#this is what i like to call a MOMENT in al's hot boy summer

[sc0tters]

Little Red Dress | Cole Caufield

summary: you overheard Cole confess his feelings towards you, so what happens when you get a boost of confidence one night at a bar?

request: yes/no

warnings: mature scenes, p in v, fingering, swearing, mentions of drinking.

word count: 2.5k

authors note: this took me way too long to write but I really liked it! It’s about time Cole got a piece too. I don’t usually do any descriptors but I made her a tall girlie cause I’m a tall girlie so yeah.

You had been counting down the days until the boys arrived.

Sure it sounded silly but you missed your brother. So when he told you he wanted to bring his closest friends to your Barcelona you jumped at the offer of giving up two of your spare bedrooms up to the four “Al!” You cheered as you locked eyes with your brother.

There was a year between you two in age with Alex being thirteen months older than you. You saw your brother every holiday that you had and in his off season he usually came to visit you so this summer was no different “woah!” Alex laughed as you almost knocked him off of his feet.

A grin spread across your face as you looked at the boys “hope the flight was good,” you pointed out as your cheeks turned pink hearing Trevor laugh “it’s good to see you peach.” The Ducks player was probably your brothers friend that you were closest to as he was like your brother from another mother.

When there were things you had to talk to someone about then Trevor was your person. But as Jack let out a yawn it pulled your attention back to reality “I’ll get you guys back to mine.” You motioned to them to follow you.

The car ride back was peaceful as the boys caught you up on their lives and you did the same with yours. Your eyes throughout the car ride continued to look to the rear view mirror as you’d lock eyes with Cole who never actually let his eyes leave you. The oldest of the four boys had thought you were cute since you were about sixteen, yeah it made him feel dirty but time and time again no matter how hard he tried you always came back to his mind.

The boys were settling into their rooms as you told Alex of the plans for the night “just go check if Cole and Z are down with that.” Alex smiled as he squeezed your hand “they better say yes!” Jack called out as he was in his room “if they say no we can just go Jacky boy!” You called back as you laughed making your way out of the room.

Thankfully for you the second guest bedroom was across the hall so your walk was short “dude I don’t get why you just don’t tell her!” Trevor groaned as he fell onto his bed.

Cole sighed as he mimicked the boys actions on his own bed “Alex will kill me,” that part was true, Alex was beyond protective over you so there would have been a fight if Cole admitted how he felt.

You furrowed your eyebrows as you listened on “I see the way she looks at you, you’re fucking hot to her.” The Ducks players vulgar phrase almost made you laugh.

There was a moment of silence as Cole processed those words “you think so?” A smile formed on his lips when his best friend nodded.

Unfortunately for you before Trevor could respond you leaned against the door causing it to open “hi boys!” You quickly forced a smile as you tried to keep a cool face “was wondering if you wanted to go to a club tonight?” You asked as you crossed your arms.

The habs player’s eyes went wide as he wondered if you had listened to what he said “your favourite club?” Trevor thankfully stepped in before you could see how nervous he had gotten “I wouldn’t give you any less Z.” You sent the boy toothy grin as you squeezed Cole’s shoulder.

Trevor nodded “we are gonna be there then.” All he could try to do was hide his smirk as Cole’s cheeks turned pink “be ready for seven!” You announced as you walked out of the room.

Cole let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding “told you,” Trevor reached out to give him a high fives “she thinks you’re hot!” He added with a smile.

Music bounced off of the walls of the club as you couldn’t help but laugh at Alex’s shitty attempts to flirt with Spanish girls “I’m going to go get another drink,” you announced as you chugged back the remainder of your drink before you got up to make your way back to the bar.

Cole’s eyes never left you, well they never left your ass as you swung your hips as you walked away. Trevor pulled him back to reality when he reached out to hit him “ow!” Cole groaned as his hand went to the sore part of his head “what the hell was that for?” He asked as he let out a scoff clearly unimpressed.

Trevor rolled his eyes “go follow her!” He spoke in a duh tone as the local men seemed to turn their attention towards you. The little red dress you were in with your white heels was enough to make any man fall to his knees for you “can I get a shot of the absolute?” You flashed the bartender your signature smile “make that two,” the familiar voice turned your face into a smirk.

You let your eyes wonder down his body before they came back up to his face “was wondering when you’d get here,”you confessed as Cole wrapped his arm around your waist “you were?” He asked feeling surprised by the statement.

Now you hadn’t told a single soul about this but you might have had a crush on Cole, yet you never thought the feelings would have been reciprocated because you were meant to be nothing more than Alex’s little sister “you should back yourself more.” You confessed as you wrapped your fingers around the shot glass.

The HABS player smirked “how do you suggest I do that?” He cocked his head as he mimicked your actions “personally I’d start with not worrying about Alex.” You shrugged as you swirled your shot glass “salud,” you mumbled as you held your glass up before you threw the vodka back.

Cole’s eyes wide “you heard that?” He quickly took down his shot as he didn’t want to think about you hearing him.

But thankfully you didn’t have the negative reaction he thought you’d have “I’m actually flattered.” You ran your fingers through your hair as you laughed.

The boy never thought he was nervous but when you spoke it was like he didn’t know English “I’d suggest we went home if you could say it to my face though.” Your tongue ran over your lower lip as you raised your eyebrows like you were giving him a challenge.

Cole let out a gasp “fuck baby I want you so bad,” he whimpered as your hand trailed up the inside of his shirt.

Despite the fact that you knew Alex was close by you didn’t care what your hand did as you smiled to yourself “I’ll get the Uber.” You announced as the boy nodded desperately to follow you as you made your way out into the Barcelona night air “what are you doing?” Cole furrowed his eyebrows as you held your hand out for his phone.

It made you smile how clueless he was “you’re gonna tell Alex that I’m not feel well so you took me home okay?” You explained as the boy nodded quickly following your orders.

Cole 👾: hey bro y/n isn’t feeling well so I’m taking her home

Alex 👽: thanks for looking out for her

Cole 👾: no biggie

You truly didn’t know how you managed to behave for the duration of the Uber right, all you wanted to do was get onto Cole’s lap and have your way with him but the boy seemed far more interested in talking to your Canadian Uber driver. So when you finally shut your front door behind you it was safe to say you were ready to jump into his arms “look so fucking pretty tonight,” the boy pointed out as he watched you slip your heels off “come and get it then,” you did your best attempt at walking backwards until you hit your bedroom door.

Cole followed you as he smiled “been waiting to do this for years,” he confessed as he placed his hands on either side of you “why wait any longer then?” Your voice was soft as you titled your head down so that you could meet his lips.

The height difference whilst it was there and in your favour neither one of you truly seemed to mind as Cole kissed you. It started off soft and sweet until you let out a moan giving the boy the perfect jump to increase the intimacy ten fold as you could feel his smile in the kiss “jump.” You would have been jealous of how smoothly the boy told you to do that if you didn’t feel your sexual thoughts pool in your panties.

His arms hooked under your legs as he pushed you into your room “door,” you mumbled locking eyes with him before you went back for another kiss. Just because the boys weren’t home didn’t mean that they weren’t going to never be home and you were not ready to have your brother cock block you.

You almost laughed when he dropped you onto your bed but when you saw the bulge in his pants you began to pity him “come here,” you held your hands out letting them sit on either side of his face as you continued to make out.

Cole’s lips were soft as the taste of his beer remained on his tongue. He let his hand trail down your dress that had now bunched up around your waist “god you’re so wet,” he groaned as his fingers rubbed over your panties “please Cole,” you begged him to do something, anything.

Thankfully for you he listened so Cole pulled your panties to the side before he let two fingers plunge into your core “wow,” you gasped as you never really thought that this was going to ever be his strong suit. But at the same time you had seen his fingers before so you really shouldn’t have been this surprised “keep making those pretty little noises for me.” Cole’s words egged you on as you clenched around his fingers.

He couldn’t help but smile at the sight beneath him “shouldn’t even let you come cause good girls don’t eavesdrop.” That phrase made your eyes shoot open.

You sent him a glare “don’t you fucking dare Caufield,” you warned clearly not in the mood for this.

All he could do was laugh “since you asked so nicely,” he placed a kiss to the corner of your lips as he managed to get his thumb under your panties as well to press against your clit “fucking hell Cole.” You groaned as your phone started ringing.

Alex’s contact information popped up “not a sound from you,” you warned as you answered your phone “just saw Cole’s message, you good?” Alex asked as he had been worrying about you.

A smile formed on your lips “I’m good, you’ve got such a good friend in Cole.” Your words were able to mask the moan you wanted to let out as Cole began kissing at your neck.

The Kings player laughed “you really aren’t sounding well.” You were never usually this nice about any of his friends, not like this.

Cole sent you a smirk “well I just wanted to tell you that we are coming home now.” That was the last thing you wanted to hear from your brother “see you soon bye!” You were quick to hang up as you threw your phone across the room.

It made the boy furrow his eyebrows “am I missing something?” He asked surprised by your eagerness.

You propped yourself up by your elbows “we’ve got fifteen minutes before the boys get back.” You explained as your hands fiddled with his belt as you were surprised that he was still fingering you “my needy little girl.” Cole smiled as he got up quickly pulling his pants and shirt off.

His bulge in his boxers made you smirk “think you’re in the same position as me,” you pointed out as you pulled your dress over your shoulders leaving you in your bra and panties “fuck you’re so pretty,” the hockey player cooed as his fingers ran over your lacey undergarment before he hooked his fingers on the sides pulling them off of your feet.

The air was light as you watched him roll the condom over his cock “c’mere,” you motioned to him to come over to you as you curved your finger towards yourself.

A laugh left your lips as you pulled flipped the two of you over “wanna ride you,” you announced as you rubbed your clit before you bottomed yourself out with his cock “fuck you’re so big.” You gasped as your nails traced up his chest.

Cole’s hands went to your back so he could unhook your bra “these pretty little tits,” he smiled as he leaned down to let his lips wrap around your nipple.

You moaned as your fingers locked in his hair “you’re so good at this,” you cooed as you continued to lift your hips up and down as you’d hit your clit against his stomach.

He looked up to you as his head landed on your pillow “keep squeezing your pussy just like this.” Cole groaned as you tilted towards him when your hands landed on his shoulders.

The boys eyes screwed shut as he couldn’t control himself at the sight of your tits bouncing in his face “no baby keep your eyes on me.” Your fingers hooked under his jaw as you placed soft kisses along his jaw “wanna hear you make some noises.” You mumbled as you kissed the shell of his ear.

Cole’s fingers dug into your hips making sure to leave bruises tomorrow “don’t want this to end,” he confessed as he began to thrust his hips up as they met your own.

Both of you were whimpering messes as you both edged closer to your highs “I’m gonna come,” you announced as your eyes screwed shut.

That statement seemed to cause Cole’s thrusts to speed up “want you to come with me,” you added as your lips turned into a pout when you leaned down to kiss him “right behind you baby.” He nodded as he wasn’t going to end tonight without letting his release coat the inside of the condom.

You clenched around him as your legs began to shake “fuck fuck fuck!” You repeated as your arms gave out letting your head rest on his shoulder.

Cole wasn’t far behind when his thrusts began to sputter “you did so well,” he gasped as his hand wrapped into your hair trying to regain his breath.

Neither one of you had too much time to recover though because the front door opened.

“We’re home!”

#Cole caufield imagines #cole caufield smut #cole caufield #hockey imagine #hockey imagines #nhl imagine #nhl oneshot #imagines #oneshots #hockey smut #nhl smut #super smut Thursday #amber writes fics

[yououghtaknow]

NEW CLIP: “Burn”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31310330/chapters/77691581

#skam brighton #this is what i like to call a MOMENT in al's hot boy summer #hot in the literal sense :) it's arson time :) #literally he's hot he's a boy he's writing like he's running out of time and he's very mentally unstable but he's HOT #also i have had a very good day today :) #i can't remember if i posted about it on here #but i applied for a national arts mentorship programme with queens university #and i got a phone call from them today that they're 'very interested' in me #and they haven't said i've been shortlisted yet but they're told me when and where the event for shortlisted people is #and they mentioned they've been looking into matching up other artists to me..... so i'm really hoping i'm gonna get in #it's a really good opportunity as an artist but also from a careers/academic perspective #also i applied with a song from my autism musical and the church scene from skambr s3 e4 c5 #to show Range and such. i really want to get in because it would literally be Life Changing for me. #and it would let me get some of my work performed professionally AND i would get paid #but if i don't get in i'm going to be doing driving lessons instead and hopefully getting my license which would be cool too :) #but god. the idea of being able to work on my musicals with a professional mentor all summer would be amazing #and it would basically be my first ever job/internship which would be So Cool #because i wasn't in school when i was supposed to do work experience and now it's too late for me to do it #but being able to do work experience with an actual theatrical professional... someone who Understand theatre and will help me improve #my mum called the organiser of the programme today to confirm that she knows i'm applying (because i'm a minor) #and she was like 'oh i support isaac so much and will do anything to help him get to where he wants to go' #and i felt like SUCH a rachel berry esque theatre kid in that moment. i felt like a kid on dance moms but in a good way. #but my mum isn't a Theatre Mom. she's just really supportive and kind <3 #anyways enjoy the clip besties. i really like it <3 #OH also ms olivia rodrigo's new album tonight. very excited for it #i'm a pisces mars so i enjoy her music very much (a very gay little sentence) #if skambr was a real show i would love to see a parallels post of the good 4 u music video and this clip for Fire Reasons #ALSO nick/bree/rori good 4 u amv. nick/liz/james drivers license amv. sandy/sophie/esther deja vu amv. #anyways just got hit with the inspiration to write a song <3 see you tomorrow besties

[we-are-inevitable]

Aight so you should write something of Jack and Race just straight up Vibing. I do not care what era, what au, whatever. Just some quality Jack and Race chaotic vibes if you please. Have the greatest night ever! Oh my gosh wait what if then Spot and Davey find out that the boys are being Dumbasses. That'd be funny. Anyway im tired and you should have seen all of the typos i made typing this now we should both go use the sleep.

A/N: this was SO much fun thank you oh my GOD,, it's been a hot minute since i've written anything for canon era but i rlly liked this <3 no period-typical homophobia bc i said so

Read On AO3!

***

“You are such a damn idiot,” Racetrack says as he smacks the back of Jack’s head.

And, okay, Jack knows he is, but Race didn’t have to say it.

“Can ya shut up about it?” Jack asks with a deep frown, shrugging the blond’s arm off from around his shoulders. “I already kickin’ myself; I don’t need’a hear it from you, too!”

“I can’t believe it,” Racer laughs, and throws his arms up. “Ya just lost your shot with Davey!”

“Did not!”

“Ya called him ‘angel’ in front of tha boys,” Racer sneers, then leans his head back, laughing loudly. “Ya- ya just said it! No preamble!”

Jack storms down the street, but Racer follows closely behind, laughing like it’s the funniest thing in the whole goddamn world. It wasn’t anything bad- Jack had been selling with the boys, and they all figured that going to Jacobi’s would be nice; it was a hot summer day, afterall, and the lot of them haven’t been by in a while. With a little help from some of the older boys, like Race, Al, and Finch, Jack had gotten the chance to buy enough food for the group of ten or so newsies to share.

Including Les and, by extension, Davey.

Of course Davey was there. Why wouldn’t he be? Ever since the strike, Davey had been pretty well integrated into the group. Sure, he was still a little awkward at times, but he was respected.

And since he was respected, he was constantly with the boys.

And that’s supposed to be a good thing.

But not for Jack, because nothing ever goes right for Jack.

All Jack had said was “Get’cha some food, angel,” and the whole fuckin’ table lost their minds.

“You’re fucked,” Race chuckles as he catches up and once again slings an arm over Jack’s shoulders. “But, lucky for you, your second in command just so happens to be an expert in the world of love.”

“You wouldn’t know ‘love’ if it slapped ya in your ugly mug,” Jack mutters underneath his breath.

“I know that ya shouldn’t’ve left Davey back there,” Race says in a dreamy voice. “Did’ja even see his face, Jackie? He was lookin’ at you like ya hung the stars for him, and ya just walked off. I wouldn’t’a done that.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jack asks, raising a brow in annoyance. “What would you do, Higgins?”

“I would’a kissed him in front of everyone,” Race says with a shrug. “Gotta show ‘em who’s boss.”

“I--” Jack stops himself with a frustrated groan. “Ain’t you ever shut up?” He shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair. They must be quite the show; people pass them on the street. Couples walk hand in hand, kids play in the road with little wooden toys, and no one seems to be paying them any mind, but Jack looks seconds away from punching Racer in the face and Racer is laughing again.

Finally, Jack growls and stomps his foot. “It wouldn’t’a been a big deal if ya could’a kept your mouth shut!”

“Hey,” Race holds his hands up in surrender. “All’s I’m sayin’ is that ya better sweep in and get Dave, ‘fore anyone else gets any ideas. He’s obviously sweet on you,” He says as he crosses his arms. “That’s why I came to get’cha! Ya just stormed outta there-- Davey seemed pretty upset.”

“Upset that I called him… that,” Jack clenches his fists, letting out a deep sigh. “It don’t matter. He don’t like me like that.”

“You’re fuckin’ blinder than Specs,” Race deadpans, then grabs Jack’s shoulder and looks up at him. “Have ya seen the way Davey looks at you?”

Jack scoffs. “He looks at me the same way he looks at everyone else, I don’t--”

“Cisco.”

Jack cuts himself off, eyes widening just slightly as he meets Race’s eyes. He looks deadly serious now- it feels off, but Jack knows that Race only gets like this when he has to. He’s authoritative and serious as a heart attack when he puts in the effort to be.

Race stares straight into his eyes, tightening his grip on his shoulder. “Davey loves you,” He says as he furrows his brows. “Everyone can see it but you. He’s fallin’ hard, Jackie- has been for weeks, and you ain’t gonna do anything about it?”

Jack gulps, hard. “I… I don’t know what to do,” He admits, and rubs his face.

“What’d’ya mean, ya don’t know what to do?” Race rolls his eyes. “You’ve had a ton ‘a girlfriends in the past, just do--”

“No!” Jack shakes his head. “No, Davey’s- Davey’s different. He’s… He’s just different, okay? Mierda, every time I look at him, I just… I get so scared, Racer,” He sighs, rubbing his eyes. “Dave deserves so much, and I can’t give him any of it. I… I ain’t good enough for him, and he doesn’t… get it.”

Race watches him, a sad look on his face. “Davey’s willin’ to take anything you can give him,” He murmurs, then takes in a deep breath. “Look, I just--” Race shrugs, looking down. “It’s hard seein’ the two of you so upset. You think you ain’t good enough for him? He’s thinkin’ the same damn thing. He’s thinkin’ he ain’t good enough for you.”

“He’s too good for--”

“Who cares, Jack?” Race shakes his head. “Do ya love him?”

“Of course I do,” Jack says with no hesitation.

Race nods. “Then show him. One ‘a the fella’s from Queens likes him, and if you ain’t gonna get with him…” Race trails off, taking a few steps back, before turning and walking back in the direction of Jacobi’s. “Now, come back, and fuckin’ kiss him already. You two are gonna make me go gray, I swear to Christ.”

“¡Vete a la mierda!” Jack calls after him, standing still for a few moments, before groaning and following. “Racer-- Wait up!”

“Sbrigati, cazzo!” Race yells as he breaks into a sprint. “You got a boy to confess to, Kelly! Let’s get a move on!”

Maybe Race is right. Maybe Jack is a damn idiot.

But not for much longer.

#jack kelly #racetrack higgins #davey jacobs #david jacobs #javid #javey #newsies #newsies live #livesies #toursies #jac writes #kitkat tag

[jjmaybanksbaby]

Where It Leads (Rafe Cameron)

Summer IV

Part 07: Crashing Down

series masterlist | previous part

summary: A jarring family emergency forces you to consider the future of your relationship with Rafe Cameron.

a/n: I'm a little bit emotional about this series ending because I've had so much fun writing it! Enjoy the last part and, as always, please come share your reactions with me in my inbox. Okay, that's all from me!

word count: 2.1k words

Rafe Cameron knew how to text. He was somehow witty, charming, and hilarious all in less characters than a single tweet. Texting with most boys was like talking to a brick wall: single-syllable answers, unironic uses of punctuation, asking “What are you wearing?” before even listening to how your day went. Though, to be fair, Rafe had asked that same question a few times, which always earned him a sarcastic answer in return. Well, except for that one time.

You’d been forced to spill the beans about your dreamy summer romance to Alice and Kensie after one of Rafe’s funnier texts almost made you pee yourself laughing at the lunch table.

“Oh, so he’s a stud muffin,” Alice announced, peering over Kenzie’s shoulder at the photo on your phone.

“Please god don’t call anyone a stud muffin ever again Al,” Kenzie replied.

“What? The 80s are like making a comeback.”

“Yeah, not that,” you countered and Alice huffed.

“He’s totally hot though,” Kenzie said, handing the phone back to you. “And I kinda hate you for not telling us about him.”

You looked down at the picture. Rafe was kissing your check while you grinned up at the camera, the golden hour lighting made the whole thing look rather enchanting. It was your favorite picture of you and him.

“Oh shit,” Kenzie said causing you to look up from the phone. “You’re like in love in love with him.”

“What? No,” you protested. Yes, your brain corrected.

Kenzie glanced over at Alice for backup.

“Besides, I wasn’t hiding him. I just didn’t know if there was anything there to...tell,” you finished.

“I wish I had a handsome summer fling with spectacular cheekbones,” Alice sighed.

“Don’t let your boyfriend hear you saying that.” Kenzie chucked a fry off her tray at Alice who dodged it expertly.

“Oh, please. Matty knows I would dump his ass for someone who looks like a young Chuck Bass any day of the week. Gimme your phone. I wanna see the photos again y/n.”

“I seriously don’t know how you and Matthew have been together for two years,” Kenzie replied.

“Are you kidding? They’re practically made for each other,” you added.

“The phone, please,” Alice interjected. “I wanna thirst over your mans while my boyfriend is sucking up to his English teacher so she doesn’t fail him. Of course, I told him he needed to actually read Wuthering Heights and not just sparknotes it. But did he listen? No. I picked a real winner y’all,” she finished, taking the phone from your outstretched hands. “You sure Rafe doesn’t have any brothers? Not even like a half-step brother?”

So yeah, going great. Against the odds of three thousand miles, the whole thing was somehow working. Long-distance friends with benefits? Check. Well, except for those moments when that nagging feeling in your stomach came back and you’d start overthinking everything. His texts would sit, unread in your phone for days or even a whole week, slowly sinking to the bottom of your messages.

Then came the call from the Kildare Country Hospital in the early hours of a foggy April morning. You should have gone to sleep hours ago but were still up, desperately trying to cram Maria’s lines into your brain while also texting Rafe. The Sound of Music opened in three weeks and your director had already chewed you out twice for not being off-book, something about being an upperclassman and the lead, and what kind of an example were you setting for the rest of the program. Big speeches were kind of your director's thing, you learned to just ride them out.

Around 1 a.m. your phone ran with an incoming FaceTime call from Rafe. You pressed the green acccept button, a smile spread across your face as Rafe’s own filled the screen.

“Hey Broadway Star.”

“Hi Rafe.” The dim lighting of his bedroom made his feature especially striking. “What are you still doing up?”

“Can’t sleep. Plus you’re up too so. How’s the memorizing going?”

“Shitty,” you replied, closing your binder with a sigh. “I’m too tired to do anymore of it tonight anyway.”

“You know, I was thinking I could come to Oregon for your opening night?”

“Really?” The possibility of Rafe sitting in the audience made your heart race.

“Yeah, why not? I’ll ask Ward if I can borrow the plane that weekend and I bet Sarah’ll want to come too. I wanna see my girl kill it. I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Rafe. You know my friends think you’re hot.”

“Oh, do they?” Rafe replied, rolling over onto his back in his bed.

“Don’t let it get to your head, Cameron.”

The home phone ran but you ignored it, much more invested in your conversation with Rafe. The second time the hospital left a message. Your Nonna’s heart had given out. The prognosis wasn’t good. She had barely any time left.

Your heart dropped as the words echoed over the speaker of the answering machine.

“Rafe,” you said, cutting him off momentarily. “I gotta go. I’ll call you back later. I gotta-” you ended the call before Rafe even had the chance to respond. You dropped your phone on the kitchen table, dashing up the stairs to your parents’ bedroom. Your father was booking a flight for your mother back to the Outer Banks minutes later.

The end had come so quickly, so unexpectedly. It was almost like that made it harder. There'd been just enough time for your mom and uncle to get to the Outer Banks, sitting on each side of your Nonna as her final breaths passed through her lungs. Now, everyone was there to say goodbye one last time. Uncle Austin and his fiancé. Your mom and dad. Both your siblings. The entire population of Figure Eight.

☼☼☼

Rain drizzled down from the dark, gray clouds looming overhead. It was as if Mother Nature was mourning your Nonna too, hiding the sunshine away.

Three baby ducks followed their mama into the man-made pond at the edge of the cemetery. You watched their tiny feet kick up small waves disturbing the peaceful water and the tears silently slipped down your face.

The cars were waiting to take you back to your Nonna's house for the wake. The same house with the for-sale sign now stuck in the front yard. The for-sale sign with Rose's patronizing grin that you were starting to really hate. Your dad had handled that. Listing the house. He'd handled most of the funeral arrangement's actually because your mother had been too sunken into her grief to make any decision. Sending out the invitations, picking out your Nonna's casket, choosing the flowers. Your mother clung to him during the entire funeral, weeping into his shoulder.

“Y/n?” Rafe's voice called out from behind you and you turned to see him walked toward you. He’d stood at the back of the church with his family during the funeral. You had longed for him to be sitting in the first pew next to you, to have had his hand to hold onto to ground you, but it hardly would have been appropriate. Your Nonna would have sooner risen from the dead than have had a Cameron front row at her funeral.

As soon as he was close enough, Rafe reached for you, pulling your body tight into him. Your head landed on his chest and the sobs came moments later. God, he always smelled the same. He just let you cry, holding you close, smoothing his hand over your hair.

“I know you’re selling your grandma’s house but I was thinking you could stay with me for the summer," he said as your tears began to slow. It was hard to imagine that you wouldn't return to the Outer Banks once school let out. It was the first week of May already and you could feel the tourist-attracting town waking up. But selling the house just made more sense. Your older sister was already living her life in New York, a real adult life. Next summer, you'd be moving out too, headed to college. The house would sit empty for eight months out of the year, your family couldn't keep it and your uncle certainly didn’t want it. Selling it just had to happen.

You stepped back, slipping out of his embrace. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Rafe.”

“Why not?”

“Cause we’re like Romeo and Juliet.”

“I copied Cleo’s notes for that unit," he joked, trying to lighten to damp mood. “Plus I was never a fan of Leo DiCaprio so I didn’t finish the movie either.”

“It means we’re not supposed to be together, you and me. And whenever we try, the universe rips us apart. We hurt each other.”

Rafe shifted awkwardly on his feet, clearly wanting to reach for you again but stopping himself from doing it. “But I can't lose you.”

You reached your hand out, brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen in front of his eyes. “Oh Rafe, don’t you get it? You never really had me.” You stood up onto your tiptoes to kiss him just like you had the first time three years ago. Rafe barely parted his lips, kissing you back gently. Your hand cupped his face, your thump stroking over his cheek. It was a goodbye. Both of you knew it. It was an ending and this was your closure. You pulled away, your hand falling away from his face.

You couldn’t bring yourself to say the actual words. Your eyes fell to the ground. You needed to walk away now. You side-stepped Rafe but he grabbed your waist, turning you back around to face him.

“So that’s it? You’re not even gonna try to fight for us?”

“What even is there to fight for, Rafe? I’ve been fighting for us for the past four years. If we were supposed to be together that car wouldn’t have crashed into ours, I wouldn’t have fallen for Evan when I did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation at my Nonna’s funeral. What? Are we supposed to do long distance for all of college? I hardly know who I am right now. I have no idea who I’ll be in the next four years. Our future selves might not even like each other. I’m not gonna wait around for you Rafe and I would never ask you to do that for me.” You twirled the small, star charm between your fingers, a nervous habit you'd developed over the past year. His eyes dropped down to your neck momentarily and his adam's apple visibly bobbing as he swallowed his next weeks.

“You were it for me, you know. I tried to give a fuck about anyone else but I couldn’t get your gorgeous, stupid face out of my mind. I only wanted you.” Rafe paused gauging your reaction “I was falling in love with you.”

Your eyes wandered over his stoic expression. “The feeling was mutual, Rafe Cameron.”

He dropped your wrist but you both stood, not moving or saying anything. “Do you wanna walk me back to the car?”

“Yeah.” He reached for your hand, interlocking your fingers. Your other hand held onto his bicep so you walked together through the graveyard back to the parking lot.

The moment felt precious and delicate, like the fragile china your Nonna used to collect. You wondered what would happen to all that china.

Rafe placed a chaste kiss on your lips before opening the door of the car.

“I’ll miss you,” you said, the words hanging in the air meaning so much.

“Me too,” Rafe agreed.

You wanted one more kiss, one more passionate declaration of how much this all had meant but that would make leaving Rafe so much more impossible.

You climbed into the car, dropping Rafe’s hand in the process.

“See you around Cameron.” You knew it wouldn’t happen but it felt better than a goodbye.

He smiled back. “Maybe so.”

Perhaps Rafe was right and you’d both end up at a small liberal arts college in California taking the same second-year Econ class with a professor who always smelled like weed. Perhaps the stars would align and two of you would realize the universe wasn’t trying to keep you apart. It was just waiting for the right moment to show you that the love you had for each other was the soulmates, forever and ever kind of love. Perhaps you would get married and Sarah would be your maid of honor, of course. You’d buy back your Nonna’s house to raise your troubling-making kids in. Perhaps, you would find your way back and wake up each day and choose each other again and again.

Or perhaps, he'd always be your right-person-wrong-time. And, in the end, the passing days will steal away your memories of the blue-eyed boy from the Outer Banks.

taglist! @oreoenthusiast13

#outer banks #outer banks fanfiction #rafe cameron fanfiction #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron series #obx netflix #obx #obx fanfic #where it leads series #where it leads

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

By the king’s hand 🐍 IV

Warnings: warnings to be added as we progress but this series may contain non-consent, violence, death, and other triggers (this chapter, violence, oral, a bit of degradation)

This is dark!fic and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: Loki closes in on his prey.

Note: Doing my best to update something every few days. I’ll probably switch it up here and there and try to get to other series old and new as well. I won’t be answering any asks about updates but I am working on lots between work so I appreciate the patience.

Thank you. Love you guys!

As always, if you can, please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

You cleaned up the balcony for fear that Hal or another servant would happen upon your mess. You were aware that they would have little misconception about your position but you had no desire to flaunt your shame. It might not be your choice but others would not know that nor would they easily assume. 

‘Bed warmer’; that was what he’d said. He’d assured you of it upon his last visit. You were nothing more than a whore to him and undoubtedly, to any other who knew of your existence in the palace. Your only comfort was that you might hide from prying and judging eyes for the duration of your service. 

How long would that be? And after, what would you be left to?

You sat on the ledge of the window and stared out. The sunlight faded slowly, the summer lingered still. Even so, you could feel it was late. The king’s absence fed the dread deep in your chest and assured you that with each minute that passed, his return would come with inevitable zeal.

He promised you pain and had proven himself to be a selfish and sinister man. A man never told no, even to that one thing which had never been promised to him, the crown. How could he expect anything other than to be sated in his every need?

When the door handle turned and drew your attention from the ruffling leaves below, you stood. You watched Loki enter with the young boy, Hal, at his elbow The king’s day deepened the small lines around his eyes and brought out the vein on his forehead. 

Hal removed his cloak and hung it and Loki fell heavy onto the sofa. He was skilled at ignoring all around him until they were required. Including you. He waved away the boy with his fingers and sighed.

“Fetch me wine for the night. I have little appetite…” He let his head loll and his eyes sparked as he saw you standing anxiously by the window, “Do you require anything to nibble on, little mouse?”

You shook your head but quickly corrected yourself. You cleared your throat and spoke carefully. “No, your majesty.”

“Very well,” he flicked away the servant and spread his arms over the back of the couch. The boy left and Loki hummed at the ceiling. You watched his profile as he closed his eyes. “I cannot lie. Our noontime delight did tide me over as the day stretched on. And how it did make it seem longer too.”

Slowly, he opened his eyes and turned his head to look at you again. He smirked.

“Just a taste and I want more, like a sweet tart secreted from the sill or a sip of ale stolen by a child. A simple craving turns to an irresistible hunger.”

You squirmed and he beckoned you close. You watched him warily as he pulled at his overcoat with one hand and unbuttoned the high collar.

“Sit with me. I should like a drink before we proceed.” He said and his lithe fingers worked down the front of his coat. “I must wash away this tension, little mouse, and you might drown your fear.”

You lowered yourself onto the edge of the couch as he let his overcoat droop and reveal his tunic beneath. His fingers ran along the back of our gown and he sat forward slightly as he snaked his arm around you. He pulled you against him as he reclined again and grabbed your chin as he made you look at him.

“I like that.” His nose was close to yours, “The way you try to hide your emotions. That artificial bravery that cannot still your fidgeting fingers or that tic in your cheek. It assures me that you are truly afraid of me, little mouse…” His hot breath grazed your lips, “As you should be.”

“I am not afraid of you,” you uttered, “I am appalled… your majesty.”

He chuckled and a rap came at the door. He parted from you, his hand slipped down to rest on your hand and he pulled it onto his thigh as he called for his servant to enter. Hal came in and set down the bottle of wine and the pair of cups. He was dismissed with a nod.

Alone again, Loki pulled your hand up his leg and forced it over his growing bulge. He snickered as he hardened against your palm.

“My patience wears thin,” he groaned, “So pour us some wine before my thirst is forgotten.”

You drew away as he released you and stood. You poured the wine to the brim and returned to Loki. He took his glass and pointed you to the cushion again. He drank smoothly as you nearly choked on the acrid alcohol. You pulled the cup from your lips and crinkled your nose. The king chuckled and reached to set aside his empty goblet on the side table. 

He pushed on the bottom of your cup until it was once more at your lips. “I recommend you drink but do not require it. Perhaps, I should enjoy you sober and petulant.”

You gulped again but quickly recoiled. He laughed again and took the glass from you. There was still quite a bit of wine sloshing around in it as he placed it beside his empty one.

“Get undressed for me, little mouse,” he stood and shrugged out of his overcoat.

You hesitated and flinched as his face turned stern. You rose as he slung his jacket over a chair and pulled the tails of his tunic loose from his trousers and unbuckled his belt. You strained as you bent your arms back but only managed to tangle your fingers in the laces.

He neared and turned you. He expertly unknotted the top of the laces and your bodice slackened. You caught the dress as it drooped down your chest and reluctantly let it slip further. You stepped out of the skirts and he gathered the fabric from the floor. He tossed it over his jacket as you avoided looking at him.

You felt his warmth along your back as he came close and his fingertips brushed lightly along the scars that lined your skin. The ones he’d left there. Those which might never go away. He pressed his thumbs more firmly to the lacerations and traced them down to your ass.

He exhaled and his hand stretched around your hips as he gripped them firmly. He edged you toward the couch until your legs met it. He nudged you until you lifted your knees onto the cushion. It was like you were in a trance; the thought to stop him was overpowered by that which wanted it all to just be over.

“You are healing nicely,” he purred, “A reminder of me when I am kept for too long from you, little mouse.”

You lowered your head as your lip curled. You latched onto the back of the couch and clawed the cushion. 

“I feel the anger in you,” he slithered. “I long for it. A sharp tongue calls for a sharper strike. Should I use my hand or another toy?”

You stiffened as his hand crawled back up to your shoulders and he squeezed them as he leaned in. 

“Or should I give into my basest desires and leave all patience behind. I could be inside you in a moment. I could have you screaming with a different pain. One which would soon enough be pleasure. An insatiable need.” He hooked his arms under yours and cupped your chest. “Funny, how peasants differ little from ladies. You have the same curves, the same want of a man.” He nuzzled the back of your head, “Perhaps the cunt is tighter? Wetter? Sweeter?”

You snarled and he pinched you. You swatted him away without thinking and he caught your wrist. He twisted your arm against your back until you whined.

“Come on, mouse, fight me,” he sneered, “Give me a little entertainment.”

You bit down but remained still. You huffed and stared at the carpet on the other side of the couch.

“The ladies never do. They’re too proper. Even as a prince, they were all too eager. Of course, they thought their kisses, their words, would lead to something other than a carnal revelation. They thought of contracts and prestige but I only wanted the flesh. They are too proper, too polite to resist.” He pushed on your arm and a pang went through your shoulder, “And when I fucked them, they only cried. Silently. No matter, I’d rather the back of their heads.”

Your insides roiled and the thought of this man, this monster called king, doing to you what he proudly boasted of doing to countless others had you livid. You could not resign yourself to the shame. If he never had to work for anything, he would have to now.

You swung your leg back and your heel met his thigh bluntly. He let go of you with a surprised grunt and you spun, kicking out again. He barely dodged your foot and you were quick to stand. The back of his hand split your lip and you stumbled but not far as you threw your elbows up into his ribs. His second strike missed as you ducked away and struggled to gain your bearings.

You flung a fist out at him and he batted you away. He swept your feet out from beneath you with one of his and you landed with a gasp as the air rushed from your lungs.

“Do you not recall our first lesson? You do not strike a king.” He taunted and stood above you. “If you do, you should hit a lot harder.”

He jabbed your side with the toe of his boot and chuckled. He lifted his tunic over his head and tossed it away. He paced around you and as you tried to sit up, he kicked you back down.

“Shall I have you on the floor? A beast like you belongs there.” He spat, “Oh, dear, are you angry?”

He bent and grabbed your arms. He pulled you up to your feet, leaving you light-headed as he stared you down.

“Go on and try again. Your venom only feeds my own.” He leaned in and his cheek brushed yours as he lowered his voice, “And this snake is meaner than any.”

You pushed on his chest and he shoved you away. You collided with the side table at the end of the couch and wine splashed across your front. He followed you and kicked your ass so that you fell atop the the table entirely, leaving it overturned as you writhed on the floor.

“I’d use your mouth again but you seem like to bite, little mouse,” he chortled. “Oh, but I have waited for that which makes you a woman.”

“You’re… disgusting,” you choked out as he planted a boot on your chest and pinned you to the floor. 

“Perhaps but those words mean little from a heathen like you. Tell me, how many men have known you, hmm? A peasant like you? Perhaps a butcher? A forger? Several, even?”

“Get--” You grunted as you grasped his boot, “Off.”

“Do be honest. There is no number which could tarnish you further. You cannot possibly sink lower, little mouse.”

“St-stop,” you pleaded as he pushed down and you found it even harder to breathe.

“Tell me,” he said, “Hmm? More than one? Perhaps five?” He peered down at you and smirked, “Is it more? In the tens?”

You wheezed and shook your head. You kicked out as silver dots floated around your vision. “N-n-none!” You gasped, “None.”

He relented but kept his foot where it was. He laughed. Loudly. He shook his head and scoffed.

“No man?” He said wryly, “Oh, the elusive untouched maiden.”

“Get the fuck off of me,” you snarled.

“A mouth like that on a creature so pure,” he bent and grabbed you by the throat.

He lifted you to your feet and spun you. He forced you over to the table and your middle met it with a thud. You bent over as once more the air was driven from you. His hand was on your ass as he pressed his crotch against you and rocked.

“I do like this angle but wonder if it better to look you in the eye as I pluck your flower,” he kept his hips moving and moaned, “See the pain, the fear, the realisation that you are completely and utterly mine.”

He reared back and slapped your ass. You whimpered at his strength as your hips knocked against the wooden table. He raised his hand again but was halted by a sudden knock. He paused and let out a thick breath. He struck you again. The knock came again. Louder.

“I told my guard, I was not to be disturbed,” he growled.

“Oh, your majesty,” the sing song came through the door, “I have a message for you.”

“Fuck,” Loki swore and backed away. You turned your head to watched him as he pushed his shoulders back, “That fool.”

You didn’t move as he snatched up his tunic and replaced it over his torso. He glanced at you and snapped his fingers. He pointed to the bedroom and you stood straight. He lifted a brow in a final warning.

You shakily retreated and ambled through the doors. You stayed close as you listened. You couldn’t stop quaking. The adrenaline was ice in your veins but seeped away and uncovered the flames of agony licking at your body.

“What is it, you dolt?” The door whipped open in tandem with Loki’s words.

“Why, it is I, your brother’s most beloved companion, aside from his wife, of course, and a message for his most esteemed brother, the king,” the man sounded like a jester.

“Lord Fandral, I do command that you are to the point and do not continue on in this mockery.” Loki tutted.

“Oh, you have not changed,” the lord, Fandral, quipped, “As dour and dull as ever.”

“But a king now so do be on with it.”

“I have been sent to present to you a humble invitation to your brother’s own tournament upon the celebration of his new marriage. He does apologize for the short notice but it would not take you much long than a day and a night to arrive which is why I did insist upon my interruption… I do assume I have disturbed some going on.”

“If I accept this ridiculous proposal, will you be gone?”

“Oh, I must, your brother does await the answer and I would be away tonight to insure you do not arrive before me. You see, the tournament does commence in three days thus. You do want to make the lists, don’t you?”

“Yes, yes, go. Let him know that I will appear.” Loki huffed. “At once before I change my mind and have your head sent back instead.”

“As amiable as ever, your majesty,” the other man said, “Do continue on in your… well, whatever it is you do for fun.”

The door snapped shut quickly and you staggered away from the door as you heard the king’s footsteps beneath the muttered curses. His shadow appeared in the dim and you pressed yourself to the wall. You eyed the door behind him, the balcony to your left. 

“Get in the bed,” he snipped. “If I must drag you, you will not drag yourself from it.”

You shuddered and forced yourself away from the wall. Loki undressed fully as you neared the bed and climbed over the covers. He was quick as he followed and met you from the other side. He shoved you onto your back and held you there with his hand across your throat. His hot breath glossed over your cheek as his fingers flitted to your chin and he squeezed.

He growled and let go. He flopped onto his back beside you and laid silently. Stewing. You watched his silhouette in the dark.

“My brother does ruin everything,” he whispered. “I am so… riled I can barely focus and…” he bit his lip and stopped himself. “Use your hand.”

“Wha--”

“Or your mouth. I don’t care, I only need to cum,” he closed his eyes. “And not think of what my brother has laid on my plate for the morrow.”

You grimaced and reached over blindly. You kept your eyes on the ceiling as you gripped his hard member and he winced at your touch.

“Tighter,” he murmured.

You did as he bid and slowly moved your hand up his length and back down. You thought of the balcony. At least it was only your hand. You stroked him as he groaned beside you, as his voice floated in the moonlight, and the night air skimmed over your bodies. He wrapped his finger around yours and guided you faster.

You kept the motion as his hand dropped back down and you felt his climax building as he trembled. He grunted as he reached over and kneaded your hip. He bent his legs slightly as he erupted and his warm cum dripped over your knuckles and along your palm. He stopped you and spasmed as he tried to catch his breath.

“You will fetch a rag and clean me before I sleep,” he said, “And we will continue our little game another day.”

🐍

You awoke with a heat wrapped around you. The king’s arm clung to you as there was a prodding further down. You could feel his arousal along the curve of your ass. You tried not to fidget in fears you would rouse him more or wake him. You laid, helpless and watched the early dawn light on the wall.

“It is merely a nocturnal habit,” Loki said as his arm tightened around you. “But, I suppose, your presence does evoke it as well.”

You scowled and said nothing.

“You slept heavily. Rather loudly.” He mused. “I had to roll you over to ease your snorts.”

“You might send me back to the dungeon if I see you sleepless,” you suggested.

“I did not say I was,” he countered, “I slept well enough.”

He drew away from you and the bed shifted as he turned his back to you and hung his legs over the edge. You rolled onto your back as the blanket crumpled around his back and you watched him. He stretched and shook out his black waves. He stood, unabashed by his erection, and went to the window.

“On the road by noon.” He said, “A brief rest on the roadside and the sojourn will not be more than a day.”

You stayed as you were. It might be his bed but it was the most comfortable you’d ever known. Besides, you were unsure of what else to do.

“The party needn’t be very large. Some guards and a few companions.” He spoke to himself as he picked at the window frame and stared out. “Of course, my armor will have to be polished and--” He pulled away and looked back to you on the bed. He smirked. You sat up, alarmed by his sudden interest. “And you will need a chest.”

“Pardon?”

“You must accompany me, of course. As my bed warmer.” He neared the bed and loomed over you. “Did you truly think I’d leave you behind? What in all the gods’ names would you do?”

You frowned and bent your legs to your chest. What would you do indeed.

“In an unfamiliar castle, my bed will certainly need warming and… my brother is the very being that does know how to irk me entirely. I will need the… respite.” Loki lowered himself back to the bed. “And there is so much undone.”

You couldn’t hide your discomfort. You watched him recline across the bed as you stayed huddled at the top of the mattress.

“I don’t understand…” you said quietly.

“Understand what?” He looked over at you with his discerning green eyes.

“Why you didn’t leave me in the dungeon? Or send me to the laundries or the stables?”

He considered you a moment and exhaled. “Well, you are of little use to me in either and I do see use in you. As king, it is prudent only to surround yourself with those who can further your own purpose; be it pleasure or otherwise.”

His answer made you sick. You were an object. A commodity. Well, you were just a peasant, what did you expect?

“And, was your life so glorious before? Were your clay pots and simple companions so amusing? Never touched? Did you ever expect it, at the least?” He challenged.

“Commoners do not marry so early as nobles,” you said quietly.

“Oh, but surely by your age they have considered it? Tell me, do I tread on another man’s grass? Is there some secret betrothal I do not know about? Or perhaps just a tryst unconsummated?”

You pursed your lips and begrudgingly shook your head. You kept your eyes on the blanket as he rolled onto his side and looked at you closer.

“I have done you a favour,” he said, “And I am not in the habit of favours so you might be thankful for it.”

“You would make me a whore. I could’ve done the same in any alleyway.”

“You will find no kings in your alleys,” he girded, “Nor silks, satins, or furs. I offer you all despite your crimes and you think I take from you. I have given you more than you know. You, little mouse, are not the prize in this game, I am.”

You looked at him and blinked. He ran his finger along the blanket that hung over your leg. He tugged until it fell down your knees. You shivered as you thought to grab it and pull it back to your body but he was quick. He pushed your legs apart despite your resistance and you fought with him as he moved between them, his head by your thighs.

His hands hooked over your thighs as he held them apart and he beamed up at you. He licked his lips and pulled himself closer. You felt his breath along your folds as he held your gaze. He lowered his head slowly and you squirmed as he hovered just along your cunt.

“What--”

He poked his tongue between your folds and dragged it up along your bud. You gasped at the peculiar sensation and he did it again, this time circling the sensitive bump. You grasped the pillows as he watched you and continued on, teasing and toying with his tongue. As he pressed his lips around your bud and suckled, you squeaked and you fell flat on the pillows.

“What are you--” You were breathless as he lapped at you and hummed, sending a thrill up your spine.

Your back arched without thought and your hand flew down to grip your own thigh as it pushed against his head. He held onto your legs as he hugged them and closed his eyes as he devoured you. Your eyes rolled back and you dug your heels into the mattress. You lifted your pelvis as you were driven wild by the flurry in your core.

You moaned and whined pathetically as he took control of your body. As he lured you closer and closer to an unknown release. A coil wound tighter and tighter inside of you until finally it snapped. You felt the pleasure flow from you as he drank it up and the tension left your body in an instant as the waves crashed over you.

You bent your arms across your chest and held yourself in your shock; in the sheer ecstasy that had overcome you. You panted and felt suddenly cold as he removed himself from between your legs. You peeked over at him as he sat up and wiped his glistening lips. His mouth curved deviously as he met your gaze.

“I am not the only in need,” he preened, “Though the need is so much more dire when you know what exactly it is you long for, isn’t it?

#loki #dark!loki #loki x reader #dark fic #fic #dark!fic #series #by the king's hand #king!loki #au #medieval #medieval au #medieval!au #mcu #marvel

[purple-goo-writes]

Young and Beautiful Part 2

Taglist: @clumsy-owl-4178 @myazael @woe-is-me0 @midnightmode @t1dwarrior-of-earth @stainedglassm

@catthhay @dorkus-minimus @maskedpainter @waffleyunsure @marinettepotterandplagg @demonicbusiness @mystery-5-5

@justafanwarrior

I've seen the world, lit it up As my stage now Channeling angels in a new age now Hot summer days, rock and roll The way you play for me at your show And all the ways, I got to know Your pretty face and electric soul

Will you still love me When I'm no longer young and beautiful? Will you still love me When I've got nothing but my aching soul? I know you will, I know you will I know that you will Will you still love me when I'm no longer beautiful?

He didn’t see her again until three years later after he took in his first ward, Richard Grayson. 

He didn’t know how she knew that he needed her support or how she was aware of his new ward, soon to be adopted son. All Bruce was aware of was of the fact that his shoulders finally released the tension he had not been aware that he was carrying when he came up from the Batcave after Dick’s first patrol and felt her familiar and welcoming calm aura. Even Richard noticed the distinct change in his guardian’s demeanor once they exited the Cave and entered the manor. And though the young Robin didn’t necessarily feel the new aura of calm permeating the Manor, he certainly does relax the moment he steps out of the Cave and feels the tension he had carried since his parent’s murder leave his own body.

It felt as if he was finally coming home and not just coming back to the house he inhabited with his guardian and the butler. 

Bruce could only watch in awe as Marinette breaks through all of Dick’s walls and within a week he walks in on Marinette holding a crying 12 year old boy as he finally griefs for his parents. Not long after that Marinette joins them on patrol as PopinJay using the fixed Peacock Miraculous.

Her suit looked like an odd mix of leather and spandex, a deep dark blue with black accents with some dark green detailing here and there; black gloves with blue fingers, black boots with blue heels and a dark blue domino mask with green detailing that mimicked feathers. Attached to her waist was a partial skirt that mimicked peafowl tail feathers with an ombre effect- starting black before fading to dark blue then green at the tips. Her hair was put up in an elegant bun pinned in place by two golden peafowl quils and held in a holster around her waist were two steel fans tipped in gold that when spread resembled two beautiful yet deadly fans of peacock feathers.

“Why the Peacock?” Batman enquired with a raised eyebrow while Robin squealed happily as the preteen danced around PopinJay taking in her suit.

The masked woman snickered softly, her lips tugging into a small smirk, “I figured it would match well with your theme.”

Bruce should not have been surprised about how flawlessly she joins into their routine and patrols. Marinette had always been able to adapt to any situation easily after all. It was something that the Guardian was still trying to teach him how to do.

She would pop in randomly over the years that followed, always seeming to know when Bruce and Dick needed her the most. She was a part of their small family after all and Bruce’s oldest friend. It was why he did not protest when Marinette whisked Dick away to the Temple to train after he and Bruce have a fight again when Robin talks about heading out on his own and becoming his own hero, outside of the Young Justice. After all he was turning 18 soon and was outgrowing the Robin mantle.

“Just because he is growing up, doesn’t mean he no longer needs his father, Bruce.” Were Marinette’s parting words before she left with Dick for Tibet.

When they returned a year later, it was to a relieved, if sheepish, Bruce who had just returned from patrol with a very angry preteen in tow dressed in a new Robin suit. Instead of feeling threatened, Dick grinned, causing Bruce to sigh in relief, “So does this mean I have a little brother now?”

“How did you end up adopting this one, ma nuit noire?”

“He stole the wheels off the BatMobile.”

“Only you, Bruce, only you.”

A month later, Dick became Nightwing after a conversation with Superman when the young man asked the super if his culture ever had vigilantes after Dick moved to Bludhaven. With the alien’s permission, he took up the mantle of Nightwing and officially passed on the Robin mantle down to his younger brother, Jason. Bludhaven gained a vigilante and Jason gained a new confidence with his older brother’s approval, not that the angry teen would admit it.

PopinJay made return to Gotham to help train the new Robin. Bruce was surprised, though he shouldn’t have been, at how fast Jason took to Marinette. The former street kid would even slip and call her Ma now and then, especially when the peacock heroine was being extra motherly. That Bruce wasn’t surprised about as Dick would, and still did, call Marinette Mama Bird. He tried not to dwell on how much his heart warmed at the thought of Marinette as the boys’ mother figure. Especially not when he was currently dancing around Catwoman and their odd relationship or his thing with Talia Al Ghul, who he knew disliked PopinJay greatly. Though his relationship with Talia ended when she drug him.

It was after a routine patrol when PopinJay came sauntering back into the Batcave carrying a confused, if exited, little nine-year-old boy with dark hair and bright blue eyes dressed only in his pajamas and holding a camera. The dark blue haired woman was smiling motherly down at the little scamp in her arms as Tim babbled excitedly about meeting one of his favorite heroes and how he couldn’t believe that MDC was PopinJay.

“PopinJay, what is the meaning of this?” Bruce growled in confusion as he turned from the BatComputer to address his partner, who simply giggled at his attempt to intimidate her. 

“Bruce, come meet your biggest fan.”

 “PopinJay!” 

“Oh, don’t be a stick in the mud. He already figured out our identities from Dick’s quadruple somersault.”

“He what? But, how?” This had Bruce intrigued as he stalked close to the woman, who was practically the mother of his sons, taking in the sight of little Tim, “He is the Drake heir...what is he doing out so late?” The fact that he was still in his pajamas without shoes on brought the father in Bruce to the forefront went without saying. 

Jason watched all this with a sigh and grumbled, “I’ll go tell Alfred to get a room ready for him.” Looks like he would be sharing his Ma with another brother...He best tell Dick about Tim, Jason just knew their parents (Marinette was their Mom no matter how oblivious Bruce was to his feelings) would be adopting the boy.

And wouldn’t you know he was right, somehow not even three months later Tim was now Tim Drake-Wayne due to his parents being found neglectful in a hush-hush trail. Dick was ecstatic about having another little brother to dote on and even Jason was happy to have a little brother, having grown fond of Tim during all the times the youngest Drake stayed at the Manor or BatCave when his parents went out of town on one of their frequent business trips. 

If Bruce wasn’t already thankful for Marinette’s presence in his life, he would have been after Jason ran off to track down his birth mother after finding out that Catherine was not his mom. He understood that Jason simply had questions he thought only his birth mom could answer, but it still broke Bruce’s heart that his middle son thought he would not help him find the woman. If it wasn’t for the multiple trackers he had placed on Jason, he would not have known that the young Robin was in Ethiopia of all places. Batman wouldn’t make it in time to save Robin, but he knew one person who could. 

It was the only time his composure had came so close to breaking as he called Marinette and begged her to save their son. Batman arrived just as the building went up in flames and would have broken down if not for PopinJay informing over the comm that she had Jason and that they were at the Cave. Unfortunately, Jason was in critical condition and had slipped into a coma by the time Bruce made it back to the Manor. After a long talk, it was decided that Marinette would take him to the Temple to heal and recover. Tim would be taking over as Robin in his absence, though the 12 year old wished it was under different circumstances.

Marinette kept Bruce updated on his status using the communicator he had given her. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he cried when she called him and informed him that Jason had woken up. Jason and Bruce had a long discussion when he was fully coherent, thankfully Jason understood why Bruce gave Tim the mantle and even asked him to inform Tim that he had his blessing to be Robin. This talk was also the first time one of his sons’ called him Dad.

“Dad, I don’t think I can be Robin anymore, anyway...I think it’s time I branched out.”

“Will you be using a Miraculous?”

“No, Ma asked, even said I would be a good fit for the Eagle, but I turned her down. I want to make my own way without fancy powers.”

“You know we will support any decision you make.”

It was two years after that that Jason fully recovered and returned to Gotham as the vigilante, Red Hood. Thankfully, Marinette talked him out of that outrageous helmet and helped him design his new costume, his suit he wore had a red hood attached to it and he wore a red metal face mask with a black domino mask. He still managed to keep the leather jacket though. Even if Bruce frowned at his use of guns, at least the rounds were mainly tranquilizers, the Bat was proud of his son.

Tim made an amazing Robin and detective. Though Bruce was suspicious when Marinette would disappear with Tim to train him in secret or take him to the Temple. But, it was Tim’s choice and if he choose to join the Order, Bruce would support him. Marinette loved their sons equally, but Bruce knew she was closer to Tim.

He was thankful for Marinette being there for him when Barbara joined the team as Batgirl. Even more thankful for when Stephanie joined and then Cassandra was adopted. He was not sure how to handle daughters and the girls having a positive female role model relieved him greatly. Even if he did get a few grey hairs now and then from some of their more interesting purchases.

Talia dropped Damian on Bruce when Tim was 16 and had just become co-CEO of Wayne Enterprises, after both his older brothers refused the position. (Dick was now a Cop in Bludhaven and Jason had taken over Security for the WE.) Bruce was still reeling from the shock of finding out he had a blood son and Talia just dumping the ten year old on him without so much of a by-your-leave. Bruce had finally put his past with Talia and Selina behind him and finally moved on when this happened. He was unsure how to process this new situation. Though after stopping Damian from killing/attacking Tim once again, he knew what he had to do.

He called Marinette.

Bruce isn’t sure what she did or said to his youngest son. But after whisking Damian away for a few months at the Temple, the child that came back was changed. Still the same arrogant cold ex-assassin, but he had started to open up to his family and follow his father’s code of honor. Though, things were still shaky between him and Tim, the older boys were all amused when Damian bluntly asked them why Father hadn’t proposed to Marinette, or Mère as he called her in French, yet.

“Because Dad is really, really oblivious to his own feelings.”

“He’s a fucking idiot.” 

“Jaybird!” 

“What? You know it’s true!” 

“Little ears, Jay!”

Damian turned to his only intelligent sibling, and most dangerous outside of Cain, "Drake, I presume you have plans ready to set in motion?"

There was a reason he considered Drake his highest threat to his position as blood son. Ra's had stated time and time again that he wished to induct Tim into the fold, one way or another. Many times his grandfather had stated this when he found Damian's own performance lacking, making comments on how the young Detective would have done things. Drake had plans within plans, a mind like a steel trap mixed with a twisted maze and a tenacity most assassin's would envy. It was why Damian grudgingly respected the teen, even if he would rather bit his tongue off then admit it.

Tim gave his youngest sibling a rather maniacal grin, some of his Red Robin persona (A mantle he took up recently) shining through, "Oh do I."

Unfortunately, their plans to trick their parental figures into realizing their feelings would have to wait.

Because Darkseid came and Bruce was gone...

#brucinette #mominette #maribat #ml x dc #i swear to god tumblr #YOU BETTER POST THIS #YnB

[itsmeevie01]

Before A Moment in Time

ok! this is a LOT of information, but i wanted to make it easier to understand whats going on in my head when i write over the next bit!

MASTERPOST

this is Before A Moment in Time. Enjoy!

Three years before A Moment in Time. One year after Hawkmoth appeared.

Marinette Dupain Cheng is sitting at her desk. Second row back left side. Making her way up the stairs is her friend Alya Césaire. The two girls have been practically inseparable for the last year.

Fuming one row down on the other side of the aisle is Chloé Bourgeoise. Her eyes are glued to where Marinette is smiling at Alya. Nino Lahiffe is sitting in front of Marinette. His headphones are on, and his hand is moving over a sheet of paper that has a music staff on it.

Adrien Agreste can be seen bounding up the stairs, his eyes alight with the joy of going to school, even a year after he started. Behind Marinette and Alya are Rose and Juleka. Across from them are Ivan and Nathaniel. Behind the boys are Alix and Kim, who are across from Mylene and Sabrina.

Max is sitting behind the two girls by himself. In the empty seat next to him, the tech genius has a computer running through a code that he is trying to double-check.

As their classmates greet each other during the first day of school, Madam Bustier can be seen enter into the room, one Lila Rossi walking behind her curiously.

As Bustier called the class to attention, Marinette shared one more smile with Alya before spinning around. When she was facing the front, the teen blinked.

Standing there was a girl who looked vaguely familiar. It took the teen a moment before she realized that this was Lila Rossi. This was the girl who had been sued by both Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale. This was a gold digger that they had warned her about.

Chloé must have made the same connection because Marinette’s phone started to blow up.

 Mariii + Chlo

Chlo- OH HELL NO

Chlo- M this chit cannot sit with me

Chlo- Dad sued her over the summer

Chlo- MARINETE

Mariii- Chlo

Mariii- hey chill

Mariii- I got this. If you can sit with Alya.

Chlo- anything

Chlo- MY WONDERFUL NONCOFFEE DEALER KEEP ME AWAY FROM THE FUCKING DEVIL

Mariii- on it, queenie

 Marinette looked up as the bell rang. Alya gave her a concerned look. With a smile, the younger girl bumped her friend’s shoulder. “Hey, Als, since I’m class president, I think it would be best if I welcome the new girl. Could you go sit with Chloé today? I promise that we can go back to normal once we get her settled.” Alya flashed her friend a smile before giving the girl a side hug.

“of course, Mari! You have such a big heart!” the girls traded smiles before Alya packed her stuff up and moved to sit with the haughty blonde. The noirette saw her teacher give her an approving smile for diffusing the situation so easily, without conflict.

Inwardly, Marinette scoffed. Outwardly, the girl gave her teacher a glowing smile in return.

 Marinette truly tried to be nice to Lila. Really, she did. Early on, the girl had learned that being nice was a better route when interacting with people who she didn’t know. Even if it was just a small smile, the noirette had always found success from kindness.

Lila was a sweet girl who had batted her eyes at her and given Marinette a small smile. The two had spent the first period of school passing notes and getting to know each other.

In all honesty, Marinette had no idea why the Italian girl next to her was branded a manipulative liar in her world. Then, during the break, Marinette saw what was going on.

When the rest of the class gathered to introduce themselves, Lila panicked. Then, Lila shifted her posture just slightly. She smiled a blinding smile that stood out to Marinette as obviously fake. She started interacting with the class, sickly sweet and subtly guiding them to beliefs.

Shaking her head, Marinette turned away. She had time during her break to call a certain someone. She needed more answers.

 “Clara! Hey… do you have a moment?” through the phone, Clara Nightingale, giggled.

“Of course, Marinette! What is going on with my favorite little cousin? Is everything ok?” the young teen hesitated, before shaking her head.

“I need you to tell me more about Lila Rossi” the dark look that crossed the singer’s face confirmed many of Marinette’s worries.

 When she sat down next to Chloé in the hotel restaurant for lunch, a look of pure disgust was dancing on her face. “this girl has filled a level of malice that I have never heard of. Chloé, she has manipulated every person of interest under the sun who doesn’t have the common sense to not listen to her bull shit. Chlo…this girl is vile. Clara told me what they had to do to sue her. One of the requirements of Lila not going to prison for a long time was getting a psych eval. Chloé…this girl is only fifteen! This is insane...” Chloé raised an eyebrow, surprised.

“Today it looked like you two were good friends. Or on the way there at least.” The noirette shook her head in disgust.

“she has some good traits, but as soon as she gets in front of the crowd…she abandons everything for power. I can't trust her, but it seems that she is under multiple restraining orders. I get the feeling that as long as we stay out of her webs, we should be fine. Jagged texted though. He said that Lila can be vicious if she is provoked.” Here, Marinette looked Chloé dead in the eye. “do not cause trouble. I don’t want you to have to go toe to toe with her, Chloé.”

 Six months later.

 Marinette is settled at her desk, the swivel chair reclined as she looked at the Blonde who was in her room, grinning.

“did she really ask you out?” Chloé’s excitement paired with her nosiness was making Marinette steadily turn Lady Tyche red. Turning back to her desk, Marinette tried to hide her flaming face.

“she asked me if I wanted to go out…like a date…before my birthday.” The noirette tugged slightly on her hair. Her anxiety that had been manifesting more and more at school was not helping her now. “I told Aurore yes. We haven’t set a date yet, but it’ll be soon.” Chloé raised an eyebrow.

“are you two going on your first date on Valentine’s day? Because Mari…I refuse to be best friends with someone so cliché.” The girl flamed a darker red if that was possible.

“I really like her Chlo. But…no. she asked about the 14th. I told her that I was going to spend time with my parents that day. Plus,” here, Marinette turned back to her friend with a Cheshire cat grin. “We,” She gestured between her best friend and herself, “have a standing date. we have for the last three years. Why would I break a pact we made when we were ten, over a girl I haven’t gone on one date with yet?” Chloé’s face broke into a matching grin.

“oh, hell yea. Then, I guess I could help you get ready for that first date of yours…” the friends broke down into giggles and started debating the merits of each of the outfits the young designer had in mind.

 That night on patrol, Lady Tyche alighted on the roof of one of the local lycées.

Her blonde hair whipped in the wind that had been howling all afternoon. Across the streets, the spotted hero was able to see a pair of blue luminous eyes. Using her yoyo to pull herself over the street, the girl smiled at the younger miraculous wielder.

When her red boots hit the roof, Apate handed the girl an unmarked bag. Inside was a pastry and a hot chocolate. Both girls knew they were in for a long night.

 Apate stood noiselessly and moved to the edge of the roof. As she stood there, profiled against the ridgeline, Lady Tyche smiled to herself. Her partner could be as vicious as she wanted when they were fighting Akumas, but the girl who stood in front of her was very kind.

The Cat vigilante, as she insisted she was no hero, had a pair of ears on her head.

They were flicking to and fro while she listened to the night below. Her hands were resting on her hips, one hand toying with the baton that was usually kept in a holster on her leg. The girl’s other hand was fiddling with a ring she had slid off her finger. The skintight black pants blended into the night. The black top she was wearing also seemed to disappear when Lady Tyche wasn’t looking for her partner.

Even now, with Apate being backlit by the city lights around them, the Tyche was the more visible of the two.

“She’s coming.” Apate’s voice broke her partner out of her thoughts. “Let’s hope tonight goes the way we want it to. Otherwise, we could be royally screwed.” The Hero nodded in agreement.

 “I trust Alya. She has been a good fit for Trixx so far.” Apate hmmed in response.

“I fear that our…favorite Italian…may be too close to her. I don’t our fox’s head full of lies and manipulations if I can help it at all.” Lady Tyche winced. She had heard all about Lila’s renewed attack on the allegiances of the class that her crush was in. the past few weeks had not been pretty.

  “No! That’s…you told Lila that I was going to be your first partner! Why did you lie to both me and your best friend! Everyone knows that Lady Tyche can’t do this alone anymore! She NEEDS Miss Vixen!” Lady Tyche closed her eyes and Alya’s rant ended with a yell. The anger simmering on the reporter’s face was worrying the hero.

“Alya. I have not told anyone about you. A few people have seen you training and on patrols. You ran the ‘exclusive’,” the disdain in Lady Tyche’s voice had Alya wincing. “but no one has confirmed anything. There is a good reason. The hope,” here, the Blonde teen’s voice turned cutting, “was that you could work in the shadows. There is only one visible member of this team, but I have never been alone. Tonight, and this attitude. Well, Alya, it has proven that you are not ready to be a holder of the miracle stones.”

The ladybug holder looked over to the roof next to where she and the trainee had been standing. There, in the shadows, were a pair of blue eyes. “go ahead, Apate. Wipe her memory of all of this.”

Seven months after Alya’s Miraculous is taken away. Two years after Hawkmoth started. Two years before A Moment in Time.

Aurore smiled at the girl holding her hand.

The two were walking home from their first day of Lycée. Aurore’s blonde hair fell around her shoulders as she turned to look at Marinette.

The 14-year-old, a certified genius, was glowing at the excitement that their first day of school had brought. Although she no longer was friends with Alya, there were no real hard feelings. The rift between the former classmates had made it easier to integrate Marinette and Aurore’s social circles. Claude, Allen, Chloé, Aurore, Mireille, Nino, Kim, Kagami, Felix.

Their group was full of laughter and life. They spent most of their weekends together, even over the summer. To everyone else, the group was the picture-perfect group of teens. Inseparable for life. Aurore had loved it for so long, had loved watching her girlfriend grow. Tonight, however, she had a feeling that the last half-year was going to be left in the past.

She and Marinette needed to have a talk.

 Chloé held her best friend as the girl cried.

The two had been sitting on the floor of the heiress’s hotel suit for the last hour and a half. When the small girl had shown up, wearing an old pair of Chloé’s sweats that had disappeared years ago, sniffling into the sleeves of the hoodie she was swamped in, the older girl’s big sister senses had gone off.

Now, as her friend started to calm down, Chloé shoved a pile of clothes at her friend.

“put these on, we are leaving.” Marinette glanced at her friend in confusion, before taking the clothes and slowly changing into the skinny jeans and loose grey top. A moment later, a green corduroy jacket was being flung at her by the blonde 16-year-old who had changed as well.

Quickly catching the jacket and sliding on the matching converse that Chloé had given her, Marinette stood to join her friend. Chloé picked up her purse and looked over the two.

While she had given her best friend a simple outfit that be comfortable for the train ride that her friend didn’t know was coming, Chloé had taken a minute longer before deciding to match her friend. Her jeans were light wash as opposed to dark, and she wore a fitted white t-shirt with a cartoon spider hiding in a red chrysanthemum. The red corduroy jacket was the same color as both the embroidery and her own red converse.

“Let's go, Minette. We are going to the country house. You can truly cry there. Horses await.”

 After Marinette and Aurore broke it off, the friends drifted apart. Kagami, Felix, Nino, and Kim refused to let the others blame the split on Marinette. Mireille, Claude, and Allen claimed that Marinette was more likely to be the cause. They couldn’t imagine Aurore doing anything to hurt the teen.

Chloé, Aurore, and Marinette kept their mouths shut over the whole debacle.

Chloé hadn’t heard the whole story, but she knew that Aurore had hurt her friend, and it had led to a discussion that led to the girls both walking away in tears.

It would only be years later that the girls would reveal that they had broken up because of the confusion around their secret identities.

 A week after the fateful breakup, Adrien Agreste pulled Marinette off to the side after class.

“Adrien are you ok?” the girl asked, confused. while usually, the two didn’t interact, Marinette had noticed that all day Adrien had been pale and shaking.

“I need help Marinette. Usually, I would go to Chloé, but last time she almost got Akumatized and I just…I need help. Please.”

“what’s up?” he glanced over his shoulder, to where a group of their classmates stood gathered around Lila.

“Not here, she can't know.” Marinette blinked in shock before grabbing the model lightly on the arm. After glancing at him with a raised eyebrow, silently asking if it was ok to hold onto his arm, she took off through the halls.

 By the time the two had made it to the home of one Gina Dupain just outside of what Marinette knew to be Hawkmoths reach, the blonde was bewildered. “you know the city so well. How?” she giggled slightly at the older boy before leading him to the kitchen and dropping her bag on one of the breakfast seats.

“I get stir crazy and spend a lot of my time exploring the city. Alix and I go and do Graffiti on the weekends sometimes. That means I’m pretty good at evading sight when I don’t want to be seen.” While her statements were technically true, Marinette had also left out a great deal of information in her response.

She had spent most of her time exploring the city as Apate. She grew up on the streets and would forever feel comfortable slipping into the shadows. She did go out with Alix to do graffiti, but the two also spent a good amount of time jumping into burrows to fix world-ending events.

“now, Adrien, what is going on? If it's bad enough that you don’t want Chloé upset, I expect it to be worth the trip out of the Akuma line.” Adrien nodded nervously, before going into an explanation of what had been happening in the Agreste family home.

 Three years into Hawkmoth’s reign. Marinette’s 2nd year at Lycée

 Adrien spent as much time as possible with Chloe and Marinette.

He had shown up more than once during their girls’ nights. Now, he was expected to be there.

When they had left for the weekend, Adrien had disappeared from the Agreste Manor. When had reappeared in time to get in the car that Monday, he learned that the only person who had noticed he was gone was his bodyguard. The man had called him, before joining the teens on the outing.

While the friends were getting Adrien out from his father’s thumb, Marinette was launching her brand.

She had a discussion during the branding process because the symbol that she had chosen, a chrysanthemum, was incredibly complex. Her grandmother thought it was too much. Marinette had told the older woman that she was going to use the flower because that was the one with meaning to her. She spent three weeks fending off the woman, who sent her a different flower every day, until the girl told the woman that she wasn’t going to change her mind.

Her Grandmother, her Nona, had laughed and told her that she was very stubborn, but that this time it had worked in her favor. The teen had come home that evening to a leather Jacket lying on her bed, with her named arching over the back where a chrysanthemum was embroidered in full bloom.

At the same time that Marinette was officially launching her brand and Adrien was embracing his teen rebellion, Chloé was becoming an influencer on social media. On any day that she wasn’t spending time with her friends, the blonde was working to cultivate her social media image. At 17, she started to model on the side. When she was gone, her friends would get calls during every free moment she had.

Fourth-year of Hawkmoth's Reign. 

The three were friends with the other outcasts from their college class.

Kim and Nino were often seen with Marinette when she was out on a shopping spree or seeking inspiration. 

Alix and Marinette were close, and after she became guardian at 14, Marinette had given the Pinkett and crash course on the miraculous, since she had inherited one. The two would always be fond of jumping through time and space to face world-ending events.

Kagami had insisted that Adrien and his cousin Felix make up, and now the three were a force to be reckoned with. As they entered their last year of Lycée, the friends felt like they were on top of the world.

 There had been a project due that morning that Marinette had forgotten about until the night before.

She had been up all night and had gone through three different super coffees. She had been running late when she burst out the door of the apartment.

There was a mug of coffee that was clutched in her hands, and she wasn’t looking where she was going. The guy that she collided with looked how she felt.

While he was in a suit, they were both clutching coffee mugs that they had moved out of the way on instinct before throwing apologies over their shoulder and going on with their days.

Neither thought anything of it. They had other things to worry about.

Tim Drake and Marinette Dupain Cheng had no idea that their lives had changed permanently with that one interaction that had lasted less than a minute.

AND...3000+ words later, here we are! let me know if yall have any questions.

I wanted to get this out sooner rather than later so that I can start to build with other characters now. I had a lot of fun writing the backstory, and I have thrown Cannon out the window...obviously lol.

tag list!

@moonlitceleste @redscarlet95 @ultimatetornshipper @mochegato @liquid-luck-00 @maskedpainter @trippingovermyfeet @nathleigh  @susiej1118 @t1dwarrior-of-earth @sassakitty @remy-289 @laurcad123  @iamabrownfox @m0chick0furan

#a moment in time fic #Bi!Marinette #mlb #miraculous ladybug #cat!Marinette #cannon? what is that? #pre-maribat #maribat

[tiredcath]

Zukka Fic Recs

after atla came back into pop culture i found myself falling back in love with zukka which resulted in me reading (almost) every zukka fic on ao3 and here are my favorites

Transference by The_Quatermasters (146k)

In a modern AU, Zuko has to deal with settling in a new school after expulsion, dealing with an angry ex and an abusive father. Maybe his new found friendships and growing closeness with Sokka will help him make it through. 

Borderlines by The_Quatermasters (73k)

Three years after the war, the work still isn't quite done and the Gaang is scattered across the continents in their efforts to help the world recover. When Aang and Katara pay visit to the Fire Nation where Zuko is Fire Lord and Sokka acts as Ambassador for the Water Tribe, sparks fly between the siblings over Sokka's life choices.

Ashes Inside When You Finish Your Song by Muncaster (47k)

Sokka writes lyrics for his sister’s band. Zuko plays piano and is unnecessarily nice. Fellas, is it gay to write love songs about your friend and his golden eyes?

(AKA, a modern band AU featuring The Gaang, crappy software equipment, homoerotic lyrics, and the realization that maybe, if you think about a guy every night before you sleep, you just might be in love with him.)

sirens & sleepless nights by Satirrian (54k)

Life can be pretty hard living in a city under a totalitarian regime. Between adhering to the ridiculous curfew, keeping himself from being gunned down by a passing patrolman, and paying his unnecessary tolls to the state for, say, breathing, Sokka has his hands full just getting to work. Add aiding a resistance group on top of that, and Sokka should really be getting paid for this.

Then, one night, Sokka finds an injured patrolman collapsed in the street, who tells him with blood on his lips, “If the patrol finds me, I’m dead.”

 Real Slow by surveycorpsjean (21k)

“I see.” Zuko closes the scroll. “Is the Water Tribe sending a replacement?”

“Uh yeah,” Sokka gestures to himself dramatically. “You’re looking at him.”

 First by HoneyBadgerMole (20k)

Zuko has been nurturing a crush on the jock in his AP Psych class but he has been too scared to talk to him until they get paired up for a project.

the benefits of getting a flat tire by LesbeanLatte (64k)

Zuko makes an impromptu decision to run away from home after a disturbing conversation with Azula. Unfortunately, some plans are better when they're actually, well, planned. Zuko isn't counting on getting a flat tire almost as soon as he's far enough away from the city to really be in the middle of nowhere.

Sokka is immediately taken with the stranger he and his friends find stranded on the side of the road during an afternoon joy ride. However, he has no idea what he's getting involved with and a kind attempt to help a fellow teen in need turns into a massive coverup for a missing person who just so happens to be the son of the mayor of Ba Sing Se.

Azula was just trying to help her big brother - in her own way - by telling him things she thought he deserved to know. Now the situation has gotten wildly out of control. Did she enjoy seeing Zuko upset and afraid? Of course. Had she intended to endanger his life? Not necessarily, but of course, her idiot brother overreacted to everything and that's what happened and now she doesn't know how to stop the chain of events she's indirectly put in place like dominoes.

Operation Leverage by snowandfire (50k)

Sokka's instincts are onto something great. Zuko just wants to serve tea and brood in peace. Ironically, Toph is the only one who can see what's really going on.

 The Stingray by Smediterranea (24k)

“You’re not carrying me.”

“I don’t mind,” the lifeguard says easily.

“I can just hop over.”

“On sand?”

Zuko will never admit it, but being carried feels pretty nice. The lifeguard sets him down and eyes him warily.

“Are you really all by yourself?” he asks in a worried tone. “No friends in town you can call to check on you?”

“No,” Zuko confirms. Tears are forming again with alarming speed; his foot throbs painfully with every passing second.

“What kind of burrito do you want?”

“You don’t have to —“ Zuko repeats.

“I’m getting al pastor. You like al pastor?”

 AU: Zuko falls for Sokka, the super hot lifeguard who helps him after an unfortunate encounter with a stingray.

 it's the illusion of separation by argentoswan (110k)

Sokka takes a job washing dishes at the new tea shop in town. It's a great gig, until he finds out his only coworker is his old high school bully. Sokka really should quit, but he also really needs to afford rent.

Also, Zuko is kind of hot now.

 People like to think war means something by trying_to_spell_both_our_names_at_once (21k)

Sokka was the first to leave.

Somehow that hurt the most. . . . Not long after Zuko becomes Firelord, forces gather in the South and next thing he knows he's thrown into a civil war with almost no one by his side. Maybe healing is longer and more complicated than it needs to be, but with the right people by your side it is always possible.

 a way that will destroy you by anothermistakemade (14k)

In the wake of Ozai's death, Zuko begins to fall apart. Sokka will do everything in his power to make sure that doesn't happen.

-

or, zuko might be losing his mind, but he also might just be really sad & traumatized

 Those Who Favor Fire by CSHfic, VSfic (30k)

After a failed attempt on his life, Sokka fakes his death, dons a disguise, and infiltrates the would-be assassin's ranks in an attempt to bring them down from the inside.

Zuko learns of his husband's tragic death, mourns, and vows revenge.

 Words Mean More at Night by DaisytheDoodleDog (28k)

Even ten years after the end of the war, rebellions rise and risk the balance of the nations. Sokka was willing to do anything to protect his people, which is perhaps why he's leading an army against the rebellion, attacking only as a last result. But Sokka's unwinding, it's taking a toll on him, and the only thing keeping him grounded are the letter Zuko and him exchange late in the night when no one can see the messenger hawks. But as they say, nothing's fair in love and war.

another word for wanting by eurydicees (23k)

Sokka begins to dream of his soulmate when he's eleven years old, and it just gets harder from there. Or, 125 moments soulmates share, and none of them come easy.

(In which your dreams are your soulmate's memories, and Sokka dreams of an all-consuming fire, growing and eating at his soulmate until it burns up the connection between their souls. In which they find love anyways.)

 It Has Only Just Begun by Kirazalea (39k)

There is a bitter triumph in crashing when you should be soaring

Zuko had now chosen the path his uncle had been trying so hard to show him; he had someone who believed in him, who maybe loved him; he was travelling with the Avatar and they apparently had a plan to end the war. By all accounts, Zuko should be smiling.

But Uncle was gone (captured by Azula, and Zuko didn't think she would kill him, but he didn’t, couldn’t, know for sure). The Avatar was barely breathing (he could still die at any second and there was nothing any of them could do about it). Azula had conquered the last Earth Kingdom stronghold (all those innocent people who were now at her mercy). It seemed like, for every step Zuko took forward, the world sent him back three more.

But he was determined to push forward anyways. He needed to make his uncle proud, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

aka: zuko joins the gaang at the end of season 2

 Nightmares and Reveries by HisMomoness (20k)

Zuko doesn't sleep because when he does, he's haunted by nightmares. Sokka worms his way into a job and makes it his mission to get Zuko to relax. Lots of head pets and one vacation to the South Pole later, Zuko might just be getting the hang of it.

Cue pining, some fluff, and eventual romance.

 The One Who Stopped Time by ohhihoney (66k)

All hope was lost to Zuko until one day, his uncle asked a random person at the Jasmine Dragon to tutor his nephew. Gritting his teeth and embarrassed beyond the point of no return, Zuko gave the blue eyed boy his number.

Little did Zuko know how much Sokka would change his world.

 Rubbed Off Stars by ohhihoney (2k)

Sokka wasn't going to just sit and watch the boy at the back of the bus cry while trying to rub off pride flags off his cheeks.

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

WIP

Ozymandias, King of Kings by Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought (168k)

After that fateful Agni Kai, Ozai makes a different call. Branded as a traitor and banished to a prison camp, Zuko learns how cruel the Fire Nation can be to its citizens. Three years, a water tribe raid, and an unexpected meeting with a gang of over-enthusiastic idealistic children puts Zuko back in the spotlight. The revolution is coming and it wants another poster boy, but Zuko is not willing to lend his face to the cause.

 Another Brother by AvocadoLove (312k)

It was a mission of revenge. There weren't supposed to be any survivors, but Chief Hakoda couldn't bring himself to kill the Fire Nation boy. Against his better judgment, he brought him home. A Zuko joins the Water Tribe story.

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

BONUS : zuko x jet

Something to Hold Onto by Wildgoosery (122k)

Since the day the walls of Ba Sing Se fell, the Freedom Fighters have struggled to protect what remains of the city and its people. Jet and his second command, a mysterious boy named Li, have spent the summer piecing together an army, hoping for a chance to take the city back for good. But Li is also Zuko, and the time for that secret is quickly running out. Soon, he'll have to decide exactly who he is, what cause he's going to fight for, and where his heart lies.

#avatar: tla #avatar the last airbender #atla #zuko #atla zuko #firelord zuko #sokka #avatar sokka #atla sokka #zukka #zukka au #zukka fanfic #zukka fic recs #zuko and sokka #sokka and zuko #jet #avatar jet #jet and zuko #zuko and jet #zet #juko #avatar fanfiction #atla fanfic

[obeiii-mee]

*is just projecting at this point* what about the brothers with an MC who likes to knit?

I always have such respect for people who can knit! It requires so much patience and I can’t really relate lmao. Anyway, thank you for the request :) I had a lot of fun writing it.

————————————-

The Brothers with an MC who likes to knit:

Lucifer:

-He is probably aware of your hobby already

-I mean, he saw your knitting equipment in your room and kinda put two and two together

-He didn’t expect you’d be knitting much because DevilDom is hot as balls and making woolly hats and scarves would be stupid

-But you were like: fuck it

-You didn’t bring the freaking knitting kit down to hell with you for nothing

-You made everyone pillows with the symbol that represents their sin sewed on them

-Lucifer was pretty shocked to see how handy such a frustrating hobby could become

-You made knit bunting banners every time Diavolo threw a party as decorations

-Lucifer really starts to appreciate your talent when you start making him things

-Like that one time you gave him a knitted neck tie

-Which he wore proudly any chance he got

-He’s not exactly into these sort of things as I imagine he would snap pretty easily if he were to try it out

-But Lord almighty does he respect you for having the patience to create all these things

-Really supportive but in his own way

-By treasuring and safe guarding any knitted gift you have ever given him

-What a big ol’ softie he is on the inside

-Don’t fell him I said that-

Mammon:

-Knitting? The fuck is knitting??

-100000+ year old demon and he has no idea what knitting is

-Once you showed him how knitting worked, he was a bit disappointed

-“MC, not gonna lie, that looks boring as shit.”

-I mean, you can stay still and do that crap for hours on end? Is this what humans do for fun?

-You should see how quickly he shuts up when he sees the results

-You can make yourself handbags out of wool?? And really fluffy jumpers with crazy complicated designs on them???

-Jeez this man couldn’t be more smug about it. I mean, look at his human being so talented on top of being the kindest creature he met

-You tell him you can sell these things for money and he is already setting up a business for the two of you to start

-He suggests you start working for Majolish and you make some woolly clothes for them to distribute but you have to insist you only knit for fun

-You made him scarves and hats to match with his outfits and he’s so happy??

-The only thing that he would never consider selling is any gift given to him by you

-You made him a fake wallet out of wool as a joke one day

-He has it on him all day every day and uses it sometimes too

-Though he gets bored easily, he becomes so awestruck whenever you start knitting, he’s watching you intensely a lot

-He demands you teach him how to knit

-He tells you it’s because he wants to sell his own creations and make profit instead of relying on you

-He actually wants to have as many things in common as you do and give you hand made gifts in return too

Levi:

-“Haha you’re such a normie.”

-Doesn’t really understand the point of knitting

-I mean, is it really that entertaining?

-More entertaining than his raids??

-Well, if knitting makes you happy, who is he to judge?

-He doesn’t really have much room to talk

-He’ll probably call you a normie several times but would never insult your interests

-He knows it can be really hurtful when someone else disses your hobbies

-If anything, he grew really accustomed with you humming as you worked while he played his games

-You made him a jumper with Ruri-chan on it which took you a really long time

-Actually screamed when you gave it to him

-You made that for him?

-Why?

-Why waste your talent on an otaku like him?

-He wears that thing everywhere

-Even if it’s a very hot summer in DevilDom

-His brothers tease him but does he give a fuck? No, no he doesn’t

-Gets jealous if you make stuff for his brothers

-You made him a knitted body pillow ffs

-Actually very understanding of how long it must take to create all these things end encourages you to take breaks

-Considerate boi

Satan:

-He finds knitting kind of interesting actually

-He likes how convenient it can be at times

-You want a new bag but don’t have the Grimm for it? Boom, a knitted handbag. (Those actually exist and holy Lord Diavolo do they look impressive)

-It takes a lot of patience and self coordination to make these so he’s lowkey proud

-He knows that if he ever tried it, he would throw the entire kit out the window so you have his respect

-Not to mention he loves how happy you look when you finish one of your projects

-I saw these knitted animals that people can make online and Satan would love those-

-Seriously, he would keep them in his room, fully visible for anyone to see

-You two would have these cosy little chats in library while he reads and you knit

-He likes the gifts you made for him as well but the man would be too flustered to show his gratitude besides a quiet ‘thank you’

-We sure love our little angry boy

Asmo:

-Girl, you can knit??

-He makes such a big deal about it even though it’s just something you like doing from time to time

-He brags about your hobby to people more than you do

-He’s always nearby when you do knit

-Asmo will be offended if you don’t ask him to wear your scarves and hats

-He’s usually the one suggesting what colours you should make them out of and will wear them accordingly

-I mean, you can knit and he’s into fashion, so there are times he asks if he can help you in any way

-Oh but don’t spend too much time on knitting OK? You still have to give him a lot of attention

-Not to mention it’s bad for your skin to obsess over a hobby!

-He likes doing your hair while you knit, brushing it and gossiping about anything that comes to mind with you

-Pleass teach him how to knit too! He’s interested enough even if he doesn’t get it the first time around!

-Half of his closet is made of your woolly jumpers and other pieces of clothing you made

-They also kinda remind him of you whenever you’re away

-They’re like a comfort objects for him because they smell like you and he’s lonely

Beel:

-You like knitting? Cool

-He doesn’t really react

-I mean, he’s supportive but he doesn’t want to seem annoying by asking you many questions

-He really loves how your face lights up whenever you start talking about your hobby

-It makes him equally happy

-Beel does want to know what you do in your spare time when you’re not eating with him

-So, he’ll watch you sometimes as you knit, asking questions every now and again

-He finds it endearing with how determined you get when you want to finish a project

-However, he gets worried about you

-He’s a bit anxious that you’re not getting enough rest or food with how much you spend on knitting

-So he often brings you snacks and encourages you take breaks

-He gets as excited as you do whenever you finish something

-He will feel absolutely honoured with a capital H if you were to make him anything

-But, he‘s kinda scared he’ll start munching on your hand made gifts if he’s too hungry

-Is surprised that you can make so many things out of wool?? And it’s not even edible wtf????

-He would love to learn how to knit as long as you’re willing to teach him!

-His hands may be a bit too big for him to do so but he’ll try!

-He’ll do anything if it means he gets to see your smile

Belphie:

-“Can you knit a pillow?”

-Literally the first thing he asked

-The moment you said yes, he’s wide awake

-At first, he wasn’t really interested in a human custom like ‘knitting’

-He was still going through his “I hate every human being except you my dearest MC.” phase

-But he liked the sound of you knitting as he slept

-And he found watching you knit was kind of relaxing too

-It lulls him to sleep in a way

-You made him a small cow printed pillow one day to match his actual pillow

-And he adored it

-He usually has it on him

-He loves anything you give him, especially if you made it yourself

-Like Asmo, he seeks comfort in your knitted creations whenever you’re away

-He likes anything cuddly and fluffy that you make whether it’d be pillows, or knitted plushies or even clothing

-He shares most stuff with Beel so in the end you made identical cardigans for the two of them which Belphie appreciates immensely

-It’s a bonus for him to see you so fired up and excited about something too

-He finds your bubbly attitude when it comes to knitting cute

-He doesn’t have the patience to even attempt knitting but again, he loves watching you do it

-He honestly doesn’t think he deserves any of this but he will embrace it

-But uh, hey, take a break will you? Go take a nap with him before finishing that

Al~

#obey me #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me imagines #obey me leviathan #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me satan #⭐️ requests #☂️ demon brothers #🕯 general

[penaltbox]

mistakes we make - alex turcotte

Word Count: 2.2k

I looooved this request and I loved writing this one!! If you like it please let me know!

__

The two pink lines stare up at you, seeming to mock the fact that this was your life now. How on earth were you supposed to raise a baby while you were in college? Your parents would probably help however they could, but that wouldn’t even be the hardest part. 

You didn’t have to guess who the father was, even though you were barely official. You and Alex had been messing around for months now and a few weeks ago he said he wasn’t seeing or talking to anyone else and it had been that way for a while on his part. You on the other hand had been head over heels since the first time you kissed him. 

You let a hand rest on your stomach, the worry setting in so fast that you almost missed the excitement. You had always wanted to be a mom one day. Of course, you figured it wouldn’t be until way later when you were married and everything, but maybe this was somehow a good thing. Maybe there was some silver lining with all this. 

Or maybe that silver lining would be destroyed two days later. The news doesn’t even come from Alex, but instead from a tweet that some LA sports reporter sends out, tagging Alex in it. He signed with the Kings and he wasn’t coming back to Wisconsin the following year. 

The following year... when you’d have a baby and would be continuing your education at your dream school. The panic sets in even harder then and you wonder when you should even tell Alex. 

It wasn’t the right time or the right place, and you probably weren’t even the right people for each other. But now there was a tiny human relying on you and that made all your decisions that much more important. 

You finally swallow your pride, decide you’re keeping the baby regardless, and figure you have to go tell him as soon as possible. He deserved to know, even if he was probably busy with NHL stuff. Half of this was on him. 

You pick up your phone and send him a quick text, not trusting your voice, ‘can you stop over today?’

You watch the screen, hoping he’ll reply quickly. He was usually pretty good about these things and you knew he always had his phone in his hand. Except today for some reason he’s not texting you back, so you get up with a huff and start to clean your room to try and keep your mind busy. 

Alex busting through your door catches your attention and he throws his hands up, “did you not see my text? You can’t say something like that and then not respond! I thought you were dead or something.”

Your eyes go wide and you grab your phone, noticing a handful of texts and one missed call from the boy standing across the room. You give him a bashful smile and walk over to him. 

“I’m really sorry, Al,” you apologize, “I’m not dead though, if that’s any condolence.”

He laughs, wrapping his arms around your waist and leaning down to kiss you gently, “I’m really glad but you scared me.”

You try and smile at him then, knowing he’d be seriously scared in a minute. You both had news to deliver and neither was good. He’s the first to sigh, his demeanor softening as he kisses your forehead. 

“I have something I need to tell you... and I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner,” he starts, cupping your cheek, “I’m signing with the Kings this week. They want me to move up for the rest of the season.”

You knew this was coming, but it still hurts your heart to hear it from him. There’s a helplessness that washes over you then and you swallow hard. You nod, knowing you had to spill your news next. Both your lives were about to change forever. 

“You okay?” He asks, hugging you tight against his chest, “I’m sorry, I really am. If I could take you with me I would, but I know you love it here.”

You bite your lip and realize you have to just tell him. You can’t waste any more time and you’d have to rip the bandaid off to get this over with. 

“Alex,” you say hesitantly, forcing yourself to look up at him, “I need to tell you something.”

He frowns a little, “oh? Go ahead.”

With one last deep breath you put it out into the world, “I’m pregnant.”

Alex’s arms immediately loosen and drop as he takes a step back from you. Your heart sinks and you try to swallow around the lump that’s growing quickly in your throat. He’s shaking his head as all the color drains from his face. 

“No, come on. You’re not... what? No way. Is this a joke? Are you mad because I’m leaving?” He says, trying to keep himself as calm as possible. 

“I’m being really serious right now,” you whisper, crossing your arms tight to try and feel like you were holding yourself together. 

Alex runs a hand through his hair, nervously biting his bottom lip. He mumbles out a couple swear words before he seems to burst, loudly saying, “stop, this isn’t funny!”

“I’m not trying to be funny! This isn’t some fucking joke to try and get you to stay! I know you’re gone after this week and it’s scaring the shit out of me,” you retaliate, not expecting him to lash out the way he was. 

“No, no,” he laughs a little, his mood shifting in an instant, “this is bullshit. Are you trapping me? Why are you telling me today?” 

You feel your blood boil at his accusation, “fuck you, Alex. I would never trap you. What is wrong with you? This isn’t a joke and before you even accuse me of anything else, you know it’s your kid. You know damn well it is.”

“I don’t believe this. There’s no way you happen to be pregnant the same day I sign my NHL contract,” he says, crossing his arms. 

You clench your jaw, trying to compose yourself a little, “Alex, listen to me. I have no reason to trap you when I already had you. But if you’re going to sit here and accuse me of something like this then you can get the fuck out and never talk to me again.”

“I don’t have time for a baby. I have to move to California and play hockey,” he says with a shrug, like it’s just that simple. Like this is just some joke you decided to pull on him today and he’s not in the mood for it. 

“Then go. I don’t need you.”

He stands there for a moment, seeming to think things over. Finally he sighs and heads for the door, leaving without another word. As soon as the door clicks shut you lose all composure, the tears coming so fast you can’t stand up any longer and you have to focus on breathing. 

You let yourself cry on your floor for what feels like hours. The last thing you had ever expected was for Alex to balk on the responsibility and walk out the way he did. When you finally wipe your face off you look down, rubbing a hand over your still flat stomach. 

“I’ve got you, okay? I’ll make sure you’re safe,” you whisper, though you know the baby can’t hear. But it’s a promise just as much to them as it is to yourself. 

And it’s a promise you keep. You knock your grades out of the park that semester and take a couple summer classes to get ahead. Your parents surprisingly don’t murder you, especially once they hear that Alex walked off with no mention of helping. Things go better than you expect them to and the little boy you have ends up being everything you never knew you needed. 

__

When Alex comes back to town after the following season, you have no idea. You cut ties, blocked him on everything, and moved on as much as you could. You still saw the boys in town sometimes and most of them had even met the baby. 

At five months old, he was really developing a personality. He smiled so much and was so good natured. His dark hair and the dimples that were almost always present on his little face made your heart ache almost every time you looked at him. He was nothing but a tiny copy of Alex. 

Alex rings Cole and Owen as soon as he comes back to Madison in May. The boys stayed over for a training session in early summer and they were more than happy to have Alex visit. Alex agrees to meet them at one of the restaurants on State Street to kick off their little reunion. 

It starts off normal and fine, but Owen cracks eventually. He’d seen the baby more times than anyone else and had a bit of a soft spot for the whole situation. He sighs and looks across the table at Alex, letting the question drop. 

“Have you reached out at all? Have you heard about the baby?” 

Alex’s eyes flick over to Owen quickly, his jaw clenching at the inquiry. Owen knew damn well that Alex hadn’t tried to contact you. Alex crosses his arms as a pissed off look comes over his face. 

“Don’t ask stupid questions, Lindy. What the fuck is wrong with you?” Alex scoffs, shaking his head. The truth was, he’d avoided even thinking about it all. He hadn’t reacted the way he wished he would have but he got the message that you really wanted nothing to do with him when he found he was blocked on everything. 

“So you’ve never even seen him then?” Cole asks, not thinking twice about the phrase. 

Alex’s ears perk up though, leaning forward to rest his arms on the table, “him? It was a boy?”

The two across from him nod and Alex finds himself thinking about it suddenly. How old was he? What was he like? Who did he look like? He starts to stomp the idea down, knowing he’d messed up too much to even consider reaching out now. 

Owen fiddles with his phone, pulling something up. He hands it over to Alex and it puts everything to a halt in his life. He looks down at the screen and sees the little boy in your arms as the video plays. You’re both smiling and he knows it was taken on campus recently. 

The baby has a Wisconsin shirt on and a dimpled smile with big brown eyes that Alex is all too familiar with. You look so happy as you lift the little boy up and bring him back down to kiss his cheek. Alex can tell you’re a great mom just from the short video and he watches it a few times over as he tries to commit it to memory. It’s the first time he’s ever seen his own kid. 

“Holy shit,” Alex whispers, setting the phone down and putting his head in his hands. He feels sick suddenly and too hot despite the nice breeze that’s flowing through town. 

“Turcs, are you okay? You look like you’re gonna pass out,” Cole speaks up, a worried look on his face. 

“That’s my-,” Alex mumbles, stopping to take a deep breath, “that’s my fucking kid. I bailed on them.”

The other two boys glance at each other, not having expected this reaction. The way Alex had always approached the situation was from a place of detest. He figured you were lying because of him signing his contract. He swore it was a set up to get you locked in to whatever he’d be earning. He’d never been more wrong in his life though. 

That little boy was the spitting image of him and no one could deny that. He knew at least a hundred pictures at his parents house that looked just like the little guy he’d been shown. He feels a lump in his throat as he picks the phone up again and goes through your Instagram, the one he’d been blocked from seeing. 

There’s so many pictures of the baby and he can’t pull his eyes off the page. He scrolls and scrolls until he gets back to before the baby was born. There’s still a picture up of you and him. He taps it and the memories from that night come flooding back. You’d all gone out and you two had been inseparable, just like you always were. He knows exactly what the caption used to be below the photo, but it’s different now. You’d changed it at some point over the last year and now it makes him want to cry. 

‘Always my favorite’

Alex looks at his friends, a sudden urge to fix things running through him. He had messed up so much and somehow you still left that up. You still let people know he had meant so much to you. He couldn’t let this go any longer. He had to make things right. 

“I need your help, you guys. I need to meet my baby.” 

#alex turcotte #mine #my writing #los angeles kings #la kings #wisconsin hockey #hockey fic #hockey writing #baby fever

[n8thegr8]

Heroes Never Rest

It was a beautiful early autumn day at Heights Alliance dorm building for Class 2-A. The birds were chirping, the felled leaves resting upon the ground, and a 17-year-old boy was running out of the front door muttering, "I'm late," over and over again. The boy's tie was half done, his buttoned shirt not buttoned all the way, and his hair was unkempt, but that was usual for him. That boy's name was Izuku Midoriya, his hero name was Deku, and he was late on his first-ever date. 

A shout came from inside the dorm building. "God damn it, Deku! Were you raised in a barn?! Close the damn door!"

Izuku, still running and buttoning his shirt, shouted back, "Sorry, Kacchan!"

The blonde hot head stood in the doorway, watching the heroic prodigy accidentally collide into a tree when he wasn't looking. Katsuki chuckled to himself. "Eh, I'll let him have it easy today; he has enough on his plate."

Izuku, who recovered from his little meeting with a tree that he swore wasn't there before, kept running, leaves crunching under his red shoes, and a single thought running through his head: Oh she's gonna hate me for this.

Oh God, he probably hates me, was the thought of one Ochaco Uraraka, sitting at a table at Il Ristorante Decente. A semi-fancy restaurant that Yuga suggested added to the mystery of whether or not he was really a Frenchman. The memory played in her head. "Oui ma chere ami, this restaurant is the finest in French cuisine in all of town!" 

Oddly enough, the restaurant wasn't French, it was Italian. 

Where is he? Ochaco thought. A bigger matter was at hand; Izuku was five minutes late, and the gravity girl started to worry. She sighed as she used her phone as a mirror to look at herself. She didn't put much makeup on, she couldn't afford much. Ochaco wanted to look her best for this date, for him. She put her phone down on the table and started tugging at her red sweater. It wasn't the best sweater in the world, but it was hers, and she can't say that about a lot of things. It was handed down from her mother. "Oh, Ochaco sweetie, when he sees you in this, he'll melt! I wore this sweater for years, it's how I managed to catch your father, ya know!" Ochaco didn't know if that last sentence was sweet, or a sign to immediately switch tops. 

Whatever, she thought. Maybe all of this anxiety will go away when he shows up.

If he shows up. 

Another thought flew through her mind. 

Did something happen to him? Is there a big battle and I don't know about it? Or, what if he just did this to make fun of me and he doesn't like me at all? Is he who I think he is? So many anxious thoughts clouded her mind. 

She looked up from her phone and out the window, and by a stroke of luck there he was. Izuku Midoriya and he- oh no. He's too formal. Oh God. Do-does he not get what formal-casual is? He does look cute, though... 

Her gaze followed his every step, a nervous smile crept on her face, and her cheeks reddened. 

He actually showed up! Oh God, now I have to talk to him… alone… for hours... hoo boy.

With each step, Izuku took his heartbeat twice as fast. 

Oh my God, I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this, his thoughts raced.

Oh my God, this is not happening. This is not happening. This is not happening, her thoughts raced. 

Izuku stopped in front of the door to the restaurant.

I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. The green-haired boy took in a deep sigh and opened the door.

Ochaco witnessed the door to the restaurant open. This is happening. This is happening. This is happening.

Izuku turned to his left and saw his date. Oh my God, she's beautiful… I'm overdressed, aren't I?

Ochaco could only stare. God, he's cute.

Izuku shook off his shock and started to walk towards the table, his head was in the clouds. For one reason or another, he was confident. You can see it in his smile and his walk. He can do this. He's gonna have the best date ever today with the girl he likes so much. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, the boy's right foot hit his left and became entangled with each other, starting his fall. 

I can't do this. 

This is not happening.

Ochaco watched in horror as her date hit the floor, hard. 

"Deku!" she cried as she got out of her chair, "Are you okay?" She bent down to grab his arms.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay," he groaned as he started to get up, "Sorry about th-" he cut himself off when he realized he and Ochaco's faces were only centimeters apart. If his face wasn't red enough from that embarrassing fall, it's redder than the red curtains that lined the restaurant's windows. 

Izuku wasn't the only one who was blushing, however, as Ochaco was somehow worse. It was common for her to have a small light blush whenever she was around Izuku, but today is different. Her face started to burn up like it never had before. 

The same thought infected both minds: So close!

The pair felt like the world around them disappeared. Izuku could see every stroke of blush on her cheeks, while Ochaco can count every freckle on his cheeks. After the blushing came the stammering, "H-hey," said Izuku.

"H-hi, Deku," said Ochaco. An awkward silence fell upon the not-yet-official couple. Neither of them had been on a date before. Is there usually this much blushing and awkwardness? These thoughts zoomed through their minds because what was only seconds for the world felt like years for the young heroes.

"I... thought this was a French restaurant," said the flustered boy, breaking the silence.

Ochaco blinked. "Y-yeah, I thought so too." 

The two student heroes finally got up on their feet and sat down. Finally, the date started, and the great debate of the most mysterious student in the class: Yuga Aoyama.

However, the flamboyant classmate wasn't all that they talked about. Izuku embarrassingly told the reason why he was so late and looked so formal. They both talked about school, internships, and their summer vacations, all the nice stuff. 

They ordered their food. Both of them ordered a basic plate of spaghetti and meatballs; they didn't eat Italian, not French, or food a lot, which was their safest bet. The restaurant was plastered with dark red wallpaper, Italian quotes adorned the walls, and the table even had a map of Italy. Again, definitely not France. Eventually, they got their food after a small wait.

As they were eating, they both remembered the prep that went into this date. Ochaco went to Momo for advice on "how to eat proper," while Izuku consulted Kacchan, Shoto, and Ida. 

"To eat properly, you must have both hands on the table, your napkin dressed over your legs, catch any stray food that might fall, hold the fork in your right hand, and the knife in your left."

"Sit up straight, dumbass!"

"Maybe you should make a heart with the food…"

"Midoriya! This isn't hard! Just pretend I'm Uraraka and talk to me! This is vital to make this the perfect date!"

They each had different experiences.

"So how's Mirio these days?" Ochaco asked. "I haven't seen him since his graduation!"

Izuku smiled. "Oh, he's doing great! He joined Mr. Nighteye's former agency, and he's working well as a hero. He has a lot of support gear on since well... you know. It's been difficult for him, but you know Mirio he never gives up and-"

Ochaco just stared at the green-haired prodigy. Some people got annoyed when he muttered, but she found it really cute. There was so much information in that big brain of his, and sometimes he needed to let it all ou- Why is there a car heading towards u- oh my God!

As if it was second nature to her, Ochaco stood up and reached over the table, grabbing a fistful of Izuku's shirt.

"Uraraka, wha-"

Her quirk activated and she pulled, Izuku went flying right into her arms. She held on to him tight and jumped back. As she did this, a car flew through the restaurant's window. Glass flew everywhere, Ochaco prayed that no shards hit anybody. The patrons' many screams were dominated by the sounds of heavy metal grinding and crushing in upon itself. 

The pair hit the ground hard with Ochaco still holding Deku tight. 

"Oww," groaned Izuku.

That was right in my ear, yep, uh-huh, okay. 

Ochaco opened her eyes and was horrified to find that she somehow landed right on top of Izuku; specifically, her head was on his chest.

Oh my God, are you kidding me?

Ochaco looked up at Izuku, his eyes wide open and face red as a tomato. She followed his lead, and the two teens stared at each other in heated embarrassment for a moment before Izuku finally stammered, "W-we should check f-for civilian damage."

Ochaco blinked. "Okay." Ochaco stood up and helped Izuku stand up as well. They checked their surroundings: the car lodged itself into the wall, Glass strewn about the floor, the debris of the past destruction lying around. These two needed to get to work. After checking each person who was in the restaurant and checking the driver in the vehicle, it was decided to call emergency services. Making sure that the scene was safe and all civilians attended, Izuku and Ochaco decided to hit the streets. There they found the culprit: a villain throwing cars into buildings. Izuku and Ochaco nodded to each other and headed out to confront the villain. 

As they ran towards the epicenter of the danger, Izuku pulled out and put on his Air Force Gloves from his backpack and threw Ochaco her Air Pressure Gauntlets. "Did you really bring those to our dinner? And how did you get my gauntlets?!" Ochaco yelled, still sprinting.

"You always gotta be ready for a villain attack, Uraraka!" the boy said as he punched the car flying their way. "And I asked Mei to make spares for your gauntlets just in case your originals break!"

"You're such a dork!" Ochaco laughed as she activated Zero Gravity, leaped to the sky, and started to seemingly fly towards the villain thanks to her Air Pressure Gauntlets. "I'll go on ahead to see what we're up against, and give you the report when you catch up!"

Deku pulled out a small earpiece. "Dispatch, this is student-hero Deku, I need seven ALS rigs at the address nineteen seventy-seven, Coruscant Road, and I need police and pro-heroes two miles due west of previous address…" 

As Deku called for backup, Uravity confronted the villain. She recognized the villain from a news report the other night. He called himself Professor Squid; he obtained a mutation quirk of ten extra extendable arms out of his back. Uravity landed near the rampaging villain. "Halt! I am student-hero Uravity, and I demand you to cease your attacks!" she bellowed, taking a defensive stance.

The villain roared and threw a car at Uravity, which she swiftly dodged. "I don't want to fight, Professor!" Another car flew towards the young hero. "Professor, I strongly suggest..!" Yet another one... "That's it!" she yelled and charged the villain.

When Deku caught up to Uravity, the battle was already over. Professor Squid was buried under a pile of wreckage with a victorious Uravity standing above. "Villain's taken care of."

Deku blinked, a little intimidated. "I-I can see that."

The police arrived, and the villain was carted away to jail. The young couple gave their reports to the police chief. "So this villain just happened to attack in the middle of your d-"

"Yes!" Ochaco said, cutting him off. "He threw a car into Il Decente Restaurante down the street," she said, pointing behind her.

The police chief raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be a French restaurant?" 

Izuku and Ochaco's faces became stoic upon hearing this question.

The pair left the scene after being cleared by the Police Chief and continued on their way. Even though they got robbed of a nice late lunch, that wasn't going to stop them. Both of them wanted this date badly, and they would be damned if it was ruined. Their next destination was the popular SEGA arcade in Mustafu. 

"So, you've never been to an arcade before, Uraraka?" asked the green-haired boy.

Ochaco had a small blush on her face. "I mean… I didn't say I never went to an arcade, it's just…" Her face dimmed.

Izuku noticed her diminishing mood and panicked. "Well, that's why we're going today! To make up for those lost days," he said as he gave a bright smile.

Ochaco perked up. "Okay," she murmured and gave a soft smile. 

The arcade held many joys for the young pair. The lights weren't on, but the lights from the games gave the arcade this techno atmosphere. Ochaco and Izuku spent the next hour going from game to game, just having a blast. Ochaco herself kept coming back to the classic game Flicky, an old SEGA game from the pre-quirk era.

"I used to have this game as a kid!" she said when she first laid eyes upon it. "My family couldn't afford any of the new game consoles, so we bought an old and cheap SEGA Genesis Mini!"

Izuku described the feeling of watching Ochaco play Flicky as an "out of body experience." He knew Ochaco was already extremely competitive, remembering the first sports festival, but what he was witnessing was otherworldly. What was once a cheerful and bubbly person was now completely unrecognizable as Ochaco worked her way to the world's highest score. She was completely silent, her gaze locked onto the screen. Her reactions to the enemies became lightning-fast, as nothing could break her attention towards the game. She even forgot that she was on a date. All that mattered was getting past the high score of 10,871,400 points. 

Izuku got excited for his best friend as she got to 10,870,800 points. She was gonna do it! She was gonna take the world record! Only one more door to put the Flickys in and-

The entire row of arcade cabinets was gone, and at the end of the trail of destruction was an unconscious Death Arms. Izuku immediately ran to the pro-hero, but Ochaco was motionless. She looked down to her hands, still in the same position when the cabinet was still there. She stared at her hands for a lengthy period.

"FUCK," she yelled and immediately ran out the gaping hole in the arcade. 

"Uraraka, no!" cried Izuku as he started to run towards his best friend, phone clutched in hand. "-make that eleven ALS rigs, dispatch!"

Deku ran out the hole in the wall and made a left, he didn't see the ensuing fight, but he definitely heard it. A roar, a human scream, another roar, and a crash of metal accompanied by very loud, "Fuck you!" 

Is Kacchan on patrol?!

Deku finally made it to the fight, but what he found shook him to his core. Standing on a pile of wreckage, with the setting sun casting a red light behind her, was Uravity, and lying under the pile of wreckage was the villain, The Iguana. Deku looked at his hero partner, her glare was piercing, her stance menacing, she glowered at the villain trapped underneath her boots and the rubble. "There, now think twice before you commit a crime next time, jackass." 

Deku stood before the disturbing scene. It wasn't that he was disturbed by Uraraka's sudden outburst of anger; it was more like he'd never seen it before. He made a mental note to write on Uraraka's page to not get between her and a video game. 

He looked up to his date. "So." 

Uravity whipped around and looked down at Deku. "What?" 

Deku swallowed a lump in his throat. "W-wanna go to our picnic?"

Uravity blinked a few times, and her whole demeanor changed. "Yeah! I think it's time for dinner," she said with a smile. 

The picnic location they chose was Dagobah beach, a seemingly popular date spot since the pollution and debris were all cleared by a mysterious person. They chose a spot that wasn't claimed by any beachgoers and set out the picnic blankets and everything. They didn't plan to go into the water, they just wanted to have a nice view of the sunset as they ate their dinner. The pair looked out towards the water, the sky was a beautiful violet hue. 

"Hey, Uraraka?" asked Izuku, who was sitting pretty close to his date. 

Ochaco answered, "Yes, Deku?"

Izuku stayed silent, worrying Ochaco. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, taking his hand. 

Izuku looked down at their entwined hands and blushed. "Oh," he said, "Um…do, you remember when we first met?"

Ochaco smiled and gave a small laugh. "Of course I do. How could I forget saving you from an embarrassing fall?"

Izuku gave an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah, but I saved you from that Zero pointer."

"I gotta admit, those, what? Thirty seconds? Was a blur, Deku," her lips curved into a smile, "But I remember you. Clear as day, bright as the sun. When I saw you running towards me, I just thought, 'What is he doing here?'" She laughed. "But when I saw you jump high in the air and one-shot that robot. I felt… I dunno. I could only think about how you saved me and… that I wanted to save you too." Her face started to blush a deep red. 

Izuku also started to blush, but his lips also curved into a smile. "And you did. You saved me from being flat as a pancake. It still stings by the way," Izuku said, pointing to his cheek. 

Ochaco giggled. "Yeah… sorry about that, but saving you is what got me such a high score for the test."

"Same here," Izuku said, now facing Ochaco, his heart beating faster. "It looks like we're always saving each other, huh?"

Ochaco suddenly realized how close they were, and blushed harder. "Y-yeah. Like when you saved me from Toga."

Izuku leaned in just an inch closer. "Or when you saved me from thinking, Deku was the name of a loser."

Ochaco followed suit, leaning in just an inch closer. "Or when you saved me from being slashed by Shinsho's scarf."

Again, Izuku moved closer. "That same day when my quirk went out of control, you were the one who held on to me," he said.

Ochaco shifted again, even closer still. "I was so scared for you. Seeing you in pain like that...it shook me to my core, Deku. Ever since the day I met you, seeing you sacrifice your whole shot at your dream school just to save me. I just…" She looked up and realized that they were one inch away from each other. Both teens blushed the deepest red in the world. She felt his breath on her face, and he felt her's on his. 

They were close, closer than when they were at the restaurant. Izuku swore that he can feel her nose slightly tickle his. He's been close to her before, but never this close. Ochaco's heart beat faster and faster as the reality of this situation started to settle in. She's been denying her feelings for Izuku ever since she got her Hero License, she felt that these feelings would slow her and Izuku down in their path to becoming heroes. However, even when she buried those feelings under 2,000 lbs. of concrete, they'd always Delaware-Detroit Smash their way out. Izuku inspires her to become the best hero she can be, and the best Ochaco Uraraka she can be. Ever since the day she met him, he was her hero.

Izuku's face felt red hot as he noticed every detail of Ochaco's face. Izuku was too shy to admit it, but he fell for Ochaco the very first time he met her. When he tripped, and she caught him, it was the first time in his life that somebody who wasn't named Mom, Dad, or All Might ever show him kindness. She didn't laugh at him for tripping, she saved him from being laughed at. It also helped that he found her incredibly pretty. Throughout the school year, Izuku got more and more comfortable around her. He was able to talk to her without becoming a stuttering and blushing mess. However, there were times when she would smile at him, and he'd immediately feel like a Meteor Smash was raining upon him. He knew she was something special. She made her feel not only confident but also good about being "Deku." Ever since the day he met her, she was his hero.

"Ochaco…"

"Izuku…"

They both leaned in, to put away their past tension, to seal their feelings for each other; this was it, this was finally it. They closed their eyes, tilted their heads, and -

SKREEEEEEEONNNNNK!!!

A terrible sound was heard from the ocean as the pro-hero Godzillo, King of the Monsters, was thrown from the blue water and landed right on top of Izuku and Ochaco's picnic basket. Covering them with sand. Another screech rang out as a giant lobster crawled onto the beach. It was Ebiro, the crustacean kaiju villain!

Izuku and Ochaco stood motionless, their eyes wide open. Sand covered them both head to toe, their moment ruined. 

"GOD DAMN IT!" they cried in unison.

When police arrived at the scene, the battle was already over. Ebiro lay there, unconscious, cracks in his carapace, and his giant claw arm bent a way it wasn't supposed to. A very pissed off Deku was standing to the side as Ochaco gave the report to the police. "... and finally, there need to be two kaiju ALS rigs at the site of Dagobah Beach." 

He was silent as he listened to the dispatch operator. "NO, BUT WE ALMOST DID, THOUGH."

Finally done with the report, the Chief of Police, Satoshi, excused them. The sky was a deep dark blue as night had finally set in. Ochaco looked to Izuku. "Wanna go to the gardens?"

Izuku sighed. "Yeah… yeah, let's go." 

And so they did. 

The pair made it to the Mustafu Botanical Gardens, but the mood was shot. They walk side by side in silence, an arm's length apart... This date was supposed to be perfect. Weeks of planning went down the drain for Izuku and a year and a half of battling her emotions wasted for Ochaco. But no, heroes never rest, do they? Whenever trouble showed, they had to respond. It was their job, and that was fine, but they wanted to enjoy each other's company. They found a small stream of water with a small bridge. The two of them stopped there and tried to relax.

Ochaco finally spoke up. "So… this is what hero life is like." She hung her head. 

Izuku sighed. "I didn't know it was going to be this…"

"Intrusive?"

"Yeah."

The pair sighed. Was romance worth it in the hero field? Were they truly compatible with each other? If they decided to go forward with this relationship, would they have to deal with this pull and push lifestyle every day?

Drops of water plopped onto their heads. "Great," Ochaco said frowning. "Rain." The pair ran to the nearby gazebo as the rain came down. They made it, and they started to lean on the rail of the said gazebo. 

"Well, at least it looks beautiful," Izuku said. 

"Yeah, that's true."

More silence.

"Hey, Deku?"

Izuku gave a small sound in response. 

"Do you think this is how it's gonna be for us? Being heroes?"

Izuku closed his eyes in thought and contemplated for a moment. He then opened his eyes and took a deep sigh. "Well, I think that it won't always be like this. There are quiet days, and there are busy days. I guess today's just a really busy day. What a day to be busy, right?" He gave a weak laugh. 

Ochaco smiled thinly. "Yeah, seriously."

The rain pattered on the roof of the structure. 

"I love fighting alongside you, though," said Ochaco.

The world went silent yet again. However, this silence was different, before it was as if the two just had ear muffs on, this time, it was as if they were deaf to the world around them.

Izuku turned to face Ochaco, who was standing close enough, their arms brushed, and gazing at him. The darkness clouded his deep blush. "Y-you do?"

Ochaco smiled. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I love fighting alongside the man who inspires me to be the best hero around?"

Izuku blinked slowly and smiled back. "I love fighting alongside you, too. You using your quirk in creative and unique ways is just breathtaking to watch, Ochaco. And… you're the reason why I call myself 'Deku' in the first place. I can't picture myself fighting battles without you."

It was her turn to blush a deep red. "D-do you want to keep fighting alongside each other? Like… like…"

“P-partners?” suggested Izuku.

"I had another term in mind, but, yeah, that," she said, leaning even closer. 

Before Izuku knew it, Ochaco was practically in his arms. He looked down at her, and she looked up to him, and the world stood still yet again. He looked into her eyes, the girl who always had his back and always saved him when he needed it. She looked into his eyes, the boy who drove her to be the best she can be. They closed their eyes, tilted their heads, mouths open just a small amount, and then…

Contact. After everything that happened to them today, they finally kissed. The world around them disappeared, all that was left was each other. They broke the kiss. "Ochaco, I…" Izuku was cut off by another kiss. This one, deeper. 

"I know, Izuku, I do too," she said when they broke apart. They engaged in yet another kiss, deaf to the world around them. 

Which was bad, because of the man with a knife slowly approaching them. "Heh, easy picking. Bet they have some coin on them," the thief muttered. 

Izuku and Ochaco left the botanical gardens with spirits high. Even though the mugger tried to ruin their mood, they came out on top.

"Yeah, one Police Squad car to the Mustafu Botanical Gardens, please, dispatch?" He went silent, listening to the dispatch officer, smiling when he looked down at his hand, entwined with Ochaco's. "Yeah, everything went just right," he said as he squeezed her hand. The now official couple smiled at each other and walked back to the UA dorms. 

It was 11:00 PM as they entered the dorms. The lights were off, and they walked as silently as they could towards the elevator and pushed the button. They got in, and the elevator started to ascend. It stopped at Ochaco's floor, and they walked to her dorm. 

They stood hand in hand in front of the door. "See you tomorrow?" Izuku asked. 

Ochaco smiled. "Yeah, we'll walk together to class, okay?" 

Izuku smiled back. "I'm looking forward to it." He gave her a small peck on the cheek. "Good night, Ochaco."

Ochaco beamed. "Good night, D…Izuku." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek back.

There, the couple parted ways for now, but this was only the beginning of their lifelong journey together. Ochaco waited until Izuku texted. He was in his dorm before going in and stood outside, smiling, and giggling in the meantime. She did it! She finally did it! A whole year and a half of having this knot in her stomach bear down on her, and now she just felt so amazing. She got the text from Izuku and walked into her room, texting him sweet dreams, set her phone on her desk, and locked the door behind her. The events of the date played back in her head until the lights suddenly turned on, and every girl in class 2A appeared, sitting in her room.

"So, how did it go?" asked Mina, a coy grin curved onto her features.

This question was asked to Izuku, too, as he found every boy from class 2A waiting for him in his own room.

Izuku and Ochaco blinked. 

"God damn it!" 

Heroes never rest indeed.

#my hero academia #IzuOcha #izuku x Ochako #first date #izuku midoriya #bamf Ochaco Uraraka #ochaco uraraka #izuocha #fluff #nervous #precious boi and grill

[tirednotflirting]

you're the one to help me get to sleep // maybe i fell in love when you woke me up

oh boy that title looks a lot longer on tumblr than it did on ao3. anyway.

i got stressed out yesterday and finished some fluff bc that’s what we do here at tirednotflirting. forgot to post it here yesterday though so i am doing that Now post-first cup of coffee of the day and halfway through the french toast i made. 

random side not but i’ve been listening to my time capsule playlist on spotify and i highly rec checking yours out bc this is So Fun.

here is this on ao3 if you wanna read there.

The sun is just beginning to set over LA and Alex is in love.

The day had been long but good. One of those California summer days that stretched on long enough that it made him wonder if the sun would ever start heading toward its resting place below the horizon. Warm but not hot, the slight breeze allowing them to spend the afternoon writing outside instead of stuck up in the studio. 

He’s out on the balcony now, already changed into pajama pants since they decided they would stay in for the night, and a glass of wine dangles between his fingers in between sips. The city is somehow quiet from his spot above it though he can tell it must be loud from all the activity he can see on the street. It’s nice, Alex thinks, to find peace among the blaring white noise of Los Angeles. Today had been his last full day in the city, his flight back to the farm and his furry friends sometime in the early afternoon. He has his boarding pass loaded onto his phone and could easily wander back inside to find his phone and triple check the time so he could make note of when they need to be up in the morning but he’s not quite ready to start thinking about how he has to leave again yet. 

Jack would also just immediately kick him back out to his current spot if he tried heading inside right now anyway. Over coffee that morning Jack had declared he would be making dinner for Alex’s last night (It’s romantic, Al, and I only have one more night to romance the fuck out of you). At the time Alex had assumed it was the still half-asleep side of Jack speaking but when Alex arrived back at the apartment after spending part of the afternoon writing, he’d been handed the glass of wine currently resting in his hand and ushered to the balcony door by an apron-clad Jack. 

It was rare for Alex to feel this much peace on his last day of a trip to see Jack. Usually there was some element of sadness or anxiety over the impending time apart until more band things or another trip to either coast. But as he tips back the last of his wine and stares back out toward the last bits of light in the city sky, all Alex can feel is a fullness in his chest. 

He decides he’s going to want more wine with dinner and given the time, he figures Jack must be close to finishing things up. Alex pulls himself up and pushes the sliding door open to call out toward the kitchen. 

“Jack, babe, am I allowed into the kitchen for more wine?”

Jack’s head pokes out from the kitchen with a pout on his lips. “Five more minutes, Alex. You have to give a chef space to work.”

“Bring me the bottle then, please,” Alex says in his sweetest voice, his lashes fluttering. He can see Jack’s dramatic eye roll from where he leans against the door frame before he steps back into the kitchen, emerging a few seconds later with the bottle of white he had poured for Alex earlier.

“Here you go, you lush,” Jack says while passing over the bottle once he’s close enough. Before he has a chance to step away, Alex pulls at the front of his apron to briefly press their lips together. Jack drops a hand to the bottom of Alex’s back to hold him close, his fingers pressing into his skin through his t-shirt. 

“I like the apron. It’s cute.” Alex compliments as he smoothes out the wrinkles in the fabric.

Jack’s hand runs up and down Alex’s spine as he hums. It’s an action that mimics the way Jack had been waking him up most days, and a lazy smile pulls at Alex’s lips at the memory of the fond moment. “Thank you,” Jack muses. “I only wore it because I figured you would think that, so it’s nice to know I was right.”

Alex laughs. “You wore something just because you thought I might find it cute?”

“I like being told I’m a cute boy. Sue me,” Jack says, his hand wrapping more securely around Alex’s waist. “Now go back out. I’m just putting things into bowls, I’ll be out in a second, handsome.”

Alex feels himself blush as Jack leans forward to press his lips to Alex’s temple before spinning on his heel and heading back toward the kitchen. As he steps back outside, Alex can’t help but hope that they never leave this phase of their relationship. This not quite honeymoon but not quite settled phase, where they’re so damn comfortable being with each other (in a way Alex used to spend hours awake at night worrying they would never find the path to) but compliments like the one Jack’s just thrown his way still make him blush. It’s a nice spot to be in for now, he thinks.

He pulls the cork from the wine and gives himself another generous pour before leaving the bottle in the middle of the table they’re meant to be eating at. The sky is just fading into dusk, the city draped in a blanket of purples and blues when the light above him clicks on. Alex turns from his spot to find Jack sliding the door open mostly with his foot, two bowls somewhat precariously balanced in each of his hands. Alex jumps up and ignores Jack’s whines as he takes the bowls from him and wanders back to set them on the table while Jack jogs back through the apartment to return with plates and silverware and another wine glass.

“Alright so if this sucks, we’re blaming my mom because she basically walked me through the whole thing step by step,” Jack says once they’re back at the table while he pours wine into his own glass. “Also the caprese salad was her idea since I wasn’t feeling leafy but I feel like romantic dinner date is incomplete without salad.”

“You called your mom to have her walk you through a recipe?” Alex smiles as he lets his head drop to rest in the palm of his hand while he watches Jack spoon some kind of pasta onto the two plates.

“Listen, you know I’m helpless in a kitchen,” Jack says while pushing one of the plates in Alex’s direction. “And it’s your last night here and I wanted to do something nice for you, damn it.”

“That’s very cute,” Alex replies before taking another sip from his wine glass. “You’re very cute.”

“You already told me I was cute. You gotta get more creative with your adjectives, Mr Songwriter.”

Alex shakes his head in mock protest. “I said the apron was cute before, not you.” Jack scowls at him while gently kicking his ankle. “Hush, I knew what you meant.” A smile pulls at Alex’s lips when he notices how Jack leaves their feet all tangled up together under the table after the kick. It’s silly, he knows, to get all blushy over such a simple, nonchalant action but he can’t help it.

Jack points his fork across the table at Alex after taking a bite. “Also my mom said to call her when you get back. She wants to catch up and probably bug you again about when you’re going to propose.”

Alex laughs brightly. “Well my mom was asking that I get you to Facetime her when you’ve got some free time likely for the exact same conversation.” He gestures down to his plate with a nod. “This really does not suck, by the way.”

“Our mothers really ought to be more strategic in their approach on this,” Jack says while shaking his head. “I mean it’s completely impractical that we both propose. And thank you, I try.”

“I think they figure if they double the effort they have a greater chance of success or something.”

“Fair enough, I suppose.”

The banter back and forth over their meal continues well into the night. After a while, Alex insists on clearing the table and taking things inside. He quickly cleans the dishes before grabbing another bottle of wine from the fridge and clean glasses and heading back out. Jack has moved over to the couch he keeps out there and has a blanket pulled over his bare legs, the nighttime breeze dropping the temperature enough to call it a cool night. Alex fills their glasses and leaves the bottle on the table before wandering over to where Jack has decided to lounge. 

“For you, sir,” Alex announces while handing over one of the glasses. He takes a seat next Jack, scooting closer to his side to steal some of the blanket and drops his head to rest against Jack’s chest.

Jack hums his thanks as he takes a sip and wraps an arm around Alex’s shoulders. His fingers immediately move to play with the sleeve of his t-shirt as he sighs. “Is it selfish to ask you to cancel your flight and stay longer?” 

“Not selfish but also not really a possibility, my love,” Alex says while tilting his head up to press his lips to Jack’s jaw. “I’ve got animal friends to attend to and you’ve got that trip out to see Zack to pack for.”

“Mmm, yeah you’re right,” Jack says while swirling the wine in his glass. “The goats and Zack need cuddles too, I guess.”

“Exactly.” Alex sighs as he lifts his shoulder, asking Jack a silent question that he thankfully knows the answer to. Jack drops his hand to rest in his lap and Alex reaches over for it, his fingers slipping into the spaces between Jack’s and squeezing to press their palms together. He smiles lazily at the action. It’s the little things about time with Jack that stick in his brain when they’re apart. The weight of Jack’s hand in his own, the steady sound of his heartbeat below Alex’s ear, the tapping of Jack’s foot against the ground since even in the quiet, still moments Jack has to find a way to expel the extra energy he always seems to possess. It’s all so familiar and warm. Alex isn’t sure what life would be like without the small details that make up them.

He isn’t sure how long they sit there, sipping and resting against each other while staring out at the light polluted LA night sky. Long enough that Jack eventually lets out a yawn that breaks Alex out of the daze he’d fallen into, the gentle rising and falling of Jack’s chest beneath his head acting as a lullaby of sorts.

“Bedtime?” Alex asks with a gentle laugh. He lets their hands fall apart in favor of moving to cup Jack’s jaw. His thumb runs across the top of his cheek, just below his sleepy eyes. 

“Think so, yeah,” Jack slurs his words slightly as he leans into Alex’s touch. “Don’t you need to pack? We’ll probably need to head out at like eleven since your flight is at one.”

And of course Jack remembers what time his flight is at when Alex hasn’t bothered to check all night. He’s always taking care of him in the little ways. In the ways that Alex didn’t realize he needed taking care of, really. 

Alex moves to stand and smiles at Jack’s pout when he reaches to pull him up with him. “I can pack in the morning. Right now I just want to cuddle my boy.”

Jack grins at his words and rises without any more protest. They gather the glasses and shuffle back inside. Jack steals them away from Alex once they reach the stairs and gestures for him to head upstairs while he goes in the direction of the kitchen. Alex pouts at the action and leans against the railing to wait for Jack to round the corner again. 

Jack jumps a bit when he finds Alex in the same spot he left him. “And you thought I was a sleepy boy?” Jack laughs, something warm and soft behind his gaze. Jack takes a couple steps up, his hand reaching back to loosely link with Alex’s to guide them upstairs.

They get ready for bed quickly despite the half asleep state they both drifted into and soon enough Alex is crawling beneath wrinkled sheets. He’s just barely plugged his phone into the charger when a pair of arms pull him toward the center of the bed. 

“How are you always so warm?” Jack mumbles into the back of Alex’s hair as his arms wrap more fully around Alex’s middle. He turns in his arms and Jack settles against his chest. “Not that I’m complaining since it’s freezing in here. But still.”

Alex laughs as he tries to keep his eyes open while Jack nuzzles his cool nose against his collarbone. He reaches a hand up to thread into the hair at the back of Jack’s neck. “Somebody’s got to keep you warm.”

“I’m glad it’s you,” Jack mumbles almost incoherently. Alex waits for him to say more as he continues drawing short patterns through Jack’s hair but he only softly hums and nestles further against his chest.

Alex is moments away from falling falling falling to a peaceful rest when Jack’s hand settles against the bottom of his back beneath the sweatshirt he stole from his closet, the extra layer of Jack’s familiar scent providing some additional security on his last night in this bed. Alex feels Jack’s sleep steady breath puff against his neck and in his final moments of consciousness, all he can think is Jack Jack Jack. His gentle laugh and warm gaze fills Alex’s mind as he lets his eyes finally flutter shut.

And maybe that’s what love is, falling asleep already in a dream.

*

It’s pouring down rain in Maryland and Jack is in love. 

He’s only just woken up, his mind still cloudy from sleep and his eyes still locked shut. Jack isn’t sure what time it is but given that he’s rising naturally and not from an alarm or kisses being pressed against his cheeks, he assumes it must be pretty late into the morning hours. 

It’s his first morning on this visit out to the farm. His flight the previous night had gotten in before dinner so Alex had declared it date night (Is every night we’re together not date night, Alex? Romance mode 24/7, baby.) and insisted they stop at the store for ingredients before heading back to the house. Once they were at the farm, they tended to the animals (or Alex did while Jack sat on the floor and let the goats chew on his hoodie strings) before heading back inside where Jack sat at the counter and told Alex stories about his airport adventures while watching him cook. They had tried to start a movie after food but Jack kept falling asleep every few minutes with his head in Alex’s lap so it wasn’t long before he was being pulled in the direction of the bedroom.

He sighs as the last moments of sleep drift off and he settles back into the land of the living. He’s yet to open his eyes in case the sun is peeking in anywhere in the room since he knows he’s not yet awake enough for true daylight. Two thoughts enter his mind almost immediately though: it’s cold as hell and there’s coffee brewing in the kitchen. Both of these things are a result of a third thing that Jack notices and it’s that Alex has left him alone in bed.

Jack would get whiny about the third thing but he knows that given where they are it would be pretty selfish of him. Mornings at the farm are loaded with more responsibilities than mornings in LA, and Jack knows the animal friends deserve breakfast and Alex’s bright, sleepy smile just as much as he does. Plus, his boy did make him coffee. 

Jack takes a deep breath and catches the scent of dark roast mixed in with the scent of Alex (his cologne and the same laundry detergent he’s used since his mom would pack it for him on their early tours) before finally pushing himself up from the mattress and opening his eyes. The room is thankfully still dark since Alex left the curtains closed for him but he can hear the rain beating down against the windows even through the heavy fabric. Jack pouts then, suddenly worried about Alex having to wander around out in the January rain by himself. 

He finds a hoodie and the slippers his mom gifted him for Christmas a few weeks earlier on the floor beside the bed and pulls both on before shuffling from the bedroom. Jack immediately pulls at the sleeves to cover his hands and considers going back to the bedroom to steal a shirt to throw on underneath the hoodie but the coffee hits his nose again and he continues in the direction of the kitchen.

The only light on in the room is the one over the sink and because of the rain, the kitchen remains pretty dark despite the clock on the microwave reading that it’s a little bit past ten. Jack wanders through the room to the drying rack by the sink to get his mug (the one he found in some little thrift store somewhere in Texas with the painted butterflies) before turning back to the island. He fills the mug from the mostly full French press that must have been made pretty recently, Jack thinks, as he burns his tongue a little on his first sip. Fresh coffee means that Alex has already been out to the stalls for the morning so Jack turns then, having a good feeling about where Alex may have wandered off to, and lets his hip rest against the edge of the counter.

From where he stands leaning against the kitchen island, Jack can see Alex’s head poking out from the back of the couch out on the front porch. He’s got a blue beanie pulled over his head and Jack can see his hands cupped around a mug and he can see the steam rising against Alex’s face. He pulls his phone from his pocket to check the temperature and rolls his eyes at the number shown on the screen but it doesn’t stop him from lifting his own mug to head in the direction of the front door.

Alex looks over in his direction as Jack pushes the door closed behind him to join Alex out in the cold morning air. The rain had settled mostly and a thick fog blankets over the property, the trees at the end of the road and pasture just barely visible. A soft smile pulls at Alex’s lips as he pats the cushion beside him. Jack returns the grin as he takes in the crinkles beside his boy’s tired eyes. Sometimes Jack forgets they’re getting older but then notices a gray hair when he’s looking in the mirror while brushing his teeth or notices Alex’s laughter lines deepening ever so slightly and it reminds him just how long they’ve been on these wild adventures together.

He takes the spot beside Alex and pulls the blanket he’s got covering his lap over his own before letting his head drop to rest against Alex’s shoulder. Jack turns to press his cold nose against Alex’s neck and smiles when he hears a soft whine in response to the action.

“Why are we having our coffee outside when it’s nearly freezing out?” Jack mumbles against Alex’s skin. He feels a hand reach up to card through his bed head and smiles at the feeling.

“You’ve been in California too long,” Alex teases. “We would have been calling this a warm morning back in the day.”

“Jesus, are we really old enough for things to be back in the day now?”

“We’re definitely getting there, love.” Alex laughs before pausing to take a sip from his mug. “Anyway, I finished up feeding everybody and wanted to keep listening to the rain.”

Jack figures that’s a fair enough answer (at least coming from Alex) so they sit in silence for a little while. They sip from their respective mugs and Jack cuddles impossibly closer to Alex for warmth as he searches for patterns in the sound of the rain against the roof. Jack notices the shapes Alex has been drawing through his hair change suddenly and he sits up a bit to see his face and pouts at the expression he’s met with.

“What are you thinking so hard about, huh?” Jack asks as he reaches a hand up to rub away the lines across Alex’s forehead. “Is everything okay?”

“Do you want to move in together?” Alex asks in a somewhat rushed voice while his hands pull at the ends of his sleeves. “Like here? On the farm?”

Jack’s hand falls from Alex’s forehead to cup his cheek. “What?”

“I mean, you should probably keep the place in LA since we’re over there enough for work stuff. And I’ve just been thinking that this feels like a good place to settle down and,” he pauses to take a breath and looks up to meet Jack’s gaze. “And I don’t know if I’m moving too fast but I want to settle down with you.”

“Al, I’ve known you for like, half my life. We’re not exactly operating on a normal relationship timeline here. I’d love to move in,” Jack says into the space between them and he can’t help but lean forward to brush their lips together when Alex’s eyes widen. “Though you’re going to have to teach me how to actually be helpful around this place rather than just sit and look cute while petting the goats.”

“Having someone to sit and look cute with the goats is an essential part of farm maintenance, Jack. Don’t sell yourself short,” Alex says while reaching to cover the hand Jack still has against his cheek. “But don’t worry. We’ll teach you to be a proper farm boy. Get you some boots and everything.”

“I want a cowboy hat, too. But sounds perfect.” Jack says before leaning in to press their lips together again. Alex pulls him closer and Jack feels himself smile into the kiss. Alex’s warmth almost makes him forget about the cold winter air surrounding them and his mind is flooded with the thought of a future where everyday is spent with the eternal summer’s day that is Alex Gaskarth.

Alex pulls away first and a giggle leaves his lips as Jack whines at him. “Guess we should go ahead and actually get the day started then?”

“Has to happen eventually, I suppose.” Jack sighs as he sinks further into the couch. 

Alex laughs as he stands up, his hand reaching down to link their hands together. “Come on. We’ve got brunch with the mothers in an hour and now we’ve got good news to share with them. Moms love good news.”

Jack allows himself to be pulled up from the couch and in the direction of the front door. He leans against the wood once they’re back inside and pulls Alex into his hold while his arms move to hang over his shoulders. “We smell like farm and wet dog. And since we’re going to be sharing a home now, I think it only makes sense that we try to conserve resources. What do you think?”

Alex rolls his eyes and slides his hands up to rest against Jack’s chest. “Thank you for the invitation but I figured I would make up another pot of coffee for us while you go get ready?”

“What did I do to deserve you?”

“I keep asking myself the same thing.”

With a final press of his lips to Jack’s cheek, Alex heads off to make the promised coffee. Jack watches him head into the kitchen from where he stands in the front hall. He sees Alex leave the mugs on the island in favor of pulling his phone out to connect to the speaker next to the sink and a second later a song starts playing that immediately has him bouncing on his toes as he fills the kettle from the sink. Jack smiles as he leans against the frame into the dining room while he watches Alex dance around and softly sing while scooping new coffee grounds. He turns then and Jack is caught as Alex smiles and winks in his direction, a mouthed Go while pointing in the direction of the bedroom being his parting gift. 

Jack blows a kiss and starts making his way down the front hall to the stairs. He pauses for a moment at the table where Alex had left a mess of different holiday cards he’d received throughout the season. Bright colors and happy smiles meet Jack’s eyes as he spots friends and their families and pets. He sighs and continues down the hall after a moment, wondering if maybe they could get the goats to sit still long enough for a holiday card sometime next fall. It’s a swirling, dreamy thought, but he spends the rest of the morning stuck on the idea of seeing their smiling faces and well wishes mixed into their loved ones’ piles of cards.

And maybe that’s what love is, waking up to the beginning of another dream.

*

#jalex #jalex fic #i said this on ao3 but i sent the first half of this to bella but not the second half so ignore that the grammar is probably better in the #first half bc of that #this was the first piece i've written in probably several months that's longer than 2k so that's kinda cool #probably bc it could have been split in half but shhhhhh

[coll2mitts]

#77 Grease (1978)

Slick your hair back and grab your team jacket, we’re hand-jiving our way through Grease, a movie about bunch of hot, self-motivated ladies with their whole futures ahead of them settling for a bunch of schmucks.

Grease is a strange experience to relive as an adult, because it was (as I suspect with a lot of people) ever-present in my childhood, and I didn’t understand the great majority of references then.  This movie was intended as an 8th birthday present from my mother; I came home from school one day and the VHS was sitting on our kitchen countertop unwrapped.  I didn’t recognize it, so when I asked my mom what it was, she feigned confusion for about 10 seconds before she gave up and said, “I bought it for your birthday, I guess you get it early now.”  She promised me I’d like it when I popped it into the VHS player, and she wasn’t wrong.  I hadn’t watched this movie in over a decade and I still could recite the majority of the dialogue.

While this movie is a toned down significantly from the stage show, it is still fairly raunchy in parts.  What is kind of hilarious to me is Grease’s gradual shift in categorization over time as a “kids musical”.  In 5th grade, my sister played Sandy in her elementary school’s production of it.  I asked if she remembered any of the lines they changed to keep things “appropriate” (the Kidz Bopification, if you will) and she responded, “No, I just thought it was weird I had to go out and buy a sexy outfit.”  Conversely, my 5th grade play was about the history of America and I dressed up like Martha Washington.  I’ll never forget the 50 Nifty United States from 13 original colonies... SHOUT ‘em, SCOUT ‘em, TELL all about 'em, ONE BY ONE till we’ve given a day to every state in the U-S-A.  AL-A-bama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, CON-NE-TI-CUT...

Anyway, do I think it’s weird that a movie about a bunch of horny teenagers has become Baby’s First Adult Musical?  Sorta.  Not really.  I mean, the dudes act like children for the majority of this, so I’m not surprised, at least.  It had, for sure, turned me off from wanting to date high school dudes when I was in high school.  The high school girls, however... we’ll get there.

It’s the first day of school, and the oldest high school seniors I’ve ever seen are poised to take on their last year at Rydell High.  The “T” Birds and their very uncool matching jackets are reunited after a summer apart and their super-senior leader Kenickie, played by the late Jeff Conaway, regales the tale of lugging boxes to earn money for a sweet ride, which you could feasibly do back in the 1950s.  Danny, played by John Travolta, spent his summer getting action at the beach, which he eloquently describes as “flippin’”.  

Frenchy and her new neighbor Sandy rendezvous with the Pink Ladies, who have very cool matching jackets and the unabashed confidence to go with them.  Stockard Channing, who plays Rizzo, is turned off by Sandy’s pure, seemingly holier-than-thou persona, and is dismayed when Sandy starts to describe her sickly sweet summer romance.  Her interest is only piqued when Sandy mentions her hunky date was notorious playboy and Rizzo’s ex, Danny Zuko.  

Sidenote: When I was a child, I thought Sonny asked if her “jugs were bigger than her nets”.  I asked my mother what “nets” were, since I surmised that jugs meant breasts, and she didn’t know, which I thought was weird.  It wasn’t until THIS MOMENT that I realized he was asking if her jugs were bigger than Annette’s.  Who the fuck is Annette?  Like the Mickey Mouseketeer Annette?!  Rizzo sings about her later and I’m just like.. this revelation has lead to more questions than answers.

Rizzo hatches a plan to call Danny out on his shit and reunite Sandy with Danny at the school pep rally, as they know her boyfriend is an asshat.  He predictably reacts maturely; Not wanting to admit his previous story of getting fresh with some cute Australian girl down in the sand was somewhat hyperbolic, he plays it off like he doesn’t give a shit about her, reducing Sandy to tears.  Frenchy comforts Sandy like the supportive queen that she is and invites her to join the Pink Ladies at a sleepover.

Honestly, a Pink Ladies sleepover looks lit as fuck.  As a kid (and now, tbh) I was Jan, I wanted to be Marty, I wanted to fuck Rizzo, and I wanted Frenchy as my best friend.  I would totally be down to drink champagne, eat Twinkies and mutilate our body parts with needles.  Sandy is a bit of a late bloomer and reacts to these series of events by puking.  Rizzo decides to be a bit of a slag and make fun of Sandy for being an inexperienced virgin before shimming down a drainpipe to get laid by some jerk with a shitty car and a 6-year-old condom.

Sandy, whose night has done nothing to alleviate her heartbreak, sings a song about being in love with a coward.  Part of the deal Oliva Newton-John signed to be cast in this movie specified she have her own solo number, so “Hopelessly Devoted” was written and filmed after the rest of the movie had been completed.  This feel pretty obvious, since it gives off a very strong 1970s pop Best Original Song vibe.  When I was a kid, I used this song as a break to use the bathroom or grab a snack, but as an adult I find myself humming it every so often.

Speaking of contract-obligated solos, we’re treated to a Travolta-led “Greased Lightning”, which I always thought was weird, cause like, who is going to sing a song about their friend getting tit in their sweet car?  Jeff Conaway played Danny on Broadway, he deserved better...  Also, I’m CONVINCED this song got the Pop-Up Video treatment, but couldn’t find it online anywhere.  Otherwise, how the hell else would the fact that they thought John Travolta putting the saran wrap on his crotch was too racy live rent free in my head for like 20 years?

After encountering Sandy on a date with a jock, Danny decides he’s going to join a sports team to prove to her he can be a motivated team player.  Instead, he just physically assaults several members of his school, but it’s fine because he’s wearing a uniform when he does it.  This is enough to impress Sandy, as she accepts Danny’s invitation to the school dance.

The other gang members are going through their own drama, as Rizzo is sick of giving it up to Kenickie without receiving a modicum of respect.  

“A hickey from Kenickie is like a Hallmark card.  When you care enough to send the very best.”

Danny regresses and continues to act like a shithead to Sandy in front of her friends.

“I don’t like tea.” “You don’t have to drink tea!” “Well, I don’t like parents.”

Jan and Putzie begin an innocent and adorable romance, which proves it’s possible to start off a relationship with mutual respect, even if your friends make fun of you for it.

“I also think there’s more to you than just fat.” “...Thanks.”

I love this scene, there’s so many good lines.

Frenchy, who had dropped out of Rydell to pursue a career in cosmetology, is also in crisis as her stint in beauty school went very poorly.  After hours, she somehow hallucinates Frankie Avalon advising her to get her high school degree.

As a child, I was so proud of myself when I realized all these women played other roles in the movie, as if facial recognition was an important skill.

The day of the big dance finally arrives, as National Bandstand comes to Rydell High with roofie-wielding predator and television host Vince Fontaine.  Rizzo arrives with the leader of the rival gang, while Kenickie has his best girl, Cha Cha, as his date, because they are both very well-adjusted teenagers that know how to work through conflict by communicating and not using desperate attempts to make each other jealous.  Danny and Sandy are cutting up a rug until Sonny attempts to physically assault Sandy, and Danny just lets it happen because another one of his exes, Cha Cha, starts to dance with him while Sandy is rebuffing Sonny’s advances.  Cha Cha and Danny subsequently win the contest.  Honestly, this is so fucked up, I would have dropped Danny after this lapse of good judgement.

But no, Sandy still allows him to take her on a date to the drive-in, and it’s not until he elbows her in the boob and then tries to cop a feel in front of everybody that she finally blows him off.  Then he has the absolute gall to act emo about it because he’s afraid people will think he’s a loser.  Jesus Christ.

Kenickie is also hurting, as he discovers that Rizzo is pregnant and she doesn’t want anything to do with him, regardless of what being an unwed mother will do to her reputation.  He decides to process these emotions by racing Greased Lighting for pink slips, as he likes to live his life a quarter mile at a time.  Unfortunately, Danny steals Kenickie’s thunder (road) yet again, as he’s forced to take his place in the race because of a car door-related closed head injury.  Sandy is impressed by Danny’s driving skillz and decides to sex herself up for an unreliable and emotionally manipulative teenager.  Danny has a similar inclination and decides to put on a nice sweater to win Sandy back, which is something, I guess.  They declare they’re the one each other needs, oh yes indeed.

The school year ends, and all the boys end up paired with the girls.  Rizzo finds out she’s not pregnant and reunites with Kenickie?!  Marty ends up with Sonny even though he’s a handsy creep.  Danny and Sandy are just an mess with incompatible expectations of each other.  But at least Jan and Putzie and Frenchy and Doodie are fairly inoffensive.  The end.

This movie is great, even all these years later.  The entire cast is fantastic, even those with smaller bit parts.  I was *living* for the school staff, Principal McGee and Coach Calhoun especially.  Grease also jump started my lifelong love for Stockard Channing.  She’s great in The West Wing, but her part as Sister Husband in Where the Heart Is may be my favorite performance of hers.  I’ve watched that movie so many times I can’t even call it a guilty pleasure, I love it so much.

Olivia Newton-John wasn’t even sure she wanted to be in this movie and requested a screen test so she could see if she was good at acting.  John Travolta was enamored with her and helped convince Olivia she was perfect for the part, and he wasn’t wrong.  She gives such a strong performance as Sandy; I bought her transformation from clean-cut cinnamon roll to sexpot completely.  John Travolta was also unbelievably charming as Danny, and I found myself giggling at his line deliveries constantly.

The songs are also unbelievably catchy (albeit somewhat annoying after you’ve heard them 700 times).  Barry Gibb, my favorite Pras-adjacent composer, wrote the theme for the movie and it just bops so hard.  As a well-documented detractor of Doo Wop music, there’s not a whole lot else here for me, but that’s not going to blind me to the excellence of this soundtrack.  There is a reason this movie is revered as much as it is.  10/10, fun for the whole family, as long as the kids don’t understand the references.

#100 best musical movies of all time rotten tomatoes #unwarranted opinion #grease

[pressedinthepages]

Chapter 16: Precipice

Summary: Oxenfurt is a large, sprawling place, with answers for some and only more questions for others.

Series Masterlist

Words: 2510

(There is a link on my page where you can be added to my taglist :D)

Warnings: mild language, nudity

    Oxenfurt is just as miserable as you had anticipated. It’s far too loud, too smelly, someone bumps into you no matter where you step, and you can soon feel your mind getting overwhelmed with it all. You slip into an alley, using Eskel’s advice to control your breathing before stepping back into the street. Quickly weaving through side streets you find yourself at the University with no idea where to go next. 

    Fuck, you should’ve gone with Eskel. In an effort to prove to yourself that you can handle this damn nonsense yourself, the two of you had split up this morning. Eskel went in the direction of the apothecary, while you tasked yourself with speaking to the head of the University. But now, looking up at the twisting walkways with too many staircases to count, you feel far in over your head. 

    “Excuse me, miss?” A young man, probably no more than 18 summers old, approaches you, a dense pack slung over one shoulder. His hair is loose and curly under a little floppy cap and his clothes are a light green, uncommon this far into Redania.

    You hum in acknowledgment, looking the boy up and down with suspicion.

    “You look lost, what are you trying to find?”

    “I’m not lost,” you lie through your teeth, not needing some seedling’s help. 

    “I can help you, Witcher,” the man’s voice is clear and confident and when you scent the air around him, you notice a distinct lack of the salty tang of lies.

    You hum noncommittally, glancing up at the numerous towers before shaking your head with a resigned sigh. “I need the Headmaster.”

    “Well, that wasn’t so difficult, now was it?” the man starts walking, light on his toes as he twists through the oceans of people that feel suffocating in their presence. You roll your eyes and follow, bumping into shoulders and trying not to let your swords get too banged up.

    He tips open a door on the lower level, holding it for you. “You first,” you growl, nodding in his direction. He shrugs, ducking into the entrance as you follow behind him. 

    When he shuts the door behind you it is blissfully quiet, marble hallways dampening the din of noise from outside. You look over to him, finding him with a stupid grin on his face as he bounces on his toes. You crook an eyebrow, impatiently gesturing for him to lead the way. 

    “Ah, right, sorry,” he says as he startles before striding down the hallway. Now that you are inside and away from all of the competing signals you catch the man’s scent, paper and ink and booze and just a little bit of grass. Your nose twitches oddly before you suddenly sneeze, the poor boy almost jumping out of his skin at the noise.

    “My gods!” He clutches his hand to his chest dramatically. “I thought Witchers didn’t get sick?”

    “We don’t.” You wipe your nose on the back of your wrist as you continue following at a bit more distance, breathing primarily through your mouth. “I just don’t like grass.”

    The boy chuckles, shaking his head without any more questions. Thank Melitele.

    You keep track of your movements in the school, up the left staircase, take the third door on the right, pass by the courtyard, up two flights of stairs, turn right, back down one staircase, and through an ornate set of doors into a large office foyer that smells of dust and books and wine.

    “Headmistress?” The young man calls, poking his head around the edge of the door leading to the main office. “There’s a Witcher here to see you.”

    “Very well, send him in.” You hear a curt voice reply and you shift shoulders back before sliding a coin into the young man’s palm as thanks. He shuffles out of the way, giving you a little wave as he departs. 

    When you open the door you are stunned by the sheer amount of books along the walls of this room. You whistle lowly as you take them all in, bookcases stretching to the ceiling and filled to bursting with tomes on anything and everything. 

    “Forgive me,” the Headmistress sits at the desk, a woman with dark brown hair tinged with grey at the roots. She has a kind face, but one that could turn stern at the drop of a hat. “I thought all Witchers were men.”

    You hum, walking further into the room and sitting in a chair across from her desk. She raises an eyebrow at your quite blatant lack of decorum, but she seems amused by it. “I’m the only woman who survived.”

    She hums back, leaning in her chair and regarding you with an appraising gaze. “Fascinating, truly. I’ll not trouble you with my personal curiosities, though if you were to ever return, I would love to hear more of your life…”

    You blink, a bit taken aback by her absence of animosity. “Maybe one day, miss. Today, though, I am in a bit of a hurry.”

    “Of course, what can I help you with?”

    You think back to the professor who you had met earlier in the year, deciding to start with her. “Where can I find Professor Malkyn?”

The Headmistress’ scent turns cold, stained with musky rainwater. “Unfortunately, she was killed by a group of bandits just past the border into Kovir. It’s only been a few months, but we still feel her loss greatly.”

You sigh, shifting uncomfortably in the chair. Malkyn had been kind, and was a neverending source of seemingly useless information. You enjoyed her company when you had traveled for a bit together, and you had found warmth and comfort in each other’s bodies on more than one occasion. 

“That’s too bad,” you keep your voice calm and level, “she was a good friend…”

The two of you sit in silence for a moment before you speak again. “I am looking for a mage, and I believe that he may have been a professor here in the past.”

The Headmistress blinks and furrows her brow, flipping in a journal with vigor. “Well, it’s been quite a while since we’ve had any mages employed here, do you know their name?”

“Irion, maybe? Or Stregobor, I’m looking for him as well.”

The Headmistress hums, looking through the pages quickly. “Aha!” She exclaims, handing over the journal with her thumb holding a particular page. “This is the previous headmaster’s ledger, and it says that Irion taught herbalism here for a while almost fifty years ago, but one day he just disappeared, and there’s nothing that says he ever showed back up.”

You grunt in acknowledgment, quickly reading through the writing on the page. “I thank you for your time, as well as your help. Not everyone would be so willing for a Witcher.”

She looks at you with a crooked eyebrow as you rise and turn towards the door. As you exit and move to close the door behind you, you notice her smiling, and with a departing nod, you head back towards the Alchemist.

…

Eskel returns not long after you sit at a table, ale in hand. He sits across from you, something painful in his eyes for only a moment before it is blinked away. 

“Find anything?” you ask.

“Not a damn thing. No one here was alive the last time either of those two was in Oxenfurt.”

“That’s what I got too,” you shake your head before taking a long swig of your ale. It’s not much more than warm piss water, but it’s keeping your hands busy. 

“Actually,” Eskel hums, “I did come across a nice enough looking bathhouse...what if we go over there, figure out where to go next?”

Just the idea of Eskel, bare and dripping as you run your hands over the breadth of his chest is enough to have you growing hot in your chair. Before your brain can catch up with your mouth, you find yourself blurting, “Sounds great, let’s go now.”

…

The water is almost scalding, with just the barest hint of rosemary oil added in. Your eyes are closed, your head resting along the edge of the marble bath as your mind floats. All of your senses feel somewhat muffled by the water and it’s a better gift than you could ever ask for. 

You hear the door tip open and peek open an eye, closing it back when you see Eskel stepping into the room. He has dressed down to just his trousers and chemise, looking all the world the perfect picture of relaxation. 

You can hear the rustling of his clothes as they hit the floor and the little splashes of water when he steps into the bath. The water swells, gently caressing your skin as he lowers himself to sit an arm’s length away. The groan that Eskel makes when he finally relaxes shoots straight to your core, and the soft edges of your mind begin to wonder just what other noises you might be able to pull out of him. 

A knock at the door startles the both of you before it opens, revealing a young woman, fair and svelt and completely nude. 

“Just wanted to check on everyone,” her voice is almost a purr with how sultry it is, “as well as offer my services to you.” Her eyes are squarely on Eskel, shameless in their observation of his body above the water. You’re glad that the bath is so damn hot, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to excuse the way that you feel your cheeks flush.

Eskel dips his head for a moment and smiles, and your heart plummets in the moment before he speaks. Since when has he been bashful around women? “Well, thank you for the offer,” he says, looking back up at her, “but I will have to refuse. My friend and I have some very important things to take care of.”

“Well, the offer stands. You know where to find me.”

The low burn of jealousy washes away any semblance of tranquility you had as she turns to leave, Eskel watching her every move. The door closes gently, plunging the little room back into silence. 

You chance a glimpse in Eskel’s direction just as he ducks his head under the water. When he comes back up you watch as beads of water dip and roll across his skin and through the dark thatch of hair on his chest. You swallow and close your eyes, leaning your head back on the edge of the bath as you try to will away your wandering thoughts.

Eskel calls your name, pulling you from your meager attempt. Apparently he had been trying to get your attention unsuccessfully, the remnants of a question already asked in his eyes. 

“Hmm?” you blink, “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Eskel chuckles, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, the muscles of his arm swelling with the movement and tempting you to lust.

“I asked if you’d like a hand, you seem...tense.”

If you were tense before, you only turn worse, your nerves stretched taut as a bowstring, ready to snap at any moment. You let out a nervous little laugh, refusing to meet his eyes before your willpower finally gives under the pressure.

“I-uh, yeah alright, if you really don’t mind…”

Eskel smiles wordlessly as he slides to the little array of bottles at the edge of the tub. You turn your back to him, settling in the middle of the tub with your legs stretched out in front of you. 

“Mmm…” you hear Eskel hum under his breath.

“What is it?” 

“They have orange soap…” he whispers, and you can hear the tiny clinking of glass as he ponders his options. 

You laugh, your shoulders shaking a bit as you glance over your shoulder. Eskel is balancing four different bottles in his hands, trying to scent them all and not spill them into the water.

“Oh gods,” you whisper, still chuckling a bit, “why don’t we save that one for you...I’ll just use a lavender, or maybe some jasmine?”

The water sways gently as Eskel moves back towards you, and now you can smell the lavender soap drifting lazily from the glass. Eskel sits down behind you, pouring some of the soap into his hand before setting the bottle on the edge of the bath within reach. You face forward again and close your eyes as you listen to Eskel work the soap into a lather. He is impossibly warm at your back, somehow making the water even hotter in his presence.

When his hands finally touch you, gently rubbing the soap into your shoulders, you shudder with the chill that runs through you. Eskel’s fingers move with a simple reverence, smoothing the suds down your arms and the line of your back. Your mind wars with itself, wanting so desperately to lean into his touch, but so terrified of him pulling away that your instinct is to pull away first. But when his hands come back to your neck, squeezing and rubbing his thumbs into the tender skin where your shoulders begin, you feel boneless in his arms, your head falling back to rest on his shoulder. 

You feel his chest shaking on your back as he laughs under his breath, still working his hands over the muscles of your shoulders and moving slowly down your arms. “You alright?” he teases.

You grunt, sounding more like Geralt than yourself. Gods, if Eskel always touched you like this, you think you may be rendered completely non-verbal. His hands carefully press between your shoulder blades, slowly smoothing down to the base of your spine. His thumbs move in little circles as his hands move back up, kneading and undoing the knots that have engrained themselves into your muscles.

You can’t fully relax though, something else tapping at your mind. “Eskel…” you murmur, turning your head to where he is settled at your shoulder.

“Why didn’t you go with her?” you nod at the door, referring to the young lady from earlier.

Eskel’s hands still for half a second and you hear his heart skip a beat. He hums lightly as he resumes his movements, his fingers working deftly against your skin.

“Eskel?”

He sighs, looking over to you. Your mind is soft with peace and Eskel is right there, and his hands feel like home, and then he leans down, his breath hot on your lips.

“I didn’t want her,” he whispers, his mouth just barely brushing yours with his words. You sigh into him, closing your eyes and leaning to close the distance between you. You are so close, only the steam from the bath separating you when the door suddenly slams open.

You both startle, Eskel bracketing himself between you and the intruder. It’s the owner of the bathhouse, and he carries the both of your clothes under his arms. 

“Witchers, you must go, they’re coming for you…”

#hollow things #eskel x reader #we're almost there!

[sincerlypadfoot]

Riddle Me That (1)

~After fourth year, you come to Hogwarts with a changered persona, with a vow to be a better person and the best Ravenclaw you could be, not being the bravest, smartest or brightest one. You befriend a Slytherin who understands your pain.

Word Count-1230

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I stepped on the train for hogwarts, taking a breath before finally entering, looking around and feeling a sense of relief. “Wow, long time no see,” 

I turned around to see my best friend Mareen Abbot smiled walking towards me. “You didn’t talk to anyone over the summer, blood hell Tara we all thought you were dead,”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “We’ve known each other for five years Mareen, you think you could get ride of me that easily,” I chuckled taking her hand in mine. “Come on, we should find a seat before they all get taken up,”

Mareen and I quickly found a empty cart, pushing ourselves in and sitting across from each other silent, not lasting long before Travors Rapido bursted in smiling at the two of us.

“You will not believe the news!” He shouted looking out into the hall then back into the cart shutting the door and sitting down out of breath. 

“Let me guess, Augusta Longbottom lost her toad again, like she does, every single year,” I said unimpressed.

“Even better but horrible and confusing news,” Algie shouted wiping the sweat off his chubby head. “That weird ass Riddle kid, Tom or something, he’s prefect, him, he’s the Slytherin prefect,”

“He’s like the weirdest kid in school, did you hear what he did to Hagrid on his first year, and now he’s a prefect, Dumbledore must be out of his mind,” Algie complained shaking his head.

“Yeah well let’s just be grateful that we’re not in Slytherin now,” I said shrugging my shoulders.

“Yeah we’re on the seventh floor, we don’t have to worry about it, but you Tara, have fun sneaking out and seeing all your little boy toys,” Mareen joking making me smirk.

“Your the jealous that I got boy toys,” I stuck my tongue out at Mareen then leaning back in my seat. “I think i’m gonna take a stroll, see what trouble I could get myself into,” I winked standing up.

“How are you a Ravenclaw,” I heard Algie joke making me giggle as I walked out, shutting the trolly door and taking a stroll along the train carts.

“Hey hottie,” I heard behind me, hands wrapped around my waist, spinning me around, I smiled at my other best friend, or what Algie and Mareen call it, my friends with benefits. Collin Mctrish smiled pecking my lips.

“Good afternoon hottie,” I joked kissing him back. “How was your summer?” I asked smirking and being a bit of a tease.

“Well, spend it in the bedroom of some hot ass girl, kissed her a lot and did some nasty things,” His voice got lower and closer to my ear I smirked.

“Well sounds like that girl is a real troublemaker,” I teased running my hands along his back. “A real troublemaker for you,” I placed my lips on his.

“What is going on here?” I heard behind Collin, I peaked my head over to see Tom Riddle standing with his prefect uniform on.

“Just a little fun Tommy boy, run along will you, it’s none of your bussiness,” Collin smirked turning around to face Tom.

Tom was about to say something but I let go of Collin, grabbing his hand before a fight broke out in the hallway.

“He’s a git, ignore him,” I said placing my fingers on Collins chest. “I will see you tonight, don’t wait up for me,” I placed another kiss on Collins lip and turned around walking away with a smile.

Hours and hours passed and the sky fell dark as I sat with Mareen and Algie in the cart.

“We’re here,” Algie said excited, he looked out the window standing up and looking out at the platform.

“Come on you two, we’ve got a feast to attend,” Maureen said rubbing her stomach and standing up, we followed her through the train. The rest of the night went swell.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow, have fun, don’t get caught sneaking out,” I winked to Mareen and Angie, walking away from then and towards the Ravenclaw common room.

“Hey hottie, come with me,” Collin whispered wrapping his arms around my waist and turning me to face him.

“Not tonight Collin, i’m tired,” I lied rubbing my eyes. “Another night, maybe tomorrow,”

“Oh baby, come on, you won’t regret it,” Collin mumbled leaning down and kissing my jaw. I tried pushing him off but he didn’t budge.

“Collin, I said no, not tonight,” I whispered placing my hands on his chest.

“Hey man, she said no,” I heard behind Collin, he let me go and turned around to look at Tom Riddle who stood looking at the both of us.

“You don’t ever learn to mind your bussiness do you Tommy,” Collin said letting me go and walked over to Tom. 

“Collin leave!” I shouted with a ferm voice. 

“What ever, don’t act like you didn’t want me!” Collin shouted shaking his head and waking away angry.

“I’m sorry about all of this, I should go,” I said to Tom, turning away and walking up the stairs.

“Tara wait,” Tom said and I stopped, turning around and looked at the boy who stood at the bottle of the stairs. “Don’t let him treat you like that, you don’t deserve someone like him,”

I stayed quick for a moment, looking at Tom who had a slight smile on his face. “Good night Tom, have a good night,” I turned back around, walking up the stairs and into the Ravenclaw common room.

I walked into my room, shutting the door and leaning against it, tears fell down my face and I shook my head, thinking about Collin than Tom, then what I was going to be telling Mareen and Algie in the morning.

I laid down in my bed and closed my eyes, thinking of a world with no magic and I world without stress, and I world where I could be myself.

~

I fluttered my eyes open, looking at the sunlight then ran into the room. I was alone in the room since everyone had left without me, like normal. 

“Okay, fun, first day of class,” I whispered to myself, sitting up and slipping my robe on and making my way to the dungeons. Lucky for myself Algie and Mareen were in my first class, but so was Collin and Tom.

“What are you telling me?” Algie asked as I turned to face me completely. “I’ll kill him you know, I can’t believe he’s done this,” 

“It’s really fine Al, it’s over and done with, he was just a friend, and now it’s nothing,” I mumbled writing down whatever Slughorn was writing down on his pages.

“Yeah well looks like you have a admirer,” Maureen whispered nudging me shoulder, I looked up and around to see Tom Riddle looking in my direction, I gave him a big of a smile then looked back down at my paper.

“Yeah I don’t know what’s up with that so don’t ask me, but he’s the one who stops Collin last night, thought he was about to get his face bashed in if I didn’t intervene,” I mumbled annoyed.

“Well, sneak into the room of requirement tonight, we’ll just meet in there, and I need to get out of my room anyway, the girls are way to talkative for my liking,” Maureen said making me giggle.

“That sounds like a plan, I think i’ll need it too, not even twenty-four hours here and i’m already stressing up,” I hummed rubbing my temples with my free hand.

#tom riddle #voldmort #TomRiddle x you #tom riddle x y/n #tom riddle x oc #tim riddle x you #Tom Riddle x OrignalCharacter