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pursuitseternal · 4 months

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“The Second Day” of “Antics of the Newly Ascended:” staring Batstarion🦇

Ascended Astarion x F!Reader |E| 1.3K Pure antics and comedy

🦇 art by @marimosalad Link to full art

Summary: You can’t pick a lock without your Rogue, even if he is Ascnedant now. So you wait… and wait… until a new unexpected visitor flies in.

CW: Banter, Poop jokes, Tav filtering Astarion’s threats and antics, sneezes, and cute fluffy vampiric bats with an attitude 🦇 (no smut)

Previous Ch | Ao3 link | Masterist

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“Hells, what is taking him so…flipping long?”

For a split second, you think Gale might actually swear, but no. The goody-two-shoes scout wins out in the end. You giggle anyway.

“Said he’d be back quick with a new set of lockpicks ready to go, Mister Ascendant Lord and expert of the underbelly of Baldur’s Gate…” Gale huffs and folds his arms crossly.

Karlach snorts next to you, both your backs leaning against the alley walls. You keep to the shadows, eyeing up the house you need to enter… surreptitiously. Those Flaming Fist have been everywhere lately, and you still needed your Rogue to break you in nearly everywhere in the City.

“He’s probably too busy doing Ascendant things to hurry, Gale,” Karlach chuckles, peering her horned head into the street.

“Like what?” you ask, folding your arms and pouting your lips, “what could he possibly be doing but rushing back to be with me?”

Gale rolls his eyes, seeing the wry expression on your face, he realizes you joke. “Oh, good one,” he chortles. “Oh lots of things, I would imagine if I applied my wildest musings…”

“Get to the point wizard!” Karlach slaps him on the back. “More taunting, fewer words.”

Gale sputters for air after having it knocked from his body. And you laugh at that.

Suddenly, you feel a breeze pass your face. A blur of white settles on the wall beside your head. Hanging upside down.

A fluffy white bat. It chitters at you.

“Oh shit,” Karlach jolts at the sight. “That thing is massive.”

It seems to chitter more.. proudly at that. You narrow your eyes at it… your other companions draw away a step, leaving the beast with space.

“If Astarion were here, he’d probably call it a snack and snatch it from the air…” Gale jabs, a self-confident smile on his face, proud of his own humor. His own best entertainment.

“Naw… he’s too busy picking out new fancy clothes…” Karlach peers into the street.

“Too busy trying to burst into a sea of mist…” Gale laughs.

You giggle, thinking of something he did just that morning, for an hour, “Preening his hair into a perfect coif before kissing his reflection…”

Gale’s mouth snaps shut. The bat on the wall chitters noisily again, flapping its wings as it comes to dart around your head. “That bat is all over you,” his eyes narrow, “but I’m fresh out of Speak with Animals potions for now.”

You shrug, “I don’t mind, maybe he’s lonely…” You hold out your hand, an offering to let the little mammal rest somewhere soft. “Gives me something to look after until Astarion comes back.”

“Don’t let him see you’ve got a new pet…” Gale taunts, leaning closer to peer at the creature that now rests in your palm, “He might get jealous and snap it up in his fangs.”

Does… is the bat… glaring at Gale?

You look closely, but Karlach guffaws. “Oh oh, I’ve got it. I think I know what’s keeping the Vampire Ascendant! He’s probably stuck taking his first shit in two-hundred years...”

Okay, now that bat in your palm is definitely glaring, and chittering, and… pissed. You look closely at last, it’s white fur catches the sun in shades of silver, its eyes are a deep red… almost a crimson…

You stop. “Astarion?” you murmur at the little creature, patting its head with a single finger.

It… He… bounces on your hand, chittering away, pointed little face nodding.

“For fucks sake…” Karlach groans. “How the fuck did you turn into that?”

Gale leans closer… but not too close just in case. “I’ve read that some Vampires can take forms themselves, if powerful enough.” He grins widely, “Could be ferocious werewolf, or noxious cloud…” that grin twists, “Yours is adorable, if I do say so myself, Astarion.”

You can almost hear the ire in the noises that he makes in reply. Still nonsense chatter, but the emotion is clear.

He is not amused.

“Gale, you do realize he will turn back, and he will be pissed,” you warn with a shake of your head. You freeze, a whisper tickling inside your mind as the creature in your palm twitches and rests. “Astarion says it’s not his fault you're a pack of incompetent… oh,” you pause, patting him on his head with a finger, “I’m not going to say that part, my love.”

“He’s… talking to you?” Gale twists his head and raises a brow. “Like, mind to mind?”

“Yes,” you nod, “we are just as baffled at the moment, I will be honest with you, even if he said not to tell you…” the bat starts scrabbling up your arm, chittering even more noisily than before. “Stop whining, darling. You’ll figure it out.” He comes to rest on your shoulder, hanging upside down from the seam of your shirt. “And he says he would rather you never again speculate about his bowel movements either, on pain of… I’m going to say, a severe talking to.”

“That’s not what he said is it?” Karlach guffaws.

You can’t help but let your finger scritch under his little chin as he dangles from your shoulder. “No, no,” you giggle as you watch his beady little eyes flutter shut at the petting. “He used his regular ascendantly foul mouth.”

“Well, Vampire Ascendant or not, he’s not going to be much help breaking and entering in that form, is he?” Gale snips, rolling his eyes.

“He says he would be more than happy to talk us through it, if we… oh, again? I’m not suggesting that, my pet,” you shake your head, removing your scratching finger to wag it at him. “Naughty,” you chide.

“How did you get like that anyway, Astarion?” Karlach chuffs, folding her arms and swaying on her feet.

“He sneezed,” you reply. “Oh, I wasn’t supposed to share that. I’m sorry, my love. You really should be more obvious about what is for my ears… er… mind alone.”

“Maybe…” Gale gives a mischievous grin, “if we get you to sneeze again… maybe you’ll change back to a form with fingers that can actually do some good.” He reaches into his pocket, takes out a little bit of powder, and blows.

The little bat writhes, fur standing on end, flat folded nose twitching before….

“Achoo!” The sneeze echoes off the alley walls, a burst of black mist that tingles your skin as his tall, lean and wiry body forms against your arm. You can sense his irritation, out right, cuttingly sharp annoyance lacing his angry breaths. Once the mist clears, Astarion is, in fact, glaring at you all. Crimson eyes dart from one to the next. “I am… going to fucking kill you,” he hisses.

“Shh…” you cajole, raising your finger to scritch under his smooth chin, clenched tight in his rage. Instantly, the moment you begin your gentle petting, he eases, eyes fluttering shut.

“I think he likes that, soldier,” Karlach whispers a giggle. “Do you feed him little treats when he’s a good boy?”

“Only if he gets us into that house with those dexterous hands of his,” you chuckle and slide your hand to stroke his cheek.

“Fine,” he sighs, exasperated, tired, and annoyed. “But not one of you breathes a word of this to Halsin… or Wyll… or… anyone.”

“Agreed,” Karlach slaps him on the back.

He begins rummaging his lithe fingers through his pack, turning those crimson eyes on you as you watch. “And you, my consort, don’t think I’m not going to make you pay for that mirror-kissing comment earlier…”

“Don’t think you won’t have to earn those chin scritches, my love,” you giggle in return as he flashes that fanged smirk at you.

“One more, my darling?” he purrs, watching the others start into the street already. “One for the road, one in case we die today?”

Your fingers reach quickly to oblige, his eyes closing to savor your attentive care. And you giggle, “Who can argue with that?”

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chaotic-orphan · 2 months

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Febuwhump: Day Seventeen

Prompt - hostage situation (#febuwhump)

TW: tied up, ropes, helpless, pirates, intimate Whumper, explosion, fighting, violence, mass killing implied

*~*~*~*~*

The sea was calm. The weather fair, the morning was yawning awake, blue skies rising with the sun, the dark blues disappearing beyond the horizon. It was a cycle of change that lay before his eyes, the fresh dew cast a mist on the water… and yet something, on the wind perhaps, was unsettling Locke as he maintained his chartered course. Something unexpected was turning with the tide, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

His first mate approached him, eyes on the horizon as they sailed at half-speed. “Admiral,” first mate said in greeting, the lilt of a question hanging off the last syllable.

“Do you feel the shift in the dew, first mate?”

First mate followed Locke’s line of sight to the lazily rising sun. “No, Admiral. However, that is not my station.”

“What is your station, mate?”

“To ensure you’re ship shape, Admiral,” said First Mate with a cheeky grin. “I trust your instincts; I would sail into hell if you ordered me too and recruit the best dead sailors of the underworld to navigate us to the living one again.”

Admiral laughed, a smile appearing on his face at Mate’s words.

“And what do your instincts say today, Admiral?” Mate asked.

“That we need to fly at full speed and reach the next port before this ill-begotten wind is at our backs.”

“Sir,” said first mate with a nod. First mate walked promptly down the steps of the ship onto the poop deck and let out an unmerciful commanding shout that could wake the dead. “Make-Ready Men!”

There was a ruckus below deck, a few curses and sudden thumps from the crew waking to the sound of First mate’s bellows.

“Heave the sails to full speed!”

Admiral laughed again when First mate turned to look at him over their shoulder, dark eyes bright with mischief. Then First mate’s eyes widened as they stared passed Locke to something behind him. Locke turned too.

A black ship twice the size of Admiral’s was on them, which had not been there a mere moment before. “Admiral!”

First mate yelled and Admiral heard sudden panicked footsteps run towards him as a chord of rope enveloped him, binding his arms to his sides with one unmerciful pull and lifting him from his own ship. Admiral gasped as the rope closed tighter and tighter around him the more he struggled. His feet left the deck of his ship, his eyes on First Mate who was standing where Locke was not a moment ago, reaching up desperately trying to catch Locke before he was completely out of reach.

First mate’s fingers brushed Locke’s ankle devastatingly close before Locke was hoisted up like one of his sails away from his ship and impossibly high above it like God himself was pulling Locke to the heavens.

Were it not for the chants of “heave! Heave! Heave!” Locke would have thought he was dead. If not for the riotous laughter as Locke was hoisted higher only tightened a knot of anxiety in his gut until he was above the other vessel, black planks below him and a man in a white shirt with red hair grinning up at him deviously.

Locke swallowed as he gazed down at the ship. No uniforms, no colours of their allegiance and the black finish of the deck… Locke had only heard rumours of this monster that haunted the seven seas.

Locke was lowered precariously to the deck of the ship, his legs like jelly under him when they hit the ground. The red-haired man laughed when Locke’s knees buckled and he fell to the deck, unable to catch himself.

“We went fishing lads, yet it seems we caught ourselves a landlubber,” the red-haired man proclaimed. More jeering laughter followed as the red-haired man spread his arms to his adoring crowd, turning his back slightly to Admiral. Admiral grit his teeth as he got a leg under him and pushed himself up.

He didn’t make it to one knee with a sword at his throat. His eyes widened at the glinting metal, the same black as the ship – a metal Locke had never set his eyes on before. The red-haired man’s eyes narrowed into a sharper point than the blade.

“I wouldn’t get brave now, fishbait.”

“Let go of me!” Locke demanded hotly. “Perhaps we can write this off as a misunderstanding.”

“Oh,” the red-haired man hummed, turning his body back to Admiral. “I don’t like threats, especially not ones made aboard my own ship, fishbait.”

“What a coincidence,” said Admiral tightly. “I don’t like being hoisted from my own. Perhaps we can come to an arrangement.”

The ropes tightened harshly around Admiral, stealing the breath from his lungs as the red-haired man stepped in, the captain of this ship no doubt… why was his name eluding Locke right now? He should know the name!

His smile was wicked and reckless. “Aye. Mayhaps we can.”

“Captain!” One of the pirate’s crew called. Captain, so Admiral was right. The red-haired man lifted his head and the pirate continued. “They’re preparing for a fight.”

Captain smiled down at Admiral. “Your men are loyal, Admiral,” Captain said, slightly impressed. Admiral frowned at him as someone grabbed Admiral’s arms and wrestled them behind him, before tying them off behind his back. Admiral pulled at the ropes, but they were so tight he could feel his pulse beating below the ropes.

“We can part peacefully, Captain,” said Admiral diplomatically. “Release me and let me return to my ship and my crew. We have no quarrel with you.”

The red-haired man grinned. Someone handed him the loose rope that was attached to Locke which Captain wrapped tightly around his hand and used it to pull Locke to his feet. Locke’s eyes widened as the Captain gave another harsh tug and yanked Locke closer, stumbling into Captain’s chest.

“Who said there must be a quarrel?” Captain said with a smile as he watched the realisation flood Locke’s face. Then Captain gave his order: “strike their colours, lads!”

Admiral lurched forward, panic seizing his limbs as he let out a sharp: “no!”

“Hush, now, Admiral, and be a good little hostage. I’ll get you accustomed to the mast, shall I?” Admiral fought him the entire way, but the Captain pulled him along anyway, looking over his shoulder to chat idly with him. "I must say, Admiral, it is a good day to see Kings men fight with loyalty for their captain. You'd be surprised how often men readily give up their captain for their lives."

"We can trade, Captain, please, there need not be blood!"

The red-haired man laughed, throwing his head back and mouth open wide staring at the sky with a hearty chuckle.

"Perhaps we are alike, Captain, you and I. We are sharks," said the pirate, yanking Admiral forward with a hand in his shirt and with a twist of his hips he slammed Admiral back against the central mast, knocking the breath from his lungs. "We both smell the blood in the water."

Captain smiled as he handed the rope to someone behind Admiral. Admiral felt the ropes tighten around him, locking his arms even tighter to his sides until there was no leverage at all for him to move. He felt the wood against his hands that were trapped uselessly behind him, and he wanted to curse and scream at the grinning pirate.

Locke froze as the captain placed a hand on the mast and leaned in, smiling at the Admiral, barely an inch between their noses. The pirate didn't smell bad, he smelled like sweet rum and salt water, but Locke scrunched his nose up all the same.

"What is your name, Admiral?” Captain asked with a dashing smile. “Just so I can properly threaten your life to your men."

"I'll tell you once you walk the plank, Captain," Locke snarled, baring his teeth at the pirate. Captain smiled and shrugged.

"Fine,” Captain said as he leaned away from Locke, the glimmer of something mischievous in his eyes. “I guess I’ll just have to wrangle it out of that spiffing first mate of yours instead.”

Admiral jerked forward, but he didn’t get very far, the ropes holding him back to the mast. “Don’t touch them!” Admiral barked.

“Sorry, Admiral,” said Captain with a forced sigh, pulling his revolver from his belt and checking to see if the gunpowder was loaded before drawing the hammer back to the full cocked position. “Loot to plunder, sailors to threaten, I have a busy schedule. Sit tight gorgeous, I’ll be back.”

Captain snapped the into place and offered Admiral a wide smile and a wink before he disappeared. “Captain! Captain wait!”

Admiral screamed after him, but over the sounds of swords clashing and gunpowder his screams just joined the sea of noise. Captain struggled in the ropes, trying to find any leverage to squeeze under or shrug over but it was no use. The rope dug so tight into Locke’s diaphragm that he could barely breathe. He knew there was going to be a ring of bruises there after he got free.

These men… Captain’s men weren’t ordinary pirates, they had an easiness to them, a regiment that reminded Admiral of his own ship’s crews and ranks. Ordinary pirates are usually not worth their salt, and yet… something in the back to Admiral’s mind told him that he knew — or should know — the Captain that currently kept him captive.

The fighting lasted until the sun was above the horizon, shimmering on the waters as the smoke cleared from between the two ships.

Another pirate came to Admiral and cut the ropes tying him to the mast. Before Admiral could ask what they were doing, the pirate yanked him forward, grabbed him by the crook of his elbow and pushed him towards the gangplank between both ships.

“Now then!” Captain said, his mirthful voice carrying over the ships with relaxed ease. “We have your captain, sailors. Your beloved Admiral Locke,” said Captain, sending a flash of his teeth to Locke. Admiral searched the poop deck for his first mate and found them in the arms of two of Captain’s men, blood streaming down their face from their forehead and nose. A bruise crowning on his cheek, his officer jacket tore.

Captain turned to Locke then, still aboard Captain’s ship. Admiral glared down at him. “The choice is yours, Admiral. Your men fought for you, will you fight for your men?”

Admiral frowned. “What?”

“I offer you the choice— would you fight—”

“Yes!” Admiral yelled, taking a step forward but he was yanked back. His heart pounding in his ears.

“Two streams of loyalty,” Captain mused. His boots hitting Locke’s deck towards first mate. Every step resounded in Admiral’s heart thudding in his chest.

“Hey! Get away from them!” Locke growled, struggles renewed as he tried his damned hardest to get to Captain and shove him away from First mate. “Captain! Captain please!”

Captain ran a hand through First Mate’s hair and yanked their head up to face Locke aboard Captain’s ship. Captain smiled, his eyes sharp.

“I offer you the choice, Admiral,” said Captain again. “Your ship and your crew, or First mate.”

Admiral blinked, something horrid settling into his gut as First Mate struggled in the pirates’ hold. The pirates wrestled First mate back into submission, Captain never taking his eyes from Locke.

“What?” Admiral breathed, too quiet for Captain to hear, but it was as if Captain heard, because he continued his torturous ultimatum with a grin.

“Your ship. Your men, your crew, your rank as Admiral, your flag, your country, your uniform,” said Captain, turning to face First mate and grabbing First mate’s chin between his fingers. “Or your first mate.”

“Admiral!” One of the sailors cried. Admiral’s dragged his eyes away from Captain to his navigator, struggling against a pirate. “That would be treason! You can’t!”

“That is my offer,” said Captain nonchalantly, capturing Locke’s attention again. “Treason and love? Or service and duty.”

“Go to hell,” First mate rasped. Captain shook his head and clicked his fingers. One the pirates holding First mate brought a cloth forward and wrestled it between their teeth. Captain waved his finger in front of First mate’s face and booped their nose. “Good little hostages don’t speak, First mate.”

First mate glared at Captain as the gag cut into their cheeks, mumbling incoherent curses at Captain behind it.

Meanwhile Locke was rooted to the spot, stunned at the awful choice that stood in front of them. It wasn’t the choice was difficult, Locke had already decided, the decision was made long ago, but… the ramifications of voicing it seemed too horrible to think.

First mate caught his conflicted eyes and shook their head softly. Admiral’s heart lurched in his chest because they knew, the pair of them knew what way the situation was going to unfold. The guilt before the decision was threatening to overwhelm them both and Locke hadn’t even said a word yet!

Captain noticed too, looking up at Locke. “Will you leave us in suspense, Admiral? Are we but fishes on your hook? Or are you waiting for the next bell to sound, hmm? Tick tock goes the tide, and with it comes the weather.”

Admiral felt all eyes turn on him, the weight of them threatening to drown him out of water.

“Admiral,” Captain hummed and yanked First Mate’s head up by the hair. First mate let out a muffled protest, fighting against him. “Come on, we don’t have all day.”

“First mate,” Admiral whispered.

Captain paused. Then he turned, eyes bright like a cats. “What was that, Admiral?”

Locke cleared his throat and avoided the eyes of his crew. “I choose treason. I choose my first mate.”

“For shame!” His crew cried but Locke didn’t care. His gaze was fixed on First Mate who was shaking like a leaf. Captain released First mate’s hair and clapped his hands together.

“Wonderful!” Captain said. “Please, bring First Mate aboard the Fallen Marauder, lads.”

Admiral stilled.

The Fallen Marauder, there’s no way that Locke was standing on the Fallen Marauder. Aside from the fact that it was a fiction, a fairytale, Admiral should be on his ship with his crew.

“Wait, what? I thought you would let us go.”

Captain grinned, “oh Admiral… how naïve.”

First mate was struggling against the pirates as they dragged them across the gangplank to the Captain’s ship. Admiral turned to First mate, but he was turned again, forced to face forward.

“Wait, Captain! What are you doing?” Admiral demanded as he saw a barrel of gunpowder being scattered over the deck.

“You chose, Admiral,” said Captain, walking across the gangplank after his men and came to stand beside Admiral. “You chose first mate, didn’t you?”

Admiral’s eyes were wide with fear. “Don’t. Don’t do this there are good men on that ship!”

“Good men you abandoned,” said Captain softly. “A ship without a captain is doomed.”

“They can make another captain!” Admiral cried as the Captain’s men pulled the gangplank away from the ship. “Please!”

“What do you care for a King’s ship? You have no country now, no loyalties to this endeavour. Now you are one of us, Admiral…” said Captain, then his head dipped, a conspiratorial smile gracing his face. “Or should I say, more accurately, Locke?”

Locke’s eyes went wide. That… Captain wasn’t wrong but Locke, he didn’t… he— his eyes searched the waters as his ship slipped further and further away from him, his men and crew wailing and crying and screaming.

Captain raised an arm. “Captain please,” Locke begged.

Captain dropped his arm. A cannonball fired and Locke stood frozen as he watched his ship go up in smoke. He sucked in a gasp as the air was ripped from his chest in shock. The planks bent and snapped and flew over the sea in a two metre radius of the ship.

“Welcome aboard the Fallen Marauder,” said Captain with a deep bow, dipping low. He tilted his head up as he introduced himself to the shaking Adm – former admiral. “My name is Captain Marlowe.”

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lit-works · 2 years

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One Thing after another

The limo glides quietly towards 4 Freedoms Plaza, my home. Headquarters of the Fantastic Four.

Sure was nice of the mayor to drive us home tonight, since he had to go an' bore us all evenin' with his speeches about what great Joes we all are. It's the least he could do, though.

My reverie is interrupted by the voice of Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, a teammate and longtime friend: "hey, buddy, how about a game of pool and some beers in the rec room when we get home?"

"What's 'at, Torchy?"

"I asked how you feel about getting out of these monkey suits and playing a hot game of pool."

"Nah, count me out. I'm pooped. Savin' the world is one thing, but sittin' round in a tux listenin' to speeches for hours–thats too much! I'm goin' to bed."

"Can't say I blame you, Ben." Says Reed Richards, the leader of the Fantastic Four, and my oldest and best friend. "Unfortunately, the alarm system at 4 Freedoms Plaza is giving us trouble, and with the world astrophysics conference beginning tomorrow, I may not have another opportunity to work on it for weeks. Don't be surprised if your sleep is disturbed by my work–even I can't think of a way to test our auditory alarm system quietly."

"Terrific, Stretch." I say, shutting my eyes and trying to catch a nap while I can.

"Hey, sis," Johnny says, turning his older sister, Susan Storm-Richards, the invisible woman. "What say we shoot some nine-ball? Alicia's out of town for some big art show, and I could use a little excitement. Beating you at nine-ball could be just that–a little excitement."

"Johnny! You know good and well you could never beat me at nine-ball. Talk to me tomorrow and we'll see who's the real hustler in the family. Tonight, I'm going to check on Franklin and then follow Ben's lead. You'd do yourself some good to get some sleep as well."

"Aw, Gee, Ma…do I hafta?" Johnny whines, jokingly. "You both suck."

"Hey, Joker, mind puttin' a sock in it?" I say. "Can't ya see I'm tryin' to get my beauty sleep over here?"

Finally, the limo pulls up in front of 4 Freedoms Plaza. Johnny heads to the rec room alone. Sue goes to check on her and Reed's son, Franklin, as Reed sets off to check his alarm system. I go to my quarters and try to get some sleep.

I can't remember the last time I had a good night's sleep in my own bed. Sheesh, it's about time this cockamamy outfit got a break from savin' the world. Reed's a nutcase, he's still working. Me, I'm pooped.

I flop down on an oversized bed designed to support my 500+ pounds, drag a huge, rough hand across my face, and stare into a hand-mirror–the only mirror in my room. I'm not thrilled with what I see.

I am The Thing, one of Earth's mightiest defenders, a respected member of the Fantastic Four, but I am also one of Earth's most horrifying nightmares.

Maybe I oughta ditch the hero business and join a circus. Yeah, I could be a clown–wouldnt even have'ta wear any make-up. I wrinkle my rocky nose, curl my orange crust lips into the nearest thing to a smile I can muster, and stick my tongue out. The image in the mirror just looks worse.

Great, instead of just lookin' ugly, I look stupid, too. I shoulda stuck with wrestling. Most of the guys in that racket look worse than me. Some of the women, too.

Wallowin' in self pity, I reach under the bed and pull out a box, a box I keep hidden from my teammates, a box that contains one of the only things that can pull me out of a blues funk like the one I'm in now.

"Come to Papa!" I say aloud, even though there's nobody else in the quarters to hear.

Opening the box, I see a dozen cigars–fat, stinky, round, foot-long beauties. I take one as daintily as my ham-fists will allow, roll it between two fingers, run it under my nose and breathe deeply. Ah, genuine Havanas. Mother's milk! I been saving them fer just the right time, and this looks like it–my first rest in I-don't-know-how-many-years o' world savin'.

This reverie is cut short by a sudden, searing heat as a gout of flame passes just inches from my face. I'm unharmed, but the stogie in my mouth is incinerated.

"Dad-blasted, Torch!" I yell, "where are ya, ya flamed match-headed excuse for a Zippo! When I get my hands on you…"

Smoldering stogie still between my lips, I reach back over my head and plunge my steel-strong fingers through the reinforced concrete wall behind my bed. The torch flits inches above my prostrate figure.

"Hey, Ben," he says as he passes overhead, "Reed isn't gonna appreciate you punching holes in the wall."

"Worry about yourself, punk," I respond, as my fingers close around the water pipe in the wall. Ripping it in two, I bend the pipe out from the wall so the spray catches Torch full in the face. He crumbles to the ground in a soggy, flameless mass.

"What's the big idea, ya jerk? I was just having some fun. Trying to cheer you up."

"Well, quit tryin'! Maybe I don't wanna be cheered up. Maybe I hate fun! Maybe all I wanna do is relax and catch some shut-eye!"

Suddenly, me and my young teammate hear the unmistakable sound of an alarm from the roof of The Four Freedoms Plaza.

The alarm continues to blare, but I pay it no mind as I advance angrily on my fallen buddy. "Don't go thinkin' you're saved by the bell, 3-Stars. I know Reed's just testing' the systems."

"I don't know, Ben. I think I'll go see what's going on–i'll be back in a minute to finish our little tete-a-tete."

"Oh yeah, I can hardly wait. I miss you already."

I climb back into bed, cover my head with pillows, and Todd and turn for what feels like hours, but the alarm keeps blaring. So finally, I get up and try to figure out what's goin' on.

As the alarm continues to blare, I bound up the stairs to the roof and throw open the door. My eyes take a minute to adjust to the moonlight, but when I can see again, I see…nothing. Everything looks normal enough. The same is true when I check the hangar decks and upper-level storage areas.

Maybe Reed's tests weren't done with. Guess I better go see if the squirt found anything.

I make tracks back to where I last saw the Human Torch, and there, to my horror, I see Mr.Fantastic, his body stretched and distorted, on the ground. I also see the Invisible Woman, quite visible and equally unconscious. The Human Torch is beside her, out cold and still soggy from my dousing. And they are all in the clutches of our old foe, The Red Ghost.

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irishais · 1 year

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i’m SO SCARED to hold my corn snake!!!! 😭 he’s been with me for about a week now and i haven’t held him yet :( i’ve also never held a snake before in general….

advice???

Ahh! Don't be! Honestly, you've already done the best thing by letting him chill for a week and letting him get used to his new space!

When I got Noodle, I was actually really super nervous too-- I never really liked snakes, and was actually pretty afraid of them. I recommend Snake Discovery for handling/enclosure tips, as they're pretty much the whole reason I got a snake (and then a second snake) in the first place lmao.

They definitely do not feel like what you're expecting; I compare my pasta children to the rough side of a bandaid-- Noodle is a lot smoother than my ball python, Galadriel, because of the difference in size and shape of their scales.

I really cannot recommend enough just talking to him! They learn voices-- I'll babytalk at him and Noodle will stick his head right up out of the substrate to seek me out. I talk to him when I'm picking him up and when I'm holding him, so he associates my voice with the rest of me and knows he's safe.

But you asked for handling information, which I have, and which is extensive and probably far more information than you're looking for, so I'm going to put it under a cut:

I handle Noodle a lot, because I really wanted him to get socialized and comfortable with being held and generally passed around to friends/family who also want to hold him without him freaking out. You shouldn't ever handle them more than once a day, usually a few times a week at most. You should also start with just putting your hand in his enclosure for like five or ten minutes at a stretch, letting him smell you and get to know your scent. When you first pick him up, limit it to a few minutes, and then gradually increase how long you have him out.

Corn snakes are fast. You literally cannot take your eyes off them for a second, because they get worse zoomies than cats sometimes and have a great need to go literally everywhere they really should not (the list of things I Have Rescued Noodle Off Of is extensive, as he has like one brain cell that bounces around in his head like a Windows 95 screensaver).

Wash your hands before and after you handle them; you don't want them to smell any food on your hands that might be appealing to them, and think of your fingers as snackies. Noodle's bitten me once, because I reached into his tank to fix something while I thought he was still eating and my hands still smelled like mouse tea from warming up his food. He was not, in fact, still eating. It did not hurt. He now knows that I'm not actually edible.

Scoop him up very gently. Don't chase after him and try to drag him out if he doesn't want to come out. USE BOTH HANDS. Make him feel comfortable and safe, and he'll probably loop his tail around a finger or your wrist to try to hold on. My dude is about 4' at this point, so he loops around my wrist a couple times, or sprawls out across my arms and hangs out. The littler they are, the speedier and more nervous. They are entirely muscle, and are surprisingly strong, so don't be alarmed if he wraps himself around your fingers and holds on if he's not feeling stable!

You will, inevitably, get pooped/musked on (especially initially). It is very stinky, but it washes out easily. I would actually recommend not putting your little dude back in his tank right after he musks, because he'll associate that with a way to get out of being held. If he stops moving and you see that little tail go up, hold him over a sink or trash can or a tissue or something bc Disaster Is About To Strike.

When he's getting ready to shed, he'll hide for like a week; Noodle is easy to tell that he's getting ready to go into shed, because he dulls down to a browner shade of orange from his normal vibrancy, but if your little dude's eyes "blue" over (it's what it sounds like, as they don't have eyelids and basically form a skin over their eyes that makes them blue and opaque), he's going to shed soon. He cannot see very well in this state, and would VERY vastly prefer to be left alone unless it's an emergency (and don't feed him until after he sheds!) The shed process usually takes a week or so-- he'll go back to looking normal after his blue period, and then shed a few days later. After that, you're free to handle him again.

Also, don't freak out if you don't see your snake out and about constantly-- they love burrowing and tunneling, and make lots of little paths in their substrate. The general rule of thumb is that a hidden corn snake is a happy corn snake; they're not stressed and trying to escape.

#looneythin #hello! this is probably WAY more info than you were looking for but as someone who started off very nervous around snakes #and now just kind of walks around with one or the other hanging off me when i'm just puttering around my apartment #i like to help where i can!#snakes #corn snakes

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princefandump · 2 years

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Excerpt of |you’re in the way(well fuck you too)|

Possible tw for: swearing(in spanish), implied murder, implication of drugs

Antonio was bursting in excitement, ready to head to the forest after breakfast. He had woken up with a note on his window, asking him to meet up with Señora Alexis, who asked if he wanted to explore the forest with her, possibly pick up a few animals. He found it a bit strange how the note asked him not to bring his animals with him, but he ignored it, assuming she wouldn't want them to slow them down.

“What's got you so energetic today, Toñito?” Camilo asked, turning away from his food to look at the younger boy.

Antonio smiled widely. The note mentioned to keep it a secret from his family, as to not distract them(another thing he brushed off), so that's what he was planning on doing. “I’m meeting up with one of my friends today, and we’re going to explore the forest!” He happily exclaimed. Camilo smirked back at him.

“You don't think they’d mind If I came along, right?”

Antonio thought back to the note. There was nothing there about not bringing anyone with him, so he guessed it was fine.

“Nope!”

“Great!”

They quickly scarfed down their food and ran inside, packing for the exploration. Once they were both done, they ran back outside, passing by their somewhat confused family.

“What-what was that about?” Mirabel asks, leaning back to watch their retreating forms.

“They’re apparently going on some sort of exploration in the forest.*hm!*” Dolores answered, getting up to wash her now-finished plate.

Pepa worriedly rubs her skirt fabric between her fingers. “I hope they’ll be okay, the forest is, uhm, quite vast. They could get lost..” She trailed off, remembering the time Antonio got lost in the forest. He was the only one not worrying.

Félix placed his hand over hers, calming her. “Mi amor, Camilo is a smart boy. He’ll take care of Antonio, don't worry.” Pepa smiled lovingly, mumbling a gracias and holding his hand back, her small cloud dissipating.

“Yeah, ‘smart’.” An irritated Isabela grumbled, wearing her old, simple lavender dress, as a certain someone had used some of her pollen to wreck her usual one, horribly staining it with an awful poop-green-brown. She barely managed to wash it out.

Camilo followed Antonio to a more secluded and empty part of the Encanto, growing more and more confused at how far out they were.

“Hey Antonio, have you been here before? Seems like you know your way around here.”

Antonio shook his head. “Nope! The note just told me to go this way.”

“Note?” Camilo asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Antonio placed his index finger tip on his mouth. “Oops, I wasn't supposed to tell. Well, I got a note this morning that told me to go with Señora Alexis to explore the forest. I think it was meant to be una sorpresa.” He explained. Camilo’s eyebrows furrowed in thought ‘I never heard of an Alexis here before..’

———

Alexis grinned in anticipation.

She was lucky Antonio was so gullible, that he would fall for the exploring the forest plan.

If it hadn't worked, well, she had a few backup plans, and none of them were pretty.

She had fallen for Félix hard in her teens, but he only had eyes for the flat-breasted-tooth-gapped-crybaby Pepa. Since they were kids Alexis hated her. Whenever anyone rejected or said no to her, instant rainstorm. It would take ages for her to calm down and stop fucking crying.

Everything about Alexis was superior to Pepa. He looks, her figure, her personality, her voice, her emotional control, everything. But Félix, her ex-best friend, still fell in a double-sided love with Pepa.

Even their living house didn't like her. It refused to let her in for the pre-ceremony gathering, as Félix didn't want her there to terrorize his soon-to-be-wife.

She left the Encanto after that, cursing the yellow perra and hoping it’d rain at her wedding.

Her friend Sarah told her it did.

(Her other friend Victoria got smacked over the head for revealing they got married the same day anyway)

Soon, she learned that the two had a child, Dolores.

She got a gift of super hearing. Alexis hoped she couldn't hear what was going on outside the Encanto, otherwise, she would know a lot more curse words than any child should.

About 5 years later, she learned they had another child, Camilo.

He could shapeshift. Alexis personally didn't see how that was any useful.

Then, 10 years later, they had a third kid. Antonio.

She no longer wanted any more little terrors of Pepa’s living, and planned on kidnapping him before his ceremony, but Victoria stopped her, reminding her that the house wouldn't let her in any way.

Apparently, he was very fond of animals, and Alexis predicted he would get an animal-related gift. Possibly becoming an animal? Talking to them? Either way, her brain got to work.

Once it was confirmed that he could speak to animals, she had planned to use his interest and innocence against him, lure him into the forest and drug him, take him into her house, and if she felt that she made Pepa suffer enough, she would send him back.

Or kill him. Sure, she’d feel a bit guilty over killing a kid, but it would go away eventually.

It did the first time.

And the second time.

They never did find the bodies, luckily.

Victoria had informed her that the Casita had fallen, and she had to wait months for it to be rebuilt, when they were most vulnerable.

Just as a safety measure, she waited two weeks until it was finally time.

Once she was getting ready to head out and get the kid, she was met with the face of Sara, who was holding a vial full of a strange liquid, and behind her was Victoria, who held a large basket of food.

Sara told her that the food on the left(“Your left, I mean.” She clarified) was all doused in a special herb she had grown, handing her the 10cm vial full of the liquidized version of it. She explained that the herb, when inhaled, causes dizziness(“She found that out the hard way- ay what was that for?” Victoria cried, after getting elbowed by Sara, who was embarrassed she would bring that up), and when a large amount is ingested, it causes the person to pass out after a bit(Sara sent a glare to Victoria, who shut her mouth, raising her hands in mock surrender).

Victoria told her that since Casita would probably kick her out and/or alert the rest of the family, she should just stick a note on the window, which would-hopefully- bring him to her.

#encanto fic #camilo angst #antonio angst #original character

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katherynshoward · 3 years

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𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞; { 𝐠.𝐰. 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 }

SYNOPSIS; my headcanons for what it would be like to date george. fred is alive and this would be AFTER the war when everyone is grown. feel free to use these in your stories! if it’s precise, like my quotes, just be sure to credit me.

RESTRICTIONS; preferably 18+. if you’re under 18, i only ask that you do not read the nsfw headcanons section. it is greatly appreciated.

WORD COUNT; 0.9k

WARNINGS; mention of death, sex, dress up kink

whenever you’re giving him the silent treatment after an argument, he puts your favorite snack on the highest shelf where you live and hides the stool. it’s how he gets you to talk to him. fucker.

he constantly asks if you still have a crush on him even after you eventually get married.

you tell him ‘sweet dreams’ every night before bed and he responds with ‘see you there’.

then he falls asleep in ten seconds while you stay up wondering if he remember to turn off the stove until you inevitably get up to check.

you guys build hella forts.

modern george would be the kind of person to angle his phone up so you can only see his forehead and one eyebrow during facetime calls, not realizing he’s on camera as well.

he likes to bath with you. he always sits directly behind you in the tub and tries to shape your hair into a mohawk with shampoo.

george loves hand holding. hand holding supremacy.

because you’re holding hands literally all the time, he likes to say ‘steady’ and twirl you around while you two are walking in public and then he places a gentle kiss on your knuckles.

he knows you’re very ticklish on your neck and likes to whisper the most obscure hilarious shit against your neck at random times.

you guys people watch A LOT. the two of you could literally commentate on others for hours, bouncing back and forth off of each other in good humor.

forehead kisses instantly revive his mood. it’s his life force.

he has to be sitting for you to give him forehead kisses bc he’s too tall otherwise.

he has accidentally used your toothbrush way too many times. they’re not even close to the same color.

fred used to pretend he was george to get you to tell him shocking information about george to blackmail him later. you eventually caught on and can clearly tell them apart now.

F: “Hey, love. Do you remember where I put my journal?” You: “Weren’t you just writing in it last night? It’s beneath the mattress. Like always.” F: “No bloody way. He still uses it?” You: “What?” F: “What?”

every opportunity to make a tasteless pun about his missing ear, he absolutely takes it.

george wakes up first and likes to spend his first hour just admiring you. caressing you with his fingers and brushing your hair out of your face. if you do anything embarrassing during this hour, you will be hearing about it.

he was terrified of cats when you first started dating. but he got you a kitten for your birthday after your last one passed and you were inconsolable. it looks just like your last cat.

george is now ultimate cat dad and probably cuddles the cat more than you do.

You: “Why did you take the cat to go poop with you?”

G: “He gets scared when I’m gone, y/n. I can’t leave him.”

you were best friends for a very long time before you started dating and you still very much act like best friends. because you are.

because he’s your bestie as well as your lover, he lets you do conventionally girly things with him if it means spending more time with you.

he would definitely by the type of boyfriend to let you do makeup on him for a youtube video.

G: “Am I pretty now?” You: “The prettiest.” G: Buzzer noise* “That was a trick question. You were supposed to say ‘yes but not as much as me’.”

he is always the little spoon and will fight for his life on this.

cracks out baby book every christmas at the burrow of him and fred. likes to point out that his butt was cuter and that’s how molly could tell them apart. fred and george usually end up arguing over this, fred claiming that george has them mixed up.

fred will naturally throw hands for you because george loves you so much. you are untouchable between those two.

george is so in love with you, it’s ridiculous.

even when he’s mad at you, he ends up taking the blame although you still apologize for upsetting him.

he just can’t rationalize you being anything other than perfect, even when you leave your hair clumps in the shower.

which he calls your ‘mini-me’.

NSFW headcanons.

he cracks jokes during sex. there is no escape.

those forts from earlier? of course you have sex in them. but only after popcorn and movies.

his hidden kink is dressing you up in sexy costumes and fucking you while you wear them.

modern george would lose his shit over you cosplaying and probably help you make your cosplays.

but his favorites would be typical ones. like maid, school girl, nurse, probably princess leia at some point.

his favorite position is you on top while he just hammers into you.

george is a thigh guy. he grabs your thighs more than he drinks water. it’s his sustenance.

he loves morning sex. he’s so sensual and gentle in the mornings. something about the glow of sunrise really gets that man going.

mostly, he gets off by making you feel good and worries far more about your orgasm than his own.

makes bedroom jokes at the most inappropriate times.

*Sitting at the Weasley dinner table* G: *Cracks open fortune cookie and takes out fortune.* G: “Y/n, it says here ‘serious trouble will bypass you - in bed.’” You: “GEORGE WEASLEY it does not say that.”

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kallikrein · 2 years

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DOMESTIC HEADCANONS

— with akashi (sanzu) haruchiyo.

contains. gn!reader, timeskip character, little mention of drugs, possibly ooc and not proofread.

word count. 0.7k.

note. i had the help of kae, the sexiest haru simp ever. we basically slandered haruchiyo out of love. i hope i did okay!

requested.

Haruchiyo is many things.

He’s a criminal for one, even ranking second as Japan’s most feared syndicate at that.

But one that truly matters the most is that he’s a complete, utter fool when it comes to love.

He refused to believe it himself at first, since he used to scoff at couples that smile goofily at each other like their future is somehow set for them.

Only to end up doing the exact same lovesick grin every time he looks at you.

He doesn’t want to overshow his affection — no, not really.

But he couldn’t help it, not when he has himself wrapped around you like a devil in disguise whilst his consciousness slowly wakes him up in the morning.

He would bury his nose in your bed-made hair, sniffing the shampoo he came to know so well before planting tender, little kisses on the exposed skin he could reach.

Once he hears you mumble a groggy ‘Good morning, Haru’, it’s time for him to act out the second part of his plan.

Which is to squeeze you really tight making you grunt about needing some space and air in order to breathe.

And he’d have the audacity to feel offended, even going as far as to say: “It’s not just ‘Good morning, Haru’ but ‘Good morning, Haru, my love, the prettiest boy to ever exist and the only one I want to worship every beautiful day’.”

Haruchiyo would keep squishing you, lovingly of course, until you finally concede and murmur whatever he wants to hear.

And maybe you expected another bout of playfulness from him, but what’s actually sitting on his scarred lips is a soft smile as though he’s completely enamored by you.

Until, “Wanna make babies?”

Speaking of babies, Haruchiyo couldn’t figure out for the life of him how they even function.

They eat, poop, sleep, repeat — all the things that he does too. So why couldn’t they do it all on their own?

However, when he sees you cooing a raging toddler which has the aura very similar to one of his purplenette comrades, he already knows you’re going to be so beautiful carrying one of his own.

Even though Haruchiyo is already aware that he isn’t very well-suited for fatherhood.

That image of you burned heavily in his mind, even dreaming of staring at a little bundle of joy: one that has his bright blue colored eyes and your ever-so magnetic personality.

It leaves him wanting, yearning for something so solid — so you and him — that he searches on the internet on “How to Take Care of Child Menace 101” for some information.

He wouldn’t even deny it in case he got caught because why would he?

He’s loyal at most, and that means when he’s “domesticating” you, best believe it’s the “real deal”.

He’s going to want to make you breakfast, but you don’t want a burnt kitchen so you closely observe.

He ends up coming with cereal and milk, asking you which do you think should go first.

“Milk then cereal? Or cereal then milk?”

You’d choose, but in return he tuts at you.

“Wrong. Cereal bowl first.”

Remember, he’s “domesticating” you — not the other way around.

Haruchiyo wouldn’t allow a day to pass by without some sort of skinship.

If he feels really affectionate, he’d barge in on you, not giving much care about other people around before announcing, “Cuddles when?”

And if he feels really clingy, just know that he’s very much eager to kiss you right away on the lips.

“O. M. G. You’re cooking bacon? Wait, let me just— chu”

He’s also the type to tap into your shoulder whilst you’re busy, you turning around but having a pale finger playfully poking at your cheek.

He would do it multiple times in a row until you give up on giving him attention, but of course this man wouldn’t let that happen.

He’d tap both of your shoulders, and once you turn around to give him an earful, his lips are quicker to shut you up.

“You lost, babe. Better luck next time.”

Basically, dating Haruchiyo is a challenge in itself.

But domesticating him? You’re in for a really tiring, fun ride.

taglist. @baji-san, @gwynsapphire, @eriskaitto and @manjiroarchiviste.

#[ ⌨️ ] — writings #東京リベンジャーズ #tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers headcanons #tokyo revengers sanzu haruchiyo #sanzu haruchiyo headcanons #sanzu haruchiyo fluff #sanzu haruchiyo x reader

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holy-hyuck · 3 years

Text

WayV Reaction: They See You Wearing Their Clothes

Kun

"Are you cold?" Kun asked as he took a seat next to you on the couch. You shrugged, half-wanting to say yes, but not wanting to trouble him. "Xiaojun, can you get (y/n) one of my hoodies?" he asked the younger male when he saw him going up the stairs.

Xiaojun nodded his head and motioned for you to follow him. In their room, he threw the three hoodies Kun owned on his bed and let you pick. One was a poop-coloured, oversized one, another a mix between red and pink, but you finally decided on a thick minty one, the one you gave him on his birthday this year. You pulled it over your head and made your way down the stairs once you realised Xiaojun went to take a shower.

You stopped in front of the TV, hands in the pockets of your boyfriend's attire, and it didn't take long before you felt his arms sneak around you. After giving you a kiss to your temple, he put his chin on your shoulder, breathing in his cologne mixed with your perfume.

"I'm so stupidly in love with you."

The words tumbled out of his lips simply, without much thought, but you both knew how sincere they were.

Ten

"Can I borrow your suit?" Your voice rang through the small apartment you shared with Ten. He made a face, looking away from his phone.

"Okay?" he yelled back, deciding that maybe not asking further questions was in his best interest.

Half an hour passed before he heard your footsteps coming into the living room. Looking up from his phone again, all he could mutter out was a 'wow'.

"I told you I'm going to that Halloween party with my coworkers! So, how do I look?"

With a stupid grin on his face, Ten stood up from the couch and walked around you twice, eventually back-hugging you.

"Stunning." He gave you a kiss on the temple. "As always," he whispered in your ear. "I'm kinda digging this, you know? Who knew Frankenstein could be so hot."

And then, he had to hold your laughing form before you managed to collapse to the ground, stuttering his words back to him, causing him to roll his eyes. Maybe he should have stuck to the 'wow'.

WinWin / Sicheng

WinWin never thought it would get to him as much as it did. Most of the times the two of you spent were with the other boys, the perfect opportunity to offer you his clothes being a movie night but he didn’t want to get teased by them.

The two of you were walking back from shopping, the weather not quite as nice as it was before. The wind picked up and you still had over twenty minutes to walk back to your house, and even more to the dorms.

Shivering involuntarily, you wrapped your arms around yourself to keep the cold away, but needless to say, haven’t succeeded.

With the wind blocking out some sounds, you didn’t hear the commotion next to you. Plus, Taeyong was trying to be subtle about it - that, however, wasn’t a problem with Donghyuck.

“Yah, Sicheng, aren’t you going to give (y/n) your jacket or something? You know, like a sweet boyfriend would,” he said, a hint of teasing present, as per usual.

Blushing, your boyfriend took off his hoodie, revealing a jumper underneath (so you knew he wouldn’t be that cold himself), and passed it over to you, without looking at you. You thanked him, putting it on, instantly feeling warmer. Sicheng wouldn’t look at you (besides the subtle glances) or speak to you until you arrived at your house, you promptly giving him his clothing back, and seeing how he reacted, you made a mental note to yourself to always try bringing a spare jacket with you when you two went out.

Lucas / Yukhei

You heard Yukhei before you saw him, sauntering into your apartment just as you finished up the dinner for your date.

"Look what I got you!" he exclaimed, fishing through all four of the shopping bags before digging up a bright pink jumper, at least two sizes too big for you.

You wanted to tell him that until he got a similar one out, only in your size.

"Matching jumpers! Well, kinda. I got them in the men's section because the material is thicker and I thought; why not? Try it on!"

He was so excited you couldn't make him wait, so you took off your shirt, leaving you only in a tank top, and scrambled to put the jumper on. It fit you perfectly, albeit the sleeves were puffed out slightly, but you reckoned that was just the design. You liked oversized things anyway.

Yukhei beamed, enveloping you in a hug that nearly made you suffocate.

"You're literally perfect. I can't believe how lucky I am."

Xiaojun / Dejun

You visited your boyfriend on the set for their new music video. He just finished getting his hair done when he saw you in the mirror, getting up to give you a hug and greet you. He scooped you up and spun you around.

"No need to rub it in!" You both laughed at Kun's words, who passed by and gave you a kiss on the cheek before leaving to film his solo scene. You watched his dark grey hair disappear, then came up to the clothing rack, fiddling with some clothes.

"So, do you like, get to keep any of these?" you asked, picking up a beret.

"Well, not exactly. But I do get to wear them on other sets and variety shows," he answered, giving you a back hug.

You hummed in response, spinning around and thus breaking yourself out of Dejun's hold. You put the beret on your head and posed for him.

"So, how do I look? Ready to debut in a group?"

Your boyfriend watched you, half with heart-eyes and half-amused.

"How do you look better in that than me?"

You laughed, taking the hat off and gently placing it back to its original place. "One of my many charms, Jun."

Hendery / Kunhang

"We're live in five!" You heard and fastened the button on your shirt. Well, Hendery's shirt, to be exact, but he stole your leftovers last week so you figured it was time for payback.

"(Y/n)!" You turned around and spotted the aforementioned running towards you.

"Hendery? What are you doing here? I'll be live in a few," you said in a hushed whisper.

"I wanted to bring you this." He lifted the small gold pin and grinned at you. It was your lucky charm. He pinned it to your blouse, then took the collar between his fingers with scrunched eyebrows. "Is that... Is that my shirt? I've been looking for it the whole weekend."

You grinned at him sheepishly. "But I look cute, don't I?"

He sighed, his mouth stretching into an involuntary smile. He planted a kiss on your forehead. "I guess you do."

YangYang

Along with some of your mutual friends, YangYang and you went to bonfire night. As the evening turned into night, and most of the people went home, you and your boyfriend decided to stay behind. The night was still, but the temperature has dropped significantly; thankfully, you came prepared.

Pulling a thick cardigan out of your bag, you were ready to be engulfed by its warmth, when YangYang stopped you in your tracks.

"Wait." He began digging in his backpack and pulled out a bright red sweatshirt, the same one he was wearing, and motioned for you to put your arms up. When you did, he pulled the piece of clothing over your head. "There."

Then, he snuggled up to you, leaving you confused as to what just happened.

"I've had that sweatshirt in my bag for two weeks now, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Apparently, you never get cold."

You snickered at his words, dropping the cardigan on the sand and placing your head on his shoulder, enjoying the night air, and the smell of YangYang's cologne on you.

#nct reactions #wayv reactions #nct fluff #wayv fluff #nct x reader #wayv x reader #kun reactions #ten reactions #winwin reactions #sicheng reactions #lucas reactions #yukhei reactions #xiaojun reactions #dejun reactions #hendery reactions #kunhang reactions #yangyang reactions

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monochromemedic · 3 years

Text

I had been stuck in the Dark World for who knows how long. The days didn’t seem to matter down here. No sun, no moon, just the vibrant green grid that coated the sky that would twitch and surge with occasional frequency. When I first got here, I fought hard to get back to the surface, to fight for any sense of normalcy, for home but after a while the dream began to fade. The options began to run dry when compared to the dangers that surrounded me. And so I settled. I survived. I searched for food, begged for shelter from kind Darkners. I did what I had to to live. The Queen was not an option. Whispers from Darkners told me how I was just what she was looking for, that would help her expand her reign to the Light World. As much as that would probably help me, I didn’t want to ruin the lives of others for the chance to see my family, as much as I missed them with every passing minute. The sound of bustling cars and the blinding lights of neon signs stung my senses, my palms pressing into my eyes to drown out what I could. Damn it this place never slept did it? There was always something, some sort of noise. Whatever bags I had under my eyes were probably made cartoonishly drastic with the lack of pure rest I was getting. ‘Supose it was better then being dead... My body felt heavy, and I knew I’d have to find a place to rest or I’d fall asleep mid crossing of a road and get run over by one of those goofy cars I’d seen. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad... I recalled the time one of the car’s rear bumped into a fire hydrant (or at least I thought it was) and made a squeaking sound. The darkness of a certain alley called to me, the silence a sweet lullaby to the roaring around me. Was it dangerous? Oh yeah. Was it stupid? No shit. Was I going to do it? The shadows the engulfed me were perfect and if it wasn’t for the underlying stench of garbage it’d probably be ideal. Still beggars couldn’t be choosers and if tonight was good enough I would have to consider having this as my permanent sleeping spot. My back slid against the cool wall across from the dumpster, eyes half lidded as they read the advertisements littering above. Why the hell did the Queen have ads anyway, if she wanted she could monopolize any products she wanted... Despite the quiet I couldn’t shake the feeling that creeped down my spine. The presence of something other then myself around me. I tried to close my eyes, I was in the city after all. It’d be concerning if I didn’t feel like people were one second from crawling up my ass. Though I had to admit I didn’t expect to actually feel something begin to touch me. My eyes snapped open, elbow prodding into a blurry shape that yelped and tumbled backward, it’s grasp my on shoulder tearing a hole in my already worn shirt in the struggle. “Hey! What the hell?!” I barked, standing over the perpetrator. My shoulders slumped when I saw what looked to be a doll staring up at me with wide eyes, an over exaggerated smile permanently spread across it’s face. The creature’s jaw opened wider with a clack, it’s small body shooting upwards to stand on it’s small pointed feet. “WOAH WOAH WOAHAH- [Live worms]!” The darkner’s voice was deafeningly loud, a shrill tone that cut the air like newly sharpened blades. “ I THOUGHT YOU WERE [Roadkill]. NICE TO KNOW I WON’T BE [Sleeping with the fishes] T0NIGHT!!” Well he had a certain way of speaking that was obvious. What the hell was going on with him, he talked like he was constantly being cut of random clips of other people speaking. He talked like a youtube poop or any other shitpost that would randomly shove memes into them for a quick laugh. “You thought I was dead? I was just... I was... uh.” I looked around me, eyeing the dirt and debris. “I was... going to sleep... here.” Dammit, telling people I had to sleep in such ratty places were always a blow to the ego but I suppose it was better then saying ‘Oh I was just sitting down here to die’ The puppet shook his head and waltzed over to the dumpster, his small hand smacking the side with a sense of pride. “ [Finders keepers, losers weepers] HUMAN, YOU PICKED A GOOD SPOT. TOO BAD [so sadd] I GOT HERE FIRST. THOUGH FOR A DEAL I SUPPOSE I COULD [Share the love~]” “Got here first... what are you talking about?” The Darkner let out a laugh, distorted echoes filling the air as he leapt inside, a solitary hand popping out to beg me to come closer. This was a terrible idea, but despite my best judgement I followed, and witnessed what I could only describe to be a makeshift bed inside. The puppet laid on top of musty mats and raggedy rugs, a single stained pillow resting just beneath his head. My god was he living in here? The creature continued his laugh, lurching only a few inches away from my face. “ [Sweet deal] ISN’T IT? J3ALOUS, [baby]?” I shirked back, cheeks reddening at the tone of his last word. I was most defiantly not jealous, in fact I was filled with remorse, something his pride did not help with. “It’s... uh something. I guess this means I’ll have to find another alleyway um, sorry for bothering you-” “SPAMTON.” “What?” His hand shot out towards my chest, fingers wiggling for a handshake. “SP-SPA MTON G SPAMTON, [Number 1 rated salesmen 1997]” He announced, an extra flair of bravado laced his titled. His hand was surprisingly warm for what it was made of but nothing that would be described as body temperature. “Jenna. Also 1997.” “WHAT A YEAR. LISTEN LIGHT nER, I AM DEALSMAN [yes/no?]” “Um... y-yes? I don’t-” “THEN LET ME MAKE A DEAL YEAH? FOR ONLY [many] KROMER, YOU MAY STAY IN MY [Privately owned] ALLEY. IT’S A REAL [steal] YOU’RE ROBBING ME [deaf] HERE!” My brows furrowed as I searched his face for any context clues for what the hell he was trying to say. Kromer? What the fuck was ‘kromer’? The only thing I knew of currency down here was dark dollars not kromer... even if he did ask for dark dollars he didn’t name a price, he just said many. And the amount of dark dollars I had was zero. “Uh I don’t have kromer. I don’t even have dark dollars I’m kinda broke Spamton, in case you couldn’t tell from uh...” I trailed off realizing saying that sleeping in an alley wasn’t a very smart thing to say to someone who slept in an alley. He seemed surprised by my words, beginning to tug on my coat, flipping my pockets to see if I was really lying. I had to push his mitts off me a couple of times, to which he eventually got the idea the way his hands began to rub at his extended jaw. “NO KROMER... WHAT CAN YOU DO?” “What do you mean?” He seemed to sense my change in tone, his grin beginning to wobble nervously “[Whoopsie daisy!] LET ME START AGAIN. DO YOU HAVE A [trade]? A [skill] TO [Exchange for goods and services]?” he croaked. I eyed the ground, rubbing the back of my neck. What the hell was I good at again? “I mean, I can draw, I suppose...” “ARTIST? WOW OWOW!” Spamton’s face lit up before digging in the dumpster, pulling out a few napkins and a ball point pen and shoving them into my hands. “WHAT A [trade] TELL YOU WHAT. YOU DRAW A [one-of-a-kind masterpiece] AND YOU CAN STAY THE NIGHT!” “You’ll let me stay... if I draw something for you on this napkin. Am I getting that right?” The doll nodded feverishly, basically hovering over my shoulder as I played with the pen. This was certainly the weirdest way to pay someone that I could imagine... well no but one that was in the realm of reality. I had to ask Spamton to give me some space a few time, the feeling of his breath on my neck making me more then nervous as I drew. God he was like those kids in school that would ask for drawings but ten times worse with the amount of personal space he’d give you. Besides I needed something to draw and with nothing on the mind why not draw the most interesting thing in front of me. I held the finished doodle out to Spamton only to have it snatched out of my fingers so fast I swore we could have started a fire. “WOAH...” The puppet sank inside of the dumpster, his face softening as for once in what seemed like forever the alley way grew silent. “THIS IS... ME?” “Yeah. Sorry I didn’t know what to draw, you kind of put me on the spot. Besides everyone likes drawings of themselves right?” I shrugged, being pulled away from my thoughts by an overdramatic sniffle. Was he... crying? Not quite, just damn well close. Spamton’s shoulders quaked as a warm smile returned to his cheeks, slipping the napkin into his pocket with glee. “SO GOOD... THANK YOU.” “It’s really nothing, honestly that was a pretty shitty drawing.” “WHAT? YOU’RE [&#!^]ING ME! THAT WAS [BIG SHOT]” He was screaming again, hands gesturing wildly about. “It wasn’t but thank you. I wish I was better to be honest. I’m not very happy with my art, not at all.” I turned away from his gaze, unsure of why I was overcome by a choking sensation building my throat. Why the hell was I telling this stranger this sort of stuff anyway? I mean I could hazard a guess it was the fact that this was the longest conversation I had had with anyone since I had gotten down here but with how things were it could be some magic power the doll possessed to tell him my deepest darkest secrets. “YOU DON’T THINK THIS IS [Big?]” “No.” “WHY NOT?” “I don’t know. I just... I think it doesn’t look the way I want it to. Doesn’t look good to me, and I don’t know how to fix it. Which I guess is a little funny considering how long I’ve been drawing. Just keep... drawing and drawing and never improving, least not how I’d like. It’s just garbage to me.” Spamton’s face seemed to fall, his glasses fading to a dark inky black. “YOU FEEL? NO GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO? YOUR [passion]?” “Yeah.” A laugh ripped from his chest, his head lolling back with each chuckle. I felt my soul began to crack, a shame flooding my body with how hard he seemed to laugh. Did he find this funny? Humorous? I felt tears prick my eyes as I snapped my head back to glare at him, his head glitching back to stare back at me. “YOU’RE JUST LIKE ME, JENNA. A [slime] A REAL [slime]!” With a quick motion the puppet jumped to the ground, his hand resting against my arm as he spoke. “YOU’RE A REAL [BIG SHOT] YOU KNOW THAT? STAY AS LONG AS YOUR [Greasy little heart] DESIRES!” Well... that was unexpected. He’d really let me stay here as long as I want cause I was pathetic? Or did he just feel sorry for me? What was going on? And why was he calling me a slime... or us a slime? “Oh... uh thanks? I didn’t think I was being much of a big shot whatever that is but I apricate it. Really.” His head clacked with every little nod, leading me to a pile of cardboard boxes and patting them with the grace of a car salesman. “BEST [Seat in the house] ALL FOR YOU. [Night night forever]!” Spamton beamed, awkwardly swaying side to side before stumbling back to the dumpster a few inches away and crawling inside of it, much like a wild animal. I couldn’t help but laugh a little. This guy was weird. Kinda creepy but also kind of funny. I honestly couldn’t pinpoint a feeling on him but at least he didn’t want to hurt me just make weird ass deals and make me ‘big’. Did that mean famous? Was this guy so into my art he wanted to be some sort of manager? I rubbed my eyes and let out a yawn, the excitement of the day finally beginning to fade. God I forgot how tired I was, that little guy made me feel like I was gonna go into fight or flight. “Hey Spamton?” “YES?” his voice echoed from inside the metal container. “...Thank you.”

#self insert #spamton #vent #idk im just thinking #just wanted something to do

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snelbz · 3 years

Text

Life As We Know It {Chapter Seven}

Summary: After the sudden deaths of Nesta’s sister and Cassian’s best friend, they gain guardianship of their nephew, Nyx.

Based on Life As We Know It (2010) and a prompt sent in by anonymous for our Nessian fanfic contest. This is a modern au.

Instead of doing a tag list for this story, we have decided to have a set posting schedule. Chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays and Thursdays. Chapters will be posted on both my and Tara’s blogs! >> @tacmc.

Life As We Know It Masterlist

Shelby’s Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

Nesta was out with Elain, Mor, Emerie, Amren, and Gwen for the night.

She had no idea when she’d be home.

This meant one thing and one thing only.

It was Cassian’s first night alone with Nyx.

It was no different than being home alone with Nyx during the day, which Cassian had been a handful of times thus far. However, Nyx didn’t seem to need as much during the day.

Eat, sleep, play, repeat.

At night, he needed a dinner, a bath, his bottle, to be rocked, to be put down for the night…which was something he never liked doing. A daytime nap? He didn’t mind. Sleeping for nine hours? Apparently that thought just pissed him off.

Nesta was a pro at getting him to sleep for the night. Cassian had offered once to do it and failed miserably.

“Not tonight, little man,” Cassian said to Nyx as they sat at the dinner table together. “Tonight, you’re going to bed the first time for Uncle Cassian.”

Nyx looked at Cassian and giggled.

Cassian scoffed. “Don’t mock me.”

Dinner with Cassian meant Nyx got the good shit. No puréed green beans or mashed carrots tonight. After he’d polished off a small jar of the cinnamon apples, Nyx had eaten nearly half a tube of puréed sweet potato, and Cassian was eating his own food. He took a bite of supreme pizza and pointed at him, before holding up a single finger. “After this, we’re gonna take a bath, and you aren’t going to throw water everywhere or poop in the tub, got it?”

Nyx just banged his little hand on the tray of his high chair, causing more sweet potato to fly onto himself, grinning up at Cassian.

“Then one last bottle before bed, while I read you a story,” he said, holding up a second finger. “I’m sure there will be a diaper change in there somewhere, so please go easy on me, yeah?”

Nyx played in the mess of mixed food in front of him.

“And then you go to bed, so I can watch a movie and pass out myself, and boom. Nesta can’t say anything about my parenting anymore cause I managed to keep you alive for a whole night.”

Nyx blew a raspberry at him before he started babbling.

Cassian took that as agreement.

“Perfect,” Cassian said, ruffling Nyx’s dark hair as he shoved the rest of the pizza into his mouth with his other hand.

He got up to clear his plate, and by the time he went back to Nyx’s high chair, he had managed to make orange streaks in his black hair.

Courtesy of the sweet potatoes.

With a sigh, Cassian took the tray off the high chair and unbuckled Nyx, picking him up and carrying him toward the bath.

“You first, tray second,” Cassian said.

Nyx started patting his little potato covered hands on Cassian’s cheeks, giggling at the sound it made.

Cassian cringed at the way it felt. “Thanks for that.”

He filled the bathtub up, ensuring it wasn’t too hot, like Nesta had shown him, and got Nyx out of his messy clothes and into the tub. After he’d wiped his own face clean of sweet potato, he went to work on Nyx, who had somehow managed to get it on the back of his knees.

Twenty minutes and a full change of wet, soggy clothes later for Cassian, he was sitting in Nyx’s nursery, in the rocking chair in the corner, a book open in his lap.

“This would be a book your parents bought you,” he muttered, opening the front cover. After clearing his throat, he began, “The night sky of Velaris greeted all the townspeople, letting them know it was time to go to bed.” Nyx patted the page and babbled something incoherent. Cassian nodded. “Yeah, it’s a nice picture, isn’t it?” He went on reading the story, written by a local author, no doubt, and Cassian found himself snorting at some of the sentences, but Nyx was fully engaged.

By the time he had finished the book, Nyx was leaning back against him, fully relaxed in his pajamas.

Even Cassian let out a yawn.

“You know, the Velaris starlight was important to your parents,” Cassian said, rocking Nyx back and forth. “They fell in love on Starfall. At least, that’s what Rhys always said. He was in love with your mama long before that, but she started falling for him on Starfall.” Nyx’s dark lashes began to fall, his eyelids drooping. “That’s why they named you Nyx. In Greek, Nyx means night.”

Nyx’s hand gripped Cassian’s thumb. He looked down at the sight and chuckled, quietly.

The baby looked up at him then, with those big, blue eyes, eyes that were so blue, they looked violet in the dark. That dark hair that was starting to need a trim, falling into his eyes. Cassian blinked quickly, trying to keep the sudden tears from spilling over. “You look so much like your dad,” he whispered.

Nyx just continued to watch him, pacifier in his mouth, those eyes getting sleepier with every rock of the chair.

Swallowing harshly, Cass set the book down and resituated Nyx so he was laying against his chest. He gently rubbed his back, the way he saw Nesta do when he would get fussy.

“I miss your dad,” he said, softly. “I know you do, too, you’ve known him your whole life, but—. But so have I. And after twenty-eight years he’s just…gone.”

That dark head snuggled in closer against him, one of his little hands clutching Cassian’s t-shirt.

Cassian said nothing else. If he had, he wouldn’t have gotten them out clearly.

He rocked. He rocked and he rocked and he rocked until Nyx was snoring, softly. As carefully as he could, Cassian rose and laid Nyx down in his crib.

After waiting a moment to make sure he didn’t wake up, Cassian tiptoed out of the room and across the hall to his own bedroom.

He had just laid down and unlocked his phone when he heard crying.

Tossing his phone back on his pillow, Cassian was instantly up, hurrying back across the hall. Nyx’s feet were kicking, his arms waving wildly, perfectly unhappy.

“What’s going on?” Cassian asked, picking the baby up out of the crib and cradling him against his chest. “Huh? You were sleeping so nicely.”

He continued to cry, and no amount of bouncing or patting his back was seeming to work.

“Come on, dude,” he muttered, sitting back down in the rocker. He resumed the slow back and forth motion, praying it would soothe Nyx back into peaceful sleep. “We did the bath. We did the bottle. We did the book. This is when you go to sleep.”

He kept crying and Cassian just shushed him quietly, his hand resuming the gentle rubbing he had done before. It helped, but Nyx still sniffled. “I don’t know what to do,” he admitted. “I don’t know how to do any of this. I’m still scared I’m gonna do something to fuck up and I wouldn’t just be doing it to you, it’d be to Rhys, too.”

Nyx’s wailing returned, and Cassian tried to close his eyes and take deep breaths. It wasn’t working. With everything he tried, Nyx only cried more and more and more.

“Come on, buddy,” he begged. “It’s time for bed, alright? It’s time to calm down.” Nyx let out a cry so loud that Cassian nearly jumped, which only scared Nyx, making him cry louder.

Cassian tried changing his diaper, tried getting him to take his pacifier, but nothing helped. He continued to rock, continued to pat, continued to walk Nyx around his room, but nothing worked.

Nothing.

Defeated, Cassian laid Nyx back down in his crib. “Come on, bud. Come on.”

Nyx kept crying, and Cassian rubbed his temples, trying not to join his nephew in his agony.

“Shhhhhh,” Cassian began, leaning over the crib, patting Nyx’s stomach. “It’s time for bed, Nyx. It’s time for bed. If your parents were here right now, I’m sure you’d already be asleep. Shit, if Nesta were here, you’d already be asleep.” He shook his head. “It’s me, isn’t it?”

The baby replied by continuing to cry.

He swore quietly, and hurried across the hall grabbing his phone, dialing a number he’d unknowingly memorized. She answered on the second ring.

“Is everything okay?”

He couldn’t hear music and laughter in the background of the call, but heard how panicked her voice was. She must have stepped away from her friends. It only made him feel that much worse.

“I can’t get him to stop crying and go to sleep,” he admitted. “I don’t know what else to try.”

“You gave him his bottle?” She asked, and he nodded. Then audibly answered her. After that, she ticked off the checklist of things she usually went through. Every single one he’d already tried.

“It’s like it’s just me,” he said, trying to calm him down while he held the phone to his ear. He scooped him up into his arms and sat down in the rocking chair. “He hates me and won’t go to sleep.”

She was quiet for a minute. “You know that’s not true, Cassian. He loves you.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he said, quietly, low enough that he wasn’t sure if the receiver could pick it up over Nyx’s wailing.

But it didn’t matter, because he heard footsteps hurrying up the stairs.

When Nesta rounded the corner, she wasn’t expecting to find Cassian looking defeated in the rocking chair. She pretended not to see the tears on his handsome face as she dropped her purse by the door of the nursery and took Nyx. She began to soothe him and tried to give him back his pacifier, but he wouldn’t take it.

“He’s cutting a new tooth,” Nesta said, carefully looking into his mouth, wide open thanks to a drawn out sob. “That’s all. He’s just uncomfortable, isn’t he?”

By the end of the sentence she was looking at Nyx, an over-exaggerated frown on her face.

She handed him back to Cassian and was downstairs and back with cooling, teething toy she’d pulled out of the freezer. He began to chew and gnaw on it the moment she handed it to him.

The crying quieted.

“There,” she said, smoothing his dark hair back from his forehead. “Better, yeah?”

Taking him from Cassian who hadn’t said a word since she walked in, she put him back into his crib and gently rubbed his belly. Within minutes, he was asleep again.

He murmured, “Thanks. You…didn’t have to end your night early for me.” He gestured toward the front door. “You can head back out. I can— I can handle it now.”

She shook her head. “I was on the way home. Turns out I wasn’t really in the going out mood.”

Cassian nodded, and said no more. He simply watched Nyx, his chest rising and falling. Nesta gave him a curt nod and walked out, back into the hall.

Cassian followed, shutting the nursery door quietly behind him.

“You did that so effortlessly.”

Nesta stopped and turned to face him near her bedroom, a brow raised. “Effortlessly?”

“I’ve been struggling for hours and you came in, and less than five minutes… He was out.” Cassian shook his head. “I’ve known him since the day he was born and I had no idea what he wanted.”

“He’s a baby, Cassian. He doesn’t even know what he wanted.”

“You knew,” he said, exasperated, exhausted.

She blinked, not expecting the tone of his voice to have sounded so…empty.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Nesta said, looking at him, willing him to meet her eyes. He didn’t look up.

“It’s not okay,” he said, and suddenly his words were sharp. “Rhys trusted me to take care of him but I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.”

She shook her head. “They trusted us, but they knew it wouldn’t be easy. We knew it wouldn’t be easy. We just have to take it day by day and-.”

“It’s not okay!” His words weren’t loud but they were panicked. “I have to provide for him and I can’t fucking do it if I don’t know what he needs.”

“Cassian-.”

“Why would they choose me?” He asked, his voice quiet. Tears filled his eyes. He hated himself for it. “I never even wanted kids! I have no idea what to do with a kid, Nesta. I don’t know what parents are supposed to do, what dads are supposed to do, I didn’t even fucking have one.”

Nesta remained quiet, afraid to speak, afraid to move. She had never seen Cassian like this.

She didn’t think anyone had ever seen Cassian like this.

“I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to do this,” he repeated. “I can��t— I can’t do this.”

She knew her words would mean nothing, reassuring him that he wasn’t alone in this, that they would figure it out together. It wouldn’t help him, wouldn’t ease his mind or his heart. That heart that was still broken from the loss of his best friend, his brother. So she did something she never thought she’d do.

She closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around him.

Cassian didn’t move for a moment, he just let her slim arms wrap around his waist, not realizing that he was on the brink of losing it. He was fairly sure that right now, she was the only thing holding him together, both mentally and physically. But after a long minute, his own arms wrapped around her shoulder and he buried his face into the top of her hair. He didn’t care that his tears were soaking her hair, didn’t care that this was the woman he’d spent the past five years hating and avoiding like she was the damn plague.

He didn’t care that he was falling to pieces.

Standing in that hallway, with Nyx sleeping behind the closed bedroom door, Cassian wept, and he didn’t care who saw it.

#life as we know it #snacmc lawki #lawki #nessian #nesta archeron #cassian #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf

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jungwonenthusiast · 3 years

Text

Field Trip

A/N: I’ve been working on this pic for a while, I hope you guys like it :)

Pairing: Jake Sim x fem! reader

Word count: 5.2k

Genre: fluff, high school au

Warning: mentions of virginity loss and porn, occasional swearing, nothing else I think

“How many shirts should I take?” Jake asks you through your phone.

“Uhm, we’re there for three days so take four just incase.” you reply and you pack your suitcase as well.

You two were preparing for your five day field trip to New York which was happening tomorrow.

You packed your favorite jeans and hoodies and even a dress just in case. You can't help but romanticize the hell out of New York after being stuck in this small town all your life.

“How many pairs of underwear should I take?” he asks again and you giggle. He’s like a kid sometimes. “How many times do you think you’ll change your underwear?” you say while sitting on your suitcase to get it to zip closed.

“Probably three but I’ll take four just in case.”

“What a quick learner.” you say and you hear him scoff.

Jake has been your best friend since elementary school when you scraped your knee during tag and he took you to the nurse’s office. He’s been a sweetie since day one.

“I doubt I’m gonna get any sleep tonight,” you sigh. “I’m too riled up.”

“Same,” he sighs. “I wonder how many flashers we’ll run into.”

You laugh. “Why is that the first thing you think of you creep.”

“Hey now,’ he chuckles. “I thought that was the stereotype.”

You hop onto your bed and pick your phone up, it looks like Jake’s doing the same. All you can see are his eyes and a bit of his nose bridge. His dark hair has started to grow out and it was poking at his eyelids.

Your phone pings with a text from Jake. It’s a horrendous screenshot of you climbing over your phone to get into bed. You gasp.

“I’ll kill you.” you tell him as he’s holding in his laugh. “I will do it.”

His laugh bursts out of his throat, jolly and warm. “Why I love it.”

“I hate you so much. Delete it.”

“No way,” he bunches his brows. “You have an entire photo album dedicated to bad pictures of me.”

“And I also have an entire album dedicated to good pictures of you.” you roll your eyes.

“You do?” he asks. “That’s a bit fangirly of you.”

“Me? A fangirl? Maybe Madeline but not me.” you scoff.

“Madeline?” his voice perks up. “She likes me?”

“Yeah, I thought you knew this.” you swear that you’ve brought this up before. Maybe he just forgot.

“Nuh-uh.” he says.

“Well...” you say. “do you like her back.”

“I mean she’s nice but,” he hesitates. “not really.”

“Why not? She’s smart and super pretty. I'm so jealous of her hair.” you say. Madeline was a tan ginger girl with curly fiery hair down to the small of her back.

“You have nice hair.” he says nonchalantly.

You touch it and rub it between your fingers. “It’s whatever.”

He scoffs. “You’re too hard on yourself all the time.”

“I’m a teenage girl, I can’t help it.” You defend yourself, but he isn’t lying.

“I’m bored, can I come over?” he says suddenly.

“Tonight? We have school tomorrow.” you reply.

“Maybe I’ll just sleep over.” he says while turning over in his bed. “I don’t think our parents would care.”

Sleepover? You two hadn’t done that since you turned eleven.

“Where would you sleep?” you ask him, already imagining how this would go.

“I don’t know on the floor.” he shrugs.

“I’m not letting you sleep on the floor I’ll feel bad.” you argue.

“I don’t care, I’m the one who suggested it, plus I miss you dude, I wanna hang out.” he says and you smile.

“I saw you on Friday.”

“Yeah, a whole two days ago.” he gets up off his bed. “Okay I’ll be there in ten.”

“What-” you start but he cuts you off.

He brings the camera up close to his face and he flashes you a smile. “Bye!” he hangs up.

Your palms feel a bit sweaty and you brush them off on your pants. Why am I nervous? You guys have had plenty of sleepovers before but the rest of the boys were always there, probably passed out from beer or a sugar crash.

You tidy your room up a bit and prepare a little blanket bed on the floor right next to your actual bed.

You hear knocking at the door right when you expected, Jake was hardly ever late.

“Hola~” he says as he walks in with his backpack on. He takes his shoes off before skipping over to your room. You giggle to yourself.

He falls back onto your bed with a big sigh. “I missed being here.”

“Why? There’s nothing cool here. Your house is way cooler.” you say and he smiles.

“Well I can’t deny that,” he shrugs and you punch him in the arm. “you’re the one who said it.”

“We get it rich boy.” you roll your eyes and sit down next to him.

“I’m just playing,” he sits up. “you know that.”

“I hope you showered after practice,” you say. “I don’t want you stinking up my bed.”

He whips his head to you, looking a little bit offended. “I am very clean alright? Here smell my hair.” he shoves his head into your face.

You let out a strangled noise and try to push him away. “Okay, okay!”

“No smell it,” he keeps his hair up in your face, it’s tickling your nose. “smells like mangos right.”

Admitedly, he's right. It smells like mangos.

“Yes it does,” you squeak out. “now please respect my personal bubble.” you spread your arms out and create an imaginary bubble between you two. He tries to tug at your arm but you bellow in a robot voice. “PERSONAL BUBBLE PERSONAL BUBBLE.”

“Fine, fine.” he falls back onto your bed again, laughing. “Lets watch something.”

You follow suit and tug your laptop into your lap.

“Hold on,” you get up and close your window, it was starting to get too cold.

You shimmy under your covers and pull up Netflix.

“Scary movie?” you click on the horror section.

“Sure but you probably won’t be able to sleep.” he teases and you roll your eyes.

“That was years ago.” you start to scroll through the movies.

“Mhm, and I’m never letting you live it down.” he says with pride.

During freshman year the gang decided to go to Jay’s house to watch It together and it freaked you out so much that you went to sleep in the boys room rather than the guest room.

You click on Hush, a movie you’ve been avoiding because it’s about one of your biggest fears, a home invasion.

“I thought you hated this movie.” Jake says, crossing his arms. “I do, but I need to face my fears eventually right?” you click on it and get up to turn the lights off.

Jake soon gets under the covers as well. You both cringe and slap each other every time your feet touch.

“Yo yo yo yo watch out!” Jake whispers and pulls his hood over his head, something you both do when you’re nervous. You weren’t wearing a hoodie so you settled with a spare blanket and draped it over yourself like a cloak.

“Oh shit,” you whisper. “look behind you!” you yell at the main character.

By the end of the movie both of your bodies are stiff and sore from being so tense for two hours straight.

“I thought she was gonna die.” you sigh and you shut your laptop.

“Nah, they couldn’t kill the main girl.” Jake says, comfy and cuddled up in your duvet. “She was so smart.”

“Yeah she was.” you yawn and then kick Jake in the side. “Go to your bed.”

He groans. “It’s warm here though.”

“Go and I’ll make pancakes tomorrow.” you say.

He perks up and follows your orders.

You relax into your mattress, but you miss his warmth next to you. You ignore that.

Your alarm goes off at 6:30 and Jake sleeps right through it.

“How the hell does he get up in the morning?” you whisper. “Probably Leila.”

He’s sleeping on his side, cuddling a stuffed animal he must’ve stolen from your bed while you were asleep.

You stretch your back before washing up.

Jake’s POV

My serene sleep is interrupted by pokes at my shoulder.

“Get up poop.” she says. I almost forgot that I was at her house. I crack my eyes open to find her crouching next to me.

“Good morning.” I croak out.

“You stole ginger.” she points at the stuffed bunny in my arms.

“I was lonely.” I say before sitting up and rubbing my eyes. “What time is it?”

“7:30,” she says holding in a giggle. “go wash up so we can eat.”

“What’s so funny?” I ask her as she walks away. “You’ll see when you look in the mirror.” she says.

My eyes widen. Did she draw a dick on my forehead or something? I thought we swore to never do that.

I scramble to her bathroom to meet some gnarly bedhead. I have no clue how guys have good messy hair, my hair is either boring and flat or just messy.

“Jesus.” I say to myself and try to run my head under the sink.

I brush my teeth and secretly use her facial cleanser.

“So fancy.” I whisper while lathering it up on my face.

I can already hear her voice in my head when I’m drying off saying “don't forget to put lotion on, and face lotion, not body.”

A stack of pancakes is waiting for me in the kitchen, just as she promised.

“Thank you mom.” I say to her before digging in.

She sits across from me with her own plate of flap jacks. She looks so pretty this early in the morning. Her face is fresh and sparkly and her eye bags somehow just make her prettier. It’s cloudy out and I can tell she’s cold she way her body is bundled up in her chair.

I still remember the moment I realized that I liked her. It was seventh grade and we were at our town’s annual fair. She got a bit sick after a ride with a lot of loopdey loops so I stayed behind with her while the rest of the boys continued to go on every ride they pleased. She told me to go with them and that she didn’t want me to miss out but I said that it was fine and that I liked hanging out with her anyway. She smiled her bright smile at me and rested her head on my shoulder for a moment. Then she threw up on my shoes. Like projectile cotton candy, funnel cake, and other miscellaneous fair food vomit. And I didn’t even get that mad, I was more concerned for her. After that I figured I liked her, because if it were Jay I would’ve beat him up.

“Did you have any nightmares?” I ask her and she shakes her head.

“Nah, I dreamt that Sunghoon married a dolphin. It was weird.” she sighs.

I choke on my pancakes. “A dolphin?”

“Yeah,” she laughs. “his name was Jerry.”

“And it was a guy too?” I hold my chest, trying not to choke.

“Don’t judge their interspecies homosexual marriage. It was beautiful.” she laughs and takes a big gulp of water.

I’m almost crying at this point. “Best dream ever. I can’t wait to tell Sunghoon this.”

“No!” her eyes widen. “He’s gonna think I fantasized about it or something.”

“What?” I cock an eyebrow. “Everyone knows that dreams are uncontrollable sometimes.” “Still it’s weird. Imagine if someone told you that I dreamt of you marrying a dolphin. It’s be weird.” she says through a mouth of pancake.

“Did they have kids?” I cackle,

“I don’t know. How would that even work?”

“Maybe they had a surrogate or something.” I suggest.

“Oh god,” she shakes her head, smiling. “we need to stop. I feel like I'm violating him.”

“Alright, alright.”

“Should I wear this shirt or this sweater.” she asks me as we’re getting ready in her room.

“Sweater. It’s probably gonna be cold.” I say while tugging socks on.

“Shit you’re right. Then I won’t be able to wear this dress.” she holds up a little dress that flows out a bit from the waist.

“Bring it anyway and maybe you can wear it for a second so I can take pictures for you.” I suggest and she smiles.

“Good idea.”

We both settle of hoodies and jeans and say goodbye to her parents before hopping in my car.

We get to school right when people start getting on the bus to the airport. We throw our luggage into the bottom carrier and get in line.

“Yo!” I hear a familiar voice call as we get on. “We saved seats for you guys.”

Jay, Sunghoon, Heeseung, Jungwon, Sunoo, and Niki have already gotten comfortable in the back of the bus. Niki was already asleep. Y/N couldn’t help but pat his head before settling down next to Jungwon. The bus wasn’t a school one but one of those fancy ones they bring out once a year.

I sit down next to Sunghoon and dap him up.

“What’s up.” I say while putting my backpack down by my feet.

“Tired.” he says. “Valentina kept me up all night.”

I raise an eyebrow and he smirks.

“For real?” I ask and he nods. “No way.”

“Yeah way.” he says and holds up a fist.

I fist bump him and pat him hard on the shoulder.

“You’re a man now Sunghoon.” I congratulate him and he snickers.

“What does that make you then?”

“I’m taking my time alright? I’ll get there eventually.” I say, a little embarrassed.

I look back to check out what she’s doing when we start to drive off. She’s fast asleep with her cheek pressed against Jungwon’s shoulder. He looks like he’s about to dose off too. Cute.

Sunghoon and I watch a couple episodes of Death Note before we arrive at the airport. Sunoo shakes Y/N and Jungwon up.

She’s still groggy as we walk into the airport and grabs onto my arm for leverage. My heart jumps a little. It’s not often that we touch despite how much I think about touching her. I could stare at her back all day. She could ignore me for the rest of my life and I’d still be happy to be in her presence. Mental note to all of you: do NOT let your feelings get to this point.

Soon we’re on the plane and she chooses to sit next me. I silently celebrate. Sunoo and Sungoon behind us, Heeseung and Niki next to us, and Jay and Jungwon in front of us. Sunoo pokes his head over her seat.

“Do you have chapstick I can borrow.” he asks with his blonde hair flopping over his forehead.

She digs into her bag and hands him a small tin of lip balm.

“Thank you!” he says and she nods.

“Are you that tired?” I ask her.

“Mhm,” she sighs and shuts her eyes. “I forgot to drink coffee this morning.”

I put in my AirPods and start to watch Lady Bird. She looks over and takes an AirPods out of my ear.

“I wanna watch too.” she say and puts it in her own.

We take off for the six hour trip and soon Y/N is sound asleep. Her head kept dropping forward so I pushed it up and pulled it to rest on my shoulder. This was not on purpose. I can’t help but snap a picture of her and add it to the good pictures of her album. She looks so peaceful and comfortable and gorgeous. I lay my head on hers for a moment before continuing the movie.

Y/N’s POV

After two hours of unsatisfying sleep, and hour of gossip with Sunoo, and three hours of chit chat with Jake you finally arrive. You sit up and stretch as best as you can in the plane. You pull you backpack onto my back and get you luggage down from the overhead bin. It’s already five p.m. when we get off and your stomach is growling.

We take another bus to the hotel and you can’t help but admire the city life as we drive there.

You’re roomed with two other girls at the hotel but you don’t even bother unpacking. You know you’re gonna be in the boys’ room anyway.

Mrs. Gilroy gave us tonight to do whatever we wanted as long as we were back at the hotel by ten p.m.

You sneak into Jake, Jay, and Sunghoon’s room as soon as you can. And when you get there, it’s already a mess.

“Good lord.” you say as you’re met with clothes all over the floor and mini bottles of liquor on the beds.

“You guys are drunk already?” you scrunch your nose and drop your stuff in a corner of the room.

“No.” Sunghoon says to you lazily with a little smirk on his face. You can’t help but giggle. Sunghoon is pretty adorable when he’s drunk.

“Are you drunk too?” you turn to Jake and he shakes his head. His pink cheeks give him away though. “You’re all bad liars.”

“Lets go swim.” he says excitedly.

“There’s a pool? I didn’t bring a swim suit.” you say, bummed.

“Can we go later, I’m hungry.” Jay says and you agree.

“Me too.”

Jake tugs at your arm. “Come on~ we can order room service or ask Jay to get us something.”

“We can get you guys something.” Sunghoon says, pulling a hoodie over his head.

“Please?” Jake looks at you with shiny eyes. He’s and adorable drunk too.

You purse your lips and sigh. “Fine. But I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Just wear shorts and a shirt.” Jake says as he tugs his swim trunks out of his suit case.

“I didn’t bring shorts because you said it was gonna be cold.” you complain, crossing your arms.

“Uhm,” he stops for a moment. “you can wear my boxers then.”

You raise your eyebrows. “Huh?”

“What?” he looks at you. “They’re basically shorts. And they’re clean.”

You hesitate but then comply as always. He tosses you a pair of black Calvins.

You steal one of Jay’s shirts and make your way into the bathroom to change. You’re wearing a simple cotton bralette which should be fine for the pool. You bundle up the rest of your old clothes and stick them behind your backpack before heading out with Jake.

The pool is empty and huge and is only light by the lights inside.

“It’s so cold.” you rub at your arms as Jake sets your towels down at a seat.

“I’m sure the pool is heated.” he says and dips a toe in. “Yeah, it’s warm.” Before you can even reply, he tugs his shirt off and canon balls in. You turn your face to avoid getting splashed.

“How is it?” you call out as he emerges from the water. He shakes his hair around like a dog.

“It’s warm so come in, you look funny standing there.” he teases and you roll your eyes. You kick your sneakers off and try to make a peaceful jump in but you didn’t realize you were in the deep end. It takes you a moment to get your senses together and swim to the surface.

“Why is it deep?” you say, a bit out of breath.

Jake giggles at you. “Remember when we used to play and you were the mermaid and I was the-”

“Turtle companion.” you finish his sentence. “Yes, as clear as day.”

“Why couldn't I be a mermaid too? Why was a I a lame turtle.” he fusses.

“I’m sorry okay?” you laugh. “I was a mean child.”

“Yeah you were. I’ll never forgive you for shoving that clump of dirt in my mouth.”

You burst out laughing, flailing your arms in the water to try to stay afloat. “You deserved it!”

“I did not!” he protests.

“You cheated in handball! It was one hundred percent deserved.” you say, swimming over to him.

“I barely cheated!” he calls out, starting to swim away from you.

“Barely? I would’ve won and been champion of our grade if you hand’t pulled that shit!” you say, still laughing and swimming after him.

“Why are you chasing me?” he says while hopping around the pool where he can touch the ground.

“So I can shove another clump of dirt in your mouth.” you try your best to get him but your heavy cotton shirt is holding you back. You don’t let it stop you though.

You finally get to him and tug his arm. He yells as you push him underwater. He finds the ground though, and shoots up soon after.

“Are you trying to drown me?” he looks at you, astonished but giggly.

“Maybe.” you shrug before tackling him again. It had been a while since you two wrestled like this.

You’ve got him under water for a bit until he finds your rib cage and plunges you in. It’s hard to hold your breath while you’re laughing. You feel around for him and pinch his thigh only semi hard. He lets you go after that.

“I won!” you celebrate with your fists in the air.

“You used pain, that isn't fair.” he rubs at the area that you pinched.

“Don’t be a sore loser. I won fair and square.” you cross your arms. “Fine.” he admits his defeat. “that pinch hurt though, come kiss it better.”

Your face twists. “Nuh uh.” you say plainly.

“Please?” he asks. “I will drown myself right now.” You laugh at him.

“I will do it!” he insists.

“Okay, okay! I’m not to going to kiss your leg you weirdo but I’ll give you a hug.” you float over to him and wrap your arms around his shoulders. “I even pinched you lighter than I normally would.”

“I’m sensitive.” he says into your neck and you giggle.

His arms feel so right around your waist and you struggle to decide when to let go, so you just don’t, and neither does he. He holds you decently tight and you feel him pat your back.

You’ve hugged plenty of times before but it felt a little different this time. Probably because you’re pressed up against his bare skin. It makes you feel a bit sheepish.

You pull away from him. “Feel better now?”

He nods with a smile. His cheeks are pink, but this time it’s not from the liquor.

Jake’s POV

I can’t help but feel disappointed when she lets go of me.

I shouldn’t have patted her back that's a dad thing to do.

Her makeup has started to run down her face which makes me giggle.

“What?” she asks.

“Your mascara is making you look crazy.” I say and her hands fly to her face.

“Shit I forgot I had it on.” she attempts to wipe it away but all it does is smear it across her face.

“Here,” I say and float over to her. “I’ll help you.” this was not on purpose.

I hold her face as gently as I can in my hands and rub the runny mascara off with my thumbs. I dip my fingers into the water to get all of the bits off.

I want to kiss her so badly, but I know that I’ll never do it. Sometimes I get irritated at myself for not being able to confess. I think Jay and Sunghoon get irritated about it too.

“You talk about her all the time man just ask her out.”

I don't know why I can’t do it. If she rejects me she’ll do it nicely and things would go back to normal pretty soon. But I don’t think I could live knowing that my feelings would never be reciprocated. Sometimes I get a feeling that she likes me too but I can never be too sure.

“All gone.” I say and she thanks me.

She lets her self float on her back. She has a small smile on her face and she’s so pretty I could cry. There have been multiple times where I nearly cried over how much I like her.

“What are your thinking about?” I ask.

“You know I never know how to answer that.” she bleats. “My mind always goes blank when you ask.”

“Well try to remember what you were thinking about then.”

“Us.” she says plainly. “Us?” I questioned. “What about us?” “I don’t know, just how I met you guys and how happy I am to be friends with you all.” she says.

Oh. She meant all of us.

“Yeah me too.” I agree, trying not to sound down. “Who’s your favorite?”

She snorts. “I don’t have a favorite.”

“Of course you do,” I say. “and it better be me.”

“Why would it be you?” she jeers.

I frown. “Because we met first.”

“I’m kidding, of course you’re my favorite.” she admits.

“And why is that?” I egg her on and she rolls her eyes.

“Because we met first.”

I sigh. “Is that all?”

“Mhm.” she says.

Y/N’s POV

You’re met with InNOut that Sunghoon and Jay got and also a room full of teenage boys. The younger ones were laying on their stomachs on a bed together, watching something on a laptop. Sunghoon and Jay were trying to watch t.v. You say trying because of the furious clicking on the remote.

“What the hell are you guys trying to do?” you and Jake plop onto the one empty bed.

“Trying to find the porn.” Jay grumbles.

“Infront of the children?” you look over at the younger ones.

“They don’t care they’re watching YouTube.” he says, still clicking.

You take a bite of your burger. “You have an endless arena of porn on your phone why do you want the t.v. one?”

“The t.v. makes it special.” Sunghoon says.

“Weird.” you mutter to yourself. “They’re probably gonna make you pay for it too.” Jake chimes in.

“Do you think it’ll go to the school’s credit card or whatever?” Jay asks with wide eyes.

“I don't know but if it does they’ll know it’s from our room.” he says through a full mouth.

You grab pajamas out of your bag and head to the bathroom to shower.

You come out feeling fresh and the younger ones have gone back to their room now.

“My turn,” Jake says, walking into the bathroom.

You sit next to Sunghoon on his bed and start scrolling through your phone.

“Should I get this sweater or this one.” he holds his phone up to you and shows you light blue sweater and a black one.

“Second one.” you say.

“Really?” he questions. “I feel like it’ll make me look emo.”

“You should become emo honestly. It would look good.” you reply and he chuckles.

“You’d have to help me with my eyeliner every morning.”

“Yeah,” you giggle “wait can I do it right now? I wanna see how you’d look.”

“Right now?” he cocks a brow and you nod. “Okay but don’t give me raccoon eyes.”

“I won’t I won’t.” you rush over to your bag and bring your make clutch to the bed.

“Hold still.” you tell him as you give him smokey winged liner.

“It tickles.” he says, trying not to blink too much.

“Beauty is pain.” you clean up the wing with your nail.

In a couple minutes you’re done. “Finished." you say.

“Lemme see.” he grabs a hand mirror from your clutch and holds it up to his face. “Hold on. This looks kinda good.”

“Right?” you had to admit it; he looked gorgeous.

“Why are you so pretty?” Jay says from his bed.

Soon Jake came out of the shower and it was hard to deny how good looking he is especially with his damp hair. How could someone make a t-shirt and sweats look so good? He dumps his laundry by his bag.

“Does Sunghoon have makeup on?” he asks, settling onto his bed.

“Yeah doesn’t it looks nice?” you ask and he agrees.

“Y/N are you gonna sleep here or in your room.” Jay asks.

“I thought I would just sleep on the floor here.” you suggest and he furrows his brows.

“No that’s mean. Share a bed with someone.”

“You should sleep with Jake.” Sunghoon elbows you in the side and you shoot him a dirty look. “We all know he wants you to anyway.”

“Fuck off Sunghoon.” Jake looks over at him with a piercing stare, a contrast to his pink cheeks.

“Is it okay if I do?” you ask him and he nods.

“Yeah for sure.”

Sunghoon snickers.

“I hate you.” Jake scowls.

After a couple hours of watching movies and horsing around it’s nearly midnight and your eyes are getting heavy.

You crawl under the covers and scroll on your phone a bit before trying to sleep. Despite how tired you are it’s hard to sleep with the boys chatting and snickering to each other.

“Can you guys quiet down?” you ask them.

“Sorry.” Jay says.

After maybe an hour of sleep, you feel someone get on the bed. Probably Jake, you think to yourself. His little sighs as he gets comfortable are cute.

“You awake?” he whispers.

“Mm?” you turn on your side to face him. “Yeah.”

“Cool.” he says. The room is dark but the moonlight helps you make out the outline of his face.

‘What’s up?” you ask.

“Nothin.” he says and you giggle.

“Okay weirdo. Go to bed.” you close your eyes, stilling facing him though.

“I’m not tired.” he says.

“Count sheep.”

“That never works for me.” he sighs. “Sing me to sleep.”

You try to slap him in the arm but you end up hitting his face. “Oh shit sorry!”

“Ow!” he whines. “Why do you keep hurting me?”

“It was an accident!” you whisper and rub at his cheek a bit.

“Now I actually deserve a hug.” he pouts and you roll your eyes.

“You are not five years old.”

“I still want the hug.” he says plainly and you sigh.

“Fine.” you scooch over to him and pull him into your chest. You pat his back. “There there. Better now?”

He shakes his head. “It still hurts.”

“You’re embarrassing yourself.” you scoff.

“I have no shame when it comes to your affection, you should know that by now.” he smiles.

You feel his arm fall over your waist and his hand slide up your back. It gives you goosebumps.

You’re cuddling with him. You guys are cuddling right now. You think to yourself. No you’re not, you’re just...hugging. Right?

Jake pulls away to look at you. “I need to tell you something.”

“Are you gonna say your mom again?” you ask and he shakes his head.

“No,” he says giggling. “it’s something for real.”

“Okay what is it?”

He takes a sharp inhale. “I like you.” he winces.

Your heart jumps a bit. “I know.”

“What?” he laughs. “You’re very obvious about it.” you chuckle. “Are you rejecting me?” he asks and you shake your head.

“I would never.” you pull him in by the back of neck and push your lips against his.

#enhypen #enhypen jake #ehypen fluff #enhypen Jake fluff #Jake Sim fluff #Kpop fluff

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fw00shy · 3 years

Text

What Happens After Summer is Up to You

Harry/Draco | T | 1.6k | post-war summer at hogwarts, a little story about letting things go and not making a big fuss over it, fluff honestly but not too sweet | ao3 link

for @drarrymicrofic: what if he wants ken not barbie. ty @vukovich for the beta 💙

(i)

Draco returned to Hogwarts the year after the war for the same reason that got him into this mess in the first place: because he was told to. "Keep your head down and count yourself lucky," his father had said, and Draco packed his bags the same as he did every year, having learned nothing about making his own decisions.

That would come later.

"Some people need a little more help in life than others," Pansy said with a pitying pat of his bedcovers as she watched him pack.

Pansy more than passed her NEWTs with the help of Polyjuice and a morally compromised Ravenclaw. A two-pm Portkey to Zanzibar waited for her in celebration of her well-deserved accomplishments.

Draco picked up an engraved wooden case and opened it to reveal his father's Snitch, the one from the year Lucius had won the House Cup. Draco packed it with him every year as a good luck charm, but looking at it now brought upon a wave of unease.

"Who else is going?" Draco asked Pansy. She was wearing a bruise-purple miniskirt and black lipstick that drained her complexion as gaunt as a Thestral. Draco noted this with petty satisfaction.

Pansy flopped back on Draco's bed. "I dunno. Everyone, I suppose. Daphne, of course. Blaise. Theo. Greg, maybe? But he says he might not have the money, which I think is for the best really — he's just been so sad, probably wants some time alone, to, you know, process — though Blaise said he'd cover for him…" Pansy sat back up. "Draky baby, you aren't sad about missing out, are you?"

Draco snapped down the lid to the Snitch and stashed it in his trunk. "Don't call me that."

"Don't be like that," Pansy cooed. She got off the bed and flounced toward him, her every step light with barely constrained exuberance. "You know it won't be the same without you. I'll owl you a nice prezzy, alright? Look at me."

Pansy's eyes were black and glittering, her mouth hardened in a crocodile smile. She looked like she was ready to move on with her life, which she might as well go and do. Nobody was stopping her, anyway.

(ii)

Hogwarts held preparatory courses over the summer for Muggleborns, and the newly anointed Headmistress singlehandedly taught them all. There were twelve students in total across the years, and the terms of Draco's probation stated that he was to aid in their education.

"Studying over the summer… bet this is Granger's idea of fun," Draco grumbled under his breath over dinner the first week.

"Mine, actually," Potter said around a mouthful of peas. "She helped write the curriculum, but then she scored an internship at the Ministry."

They were sitting at the teacher's table, which meant Draco could talk to Potter without having to meet his eye. As such, they'd spoken a few times, though primarily for passing the butter and pepper and whatnot. (Their fingers brushed on occasion. Though never on purpose, of course.)

"I'm happy for her," Harry said.

"It's a good curriculum." Draco coughed. Dear Circe, complimenting Granger… did he have no filter?

(iii)

Teaching Quidditch to ten-year-olds was Draco's least favourite part of his sentence. You'd think sharing his joy of flying would be his only solace in a soulless summer cleaning up after children barely coordinated enough to wipe their own arses, and you would be horribly, disgustingly wrong. Turns out most Muggle-raised children had a healthy dose of vertigo that often manifested into projectile vomiting from a metre up.

"I just don't get it," Potter said as he Scourgified puke from Draco's hair for the third time that afternoon. Their students were long gone, taken off to the kitchens after one plummeted to the ground in a cannonball of chunder.

"Of course you don't," Draco huffed. Not just anyone could fly like Harry Potter, the youngest Seeker in a century despite never setting foot on a pitch before Hogwarts. "Like any normal dunce can be Harry Potter. You're stupid to think anyone has it as easy as you."

Potter threw a fist at Draco's eye. Draco returned it to Potter's chest, shoving Potter down to the ground. It felt good to hurt, so good that he nearly whined in disappointment when Potter froze and dropped his fist mid-air.

"That was a compliment," Potter said, his face cracked open with bewilderment. "You — God, Malfoy. You mess me up." He got up from the ground, his knees grass-stained and his face bruised with mud. Draco watched the anger bloom red and splotchy over Potter's cheeks and tried not to cower when Potter drew his wand. Was this what Voldemort saw before he died?

Potter muttered something unintelligible, and Draco felt the pain siphoning away from his body. He was light all over, as though Potter had managed to take away all his wounds, even the ones within him, so that there was nothing to Draco but air.

Draco watched Potter disappear back into the castle before standing. He walked through the halls in a daze until he ran into the Headmistress, who told him to clean up before he set a bad example for the incoming First-Years. It wasn't until he was freshly showered and pulling on his robes again that he realised that his Dark Mark was gone.

(iv)

They started tossing around a Quaffle in the late afternoons after Quidditch class. They were already in their leathers, and saying yes was as easy as lifting off the ground. Throwing around a Quaffle was loads harder than chasing after a Snitch, but neither were practised at it, which helped, as they dove after missed catches with all the vigour of a game-ending Snitch. They flew until the daylight ran out and their breaths with it, sweaty and exhausted and so late into dinner that they were sent to the kitchens to scavenge leftovers.

It was a Sunday afternoon in mid-August when Pansy's promised owl brought Draco a box of chocolates; too many for Draco to eat alone, so it was only sensible for him to share as he would have with Greg or Vince in the past. He walked the long corridor to Potter's door and knocked, chocolates in hand.

It was a terrible mistake. Potter wore only boxers, his glasses askew and his hair still sleep-rumpled (despite it being The Afternoon!). Draco stumbled back as though slapped. Potter honestly had no right being so effortlessly attractive on top of everything else he had going for him. It was like seeing Dumbledore in his sleeping hat, or maybe the first time Draco caught Pansy on the toilet and realised that girls pooped: all wrong, completely wrong, he really ought to go, perhaps another time —

Potter dragged him inside with only the gentlest roll of his eyes.

The inside of Potter's room was as cosy as Mother's cashmere jumper, only uglier (the wrong colours). Potter ate an embarrassing number of chocolates while proclaiming, "I dunno where it all goes, honest; can't gain a stone," and Draco was so disgusted by the utter unfairness of life that he fell asleep over Potter's bed and had to sneak back to his own room in the wee hours of the morning.

(v)

It wasn't meant to be an open invitation. But Potter followed Draco all the way back to his room after dinner the next day, and Draco didn't manage to shut the door on him in time.

Potter looked around, his head swivelling around comically, like an owl. And then his eyes narrowed on Lucius's unopened letters piled high on Draco's desk.

"What's in them?"

"Dunno," Draco said. "Directives, if I had to guess. Rather pointless, considering I'm stuck under McGonagall's iron fist until the summer's out." Potter opened one anyway, and Draco watched anger carve lines between his brows with some bemusement. Was this what it was like to have Harry Potter on his side? It was a bit like hanging around a guard crup, or maybe a guard dragon.

Potter burned the letter. He burned them all before returning to his room.

Draco sat on his bed and stared at the scorched top of his desk. He wasn't sure how he felt about it all being gone. Part of him was relieved, sure, but mostly the loss numbed his chest through.

Then Draco remembered his father's Snitch.

Draco summoned the Snitch to him, and it burst forth from the bottom of his trunk amid a cacophony of torn textbooks and scattered winter cloaks. Draco caught the box in his right hand and tucked it under him before gingerly stepping over the mess to his window, where he took out the Snitch and let it go. And then all that was left of Lucius in Draco's room was Draco himself.

The future unfolded before him, cold and barren to the ends of the earth. What was he supposed to do now?

(vi)

In the last week of summer, Potter told Draco to call him Harry, and then he asked Draco what he was going to do with his life.

Draco said, "I dunno. Get a job at the Ministry. Marry Pansy, I suppose. And you with Ginny, yeah?"

"Yeah," Harry said and took Draco's face into his hands and kissed him.

Was this it? Was this what all those miserable years surmounted to? This crystalline moment, the one that Draco waited for his whole life. And now it took him by surprise.

Harry's lips were very chapped, though his mouth held the sweet promise of fresh grass and sunshine. Whatever that meant. Draco kissed him back. And then he said it wasn't fair that Harry was so good at kissing as he was at everything else, honestly — sunshine? Was there anything Harry struggled at? Because he was so bloody perfect that it made Draco want to stomp on his face and throw up all over him.

"You're the only person in the world who thinks I'm perfect," Harry said and kissed him again.

(vi)

What happened after summer is up to you. 💙

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acciowests · 3 years

Note

38 with elorcan 🙃

i'm a little tired so this might not be my best work but its pretty adorable if i do say so myself...

Real Reward

WORD COUNT: 942

PROMPT: Giving little one a raspberry on their tummy after changing their diaper.

After a long shift at work, Lorcan was more than happy to plop down onto the sofa, the leather cool against his cheek and his eyes already fluttering. When he'd gone back to work after paternity leave, he thought he'd be itching to get back home and snuggle with his son. But now, after each night he and Elide had to get up for feeding, or changing, or comforting, as soon as he got home, all he wanted to do was sleep. As he kicked his shoes off, ready to press his head on the arm and nap, Elide entered the room.

"Welcome home, baby," she said, moving toward him with Cal in her arms and top half bare after feeding, "Can you burp him? I'm running late."

He leant forward, taking Cal from his wife as she turned back around, ready to rush back up the stairs. He grabbed one of the burp cloths from the pile on their table, setting it on his shoulder as he lifted Cal, settling him comfortably against his chest. With one hand on his backside, keeping him in place, and the other gently patting against his back, Lorcan slowly pressed back against the sofa, making sure Cal was content and his head was secure upon his father's shoulder. It was then that Elide came back down the stairs, a shirt now pulled on over her leggings as she went to grab her shoes and her coat.

"Where are you going, El?" he called, twisting his mouth away from Cal as to not scare him with the loud sound.

She appeared in the doorway, shoes now on as she struggled into her jacket, reaching for her car keys, "I'm picking up Manon from the airport, remember?"

He nodded, despite not remembering at all. He remembered Manon was arriving from Adarlan today, but not that Elide had said she'd pick her up. "Right, well drive safe, please," he insisted, pressing his lips to hers as she gave him a chaste goodbye kiss.

She was out the door a second later, promising to drive safe and telling Cal to be good for Daddy. Their newborn, it seemed, was more intent on pulling his father's hair than listening to his mother. Brushing his hair round to his other shoulder, Lorcan continued rubbing and patting Cal's back. A few minutes passed before he gave a small burp and Lorcan was about to congratulate him when something started to burn in his nostrils.

Cupping Cal's head, he brought the babe into his lap, wiping at his mouth with the cloth whilst raising his eyebrows, "You just pooped, didn't you?"

Cal just watched his father, hands reaching for his hair as his little legs kicked out. With a sigh, Lorcan pressed a kiss to his head, picking him up and taking him to the changing table they'd installed a few weeks before his birth. He adored his son with every bone in his body, but he had to admit, he usually left the changing to Elide. Lifting his shirt up over his nose, he began to unclothe his son, reaching for a fresh diaper and setting it to the side, ready for once he was done.

A million wipes and two million gags later, Cal was clean and wriggling in his fresh diaper. Lorcan had disposed of the diaper already, needing to delete the smell from his brain and now standing with his arms crossed in front of Cal who was laid out on his back upon the table. "You think you're hilarious, don't you? Do you like seeing Daddy like this?" he asked, purely sarcastic as he narrowed his eyes at the babe.

Cal just reached up with his hands, making grabbing motions at his father. God, he could never be mad at him. He leant over his son, fingers tickling his little toes and massaging his thighs. Working his way up, he allowed Cal to grip his hair as he leaned in close, pressing his mouth to his stomach and blowing. He'd seen Elide do it a few times, had seen the smile that it brought on Cal's tiny lips. Looking up now, he was met with that same smile. He couldn't wait until that smile turned into a grin and a grin turned into a laugh. Now, he only continued wriggling, legs and arms going everywhere as Lorcan pressed his lips back to his tummy, blowing another raspberry against his son.

"You like that, buddy?" Lorcan chuckled, peeling Cal's fists back from his hair and pressing kisses to his fingers, "Is that fun?"

The slight smile he gave in answer was enough for Lorcan to do it again. And again. And again. By the time he pulled away, Cal's eyes were lit up with happiness, his hand gripping Lorcan's hair and trying to pull him closer again. He couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head at his adorable son, "You're gonna get cold if I don't dress you, bud. You can have more raspberries later, promise."

Almost in protest, Cal threw out his legs and arms, making it almost impossible for Lorcan to redress him. After a few muttered curse words and a wack on the nose, Cal was all dressed again and pressed to his father's chest as the pair returned to the sofa. He laid down on his back, keeping Cal on his stomach against him as Lorcan's hand came round to rest on his back, stroking idly as the newborn's lashes fluttered. In all realness, he would rather catch up on the lost time with his son, than catch up on his missed sleep. This was the real reward.

* * *

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hxwks-gf · 3 years

Text

» 𝖈𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖉𝖚𝖙𝖞

𝔩𝔢𝔳𝔦 𝔞𝔠𝔨𝔢𝔯𝔪𝔞𝔫 𝔵 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯

𝔤𝔢𝔫𝔯𝔢: 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝, 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚏𝚏, 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝

𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰: 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐

𝔯𝔢𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔰𝔱: 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝙸 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚝/𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝/𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚏𝚏 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝙻𝚎𝚟𝚒. 𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚏𝚏 (𝚎𝚡. 𝙲𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚝𝚌) 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚌 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎?

Levi prided himself in his self control. It was what made him strong, unbreakable, disciplined. He was always in control. Everything he did was calm and calculated. No surprises. Nothing unexpected.

Which made the fact that he was in love with you all the more scarier to him because he had not a single shred of control over it.

“Cleaning duty?” you groaned, taking the broom out of Armin’s hand. “Again?”

“I’m sorry, (y/n), but the captain specifically asked for you to do it,” he replied, reaching up and adjusting the strap of your apron. “But I think you already know you’re the best at it, second only to him.”

“That doesn’t mean I like doing it,” you grumbled, hiding your nervousness with a pouting face. The captain asked for you specifically? What the hell did that mean? “Please tell me it’s not the stables again. I don’t think I can handle one more night of smelling like horse shit every time I go to bed.”

Armin laughed and shook his head, golden hair falling around his eyes. “No, it’s not the stables. It’s his office, actually. You’ll be assisting him.”

Your eyebrows raised. “His office? I’m surprised he trusts anyone near there, let alone to clean it.”

“I guess you’ve impressed him,” he said, shrugging. “You’d better go. You know how he is with punctuality.”

“Right,” you murmured as Armin patted you on the shoulder and left you alone in the hallway with nothing but an apron and a broom. A few other soldiers were off to their own respective nightly duties, none of which gave you a second glance.

You swallowed nervously and looked towards the southern quarters where you knew his office was. If you messed up even once, you knew you’d be back to shoveling shit every night. You had to be perfect. Levi wouldn’t settle for anything less.

The walk was quiet and still, as if the world was holding its breath and waiting to see how badly you’d fuck this up. You did your best to pay it no mind as you came to a stop outside of his door, knuckles raised to the wood. Two raps, and you stood back and waited.

“Come in,” his voice called from within.

You pushed the heavy door open and stuck your head inside, silently groaning when you saw he had already started. “I was told you asked for my assistance tonight.”

“I did,” he responded, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows and gesturing towards the wooden floorboards.. “You can get started on sweeping.”

You tightened your grip around the handle of the broom. “Yes, sir.”

The next hour and a half was silent, except for the sound of you sweeping the floor and Levi emptying out the ashes in the fireplace. It wasn’t as scary as you had imagined it. The image of Levi shouting drill commands as you cleaned appeared in your mind, and you couldn’t help but silently laugh to yourself. No, cleaning with him was peaceful. Therapeutic, almost.

You wiped your forehead and stood back to admire your handiwork. The floor was practically sparkling, and you couldn’t help but puff your chest out with pride. Glancing back at him still kneeling by the fireplace, you cleared your throat.

“Finished?” he asked without looking up at you.

“Yes, sir.”

“That was quick.” Levi stood up and wiped his hands off on his apron. “Shall I inspect, or do you want to double check your work?”

You fought the urge to roll your eyes. “No, sir. Inspect all you wish.”

He knelt to the floor and ran his hand over it. When he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, he was silent. Victory.

“You won’t find anything,” you said, leaning on the broom. “I’m sure you already knew that, though.”

Levi glared up at you and got to his feet again. “No need to get cocky, (l/n). You still need to dust.”

You shrugged at him, mindful to keep your gloating to a minimum as you picked up the feather duster and began working on his desk. That peaceful silence returned, paired now with the soft sound of the feathers caressing his belongings and his scrubbing of the windows nearby.

Another hour passed and you cleared your throat again, standing by his desk with the duster behind your back. “I’m finished, sir.”

“Did you get under the desk?”

“Yes.”

He hummed in response and joined you where you stood. He leaned over and scrutinized the surface, looking for even the slightest amount of dust to use against you. Just then, a pleasant smell entered your nostrils; a mix of fresh, clean linens, tea leaves, and another earthy scent you couldn’t quite place. It put you at an even calmer ease than the cleaning. Your nostrils flared as you tried to figure out where it was coming from, until Levi stood upright again and the scent washed over you.

A furious blush covered your cheeks. It was him. He was what smelled so good. You pressed your lips into a thin line and studied the wooden slats of the ceiling as if they were the most fascinating thing on earth, painfully aware that you had just discovered your new favorite scent. Shit.

“It’s adequate,” Levi finally said, breaking you out of your thoughts.

You snapped your attention back to him and nodded feverishly. “T-thank you, sir.”

“No snarky reply this time?”

You couldn’t look him in the eye, not after what you had just done. “Do you want one, sir?”

Levi arched an eyebrow and shook his head. “Save it for next time, (l/n). Go get dinner.”

“Y-yes, sir,” you managed to get out, picking up your forgotten broom and nearly scrambling to get out of his office. You shut the door behind you a little more forcefully than intended and collapsed against it, wanting to scrub the scent of him out of your nose. If you allowed yourself to take even one step further, you knew there was no going back. So why bother taking that first step at all?

“Please tell me it’s stable duty,” you begged, holding onto Armin’s sleeve for dear life. “Please.”

He scrunched up his nose. “You want to shovel horse poop?”

The memory of Levi’s scent invaded your mind and you nodded your head fervently. “Yes. Clears my head.”

Armin’s eyes scanned the paper and made a face. “Nope, you’re in mess hall tonight.”

“Oh, thank God,” you breathed, already picking up an apron and a broom. “I’ll see you at dinner, okay?”

Armin watched you disappear down the hall with that strange pep in your step. Shaking his head in confusion, he turned around to go about his own nightly duties.

The mess hall was quiet, for now. You were on a strict time clock to clean the entire room before dinner was served, and you were ready to completely lose yourself in the task. Despite what you told the rest of the squad about how much you hated cleaning, you actually enjoyed it. A lot. You were sure there was some symbolism in there somewhere, something about not being able to completely clean yourself of the things you had done so you resorted to the next best thing...but you didn’t want to think about it.

Before you could begin pushing the mop back and forth across the filthy floor, you heard the doors open. And when you glanced up to see who it was, you felt your heart flip within your chest.

Levi pushed his sleeves up to his elbows and fastened his apron around his waist as he walked towards you, holding his own mop in his hand.

“What are you doing here?” you blurted out.

He came to a stop in front of you and frowned. “Don’t be rude. I’m here to help you.”

“But...why?”

“Why not?”

“Don’t you have more important things to do?” you asked, gripping the handle of the mop tightly. “Captain things?”

“I find cleaning to be relaxing,” he said, tossing his ebony hair out of his eyes. “But if you’d like to finish this on your own, be my guest.”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” you rushed out, awkwardly rubbing the back of your neck. “I just...I’m sorry. I could use the help, sir.”

Levi watched you with those intense grey eyes, before nodding curtly and turning his back to you. “Very well.”

He was only a few feet away from you, the soft hair of his undercut visible, and you instinctively leaned forward to inhale. That sweet, woodsy scent was back, washing over you in a flurry of fresh linens, tea leaves, and pine trees. You would never get enough of it.

Levi began working before you did, and you admired the way he was so diligent in every movement he made, as if each one was already calculated in his head prior to his body executing it. You watched the way the muscles in his exposed forearms flexed and relaxed with each push of the mop, the expression of pure, focused determination on his otherwise handsome face. You had always admired your captain. He was everything you wished you could be: strong, willful, smart. Damn good at cleaning. The scent of him, the sound of his voice, the strength and power of his resolve, it was making your head spinー

You felt your fingers curl into fists, the fingernails digging into your palms. No, this wasn’t happening. You couldn’t afford to let yourself fall like this, and so easily. Especially not with someone like him.

But it was with him. And you had no longer had control.

“Are you just going to stand there and gawk, or are you going to work?”

A confession was on the tip of your tongue, just waiting to spill over your lips and out into the air. But at the sound of his voice, you promptly swallowed it and turned away from him in shame.

Nights in the barracks were not often quiet, but tonight was different. Normally you were accompanied by the sound of everyone else sleeping; snoring, mumbling, coughing, but tonight you had been blessed with silence.

So why couldn’t you sleep?

Was it the way you spent the rest of the time cleaning the mess hall without saying another word to Levi? Was it the way he watched you from the officer’s table at dinner, not touching his food, as if he wanted to say something to you? Was it the way you couldn’t get the scent of him out of your mind? Was it the way you wanted to spill every secret you had about your growing feelings to him, just so you could finally be able to breathe in the same room as him?

“Fuck,” you muttered, rubbing your tired eyes. “Fine.”

A few minutes later and you were at his door, barefoot and knuckles poised to knock. But you hesitated. Why did you hesitate?

“Fuck,” you whispered fiercly again, squeezing your eyes shut. You could fight Titans and look Death straight in the face on nearly every mission you went on, but you couldn’t find an ounce of courage to tell Levi how you felt?

You pressed your back against his door and sighed, feeling a lump growing in your throat. “Coward,” you muttered to yourself, tilting your head back to rest against the wood.

“(y/n)?”

You quickly lifted your head up and felt your heart drop. Levi was standing there at the end of the hall, a piece of bread in one hand and a cup of tea in the other.

“S-sir!” you managed to get out. “I’m sorry, I thought you were still in your officeー”

“Is something wrong?”

You shut your mouth and hid your trembling hands behind your back. “No, nothing’s wrong, I just...felt like going for a walk.” You winced at how terrible the lie sounded.

Levi was no fool. He closed the gap between you and stood less than an arm’s length away, studying your face intently, as if he could read what you were hiding. He was so close that you could see each individual eyelash that lined those grey eyes that reminded you so much of the clouds that formed the most violent of thunderstorms, bristling and crackling with unseen energy. Your gaze flicked to his parted lips, and then back up to his eyes.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he said, his voice firm yet gentle.

“Nothing,” you whispered, pressing yourself against the door. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Something is obviously bothering you.”

You felt caged in, trapped, drowning in his scent and in his eyes. You wanted to run, run, runーcower beneath the safety of your blankets and never think about what his skin felt like against yours, or his fingers trailing along your bare spine, or how soft and delicate those parted lips of his were.

“Levi,” you said, almost unable to breathe in his presence. “Stop.”

“(y/n)...”

“Stop!” you exploded. His eyes went wide and he took a step away from you. “I can’t do this, I thought I could, but I’m just a coward andー”

“Do what?” he snapped. The irritation in his tone made you flinch. “What are you talking about?”

“I have feelings for you, goddammit!” you shouted.

For a moment, there was nothing, only the pregnant silence in the hallway as your confession was now hanging out to dry between you. He stared at you, dumbfounded, shockingly at a loss for words.

You gave a great, heavy sigh as the invisible weight was lifted off your shoulders. “It’s stupid, and childish, I know,” you said softly, looking down at your bare toes. “But I can’t help it.”

Levi moved past you and opened the door into his office, silently gesturing for you to follow. You obeyed, feeling humiliated and embarrassed and definitely not in the mood for a lecture on how inappropriate it all was as you slid into a chair at the table. You had no doubt Levi would squeal to Erwin in the morning and have you removed from the squad. God, all of this was a big mistakeー

“(y/n), I’m in love with you.”

You blinked and focused on him. “What?”

Levi had set his tea and bread on the table and was now leaning against it with his arms crossed, dark hair hiding his eyes. “You heard me.”

“Are you joking?”

“Am I really the joking kind?”

“I suppose not,” you quietly replied, fiddling with the hem of your shirt. “I just find it a little hard to believe.”

Levi actually let out a laugh. It was more of a scoff, but you took it as amusement anyway. “Why is that so hard to believe?”

“Because you’re my captain. I’m beneath you. I’m...just a soldier.”

Strong, calloused fingers were underneath your chin and forcing you to look up at him, shameful tears shining in your eyes. Who knew humanity’s strongest could be so gentle behind closed doors?

“You’re my soldier,” he murmured, the pad of his thumb caressing the point of your chin. “As much as I am your captain.”

“Why me?”

“It was your expert cleaning skills that first caught my attention,” he confessed, taking the seat beside you and pulling his cup of tea to him. He eyed you as he took a sip. “The more I watched and studied the way you worked, the more I appreciated and looked forward to seeing your diligence.” He set his cup down and stared at it. “That...that turned into a form of infatuation. I grew accustomed to watching you: how you walked, how you talked, how you worked. I couldn’t get enough.

“It wasn’t until that day I gave you orders to help clean my office that I knew it was more than a simple infatuation. I didn’t want to make you work. I didn’t want you to sweep my floors and dust my belongings. I wanted you to rest, I wanted you to feel safe and secure in my space.” Levi took another sip of tea and looked up at you. “I saw you had been assigned to clean the entire mess hall just hours before dinner, and I was furious. Not even I could accomplish that on my own. But I knew questions would be raised if I stepped in and altered it, so I did the next best thing.”

“Cleaning with you was the first time I’ve ever felt at peace in months,” you said softly, watching the way his throat bobbed as he drank his tea. “Even that day in the mess hall.”

Levi reached out and trailed the tip of his finger along your cheekbone, before tucking a stray lock of hair behind your ear. “You’re the only brat who knows how to do it right.”

You visibly preened at the compliment, which made him chuckle. “So what now?” you asked, resting your chin in your hand.

“We can do one of two things,” he said. “We can pretend like none of this ever happened and go back to our duties like normal in the morning.”

You felt your heartbeat quicken. “Or?”

“Or we can go with it. It’ll be difficult, but I’m not really one to back down from a challenge.” Levi nonchalantly continued to sip his tea. “So, what’ll it be?”

As if he needed an answer.

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averykedavra · 3 years

Text

Will You Be There To Follow

I’m back! And I bring fluff! I have a million other things I should be doing, but @qprdukeceitweek has an adorable list of prompts for this week, so I figured I’d write something for a few of them! It was a good excuse for completely plotless, rambling fluff. Plus my own QPP @becca-becky likes Dukeceit, so I couldn’t not.

(Title from Anywhere I Go by Vicetone. You can find this story on Ao3 here.)

Prompt: Day 1. Snakes and rats.

Pairing: QPR Dukeceit

Words: 3388

Warnings: death and murder mentions, kidnapping mention, fire mention (but all joking), food, sympathetic Janus and Remus with one mention of Patton, mentions of many animals including spiders and rats

Remus and Janus weren’t exactly a typical couple.

They’d met in college. At three in the morning, when Remus was frantically looking for the fire extinguisher and barged into Janus’ room by mistake. After successfully putting out the flaming Hot Pockets and thwarting the teachers, Remus had offered Janus an ashy hand and an invitation to hang out. Janus agreed.

Now they were partners, lodged in the sketchiest apartment in town, and they’d only gotten in trouble with the law twice! Janus worked at the local tattoo parlor while Remus scraped his way to a bachelor’s degree. They lived off a diet of ramen and cola. Remus had suggested marriage to make taxes easier, and Janus argued that they’d be succumbing to the system.

Remus proposed anyway. Janus said yes.

So they weren’t typical, but they had followed the usual milestones--graduate, move out, get married. Janus looked viscerally horrified when Remus reminded him of this. He suggested they escape to the mountains, in order to escape the pressure of the status quo. Remus said he didn’t mind doing all the normal stuff if Jan was there, and anyway, quietly subverting expectations was the best. Janus rolled his eyes.

Graduate. Move out. Get married. Obviously, the next step was making a family--and Remus didn’t really want or need a family, but it was a good thing to tease Janus about. And a good way to make sure they were still on the same page.

That entire thought process made since to Remus.

So he wasn’t really sure why Janus almost shrieked when Remus asked “Do you want to get a baby?”

“What?” Janus managed after a few seconds. “A baby?”

“Mhm!” Remus continued chopping the carrots. “You wanna get one?”

“Get one?” Janus repeated. “What do you want a baby for?”

“I don’t, I’m just seeing if you do!” Remus shrugged. “And ‘cause of the usual baby things, right? Keep us company.”

“A sniveling infant will definitely be wonderful company.” Janus turned around to look at Remus, with his classic I’m-not-sure-whether-to-laugh face. “Where’d you get this idea?”

“It’s, like, the usual order, right?” Remus spread out his hands, and Janus ducked to avoid the carrot knife. “Move into apartment. Get married. Have baby. Have another baby. Go to soccer practice. Mortgage the house. Have an affair. Read a lot of newspapers. Slowly grow to loathe each other.”

Janus snickered. “I’m not keen on any of that.”

“Well, we could just grab a baby and see if we like it?” Remus asked. “We could always put it back later.”

“We could--” Janus blinked at him and snickered again. “Whose baby would this be?”

“Ours!”

“How would we get it, then?”

“Adoption!” Remus suggested. “Or kidnapping.”

“I knew it!” Janus declared. “I knew this was another attempt at getting permission for kidnapping.”

“Aw, but it’s just a baby! It won’t mind!” Remus stuck out his bottom lip. “We can steal it from rich people. Please?”

“I’m not sure if my usual ‘steal only from the rich’ rule applies to newborn children.”

“We could train it up!” Remus continued, grinning. “Teach it the ways of the world. And then it can carry on our legacy.”

Janus dried his hands. “What legacy?”

“Subterfuge, sappiness, and systematically undermining the government.”

“Right, right, that legacy.” Janus laughed. “Be that as it may, I’m not exactly eager to change diapers. Get me a baby that doesn’t poop, cry, or need any sort of food, and we’re golden.”

“Hmm,” Remus said, scrunching up his face. “So you just want a talking baby doll.”

“No!” Janus folded his arms. “Those always murder you.”

“It’d be a wild way to go, though.” Remus rocked back and forth on the kitchen floor. Janus carefully took the knife from his hand and put it in the sink. “What’s something couples do instead of babies--”

“We’re not exactly a traditional couple,” Janus pointed out. “Most couples kiss each other, and don’t have a warrant for their arrest in Oklahoma.”

“That was completely not my fault.” Remus thought for a few more seconds. “Oh! Oh, Jan! We could get a pet!”

Janus tilted his head. “That would solve some of the problems.”

“We could get a pet,” Remus said, warming to the idea, “and we could hang out with it! And if it was a big one, it could guard the door from thieves.”

“A pet,” Janus repeated, and Remus squealed when he saw Janus start to nod. “That’s not a terrible idea, actually. Even if it is upholding outdated marital traditions.”

“Nah, animals are way beyond all that!” Remus spread his hands. “It’s a cool living organism! All blood and bones and sinew! Don’t classify pets with, like, amatonormativity.”

“Hmm,” Janus said. “How much would a pet cost?”

“Depends on the pet, right?”

“Hmm,” Janus said again. “And what pet would you suggest--”

Remus beamed. “Spider monkey.”

“What?”

“It’s a monkey! But it’s really long.” Remus wiggled his fingers to convey the length. “I wonder if it eats spiders or just looks like one.”

“We are not getting a pet monkey,” Janus said. “They poop.”

“Every animal poops, Jan, you’re not getting out of that one.”

“Ugh,” Janus complained. “Plus I’m pretty sure that’s an illegal pet--”

“So?”

“So illegal pets wouldn’t be happy in the apartment,” Janus said. “Either that, or they’re endangered and poached. We’re going to aim for a legal pet here.”

“Well, there go half my ideas!” Remus pouted. “What pet do you wanna get, buzzkill?”

“I don’t know,” Janus said, leaning against the counter. “We decided on this three seconds ago, I haven’t searched the whole catalog.”

“Are there pet catalogs?”

“There are probably lists online.” Janus’ hand drifted towards his pocket before he glanced at the half-chopped carrots and various kitchen implements. “We need to make lunch first, though--”

“Nope!” Remus threw open the cupboard and grabbed a bag of chips. “Makeshift lunch. Let’s go.”

Janus watched him with a small smile. “You’re really excited about this, aren’t you?”

“Idea!” Remus said by way of explanation. “Animal!”

“Animal,” Janus agreed, giving the carrots a regretful look before leading the way into the living room. “Pass the chips.”

Remus tossed him the chip bag and flopped onto the couch. The couch gave its usual pitiful squeak, and Remus kicked his feet up onto the armrest just to spite it. Janus curled into the other corner of the couch and pulled out his phone.

“Okay, here’s a list of possible pets,” he said. “We could--”

“Hold on!” Remus raised a finger before rolling off the couch. He yanked at the mass of papers under the couch before pulling out a sheaf of poster paper and pulling it over the TV. “Meeting time?”

“Alright,” Janus shrugged and grabbed a nearby marker. “I can write.”

“Cool!” Remus yanked away the remnants of the last meeting’s notes, which involved a parking lot vandalism and choices of flannels. “This meeting shall come to order. The subject is possible pets.”

“I’ll write a list and we can work through the possibilities.” Janus uncapped the marker and scribbled a header for the list. “Let’s see…cat, dog, fish…”

“Hamster,” Remus suggested, collapsing back onto the couch. “Gerbil? What’s the difference?”

“Guinea pigs too,” Janus added. “Birds--”

“Birds is a category.”

“So?”

“If birds are all one entry, blend together the hamsters and guinea pigs.”

“I already wrote them--” Janus sighed and wrote birds, etc. on the paper. “Happy?”

“Weasels,” Remus said. “Ferrets. Monkeys.”

Janus wrote down weasels and ferrets, but not monkeys. “Snakes. Snails.”

“Snails?” Remus repeated.

“Hermit crabs.”

“People have pet crabs?”

“Geckos,” Janus continued, seemingly unfazed. “Spiders--”

“Spiders?” Remus almost yelled. “Where are you getting this stuff?”

“Old roommate in college was a total animal lover,” Janus said. “Hmm...ants.”

“We’re not getting ants,” Remus said.

“Shh, voting comes later.” Janus stepped back and tapped the marker on his chin. “Is that all?”

“Frogs?” Remus suggested. He wasn’t sure if they could be pets, but maybe if he spitballed animals, he’d land on a correct one. “Zebras? Rats? Dragons? Hedgehogs?”

“Two or three of those are real, I think,” Janus said. He wrote down most of them, disappointingly leaving out dragons. “Aren’t there more kinds of lizards?”

“Write lizards, etc, like the coward you are.” Remus wriggled back and forth on the couch. “Rabbits?”

“Rabbits,” Janus agreed. “Mice. Turtles?”

“Don’t ask me, you’re the expert-by-proxy.”

“There’s got to be a few more.” Janus read through the list. “Are goats pets?”

“Are horses?”

“We can’t fit a horse in our apartment.”

“You said it wasn’t the veto stage yet,” Remus pointed out.

Janus groaned and wrote horse on the list. “Anything else, before I can quickly cross out horse?”

Remus kicked his feet in the air as he thought. “Tiger?”

“Not a pet.”

“Only if you’re a coward.”

“Let’s just say that’s all the pets,” Janus said. “Can I cross out horse now?”

Remus sighed. “Fine.”

Janus crossed out horse gleefully and with vigor.

“Now cross out ants,” Remus said. “They’re only good for eating.”

“I sincerely hope you’re referring to their eating.”

Remus grinned.

Janus crossed out ants and skimmed the list. “I’m not too keen on snails, are you?”

“I still think you’re making them up.”

“Snails exist.”

“Not as pets!” Remus waved a hand. “Toss ‘em.”

“Alright.” Janus edited the list. “No fish.”

“What?” Remus frowned. “Why?”

“They’re absolute nonentities! Why get a fish when you can just be lonely?” Janus shrugged. “Besides, I am ninety percent sure you’d eat the fish.”

Remus crossed his arms. “That rules out all the pets, then!”

“Ew.” Janus sighed. “I’ll just cross off the smallest ones, to be safe. No mice, no frogs--okay, one of the gerbil-hamster-guinea-pigs are smaller than the others, but I have no idea which one--”

“Cross ‘em all off,” Remus said. “We’re not seven, we can do better.”

“If you say so.” Janus crossed off the several similar rodents. “Thoughts on hermit crabs?”

“Crunchy!”

“They don’t exactly possess personality.” Janus paused before scribbling through the hermit crabs, then the hedgehogs.

“Hey, c’mon, we vote first!” Remus leaned over and grabbed at the marker. “What’s wrong with hedgehogs?”

Janus looked contemptuous. “Pointy.”

“Yeah, we can use them as projectiles!”

“Oh, good point.” Janus readied his marker. “Eliminate all animals that you could possibly use as a weapon.”

“Aw, come on, Jan!” Remus snatched at the marker again. “At least lemme keep the ones that would survive it!”

“No.” Janus laughed. “Okay, but seriously, we aren’t getting a bird. I have enough birds in my life already.”

“The pigeons wanna be your friend,” Remus said. “Let them.”

“The pigeons have declared war after you fed them hot cheetos.” Janus glanced suspiciously at the window. “I shall not let them near me.”

“Fine, fine, no birds.” Remus blew a raspberry at Janus, who stuck out his tongue. “At this rate, we won’t have a single possibility left.”

“There’s still a good amount.” Janus read off the list. “Geckos, lizards etc, dogs, cats, rats, snakes, spiders, weasels and ferrets.”

“Geckos or lizards?” Remus thought about it. “They’re not very cuddly.”

“So?” Janus gestured at him. “I already cuddle with you, I don’t need another cuddly animal.”

“It’d be nice to, like, hold it though. Pet it.” Remus petted the air as an example. “Hairy!”

“Hairy means shedding,” Janus argued. “I’m not getting fur all over my shirt.”

“Spiders don’t shed!” Remus suggested. “And some of them are real hairy.”

“I hate spiders.”

“Why?”

“Just do.”

“Well, I hate geckos,” Remus decided. “‘Cause I said so.”

Janus let out a long breath. “Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way. What animal, out of these, do you want to have?”

Remus hummed and looked at the list. Dog, cat, rabbit--all too mainstream. A gecko was slimy. A snake had no arms, and that was sad. Ferrets were cool, but not really what Remus would choose--

“What do you want?” Remus asked.

Janus made a non-committal noise that signified he’d already made his choice and was just trying to be nice. “You?”

“On three,” Remus said. “Three--two--one--”

“Snake.”

“Rat.”

They both stared at each other for a moment.

“Rat?” Janus finally said. “You can’t just grab something out of the sewer and call it a pet. We talked about this.”

“No, no, a nice rat!” Remus bounced up from the sofa. “A pet one! People have those, right? We could get a rat. It’s furry but I don’t think it sheds, it doesn’t take up much space--please?”

“Huh,” Janus said. He looked back to the paper and circled rat. “Alright, that can be our first possibility.”

“And you said snake?”

“Snake,” Janus said, his eyes lighting up. “Perhaps a corn snake? Any sort of snake would work.”

“Alright,” Remus said. “Snake.”

Janus happily circled snake on the list before sitting on the couch and grabbing the unopened bag of chips. Remus made grabby hands and Janus passed him a few chips. Remus munched on the chips and Janus looked like he was thinking.

“Rat or snake?” Janus finally asked.

“Both?”

“Sure, put a rat and a snake together, they’ll get along great.”

“Separate terrariums?”

“Defeats the purpose of cuddling.” Janus popped a chip into his mouth. “Besides, I don’t think we can spring for two pets. We’ll barely be able to afford one.”

“We don’t have to pay for the electric bill,” Remus suggested. “We can light a fire, like cavemen.”

“Arson isn’t the answer to everything.”

“You just lack imagination.”

“We’ll have to choose one,” Janus said. “And since any vote we have is a tie--”

“Nose goes!” Remus smacked himself in the face. “Ow!”

Janus hadn’t even budged. “No.”

“I won the nose goes!”

“We’re going to do this like civilized partners.” Janus leaned forward. “We’re going to discuss this, listen to each other, and come to a reasonable conclusion.”

Remus groaned. “Come on. Can’t we draw straws?”

“This is a pet we’re talking about, not who does the dishes!” Janus waved his hand. “A living, breathing animal. We need to take this seriously! It’s a big decision!”

“If you wanted to take it seriously, you shouldn’t have agreed right away and skipped lunch over it,” Remus pointed out. “You jumped into this just like I did.”

“Well, you were being all--” Janus twisted his face. “Excited. I got swept up in the moment.”

“Aw, really?” Remus’ eyes widened. “Aww, Jan, you’re such a softie--”

“Shut up,” Janus complained, swatting at Remus’ face. “Shut up.”

“You love me.”

“Yes, we’re engaged, that’s been established, shut up.” Janus huffed, his face dark with blush. “The point is, we rushed into this.”

“Yeah, duh.”

“This is probably a terrible idea.”

“Like usual, yeah.”

“We shouldn’t even get a pet, there’s no reason to--”

“Oh, see, that’s where you’re wrong.” Remus spread his hands. “There isn’t a reason not to.”

Janus stared at him for a second. “That’s all you’ve got?”

“Yep!”

“Okay.” Janus nodded. “Okay, fine. Rat or snake?”

“Hmm.” Remus thought about it. “Rats have cool tails!”

“So do snakes,” Janus said. “Snakes have fangs.”

“Rats have cool little feet.”

“Snakes have scales.”

“Rats can spread rabies, I think.”

“That’s not a good thing!” Janus paused. “Also, can’t snakes spread salmonella?”

“I’d much rather have rabies.” Remus blew out a long breath. “You really want a snake, don’t you?”

“I don’t want any pet, this was your idea.” Janus waited a few seconds, and Remus let him wait. “I--I would prefer a snake, though. Patton had one back in college, it sat on my shoulders while I studied. I liked it.”

“Then--” Remus swallowed. “Then sure. Snake.”

“What?” Janus’ eyebrows came together. “Remus, are you sure--”

“Snakes are cool! Very sneaky and cool, and some of them are poisonous.” Remus leaned forward and bumped Janus’ shoulder. Janus instinctively leaned into him, and Remus pulled Janus closer and into his lap. “I don’t mind, Jan.”

“It was your idea to get a pet,” Janus said weakly. “Besides, rats are also cool! You could have an army, like the Pied Piper.”

“Snakes can swallow mice whole!”

“Rats can jump more than three feet in the air!”

“Snakes don’t have arms!”

Janus opened his mouth to fire back, and Remus screwed up his face in preparation to retaliate.

Janus giggled.

Remus snickered.

And they both burst out laughing.

“You could be the rat king,” Janus forced out between laughs. “You could rule the--the city.”

“You could use your snake to hypnotize people,” Remus countered.

“You could--” Janus dissolved into giggles and leaned into Remus’ chest. Remus tucked his chin on top of Janus’ head and enjoyed the way Janus melted into his arms.

“We don’t have to decide now,” Remus said after he managed to control his laughter. “Like, not even close to now. It’s been twenty minutes.”

“Fair, we should have an actual lunch.” Janus kicked aside the chip bag and glanced at the paper. “We did go a bit overboard--I don’t even know where we could get a pet.”

Remus watched Janus stand up and start to clean up the mess. They definitely didn’t need to figure it out, but Remus kinda did want to pursue this--at least because of the excitement in Janus’ eyes every time Remus pulled him into something stupid and ill-advised.

Deciding on a pet--one pet--was definitely the normal thing to do.

Since when had they ever been normal?

“Hey,” Remus said, “it’s not too cold outside, right?”

“I don’t think so?” Janus glanced out the window. “Why?”

Remus grinned and jumped off the couch. “I’m pretty sure there’s an animal shelter a few blocks away.”

“You’re kidding.” Janus’ mouth twitched. “We can’t just walk into there without a plan--”

“Why not?” Remus shrugged. “Society is a lie, right?”

Janus’ mouth twitched again, and he bit his lip to hide his smile. “We have lunch.”

“We’ll grab some on the way there!” Remus tilted his head and gave Janus puppy dog eyes. “Please? We can just take a peek at the animals they have. See what we bond with. Steal one. And ask if a rat and a snake could possibly get along.”

“They can’t,” Janus said. “They’d kill each other.”

“You said that about us, too! Our second date!” Remus grabbed Janus’ hand. “And look at us, still alive and un-murdered.”

“Don’t count on it,” Janus said, but his eyes had softened. “You’re serious about this?”

“Serious as ever!” Remus shrugged. “Look, it’s this or I go back to Plan A and steal a rich person’s baby.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Kiss my beautiful patootie.”

“Ugh.” Janus ducked around Remus and grabbed his phone. “This will be a quick trip, right? Should I bring a carrier for whatever we decide on?”

“They’ll have those, right?” Remus darted over to the kitchen and pulled out a garbage bag. “Will this work?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s animal cruelty.”

“Aw.”

Janus pulled back his hair and grabbed his keys. Remus shrugged on a jacket. Janus gave the apartment one cursory check and, apparently finding no dead bodies, turned away.

“We’re really doing this?” Remus asked. “You’re okay with it?”

Janus paused and nodded. “Wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t. I promise I’m along for the ride.”

Remus pressed a kiss to Janus’ cheek and enjoyed the way Janus stammered. “Great.”

“Don’t do that,” Janus complained. Remus knew it wasn’t a complaint. They knew each other like that. It had been such a long time since they met at three in the morning and thwarted campus security, and Remus had learned so much about Jan, and Jan had done the same. And they’d both figured out there was stuff they didn’t need to know.

Like a game plan. Or a way to fit a new pet into the apartment. Or a way to sneak it past their landlord, who Remus suddenly realized might not like pets.

But it was way more of an adventure not knowing.

Remus loved to leap into every idea.

And Remus loved that Janus always took the leap, too.

“You promise this is fine?” Remus asked.

“Yes,” Janus said. “And you promise not to make a nuisance of yourself in the shelter?”

“Nope!” Remus grinned. “You’re stuck with me.”

“Good.” Janus pulled the door open and smiled. “It wouldn’t be any fun otherwise.”

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#janus sanders #remus sanders #dukeceit #demus #qprdukeceitweek2020 #sympathetic janus sanders #sympathetic remus sanders #qpr dukeceit #tw murder mention #tw death mention #tw spiders #this is the floofiest thing ever but i don't care #anyway back to my hidey-hole as i attempt to actually finish my wips #averywrites

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