#because they’d get bored staring at one thing for more than a few seconds

[dobodleaday]

02.16.23 In opposite to LittleShy is their big sibling, Not Shy Enough 👁️

Trying out shading with a limited palette

#creature feature #character design #// eye contact #contrary to their design #they couldn’t win a staring contest to save their life #because they’d get bored staring at one thing for more than a few seconds

[nnnyxie]

BAE I’M COMING THROUGH W THESE I SWEARRR, can’t remember if I already sent one but I got one I think is cuteee idkkk (I despise anything I write at all)

The BEST THING JUST TICKLED MY BRAIN, HEAR ME OUT

Izuku x Fan!reader, BUTTTT🤭 Reader is from our world, definitely possesses a bunch of merch of specifically Izu and one faithfull day they decide to listen to maybe a shifting meditation, more as a joke than seriously but the hope still gnaws at their heart. You can imagine the disappointment as they wake up in their own room☹️ but as soon as they open the door…boom ✨Ua dorms✨ they slam the door shut before opening it and slamming it shut again and again staring in disbelief before squealing, and rummaging through their closet to find a uniform :DD then being introduced to the class and realizing they don’t speak a word Japanese and panicking slightly, we just need a tiny bit of struggle🤞

And ofcourse trying (and failing miserably) to keep the fangirling at bay

It should have to be in the early days of class 1A so that they seem just a little more creepy for loving them so much, but also so they can predict a few things and then just say that that is their quirk :) like random visions

They don’t actually have a quirk but using their knowledge of the manga to their advantage :3 idk does that make sense??? And IMAGINE meeting Izu for the first time…reader just being a mess and Mina quickly picking up on it…reader being bi dosen’t help as Mina comes close to tease them and they grow Almost as pink as her…GJEKDKSKSK (I’m soo gay for Mina and jirou it‘s insane) okay I think I should stop I’m just writing whtv at this point but alsoo HIM SEIENG YOUR DORM or catching a glimpse of his pro merch??? The figurines??? He’s actually be SO weirded out but also curious??

Bonus: reader actually is the mc of a very very unpopular secret underground exclusive manga that Izu happens to be a huge fan of and he goes crazy when he sees them and first thinks they only look super similar and just can’t be around them because he‘s do flustered…one day either he or you is sick and Aizawa asks who could bring the sick one the notes and Izu/reader volunteer a little too fast🤭 so when they then see the room…littered with merch of them…wjdiwnykdnkxks I’m insane

Sincerely, Izu anon<3

#𖢥 izuku anon

WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT BECAUSE THIS

THIS IS GENIUS!!!! I WANNA EAT YOUR BRAIN!! /POS

okay so this roughly takes place before the stain incident BUT they’re in the dorms bc canon divergent is my thing /j

the day was slow and boring and you were curious!!

so you turned up that music and focused on shifting to the mha universe!! which failed the first time— but you weren’t gonna give up!! no no no. you tried again!!

and you succeeded. very successfully.

you didn’t realize you had— because your room was still the same! but that was until someone knocked on your door! you thought maybe it was your parent/guardian or sibling! but nope! it was aizawa and nezu!

you had no clue what your story was as to how you got here— did they somehow already get a random explanation? or what?

you were honestly so nervous— shaking from it all.

“come with us!” nezu smiled and motioned you to follow the two.

after a silent five minute walk, you reached a private room.

“you can’t go back for a while. you know that, correct?” nezu asked. you looked at him nervously, what did he mean? “i’m sorry? i don’t understand.” you tried feigning innocence but it didn’t work. they both gave you a ‘we aren’t dumb’ look.

“how did you know?” “we aren’t stupid kid, we know who belongs where. who is from here and who isn’t.” aizawa’s voice was firm and tired. “look— i didn’t think this wouldn’t actually work. i mean— it failed the first time i tried. how was i supposed to know it’d be successful the second time?” you were quick to defend yourself, afraid that maybe they’d lock you up in a cell until you were able to go back ‘home’.

“don’t fret, child! we’d just like to propose a deal,” nezu was snuggled up in aizawa’s scarf, it was kind of adorable. “what— what would that entail?” you were wary— you knew he was a good…. person? animal? whatever— you knew that he was good but, you were still afraid. who wouldn’t be?

“you know what happens here, yes?” you nod your head. “then, you’ll act as our help. your quirk is vision. you will tell us what happens before it happens” aizawa waves his hands in explanation.

“and for my side..?” “we’ll get you home.” “okay.”

the next day— you’re introduced to the class “before we go in, you need to understand that you cannot fangirl or whatever they call it. you need to pretend you only know them because of the sports festival and your visions.” aizawa had you at his desk while students piled in. good lord did it take everything in you to not scream.

“we have a new student, introduce yourself then take that seat behind midoriya.” aizawa pointed to the pretty green haired boy that you loved.

after a quick introduction, you were very quick and eager to take the seat behind him. “welcome to UA!” he gave you that smile— the one you loved so much.

after class, everyone was quick to come up to you— excited to know about your quirk since you hadn’t said what it was during your introduction.

“what’s your quirk? how does it work? what’s your hero name? do you have any special moves?” izuku was close in front of you— you could die right then and there. you were incredibly flustered—

“well— uhm… my quirk is vision and uh— well it’s what it sounds like… i have visions so i can see what happens before it happens…”

“how’s that even useful to us!?” bakugo, the asshole, yelled. while you did like his character— he was annoying sometimes. so, you just rolled your eyes and ignored him. opting to answer everyone else’s questions. he, of course, got angry at this. “don’t ignore me, brat!” he grabbed your collar and lifted his hand. “can you stop?” you asked in a rather annoyed tone.

honestly— this baffled everyone. but, izuku— izuku was thoroughly impressed— he even had a little crush on you now. ;)

as more time passed, work studies came. aizawa paired you with iida— after you let him know of the stain incident he had all heroes on guard and wanted you to make sure iida didn’t run into him.

now. the incident. you did EVERYTHING in your power to make sure iida stayed away— you kept him from the alleyways, watch his moves, etc. but still, he found stain.

then— izuku showed up. you knew he would at some point, of course. “midoriya, you need to go!” iida yelled, you were tending to native’s wounds. since your ‘quirk’ was just vision. you carried first aid equipment with you. he wouldn’t leave— you knew that. but, you wanted to at least try. maybe this time it could be different? maybe this time he’d leave and get help?

“please— izuku you’ll hurt yourself! i’ve seen it!” he ignored you, of course he did. he was a stubborn hero in training after all. “i have to help you both!” and with that— he attacked.

you saw as the hero killer paralyzed izuku, you felt so— powerless. you wanted to do more. you needed to do more. as stain was about to take another stab at iida— you moved to protect him but, todoroki showed up just in time.

the fight was long. and hard to watch— it was always difficult to see. all three characters you loved were getting hurt and you couldn’t do anything. but, you saw iida do everything in his power to force himself up— it was admirable, he was learning to do what was right and you loved that scene. then you remembered— stain would throw his knife to hit todoroki and iida would take it. iida doesn’t need more injuries.

“move!” you yelled as you shoved the two of them, the knife went through you. just above the heart, though it seemed like it struck directly into it. “you idiot!” todoroki yelled at you, and izuku looked horrified. he felt sick. he was angry. that gave him all the fuel he needed to activate his quirk.

the pros arrived as soon as the two took him out, izuku rushed to you, ignoring the yells of the heroes. did they not see you bleeding out? how could they just ignore you like that? it only angered him more but, he knew he needed to calm himself. it’d only make the situation worse.

you were put in a different wing— you needed surgery for your wound. it was deep and there were specs of his blade in you.

the surgery ended up having you on bed rest, so you weren’t able to attend classes. it sucked but at least you had your sweatshirts for comfort— your deku sweatshirts for comfort.

there was a knock at your door, then it opened. you forgot to lock it. though— you didn’t think much of it anyways, it was probably aizawa bringing you your work. which, you wish you didn’t have any.

oh. now you wished it was aizawa bringing you your work.

izuku walked in with a few papers in hand— the light from your opened window displayed all of your merchandise. oh no.

he looked— well, his expression was… mixed? he looked, confused, unsettled, happy???

“uhm— izuku— i can uhm— i can explain!” you sat up quickly, forgetting you were injured, your mortification overpowered the pain. “that’s— that’s me…” he pointed at a figurine. he turned around in a circle, taking in all of your items. then, he faced you. you, who was wearing a deku sweatshirt with a small plush of him on your pillow. “i—” his eyes were wide and his brows were scrunched, you were embarrassed— no— that’s an understatement.

“so… i was right…” he mumbled to himself. “what do you mean? you were… right?”

he rushed to the door— closing and locking it, then threw your papers onto your desk.

“you aren’t supposed to be here! i was right!” he exclaimed in joy. “i can’t believe it— you— oh my god i was—” he threw his hands up in the air then planted them on his head, he was being confusing— i mean, shouldn’t he be freaked out?? “what do you mean you were right!?” you asked louder— while you loved that he was happy, you wanted to know how the hell he knew!

he sat next to you, “you’re not— you’re not us. you’re supposed to be— you’re not supposed to be here!” he pulled out his phone, showing you a picture of… you? “this is amazing! i just— i can’t believe it. i mean, i knew you looked familiar, you sounded familiar, you acted familiar. but, i didn’t want to be wrong.” he was mumbling again, it was cute.

“am i…?” “you’re my favorite character!” he exclaimed. he was beyond happy— he was beyond thrilled.

“how did you get here? did you build some kind of machine? no that would’ve happened in the manga… what did you do? is this why the manga suddenly stopped?” he held your hands, wanting answers. you swear he was trying to kill you, his sweetness was almost suffocating.

“well uhm— there’s this thing called shifting where i’m from and uh… i did it and succeeded, i guess. i didn’t think it’d work but uhm… yeah. it did.” you felt a bit shy, was that weird? wanting to shift into this world? “so why did you want to do it?” he squeezed your hands, he was excited. should you tell him why? should you tell him it’s because you wanted to see him? would that be weird? that’d be weird, wouldn’t it? well— nothing could be as weird as… this.

“i uhm… i wanted to uhm uh see you.” god you wanted to die right then and there. “me? like— me me?” “uhm yeah… there’s no one else here…” he blushed— oh no he was weirded out— he must be. this was the end for you. “that makes me happy.” he whispered as his blush deepened

oh. oh. OH.

i hope this was what you were looking for!!

i had fun writing it!! i wanted to incorporate the stain fight bc it’s one of my favorites!!

#my hero academia x reader #boku no hero x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #izuku x reader #midoriya x reader #deku x reader #/ᐠ - ˕ -マ works — ♡︎ #♡︎ — izuku anon

[eomayas]

Can you write cold/hot bodyguard baekhyun and his s/o? Reader is really fall in love with him but she is shy. 🥺🥺

a/n: i think i may have misinterpreted this, but i hope you like it! thank you for the support, your request, and your patience. ❤️

the bodyguard • bbh [req]

pairing: bodyguard!baekhyun x celeb!reader

genre: fluff, angst

synopsis: reader has a small crush on her bodyguard, and they share a moment together.

warning: unrequited feelings, mentions of anxiety and poor mental health

you made it a point to know everybody on your team: hairstylists, makeup artists, photographers, stylists, your driver, etc. you also have made it a point to try and keep your staff for as long as possible, unless they express that they’d like to go elsewhere, or they break the rules you have set in place. so far, you’ve only had to have two new people for every position in the last seven years, except for one: your bodyguard.

your bodyguard, baekhyun, has been the most consistent person in your hectic life, and he does his job well. he’s the only one who hasn’t given you any problems—you’re the problem starter in this relationship—and generally stays out of the way and out of your business when he doesn’t need to be in it.

he’s great, to say the least. he only has one major flaw, and it’s that he has to go everywhere with you, all because you made a little mistake two years ago.

you went out to get some snacks, driving yourself rather than calling up your personal driver because it was 2am. you didn’t want to be a nuisance, just wanted to go to the corner store for a few things. all was going smoothly, until you accidentally bumped into somebody on your way out, and they saw who you were and followed you back to your house. luckily, you were just renting the place for a few weeks so it wasn’t actually your residence, but it was enough to set off alarms throughout your team, thus upping the security around you and making baekhyun go with you everywhere, no matter the time or place. he’s always there.

the both of you sit in the back of the SUV that’s taking you back to your hotel from a fashion event. baekhyun stares out the back window, stoic, and you can’t help but look at him for a brief moment. he’s a man of few words, never really talking unless he’s spoken to. everybody on your team really respects him and his dedication to keeping you safe. if anything happened to you, nobody would even look at you, they’d question him immediately and he’d be fired in seconds.

sighing, you pull your feet out of the heels you’re wearing and wiggle your toes. baekhyun glances over at you, but goes back to gazing out of the window once he sees that you’re fine. you know as much about him as he’s let you; he’s 31, lives alone, and likes dogs. he's kept it pretty surface level with you, and it makes sense because his job is to protect you, not to be your friend.

but sometimes, you wish he'd let you in more, would talk to you more. like now; but he's too busy brooding in his seat to talk. you let out a little breath and look out your own window. you spot a fast food restaurant and smile. "excuse me? could you pull over there?" you ask your driver, leaning over the middle console. he nods and you sit back in your chair.

"where do you want to go?" baekhyun asks, looking over at you. he always has a hard stare in his eyes, ever since he was hired seven years ago. they're always daring somebody to mess with him, to mess with you. his eyes bore into yours and you give him a small smile and tell him. baekhyun grunts as if to say 'ok', and turns back to the window.

like mentioned, he's not a man of many words.

over the course of these seven years, you've grown fond of him, grateful for him for caring about you more than you feel like he should. he cares about you—for you—in a way you don't think anybody else has. he'd put his life on the line for yours. and maybe it could be called a crush. maybe.

the driver pulls the car into the fast food lot, and you ask him to pull over and let you out. “what are you doing?” baekhyun asks, looking at you, his eyes narrowed.

“inside?” you say, pointing with your thumb to the restaurant. he shakes his head and you sigh. “it’ll be quick. i swear.” you say.

baekhyun shakes his head and leans forward. “no, y/n. sir, take us through the drive through, please,” he says, and cuts his eyes at you, daring you to tell him otherwise. but you know you ultimately call the shots, and so pop your seatbelt off, daring him to not follow after you, because you know he has to and will.

the driver doesn’t move, just unlocks the door and lets you get out, baekhyun in tow. you gather your dramatically poofy ballgown in your hands so it doesn’t drag on the pavement. you nearly jump when baekhyun gently, but firmly, grabs onto you elbow and leads you inside, blockading you with his body from everybody in the restaurant.

the attention isn’t immediate because of him protecting you, but once you’ve been spotted, it becomes a mini swarm. baekhyun barks orders at people to back away from you and to give you space, and while he does that, you manage to order food for the both of you. you’re not really sure what he likes, so you get the same thing for the both of you, sans drinks.

after you order, the swarm seems to grow, but bakehyun still forces people away. you didn’t think it would be that big of a deal, but like always, you underestimate just how famous you are. sometimes you just truly want to be a normal 26 year old, doing normal 26 year old things, but the lifestyle you live doesn’t warrant that.

when your order is called, the person behind the counter thanks you for coming in and asks for a photo, which you graciously say yes to and pose. one selfie leads to several people shouting your name for one, one person even running around bakehyun and the crowd to get to you.

they grab your arm and shove a camera in your face, a big smile on their lips. you smile and try to pull your arm away, but they only hold on tighter. panic signals go off and you grimace, your eyes looking around for baekhyun who wards off people, his back to you.

all you wanted was food, and to maybe say hello to some fans, but now a surge of anxiety is coursing through your body and your chest feels tight and the lights are too bright and everyone’s voices are too loud. you want to scream, but you know you can’t, and their grip on your arm is too tight and there are too many phones out. you feel like a zoo animal, and all you wanted was fast food.

you hardly register baekhyun appearing before you, his hand on the shoulder of the person who was previously holding onto you, their grip taken away by baekhyun who shoves them away from you. baekhyun grabs onto your waist and pull you out and away from the restaurant, and all but throws you into the car. you don’t even have your food that you ordered, but you don’t even care. you can hear your heartbeat in your ears, and your skin feels like it’s too much for your body.

baekhyun stews in the corner, practically turned all the way around so his back is facing you. he stares out the window, a fist clenched on his leg. he’s pissed; at you and your stubbornness, the swarm, the situation. you weren’t prepared to go in there with just him, you needed st least one more form of security with you.

you make it back to the hotel quicker than you expected, and get out. you thank your driver and then baekhyun leads you into the hotel, a hand on your back.

he leads you to the elevator, where he finally lets go of you and puts a few feet of distance between you guys. you sniffle as you wait for the elevator to arrive, wiping under your eyes. it still feels like there is a weight on your chest.

you step into the elevator when the doors slide open, and lean against the wall. baekhyun presses the floor you’re both staying on, and stands in front of the door with his hands clasped in front of him.

when the doors open on your floor, baekhyun steps out and waits for you to do the same. his hand is back to its place on you, guiding you through the hall to your room. you pull your key out of your clutch and let yourself in. “could you unzip my dress for me, please?” you ask, stepping out of your heels and tossing your clutch on the bed.

baekhyun curtly nods and steps into your room, letting the door close behind him. you turn around and wait for him to grab ahold of the zipper. you hardly feel him behind you, only when the material of the dress doesn’t feel so tight and your back gets cold. you hold the front of your dress so it doesn’t fall, and you thank him before going into the bathroom to change.

you step out of your dress and pull on a bathrobe securing it tightly. you grab a makeup wipe and wash off your face, discarding it in the trash when you’re done.

you leave your dress in a heap on the floor and exit the bathroom, not expecting baekhyun to still be in your room. big he is, awkwardly lingering by the door with his hands in his pockets.

he looks over at you when the bathroom door closes. “are you… are you alright?” he asks, clearing he throat. you shake your head and he rolls his shoulders back. “are you going to be alright? do i need to call jangmi?” he asks. jangmi is your manager, and she definitely cannot know about you minor anxiety attack earlier.

you shake your head again, staring over at baekhyun. he looks down at his shoes and looks back up, like there’s something he wants to say. “i’m gonna head out,” he says at last. he pulls open the door and you stay standing in the middle of the room.

“thanks for… earlier,” you say and he stops to run to face you.

“it’s my job,” he says simply, and you nod. that’s all you are to him; a job, a task. a problem. but to you, he’s a protector, someone you care deeply for because he has to care about you. for you, it happened naturally. for him, you wrote his checks. “goodnight, y/n.” baekhyun says.

“wait,” you cross the threshold to him, holding the door open. he stops and looks down at you, his signature look on his face: stoic, unreadable. “can you stay with me? just for a little bit?” you ask, hating the vulnerability in your voice.

bakehyun surveys you, taking in your mental state and the tone of your voice. this definitely goes beyond the description of his job, providing comfort, rather than safety. but he can’t help the soft spot that he has for you, the one he’s had for you for a long time now.

he nods, once, twice, and then takes a step towards you, making you move out of the way so he can enter.

you let out a breath of relief, and follow him to the small hotel table. he takes one of the chairs, moving it a few feet away while you take the other, bringing your feet up onto the chair.

baekhyun watches you from the other side of the table—not in a creepy way, or like he’s assessing you, but like he’s waiting for you to make the first move, or say something. but you dont. you want company, not necessarily conversation. so you only look back at him.

you revel in how you still feel completely safe with him, when maybe you should be on edge about being in such an intimate space alone together. even his piercing gaze is comforting.

baekhyun stays with you throughout the rest of the night, the two of you moving in mostly silence, even when you order room service. and it’s only when you lay down, and he can confirm that you’re asleep, does he slip out of your room. but not before he leaves a note that says: sleep well. hope you feel better —B.

#exo #exo imagines #exo scenarios #exo x reader #exo x you #exo baekhyun #baekhyun fluff #baekhyun x reader #baekhyun scenario #baekhyun angst #baekhyun fic #baekhyun fanfic #baekhyun imagine

[whoreteen]

in her shadow (chapter I)

➸ pairing: jeonghan x reader. ➸ word count: 5,2K. ➸ status: ongoing. ➸ genre: angst, slow burn, romance, idol!au, strangers to lovers, fluff, humor, forbidden relationship!au, mutual pining. (+ smut in upcoming chapters!) ➸ summary: you never were the one to fall in love but, just when you think you might’ve found the one, he turns out to be your estranged bitch of a sister’s fiancé. you and jeonghan both know better but, he can’t help but wish he’d met you first, thinking you’re a far better match for him than she’d ever be. #trusttheprocessordon’t

series masterlist ✿ main masterlist ✿ next chapter ✿

“Why do I even have to go to this thing?” you complain, your hand fluffing your hair a little.

You know it’s a big deal - like, it isn’t every day that your older sister gets engaged, but still… you don’t see why you had to go. You don’t like Nina, not really, and, have no interest in meeting her latest ‘fiancé’. You don’t see the point. She’s flighty, never stays with one man for very long and, even if she’s engaged to the latest one, you honestly doubt it’ll last. She’s famed for her wandering eye and, is definitely sure to get bored soon enough.

“Because she is your sister,” your dad says matter of factly, his hands shepherding you.

“And? We all know she’ll get bored in a few weeks and call her ‘wedding’ off,” you remark, making your way through the swanky hotel lobby. It’s Nina’s trademark, flashy parties celebrating stupid little things, and you’re honestly getting more and more bored of them.

Since you had turned 18 years previous, she’d been engaged to three different men, something which irked you. You’d had just one boyfriend in those three years, it hardly seems fair that your sister had three whole different fiancés.

“Quit whining, at least we get a free meal,” your little brother muses with a laugh.

You offer him a little glare before you fix a smile on your face, watching as Nina skitters towards you, her face held in her perfect smile. “I’m so glad that you guys could make it,” she smiles.

“Oh, we wouldn’t have missed it for the world, darling,” your mother coos, leaning across to kiss her eldest daughter on the cheek. Nina flashes you all another smile before her name is called, something which makes her turn away for a second.

“You guys should mingle,” she quips over her shoulder. You want to roll your eyes, but refrain, noting the stern stare that your father has fixed on you. “I’ll try and catch up with you later.” She smiles before skittering away.

You glare after your sister a little before your brother takes your arm, leading you towards the buffet table.

“She’s so fake it’s unreal,” you murmur over the loud music as you watch him collect a plate, helping himself to the fancy buffet that had been set up.

“You’re acting like you are surprised,” he quips, his mouth half full of shrimp.

“I’m not surprised, I’m just sick of playing the supportive sister. I feel for the poor guy who proposed to her.”

Nina has a reputation; she falls in love too quickly and then breaks hearts, something which makes you feel bad because, yet another man has offered his heart up to her and, he’s sure to go the same way as the rest, shipped off before the wedding day even dawned.

“Did we even meet this one?” your brother asks, placing yet more food onto his plate.

You shake your head. “I don’t think so, but I’m sure he doesn’t deserve what she’s bound to do. She has a habit of ruining good men,” you say softly. Your brother nods in agreement before he spots an empty table, leading you towards it.

“Bro, why on earth are you marrying her?” Seungcheol poses, an amused smile playing on his lips.

Jeonghan sips on his drink and offers a meek shrug, not quite sure how to respond. He knows it’s sudden; his engagement to his girlfriend, but he isn’t quite sure how it’d come about. One moment they’d been dating, the next, Nina had a ring sat on her finger and was telling anyone and, everyone that she’s to be his wife.

If he’s being honest, he isn’t upset by it, he loves Nina but… For some reason, it just seems a little sudden to him. They haven’t been together long and, even though he knows he loves her, he isn’t entirely certain he wants to get married to her.

“Judging by the look on his face, I don’t think even he knows,” Seokmin pokes, a smile etched onto his face.

Jeonghan sneers a little before he moves away, spotting a spare seat at a table. He knows his friends are curious, everything’s happened a little too quickly, but he’s so sick of being asked questions. He’s engaged to Nina, what else really needed to be said?

“Excuse me, that’s my seat.”

Jeonghan’s head wheels around at the sound of the timid voice. It’s soft, kind, and he’s entranced by the sound of it.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, standing up once more. “I thought it was vacant.”

You spare him a shake of your head. “My brother sent me to the bar. I don’t know where he is now,” you say, your eyes scanning the other empty seat. Jeonghan eyes it too before he sits down in it, offering you the other seat. You smile at him and sit down, pushing some of your hair away from your eyes.

“I’m Jeonghan,” he quips.

“Y/N,” you return.

He nods his head a little before he eyes the spare champagne flute in your hand. “Do you mind if I take it?”

You shake your head, extending the glass to him. You’d intended to give it to your brother, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Are you looking for someone?” the cute boy asks as he takes the glass from your hand, his soft fingers purposely brushing over yours.

“My brother, he promised he’d chill with me. I’m not one for making small talk with strangers.”

Jeonghan spares a little laugh. “You seem to be doing it pretty well with me. I must be special,” he teases. You offer him a playful look as you smile, biting your lip a little.

He offers you a kind smile, sipping his drink before questioning, “So how do you know the bride-to-be?”

You roll your eyes. “Unfortunately, that is my sister.”

He swallows a little, amazed that the timid girl ahead of him could be related to his rather outspoken fiancée. You were complete, polar opposites.

“Unfortunately?” he asks.

You nod your head. “She’s got a little bit of a reputation. I feel so bad for the fool who dared to put a ring on it.”

His face flicks a little with a mix of emotions as he awkwardly sips his drink once more.

Noting the strange expression, you sigh. “You’re him aren’t you?”

He looks up at you, nodding his head before quoting your rather rude statement, “I’m the fool who put a ring on it.”

“Fuck, I am an idiot,” you huff as you fall into the seat beside your brother, Jay, your hands hiding your face. 

He offers you a look. “I know that, but what makes you say it?” he teases. 

You roll your eyes a little. You’re mortified, you can’t believe how dismissive you’ve been in front of Jeonghan, and you know you have to make it right. There’s the smallest chance that the gorgeous man really was the one for your sister and, that he really could become your brother in law.

“I… just met Jeonghan,” you mutter, your voice soft and, timid in tone. 

“And that makes you an idiot why?” he quips, cocking an eyebrow. “I thought meeting the latest victim was the idea of this party?”

“It is, but I just inadvertently told him that Nina has a reputation,” you announce. Jay’s mouth forms a small ’o’ before he lets out a little laugh, amused by your embarrassment. He knows that you don’t like your sister, she’s far too selfish for your own good, but he also knows that you still love her for some odd reason, evil or not, you’d never do anything to deliberately sabotage her. 

“She’s so going to kill you,” he chuckles, stuffing yet another piece of food into his mouth. 

Rolling your eyes, you groan before ranting, “It’s not like I meant to bad mouth her to him, I was just venting. How the fuck could I know the handsome guy I was talking to was her latest fiancé?”

“Handsome? I’m honored.” Your body stiffens as the voice enters your ears. 

Jay, who’s been chewing on yet another piece of prawn, pauses for a moment, his eyes widening at the sight of the idol who stands behind you. 

You shake your head at your brother before you turn to face Jeonghan, your entire body focussing on keeping the blush from your cheeks.

“Fuck, I thought I’d embarrassed myself enough for one night.”

Jeonghan offers you a melodic laugh and a soft smile. “You ran off so fast earlier I never got a chance to tell you that it didn’t matter.”

He’s not an idiot, he obviously knows all about your sister’s past, but from his point of view, you’d never given him the chance to tell you that as you bolted as soon as the realisation hit you. 

“You know?” you ask softly. 

He nods. “Nina’s never exactly been discrete,”

It’s true, she was forever in the tabloids and she’d never made much of a secret of her past. 

You nod in agreement. “I’m still so sorry for what I said. I’m sure that you’re the right man for my sister,” you muse, forcing all of your enthusiasm into your words but, you don’t believe it of course. Sadly, Jeonghan is just another one in a very long line, but you want to pretend, at least for his sake. 

He offers you a soft smile before he hears Nina’s voice, beckoning him to her side. “I should go,” he smiles, his thumb jutting back over his shoulder. 

You nod before shooting him a smile. He seems cute, you think to yourself. You really like talking to him, he’s a little quirky, and very friendly, but you also know better than to cross your sister. 

“If you’re still around a bit later, we should grab a drink.”

You cock an eyebrow.

“What?” he chuckles before teasing, “Can’t a man get to know his future sister-in-law?”

You stiffen a little at the mention of the words, feeling uncomfortable with the idea of being his sister-in-law, but you‘re not about to let it show. When it’s all said and done, you didn’t know Jeonghan, for all you know he could have been the type to rat you out to your sister. 

“If I am around,” you say. He offers you another smile before he walks away. 

“You need to nip that in the bud,” you brother tells you, snapping you out of your little daydream. You’ve been staring after Jeonghan and turn, offering your brother a confused look.

“You think I’ve never seen the googly eyes before Y/N?” he scoffs as your cheeks redden. “He’s her fiancé, you really need to get a grip,” he notes before he moves away. 

“So how about that drink?”

You jump at the sound of Jeonghan’s voice. You’ve been avoiding him of course, your brother’s warning still ringing in your ears, but clearly you haven’t done the best job. In the large ballroom, Jeonghan has still managed to pick you out, even despite your best efforts at hiding. 

“Uh I d-don’t think that’s such a good idea,” you stutter, your eyes fixed anywhere but his. 

“And why not?” he asks. 

You shake your head a little. “Because it’s getting a little late and I… um, I really need to be on my way,” you lie. You had nowhere to be, you just didn’t want to be around him. Jay was right, you had been making googly eyes, and you didn’t want to get caught. Your sister would never forgive you for looking at him in that way. 

“That’s funny,” he quips, his eyebrow slightly raised. 

“Why?” you return, still doing anything possible to not make eye contact with him, knowing you’ll fold on the spot.

“I just had a conversation with your parents and they said you were staying here for the night,” he says with a little smirk causing your face to redden as you internally curse your parents. “Are you trying to avoid me or something?” he asks, an earnest look appearing on his features. 

You admire the expression for a few seconds, it makes him look even more handsome, not that it’s even possible. He’s on the verge of being god-like at this point and, you can’t stop admiring him.

“Y/N, if I have done anything to upset you-” 

You quickly shake your head, cutting him off mid-sentence. “It isn’t you…”

“Then why can’t we get a drink? You’re the one member of your family that hasn’t gawked at me like I’m some form of alien,” he complains. 

You can see in his eyes that he thinks he’s made a friend in you and really wants to spend more time with you. For him, it’s like you’re a breath of fresh air in comparison to your parents and siblings.  

You want to shake your head, to walk in the opposite direction and not look back, but the look on his face is ridiculous. He looks like a wounded fucking puppy and there’s no turning him down.

“Fine, but just one. I don’t want Nina getting the wrong idea,” you quip, only half joking. 

His face splits into a smile. “Great!” he beams, his hand wrapping around your wrist. You flash an awkward smile before following along. Your brother was right, you did need to get a grip.

“Please, don’t make me go,” you complain as you move to tie the laces of your shoes. To be honest, you’d seen it coming, your sister was so insistent on rubbing every little thing in your face, but you hadn’t expected your parents to jump in and force you into yet another social occasion with her and Jeonghan.

“You’re her sister Y/N,” your mom mutters, her hand fluffing her hair.

“And? Jay’s her brother, I don’t see him getting ready to go,” you point out, your hand gesturing to your brother who sat on your parents’ couch, a smug smirk fixed on his features.

“Your brother has a date. He and Sua are heading out.”

You offer your brother a glare before you push yourself up. “Fine, but you owe me for this,” you complain.

Your mom rolls her eyes a little before she scans your body, her nose wrinkling a little. “Don’t you think you could dress a little more… I don’t know, feminine?”

You want to roll your eyes, she had never appreciated how you dressed. “Mom, we’re going to a festival, not a fashion shoot. If anything, you are over dressed,” you quip, your own nose wrinkling at your mother’s choice of outfit. She scoffs a little before she makes her way out of the door, you and your dad following along obediently.

The minute you arrive at the venue, you already feel annoyed and completely fed up by your family’s behavior. “So which group is Jeonghan in?” Your mom fawns as she greets Nina, glancing at the different idol groups. You roll your eyes. You don’t see why they had even bothered, it’s painfully obvious that no one other than you has the slightest idea what’s happening, but you know your parents and sister would never admit it. They’re stuck up like that.

“I think he’s in that group,” Nina titters proudly, pointing at Stray Kids, “The ones with the cool outfits.”

You roll your eyes once again. “He is in Seventeen, the ones wearing all black,” you snap, suddenly feeling annoyed as your hand gestures to the group that had just taken to the stage.

“And how do you know? I didn’t think you were a kpop fan,” she hisses, offering you a look.

“I’m not, but I can see Jeonghan from here. He’s wearing black.”

She peeks over the railing at little and flushes, her eyes noticing her fiancé. ”So he is,” she notes.

You offer an insincere smile before you make your way out onto the balcony, taking your seat in amongst the other VIP fans.

“Has she always been so rude?” Nina comments loudly, turning to your parents.

“I bet she’s just jealous,” your dad smiles, his hand settling on her shoulder.

“She has a lot to be jealous of, dear,” your mom adds, which causes you to roll your eyes. Nina smiles at them before her phone buzzes, causing her to leave the venue.

“I hear your fiancée is in the venue,” Chan notes as the boys change into their stage outfits.

“Yeah,” Jeonghan returns. “She wanted her family to see me perform.” In all honestly though, he knows Nina is merely showing him off, but he really hasn’t had it in him to argue with her. In the nearly two weeks since their engagement party, she’d become so much more clingy and, he’s so sick of fighting with her. He always ends up caving anyway, what’s the point in prolonging the inevitable?

“Does that mean her sister is here?” Soonyoung asks.

“Y/N? I’m not sure,” Jeonghan says, shrugging. Deep inside, he hopes you are, he likes spending time with you, but he also doubts he’ll have the chance. Nina is overly protective and doesn’t like to share him, even if it’s with his friends.

“I think you picked the wrong sister, bro. Y/N is so damn fine.” Joshua chuckles, earning agreements from the others.

“She’s a nice girl, but she’s hardly my type,” Jeonghan returns nonchalantly as he shrugs. He’s lying - you’re more his type than your sister would ever be, but he knows he can’t let on. His friends doesn’t like Nina as it is, any sign of a weakness in their relationship, they’re sure to pounce.

“She may not be your type, but she might be mine,” Wonwoo quips teasingly, earning a low chuckle and a high-five from Joshua. Immediately Jeonghan’s eyes shot up. He knows his friends are ‘joking’, but still the idea that someone else sees something in you makes his blood boil for some reason, and he doesn’t understand why.

“Are you alright there, bro?” Seungcheol asks as he pulls his shirt on. Jeonghan swallows a little and nods his head, forcing a smile.

“Y/N?”

You turn at the sound of your name and smile, your eyes looking at Jeonghan who wore a confused expression on his handsome features.

“Hey,” you smile, “You were great.”

He returns it softly before he looks around once more, obviously trying to spot Nina who’d promised she would be waiting for him. You note the look on his face and sigh. “She left. Her and my parents got bored.”

“Oh...” he murmurs, ”She said she would be here.”

Your heart shudders at the sad look that he wore on his face. “I’m sure she’ll be next time,” you smile, but Jeonghan shakes his head bitterly.

“I guess I’d convinced myself that she cares. I know she isn’t into our music like that, but I’ve been to every single one of her shoots since we got together, I just… I thought she could suffer through this,” he says frustratingly, running a hand through his damp hair.

You swallow a little before you push yourself up, enveloping him in an awkward half hug. He stiffens a little at the contact before he places his arms around you.

“How soon into the show did she go?” he murmurs as he holds you close to him.

You shift a little and move out of his arms, your eyes peeking up into his. “Do you honestly want to know?” you question. He drops his arms to his side and nods.

“10 minutes. Second song,” you announce softly. He grimaces a little, it was during their new single, Darling.

“For what it is worth, my sister missed out on a great concert. I have never quite seen a rapper like S.Coups,” you say with a surprised expression.

“Why, you’re not a fan?” he pokes playfully.

You shake your head. “I was more into Western music growing up and my dad never let me listen to rap, he said it wasn’t ladylike,” you explain with a laugh, blushing a little.

“Well, you’re grown now, you should listen to our music and come to our shows more often,” he teases, the hurt fading off his face.

“I might just do that,” you tease back, a contagious smile etched onto your face.

“I know the boys would like you, you made quite the impression at the party the other week.”

“Oh? I did notice the stares,” you smirk. “I thought they thought I was lost,” you add, a small laugh escaping your lips.

“No, they think I picked the wrong sister,” he muses. You stiffen a little, your cheeks flushing.

Jeonghan notes the blush and shakes his head, sensing he had overstepped the mark. “I’m so sorry for saying that.”

You shake your head, “It’s nothing. Just a joke between friends right?”

Jeonghan smiles and nods his head. “A joke between friends,” he confirms before his phone buzzes, causing him to excuse himself. You watch him go and sigh.

Friends. That was all you were, just friends.

“I was thinking a week in Dubai for our honeymoon,” Nina says between mouthfuls of salad, smiling at Jeonghan. She’d been off work for a little while and had decided to surprise him with a visit to the gym quickly followed by a ‘pleasant’ healthy lunch in town.

In all honestly, he didn’t want to go, he was stressed after the double session that his choreographer had forced upon the group, but he also knew better than to turn Nina down. The last time he’d dodged her invite, she’d threatened to leave him, telling him that he needed to prioritize.

“Dubai? I was thinking more of Hawaii,” he returns. Only because he wanted to get out of Asia, to spend a little time in the sun with his new wife, but from the look on her face, he doubts it’s going to happen. She wants Dubai and Nina Y/L/N always gets what she wants. “Dubai sounds wonderful baby, I’ll start looking for flights,” he concedes, forcing a fake smile on his lips.

She spares him a wide grin before her phone buzzes, causing her to look down at it. “Teddy needs me back at the studio,” she mutters, tossing her napkin back onto the table.

“Right now? We’re in the middle of lunch, Nina,” he complains.

She rolls her eyes a little before she pushes herself up, pressing a rather sloppy kiss against his lips. “I need to go Hannie. I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” she says before she scampers away, leaving him sat all alone in the middle of the restaurant.

Jeonghan sighs. He was used to it, she rarely spends any personal time with him, but still it hurts to have her up and leave. He just wanted a moment, a second where she actually seemed to love him like he loved her.

“Alone?” Jeonghan’s ears prick up at the sound of the familiar voice.

“I was having lunch with your sister,” he returns, his face lighting up at the sight of you. He’s in awe - you look so beautiful, your hair is tied back, your beautiful eyes are shining, and the mere sight of you just makes him smile. He has grown a little closer to you since the festival and, he’s so glad he has, you’re such a welcoming change from your sister and her stuck up actress and model friends.

“But let me guess, something came up?” you tease, your body sitting in Nina’s vacant seat.

“How’d you know?” he teases back, his eyes fixed on you.

You offer him a little shrug. “She used to do it to me all of the time, she’d get a text and then she’d up and leave. It stops being surprising after a while.”

Jeonghan nods a little before allowing his eyes to scan the restaurant, looking for the person who appeared to be missing their lunch date.

“I’m here with friends,” you quip as you notice the curious look on his face. “You should come and join us, you look a little lonely over here,” you tease, smiling a little as you move to stand up again. You’d merely been passing and know your friends would get curious if you don’t come back soon.

“Your friends wouldn’t mind?” he asks and you instantly shake your head. “Then I would love to,” he grins brightly, his hands picking up his plate. You giggle a little before you lead him across the restaurant to your friends.

“There you are Y/N, we’d worried you’d gotten lost.”

“I went to the bathroom Minhyuk, not to the Arctic, I think I can remember the way,” you say, poking your tongue out a little.

Minhyuk laughs slightly before he turns his eyes, studying Jeonghan’s slightly awkward frame. “Guys, this is Jeonghan, he’s Nina’s fiancé,” you say as you place his plate ahead of an empty chair.

He offers your friends a weak wave, a little uncomfortable with being the focus of the two pairs of eyes. “You’re the poor guy that’s marrying the evil bitch- I mean witch?” Minhyuk says, his nose wrinkling a little.

You roll your eyes and slap the back of his head, causing him to jerk forwards a little in his seat. “Watch it. She’s still my sister,” you murmur before you move back to you seat.

“Sorry for him, I’m Yeejin,” Yeejin smiles as she glares at her boyfriend.

Jeonghan waves a hand, smiling. “It’s nothing I haven’t heard before.”

“Wait, so you know about Nina and still proposed?” Minhyuk exclaims. Both you and Yeejin glare at him causing Jeonghan to chuckle softly. Your friend is a little outspoken, but you can tell from the way Jeonghan smiles that he likes him, he’s always hated people keeping their thoughts to themselves.

Watching you and your friends, he smiles to himself, glad he’s accepted your offer to join them. He’s thought it’d be awkward, they are your friends after all not his, but he’s come to like Yeejin and Minhyuk, they aren’t quite like his other friends nor are they like Nina’s, they’re funny if a little exuberant.

“I need to visit the little girls’ room. Yeejin?” you muse as you stand from your seat. Yeejin offers a little nod before you move away, leaving Jeonghan with Minhyuk.

“How long have you liked her?”

Jeonghan frowns a little. It’s blunt, rude, but from the look on Minhyuk’s face, he had meant it exactly that way.

“Liked who?” he replies nonchalantly, taking a sip of his drink.

Minhyuk rolls his eyes. “You know who, Y/N. The way you look at her makes it obvious,” he says in a duh tone. Jeonghan’s tanned cheeks flushes a little. In all honestly, he has no idea when it started, in fact, he didn’t even realize he’d been so blatant. “So when did it start?” he pushes.

Jeonghan knows he’d be so good for you - he’s sure, you’re a far better match for him than Nina would ever be. He shifts a little in his seat. “I’m not sure,” he splutters out. He hasn’t intended it to happen, he has never meant to form a crush towards you, but he had and it can’t be shifted.

“But you do like her?”

He swallows a little and nods. He knows it’s fucking stupid, he’s engaged for gods sake, to your sister no less, but he really has come to like you. Very much so and, he can’t help it. There’s just something about you that’s so intoxicating to him.

“Are you going to do anything about it?” he asks, his eyebrow lifted in curiosity.

Jeonghan merely sits muted, not quite sure what to say. He has liked you for quite some time now, but he is your sister’s fiancé after all, he can’t do anything, even if he really wants to. He doesn’t want to cause that sort of problem.

“Just don’t play games with her,” Minhyuk mutters, his brown eyes watching as you make your way back towards them.

“I won’t,” Jeonghan whispers back. “Trust me.”

He offers him a small smile before he stands up, his arm wrapping around Yeejin’s waist.

“It was nice meeting you Jeonghan,” he beams as he extends a hand towards him. Jeonghan shakes it before he and Yeejin walks away, leaving you with only Jeonghan for company.

“I think they liked you,” you comment softly as you move to collect your bag from the back of your chair.

“I liked them,” he returns, his brown eyes staring anywhere but at you.

“Are you okay? You look a little flustered,” you say. He shifts a little but doesn’t respond, only flashing you a weak smile, nodding his head a little. “Do you need a ride?” you ask as you place enough money to cover the check onto the table.

He shakes his head lightly, spluttering out: “I have my car.”

You raise an eyebrow, offering him a slightly sceptical look before you push yourself up on your toes, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Jeonghan’s heart flutters at the feel of your lips against his skin, but manages to stifle the blush that itches to escape.

“Lunch was fun. We should do it again sometime,” you smile before you walk away from him.

He watches after you and swallows, thinking to himself; Why hadn’t I simply met her first?

taglist: @hanihans @sofijaeger @bsshjsjsn @soundershreya @heelariousx (send an ask if you wanna be added!)

if you liked this, please consider supporting me by reblogging this, buying me a coffee ☕️ or leaving feedback ♡

#seventeen scenarios #seventeen x reader #jeonghan x reader #jeonghan scenarios #seventeen smut #jeonghan smut #jeonghan fluff #jeonghan angst #yoon jeonghan smut #yoon jeonghan fluff #yoon jeonghan scenarios #seventeen series #jeonghan series #jeonghan x you #jeonghan x y/n #svt smut

[decks-writing-blog]

Whatever the Fuck Benrey is: Chapter Seven: Perform Like a Circus Animal

Chapter One

Previous Chapter

~

“Wake the fuck up already, Gordon!”

It was a far less horrendous wake up call than the wretched blaring of Gordon’s alarm clock, but that didn’t make Benrey happy about it.

“You’re the one who volunteered us to ferry supplies like a bunch of goody two-shoes pack mules,” Bubby continued, just as loud. “So you gotta get up and get a move on already.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m awake.” Gordon’s voice rumbled in his chest where Benrey still lay against it. They’d shifted a bit, Gordon now lying partially on is back with Benrey on top. He was still fully under the blanket though so he was still hidden from Bubby’s view. “How’d you get in here? I locked the front door.”

“I picked it. You know where Benrey is? I’d thought he’d be in here, playing your Xbox or something.”

Gordon’s arms shifted around Benrey, holding him a bit tighter, as he rolled a bit more onto his side, bringing Benrey with him and thus hiding him better under the blanket. “He was last night. I got no clue where he is now. I’m sure he’ll show up again eventually, he always does. Now could you please leave so I can get out of bed?”

“You naked under there?”

“Yeah, so fuck off.”

“Don’t fall back asleep.” A moment later, the bedroom door closed.

Gordon held Benrey to his chest for a couple more seconds before sighing and shifting to lift the blanket so he could look down at Benrey. “Good morning. Sleep well?”

“Five more minutes?” Benrey didn’t need another five minutes of sleep but he also didn’t want to get up yet.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. Unfortunately we can’t lie here for five more minutes because it’ll turn into an hour and we… or at least, I really do have stuff to do today. So move.”

Benrey groaned but obeyed because Gordon would probably push him if he didn’t. Upon sliding off the bed and stretching himself out, he already missed Gordon’s warmth. It was a like a hot shower than never ran cold and without all the wet that cooled too quickly when stepping out. … He could survive without it though. Being needy, clingy, and desperate for cuddles was kind of lame and so he wasn’t. A one time really nice cuddle was all he needed or wanted. He was set for life on that now.

“You weren’t there but last night we talked and agreed to ferry supplies for the rescue attempt that the other guys are putting together to look for people deeper in the facility. We’re also bringing back wounded to Tuefort. Technically since the stuff in the health packs apparently comes from you, you could probably heal them. But we’re trying to keep you secret and no one’s in life threatening danger so it’s fine. I volunteered to drive back all our personal stuff while Dr. Coomer, Bubby, and Tommy deal with the wounded. Meaning you’re riding back with me.” As he talked, Gordon cleaned his glasses before sliding them back on his face.

“Neat. You got a DS or PSP or some other handheld gaming thing I could play during the drive?”

“Uh… yeah, actually. I found my Game Boy Advance in the closet yesterday. There was even half a pack of batteries still with it. I haven’t touched it in a few years though so I can’t say for sure it’ll work but it probably should.”

Well on the off chance it was busted, Benrey could always ask Tommy to lend him a book. OSHA manuals were probably even more boring than normal books but they’d probably still beat staring out the car window at the unchanging desert. Though even that was better than staring at it as he walked it. But if push came to shove, he could just bother Gordon to keep himself entertained. So really, it’d be fine no matter what.

~

Naturally having no personal possessions left intact to pack up, Benrey was ready to leave first. It helped that he also didn’t have to bother with breakfast. He played the Xbox right up until Gordon forced him off so he could pack it up. Blessedly upon doing so he handed over a large tote bag with a picture of a cat on it that contained his promised Game Boy Advance and batteries for it along with a whole bunch of games and some cables. Apparently he had indeed been hiding the good stuff in his room.

Benrey then moved to sit and wait the car and sort through his new borrowed treasure trove of games while Gordon – with some help from Coomer – packed all of the Science Team’s stuff into trunk and the back seats. Said car was a company car, the Black Mesa logo painted on both sides. Meant for transporting things, it was bigger than Bubby’s but the seats were less comfortable. It had a Christmas tree air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror. An old one based off how little scent still clung to it.

Gordon, in typical Gordon fashion, ended up dawdling more than was necessary before getting into the driver’s seat and finally getting the show on the road. Tempting as it was to tease him for that, Benrey was already too absorbed in, new to him, Superstar Saga – Gordon’s selection of Game Boy games was much better than his paltry Xbox game collection – to think of something good. So he let it go… for now. Next time he dawdled for a long time when Bubby wasn’t around to urge him onward, Benrey would be sure to say something though. Had to keep him on his toes after all.

Other than the radio, playing soft only slightly staticky music, and the sound of the Game Boy, they rolled in silence for maybe a whole five minutes before Gordon broke it.

“So you can purr, huh?”

Before he could stop himself, Benrey flinched. His first instinct was to look at Gordon. A mistake he quickly remedied, setting his gaze back on the Game Boy even though he’d lost his train of thought with it. “What? No. Who told you that?”

“Last night, or I guess more like super early this morning, after the alarm woke us, you fell back asleep first and started purring.”

Damn it! He’d stamped down that urge and thought it defeated. Even after instead of having a funny reaction to Benrey being so close, Gordon had said he could stay which had been nice in an entirely different way, he hadn’t done it. Purring was cute and he may not know what he was beyond being not human but he did know he also wasn’t cute. Apparently whilst asleep his body had betrayed him.

“It was pretty cute,” Gordon continued at Benrey’s failure to respond, proving Benrey’s point.

“I’m not cute.” People in real life or in video games and movies labeled as ‘cute’ were almost never taken seriously. They were the side kick, rarely respected, often cooed at like a baby or dumb animal. Cute things were looked down upon, treated as less than.

“Nah, it was pretty damn cute, dude, adorable even.

“Shut up.”

Gordon chuckled. It wasn’t as nice as his laugh normally was because he was laughing at Benrey’s expense this time. “Does Tommy know?”

“No.” The only other people who knew were the scientists in charge of him. The way they’d treated it as a cute fun thing to show off to everyone like some kind of spectacle had convinced Benrey to never purr again. It had lead to the one and only he’d broken into their lab to destroy recordings of himself once they’d finally given up on trying to force him to do it again in person for everyone who wanted to see and instead had just showed the tapes. Since then, rare were the times he’d even felt tempted to purr, making it rather easy to not do while in front of anyone. Until last night apparently anyway. “Don’t tell him.”

Of course Gordon would tell though. Gordon barely tolerated him so why would he not share Benrey’s secret? It was cute and thus must be shared and shown off. And now not only Gordon but Tommy and the rest of the Science Team would know too and he would never live it down. Heck, maybe he’d already told them and they’d had a good laugh at his expense over breakfast.

“Okay, okay, I won’t tell.”

Pausing his game – he’d been doing nothing but running around in circles anyway – Benrey looked up at Gordon again. His eyes were on the road and his gun hand was pushed through one of the lower parts of the steering wheel, helping steer. His expression wasn’t much of anything other than generally relaxed, making it hard to tell if he was genuine. “Really?”

“Yeah, sure, unlike some people, I try to not be an asshole, so if it really bothers you, I won’t tell Tommy or anyone else.”

“Okay. Better keep that promise though or else.”

“Or else what?”

“Uh… I don’t know yet. Just don’t tell.”

“I won’t.” He was silent for a long moment after that, long enough that Benrey was about to return his attention to his Game Boy before he continued. “Can I ask, um… why you purr though? Like, uh, cats purr most of the time because of positive feelings. But you’re not a cat, obviously, so do you purr because you’re happy or is it something else? Like maybe it’s just something you do when you’re asleep. Or is it because you were having some kind of dream that… made you purr for whatever reason.”

“I don’t know. I just do it sometimes when I’m warm and cozy or whatever. It’s lame so I try avoid stuff that might make me feel like doing it.” Except last night but he wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

Gordon broke eye contact with the road to look at Benrey, his expression soft now. What exact emotion was behind it was hard to tell though. “Well… I don’t think it’s lame. It’s pretty soothing actually, like it sounds nice. Um, it helped me fall back asleep. So I don’t think you should be ashamed of it so much you avoid it or whatever.”

Benrey scoffed as he turned his attention back onto the Game Boy. What did Gordon even know about it? Nothing, that’s what. He wasn’t the one with the ability to purr and thus didn’t have to live with some people thinking him a cute, adorable thing to show off to everyone when finding out. So Benrey was done talking about it. He had a game to focus on.

***

Driving was quickly proving to not be as much of a distraction as Gordon had hoped it would be. In hindsight not surprising given he was driving through an empty dessert with nothing to look at but dirt. The only other cars were the two Bubby and Dr. Coomer had been lent – no sign of Bubby’s original car which would’ve made three, freeing up room for Tommy to drive as well instead of going with Dr. Coomer, but whatever – and they were both far enough ahead that he’d have to go out of his way to hit them.

So naturally, after only a few minutes, he resumed talking to Benrey. Finding out more about him would be worthwhile, for curiosity's sake but also they had some sort of tenuous friendship going so it’d be good to know more about him on that front too. Also, apparently somewhere along his hellish journey through Black Mesa Gordon had become the kind of person who always needed to be talking or listening to someone else talk. Making him annoying but Benrey was annoying too so he deserved it.

Over the next long while he subtly tried to get as much info out of Benrey about his past as he could. What kind of life had he lead in the lab? How had they treated him? What kind of experiments had they subjected him to and their results?

Trying not to ask any outright invasive questions made it easy for Benrey to slip around them with a lot of non-answers. He was distracted by his game of course but also some of it had to be purposeful avoidance. Gordon pressed for more here and there but never too hard lest it be sensitive. Resulting in him not learning as much as he’d have liked. He did confirm and reconfirm a few things though, such as, Benrey had indeed spent his whole entire life in the lab in the lab, he wasn’t sure if he’d been born, hatched, or made there in a tube or something else, and that when he’d talked about the scientists harvesting his ‘juice’ to turn into medical goo he had indeed meant his blood – they drew it out of him with needles.

“Did you have anyone who uh… you considered to be like a parent?”

“Nope.”

Gordon waited for a bit but of course no further answer came. Benrey was too focused on his game and/or just straight up didn’t want to elaborate. And Gordon couldn’t exactly ask him if he’d been mistreated, especially since that was probably a given, right?

“What about friends? Any of the scientists your friends?”

“You guys.”

“I mean like the scientists uh… assigned to you or whatever. Any of them your friend?”

“Nope.”

And so on and so forth, Gordon never quite daring to ask what he actually wanted to know. Giving up on that line of questioning and bringing up video games finally got a bit more though.

“First console I got was the original Game Boy, the one with like the green screen and no real colour. I stole it from one of my handlers pockets. Only had one game for it but it was fun. I kept in my gamer pad and made it a power thingy but then it got bombed so… it’s busted now.”

“Oh, uh, sorry about that.”

“It really blows. A real bummer.”

Gordon would’ve liked to offer some comfort but how did one comfort someone who hadn’t had much to begin with and then lost it all? Instead… “What do you mean you ‘made it a power thingy’ though?”

“I put some energy in it so it would draw more power for me. Only a little though ‘cause I was doing it mostly to make it easy to find my gamer pad without having to like… walk through the halls and stuff, I could always just go straight to it. Also it was special but… whatever, doesn’t matter now.” The last sentence was a mumble, just barely audible over the radio and sounds coming from his game.

“So… like what you did with the passports on Xen?”

“Yeah but not as much. Oh, uh…” he looked at Gordon, not something he’d done often during this conversation, “I figured out earlier that uh, I’m made from Xen energy… I think. On Xen I was like… the most powerful I’d ever been and before that, after the resonance cascade, I was pretty powerful and always more powerful in Black Mesa. Especially around where they were getting all the Xen stuff to study. But now, with all the portals shut, I’m like the same power level anywhere I go, basically. So I must be made form Xen energy or from something they found on Xen.”

“Or maybe your from Xen?” Making him an alien and thus finally a possible answer to what he was.

“Hmm… don’t know, maybe.”

“Though, uh… maybe not. We saw all sorts of Xen stuff and none of it seemed to exhibit anything like what you can do. Which doesn’t mean much because we didn’t see much of Xen.” Meaning all they’d really done was narrow it down to alien or lab grown monster made when experimenting with stuff taken from Xen.

“I now know something about where I came from though so… you should be happy with that, right? You can stop being weird about me not knowing that kinda stuff.”

Gordon hadn’t thought he’d been being weird about it, just appropriately flabbergasted and a bit saddened that Benrey knew so little about his origins. “Uh… yeah. Knowing you have a connection to Xen is certainly far better than knowing nothing.”

“Good.” Benrey returned his full attention back onto his game.

Gordon turned his gaze back onto the road. Not that there was much to look at, just more desert road stretching in front of him, the sky overhead clear and blue. Tuefort was still awhile away. “It’s not everything though. It’s still sad you don’t know. But uh��� I guess since we’re on the topic of what you are, what all can you do?” He’d been wondering that for awhile, since realizing Benrey had powers. Bubby and Dr. Coomer too but it was only Benrey in the car with him right now.

“Lots of stuff.” More of that non-committal dodging the question. Surely this couldn’t be a sensitive topic though, right? He was just being difficult for the sake of it. Gordon wasn’t going to let him get away with it if he could help it.

“Some of it’s basically magic, right?” Once upon a time magic would’ve seemed the opposite of science but Gordon had been working at Black Mesa long enough to see plenty of things that could only be described as magic even before his adventure with Benrey.

“I guess.”

“Right, so, you can imbue objects with power to draw more energy for you, shape shift, heal, including growing back lost limbs and… phase through solid matter. I know I’m missing stuff so… what?”

“Yep, you’re missing stuff.”

“Like what? Tell me.”

“Why you wanna know so bad?”

“I’m curious. From a scientific standpoint you’re fascinating. So I wanna know what you can do. Like starting with your shape shifting, what are the limits of it? How big and small can you get? You said you’re less powerful now than you were on Xen so can you not get as big as you could there? Can you take other forms? Like could you turn into a… grizzly bear or some other drastically different animal if you wanted to? Can you shape shift yourself gills to breath underwater?”

Benrey groaned as he turned his head to look at Gordon again. “So many questions. You’re starting to get kinda annoying.” Seemingly it had taken a while but Gordon had finally gotten under his skin. A win for sure.

“Yeah well, after all the times you annoyed me I don’t feel too bad about that. So like… tell me more or heck, show me if you want. Probably not right now but when we’re back at the hotel show me… I don’t know, all your magic stuff. I wanna see it.” It’d be interesting and something to do.

“You wanna put me in an observation cube so you can poke and prod at me until you figure out everything I can do and how far I can push it? Gonna see how much I can endure before I die or whatever? It’s not like it matters ‘cause I come back. Want me to jump through flaming hoops and do a little dance like a circus animal too?” His tone started his usual monotone neutral but by the end, his annoyance was audible.

That should’ve been even more a win than just getting him to admit to being annoyed but… his exact words made it not exactly feel like one. His upset wasn’t with the endless annoying prodding questions but with being asked to perform ‘like a circus animal’. So Gordon had found a sore point for sure but it wasn’t much of a funny ha-ha one but instead one that made him feel kind of like a bully.

“No, no, of course not. I would never…” Gordon took his eyes off the road to look properly at him. “I wouldn’t make you do anything you didn’t want to. I was just asking you to uh… show me.” So he had been asking Benrey to perform for him. “Um… yeah, not great, sorry.”

Even just a couple days ago he never would’ve believed he’d apologize to Benrey of all people, even less would have believed he meant it. But well… being a little nosy was understandable, even being a little annoying with it was somewhat justifiable with how much of an ass Benrey could be but there was still a limit. Asking him to let Gordon openly study him was probably hitting that limit if not passing it outright.

“Sorry,” he said again. “I’ll stop prying. I guess, um, I owe you some answers to personal questions too, if you wanna ask them.”

Benrey stared at him in silence, the shadow over his eyes seemingly darker than usual. Gordon had to break eye contact before the urge to ask about it grew too strong. He probably shouldn’t have taken his eyes off the road to begin with. The last thing they needed or wanted was for him to drive them into a ditch and get stuck, stranding them in the dessert.

“All right then,” Benrey finally said just when it was starting to seem like he was done talking period. “What’s your deepest darkest secret?”

The people he’d killed while they’d been making their way through Black Mesa. Benrey already knew about that though and it wasn’t something Gordon wanted to think about. He did have other secrets though that he’d never told anyone and well, Benrey would probably get a kick out of some of them. “In elementary school, when I was like… seven or eight, the teachers would hand out scented markers for the students to use for arts and crafts. We were supposed to put them all back in the box and return them to the front at the end of class. I, uh, put a couple in my backpack instead and took them home. The red, blue, and brown ones because they smelled the best.”

A beat of silence before… “Ha! I knew you were a thief.”

“Yep, I’m, a dirty thief. That was a twenty years ago though so the statute of limitations is up, meaning I can’t be punished for it.”

“Damn. You ever steal anything else?”

Gordon took a breath to say, ‘no’ but… that would be a lie. If he couldn’t in good conscious try to get Benrey to talk any more about himself, he might as well share some of his own past instead. It was only fair after how much he’d prodded at Benrey for his, right? And none of his past crimes were anything he could get in trouble for anymore so there was no harm in sharing. Maybe it would make Benrey more comfortable sharing more about himself in the future too, since it was an exchange of information instead of Gordon just asking him stuff.

~

By the time they were rolling back into Tuefort, Benrey knew about all of Gordon’s petty crimes. A short list, even counting the stuff that had just been minor family drama like the time he’d removed the head of one of his sister’s dolls in vengeance for some slight he no longer remembered. Gordon might regret telling him one day but it lifted the mood in the car quite a bit so for now it was worth it.

While Bubby and Dr. Coomer brought their wounded cargo to the hospital, Gordon stopped by the Tuefort’s tiny mall to get Benrey a cellphone and add him to his mobile plan. The rest of the Science Team had already exchanged numbers but apparently Benrey had never even had a phone and thus, having somehow wormed his way back into the group, he needed one.

“I want that one,” he said before Gordon could even finish asking the question, pointing to one of the fancy new touch screen phones.

“That whole touch screen thing is an overpriced gimmick, so, no.” There was no way that was going to catch on, right? The phones with the keyboards that slid out of the side were the way of the future.

“But I heard they got games on them and can take pics.”

“I already basically gave you my Game Boy though so you don’t need another handheld thing for games. But uh… you like to take pictures?” Now that Gordon thought about it, he had seen Benrey with a camera a few times. It had never come up in conversation so he hadn’t thought about it much until now.

Benrey shrugged. “It’s cool. Lost my camera on Xen though when… you know, and uh… spare’s broke.”

The smart thing to do would be to just get a him a standard phone – one of the ones without a camera to make it even cheaper – and that’s it. There were a number ways he could cause problems with a camera. But if it was important enough for him to bring it up, maybe it would also help keep him entertained and thus out of trouble. “How ‘bout, I get you a cheap phone for just texting and calling, then separately a decent cheap digital camera? That work?”

“Uh… yeah, that works.”

Gordon took a breath, intending to tell him not be weird with the camera but… bit back on it. Mostly not to give him any evil ideas but also because if this friendship they were forming was going to work, he had to at least try to trust Benrey a little bit sometimes. Also he still felt bad in general for Benrey and specifically for being too nosy in the car and making up for that with a show of good will couldn’t hurt.

From there it blessedly wasn’t long before they were meeting back up as a whole group for lunch. A pizza place that Gordon had never visited before but proved to be quite good. Even Benrey ate some which continued the trend of Gordon not being sure if he actually needed to eat or not. Probably he did, right? Just not as often as humans. Maybe he was like a reptile and only needed to eat like once a week or month, or whatever. After how nosy he’d been in the car, Gordon refrained from asking for now.

Once done, they loaded up on the supplies they promised to bring back and stopped by the hotel for a quick shower, to drop their stuff off, to make sure their rooms were still secured for now, and to drop Benrey off. The best way to continue to keep him secret from the rest of the Black Mesa folk would be to not bring him back there. Leaving him alone and unsupervised for so long seemed liked an awfully bad idea but what other choice was there?

“Here’s the deal,” Gordon said once he had Benrey seated on one of the chairs and paying attention to him. “You’re gonna sit here in this room and play video games for however long I end up staying down there.” Before leaving that morning he’d also been implored to stick around after ferrying supplies back down to help with the start of salvaging whatever they could out of the facility. He’d agreed to it in part to keep himself busy a bit longer but also to ease up on all the back and forth trips. “You can go out occasionally but don’t bother anyone or cause problems. Problems by my definition, not yours. Which means anything that’s gonna harm anyone or be especially disruptive. Just stick to yourself mostly and play your games, you got plenty. If you’re bad, I’m not getting a Play Station to share with you. Understood?”

Benrey rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, understood.”

“Good. And just to reiterate and make super clear, no violence of any sort.”

“I just said I understood and you took the gun away. Can’t do violence without a gun.” A lie and he had to know it. “Why so worried?”

“I’m just… a naturally anxious person.” And even if he was maybe starting to like Benrey as a friend, that didn’t mean he trusted him to behave. He liked cats too after all but no matter how well mannered a cat was, he’d never trust it to not make a mess if left alone with a potted plant for too long. There were countless metaphorical potted plants Benrey could decide to play with and/or eat while Gordon wasn’t around to keep a close eye on him. Benrey was of course more intelligent than most cats and was thus perfectly capable of restraining himself. Being able to didn’t mean he would though, hence the worry.

“What ‘bout you? You gonna be good without me keeping an eye on you for so long? Not gonna steal anymore scented markers?”

“I highly doubt I’ll get an opportunity to but even if I do, I promise I won’t. I haven’t stolen even a cookie from a cookie jar in more than ten years so it’s really not even much of a question.”

“’Kay, but you also gonna be okay? You talked an awful lot on the drive down here, almost like someone afraid of silence. So… you gonna be okay in the silence by yourself?” Seems he was far more perceptive than Gordon had thought.

“Uh… yeah. I’m gonna ask Tommy to ride with me and even drive if he wants to. So I think I’ll be okay. I’ll text you later to see how you’re doing or whatever, I guess.” Make sure he hadn’t burned the hotel down.

“’Kay, talk to ya later.”

~

Next Chapter

#hlvrai #frenrey #benrey #hlvrai gordon

[juicyflawless25]

Those Ocean Eyes (Ch. 1)

Word Count; 1,477

Notes; A plethora of memories, both cherished and heart-wrenching, shared with the one and only Larissa Weems. Cross posted on a03

Warnings; No warnings for anything just yet, but the rating of this will change as chapters are added. I don't know how long this will be, but I do hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

To honestly describe the feelings you felt when first seeing Larissa, one would need a much more vast knowledge of a language than even the brightest humans could ever achieve. There were truly not enough words in any language to properly convey the bluest and loveliest eyes to ever have existed. 

When first given a glance at the blessed cerulean irises of one Larissa Weems, it had taken your breath away. She had been sitting in the library, curled up with notebooks and reading material. The cap of her pen was tucked between her perfect teeth. The way her eyes danced across the paging of her book, so intensely focused on her learning, had made you quite jealous of what she was reading. 

Did you feel ridiculous having felt that way over a woman you had just seen, not even spoken to yet? Yes, you did. However, there was no stopping the flow of feelings coursing through your body because of her. She gave off a vibe that you knew your vibe could coincide with. Your soul knew there was something special to be had here, something to be cherished. But of course, like any anxiety-ridden gay, you would be taking your sweet ass time moving forward to create that connection.

Her eyes were like sparkling sapphires, obviously, there to make all shiny and gorgeous things feel inadequate next to her. God, the knowledge and depth you could see behind them were something to be revered and feared simultaneously. You could see the cogs turning in her head, moving quickly to understand what was being read. Seconds later, you could see a light click inside those eyes, a moment of understanding before she quickly wrote a few sentences down in her notebook. A small, but triumphant smile curled the edges of her lips and you felt your knees go weak at the sight.

You had been slowly getting closer to Larissa, your legs moving of their own accord as you watched her intently. You had come to the library to do your studying, following the path you always took to the exact seat Larissa was sitting in. Under no circumstances were you going to disturb her though. It’s not like your name was on that seat. Besides, she looked so comfortable there, writing away her thoughts on the paper. 

The moment you were a split second away from turning around and finding a new seat to take, Larissa’s eyes looked up at you surprisingly. You stood still in the spot you were standing, a nervous smile on your face. Those captivating eyes looked you over, not judging, but reading you. You swallowed the lump in your throat as you wondered what she could be thinking. 

You weren’t sure how long you stood there, staring back at her like someone who’d just remembered they’d left the stove on at home. Larissa blinked and shifted in the chair, slightly uncomfortable.

“May I help you?” She questioned, blue eyes boring into yours, making your head feel slightly numb from the anxiety of being caught staring. 

Finally, after hearing her melodic tone drift to your ears (even if it was in annoyance), you cleared your throat and threw her a small, apologetic smile. 

“I’m so sorry! I did mean to stare!” You began, holding your hands up in front of your chest in a surrender motion. “I usually sit here to study and was surprised to find someone else. I’m normally the only one who comes to this corner of the library.” You chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of your neck timidly.

“My apologies. I can move if you like?” Larissa questioned, already starting to unfold her long legs from underneath her.

You took a step forward, waving your hands to try to stop her. “No, no! Please! Stay!” Your words were rushed, rising in tone as your eyes widened. “You look so comfortable and I would hate to make you move! I didn’t mean to disturb you, I was just…” 

You cut yourself off, minding reeling for a moment for a way to finish that sentence. You couldn’t exactly tell her you had been standing there basically daydreaming about her. How creepy would you come across confessing something like that to a stranger?

Larissa stilled her movements and stared up at you, the space between her eyebrows crinkling as she watched you flounder for words. Truthfully, she found you kind of cute the way you seemed so nervous over her offering to find another place to sit. A tiny, barely there smile lifted the corner of her mouth as she suppressed a chuckle. One shouldn’t laugh at someone who was struggling with something.

“Just what?” She pressed, raising one of her perfect eyebrows in question. Okay, maybe she was teasing a little, but she just couldn’t help herself with how adorable you looked with your mouth agape.

“I uh…I was just really admiring how focused you seemed in your work. I don’t see that a lot here, what with the way everyone’s teenage hormones seem to be raging.” You laughed, giving her a timid smile. It was a confession of sorts, but only a small one. That’s all she was getting out of you for now.

With a hum, the woman nodded her head and sat back in the seat. “I know what you mean. Sometimes I wonder how some of them even pass their classes.” Larissa shook her head, clearly thinking of a few students in particular.

A grin spread across your face, finding hope in the fact that she didn’t seem to find you utterly ridiculous. She was speaking with you, which meant you hadn’t given her some kind of impression that you weren’t entirely dumb. Good, good. You would hate to make someone as beautiful as her find you hard to speak to.

“I can imagine they do so by the skin of their teeth. If even that.” You quipped, a little lopsided smile gracing your features.

Your smile grew when she laughed, head tilted back slightly. The triumph you felt of making her laugh, her eyes gleaming with a knowing look as she looked back at you. And what a laugh it was, sending shivers up your spine and making your laugh appear on its own. That was a sound you knew you’d want to continue hearing. 

“I have no doubt you’re right.” She replied as she settled herself back in the chair. 

After a moment of readjusting her sitting position, she looked back up at you with a welcoming and gentle look on her face. She waved her hand at the chair opposite of hers as her eyes cut over to it. “If you like, we can study together.” Larissa offered, trying to make herself seem as open as possible. 

That was unusual for her. Most of the time, she was guarded around the other students at Nevermore. But there was something about you that called to her. She wasn’t sure what just yet, but something in her brain was telling her to just go for it. Make a friend, other than Morticia. 

“I’m Larissa Weems, by the way. And you are?” She looked at you expectantly, head tilted ever so slightly.

Larissa Weems. Larissa “Goddess of the Sapphire Irises” Weems. That’s how you referred to her in your head. Not that she needed to know that. She had such a gorgeous name, fitting for the perfect picture of loveliness sitting before you. You knew the name, having heard others speak of her, but you were new enough that you hadn’t run into her yet. You were thanking whatever gods there were out there that you had finally come across her. 

You smiled widely at her and moved timidly to the other chair she had pointed out to you. You knew the damn chair was there, but your brain had short-circuited upon seeing the prettiest woman in the school sitting in the other. 

“Y/n.” You responded, curling yourself in the chair similar to how she had done so. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“The feeling is mutual” Larissa replied, giving you a winning smile before redirecting her attention back to her books.

After that first meeting, each time you went back to the library, you looked for her and those gorgeous eyes. And she was there, every single time. Each time you saw her look up at you as you rounded the corner of the bookshelf, looking hopeful that it was you and not someone else, your heart skipped a happy little beat. The fact that she seemed to enjoy your company as much as you did hers was truly shocking. You weren’t going to question it though. You were going to take whatever time this lovely woman was willing to give you and you were going to cherish it greatly.

#larissa weems #larissa weems x reader #those ocean eyes #this one is a bit short but sweet #many more chapters to come

[kleiner-ghost-high-on-life]

If you’re doing the drabbles still: Gus telling Creature about what Gatlus was like before the G3 invasion? Or just the two trying to bond sometime after the events of the game or between bounties

The drabbles are open, always 🤲 Thank you for the ask ^^

Here's to two sweet lil' guys bonding while BH and the rest of the team are out kicking butt. (and a tiny bit of existential angst)

"Hey, Gus, Gus," Creature called out.

"Huh - What-" Gus jerked awake, "What's up pal?"

He'd dozed off a while back, during a particularly boring part of a documentary on Earth sea slug reproduction that Lizzie had put on to annoy Gene. She’d “hidden” the remote by the staircase, before heading out, leaving the trio of Gene, Creture, and Gus to watch the thing.

Gene only complained for about 5 minutes, before falling asleep, and Gus was quick to follow. He hadn’t quite realised how exhausting a life of bounty-hunting would be, and didn’t complain too much, if at all, when Bounty Hunter left him and Creature at home during this one mission.

Creature on the other hand seemed utterly unaffected by fatigue. It seemed like the added stress of constant near-death experiences was comparable, or even lesser than, that of constantly having a dozen kids.

“Were you sleeping?” Creature asked.

“Yes pal,” Gus blinked in annoyance, “Did you wake me up just to ask that?”

“No, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t dead.” The Gatlian shrugged, as much as his shoulder-less body would allow.

“I was just sleeping, why would you-”

“This movie Lizzie put on, it’s got me thinking,” Creature turned towards the TV, he paused for a second, his gaze lost in the wavy colourful shapes of sea slugs merging into a singular non-distinct mass of alien bodies, “We are the last Gatlians out there. Our planet is gone, and we will never be able to repopulate it again, just the six of us. All our traditions, songs, dances,” he nudged towards the screen, with a melancholic look painted over his face, “We’ll never be like them. My little freaky babies … they will never get to have little freaky babies of their own. You know?”

Gus was at a loss for words. Sure, he knew what he needed to say, which just so happened to very closely align with what he wanted to say, but Creature’s unprompted nihilistic philosophic speech had taken him by surprise.

Thankfully it seemed that Creature’s children were unaffected, as they spent the few minutes they had staring at the mating sea slugs in silent and confused awe.

“Ah, I’m sure there’s more of us out there,” Gus scruffled over and gave Creature a little pat on the shoulder. “Bunty Hunter will keep looking, and so will we. We’ll be alright buddy, we’ll rebuild. There might no longer be a home for us on Gatlus, but we made a good home for ourselves here, don’t you think?”

Creature turned to face Gus, earning him twelve displeased groans from his back.

“You mean that? Because I don’t think you mean that, not after how you got mad at Kenny for destroying our home planet,”

“I mean, he literally caused the downfall of our fucking-” Gus cut himself off, shaking his head. There was no use getting worked up over something Creature didn’t remember, and couldn’t possibly understand.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.

“You know, there’s something we could do before the others return. Bounty Hunter won’t get it, and Lizzie might yell at us, but it was somewhat of a tradition back on Gatlus. When someone close, like a best friend went on a very long journey, and we didn’t know when they’d return we’d throw them-”

“A surprise party?” Creatrue excitedly interrupted.

“No, not a surprise party. A bucket of Takeocot purée.”

“A what now?”

“Takeocot purée. I’ll show you how to make it. Well, we usually did it before they left, for good luck and to repel mud-bugs on their travels, but I’m sure they’ll get our meaning.”

The smile on Creature’s face was contagious, and Gus couldn’t help but mimic the grin. It had been so long since he’d engaged in casual tasks like this, and even longer since he’d done anything Gatlian.

“How are the two of you gonna make whatever that thing is, considering you have two arms between the two of you, and no way of getting down from this coffee table?” Gene suddenly interrupted.

“Aaah – I thought you were sleeping!” Creature exclaimed.

His children hissed at him again, in reaction to the loud noise.

“I woke up when you said repopulate,” Gene scratched his face. “Do you want me to call Lizzie to help you with your mushy-mushy bonding activity?”

“No thank you,” Gus dryly stated.

“I mean, he’s not wrong about us only having two arms,” Creature tried to argue.

“Two plus twenty-four,” Gus nodded towards Creature’s babies.

“Oh, right.”

With the roar of a dozen babies who were just told to stop watching TV, Creature’s children hopped off his back and helped the duo down from the coffee table before carrying them to the kitchen, as per Gus’s instructions.

When Gene straightened up on the couch, attempting to catch a peak of what they were doing, one of the babies ran up to him and hissed at his face. He would have bitten him too, had he not puffed out of existence that very moment.

“You know Gus,” Creature spoke while Gus rummaged through the cupboard he could reach, in search of the necessary ingredients, “We should do this more often; you telling me about stuff I’m supposed to remember, me telling you about how hopeless the future would be without my friends.”

“Sure thing, pal.” Gus smiled in reply, “Just maybe without the hopeless future part, next time.”

#high on life game #gus #creature #gene #drabble #yes i'm making customs up #but like the game should have a whole DLC about them in the bast chilling on Gatlus #fight me #also thank you for your ask OP it i have been struggling to find the motivation to write these past few days

[wisecrackingeric-2]

Summary:

Day Six of @serennedyweek : Soulmates!

A retelling of the ‘chain scene’, but with a Soulmate AU twist!

All dialog/ action is one-to-one with cannon with slight tweaks here and there, right up until the end, where the ‘Soulmates’ part of this fic kicks in and there’s also a surprise!! ;)

Also!! This my first fic I wrote specifically for Serennedyweek!!!! Yippeee

Fic under cut!!

When Leon woke up hazy and disoriented, the last thing he was expecting was to be chained up back-to-back with another man.

It took his calculating and immediate brain only a couple seconds for it to click that he had been tied up, but he wasn’t anticipating the pull of the chains to elicit a response from the person sitting right beside him, presumably also confined.

“ Hey, stop it!”

The words dripped from his lips with such confidence and annoyance that it made Leon stop in his tracks. He knew that voice from somewhere, but his attention was much more focused on his surroundings.

Leon stood up on his haunches and promptly let the man behind him’s arms fall to his sides. In his chest, he kind of regretted that; not just because the guy was now starting to circle him like prey, but because Leon would be lying if he said he didn’t look good with his arms above his head.

Leon recognised the guy almost immediately. He only gave him the privilege of flashing him a quick stare, but hell, it was enough to get his heart racing. Why? He had no idea. Just chalk it up to nerves.

As Leon started to inspect the room around them- desperate for some kind of distraction- he felt his companions eyes bore into the back of his head. It took every fiber of his body to not turn around and stare directly at his face because Good God was he handsome.

Tall- Quite a bit taller than Leon by a margin- With shockingly well-groomed hair that swooped down and framed his angular face in a way that seemed both natural and all too purposeful. The curls collected in waves at the base of his neck, just teasing the true length of his dark hair.

He had big, pretty brown eyes with long eyelashes and a mouth that always seemed to be biting or chewing or talking at something to boot. And, even worse, he had one of those big, pretty aquiline noses that Leon was absolutely obsessed with.

The guy was perfectly Leon’s type and it was the worst thing to ever happen to him. Or the best. Just terrible timing.

“Oye Yanqui… You got a name?”

“Leon.” He answered curtly, out of politeness, giving the chains another experimental tug.

“Quiet type, eh? I’m Luis Serra… And guess- You, Me- picked the wrong spot to vacation, eh?”

Oh God fucking damnit his voice was hot. ‘Luis’’ accent was thick and every word that came out of his mouth was confident and languid- So self-assured that it made Leon’s heart skip a beat and his brain want to get on his hands and knees for him in an instant. Was that weird? Was finding somebody's voice hot normal? Now wasn’t exactly the best time to be thinking about potential new kinks.

‘ Luis Serra’.

The name rolled off his tongue like he’d known it his entire life.

Leon ignored Luis’ words and continued trying to strategise his way out of whatever hellhole they’d found themselves in. He took a few heavy, confident steps and tugged at the chains as he went- Only to be yanked back with a grunt from Luis.

“ Hey, stop it! You move, I move, and I’m beat up enough as it is!”

Leon eyed Luis up-and-down for just a quick glance. He didn’t look terribly beat up, but also, he looked more well-groomed and put together than the average person even in a place like this, so maybe he was beat up by his standards. Who knows.

Leon’s attention returned back to the task at hand; he eyed the handle that held their chains together on a rolling divider, clamped shut by rusty nails and presumably having no quick-release.

He gave it another hard tug, and Luis’ arms shot up once again.

“I can see… you’re thinking…”

He tried his best to ignore Luis’ voice as he attempted to maneuver the puzzle that was this contraption.

“Betcha’ been in spots like this before, huh?” Luis grinned wolfishly, his tone teasing.

Oh.

That went straight to his head.

And his pants. But he wasn’t about to acknowledge that right now.

It was getting increasingly difficult to ignore Luis’ ‘ advances’- He tried to distract himself from his reddening face by rolling the chains up in a fist and pulling them from over his shoulder, but to no avail. Luis continued to talk,

“ My guess… You’re here looking for… Someone?”

Another tug. No breaks. Leon felt strangely disappointed that Luis wasn’t implying something else when he had said that.

“OK, one more guess… Maybe some missing Señorita?”

Leon’s head snapped back in an instant. He’s almost completely forgotten about his mission, but once he remembered, it was like his brain was suddenly back on autopilot. That concerned and calculating side of his brain that he was much more familiar with activated as he spoke;

“A young girl?”

When Luis hesitated to speak, his eyes darting across the room, Leon instinctively yanked the chains down with such force that it sent Luis almost tumbling straight into his chest, his arms pulled up high above his head as he was stopped from making contact by the chains between them.

Leon was suddenl y extremely aware of how close they were- Luis’ mouth was mere inches away from his face, and Leon was able to feel his warm breath against his skin. Their chests would be barely just touching if it wasn’t for how slim-built the Spaniard was.

Leon had reacted on impulse but now he was really regretting pulling him this close after Luis’ face scrunched in a grimace; His pretty mouth biting at his lips as he bared his teeth while grunting. Leon forced himself to focus on the task at hand, even with Luis’ presence alone being so intoxicating;

“Talk. Now.”

“ Alright… See, heard some chatter about moving a Señorita…”

“Moving her?” Leon was forced to relent and let Luis loose, watching him stumble back with slight disappointment.

“Where?”

“Who knows,” He regretted that decision immediately as Luis returned to his subject-dancing, cocky demeanor; Standing up straight and giving him a toothy smile all the while as he continued to talk.

“ But, later, saw some old men dragging someone… to the old church-“

Luis was hardly able to finish his sentence before Leon successfully yanked the rolling handle of the chains clean off the roof- Sending Luis flying onto his ass from the velocity, the chains almost whacking the both of them in the knees as Leon hurriedly bunched them up in his fists. That’s when he spotted it, out of the corner of his eye; A Ganados with a large axe. Dragging it across the floor near-silently, with a wild look in it’s eyes.

Leon could just make out Luis groaning a gruff ‘ Mierda’ as he got onto his feet, right in the firing-line of the Ganados.

“Hanging with you? Not healthy…-“

Leon didn't even let Luis finish his sentence before he acted on instinct; he threw Luis forward by the chain, just in time for the Ganados’ axe to swing and miss him by a hair.

It took a couple more pathetic swings at Luis before the both of them whacked it in the face with their chain, seemingly working off of the same idea as they rounded it and wrapped the metal around its neck.

Once again, it took a few swings- but to no avail. Leon was quick to snag the chain under his knee and pull with all the strength he had, muscling the chain over his shoulders before choking it and sending it crumbling onto its knees.

Leon stayed in that position for a couple moments, catching his breath and calming his racing heart- not even paying attention to the sounds of chains clinking behind him as he calmed his shaky hands.

When he got up to face Luis, he was greeted with one hell of a sight;

His ‘companion’ had unchained himself and was walking backwards with such confident steps it made Leon both very angry and very turned-on.

Very inconvenient combination to have.

Luis gave him an absolute shit-eating grin. Leon tried racing towards him, but was yanked back by the chains still wrapped around the Ganados’ neck.

“Hey- We’re not done here!!”

Luis skilfully skipped backwards towards the door, just out of Leon’s reach, teasing the keys in his hand.

“Later, Amigo!”

Luis then threw the key across the room.

At least, Leon thought he’d thrown the key across the room. His arm made a languid throwing motion and Leon had already taken a couple quick steps to wherever it would land; but when he heard no sound, he turned back to Luis, who was biting his lip and looked to be on the verge of giggles. Key still in hand.

Goddamnit.

Luis had played him like a dog being teased with a ball. He’d pretended to throw the key like some kind of game.

“Now, before I leave-“

“ What is it?” Leon snapped, now thoroughly pissed off. Luis shook his head and laughed through his teeth.

“Ye of little faith I see. Let me ask you something, Yanqui,”

Luis had such a way with talking that even through his anger, Leon was kept on the edge of his seat unknowingly; entranced by every syllable that left the Spaniards mouth, he even leaned forward a little as if to hear a whisper. Luis spoke up again, voice lowered to a husky tone;

“Have you met your Soulmate?”

Leon stopped in his tracks.

He took a couple big, dramatic blinks at Luis, as if trying to confirm he wasn’t dreaming.

“ What did you say to me?”

Soulmates.

An extremely diverse and hard-to-pin subject. It was something that changed between religion and nationality and gender and anything in between you can imagine; Something everybody knew about and had their own personal opinions on.

Everybody knew- one of the first things you’d be taught as a child, in fact- that every person alive has a Soulmate.

That meant something different for everybody. Again, it all depended on who you were as a person. Platonic, conventional, unorthodox, the works.

But there was one unifying fact about Soulmates that was an undeniable fact of life;

Everybody had a ‘Soulmate Mark’.

It usually appears on your skin as a baby- For some people it can take a couple years, but everyone has one by the time they’re toddlers.

A dark, blob-like birthmark located somewhere on your skin that’s easy to spot and usually ranges from being mole-sized to taking up a whole thumb.

Everyone has a unique mark. But only your Soulmate would ever share the exact same one with you; That, of course, is how you find your Soulmate.

Leon never thought too hard about his Soulmate. How could he? He had much more important things to worry about, like saving the president's daughter, for example.

But also… His life didn't leave much room for exploration like that. Between training as a Cop in his late teen years and being ( Kidnapped) ‘encouraged’ to work for the Government and train with the Military to be a glorified super-soldier;

Leon never thought twice about who his Soulmate would be. Or if he’d ever find them at all.

Some people were content with that. Some people opted to marry someone who wasn’t their Soulmate regardless. Some people- usually overzealous religious church-goers- Saw that as being totally scandalous.

And, again, Leon never thought twice of it.

But it wasn't exactly a casual subject you bring up to a stranger- Especially not in circumstances like these.

It wasn’t controversial per-se; Just personal. Which was why Leon was staring at Luis in disbelief like a newborn deer when he popped the question like he’d just asked ‘ hey you wanna grab a beer after this?’

Leon felt a weird feeling bubble up in his chest. He chalked it up to frustration.

“Why do you wanna know?”

Luis, characteristically, did not answer at first. He shrugged and played with the key in between his fingers languidly, not even looking Leon in the eye.

“No reason. But, ah, out of curiosity- mind showing off your mark?”

Leon probably looked as though he’d just been slapped across the face. He felt like he’d just been slapped across the face. He kinda wanted to slap Luis across the face.

When Leon didn't respond immediately, Luis backtracked.

“Say, let’s make a deal, shall we? Show me your mark and I give you the key. ¿Sí?”

Leon weighed the options in his mind for a moment before sighing in defeat. He really didn’t have any other choice, did he?

He hardly knew this ‘Luis Serra’, and through all his charms and good-looks he could secretly be totally cool with the idea of keeping Leon chained up forever until he starved to death for all he knew.

So, hesitantly, Leon rolled out his right arm and showed the mark to Luis.

His ‘Soulmate Mark’ was a dark purple-ish brown in color, and was about the size of the top of his thumb.

It rested on his forearm, just above his wrist. Not anywhere fantastical or intriguing, and easy enough to hide. Which suited Leon just fine.

Luis’ eyes scanned over Leon’s skin- And he would be lying if he said he didn’t suck in a breath and feel his face heat up at the way Luis inspected him so intimately.

He stayed frozen like that for a good couple moments before Luis leaned back against the door, satisfied with what he saw, clicking his tongue against his teeth. Again, a weird turn-on for Leon that he would never admit to anyone else ever.

Luis folded his arms languidly and leaned up against the doorframe, cocking his head a little in a way that drove Leon insane.

“ Hmmmm… Eso no es lo que esparaba….”

“What? What is it?”

Leon asked, his voice coming out more panicked than he’d intended. He knew enough Spanish to hold a conversation, yes, but Luis’ accent was so thick and he spoke so quietly that it was impossible for Leon to make out what he was saying. It sounded like he was talking aloud to himself, anyways.

A painful few seconds passed before Luis slipped his hands into his pockets, standing upright and sucking in a sharp breath. Eyes still on Leon’s exposed arm.

“Well, Yanqui, have to admit- you’ve got me rather speechless. First time somebody’s done that in a long while”

“Cut the bullshit,” Leon practically growled, growing more impatient and anxious by the second as Luis seemed to talk slower and slower as he went along.

“Tell me what the fuck is up or so help me-“

Leon was stopped dead in his tracks when Luis pulled up the sleeve of his jacket and showed him his right arm.

There, sitting just above his wrists on his forearm, was his mark. Absolutely and undeniably identical to Leon’s in every way; same shape, color size…

Leon couldn’t believe it.

He just stood there in silence, looking undoubtedly dumbfounded and open-mouthed as he stared at the mark on Luis’ arm.

His mind went blank.

‘ Shit. This can’t be happening.’

Luis gave him a couple more moments to stare in disbelief before giving Leon yet another shit-eating grin, tugging the sleeve of his jacket back down his arm all the while.

Leon had to blink dumbly a couple times to even register that Luis was beginning to walk towards him. Slowly. Agonizingly slowly.

It all made sense now in Leon’s head; and in all the worst ways possible, too.

He just assumed his automatic trust and attraction to this man was due to his raging Homosexuality or nerves. But nope. The fucker he’d just been chained up with, back-to-back, who he’d found zipped up in a body bag with tape over his mouth was his Soulmate.

Leon didn’t really know what to think. Before, he couldn’t care less about who his Soulmate was. But now? It was all he could think about.

What the fuck was he supposed to do?

Leon was snapped back to reality when he noticed oh shit Luis just got really close all of a sudden. Their feet were almost touching and Leon was able to make out every individual eyelash on his face, they were that close, in fact.

It made his heart thump so loudly his eardrums rang and he was certain Luis would’ve been able to hear it.

The two of them just stood there like that. In silence. Luis had that godforsaken casual smirk plastered on his lips and Leon most likely looked like a deer in headlights.

Then, without warning, Luis grabbed Leon’s shirt collar by the underside of his fingers and pulled him into a kiss.

It wasn’t gentle, and it was far from loving. Teeth clashed and their dry, bitten lips felt more uncomfortable than not but even so Leon couldn’t stop thinking Holy fuck he’s kissing me he’s kissing me he’s kissing me the entire time. The more logical and less endorphin-filled part of his brain wanted to kick Luis in the shins till he was on his knees. But the other, much louder and more impulsive side of him wanted to slip his hands into his long locks and hold him there.

But Leon didn’t even have time to close his eyes and at least try to enjoy it before Luis pulled away.

And then he promptly shoved Leon’s chest hard enough to make him stumble over his chains.

The brunette chuckled as he watched Leon fumble to regain his balance, before flicking him a quick wave with his wrist.

“Guess I’ll be seeing you later, mí amor”

“ Wait-!”

He called out like a lost puppy.

Leon tried to run after him as Luis slipped round the corner of the corridor, but it was no use. Just as quickly as he’d appeared, he’d disappeared even faster.

Leon hasn’t even noticed through all of his flustered brain-fog that something small and cold was pressed up against his chest, cupped by his own free hand.

He took a shaky breath and looked down at his palm;

Luis had given him the key during their kiss.

#ericswriting #serennedy week 2023 #serennedyweek2023 #serennedy week #serennedy #luis sera #luis serra #leon kennedy #leon s kennedy #leon kennedy fanfic #leon s kennedy fanfiction #luis sera fanfic #resident evil fanfiction #re fanfic #luis sera navarro #luis serra navarro

[teaandfiction-28]

I'm so excited for this, honestly want to choose all of them but for now, could you please write something with Smut 8?

Can't wait to read it 💙💙

Knew I could count on you for the smut @acdassenza - a girl after my own heart!! 💛 Really hope you enjoy.

—————————

Prompt: “Why don’t you put that mouth to better use?”

Word Count: 1.3k

Warnings: Plenty of smut, very brief mention of attempted rape [18+ only].

Timeline: For those of you following the stories, this one shot is set between Chapters 14 and 15 of Perfect Storm. For those who haven’t read the books yet (I totally recommend you do!), for a bit of context, Hank and Kate are together but they are yet to tell the rest of the unit.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” 

Hank simply lifted both eyebrows, his tongue tracing along his teeth just as it always did when he was making an effort to reign in his infamous temper. He could feel both Antonio and Alvin’s eyes boring holes into the side of his head and he knew that both of them were silently wondering how he was going to handle such a blatant show of disrespect. 

“You’re just going to let that prick walk?” She seethed, her bright hazel eyes alight with a fiery rage as she stared him down, the air between them crackling with tension. 

She knew just as well as he did that, in this job, sometimes you had to do things you didn’t want to do. And, unfortunately, this was one of those times. The order to release the perverted scumbag currently in their custody had come from the very top, all because his father was wealthy and was fortunate enough the have both the Mayor and the Chief of Police on speed dial. It wasn’t like he relished the idea of letting an attempted rapist skate away without a care in the world but his hands were tied. 

He held her gaze for a few more beats before turning towards Alvin and Antonio.

“You give us a minute?” 

His tone was low with a lethal lilt that rooted Antonio to the spot for a few moments longer than he should have but he eventually succumbed to Alvin’s not-so-gentle prodding and reluctantly left Hank’s office, casting a concerned glance at Kate over his shoulder as he passed. She was still breathing heavy with barely suppressed anger when she heard the door close behind her with a quiet click, indicating that they were now very much alone. 

Hank turned his eyes back to her face but, instead of his usually warm russet orbs, they were a deep shade of umber, making it almost impossible to differentiate the pupil from the iris. 

That was the very second Kate knew she’d fucked up. Royally. 

They’d been sleeping together for a few months and, aside from the gigantic cock-up with Kevin and his CI, they been very much on the same page...until now. 

“You think it’s okay to talk to me like that in front of my subordinates?” He said quietly, the muscle in his jaw beginning to twitch with barely suppressed anger.

“I-”

She had barely opened her mouth to respond when he slammed a fist onto his desk, hard enough to topple both his nameplate and the single picture frame and the sudden movement succeeded in startling Kate into silence. 

“If the next words out of your mouth are anything but ‘no Sarg’, we’re gonna have a real problem.”

The only silver lining was that it had been Alvin and Antonio bearing witness to the verbal assault she had aimed his way. If she had pulled that stunt in front of any of the others, he wouldn’t have had a choice but to give her yet another written warning which would have resulted in formal disciplinary action. Action that could potentially see her removed from the unit and, as far as he was concerned, that wasn’t a viable option. Not only did it give him peace of mind to have her close, she was a first-class detective and there was no way he was going to give her up to Vice or the Gang Unit without a fight. 

“You know...” He muttered, slowly pushing to his feet and rounding his desk. “...one of these days your smart mouth is going to get you into hot water, you know that?” 

The sound of the lock sliding into place had Kate swallowing thickly, her eyes trained on the blinds behind his desk. She didn’t need to turn around to know that he was slowly advancing on her like a predator stalking its prey. His scent invaded her senses long before his lips touched the base of her neck, the familiar earthy aroma mixed with a hint of citrus and leather that she had come to associate with him permeating the air around her. 

Nuzzling his face into the soft patch of skin behind her ear, he grasped her by the waist and spun her to face him, instantly seizing her lips with his in a hard, savage kiss. Two sets of hands moved at a frenetic pace, touching, grabbing and pulling at whatever they could reach in an effort to draw the other closer. 

Not one to be outdone by his aggressive ministrations, Kate sucked his lower lip into her mouth, laving it with her tongue before biting down sharply; not hard enough to draw blood but certainly hard enough to leave the abused flesh swollen and tender. Gripping the fabric of his navy button-up in both fists, Kate pushed him around his desk until she was able to shove him back down into his chair and drop to her knees before him. 

“This what you want Sarg?” She murmured, glancing up at him through thick lashes as she ran her palms over his denim-clad thighs. “You want me to obey you, is that it?”

His response died on his tongue when she swiftly unbuckled his belt and, with deft fingers, popped the button on his jeans and tugged the zipper down, immediately dipping a hand into his boxers to draw out his rock hard length. 

“Here’s an idea.” He growled, fisting her wavy locks into a makeshift ponytail. “Why don’t you put that mouth to better use, hmm?”

All of her previous anger seemed to dissipate when she peered up the length of his body to find the man she had taken to her bed almost every night for the past few months staring intently back at her, emerging from behind the tough exterior that he presented to the rest of the world. 

“Who knew you were full of such good ideas?” She muttered with a saucy wink, grasping his length in her soft palm and, with perfectly pursed lips, she blew a stream of cool air over the tip of his cock, barely containing her smug grin when his hips instinctively jerked towards her in search of sweet friction. 

Hank’s eyes almost disappeared into the back of his head when she took the wide crest of him into the molten cavern of her mouth, her tongue tracking over each of the prominent veins in turn. She bought him to the edge embarrassingly quickly and, as he began to throb and pulse in her mouth, she fluttered her tongue just beneath the swollen tip and he spilled himself into her mouth with a quiet grunt of satisfaction, his hips arching into small, jerky thrusts until she had swallowed everything he had to offer. 

She eventually drew his slowly-softening length from her mouth, her tongue swiping over her lower lip as she tucked him back into his jeans with a surprising amount of gentleness given how their encounter had started. He reached out and helped her to her feet, tugging her down for a long, passionate kiss, suddenly entirely unwilling to let her go. 

“We’ll talk about this again later.” He said quietly, brushing a stray curl away from her face tenderly when they eventually parted. 

“Yes sir.” 

With a final peck to his lips, she slowly moved towards the door, waiting until  Hank was done righting his clothing before she slipped back the lock and moved into the bullpen. All conversations stopped mid-flow and six pairs of eyes darted between her and Hank who was hovering in the doorway, his stern expression a million miles from the look of pure ecstasy he had worn not minutes earlier.

"Everybody back to work. I want all of your reports on my desk before you leave.” 

Just as he was about the close the door, he caught Alvin’s quirked eyebrow from across the room and, as he took a large bite of his half-eaten banana with a wry grin, Hank had a sinking feeling that his best friend knew exactly what he had been up to behind closed doors. 

#hank voight #hank voight fanfiction #hank voight one shot #hank voight smut #hank voight x ofc #smut #one chicago fanfiction #chicago pd fanfiction

[luminouslotuses]

my (hopefully) coherent thoughts about mean girls! spoilers ahead ofc👍

music:

the songs weren’t that bad! sexy, world burn, apex predator, and meet the plastics were my faves

my least favorite was stupid with love though,, the production makes it so boring i’m sorry😭

<-but what i will say is that the stupid with love reprise performed at the spring fling SLAPPED. why can’t that be on the soundtrackk

i feel like a lot of emotion that the original songs had is lost here. whether it be the production or the vocals accompanying it or both; i feel like they go hand in hand. reneé auli’i & jaquel definitely brought the energy that was needed here

the choreography & visuals that went with the songs definitely made them better than simply listening to the soundtrack on its own. like i was much more invested in what ifs & revenge party for example– and i already liked someone gets hurt, but the VISUALS??? holy shit that scene was incredible

i really wish a few songs were kept from the show like any of damian’s or that the someone gets hurt reprise in the movie was included in the soundtrack. hell i kind of wish do this thing was kept because i think that would’ve gone so hard at the end for some inexplicable reason pfft

and of course these can’t top the original broadway versions, nor did i expect them to. also sometimes the production or mixing was either bland or off (like in world burn reneé’s vocals are a second or two behind the backing track at one point, which is super weird since it’s fine in the soundtrack but i digress lmao)

cast/characters:

the cast have great chemistry they’re all so talented they’re so fucking funny aghh the casting was perfect

reneé as regina made me gayer somehow. Not surprised there

AVANTIKA. she was soso perfect as karen!! so funny so insanely pretty and she did sexy so much justice

okay admittedly i was a little unsure about angourie as cady. only at first though because once she became part of the plastics she played that role so well

speaking of cady that scene when regina’s singing in the cafeteria and cady’s staring at her is actually the gayest thing i’ve ever seen hands down

ms. norbury & mr. duvall are in a relationship. they have dogs at home. janis said (jokingly) that they got wasted at the spring fling. they are My straight couple i love them so fucking much

ough the bond between cady and her mom is so sweet and even emotional at one point i really like it

the band always seeming to be around and playing is so good especially when they’re in the tree in that one scene lol

i knew lindsay lohan would be there somehow and her being the proctor for the math competition was golden. (also her lines like “this has only happened once more”<-referencing the original movie & then the “i don’t know your life” to cady were SOOO)

miscellaneous:

so happy some of the jokes and moments from the musical were in the movie. like “homeschooled? oh that’s a fun way to take jobs from my union!” & mr. duvall’s retainer case & the bathroom scene with cady & regina lol

i was thinking they’d go overboard with the social media aspect (like a lot of media typically tends to do when making a movie like this) but i was pleasantly surprised! yes it was definitely a large part of many scenes but i think it mostly worked & made sense. but then again this is tina fey so she knows what she’s doing lmao

it’s best to not have any expectations when walking into this movie; nothing too high, nothing too low. i probably like it more than the average person as i’ve always loved the broadway musical but still. if you want to see it i say go for it! it has a great cast, songs that range from bland & perfectly serviceable to great with exceptional vocals (coughs. Reneé), and some nice references and moments for fans of the original movie, the musical, or both. it was fun time and i could tell there was heart put into it🫶

#mean girls #my ted talk

[epicaxolotls]

Prompt: Space AU

Words: 1,825

TW FOR MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH

idk i just felt angsty

not reread because i'm tired, i'll probably edit it a bit & add tags tomorrow

Tommy paused. The command center was still beeping. Every few seconds, the spaceship was washed in red lights, as the alarms continued their screeching.

Tommy hated the alarms.

He knew what they were for, though.

Everyone on the ship did. 

Tommy really hadn’t wanted it to happen, though.

But before being allowed to hop on the ship, sent away into the stars for who-knows-how-long, they had to go through debriefs about the system. Tommy hadn’t paid much attention. Phil had been the one coursed on the ship and shit. He was their pilot, so Tommy didn’t see too much reason to need to know. 

If Phil died from old age, then they were all dead. Oh well. Honestly, Tommy didn’t sign up to be out here to survive. Far from it, if he was being honest.

But everyone knew what a fucking screaming alarm meant.

Something had definitely gotten fucked up.

And Tommy knew that, not just because of the giant flashing warning shit and all that, but also because Phil was passed out on the floor of the pilot’s cabin.

Not good. Really, really not good.

Wilbur rushed into the room about a minute after Tommy, who was still staring at Phil. He didn’t want to check his pulse. He really didn’t. So as Techno rushed in after Wilbur to make see what the problem was on the control panels, Wilbur walked up instead.

Tommy got out of his way. He didn’t know what to do with himself. Techno was checking the software shit to see what was wrong with the ship, Wilbur was making sure Phil wasn’t dead (he wasn’t, Wilbur soon confirmed, thank fuck), and Tommy was just there.

God, he was so fucking useless. He didn’t even know why the program decided to put him here. He’s just some kid that signed up on a whim because he wanted an excuse to just leave. It wasn’t like he actually knew much. He didn’t have a knack for flying the ship, like Phil, or an inhuman skill in fighting, like Techno, or ability to know when someone’s dying and how to make them not die, like Wilbur.

He was just. There.

He didn’t even know why anymore. He’d been so ready to get off Earth that he never thought to ask. And it wasn’t like the rest of the crew had any more of an idea than him.

“Looks like the internal engine got damaged.” Techno muttered, “Probably just debris and things that were bigger than we expected. Navigation’s off, so I can’t tell much, but from what I can see damaged, we must’ve crashed into somethin’ and it split, takin’ out the engine, navigation, and one of the left motors. Navigation thing must’ve short-circuited the board for a bit, that’s what got Phil. Or somethin’. Can’t really tell.”

Wilbur nodded, “Checks out. Tom, can you go get the medkit from the medbay? The one with all the shit, not just the first aid.”

Tommy nodded, taking the opportunity to get out of there the second Wilbur offered it. He ran down to the other side of the ship, and he thought.

They’d be fine without their engine for a little bit. Not long, but Techno would probably get the generator on, if it wasn’t already, and that’d be fine. And they could replace a motor.

But Tommy was always the one who checked storage. To make sure everything was still there and all. It was always boring, but he had to pull his weight somehow.

And Techno said that navigations were off.

If navigation was off, that meant the outer transmitter must’ve been hit. The outer transmitter, which Tommy knew, they didn’t have a spare of. 

Tommy grabbed the medkit, ran back, and gave it to Wilbur.

He left the room.

The transmitter broke off. It had to have. Tommy’s lived with these guys for almost a year. If Techno said that navigation was off, that didn’t just mean it had no signal.

It had to have broken off.

Tommy knew where the spacesuits were. Why wouldn’t he? He might not be that useful on the ship, but he knew where shit was. Especially like. Some of the most important things.

Tommy also knew how to prepare these suits. That was what he was supposed to be good at. He was mostly drilled on boring shit, like preparing suits and how he needed to play a part in the team.

”Remember, Tommy,” Dream spoke, after Tommy had asked a particularly stupid question out of boredom, “The point of you being on that ship is that you’re non-vital. You’re able to be lost if worst comes to worse.”

”I know.” Tommy muttered, regretting the snarky comment the second he had said it, “I’m cannon fodder.”

”Sure.” Dream had shrugged. A part of Tommy had wanted Dream to oppose Tommy’s statement. The more reasonable part of him knew that Dream couldn’t. It was true.

Hey, at least Tommy got to actually be useful now, y’know? His dumbass had been taking up space on the ship for a while now. The others were probably gonna be happy with him gone. They could finally stop having to pretend to like him.

Tommy got the suit on. The oxygen tank was full. He had the job of preparing them, and making sure the tanks were still pressurized and shit. Of course it was full.

Tommy walked past the room. Honestly, he hoped someone would notice him walking by with a big, dumbass, bulky suit and stop him.

But Phil was still passed out. Wilbur was next to him, trying to make sure he didn’t have a concussion or whatever the fuck an electricity shock would’ve given him. Tommy didn’t see Techno in the room. He was probably trying to figure out how to do repairs without knowing most of the shit he needed to repair.

Tommy walked by.

The spaceship was big. Tommy had expected it to be a lot fucking smaller before they all got there. Like the ones in those videos of astronauts going about their day-to-day lives in space and all. That small. But it was big. Like, really fucking huge. To the point where Tommy had gotten lost many times during the first few weeks. Maybe months. Tommy didn’t keep track. Maybe he should’ve.

Tommy knew the layout of it now, though. He knew where to go. Kinda. 

Well. He knew where he needed to get out to find the navigation thing.

Tommy went through the airlock. It was loud. Someone probably heard it. But they had important shit they needed to do, so it wasn’t like they were gonna come stop Tommy.

Tommy wondered if they’d stop him regardless.

Whatever.

Tommy got himself hooked up to the ship so he didn’t. Y’know. Float away. And he went out.

The airlock was horribly loud, for just a moment. For just a moment, and then it was quiet.

Tommy hadn’t turned his radio on. That was fine. It shouldn’t take too long.

He also hadn’t told anyone he’d been going out the airlock.

No one knew he was out here, and he barely had a way to tell them, with the radio not working. He could probably get it on. Maybe. But also, he needed to get out.

Tommy let himself drift out of the airlock for a moment. It was stupid, he knew that, and he needed to get the navigation shit back up, but–

No. No, he needed to focus. Tommy grabbed the ship, pulling himself over to the navigation. Thankfully, it wasn’t too far away from the airlock. Just five meters or so, if Tommy had to guess.

Tommy looked at it. Mostly the shit that had to be exposed, for y’know, navigation. Those were probably the things most likely to get damaged.

He really didn’t have to look for more than a few seconds to see that the entire antenna was gone. Hah. That. That wasn’t awesome.

Tommy looked around, hoping that maybe. Maybe he could see it. Because if the entire antenna had been knocked off of their navigation system, there was no way they’d be able to get back on. Not with the weird shit that had gone into the antenna to get it to pick up the signal they needed.

Tommy saw it. It was above him a bit, a little bit away from the ship. Its silver reflected the light of some of the spaceship’s red lights, making it kind of flicker in and out of his view. 

So, in a desperate hope, he jumped toward it.

Tommy lost it for a moment, among the pitch black of space.

Then, he saw it in front of him, and–

He felt a tug. The tube that was connecting him to the spaceship and actually. Well. Giving him air.

Tommy couldn’t– no.

It was right there.

The tank on his back had enough air by itself to last a bit. He didn’t remember how long Dream had said. But it would be enough. It had to be.

Tommy pulled off the tube, let go of it, careful not to push it back towards the ship.

He grabbed the antenna.

Tommy took a breath.

He grabbed the tube, and pulled himself over to the ship again.

Tommy took another breath.

He just needed to fix this now.

Tommy took another breath.

It might go there, or maybe-? No, that was a port, why would that…

Tommy took another breath.

There. That looked broken off.

Tommy took another breath. He felt. Hm. Lightheaded.

Stress. That’s what it was.

Tommy inhaled, focusing on the broken antenna.

That tiny thing was making them lose all connections.

Tommy exhaled. He needed to focus.

Okay. Yeah. Right there. He just needed to keep it there. And he didn’t bring duct tape or anything.

Tommy wondered if he should just try to force it into where it goes.

Eh. Why not.

Tommy took out the broken bit of the other bit of the antenna. He put it the actual part. He felt it secure. He imagined it would probably make a small click, if Tommy could hear it.

Tommy let out a sigh of relief.

He barely felt any air enter his lungs.

Tommy paused, and looked over to the tube, which was now floating a bit away from him.

No. No, no no–

Tommy reached over to it. He couldn’t reach. He tried to grab onto the ship, to propel himself toward it, and he took another breath in.

But he couldn’t get any air. 

He couldn’t think about the tube anymore. He couldn’t breathe. No. No–

He couldn’t breathe.

Tommy let go of the ship.

He tried to get another breath in, as his vision blurred.

Cannon fodder, Tommy had said.

He was cannon fodder.

He really hoped it at least worked.

#SBIBingo2023 #i think thats the tag #tw: major character death #fanfic #sbi fanfic #angst #tommyinnit angst #tommyinnit fanfic #my writing #i need one of those fun my writing tags lmao

[lamina-tsrif]

Walls and Friends

Everyone hits a wall.Sometimes, the wall is very big, and visible from very far away. Big walls that you can see from far away give you time to figure out how to go around them. And if they don’t, you still have the time to build tools to climb over them, or dig through them.Sometimes the wall is very small, but catches you off-guard. It doesn’t take a lot to get around or over or through a small wall, but you’re not expecting a wall until the last second, and you don’t have any tools ready. Annoying, but at least small enough to deal with easily enough.

And sometimes, the wall is invisible.You don’t know a wall is coming until you run into it face first. You don’t know how big it is, or whether there’s a path around it. You don’t know what material it’s made of, so you don’t know what kind of tool would be best to climb it, or dig through it. Invisible walls were a pain in the keister.Especially since anyone else would just tell you to walk forward, because they couldn’t see the wall. Some people didn’t know about invisible walls, and thought other people just didn’t feel like moving on. Dealing with people who didn’t believe in invisible walls was almost more infuriating than the invisible walls.

Lamina had hit an invisible wall.It wasn’t the first time they had hit a wall, not even the first invisible one. That did not make it any more pleasant to smack into one face first.They had been focused on a wall in the distance - a big but very visible wall, made of a few different materials. A wall of Work, coming in their path soon in various forms, and needing various tools. Lamina had been crafting the tools to deal with the big Work wall.

And then they’d gotten cold-clocked by an invisible wall.It had knocked them from the sky, and the fall to the ground had hurt them a lot. Getting up would be a lot of work before they could even start trying to deal with either of the walls.And so for a bit, Lamina just lay there in the dirt, coughing blood with limbs akimbo, wishing that the wall wasn’t there.

A soft rustling sound from behind Lamina made them slowly turn their head. It was hard to see through the dirt on their glasses.Something poked at their glasses, fuzzy and bright, and when it pulled back there was a little less dirt on their glasses.In front of them sat a pig, wearing a crown that was too big and had fallen upside-down around its neck. It bore two balls of red and green, the same shades as Lamina wore.This pig was a friend, Boon. Lamina and Boon had been friends for a long time, and even though they didn’t talk as much as they used to, Lamina was happy to see Boon again.

Boon sat back on its haunches, cleared its throat, and started shaking the balls - pom-poms.“Ra! Ra! Sis-boom-ba! You can do it, La-mi-na!” The voice was rough and low for a pig, and a little silly in the way one sounds when one doesn’t care about sounding silly.It waved the pom-poms high, and it waved the pom-poms low, and it waved the pom-poms so strongly it nearly fell backwards.“Ra! Ra! Sis-boom-ba! You can do it, La-mi-na!”

Lamina stared at Boon.Boon stared at Lamina, and shook the pom-poms again.They both began to laugh.

And then Boon set the pom-poms down, and grabbed Lamina’s collar with its teeth. It gently helped Lamina roll back into a position that was a little more comfortable, laying down next to it.“Hit a wall?" Lamina nodded, sighing. "Want to draw. But I have to get past the Work wall, and there’s another one in the way.”Boon nodded solemnly. “Invisible. Hit a lot of those myself.”“How did you deal with them?”Boon’s piggy lips tilted back in a smile. “Got help. A lot of it from you.”

Lamina looked over at Boon. Boon looked back.“A lot of the days I was writing, I hit my own walls. But I would look through it, and see you waiting on the other side. And you were always so happy to see me that I just had to make it through the wall. And sometimes, you would help me through it, seeing things I couldn’t.”It was true. It felt like a long time ago, and no time at all.

“So whenever you want to get up,” Boon said, stretching and wiggling back onto its feet, “and take another crack at the wall, I’ll be here. You can lay down for a bit if you want, though - you hit it pretty hard. And I can wait.”Lamina watched the pig pick up the pom-poms again, brushing the dirt off them. Boon looked back, and wiggled them.“Ra! Ra! Sis-boom-ba! You can do it, La-mi-na!”

—–

aka ur little drawing inspires me as always, and i’ll help you with any walls I can, even if all i can do is pom-pom

#submission #what if i just never recover from this #there are actual tears in my eyes #how the fuck are you able to write amazing shit like this so casually at the drop of a hat #youre so fuckin talented!!!!!! #i really did hit an invisible wall #thought i was ready for it !! very much was not #i love the way you do descriptions #everyone seems to always hit a wall around you until you hit a wall yourself and you watch everyone around you pass through like its nothing #i cant believe we didnt meet that long ago! it feels like ive known you for so many years!!! #there is so much care in this. i can hug this close n love oozes from this like a sponge #m so glad i have you as a friend!! i really needed this #ra! ra! sis-boom-ba! i can do it LA-MI-NA! #<- that is going ot be my war cry for now on whenever i need to get something done thank you i love it #this it so good i still cant believe you wrote this for me #thank you!!!!!!! \^~^/ #ALSO!!!! I DID THE MAIN BULK OF THE WORK RIGHT AFTER YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT!!!!!!! #IT WASNT EVEN THAT HARD!!!! I WAS JUST DREADING IT SO BAD BECAUSE I HATED THE SUBJECT MATERIAL #THANK YOU!!!!! THANK YOU INFINITY TIMES OVER!! IF I HADNT I PROBABLY WOULD'VE RAN OUT OF TIME DOING IT LATER AND MESSED IT UP #BOON YOURE THE FUCKING BEST N YOU DESERVE THE BEST #M TREASURING THIS FOREVER I HOPE YOU KNOW THAT

[late-nite-scholar]

Falloutober Days 29 & 30- Hades and Darkness Into Light

Hey, everybody. Had a little bit of an idea for Hades, and I didn’t finish it last night so I managed to sneak Darkness Into Light in as well. It’s Hawke and Hancock, first heading out from Goodneigbor together after the Big Dig. At this point, Hancock is still trying to figure Hawke out, and by the end of this, he’s got a pretty good idea. Also featuring Hawke's sniper rifle, mentioned by name. Prompts by @falloutober

Length- about 1300 words

Warnings- language, I guess? Also, canon-typical violence

(Here’s a screenshot I just took in Sanctuary Hills because I couldn’t find one I liked in my stash)

***

“What the fuck, John?”

Hancock winced. Fahrenheit only gave him the first name treatment when she was pissed. His hand paused, hovering over the few things he’d been shoving into his bag. He could practically feel her stare boring through him and when he turned, he saw he was right. 

“Explain.” She demanded, leaving no room to argue.

He shrugged. “It’s like I said out there. I’m gettin’ too comfortable. That business with Bobbi made me realize that. I gotta get back out there for a little while, get sharp again.” 

Fahrenheit crossed her arms. “Bullshit, John. You’re going with that Vault Dweller. You’ve been watching her since she got here.”

“I offered to go with her, yeah. She’s lookin’ for her kid. Seems like a good way to see some action. And I gotta do this. I can’t let myself turn into the same kind of shit politician as everywhere else.”

“Don’t lie to me. You’re looking for action, all right. If you’re leaving to take up with someone else, you could at least have the balls to say it to my face.”

He blanched. Stuffing the last few things into his bag, he tossed it over his shoulder. “You wanted to cool things off, not me. And I ain’t planning on nothing like that. Help take care of the city, I’ll be back in a little while.”

Fahrenheit didn’t say anything else, which was almost worse. Enough at least to make Hancock light out of there like his ass was on fire. And almost run smack into the Vault Dweller. Fahrenheit had given him the death glare, this one gave him a bright smile. 

“You all ready to go, Mister Mayor?”

“Hancock, ma’am. Just Hancock.”

“All right. Then I’m just Hawke. No ‘ma’am’ stuff.”

“Deal.”

He chuckled. This one surprised him. He’d expected someone fresh out of a Vault to be soft, to have no idea how to navigate the outside world. But this one was smart, and tough. She wore a long scar across her face like a trophy, yet she’d talked down Bobbi No-Nose and ended things clean after realizing what she was up to. It was enough that Hancock was still trying to figure her out. 

He was doing just that when she piped up. They’d left Goodneighbor behind, heading west over the broken remains of a road. “I appreciate you coming with me. I didn’t really expect the mayor himself to do so.”

“Gotta let the people run things for a while. It’ll be good for them. And me. Maybe not for you, though. You gotta put up with this mug now.” He laughed, sliding that self-deprecation in as easy as breathing. 

He sure didn’t expect the soft way she replied. “I don’t see anything wrong with that.” 

That threw him for a loop. He covered it with a joke. “Are all Vault folks like you?”

She froze for half a second before shrugging. “I don’t know. I’m the only one left. We were cryo-frozen. Over the years, the other pods started to fail. I got lucky somehow, mine defrosted me. Everyone else wasn’t so fortunate.”

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” There was definitely more to this woman than he’d realized. 

She shrugged again. “Hey, you didn’t know. And I don’t think it was anything malicious. It was more like it wasn’t expected for us to be frozen that long. But everyone outside died when the bombs fell, and the folks who were taking care of things in the Vault eventually did too. No one to fix things when they start breaking down.” 

She’d said it with nonchalance, but Hancock wasn’t fooled. He knew how to mask hurt with the best of them. But one detail stuck out, and he steered the subject that way. “When the bombs fell? How long were you frozen for, ma’am… I mean, Hawke?”

“Two hundred years. Or so I’m told. I had a house in Sanctuary Hills. It was a nice, new neighborhood back then. The house is still there, I can show it to you sometime.” She chuckled. “I’m sure you think I’m crazy, or that I’m on chems. Claiming to be pre-war.” 

“You ain’t on chems. Not like that, at least. I know all about chems. But with a story like that, I’m more surprised you aren’t on them.”

A wistful, sad smile crossed her face. But it hardened immediately. She pointed outward. “Look.” 

Five raiders blocked the road ahead. They were shoving around a ghoul while a woman and a child cowered on the ground. The thugs were laughing. Hancock couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it didn't matter. Rage filled him, and he racked his shotgun. It would be a sprint, but he could get there quick enough. He hoped.  

“Fuckers.” Hawke muttered beside him. In one smooth motion, she ducked behind the shell of a car, pulling the rifle from her back. He saw now it had a long scope, and the words ‘Death from Afar’ painted on the stock. As he watched, she expertly lined up a shot. Up ahead, a laughing raider’s head suddenly snapped back and he fell to the ground. She pivoted only a fraction and fired again, taking out a second thug. Good Lord, that's the sexiest thing I’ve seen in a long time. The other three broke and ran. 

Hancock’s brain hadn’t quite rebooted when she stood, slinging her rifle back over her shoulder. She gave him an almost embarrassed smile. “My, uh, late husband was military. He insisted I know how to shoot, in case I ever needed to protect myself.” 

Then she was taking off up the road toward the three who were all hugging and comforting each other. Hancock could only follow, still waiting for his brain to catch up and digest all of this information. By the time he got to Hawke’s side again, she was already talking with the family. 

“Thank you!” Tears streamed down the woman’s face as she held the child close. Of the three, she was the only non-ghoul. “I didn’t know what those raiders were going to do!”

“Do you have a home? We could see you get there safely?” Hawke put a hand on her back, rubbing it soothingly. 

The man shook his head. “We’ve been hopping from camp to camp since we got kicked out of Diamond City. No offense, Mr. Mayor, but Goodneighbor’s too rough for raisin’ a kid.”

“Then come to Sanctuary Hills with me. It’s not much, but it’s a safe place. There’s a few folks there, we’ve got a bit of something going.” Hawke offered. 

 This time the man looked down at his family. “Will they accept us? Most places don’t like mixed couples.” 

“They will. And if anyone gives you grief, you tell me and I’ll deal with them personally.”

As the group of them started off down the road again, Hancock watched Hawke talk with the family. He shouldn’t have been surprised at how good she was with the kid, joking and asking about things he liked. She also asked the parents about themselves and just talked to them like they were regular people. In the short time between spotting the raiders and now, Hancock felt like he’d finally gotten a sense of the kind of person Hawke was. 

“Hey, Hancock?” Her voice interrupted his thoughts. She turned a smile on him bright enough to power Diamond City for a week. “You still with us?”

“Course I am,” he grinned back. And at that moment, he knew. He’d be with her as long as they both drew breath. He’d storm the gates of Hades itself if she asked him to. Fahrenheit had accused him of just looking for a piece of ass, but this, this was more than that. This was like coming out of darkness into the light again. And that light was Hawke. Did she feel the same? He doubted it, but he was going to ride this high for as long as he could.   

#falloutober2022 #falloutober #fallout 4 #sole survivor #sole survivor of vault 111 #hancock fallout 4 #sole x hancock #the big dig #goodneighbor #fallout ghoul #writing prompt

[highlifeboat]

Ooh, can we have some Zia/Zoecina fluff too? :3

Zoecina Fluff;

Zoe and Alcina talk about how shitty their brothers were/are quite a bit

In fact Zoe is Alcina’s go-to when she needs to rant about Heisenberg, because Zoe understands the “Brother who thinks he’s better than you because he’s smarter” trope and how annoying it is.

Zoe is incredibly interested in Alcina’s life before the Cadou, and always likes to hear her tell stories about it.

Alcina has to admit she doesn’t understand Zoe when she gets frustrated/angry and starts throwing around insults in a heavy Southern accent. Nor does she fully understand Zoe’s Southernisms much in general. (She also suffers this problem with Mia on occasion)

She does find the Southern Twang very cute, though.

Zoe is the sort of person who can fall asleep anywhere (not unlike Alcina’s daughters), so Alcina will sometimes find Zoe taking a nap in odd places.

Most of the time she’s kind enough to at least bring Zoe to a couch or something so she doesn’t wake up with back/neck pain.

Doesn’t matter if Alcina’s on the sofa reading, laying in bed, on the phone, if she’s in a position Zoe can flop herself horizontally across her somehow, Zoe’s gonna take it the opportunity.

Unlike Mia who doesn’t sleep very much, Zoe actually sleeps a LOT and if Alcina ever “sleeps in” it’s usually because Zoe’s laying on top of her and she doesn’t wanna disturb her. (The only exception being early morning meetings)

Alcina and Zoe just… sitting out on one of the castle’s balcony’s smoking in a comfortable silence as the sun goes down.

Actually the thought of them sharing a cigarette, Zoe having to use Alcina’s quellazaire, and Alcina just watching Zoe hold it wrong.

Zoe sleeps with her face buried into Alcina’s neck. She usually winds up rolling off to the side, but she likes the security for falling asleep (If she’s not doing that then it’s her head tucked under Mia’s chin while they hold each other)

Zia Fluff;

Even though they haven’t really needed to in a while, Mia and Zoe still use morse code to communicate with each other sometimes.

While still living a domestic life pre-Village, they used to go to pet shelters and just spent time with the animals. Specifically the cats.

They even discussed the idea of getting a pet for a little while. Ultimately fate had other plans and they never did.

While stuck in Dulvey, Mia told Zoe that she was going to take her on the cheesies, most boring, slice of life date ever if they survived.

She got to keep that promise, and on their first day back out in the real world Mia took Zoe to a local state fair for their first official date.

It was cheesy and mundane, as promised, and it was the best day either had in a very long time (even though Mia got sick from one of the rides). They even got to do the stereotypical “Kiss on the ferris wheel” thing.

Very few things compare to the feeling Zoe had when Mia spoke for the first time in well over a year. Her voice wasn’t quite the same after not being used for so long, and she still wasn’t talking all the time, but Zoe was mostly consumed with the revelation Mia was actually talking to her and she wasn’t just imagining it.

It’s second only to the feeling of Zoe noticing Mia’s relationship with food improving, and her looking less gaunt and more baby-faced like when they’d first met.

Sometimes when Mia finds Zoe taking a nap she’ll just flop on top and join her.

Them reminding each other to take their respective meds constantly.

Sometimes one will just… stare at the other for a while. Just admire her face.

Mia just being generally protective over Zoe, especially around large groups of people, or very specific people (like Miranda).

But also Zoe being protective of Mia when she has meltdowns or breakdowns.

Mia attempting to make foods that Marguerite used to make a lot because Zoe talks about how she misses her mama’s cooking.

She never quite gets it right, but Zoe really appreciates the effort.

#hereee #zocina #zia #zoe baker #mia winters #alcina dimitrescu #headcanons

[missfangirll]

The Road Not Taken

Fandom: Heaven Official's Blessing Rating: General Relationship: Feng Xin / Mu Qing Tags: modern AU, fluff, getting back  together, second chances Words: 3541 Summary: Feng Xin and Mu Qing broke up almost a decade ago. Mu Qing had sat him down on a table outside their favourite coffee shop, stirring absentmindedly in his mug as he told Feng Xin they should break up. Just like that, as if four years of relationship didn’t matter, as if everything they’d promised didn’t matter. We should break up, he had said, put the mug on the table and left, walked out of the coffee shop and Feng Xin’s life, leaving only shattered pieces behind.

A story about second chances.

Read on AO3

- - - - -

I love you.

Not because, despite.           I love you: regardless.

Not endlessly, infinitely.           I love you: boundless.

Not for ever, for now.           I love you: fearless.

I love you.

- - - - -

Feng Xin and Mu Qing broke up almost a decade ago. Eight years, four months and seventeen days ago, to be exact, which Feng Xin almost never is. He only remembers that date because it was a spring day, almost too warm for the season, the sun bright and the air fresh, as if to mock the gathering storm clouds in his mind. Mu Qing had sat him down on a table outside their favourite coffee shop, stirring absentmindedly in his mug as he told Feng Xin they should break up. Just like that, as if four years of relationship didn’t matter, as if everything they’d promised didn’t matter. We should break up, he had said, put the mug on the table and left, walked out of the coffee shop and Feng Xin’s life, leaving only shattered pieces behind.

It took him a while to get himself together again and now, eight years and a failed marriage later, Feng Xin’s only relationship is with a brown-white mutt named Pepper. It’s just the two of them in his small apartment that night, as it always is, when he realises he is out of beer. Normally, that wouldn’t be an issue, but it’s a Friday night, he’s had a Week From Hell and the only thing that has kept him standing for the last leg of his workday was the prospect of a nice cold bottle and a mindless video game, so he curses elaborately and goes to find his shoes. There is only one place he can get anything that late at night – it’s almost 1 am by now – and it’s a 15 minutes’ walk, so he grabs the leash too, much to Pepper’s loudly voiced delight.

“Shut up, you heathen,” he scolds her good-naturedly as they make their way down the stairs and into the dark park. There are not many people on the streets, as expected this late at night, but he still greets a few neighbours on the way. He has been living in that area for more than a decade, and by now they recognise him and his dog when they go for a walk.

The 24-hour-store is brightly illuminated, and he squints against the glare as he ties Pepper’s leash to a bike rack and gives her a pat, pushing the door open. The store is empty but for a bored teen manning the register, blowing pink bubbles while he nods rhythmically to some tunes in his earbuds. Feng Xin ignores him and rounds a corner, steering towards the alcohol, when someone else walks around that same shelf from the other side and right into him.

“Ouch,” he mumbles, annoyed, “watch where you go,” at the same time the other person says “Hey, watch it,” and they both freeze.

Feng Xin stares wide-eyed at the other man, his bruised shoulder forgotten.

Mu Qing.

His hair is longer, a shimmering black that almost looks silver in the neon lights, he is thinner and has more lines on his face than before, but he still looks like everything Feng Xin has ever dreamed of and suddenly he can’t breathe.

“Feng Xin,” Mu Qing says, voice carefully neutral, his face that mask of indifference Feng Xin hated seeing so much, but all he can think of now is how pretty the other is, how that cold facade still suits him. 

“Mu Qing,” he croaks finally, voice shaky and hoarse, “it’s good to see you.”

The other raises an eyebrow. “Is it?”

Feng Xin inhales deeply, then nods. He is not going to rise to the provocation, he has had eight years to unlearn that reflex. Plastering on a smile he replies, “It is. You look good. How have you been?”

Mu Qing relaxes a bit, his stony expression softening around the edges. “I’ve been alright. Still working with the same assholes, only now I can boss them around.” 

Feng Xin’s smile turns genuine at that. Mu Qing has always wanted to climb up the ladder, has wanted influence and money and prestige, while Feng Xin was happy to work for Xie Lian’s non-profit organisation, scraping by with occasionally teaching archery to over-excited preschoolers. It was one of the many things they argued about, but Feng Xin now feels honestly happy that Mu Qing has accomplished what he yearned for. So, with a smile he replies, “That’s really great, Mu Qing. It’s what you always wanted, so congratulations.”

Mu Qing answers with a huff, then looks at him questioningly. “What are you doing these days?”

Feng Xin suppresses a wince as he says, “Still working for Xie Lian. We had a couple of hard years, but now everything is going well.”

The other hesitates for a moment, a small smile flitting over his face. “I’m glad,” he says, “it suits you.”

Feng Xin doesn’t know how to react to that, so he just hums, averting his eyes to look for his beer. Mu Qing notices.  

“So tell me, what are you buying at 1 in the morning?”

A pause, then, “Beer.”

“Ah.”

Feng Xin ignores the feeling that sound elicits in him, crouching down to look for his favoured brand. Mu Qing clears his throat, inhales, then closes his mouth with a hum. Feng Xin furrows his brows.

“What are you doing here anyway?,” he asks, “Didn’t you move to Hangzhou?” 

Mu Qing hums. “I did. I’m here on... on business,” he says, but Feng Xin noticed the pause. 

“Ah,” he replies, and Mu Qing huffs a laugh.

“So,” he begins, but Feng Xin interrupts him. “Have coffee with me.”

Mu Qing raises an eyebrow, his face again unreadable, and Feng Xin suddenly can’t bear to look up at him. He stands up, taking a step closer. “Have coffee with me,” he repeats, more softly this time, and adds, “Please.”

Mu Qing inhales deeply, then nods. “Alright.”

Feng Xin can’t quite suppress the happy grin at that answer. “Are you free tomorrow? Or,” he pauses, glancing at the clock on the wall, “later this afternoon?” 

Mu Qing nods again. 

“Alright, great, I’ll...,” he trails off. He doesn’t know where Mu Qing lives, so he can’t offer to pick him up. Mu Qing seems to realise that too, because he says, “Meet me in the park, at that stupid fountain. Maybe three?”

Feng Xin nods. That stupid fountain, where they took selfies together and splashed each other until Mu Qing’s shirt was almost translucent, and then he proceeded to smear ice-cream in Feng Xin’s face and...

Shaking himself out of his memories, he smiles faintly at Mu Qing, grabbing two bottles and heading for the register. Behind him, he doesn’t see how Mu Qing’s face lights up into a real smile.

- - -

At exactly 15:03, he turns into the path that leads to the fountain, Pepper somewhere in the brush to do some dog business. He was almost on time, but then he had a sudden crisis about his clothing choice – a band shirt had seemed a good idea at that time – and had changed three more times after that. 

An apology in lieu of a greeting on his lips he approaches the fountain, when the one waiting there turns around and Feng Xin’s breath catches. Mu Qing is wearing a pale silk shirt today, almost blindingly bright in the afternoon sun, his hair is pulled into a high ponytail. His whole outfit, including black slacks and shoes looks more expensive than Feng Xin’s monthly rent, and he quietly congratulates himself for choosing his one good dress shirt.

“Holy shit,” he says, and Mu Qing’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Hello to you too,” he says with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Feng Xin swallows, then tries again. “Hi,” he says dumbly, but before he can add anything he is tackled from behind, barely catching himself on Mu Qing’s shoulder.

“Pepper!” he yells at her, but the dog only wags her tail happily at him. She eyes Mu Qing a bit warily, but after a moment of contemplation she approaches, headbutting Mu Qing’s knee, obviously demanding attention.

Feng Xin sighs, making to pull her back. “Sorry,” he offers, “she just loves people and everyone we meet is convinced she doesn’t get petted at home, so she is used to people fawning over her.”

To his surprise, Mu Qing’s face shows no disgust at the dog’s closeness, he has a rather pretty smile on his lips as he reaches down to scratch her ear. “It’s fine, leave her be. I can deal with a bit of hair.”

Feng Xin briefly wonders if that is the same Mu Qing who used to deep clean the apartment after they had visitors, but decides to keep his comments to himself. After a while Mu Qing straightens up, facing him again. 

“Where do you want to go?”

“Um,” Feng Xin replies eloquently, “there is, uh, there is a place I like not far from here.” He pauses. “We could get something to go and sit on a park bench, it’s not too warm and Pepper would love it. If you want.”

Mu Qing nods. “Lead the way.”

After they have obtained their beverages – Mu Qing a double espresso with an idea of sugar, Feng Xin a giant abomination with whipped cream and two different flavours, which earned him an eyeroll and a snort – they make their way back to the fountain, sitting down on one of the stone benches surrounding it. 

Feng Xin hums contentedly as they watch the dog gleefully chase a crow. 

“Pepper,” Mu Qing says after a while, a slight undertone in his voice Feng Xin can’t quite place.

“Hm,” he replies noncommittally. 

The silence stretches for a few minutes, until Mu Qing starts again. “I used to have a cat,” he says. Feng Xin turns to him, astonished.

“You?”

Mu Qing snorts. “Don’t look like that, cats are rather clean animals. He was a Maine Coon, but he died from some heart disease a while ago. So now it’s.. It’s just me,” he says softly, like an afterthought.

“Huh,” Feng Xin says. “Pepper was a stray. We got her when she was only a few months old.” He pauses. “She’s what’s left of my marriage, I guess.”

That makes Mu Qing choke on his coffee. Coughing violently, he waves a hand dismissively as Feng Xin moves to help. “You’re married?” he croaks after a few moments.

Feng Xin shrugs. “Was. We realised a year into it that we were better off without one another, so she left.” He nods in the dog’s direction, who is now apparently playing chase with the bird. “Pepper stayed with me, and it’s been only the two of us ever since.”

Mu Qing’s coughing fit has subsided, and he nods in response as if Feng Xin had confirmed something.

There is another moment of silence between them, until Feng Xin asks, “Do you have a picture of your cat?”, and somehow that dissolves the last of the lingering tension. Mu Qing pulls out his phone, swiping through the photos as he tells stories and funny anecdotes, Feng Xin joining in with his own pictures and daily doggie drama. They stay like this for hours, first huddled together over a small screen, then in animated conversation. Pepper has given up on chasing her new friend and is now squeezed under the bench, her head on Mu Qing’s foot.

It’s approaching dusk when Feng Xin looks up, the sky overhead now a fiery orange. “It’s getting late,” he says haltingly, as if not mentioning the time would stop it from moving. 

Mu Qing huffs a laugh, sounding more fond than exasperated. “Yeah,” he agrees with a glance at the dog sleeping on his foot. It can’t be that comfortable and Feng Xin has half a mind to call her, but Mu Qing’s face is soft when he looks at her, so Feng Xin bites his tongue and suppresses a grin.

“Do you want dinner?”

Mu Qing gives him a look, then shakes his head. “Not today,” he says, sounding almost apologetical. “I have something else to do, but...” He trails off, then adds after a pause, “Are you still so bad at cooking?”

Feng Xin wants to bristle at that, he really does, but the truth is, his cooking  skills are bad. Not as atrocious as Xie Lian’s, who has once managed to destroy a kitchen with one pot of boiling milk and has since then been banned from even approaching any kind of burner, but bad enough he more often than not relies on take-out and pre-packed meals. So he only nods meekly at the question. Mu Qing snorts faintly.

“I’ll come by tomorrow then,” he says, not even phrasing it as a question. “I’ll bring some ingredients and we can cook together.” He pauses. “You still live...?”

Feng Xin nods again, suddenly overcome by a flood of memories: Mu Qing in their tiny kitchen, in one of Feng Xin’s hoodies, his hair escaping the bun he had pulled it into, brandishing a wooden spoon in his direction. Mu Qing on the shabby sofa, knees pulled up to his chin, eyes glued to the TV screen. Mu Qing stepping out of the shower, wearing only a frown. Mu Qing on their bed. Mu Qing laughing, scowling, lecturing. Mu Qing happy, sad, annoyed.

Feng Xin breathes deeply, trying to calm his racing heart. It is not a good idea to warm up old memories, he tells himself firmly as he smiles at Mu Qing.

“Tomorrow sounds fantastic,” he says. “Does seven work for you?”

- - -

Mu Qing arrives at ten to seven, dropping two large bags of produce in the hallway as he toes off his shoes. Feng Xin subtly watches him take in the apartment. A lot of things have changed since he’s lived here, the most obvious probably the large couch in the living room facing the TV, with a bunch of pillows and blankets and covered in dog hair. Mu Qing’s gaze sweeps over the mess on the coffee table, then catches on Feng Xin’s person. He couldn’t decide on an outfit earlier, so he ended up wearing a t-shirt with a faded university logo and black sweatpants. Mu Qing looks as breathtaking as always, and Feng Xin spares a thought on how he wants to keep his shirt clean, when Mu Qing rummages through one of his bags and unearths a stylish apron in dark wine colour which he puts on with a smirk.

Feng Xin doesn’t say anything, grabbing the bags to prepare the kitchen. Mu Qing follows after a moment, after he has greeted Pepper properly that is, and Feng Xin has to suppress a smile at how easily they took to each other.

Another thing that is easy, Feng Xin discovers, is working together with Mu Qing. The apartment kitchen is small, almost cramped with two grown men and a hungry dog, but they move around as they always did, rarely bumping into each other. 

Feng Xin might not be the best when it comes to actual cooking, but he is at least able to cut meat and vegetables, prepare spices and turn on the rice cooker. It’s familiar, it’s easy, falling into step with each other as they always did, and if Feng Xin’s gaze rests more than once on Mu Qing’s skilled hands, well, no one will know.

If Mu Qing’s thoughts are lingering on the same memories he doesn’t say, and so they’re working in silence next to each other. It’s not uncomfortable, Feng Xin finds, rather calming. Dinner is finished quickly, and when they have gathered around the low coffee table, bowls and chopsticks in hand, Feng Xin spares another glance at Mu Qing. He is gorgeous, with his hair pulled up in a rather messy bun, the dark red apron a stark contrast to his pale skin. He was always pale, even in the height of summer, making him look cold, severe and unapproachable. There was a time when Feng Xin prided himself in being able to see behind the icy wall, in being the only one who was allowed to, but all that ended one day in spring. Blinking the sting of the memory away, he gives Mu Qing a faint smile.

“Let’s eat.”

- - -

They fall into a routine after that, as if they didn’t have a chasm of eight years and a wordless separation between them. They go on coffee dates and cook together, walk Feng Xin’s dog, visit art galleries and archery tournaments and somewhere between texting each other silly stickers and finding Mu Qing curled on his sofa when he comes home, Feng Xin wonders where they went wrong. 

One night, when he is stretched out on the couch playing on his phone, Mu Qing slouching in the matching armchair with a book, Pepper draped over him like a hairy blanket, he gathers all his courage and asks.

“Mu Qing?”

“Mh.”

“Why... why did you break up with me?”

Mu Qing goes very still, eyes fixed on the opposite wall. He doesn’t reply for a long time, and Feng Xin is almost ready to take the question back, when he says, “We were too young.”

Feng Xin pauses at that. “What.. what do you mean?”

Mu Qing sighs. “I mean we were too young. We didn’t realise what was important in life, and I constantly had the feeling you were trying to force your... your expectations on me.”

Feng Xin stares at him, incredulous. “You... thought...,” he wheezes, and Mu Qing flinches slightly.

“I don’t know, I just felt trapped.”

With a growl Feng Xin throws the blanket over the sofa and stands up. Furious he stalks over to the armchair, the dog sensing impending doom and fleeing the scene. Feng Xin leans down, bracing both arms on the armrest, effectively caging Mu Qing in.

“You felt trapped. And thought I didn’t understand you.” He enunciates the words very clearly, and at least Mu Qing has the decency to look contrite. “You felt that way, and instead of talking to me like a fucking adult you ended our relationship and walked away? Just like that?!”

He is almost yelling by now, too agitated to stand he turns around to walk a few steps, then stalks right back to Mu Qing, resuming his position.

“You broke up after four fucking years, without so much as a word. You have no idea what scenarios I made up in my mind to explain this shit. I thought you had found someone else, or maybe you had murdered someone and had to leave the country.” He is breathing heavily by now, but Mu Qing only says softly, “There was never anyone else.”

Feng Xin draws back a fraction to stare at him. “That is what you took away from all that?”

And Mu Qing, cold, reserved Mu Qing, who, without a word, left Feng Xin in a coffee shop on a too warm spring day, raises a hand to cup his cheek, then leans up to kiss him and Feng Xin loses any ability to think.

Kissing Mu Qing is like coming home, a warm blanket on a cold night, soft and familiar and right. His hand is still cupping Feng Xin’s face, holding him in place, a thumb softly caressing his cheek. Mu Qing’s lips are warm against his, delicate and pliant, and when he deepens the kiss, cautiously, then more firmly, Feng Xin can’t help but moan into his mouth. His arms are shaking and it only takes a heartbeat before he sinks down onto the armchair, straddling Mu Qing, without breaking the kiss.

They take their time relearning each other, Mu Qing’s hands are trailing up Feng Xin’s ribs while he caresses the other’s face, not quite believing that this is really happening. When they part for air, Mu Qing brushes a strand of Feng Xin’s hair behind his ear, smiling so softly Feng Xin almost starts to cry.

“I’m sorry,” he says quietly.

Feng Xin blinks at him. “Wha... can you say that again?”

Mu Qing huffs. “No. Idiot. You need to listen.” But then, still quietly, “I really am sorry, A’Xin.” 

Feng Xin’s breath hitches at the pet name. Burrowing his face into the other’s shoulder, he lets out a shuddery breath. Mu Qing’s arms tighten around him.

They stay like that for a while, basking in each other’s closeness, breathing each other in, when suddenly something cold is pressed against Feng Xin’s stomach.

“Pepper, you..!”, he whines, trying to shift away from the cold nose, which the dog takes as an invitation to crawl onto the armchair as well. Firmly wedged between her two favourite people she gives a contented huff and closes her eyes.

Feng Xin wants to scold her for ruining the moment, but the look on Mu Qing’s face gives him pause. It’s soft and more fond than he has ever seen it, and so he stays silent, only shifting slightly to accommodate the intruder. 

It’s going to be uncomfortable soon, and they still have to talk about what they want, what that kiss meant, but for now Feng Xin is happy, content to sit there in Mu Qing’s embrace.

#fengqing #mu qing #feng xin #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #otp: they're just f-f-friends #my writing

[bellstrom]

     “Mama, life had just begun...                       but now I’ve gone and thrown it all away.”

     ════  SKELETON ⋆  NAVI  ⋆ (WANTED) CONNECTIONS  ⋆  PINTEREST  ════

THE PRESENT — tw child abuse, domestic violence, violence, bodily harm, parental death, murder » Arriving in Stillwater at the age of sixteen, Benny barely had much to his name, with only 80 bucks and a backpack his mom had thrown together in a rush. He had no plan, no purpose and spent his first week on the street after leaving his home and what was left of his family behind. It’s needless to say, but Benny’s first few months in Stillwater were rough. Despite hanging onto every cent he could possibly save, he couldn’t help his hunger and need for decent shelter. Without any real skill, coming around work was tough and nobody really wanted a kid that looked scary like him at the register of their ice cream shop. At the very lost dollar, Benny managed to obtain temporary gigs that kept him afloat. Here and there, he’d have the odd job of walking someones dog or washing their car, even the occasional errand boy if the money was good enough. It wasn’t like he carried a sign or anything, but word got around of ‘this kid who’d do anything’ in a wealthy neighborhood and his reputation carried. 

Benny, at eighteen, should’ve known better that ‘doing anything’ really shouldn’t have been the buzzword he agreed to be shared amongst this particular group. Without really knowing, he had followed orders to arrive at the scene of the crime at the same time as police, earning an arrest as an accessory to murder. The group thought they’d get away with it too, but Benny was lucky enough to unknowingly leave a trace of where he was when the murder was committed and was let go after a five months in jail. Despite his innocence, a new reputation was earned and no one wanted to be around him soon after his release. The isolation was unbearable and Benny started acting up. He’d get into fights constantly and would end up at the police station more times than he could remember. Eventually, the owner of Ruby’s Diner had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting him and took it upon themselves to save him from himself. Since then, Benny has been the diner’s baker for over ten years and owes his life to the only one who has shown him any kindness. He gets better everyday, but can’t help but look over his shoulder at his past, wondering if he really left it behind. 

🖋 CHARACTER INSPIRATION: Daryl Dixon (The Walking Dead),  Sirius Black (Harry Potter), Westley (The Princess Bride), Steven Hyde (That 70s Show), Kat Stratford (10 Things I Hate About You) and more. 

THE PAST — Benny knew life was shit the second he stepped onto that playground, the eyes of his peers boring holes into his own. He'd scowl at them, even if he didn't know what it meant, wondering why the hell everyone was staring at him. He'd go weeks not knowing, but every now and again he'd hear their parents talk about his eyes, his father, or his 'whore of a mother' and pretty much chalked it up to that. Childhood was depressing, obviously, but what else was new? The Hellström home was cold and uninviting. It reeked of Dad's beer and cigarettes, cloaked with god-awful perfume oils that made him gag. Benny hated being home— he hated being anywhere that wasn't his room. Up there, he was in his own little world. Away from the stares, the yelling, and the world.

Benny was five when he had grown a fondness for animals, professing to his mother how much he wanted to be a puppy doctor when he got older. Ulla, his mother, wasn't happy. Not because of her son, but for what his father would have to say about it. Despite the 'trashy, no-good' image the Hellströms had in their small town of Yellow Springs, Ohio, they owned the only decent gas station until the next major city. It wasn't much, but it was something. Ulla knew of her husband's plans for Benny. Arne had been proclaiming that he'd leave his son their family-owned business ever since they left Sweden. He went on and on for months about the American dream and what they could accomplish. For Benny not to have even the slightest interest in Arne's Gas and Auto... Ulla knew they were both in for a rude awakening. And so, she made Benny promise to keep his dream a secret. It could never be anything but.

Keeping his dreams locked away was Benny's first lesson in the role he had to play in his family. He learned very quickly that he was meant to shut up and listen and never ask stupid questions. Because when he did, he was met with a slap to the face, a kick to the gut, or a belt to the back. But he'd take the hit because Benny knew if he didn't, it would be his mother or the person whom he felt most sorry for— his yet-to-be-born baby sister. It was strange that he had the opportunity to name her because all six-year-old Benny could think about was the drama surrounding her despite not being born. He didn't know the full story, but there was a time his parents were separated and when his mother came back, her belly was a lot bigger than when she left. It was the talk of the town, even if Benny didn't understand it.

If there was any gift Benny's sister brought to the world, it was the peace that was given the first few years of her life. At this point, he was well aware of the gossip but what was truly surprising, was the look in his father's eyes when he held her. He was soft and quiet, and for a little while, he didn't reek of vodka. Mother was happy and smiled a little bit more and Benny wondered if this was what family was supposed to feel like. For once in his life, home felt like home and he was finally excited for it.

It's hard to believe, but for the next five years, life in the Hellström home was pretty great. While his father still drank, it was only a few beers a night and he only smoked outside. He did get hit every now and again, but it wasn't too severe. A slap upside the head made Benny grateful because at least his mother could still look when it happened. Everything changed quickly, however, and Benny could still hear the sound of their doorbell ring like a dog waiting for a treat. He still remembers the look of innocence on his sister's face as she ate her spaghetti, tomato sauce splattered messily on her shirt and cheeks. To this day, Benny still gets nightmares of the day everything changed, and the stupid man that was on the other side of their door looking for his mother. It was all a blur after that, but his father never treated anyone in that house ever the same.

Benny wasn't really the type for regrets, as he pretty much accepted the shitty cards he was dealt. Still, he couldn't help the feeling of guilt whenever his sister paid witness to the abuse going on in their house. It pained him to have never warned her: to tell her the best place in the house to hide was the linen closet, that whenever father came home past nine, to make sure you were asleep before he was home. There were endless tips Benny had obtained over the years, but none were shared. He realized that despite promising he'd take all the beatings to protect his mother and baby sister, he hardly had a courageous bone in his body. It was maybe once or twice Benny had heard his sister cry at the repercussions of her 'mistakes'. He was sixteen at this point, and the more she cried, the harder it was to hear. Their mother didn't go unscathed either. He had only slapped her a few times since that man rang their doorbell five years ago, but the older his sister got and the more brown her eyes became, the abuse only became more severe.

Life seemed to pause when Benny realized his sister never came home after school. He was the only one home when he came to her empty room, her clothing, her toys, and the rest of her belongings gone. Distraught, Benny immediately told his mother when she came home an hour later, only to be met with a "Be quiet" and "You will know soon enough". The details weren't clear, but that night, their father had returned as though it was any other night. It was only until dinner did he realize his daughter wasn't home and it caused him to erupt almost immediately. Glass was thrown, plates were smashed, demanding to know the truth. Benny stood when his father struck his mother across the face, and after a few more hits, a chord was struck and everything went black. When Benny came to, he was over his father's lifeless body, blood splattered across his face and t-shirt. He was shaking and lowered his fist once his mother's cries calmed, ordering him to get up. Unable to comprehend what just happened, he allowed his mother to change him and wash the blood off his face. She handed him a backpack and cash and told him to go— and to keep going until he could see the sea.

It took him months to get to California and when he finally did, Benny cried for the first time in years. He kneeled into the sand, water pooling out of his big green eyes, and wondered what his sister was doing now. At sixteen, Benny wasn't sure what to do with his life at this point, unsure if he had a future at all. He wondered if he'd be homeless, living in a tent with a sign like the ones he passed on his journey here. Stuffing his hands into his backpack, he found a single letter his mother left him, lost on when she had the time to even write one out in the rush of getting him out of their home.

"You keep going. You start over and forget about us here. I will always love you."

And as always, he did what he was told. Benny started over and over the course of the next sixteen years, he managed a decent life for himself in Stillwater, California. He wasn't sure why his mother sent him out to see the sea but after a few years of true struggle, he came to understand why. There was something about that blue water that calmed him when his anxieties ran high or he was reminded of his past. And despite feeling as though he'd never stop looking over his shoulder, he knew he always had the sea.

#click the read more for his full bio! #stillwater: intro