome chided herself. She really did need to stop letting her emotions control her. 'You're supposed to be hiding out here, remember?!'
It was the sound of approaching footsteps that caused Kagome to stop reading and look up from her book. Was it a guard? Nope, just Inuyasha.
“Oh, good, you’re here,” Inuyasha dropped onto the couch next to her. “I didn’t know who else to turn to.”
“Inuyasha? What’s wrong?” She put the book down when she saw the anger brimming in his eyes. “Did something happen?”
The prince let out an annoyed sigh. “I just had a huge fight with my dad.”
“A fight? Over what?”
“You.”
“Me?!” Her eyes widened. “Did I do something wrong?!”
“No, no, not you,” he grabbed her hands. “It’s all me. I… I-I told him— I told him that I refuse to honor the agreement to marry someone else. He wouldn’t even tell me who she is, so how would I ever be okay with it? I just can’t! Not when I’m already in love…”
Kagome swallowed back hard. “You are?”
His grip tightened, gaze turned serious and focused. “I told him I was in love with you. Kagome I can’t deny that anymore no matter how much I tried.”
“But you know we can’t—”
“I know, I know, it’s crazy, but after that story…” Inuyasha let go of her hands for a moment to gesticulate. “I just couldn’t stop thinking about it! I told him I’d rather stay single for the rest of my life if it meant still being around you… even if that’s all I get to have. I just want to stay in your life in any way I can.”
Kagome didn’t know what to say. With all her heart she wished it could work, but knowing she too was living a lie that she couldn’t reveal coupled with such a major potential for scandal… her voice lowered in hesitation. “Inu this is crazy…”
“Do you love me?” Is all Inuyasha blurted out.
“Yes—” she spoke from the heart, “but—”
Inuyasha took her hands again and brought them to his chest. “Then that’s enough for me.”
Despite his efforts to reassure her, Kagome couldn't be happy about this declaration of love. She'd heard some of the whispers starting around the castle about their forbidden relationship. What if someone started to talk? What if someone started to question her true origins? All it would take is someone mentioning to the wrong person the woman in the castle who'd stolen the prince’s attention. And what about the royal family? How will they treat her now? Will they see her as a jezebel? A woman who’d infiltrated their life to cause problems?? Kagome shook her head. “But there must be consequences!” She knew all too well as a hypocrite, the rippling damages that could occur from breaking such trusts. “You don’t just break an agreement like that without consequences.”
“Nothing’s gonna happen to you, I give you, my word. As for me, I can handle my dad. He was angry but believes he can make it work, probably honor the rest of the deal just minus the marriage part.”
“Which was?”
“In exchange for the marriage, we guaranteed to protect that kingdom. They’re smaller than us, so they really have no choice but to take the amended deal because it at least assures them of safety.”
Kagome was so torn in that moment about what to do. She couldn't tell him the truth yet, not because she didn't trust him, but because she didn't want to burden him with it. If anyone were to find out who she really was, they might notify her parents and her life at the palace would truly be over with. It was selfish, but could anyone blame her? This was the first time in her life she's experienced freedom and happiness. Ugh, why’d she have to fall in love with Inuyasha? Why’d Inuyasha have to fall in love with her? Is fate always so cruel? First the idea of an arranged marriage, but now to be stuck in a forbidden one. Was she cursed? Were they both cursed?
“Y-You’re sure your father won’t hold this against me? Because I-It wasn’t planned. I never intended for any of this to happen.” The tears had begun to fall down Kagome’s cheeks at the enormous weight levied onto her shoulders.
“Neither had I,” Inuyasha wiped at the tears and cradled her cheek. “Neither of us could have controlled what our hearts desired.”
“But I’m scared Inu…”
“I swear on my life nothing will happen to you and if it comes to it, we’ll run away, far away and hide just me and you.” He leaned their foreheads together. “I don’t care about my title. I just want to be with you.”
“I wanna be with you too,” Kagome breathed out.
“Then have faith in our destiny.” Inuyasha tilted Kagome’s face up and swept his lips over hers, earning a shivering sigh. He then centered and placed pressure into a deeper kiss.
Kagome melted into the kiss as her fingers moved up and gripped to his shirt. Let her fears be damned in that moment, for if this earned her banishment in the end, just tasting his lips this once… she could die happy knowing she’d felt love. It was more than she ever thought she’d achieve in this gilded life.
“I’ll try,” she whispered an honest answer. “In you… I’ll believe…”
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twinkleimagines · 4 years
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✨The big fight✨
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Summary- you and Tom have a really bad fight the day before he leaves to film spider-man 3. He’ll be away for months before he comes back home and neither of you are sure the relationship will last.
⚠️⭕️ Smut and language ! 
( I didn’t double check this so excuse any misspellings )
“What the hell is this?” You hear your boyfriend of a year and a half yell from across the bedroom.
“What?” You yell back , not looking up from your phone while you’re laying across Toms couch.
“ my clothes are soaking wet and I have to leave for the airport in 30 minutes ! “ he yelled back walking into the living room with a handful of wet clothes.
“ why are you yelling at me for it?” You asked, getting an attitude because of his tone . 
“ because I asked you one simple thing!” He said throwing his hands up. “ I said please put my clothes in the dryer while I shower so I can just put them in my suitcase when I get out “ he said with frustration.
“ uhm you have a closet full of clothes chill out I’m sorry I forgot” you said shrugging your shoulders , going back to your phone .
     “ that’s not the point Y/N you never do anything around here and when I ask you to you still can’t get up and do it!” He yelled with frustration before walking back into the laundry room. You sat for a second, replaying what he had just said in your head. He knew that you had issues with some fans calling you a gold digger, claiming you were lazy and lived off of Tom for his money. He always reassured you that it wasn’t the case and he didn’t feel that way towards you, but now that he had made those comments you couldn’t be too sure anymore.
“ so what the hell is that suppose to mean?” You questioned walking into laundry room. You stood propped up against the wall while he starts the dryer waiting for his response.
“ what are you talking about? “ he snapped before brushing past you to the bathroom , packing more essentials.
“ I do nothing around here? “ you replied, referring to what he had just previously stated. He stopped for a second questioning what he was going to say next . You both were too pissed to just apologize and let your pride go so you knew this fight was about to get ugly .
" I mean I’m always on the go, always working whether it’s filming , interviews or something and I don’t ask you for much but I asked you to do this one thing and you couldn’t even do that.” He said looking at you with disappointment before walking past you again into the bedroom. You watched him pick a black t shirt out , putting it over his head.
“ yanno I may not be some rich famous actor but I pull my part as much as possible . I’m going to school, I do the online customer service job, anytime you need me to help you book something , or figure up your schedule- I do it. When you’re home I Cook for you, I clean for you, I do anything you ask me too. So I am sorry if I fucking forget to wash your damn clothes one time” you stated before walking out of the room straight into the bathroom. 
“Y/n” he said following you.
“ just leave me alone” you said as you sat down on the side of the tub, crying into your hands.
“ love let me in.. I’m sorry okay “ he said turning the knob some. “ i’ve just been stressed out and I don’t want to leave you. I have so much to get done and so little time that sometimes I get overwhelmed and I didn’t mean to snap on you” he sighed heavily , leaning his head against the door. “. And darling you are right I have plenty of clean clothes in the closet” 
“ no Tom I’m so tired of people talking down on me like I am some horrible gold digging girlfriend. “ you said looking at the door. “You were supposed to be on my side” you cried out, your voice cracking with every other word. 
Tom sighed heavily, laying his head against the door. “I am on your side love, I am just stressed out” he assured. “ please let me in I have to leave now”. He said turning on the door knob again. You knew you’d regret saying this but you did it anyways.
“ just go” you said lowly.
“ what?” He asked in disbelief.
“ go Tom!” You yelled out before crying into your hands again.
Tom looked at his watch and realized he was now running late.
“ I love you” he said , pausing for a response before walking back towards the living room and grabbing his stuff. You sat for a second , question if you made the right choice or not.
Of course not. You quickly ran to your shared bedroom and tossed on one of Toms t-shirts and a pair of joggers grabbing your phone. You grabbed the keys and ran outside only to see that Tom and his ride had already left . You tried calling him to tell him to wait but his phone went straight to voicemail.
“ shit!” You said out loud while you ran to the garage , getting into your car. Your nerves were shot.
“ what were you thinking y/n?” You yelled out hitting the steering wheel. His plan was set to leave in 15 minutes but you were about 8 minutes away. By the time you got there you left your car with the door open , running inside frantically searching for him. You were starting to panick. The place was so big you honestly didn’t have a clue where to look.
But then you saw him. In the security line . He looked upset but still managed to smile for the security guard while they scanned his bags. You quickly ran towards him about to call out his name when a guard grabbed your arm pulling you back.
“ ma’am !” He said stopping you dead in your tracks. “ ma’am you can’t just run around here where is your ticket ? What plane are you going to? Have you gone through security?” It seemed like his questions were just jumbling together as you tried your best to keep your eye on Tom.
“ n-no I don’t have a ticket sir I’m just trying to say goodbye to my boyfriend” you said looking back and forth between Tom and the guard.
“ okay I understand that but you have to go through security first to get to that section ma’am “ he said before swaying his wand around your body frame. You watched Tom grabbing his stuff off of the belt and you realized you were running out of time . You went to go towards him when the guards wand started beeping. You looked down in Toms pocket of his joggers .
“ sorry it’s just loose change” you said while pulling it out and showing him. He nodded and pointed ahead.
“ okay you can go” he said. You started to head towards Tom but when you looked he was no where to be found. Your heart dropped . You quickly ran that way towards the hallway leading towards the plane , you could see the back of his head and some of his security has he walked down the hallway.
“ TOM! TOM!!!” You yelled, trying to get his attention. But then you realized there were too many fans screaming his name for him to pin point you out. your shoulders dropped as you realized you weren’t going to be able to tell him goodbye.
The whole walk out you had your head lowered, tears falling.
‘ i really screwed this one up ‘ you said to yourself as you drove back home in silence. It always felt empty going home and knowing he wouldn’t be there, but it was so much worse when you didn’t even get to tell him bye. It was an empty feeling that just wouldn’t go away.
It had been a whole whopping week since Tom had left, and you hadn’t heard a peep from him. He had posted one time to his Instagram story saying the plane had landed in LA but that was it. Nothing. No posts , no calls no texts.
Was the relationship really over? Did your pride and ego ruin the best thing that had ever happened to you ? You sat on your shared bed contemplating on what was your next move. Do you pack and leave ? Do you just wait? Or do you chase him? All night long you thought about the pros and cons but you finally decided .
You managed to get in touch with his friend and other cast member , Jacob Batalon.
“ hello?” He answered .
“ hey Jacob it’s y/n!” You said excitedly that he answer.
“ oh hey what’s up ? Everything okay?” He asked.
“ yeah ! I’m sorry to bother you but me and Tom had an argument before he left and I wanted to surprise him and show up to really apologize for how I acted” you explained.
“ ohhhh” he said. “ so that’s what’s wrong with him, yeah that makes sense.” He said with a chuckle following behind.
“ what do you mean? Is he okay?” You questioned fearfully.
“ yeah I mean he just been pouting the whole week we’ve been here like he stays in his trailer unless we’re working. Everyone knew something was wrong but we didn’t know why. But yeah you needing a spot to come to?” He asked
“ yeah yeah! And please don’t tell him I really want to surprise him okay” you pleaded.
“ oh yeah no I won’t say anything ! I’ll send you an address!” He said before y’all said your goodbyes.
You had just gotten of the air plane in LA, a weeks worth of clothes in your suitcase. You were hoping things would go good so you could stay in a hotel near by so you had brought it just in case . You quickly covered yourself up, sunglasses , a wig and baggy clothes so no one would recognize you. It is after all LA and a bunch of Toms fans knew who you were. You quickly sent Jacob a text letting him know you landed.
“Okay you have about an hour and a half window to get here before he’s back in his trailer”
You quickly got a ride over to the filming spot where you met Jacob at the entrance . He pointed you in the direction to Toms trailer before going back to the stage buildings before anyone came looking for him. You had made it inside and instantly smiled. It smelt like Tom. You quickly undressed, and pulled out a black laced lingerie set. The top had padding, making your breast really stand out, lace strings crossing your stomach, down to lacked thongs, really making your butt look plump. The last thing was the high knee stockings you put on. At first you wanted him to walk in and see you with just your lingerie set on but then you decided if he had in fact broken up with you it would be really awkward to be standing there half naked. You decided to find Tom’s robe and put it on while you waited. You looked in the mirror in the trailer fixing your hair down and touching up your make up while you continuously checked your phone to see the time. And sure enough right within the hour and a half mark you heard the familiar ding from your phone indicating someone had messaged. Jacob had message to inform you that the filming was over for that day and that Tom would probably be on his way over. You started to feel butterflies forming in your stomach as you sat down in one of his chairs, crossing your leg over , trying to look as good as possible. You started to hear Toms voice but then you heard a female giggling. your stomach dropped. Who the hell is he with?
You sat up straight as you heard Tom turning the door knob before he walked in , a short blonde following behind him. He was looking back at her while walking in so he hadn’t noticed you sitting there.
“ uhm who’s that?” She piped up when she saw you staring at her glaring. You had never seen Tom turn his head so fast , his eyes landing directly on you.
“ y/n??” He said with half excitement and half shock. “ w-what are you doing here?” He asked stepping towards you still in shock.
“ looks like I’m leaving you said while standing up, picking up your bag. “ looks like you’ve got all the entertainment you need here” you remarked, pointing towards the girl.
“ what?” He asked in confusion looking back at the girl. “ wait no !” He said grabbing your arm as you tried to pass by him. “ we were just going to rehearse lines because we’re shooting the scenes with her in it tomorrow” he exclaimed. He sounded sincere but it also sounded like the perfect excuse.
“ good one Tom” you responded, glaring at him while tugging your arm back from him.
“ what is wrong with you? “ he snaps, stopping you in your tracks. The girl quickly ran out of the trailer, not wanting any sort of drama. “ first you force me to leave without an I love your or anything, you go a whole week without talking to me and then you show up to my job and accuse me of cheating !” He exclaimed in disbelief.
You sat back for a second. How dare he turn the tables on you.
“ this is not on me Tom! I sat at home alone every day waiting for you to call or something and you couldn’t even send me a single text message! And I came here to apologize and waited almost 2 hours in this trailer just for you to show up with another woman! “ you yelled back. You hadn’t realized in all this arguing , part of Toms robe had slid down your shoulder, revealing part of your laced see through lingerie . Toms eyes gazed over your perky nipples as your breathing was heavy from the adrenaline.
He took a step closer to you , looking into your eyes. “ I would never cheat on you” he said , his voice a lot lower than before. “ you’re my world and I was just trying to give you the space I thought you wanted” he said taking steps even closer to you. At this point you were only inches apart, you could smell his cologne and sweat all in one from working. You started to feel tingles shooting through your body.
“ give me space?” You questioned, trying to remain tough. “ I-I never wanted a weeks worth I mean cmon what kind of logic is that “ you chuckled trying to hide what Tom was so effortlessly doing to you. “ and I mean still what if I was dead or something and you’d just be shaking it up with some other gir-“ you were immediately cut off by Toms lips pressing against yours. You moaned unexpectedly, your body craving his touch more than you had realized.
“ just shut up already” he whispered before kissing you again, this time more rough. He nibbled on your bottom lip until you opened your lips, giving him access to kids you harder. Your tongues went back and forth while his hands pushed the robe completely off .
“Wow” he said while taking a step back, admiring your body.
“What?” You questioned. Slowly pulling your arms around yourself.
“ you’re just.. wow you’re just so beautiful “ he exclaimed before pulling you back in another kiss. You started walking back towards the chair that you were previously sitting on, pushing down on his shoulders making him sit down. His hand slid around your waist while you sat down on his lap, feeling his budge press against you.
“ I just missed you so much and I wanted to make it up to you for how I acted back at the house”. You said while kissing down his jaw line to his collar bone . 
“ oh yeah?” He asked, “ how so?” You grinned while removing his belt from the belt buckle .
“Lemme show you “ you suggested while pulling his shaft out . You felt him pulsating in your hands, jumping at the slightest touch. You pumped him a few times before wrapping your lips around the tip, rolling your tongue against it. You heard him suck in air through his teeth, making a hissing noise as you slip your mouth down further. You continued to move your hand up and down him while your head followed, squeezing as you went to the top.
“ fuck” he murmured holding tightly against the arm rail with one hand , the other squeezing against your head. You pushed yourself down further and further until you felt yourself gag, your throat clenching around him. He let out a long deep groan throwing his head back. He started lifting his hips , thrusting into your mouth as you bopped your head down. You could tell he was getting close by his heavy breathing and right squeezing against your hair so you sat up wiping at the crease of your mouth. You stared at him while you slowing un clipped your bra , slowly pulling it off of your arms before tossing it to the side. You looked down at his cock, watching it jump , needing some release. You grinned, enjoying the sight unfolding before you.
You turned around slowly before pressing your thumbs under the lining of your underwear, slowly lowering down to your ankles. You looked around you a little to see Tom pumping himself at this point while staring at your bare behind. You quickly sat up, shaking your head.
“ nuh-uh” you said while flicking your tongue. “ I do all the work tonight” you said while grinning, removing his hand off himself. You pulled his pants and boxers further down to his ankles before climbing back on top of him, this time letting him slide into you slowly. You threw your head back while moaning as you felt him all the way in you.
“ I love you” you whispered before kissing him, grinding your hips on him in back and forth motions. You leaned your head back again, one hand on top of his that laid on the arm rest, and the other squeezing your breast while riding him. His other hand was wrapped around your waist, pushing on your hips trying to get himself as deep as possible inside of you.
“ fuck baby” he moaned his eyebrows furrowed together watching your breast bouncing with each thrust you did. You felt you itself getting closer so you place your hands on his shoulders, lifting yourself up and down him faster. Your moans became so loud you knew somebody had to have heard you but at the moment you didn’t care .
You pulled his head in towards your breasts, while you grinded fast and hard against him, sweat beading down the side of your face.
“ I’m almost- I’m almost there” you moaned out as you looked down , watching him put his mouth around your nipple , swirling his tongue in circles. You felt the climax hit, letting out almost a squeal from feeling so good.
Tom quickly grabbed onto your hips pounding up into you filling you with his cum. You slowly rode out your climax with yo legs trembling before laying your head down in the crease of his neck.
“ you’re going to have to surprise me more often” Tom said laughing while you tried to catch your breath.
“ no shit” you responded laughing before attempting to climb off.
“ oh god” you said your legs wobbling.
“ you okay?l he asked as you flopped back down onto him.
“ I can’t stand up” you laughed, “ my legs are shaking to much” . He started laughing before kicking his pants all the way off, and picking you up, taking you back toward the bed in the back of the trailer.
“ so, how long do I have you for?” He asked laying down next to you, running his finger tips down your stomach.
“ all week baby, but next round you’re on top” you exclaimed while closing your eyes, grinning from ear to ear.
“ anything for you love”
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strawbunniiee · 3 years
Text
A Girl and a Ghost Ch. 2: Wandering the Trails
YAAYYYY I FINALLY GOT MY LAZY BUTT TO POST THIS
anyways, as promised i finally wrote a second chapter! i hope you enjoy it :)
@salamifuposey @monsterbride99 just lettin y’all know this exists sjjddkfkd srry for taggin yall so much hope u dont mind aa
It had been a few weeks after Jawaii had met Phantom, and she began to see him regularly. After her meeting with him, Phantom had secretly slipped a note in her pocket that had the lyrics of a special song. If she were to sing said song, he would arrive.
Some mornings, Jawaii would wake up feeling as if befriending Phantom was all a dream. Like it never even happened, it was all in her own mind. But alas it was not, luckily for her. They would explore the town and forests and just generally have fun with eachother.
Jawaii was discovering so many new feelings... feelings she had never really felt before finally having a best friend. Each one was just as wonderful than the last.
One morning, Jawaii ran to the forest, summoned Phantom and they began to talk about what they wanted to do for the day.
"So what do you wanna do today?" Jawaii asked eagerly.
"Hmm, I'm not entirely sure... but perhaps I could show you my homeland?" Phantom suggested.
"Ooh! What's your homeland like? I bet it's cool!"
"It's quite creepy, I'll admit, but it does have a nice atmosphere."
"AWESOME! Can you take me? Pleaaaase?" begged Jawaii.
Phantom chuckled. "Of course! Now stay close, I don't want you getting lost."
And so, they were on their way to Spooky Trails, Phantom's home. Jawaii kept constantly pestering Phantom on the way, asking if they were there yet. When they arrived, it was indeed quite a creepy place, but of course Jawaii didn't mind.
"Wow... so this is your home? You like, actually live here?" asked Jawaii.
"Indeed it is! Hopefully it doesn't creep you out too much though..." replied Phantom.
"Dude, are you kidding? This is the most amazing place EVER!" she yelled.
Phantom was a bit startled by Jawaii suddenly yelling. "Quiet down, you'll disturb the spirits. They don't like being disturbed." the ghost gently reminded.
"Oh. Sorry spirit people. You guys are super cool though!" Jawaii began to skip ahead, with Phantom catching his breath trying to catch up to her.
"You're quite a brave young girl, I'll say. Not scared of Spooky Trails, ghosts in general... it's quite a surprise! I never knew there was a human who enjoyed our company and wanted to befriend us... let alone a child!"
"Duh, of course I'm not scared of you. You're amazing! And I bet all the other ghosts are just as wonderful as you are." said Jawaii.
"Aww, why thank you! However... it's quite rare that humans actually want us around, you see. They're either terrified of us, see us as an annoyance, or want us gone."
Jawaii began to realize how much she had in common with Phantom. She knew he had told her something similar the day they had met, but she never knew that he too was hunted down and wanted dead.
"...Me, my siblings and my dad are all wanted dead. Just because we're "evil". We barely even hurt anybody... I know my dad destroys planets for a living, and I guess that can be seen as bad, bu-"
"Jawaii, dear, apologies for interrupting of course, and I don't see you any different or anything, don't worry, but your father does what now?" Phantom had never heard of such a thing. Annihilating planets for a job! Who would do something like that?
"He destroys planets for a living. Besides, Dad tells me it's an important job, because if there's too many planets the galaxy could get overpopulated and it would be bad." explained Jawaii.
"Ah... fair point actually."
Eventually they made it to a large gate. It had bars shaped like musical notes and a dial shaped like a full moon.
"This is the Moon Gate, beyond it lies my stage, where I reside." said Phantom.
"You live on a stage? That's really cool!"
Phantom smiled. "It's sort of the only "house" I have. I'm glad you enjoy the concept though!"
Jawaii ran up to the gate and pushed it, pressing her entire mass against it trying to open it.
"Why won't it open?!" Jawaii growled, frustrated.
Phantom effortlessly pushed the gate open with his hand. "There you go!"
"...WHAT?!" Jawaii stood there, staring at him with her jaw dropped. "How strong even ARE you?"
The ghost rabbit laughed quite a bit. "I'm the only one who can open the Moon Gate when it isn't a full moon, I'm not THAT strong, of course."
"Ohhhh. That makes sense." replied Jawaii.
They walked up the pathway that lead to the stage. It was an absolutely massive stage, but also looked quite old. The curtains were a torn and tattered, and the wooden floor looked very scratched up. There were strange blocks scattered everywhere, with seemingly no purpose. The place definitely looked like it had seen better days.
However, Jawaii adored it and stared in awe and wonder at it.
"Your house is awesome, Phantom!" said Jawaii, running off to explore the place.
"Thank you, my dear friend! It certainly isn't much, but make yourself at home."
Jawaii climbed up and down the pipes, examined all of the spotlights, and she even poked around in the wires despite Phantom begging her not to. Needless to say, she would have nearly electrocuted herself if it wasn't for Phantom.
He introduced her to many of the Peek-a-Boos and Spooky Trails Rabbids who also resided here. She enjoyed talking to them, and yet again, it felt so nice to have people treating her as if she wasn't a threat, just a normal child. She could never get enough of that feeling. It was so wonderful to her.
About an hour later, Jawaii sat down in boredom.
"I'm bored now." Jawaii mumbled.
"Well, we have been here for quite some time, so I could see why. Would you perhaps like to go somewhere else in Spooky Trails?" asked Phantom.
Jawaii's eyes lit up. "There's more of this place? Heck yeah I wanna go!"
Her eagerness made Phantom smile. "Well then, let's head off shall we?"
They crossed a bridge over a rushing river (which Jawaii threw a stick into), passed by a few giant jack-o-lanterns and fed some hungry crows a bit of (probably very stale) bread that they found. Then they came to an enormous manor, which looked abandoned and loomed over the forest.
But Phantom was very uneasy about this mansion.
"J-Jawaii, let's explore this mansion a for just a minute and then we'll turn back, all right?" said Phantom, his voice shaking.
"Wait, what's up? Are you all right?" asked Jawaii, with concern.
"I'm fine. Just... look around for a bit and we REALLY must go back. Besides, y-you must be hungry after all of this, we should get a snack!"
"...All right, if you say so."
Jawaii wandered around the front yard of the mansion. She picked some flowers, examined some mushrooms (she tried to eat one), and threw stones against the wall of the mansion.
Phantom floated up to her as she was throwing the stones against the wall. "...We really need to get going,"
"But wh-" Just as Jawaii was about ask why, she accidentally threw a stone straight into a window in the mansion. There was a loud shatter and a horrifying shriek. Phantom immediately jumped in front of her, hiding her behind his large, round body. A big, spherical ghost with a crown emerged from the wall of the manor. He had piercing, glowing purple eyes with a cruel, furious stare. He had sharp teeth, which were bared in fury.
His crown's jewel had a massive crack in it.
Oh my God. thought Jawaii, immediately realizing how reckless she had been.
"FIRST YOU TURN MY TROOPS AGAINST ME, AND NOW YOU DESTROY MY CROWN?!" the ghost with the crown shrieked. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS, YOU CRUEL, DISGUSTING FOOL. YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE TO ME."
Phantom quivered in terror, not knowing what to do other than to hide Jawaii behind him.
He gained the courage to speak. "I never turned them against you. I made them realize how horrible you treated them. If anything, YOU'RE the cruel one."
Jawaii knew she had to do something too. She couldn't just stand here and let the only friend she had possibly be harmed, or far, far worse.
She went out from behind Phantom. "I destroyed your crown." Jawaii said, staring the crowned ghost in the eye.
"J-Jawaii, no...!"
"WHO IS THIS LITTLE BRAT?! AND WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS, GOING AND DOING THIS TO I, KING BOO, THE RULER OF THE UNDEAD?" King Boo screamed.
"If you must know, she is my friend. And she is not a brat, you demonic marshmallow." said Phantom, still quaking, but trying to be brave.
Phantom's insult just made the king even more angry.
"ANGRY MARSHMALLOW? LOOK WHO'S TALKING, YOU OVERINFLATED BLIMP OF A RABBIT!" he screeched.
Jawaii came a bit closer to King Boo. "HEY! Nobody insults my best friend like that, you ugly hag!"
"...What did you just call me, you little DIRT GOBLIN?"
"You heard me loud and clear."
Unable to come up with any witty comebacks or clever responses, King Boo angrily sputtered out, "ALL RIGHT YOU TWO PESTS, GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE YOU BOTH REGRET IT."
Without hesitation, Phantom picked Jawaii up off the ground and flew off with her.
King Boo angrily cursed under his breath and went back inside his mansion, plotting his revenge on the ghost Rabbid and the young alien.
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jisungffs · 3 years
Text
coffee breath - felix.
words: 5.1k
reader: gender-neutral
genre: fluff
tags: best friend!felix x aromantic!reader, coffeeshop au, non idol! au, implied lgbtq!felix, minho is a minor character, minsung is mentioned. this whole thing is strictly platonic, none of this is meant to be romantic. just a cute fluffy fic honestly. the end has a little tension but not a lot.
warnings: THIS WHOLE THING IS PLATONIC, DON’T READ IF YOU WANT ROMANCE, swearing, multiple descriptions of food.
requested by @aritodla​, check her out, she’s an amazing artist and a really sweet person overall. 
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Lee Felix was a sweet boy. He had kind eyes, freckled cheeks, and an air of infectious happiness around him. He always tipped generously, he never got angry at the staff, and he always cleaned up after himself. Lee Felix was a sweet boy. And it was a shame all you knew about him was his first name and his coffee order.
 Even though Felix only started visiting your coffee shop a few weeks ago, you could tell he was a genuinely nice person. Everything about him was lovable.
Like the way he always said thank you after you took his order. 
Or like the way he gripped his coffee cup with both his hands when the weather was cold.
Or the way he had a billion stickers on his laptop, adding a new one every week.
Or the way his eyebrows furrowed when he wrote something down..
Or the way he nodded along when he heard music he liked.
Lee Felix was a sweet boy. And even though you didn’t know much about him, you really wanted to. Because Lee Felix was sunshine. And you were in need of warmth. 
It was a sunny day — one where it was warm enough to find solace in cafes and under the awnings of fashion stores, but not warm enough to make you want to curse out everything around you. The perfect weather, really. It was on this day that Lee Felix decided to wear his Twice t-shirt. It was barely noticeable — just a little white logo on the breast. It looked like a regular black tee from a distance. But you noticed. Because not only did you want to get to know Felix, you were also a huge fan of Twice. 
Felix gave you his usual order of a cappuccino and a chocolate scone and went back to his seat.  Felix liked Twice! You wondered who his bias was. Or what his favourite song was. It was really cool that Felix liked Twice right? You finally had something in common. 
You drew a little Twice logo on the coffee foam. You didn’t even realize it. It was pretty usual for you to draw about what’s on your mind, and your cafe didn’t exactly have strict rules about foam art. 
Felix was once again on his laptop today. You could recognize the colourful sticker-covered laptop from a mile away. His brows furrowed as he typed away, only getting up to collect his order. He was back in his seat and was about to continue whatever he was doing when he noticed the logo on his coffee, drawn on foam. His eyes widened slightly, his mouth broke into a grin. You noticed him getting his phone out and taking a picture before you had to attend to other customers.
-
It was a windy night. Felix was already in the cafe by the time your shift started, and was peacefully nibbling on a muffin while doing something on his laptop. His eyes never left the laptop screen. He checked his phone from time to time, but never spent more than a few seconds on it. From the looks of it, he was unaware of everything outside his screen and his table. 
The closing shift never had a lot of customers. It was just Felix, you, and a couple of regulars in the little cafe. 
And the regulars had already left by the time you were done cleaning up. It was five minutes until closing time, and Felix was still there, probably not knowing he was the last one there. You knew you had to tell him he had to leave soon, but you didn’t know exactly what to say. You weren’t the best at the closing shift.
You approached his seat awkwardly. “Excuse me…? Sir…?”, you said tentatively before gently tapping on the table.
Felix jumped slightly at the interruption. He quickly looked around the cafe. “Oh”, he said smally, “Am I the last one here?”
“Yes, and the cafe’s closing soon”, you said with a patient customer service smile.
“Sorry, I didn’t even realise”, he laughed. “I was working on some music and I guess I got carried away”
“Well,”, you struggled to find something to say,” If you like to sing, we have live music on Fridays”
What was that??? Who says that??
“I’ll keep that in mind”, he laughed, shutting the tabs on his laptop. 
His phone screen played the Fancy MV, connected to headphones lying on the table. He was probably streaming it, and your mind raced at the conversation starter.
“You’re streaming Fancy!”,  you said without thinking. You immediately cursed yourself for not spending more time thinking about what to say. He barely knows you, for god’s sake.
Felix didn’t seem to mind. “You like Twice?” Felix said with raised eyebrows and a goofy grin.
“I do”, you replied, mirroring his grin, “Chaeyoung’s my bias.”
Felix's eyes widened. “Wait a second!”, he said,  “Were you the barista who drew the logo on my coffee yesterday?”
“That was me!”, you said laughing.
---
It was a sunny day - the kind where you technically could go out, but it was just a lot more comfortable staying inside. You started mixing Felix's drink as soon as he came to the counter. Felix looked pleasantly surprised. “Guess I don’t have to order anymore”
“I mean,” you said with your eyebrows raised, “You do have to try other drinks at some point, you know? You’ve ordered the a cappuccino and a chocolate scone everytime you came here, and they’re not even that good”
“Hey!” he cry-laughed. “Don’t you dare say that about my cappuccino.”
“By the way,” you added, “I think you’ll like the music today”
Felix raised his eyebrows. His lips quirked up when he realised a lo-fi playlist of Twice songs played through the speakers. 
-
It was an average day -- the awkward phase between afternoon and evening, the weather so ordinary there was nothing to comment about it. Felix shaked his head as he reached the counter and saw you start to make his drink. “Oh I’m not having that today”
You raised your eyebrows, “Oh?”
“Yeah”, Felix said, fixing his posture and smirking. “I’ll have a black coffee, please”, he said in an over dramatic voice.
“Brave today, are we?” 
“Yes, and”  he said like a child boasting about his most recent tag game, “I won’t add any sugar to it”
“Oh boy”, you sighed, shaking your head.
Five minutes later, Felix’s (black) coffee was ready. Five and a half minutes later, Felix’s black coffee was at his table. You watched as he took his first sip.  His entire face scrunched up at the bitter taste. He noticed you looking at him. He gave you a thumbs-up, still wearing the most pained expression known to man. Felix should not drink black coffee.
It was a windy day, the thick grey clouds above threatening to spill over during the night. Felix apparently wanted to prove a point, seeing as he once again ordered a black coffee (no sugar).
“But you hated it yesterday!”
“Clearly you didn’t see the thumbs up”
“Yeah, I was too busy looking at the agony on your face”
He pouted, “But I want a black coffee~”
You sighed. “This will be your villain origin story”.
Not surprisingly, Felix had the same expression of disgust as soon as the black coffee touched his lips. Still not surprisingly, he kept up the cool-edgy-guy-who-drinks-black-coffee schtick.
-
It was a cool yet humid day - the most polarising weather possible. It was a lonely afternoon with hardly any customers in the coffee shop. It was a weekday afternoon, after all. Felix came into the store wearing a black hoodie and a smug grin.
“Please don't tell me you want a black coffee”, you said even before he fully got to the counter. The boy clearly hated the bitterness, but wanted to prove a point anyway. 
“Hey, this was your idea!”, he laughed.
“We have more than cappuccinos and black coffee, buddy. We don’t have to go into the extremes right away”
“Well I’m hoping that if I keep drinking the black coffee, I’ll get used to the disgustingness.”
You shook your head and laughed. “Tell you what,” you clapped your hands together, an idea hitting you. “I’ll play around with some ingredients and make you something I think you’ll like.”
“Ohhhh”, Felix said. "That sounds fun"
"Yes and maybe it'll help me add drinks to the menu too", you grinned.
"I shall not show you mercy, O worthy opponent". Felix spoke with a British accent, bowing to add some flair. 
You played around with steamed milk, vanilla syrup, espresso, chocolate powder, and sugar. Plus whipped cream for good measure. A few minutes later, the drink was ready. Felix came up to the counter and looked at the drink in mock apprehension. 
"I call it the Felixir", you said, . "Get it? Like Elixir?"
Felix let out a laugh. 
“I know. It’s dumb. But!”, you said, "I played around with a bunch of stuff I know you like. It has chocolate, espresso, whipped cream and some other stuff. I have no idea how it tastes, but my barista senses told me this would be nice".
"I trust your barista senses". Felix took a sip of the Felixir.  Whipped cream made a button on his nose. Felix's lips curved into a smile. His half-moon smile shined through. "Your barista senses rock", he said, punching the air.
"Do you like it?"
"I LOVE it. I don't know how you got my favourite ingredients so spot on."
You laughed. "Barista instincts, my friend". 
Felix took another sip, holding the cup with both hands.
"Anyway," you continued, "this one's on the house. You deserve it for enduring the black coffee".
"This is so much better than black coffee", he babbled. "Black coffee has so much caffeine in it?? I was practically vibrating all of yesterday". 
"Black coffee is for people with a lot of shit to do and not enough energy to do them", you agreed. "This one has espresso too, and also a shit-ton of sugar, so you might still vibrate today, just letting you know."
"I'll take being a popular kid's iPhone if it means I can have whipped cream and caramel and the other stuff".
-
It was a sunny day. Ladies in sundresses waited for their dates outside the cafe. 
“Not a lot of people here, huh?” Felix commented.
“It’s a weekday afternoon, what do you expect? Only teenagers on their lunch breaks come here. And you, for some reason”
“How could I stay away from my favourite barista?”
You rolled your eyes. “Since you’re here anyway, let’s talk. I’m bored.” Was that too blunt?
“Cool, what do you wanna talk about?”
“The meaning of life, God, or Twice. You pick”
“Trick question, Twice is God and the meaning of life”
“You’re too smart”
Felix stroked his hair back, “I know”
You roll your eyes. “What are your favourite songs by them?”
“Literally their entire discography, but Fancy or TT if I had to choose”
“Fuck yeah. Those songs are queens”
Felix looks at you approvingly. “We should hang out sometime”
-
It was a clear day. Trees danced around in the wind. Another afternoon where there was hardly anyone in the little coffee shop. Felix ordered his Felixir once again with a cheery tone. You spent some time cleaning up the kitchen and rearranging the items on display. Felix was waiting near the counter once you got done, absent-mindedly checking his phone. He put down his phone and gave you a bright smile when he noticed you coming back.
You smiled back. “What’s the occasion, bub?”
“Nothing, I’m just a little bored and I wanted to hang out with you”
“Well, there aren’t a lot of customers so I guess that works out perfectly”
“How’s your day going so far?”
“It’s pretty boring, to be honest. Maybe I’ll watch a movie when I get home. My shift ends in like half an hour.”
“Whaaat? I was planning to watch a movie too! I live right upstairs, actually”
“Really? That explains why you’re always here”, you laughed.
Felix laughed back. “I have nothing to do today”. Felix gave you an expectant look.
Oh. 
“Me neither”, you said casually. “Do you think we should watch something together?”
“Yes!” He giggled. “I know I’m not the best with invites, but  I’m glad you picked that up”
“Honestly, I’m surprised I got that. I’m really awkward with invites too”
“More reasons to be friends, then”
“We live closer than I thought, by the way. I live across the street. It’s a five-minute walk.”
That afternoon was a pleasant one. Breeze played with the little children on the street. Felix and you were sprawled on the couch, mindlessly watching the trashy movie on TV. An orange cat ㅡ his roommate’s apparently ㅡ decided to laze around on Felix’s lap, his hand absentmindedly stroking its soft fur. 
“Why are early 2000s movies so much more dramatic than they need to be?” Felix commented.
“Right? I remember watching this as a kid and it wasn’t half as bad”, you replied
“So it’s true then. Adulthood only makes things go downhill”
“Hey now you’re the one being dramatic”
“Wrong, I’m always dramatic”
“Your apartment is pretty nice, by the way.”
“Thank you. You’re free to come over whenever”
“Won’t your roommate mind?”
“Not really. Minho’s out most of the time and he brings over his friends all the time too.”
You smiled. “Hey also,”, you said. “Since we live pretty close by, we can hang out at my place some time too!”
“That sounds great”, he smiled widely.
-
It was a cool day. Most of your patrons huddled themselves in hoodies and cardigans. Felix ordered his drink before giving you a curious look. “Did you come to the cafe yesterday?”
“No, I didn’t have a shift. why?” you asked, slightly thrown off.
“Oh that explains it”, he said, “I came in yesterday and you weren’t there. The other barista didn’t know how to make my drink. Or even what it was, actually. And," he paused, "I missed talking to you”
An embarrassing smile crept up your face. “That’s so sweet”, you said, barely audible.
Felix was about to walk back to his table when you said “Hey actually,”
Felix turned around. 
“I downloaded a really awful movie yesterday. Wanna make fun of it together at my place?” you said, just a little hint of nervousness in your voice. “My shift ends soon. But like, you don’t have to if you’re busy or something, we can always-”
“I’d love to,” he smiled. 
The evening was breezy as you and Felix laughed over the hilariously, excruciatingly bad movie.  Felix and you bonded very fast, apparently. Felix was resting his head on your shoulder. It felt so… natural. It was effortless. And comfortable. It was as though your bodies just did what felt familiar to them. You felt Felix’s body shake every time he laughed. You added sarcastic retorts every now and then, Felix joining too. The movie was terrible. But this moment with Felix was beautiful. 
-
It was a breezy summer day, about a month after Felix came over.
 Loving Felix was easy. It was second nature. Felix just clicked with you. The line between friends and best friends blurred quickly. And based on how much he spammed you with messages and how much he visited the cafe and how diligently he memorized your schedule and how many times you hung out,  he loved you too. 
Your phone buzzed.
felix:
are we doing anything today?
 maybe
im in the mood for hot dogs i think
oooooo should we go to the park then?
yes !!
after my shift sounds good?
yesss
(ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*.✧
You used to find those emoticons cringey until Felix started using them. Now, it was just fucking adorable.
(。•̀ᴗ-)✧
The park was a few streets away. It was a big one. Preteens ran around and played frisbee with their friends or their dogs or their parents. But the two of you luckily found a park bench ever-so-slightly away from the noise and the chaos. 
As you sat there talking about nothing and everything, you quietly took in Felix's features. His skin was radiant in the setting sun. His freckles, darker from the sunlight, looked like little flecks of chocolate. His eyes lit up whenever he talked about music. Or cooking. Or you. His cheeks rose and fell with his words, his eyes crinkling up when he smiled. 
It was a beautiful moment. You lay your head on Felix's shoulder, half lost in thought. The sun painted the park in a subtle shade or orange. The kids around the park laughed and jumped, being loud and being kids. Felix had stopped talking by then, too busy taking in the sunset. His head rested on yours, your hands almost touching. It was a beautiful moment. But moments with Felix were always beautiful.
-
It was a cold night. You snuggled into your blankets, intently watching something on your phone. 
Your phone buzzed. Felix sent you a meme.
you:
???????? why are you awake
it's 2am
go to sleep
why are YOU awake ????????
im watching something 👉👈
im just reading fics and stuff akdkkdj
what kind of fics 👀
they're fluffy stop making everything dirty
i can't stop me (by twice)
sjskksksjjd
oh also
do you make the brownies and stuff?
or is that someone else
in the cafe i mean
that's me babeyyyy
why tho
i like them :D
:"D
baking w you would be fun 🥺
🥺🥺🥺
im good at baking
and so are you
but maybe we should yeet away the recipes and do whatever
baking is supposed to be precise tho :(
if it fails we eat the cookie dough and erase the whole thing from our memory
nice
i mean
im supposed to be precise with the cafe stuff too but the Felixir wouldn't exist if i followed the rules
now you're getting it
when are we doing this?
buddy
we live five minutes from each other
just come over whenever
fuck planning
im *this* close to straight up giving you my keys
me too tf
hell yeah
also this isn't distracting me from the fact that you need to sleep soon
i feel kinda sleepy actually ngl
sleep.
okay 👉👈
gn !! ily
and please sleep soon aksndn
ily2
 okay :]
-
It was a clear, pleasant afternoon, your curtains swaying in the breeze. The smell of freshly made cookies wafted through your apartment. Felix sat on top of your counter, his legs swinging. Felix took one of the newly-made cookies into his hand and regarded it intently. “Looks pretty good so far. It’s a little bit hard but that’s obvious, we added a lot of ingredients and didn’t adjust the flour properly”
“So much for experimentation”
“We did add a lot of fun stuff though, so my money’s on it tasting good”.
You both bit into a cookie. It was… alright. It wasn’t bad, but you expected it to taste a lot better or a lot worse. You both gave each other disappointed smiles. “Underwhelming.”
“But hey! It wasn’t bad!” Felix added.
“True. Still thought the cookies would be more… more. You know?”
“I know. But who cares about that?” Felix put his arm on your shoulder, “Making this with you was the most fun I had in a while and I couldn't care less what they ended up tasting like.”
You let out a small smile. “I love you”
“And I love you”
You looked up at him. His soft brown eyes were warm with affection.
“Now,” Felix continued, “The cookie dough’s gotta be better right?”
You laughed. “The cookie dough is chocolate sludge at this point”
“Yeah, maybe using M&Ms as chocolate chips was a bit much”
“Probably. But let’s race. Whoever finds the most M&Ms in the dough wins.”
“I already know I’m winning”.
-
It was a drizzly night. Streetlights reflected on the wet asphalt outside Felix’s apartment. Felix and you had decided to have an impromptu sleepover. It was almost 3am, both of you slightly delirious from the caffeine and the staying up. You were yelling at the TV, desperately trying to get your character to do something, damn it. Felix just smirked beside you, his character easily attacking yours. He was choosing not to kill you quickly, which was almost more annoying than dying straight away. It wasn’t long before Felix won the game. You pouted in annoyance.
“Maybe I should start killing you quickly so you won’t be loud and Minho won’t yell at us for making noise”
“This game sucks”, you pouted.
“You’re just new to it. Did you know you can do twice as much damage if you press B after you attack?”
“Really?”
“Yeah! And do you know how to dodge?”
“No” you said like a kid admitting to breaking something.
“Why did you make me skip the tutorial?”, Felix laughed.
“The past is in the past, Felix. How do I dodge?”
Felix spent a few minutes teaching you which buttons do what and which attacks are effective when. It only took a few slightly frustrating runs before you almost came close to beating him. Maybe he was going easy on you, but that didn’t matter. It was fun. 
“You are learning, my protégé”, he said approvingly.
-
It was a chilly evening. Old white sheets lay spread out on your bedroom floor, your furniture haphazardly moved to the living room.  Felix had texted you earlier that day, promising to help you paint your room. You were almost done painting half a wall when you heard his familiar deep voice. “Hey! Missed you.”
“Missed you more”, you smiled.
“What do you need me to do? How may I be of assistance?” he curtsied.
You rolled your eyes. “Just grab a paint brush and do that wall over there. Just make sure it's even and don’t get any on your clothes.”
“You say that with a million paint splatters on you”, he laughed. 
Felix got to work. Neither of you really talked. It seemed that Felix was lost in thought, letting his hands do the painting. But it was fine. Because moments with Felix were always beautiful, even the silences. 
You were finished with your first wall when you decided to play calm music on your phone. Soothing guitar chords filled the silence. 
It was hard to keep track of time. Five songs? Six songs? Maybe an hour? Both of you had made a lot of progress with the walls. It didn’t matter.  What did matter was Felix. Halfway through the third or fourth song, you noticed Felix singing to himself.
 It was barely audible, he probably wasn’t even aware of it. But his voice was soothing. And soft. 
You had never heard him sing before. You wished you did. You could listen to it forever. Felix’s singing voice felt like sweaters and cozy winter days. 
You didn’t say anything. You knew he’d be embarrassed if he knew you noticed. But the rest of the painting session gave you butterflies, to say the least.
-
It was a chilly day. Felix was hunched over his stovetop making ramen while you dramatically read out a fanfic to him from the table. You just finished the kissing scene when Felix let out a disappointed sigh.
“I know right?” You commented.
“I don’t get it. Don’t you think they’d make way more sense as just friends?”
“Waaaay more sense. I feel like the kiss scene is just so unnecessary.”
“I don’t get why writers think everything should have romance in it. I mean, love is friendship right? I mean, for me, it is.”
Your heart stopped. A smile crept up your face. You continued reading out the fanfic, but you didn’t focus on it at all. Because Felix said love is friendship. Love is friendship. Love is friendship!
-
It was a cold night. You were all bundled up in bed with a hoodie and a blanket. Felix was on the phone with you, refusing to hang up despite being half-asleep.
“Seriously Felix, you can’t even keep your eyes open”
“Mm. But I want to talk to you”, he yawned. His half-asleep voice was deeper than usual and very quiet.
“Alright bub. What do you want to talk about?” You started to feel sleepy too. 
“I don’t know. Maybe how amazing you are?”
You laughed. “Fuck off”
“No but… your hair is so soft. And your coffee is really good. And you’re awesome. What the heck. I love you.” he said. He spoke slowly. You could tell he was almost asleep. 
“I love you too you beautiful bastard”
You were met with the sounds of soft breathing.
Felix was very endearing when he was half-asleep. 
-
It was a rainy day, rain knocking against Felix’s living room windows. Felix shared a blanket with you atop the couch. You leaned on Felix, your head on his chest. His heartbeat  synced with the rain on the window. Felix’s arm draped your side. Both of you focused on the movie in front of you. It was a good one so far. The plot was well written, and the actors were doing a good job. 
A door creaked open behind you. Felix and you turned to look at the source.
Felix's roommate, Minho  entered the living room. He looked well dressed in a leather jacket and chunky black boots. "Do you think Jisung will like the jacket?", he asked Felix.
"He's gonna love it", Felix replied, smirking.
“Alright, I gotta go”, Minho said, picking up his umbrella and walking to the door. He looked at you. “Sorry we couldn’t talk today, y/n, but have fun with your boyfriend”.
He was already out the door before either of you could protest. Felix looked at you awkwardly before turning back to the TV. Felix was not your boyfriend. And clearly he wasn’t very comfortable being called that. To be fair, neither were you.
 “I’m sorry about him”, he sighed. Both of you looked everywhere but each other.
“Don’t be," you said, “ I know people think we’re dating because we’re comfortable with each other and stuff.”
“Right. But hey, you’re my best friend and you always will be.”
You smiled. “You too”.
It was nice being best friends with Felix. Everytime you’ve been this close with someone, they all seemed to expect more. They all seemed to expect romance. But that just didn’t work for you. Romance was weird.
You’re my best friend and you always will be. 
Felix wouldn’t mind, would he? Probably not. But what if he’s mad you didn’t tell him yet? What if he thinks you don’t trust him? Or maybe his whole view on you will change and maybe he won’t like you after that. What if that happens?
You’re my best friend and you always will be. 
You’re his best friend and you always will be. It’ll be alright. It’ll be harder the longer you wait right? 
What if he really will be mad at you though? He’s your best friend, why haven’t you told him yet?
A mere few seconds passed before you shifted off his chest. Felix sat up, sensing your tension. He paused the movie. "Y/N?"
Fuck it. It’s too late to ignore this now. You looked into his eyes before turning away.  “I’ve been holding off on telling you something.”
Felix’s voice filled with concern. “Tell me.”
You took a breath, trying to keep yourself from panicking. You were too nervous to look at him. “Minho joked about us being together and I know neither of us see each other in a romantic way, but I just… I don’t know why I haven’t told you this yet. But… it’s not just you. I don’t feel romantic attraction to anyone. I’m aromantic.” 
Felix put his hand on your shoulder and moved closer to you. Your thoughts were still racing, your heart rate still high, your breath still shaky. You were still too nervous to look at him.
You kept going, “I haven’t told you this. I know. And I’m sorry. But you’re still my best friend and I hope you don’t think I don’t trust you or something. I love you, okay? I just… I guess I just don’t like coming out. But I just had to today for some reason. I’m sorry if this makes you view me differently.” You thoughts were still racing after you said what you wanted to say. Your hands shook slightly.
And Felix noticed all of that.
He put his hand on top of yours. “Y/N”, he said gently.
You hesitated, then looked at him. His eyes were warm. His smile was understanding - the smile of someone who’s done this before. The smile of someone who’s already dealt with the emotions you were having. He gently pushed your head back onto his chest. “Breathe with me.”
His chest raised as he took a breath. You closed your eyes and took a breath too. He let it out in a few seconds. So did you. He took in another breath. 
Felix spoke softly. “Coming out is hard. Even if it’s to someone you love. What you just did there takes so much courage. And I’m so, so proud of you. I love you so much. And our love doesn’t have to be romantic for it to be deep. I love you. And nothing will change that.”
You buried yourself in his chest.
 His chest rose and fell with every breath he took. You breathed with him. His heartbeat was calming. 
 I love you. And nothing will change that.
“Thank you.” you said. “For everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“Felix?”
“Yeah?”
“Is it weird?”, you said quietly, “That we’re always so close together? I really like being with you. And hugging you. And cuddling you. But I won’t do it if it makes you uncomfortable.”
“No. It’s not weird. Not to me. I love this. And we can do this all day long without it meaning anything more than friendship.” Felix gave you a forehead kiss. “Besides,” he said, “What good are best friends if they don’t give you hugs?”
You hugged him tighter. “I love you so much”
“I love you so much too.” His voice was warm and kind and understanding. You didn’t bother holding back the tears. 
Lee Felix was a sweet boy. And Lee Felix was the sun, giving you warmth and love and reasons to wake up. Lee Felix was a sweet boy. And the universe was a thing of beauty to let your love shine through.
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a/n: this took a really long time to write bc of personal stuff im sorry, but this req made me realize i was aromantic skaskdlkdlk :’D. remember my requests are open so feel free to request stuff from me and i’ll try not to take eight years to do it. take care yall
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ilovebeing-weird · 3 years
Text
K-pop craze
Batfamily one-shot (fluff)
Read this on Ao3
It all started when Dick heard Blackpink for the first time. Ever since then he's been obsessed with the K-pop group. And the main problem? The main problem is that Dick dragged Damian into the fandom too!
Now you must be wondering, 'what do you mean? It's Damian, the Ice-prince, he can't like Blackpink. He is just too…...icy for it'
If it would've been some months ago, I would've totally agreed with you. But, now, things are kinda different. Different? How? Don't worry all of your questions will be answered.
It was a normal morning in the manor…… well as normal as it could be there. Damian was fighting with Tim, nothing new there, Jason was… he wasn't there. Cass was looking at the two boys with interest. Bruce had that, 'Why did I adopt so many children? Oh right, because I am dumb' look on his face and was pinching the bridge of his nose. Alfred, who was so done, was trying to stop them from fighting. And Dick, Oh right, where was he?
That's when he came down the stairs chirpy and happy as always, with, wait is that earphones? When did he start using those? Well, living in the manor, you gotta use something to cut the noise.
He came down saying something that Bruce couldn't quite make out. Wait, why was he saying about killing Love? Did he have another Break-up Bruce didn't know about?
"Good morning Dick" that caught his attention
"Oh, good morning Bruce!" He replied happily and chirpy, nothing seemed wrong. Why was he killing Love then?
"So, how has your life been chum?" How is life? Can he be more lame than that? It's his own son goddammit! He has been living with him for years now. Even Tim and Damian stopped fighting to see how lame he was.
"Life's been pretty good."
"Anything new I don't know about? Like something major? A break-up maybe?" What the hell! Now, he would guess something is definitely wrong, and if he didn't, he would be damn disappointed in him.
Dick's brows furrowed in confusion and he looked at him weird-that's his boy-but answered anyway, "not really, Wally and I have been going pretty strong. I am even thinking of proposing to him."
He couldn't hold it longer, he just asked the question "so, why are you singing about killing this love?" There, he said it.
"Killing this Love?..... Ohhhh, I am not killing Love because I am upset or betrayed, I am just listening to Blackpink. It's a great k-pop group!"
"K-pop? What's that?"
"Bruce, you don't know what k-pop is?" This time it was Tim "I mean I get you're old and all. But k-pop, everyone knows about that!" Cass agreed with him. "Now I understand where Damian gets his sense of music!" Damian attacked him again.
Is this k-pop thing such a big deal? Why hadn't he heard about it before? How dare he call him old? Is he really getting old?
"Oh B, you really need to be aware about what's happening nowadays."
"Well, what is this k-pop."
"K-pop are korean songs, and groups like Blackpink and BTS made it famous."
"What's this BTS now?"
"Nothing, Nothing." The rest of the morning went peaceful with Tim with a stab wound made with a fork on his arm, and Damian with a bruised lower jaw and swollen eye.
"Damian~"
"What do you want Grayson?" Damian asked annoyed
"Wanna listen to some songs~"
"-TT- Is this your stupid Black group that you were talking about? No."
"First of all its Blackpink, secondly pleeease." Dick gave his best puppy eyes.
Damian groaned, no one and he means, NO ONE is immune to Dick's puppy eyes, and the worst part, Dick knows it. "Fine, but Grayson I am going to listen to just one of those atrocious songs."
"Yayy!" Dick squealed like a fangirl. "You won't regret it!"
"I will." Damian grumbled, after all his and Dick's choice in song never matched.
So Damian listened to the song. And, the worst thing, he liked it. How could he!? He's Damian Al-ghul Wayne. He doesn't like these types of songs. There must be something wrong with him. Yet, he found himself sometimes unintentionally singing the lyrics of the song.
He decided just, just to get the song out, he will listen to it again. And he did, but unfortunately the song still stayed and he couldn't get himself to forget it. Rather, he wanted to hear it again.
So, he decided that he will listen to that song, in private without telling his brothers or his father. But, he forgot that his family is full of detectives, or just decided to ignore that fact.
It was one of those rare days when Jason was visiting the manor. Dick and Tim were whispering to each other.
"Hey Dickie-bird, Replacement. Whatcha whispering about?"
"Damian" Tim answered
"What did Demon-spawn do now?"
"He is behaving weird." Dick answered looking concerned
"More than usual you mean?" Dick just gave him a look
"It's like he is trying to hide something."
"Do you think he has a girlfriend?"
"Nah, who is her right mind would date him" Tim answered making a weird face
"Fair point."
"Well, anyway, we gotta figure out what he is hiding."
"Maybe it's just his hormones." Tim and Dick looked at Jason "What, he is a teenage boy, everyone has that stage."
"Uhh, let's just hope it's not that."
"Want me to investigate?"
"We shouldn't invade his privacy."
"Dickhead, you wanna know what he is doing or not?
"Yeah, but….."
"You wanna know right, so no buts!" Dick still felt like he should not do it. "See, take it like you're saving your little bro from danger. Maybe it's Talia again. Maybe he is a clone. Maybe he is doing something illegal. So don't worry and feel sad 'kay?"
"Okay."
So Jason searched, he searched his room, bathroom, under his bed just what was left was his closet, and he didn't want to open it. What? He respects people's privacy, he knows how bad he will feel if someone invaded his privacy. Still, he opened the door of his closet and what he found was something he will never forget.
That person is a Blackpink stan! The fuck! How does he even know what it is!? Is he finally growing up!?
Whatever if Damian thought it was good he had to give it a try. Maybe he will like it. Damian rarely thought anything was nice.
He didn't tell anyone what he found. He just told them to dump their concern out of the window and that he is totally not hiding anything.
So, Jason did, he gave it a try. And honestly, he thought it was adequate…… okay, find, he loved it! But, can you blame him? Dude, they are so amazing, their voices are so bold and so are their dances! He is in love with that band. He could listen to it for hours without getting bored.
Now, Dick was concerned, Damian was still hiding something. Yeah, he was hiding something, no matter what Jason says. And Jason was also acting weird, yeah, he didn't live with them in the manor, but he checks up on him regularly. What? You can't blame him for caring! And not only him, even Tim felt something was fishy.
So, he did what any big brother would do. He interrogated him.
"Okay Damian, you're hiding something. Don't try to deny it, I know you are."
"-TT- I am not hiding anything, Grayson. Now let me go!"
"No can do little D, you haven't answered my questions yet."
"I already told you I am not hiding anything! Don't you get it!?"
"Damian I am your big brother, I would know if you are hiding something."
"If my words are not comprehensible for your small brain, let me break it down. I. Am. Not. Hiding. ANYTHING."
Dick sighed "Guess I will have to use my special trick."
"What special trick?" Damian asks a little wary but doesn't let it show because emotions are a weakness and blah blah blah.
"I am going to give you a last chance if you can find out for yourself."
"My answer will not change. No matter how many times you ask me."
"Okay well, you forced me." Dick runs towards Damian ready in a stance "1, 2, 3 and here comes the tickle train!!" Damian tried to run away but Dick was faster and caught him and started to tickle him.
"Grayson…. let….. me…. go….. at…..once." Damian said between laughs
"What are you saying Lil'd, I can't understand you~"
"Grayson…. Leave me!!"
"Whaaaat?~" Dick has the audacity to look innocent, just you wait, there will be consequences for your little stunt and they would be bad. Damian just laughed and laughed trying to grab his dagger or anything that will get him rid of this, but Dick was smarter and already took all of his weapons, How and when? Only he knows that.
Bruce and Alfred passed the room and smiled seeing them behave like normal kids. They didn't know the truth.
"Grayson...... if you…..if you……. don't unhand….. me at onc……. once….. you'll…...you'll regret it!"
"Not until you tell me what you're hiding~"
"F….fine."
"Good." Dick got up from him but still kept a hold on him so he can't run away or try to hurt him. "So, you gonna tell me, whatcha hidin'?"
"I-I….." Damian started to think of an excuse that would let him free ".......do drugs."
"No you don't." Dick wasn't even shocked, if he was being honest he was expecting it.
"Fine….." Damian grumbled "You remember that pink group you told me about?" Damian's face was red with embarrassment
"Blackpink?" Damian nodded "yeah, what about them?"
"I-I…...listen…..to it." Damian was now fully red
"Oh my god! Dames I am soooooo proud of you." Dick kissed Damian's cheek. To which Damian responded by trying to hit him.
"-TT- if this news is known to anyone else, I am gonna kill you."
"You can trust me with your secret Li'l D. No one's gonna know it."
-TT-
Dick went to one of Jason's safe houses to tell him that yeah, Damian was indeed hiding something. That he was NOT paranoid or crazy.
When he went inside, instead of Jason's annoyed voice what greeted him was music blasting from speakers. And it was not any normal music, it was BLACKPINK, so Jason knew what was Damian hiding.
"Jase!"
The music stopped in an instant. Trying to keep his voice leveled, but failing miserably Jason answered him "Yeah, what do you want Dickhead?"
"Come out please."
"Co-coming." Coming out he was greeted by Dick standing on at the gate with his arms folded and feet tapping.
"So, you knew?"
"Uhhh, knew what?" Jason tried to keep his cool and tried not to show his emotions on his face. Honestly, he was not doing so well. Considering the fact that he worked with BATMAN you would think he would be better at this.
"That Damian was hiding something."
"Yeah?"
"Oh Little wing." Dick unfolded his hands and went towards Jason "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want you to make fun of him or me." Jason moved his face to the side.
"Look at me." Jason looked at Dick's eyes and what he saw was comfort. "Do you really think I would make fun of you or Damian just because you like Blackpink. Hell! I am the one who introduced Damian to it!"
Jason wasn't honestly surprised. Damain would never hear their songs by himself. Smiling Dick kissed his forehead, which was a little farther than he could reach so he had to stand on his tippy toes.
"I would never make fun of you just because you like something. Okay?" His eyes told him that he was stating the truth. Nodding he backed off
"Okay, now tell me why you're here." He tried to keep his image as the emotionless asshole. Which Dick knew he wasn't, because Dick knew how you're feeling always, but at least he tried.
"Uhhh…..I honestly forgot. Anyway, do you have something to eat?" Chattering they went towards the kitchen.
There was peace, and it felt good.
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Text
Humans are Space Orcs, “Family Drama.”
I did not sleep in today, and have written you a story.
Warning: there are a few mentions of drugs and addiction, but not a ton
He had never felt so defeated.
As the Taxi door opened, and he stepped out onto the quiet residential street he had to hold back his shame and kept his head high. What would his family think? Should he even tell them? Well of course he should, that wasn’t an option anymore. If he wanted to make them proud he was going to have to make himself ashamed for a little while. 
Waffles whimpered at his heels.
He looked down at her with a small smile, “Alright, alright, you’re right, I’ll shut up.”
He rubbed her ears and walked up the concrete stepping forward onto the grass as a group of kids whirred past on hover-skates. They turned upon seeing them, voices suddenly raised pointing and waving at him as they rolled past.
He raised a hand to wave back, but quickly turned to the front door.
There was no way he was ready to interact with people that weren’t his close family.
He walked up the step and held out his implant to the door, it would open when it knew it was him.
The lock clicked, and he reached forward ready to finally relax and let off some steam.
The door clicked open, and he was immediately assaulted by a wave of sound.
“ADDIE!” He was grabbed around the shoulders and pulled into a massive crushing hug. It took his brain way longer than it should have to figure out what was one person, but then again, there was only one person he knew who called him Addie…. Like a fucking dog.
“Uncle Ben?” he grunted 
The man set him down on the floor and slapped his back. Below him Waffle growled nervously, but she was ignored, “It's been YEARS. We had no idea you were coming.”
The sound of kids screaming reached his ears and a t least five of them came rushing into the hallway.
“Hey that’s not fair, I wanted to be a pony too!”
“But I was one first, you can pick something else.”
Uncle Ben turned, “Hey everyone! Guess whose back!” His legs swiveled uselessly under himself as he was dragged through the hallway and into the living room, where the entire extended family seemed to be crammed. 
He blinked as the group turned into an uproar upon seeing him.
“What is that on his face?”
“Did you really lose a leg?”
“It’s been so long?”
Aunt Marry got up, “Lost all your baby fat finally.” He winced as she grabbed him and pinched his cheek, which wasn’t really for pinching anymore, or honestly had never been, but when he had more of a baby face she had always done that.
“Tell us about space!”
He was shoved onto the couch with Jeremy on one side and Grandma Vir on the other.
Jeremy gave him a look.
He grimaced back as Waffles crawled under his feet resting her head on Jeremy’s shoe.
“Where is dad?” he muttered to Jeremy, and his older brother leaned in to whisper, “where do you think. Hiding in the garage while mom entertains.”
“Coward.” Adam replied with some amusement.
That was just like their dad to avoid all extended family, even his own.
“Wait, wait, everyone calm down, our little Addie is Commander of the UNSC. You all remember when he was just a little guy who used to believe in flying saucers.”
Adam crossed his arms over his chest. Uncle Ben had always made fun of him as a kid.
His grandma looked at him from across the room, “What is that on your face?” She repeated.
He sighed, “An eyepatch grandma.”
“Why are you wearing an eyepatch.”
“Because I lost my eye.” He sighed.
She put a hand to her chest just as his mother came walking into the room, a Trey in one hand an apron tied around her waist and her hair pulled back in a messy bun. She looked more than a little frazzled.
“Martha, why didn’t you tell us he lost an eye!” She sighed, “Because I didn’t want to worry you mom.”
“How is the army still allowing you to command a ship with a missing eye?” Uncle Andy wondered 
“He flipped up the eyepatch and the mechanical tech hopped to life nearly freaking out as it tried to track all the faces in one place all at once.
Gasps, “IS that a mechanical eye!”
“Yes.”
His other grandma put a hand over her face, “and he used to have such pretty green eyes. Now look at them, he looks like one of those cyborgs! Did you know some of those people intentionally cut off their limbs to look more like that.”
Martha sighed, “That’s not how it works mom.”
His Mother’s sister waved at him from across the room. He smiled back, he had always liked her, “I love your eyepatch, it looks cool.”
Her husband grinned, “Space pirate.” he nodded sagely.”
Adam tilted his head across the room where he found  David and Jordan squished against one wall sitting on the floor Jordan mostly sitting in David’s lap as they tried not to take up any space.
His brother grimaced at him, he grimaced back.
His mother's father leaned forward his steel grey hair and serious face set, “So tell me Adam, what are exactly your duties in the UNSC.”
The entire family rolled their eyes at once, some not even discreetly. He only got involved in conversation if he considered it “useful” and that meant all of the thing other people didn’t want to talk about, money, religion, politics, family history…… 
“Er, well Uh.”
“After commanding an entire fleet of ships you would think he’d be better at public speaking.” Uncle Trevor announced from where he was hidden behind the piano.
Adam frowned and cleared his throat, “I am fleet commander of fifteen UNSC deep space vessels for both exploration and military combat, but my primary directive is to foster good will with alien races , and save others from destruction, subjugation and slavery while expanding our knowledge of the universe through prolongued deep-space exploration.”
“Ohhhh his directive!” The rest of the family oooooed as well, but it was mostly sarcastic in nature.
His niece, Kimver walked into the room and crawled up to sit with him and Jeremy leaning against both of their arms as she played on her handheld. Kimber’s new obsession seemed to have shifted into vintage gaming. Glancing over her shoulder he could see her throwing tiny white and red balls and strange looking animals and a very pixelated screen.
“Have you met any sexy alien ladies.” Ben butted in
The rest of the family raised their eyes to the sky. Grandma looked almost offended.
“Ben would you stop with that.” His wife muttered from where she sat on a chair in the corner.
“What the whole LFIL thing is legal now, so he totally could have met some sexy alien babes.:
“It’s not a joke Ben, those people had a rough time of it the past few years.” David piped up from the other side of the room.
“Why the GA decided to legalize that behavior is a mystery to me. The world really is getting more wicked.” Grandpa muttered,
Adam clenched his fists, “Actually, Grandpa, I convinced them to lift the ban.”
The room went very quiet very suddenly.
Adam wished he had just shut his mouth.
“You what!”
“Look I spent a lot of time around LFIL members when I was securing the GA hall from protestors. I met a lot of them, and they are just good people who want to be left alone to do what they want. So yes, because of my position I was able to walk into the GA council chambers and convinced them to lift the ban.”
They stared at him.
“But what they are doing is wrong, it’s like bestiality.”
He felt his fists clench, “Grandpa if you ever met an alien you wouldn’t say that. They are sentient being that can consent, and if they can do that than it isn’t bestiality, and also stop calling my friends animals. My ship is staffed by some of the best alien crewmembers I know, and I wont have you comparing them to cattle or dogs or whatever else you want.”
The room went quiet.
Grandpa stepped out in a huff.
HE sighed and leaned his head back against the wall with an audible thud.
His mother walked over and handed him a stack of cookies with a smile on her face that said: Sorry about that.
He took the cookies greatfully shoving one completly into his mouth to avoid saying something else stupid. 
“So, does this mean you DID find a sexy alien girl.” Ben wondered and was immediately elbowed in the ribs from two sides  producing a grunt of surprise.
“So Jeremy, how long have you two been dating.” Adam looked over Jeremy’s bulk towards where a petite red haired woman with grey eyes and a sprinkling of freckles across her face was squished into the other side of the couch.” 
Sensing him looking, she waved a hand with a bright smile, and he waved back.
“Almost a year now.” Jeremy beamed putting his arm around her.
“Should we be expecting an announcement from you two soon?’ 
Everyone groaned, “Grandma!”
Jeremy’s girlfriend took it like a champ and continued to smile unaffected.
“Speaking of relationships.”
Dear god please descend from heaven and rapture him straight to hell, not that, that's how it worked but anywhere but here would have been great
“Adam, when are you finally going to settle down, how old are you now 25?”
He wondered if he prayed to satan hard enough he could summon a demon to swallow his soul whole.
“I know have you ever even dated anyone”
“Kissed anyone?” “Kissing is fun, you should definitely try it sometime.”
“You're grandmother definitely needs more grandkids.”
Oh the irony, the thought bitterly to himself.
At his feet the dog whimpered.
“You know there is this really pretty girl who works down at the corner store, I think she might do really good for you, a very down to earth girl. You could get promoted into a better paying desk job at the UNSC work 9-5 it would be a dream.”
Jeremy placed a hand on his shoulder, “Actually, Adam is more of an action guy, right Adam/”
Adam gave a weak smile, “Yeah.”
“Oh, he’ll grow out of that, besides you wouldn’t want to put a family under that kind of stress. It’s like you’re never home.”
“Space is my home.” He grumbled 
“Don’t be silly, humans weren’t meant for that sort of thing, besides your obsession was cute as a kid, but now that you’re older, you really need to start thinking about the future and having kids before you’re too old.”
He wanted to scream and bash his head against the wall.
“You know what though, how about that cute younger guy that works at the DMV, he looks about your age Adam.”
“I’m not interested in having a family right now!”
The room looked at him quietly, “You asexual or something?” Uncle Ben piped up awkwardly.
Adam felt his face go red, what kind of question was that? No, no uncle Ben I am not horny, or yes, yes uncle Ben I would love to find some hot person to plow just not right now.
And in front of the entire family?
Because he really wanted to have an extended discussion about his sex life with his entire extended family.
Waffles whimpered at his feet.
And then like an angel she descended from the sky to save him, either that or a billowing superhero cape like the saint she was. He couldn’t decide, angel or superhero, but decided on both.
Supermom, and part of her costume is angel wings and a halo.
“Adam why don’t you take waffles outside, she sounds a little nervous. Maybe take her out through the garage?”
He nodded and bolted to his feet like there were rockets firing from his ass, and hurried towards the door with the dog trailing at his heels.
Voices faded behind him, and he quickly hurried through the door and into the garage, where he found his dad sitting with Thomas on a set of lawn chairs drinking cold sodas and watching the clouds pass overhead.
They turned as they heard the door open.
“Adam! We didn’t know you were coming, pull up a chair.” 
He did so and unfolded it between the other two men sitting down as Thomas handed him a drink.
“They drive you off too?” Thomas grumbled 
Adam looked at his brother. Thomas was looking a little better than usual. His hair was only a little bit scruffy and his scraggly beard was at least trimmed. The tract marks in his arms had faded to pale scars on his arms.
“Yeah, uncle Ben asked about my love life in front of god and all his creatures. You?”
“Rehab. “
“I thought you were out of rehab.”
“I am, which is why I would rather not talk about it.”
“You doing good?”
“Yeah, got a stable job now, so that’s nice, go to meetings twice a week. One more month and I'll be six months sober.”
“Awesome, congrats.” He paused, “You know what, bet I could get you a job as a stuntman if you wanted.”
Thomas laughed, “Maybe I'll take you up on that. Once this job bores me to tears, which it will.”
“Did grandpa bring up LFIL.” Dad asked turning to look up at him
“You know he did.”
“He’s been meaning to ask you. He’s worried that spending so much time up in space has confused you.”
Adam snorted, “Don’t stargaze to long dad, the stars will make you extrial.”
“So that’s what dark matter is.” Thomas muttered and the three of them laughed. Waffles had climbed up on the chair with him and curled up on his legs to fall asleep.
“So what are you doing back here?” Dad wondered, “I thought you had just taken time off.”
He sighed, “Yeah… but things got complicated….” He paused, “Ever feel like no  matter what you try to do you keep failing at it.”
Thomas raised a hand “You mean my life.”
More laughter.
Then he got serious again, “Been so stressed lately that I can barely function as a person, has the UNSC questioning whether they should ground me or not. My friends set up an intervention, and it turns out that I am a raging control freak.”
“Could have told you that.”
“You got that from your mother.”
He glanced over at thomas, “What do you mean, could have guessed that?”
He shrugged, “Come on Adam, did you ever do anything you weren't sure you could do properly. Like riding a bike, or swimming, or how you threw a fit if we moved literally anything in your room, or how you had to have everything arranged on your plate before you ate it, or….”
“Yeah yeah ok. But I’m a fighter pilot, that's kind of not-”
“Yeah that is the most control freak job ever. You have to be in so much control that traveling at more than three times the speed of sound won’t kill you. Imagine the amount of control you need to fly in formation without killing everyone.”
“Alright I get it.” He grumbled.
“So what, you try to do everything yourself?” dad grunted 
He turned to look at the older man, “how did you know?”
“Every school project you ever worked on in a group, but you just ended up doing the entire thing.”
“I thought that’s just because the other kids were lazy and weren’t going to do their jobs.”
“Or because you wouldn’t let them and they just gave up on trying.” Dad responded 
Adam sighed and sunk back against his chair, “I had no idea.”
“Welcome to personal growth, how may we kick you in the balls.”
He sighed, ‘I just, how can I be a leader without losing my identity and becoming boring and stuffy. How can I still… I don’t know, be happy and have fun when I have a job like this…. Or am I just not meant for it.”
Dad waved a hand, “You were born for it, but you need to remember that while, most of the time, you can be friends with the people you work with sometimes you need to stop being their friend and be their commander, which entails doing some things that aren’t so friendly. At the end of the day it is a ship, so you have to make them and allow them to do their jobs, fun comes later.”
“How am I supposed to reduce the stress?”
He glanced at thomas who shook his head, “If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t be a recovering heroin addict.” 
“You just have to find something you love doing, and then take a little time every day to do that thing which you love. Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out.” 
He sighed and looked out at the deepening sky.
He really hoped so 
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