#like sorry that i don't agree with saying 'the person who wrote you need to calm down is this generation's person who

[bybdolan]

AMY! https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/taylor-swift-the-bob-dylan-of-our-age-pmlg5m7hl

You are the third person to send me this link but I finally managed to dodge the paywall to the article in order to make a nuanced statement, and that statement is: Mhh.. idk?

If you have been around for a while you have probably been witness to me arguing why I tend to disagree with statements such as "Taylor Swift is the new Bob Dylan/Bruce Springsteen!" (Spoiler: It is because I personally find a lot of the impulses Bob and Bruce use to create art vastly different to the impulses Taylor uses - Taylor's art is tied to her life and her experiences in a way that many, though not all, of Bruce' and Bob's songs are not) and generally speaking I tend to find most of the comparisons sort of lame because they kind of revolve around the "both of these people are great songwriters who were the voice of a generation!", which is true but doesn't capture what makes these artists special. That said, I do think the article makes some interesting points in regards to how both Bob and Taylor came out of a scene that highly valued authenticity and were punished for breaching out of it, and I also agree that Taylor's influence on the future generations of songwriters likens her to Dylan, as does her tendency for self-mythologization (although her n Bob's public personas are radically different) (+ Bob is much more intertextual in general). I also think both are excellent in transporting you into the scene of a song and making you envision the setting and characters. However, I personally can't simply look past the vast difference in subject matter and style that these artists have. "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" is a great song, as is "The Times They Are A-Changing", but they obviously deal with very different things. And sure, perhaps it is unfair to pidgeon-hole Bob Dylan as a protest singer (a comparison to "Tangled Up In Blue" for example would make much more sense), but it IS a significant part of his oeuvre and part of what made him "the voice of a generation". The same can be said for Taylor, who captures the anxiety of the social media generation incredibly well, but writing songs about brewing revolutions and the constant threat of nuclear annihilation is a lil different than writing songs about how tough it is to preserve your sense of self in times of Instagram & Co. Not that one is per se more deeper or worthwhile than the other, it's just different. (I do wonder why we never see the comparisons between Dylan and certain HipHop artists, who genuinely follow into Protest Song footsteps.)

And, to simply be biased for a second here: I consider Bob a better and more versatile writer than Taylor and because I specifically hold his more Protest Song-adjacent songs close to my heart for how well they manage to capture broad anxieties within society/young people in particular, the comparison will always slightly rub me the wrong way. But as I am not a music journalist writing for a major publication... That's okay.

#like sorry that i don't agree with saying 'the person who wrote you need to calm down is this generation's person who #wrote the times they are a-changing #i also think bob could out-write taylor in a love song battle any day #misogynist moment i guess #but this also is very personal #if anybody starts 'but taylor writing about her experiences as a woman is inherently political!' again........ #yes that absolutely is true but i'd argue 'mad woman' is much more rooted in taylor swift's specific personal narrative than #'a hard rain's a-gonna fall' is in bob's

[homerforsure]

Saw the episode. Ascended to a higher plane. Wrote a small Coda that is as messy as my brain is right now. Bone Apple Tea.

"Heyyyyyy Buck!" Eddie answers the phone with a drawn out salutation that proves Tommy was not lying about him being sent away from the hospital with the good drugs. Or, not lying about the prescription, but about Eddie actually taking them. It wasn't so long ago that Eddie would take enough medicine to avoid being in agony, but never quite enough to actually feel relief. He wouldn't do that for Tommy, however close they are. It's something that Eddie's doing for himself. Buck's stomach was a swarm of butterflies three seconds ago, but that and the floaty happy way Eddie still says his name, has him smiling again in his kitchen.

"Hey Eddie. I, um, I'm sorry to call so late. I just wanted to see how- how you were doing."

"Eh, I'll miss a shift or two. But Doc says I'll be ready to go for playoffs," Eddie answers.

Guilt twists through him, harsh and acidic and Buck says, "Well I'm glad to hear that. They say the team doesn't have a chance without you and your, um, sky dunk." Eddie laughs, giggles really, in reply and Buck says, "I'm sorry, Eddie. I don't know why I did that. I mean- I- I know why. I was jealous of you and- and Tommy-" Buck's heart flips as he says his name and he's afraid the kiss is going to come flying out of his mouth and down the phone line- "But I never wanted you to get hurt like that."

"You wanted me to get hurt different?" Eddie asks, still laughing, but Buck feels stricken.

"No! I- maybe. I don't know what I wanted. I lost my mind for a little bit."

"You were jealous," Eddie repeats.

"Yeah, I was."

A long sigh and Eddie says, "I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. I was the asshole. I could have- I knocked you out of your shoe."

"Do you have my shoe?" Eddie asks, more focused than he has been the rest of the conversation. Buck can hear him sitting up on the couch.

"Uh, no. No, I gave it to Chim. He's gonna give it to you when he sees you. And probably make about 50 Cinderella jokes."

"Right. He texted me. I remember."

"I'm sure he'll bring it by sooner if you need it. Or he could give it to Tommy." The flush is there again, hot down the back of his neck. Buck doesn't know how he's supposed to do this. Where is he supposed to keep all of this heat and possibility while he waits for Saturday.

"You don't like him."

"Who? Chim? He's growing on me."

"Tommy," Eddie answers in a tone that says duh. "You can't even say his name normal."

Of course Eddie can hear that. Of course he assumes that's the problem after the way Buck has acted since the moment they met the man. He thanks god that he decided to call instead of driving across town and checking on Eddie in person. His cheeks and his ears are burning like fire.

"He can tell, you know. We both can. He said he's going to come talk to you. Gave him your address. Wants to apologize." Eddie must have settled back down on the couch. He sounds sleepier, his sentences getting shorter and more breathy.

"He did. He um. He came by. We talked it out. I told him you guys didn't have anything to apologize for. I was the one who made it weird."

"So weird," Eddie agrees and Buck laughs. "You guys should be friends. He's awesome and you're awesome and we can all hang out together and it would be..."

"Awesome," Buck finishes. He thinks it might be.

"I forgot you don't know that."

"Know what?" Buck asks, when Eddie's mumble doesn't come with any additional clarification. "Eddie?"

"Hmm?"

"Never mind. Hey, you should get up and go to your bed. Sleeping on that couch is not going to help your ankle heal any faster."

"Tommy said that."

"Tommy's right. Come on."

Eddie groans as he sits up, cursing at Buck in what he thinks is under his breath, and asks, "You talked to Tommy?"

"Yeah, he just left."

"And we're okay? You like him now?"

Buck's blood roars through his ears and he wants to throw up and start laughing all at the same time. "Yeah, I think I do."

"Good."

He breathes through the sudden headrush as Eddie grumbles and hops his way off the couch and down the hall. Buck knows where he's finding his handholds by the echo off the walls and he winces when Eddie takes a misstep and swears again. He thinks for a second that he should be there, that he should help Eddie to bed, but Eddie would never let him. Buck wonders if Tommy would let him. He's wondering about so much now and he never did before.

"Hey, Eds?" The question is out before Buck realizes he's asking it, small and vulnerable, and he wants to claw it back and swallow it down before Eddie notices, but he doesn't have a chance.

"Yeah?"

Tommy kissed me. I want him to do it again.

"No, nothing. Just. I'm sorry. I was out of line."

"You were," Eddie answers. "And I forgive you."

Something settles in Buck then. A piece that had still been sitting off kilter and jamming painfully under his ribs. He takes a deep breath, and joy washes fully over him, calming and centering. He doesn't ask the question again though. He thinks he wants to keep this tiny, glowing treasure to himself. At least for a little while.

"Bring me my shoe back and we'll call it even."

Buck laughs, letting the sound ring out through his apartment and he can hear Eddie smiling on the other end of the phone.

#idk what this is #my brain exited my body several hours ago #it's not the fic i said i was writing in my head that's for sure #7.04 #buck bothered and bewildered #episode coda #911 fic #evan buck buckley #911 spoilers #allison writes

[swallowtail-lotus]

Harassed {Jack the Ripper/Poseidon}

Repost

I'm sorry that I wrote this

Warning: mentions of murder and harassment. Don't do any of these things

__________

Jack the Ripper🔪-

One of your friends had dragged you to a bar one night, insisting you needed to get out more. You didn't have any plans that night but you still refused. After some convincing, you agreed to go.

A few minutes in and your friend is already gone, leaving you by yourself at the main counter. You only took a few shots, but stopped yourself after the 4th shot.

Suddenly, some drunk guy sat next to you, resting his rough hand on your shoulder. He tried so many times to get you to talk, but you just ignored him and walked out the bar. You began your lone walk to your home.

Just when you turned a corner, hands began to caress your sides. You thrash in the guy's grip but he just held you tighter. You took out a small pocket knife and stabbed his leg. You took off the moment he let you go, running inside your house and locked it.

You had a hard time sleeping after that.

The next day, you refused to get of bed, let alone the house. This worried some of your friends and tried to ask you why, but you kept quiet, which led them to ask the friend who took you.

"I do not know. They just left without even saying anything."

That was all they said. They decided to drop it once they realised their question won't be answered.

The next night, while it was dark, you heard a knock on your bedroom window. To your surprise, it was someone who you grew close to, Jack the Ripper. Your first encounter was when he was injured and you, a kind hearted soul, took him in, unaware of who he was. He originally wanted to kill you but seeing how kind you were, the thought of killing you soon went away.

"Milady, what seems to be troubling you?" He asked, his mixed eyes staring into your soul. Your dropped your head down low, refusing to let him see your tears. You wanted to lie your way out, but Jack would be aware of it.

"I-I was forced to go to a bar and this disgusting man touched me and tried to-"

"What did he look like?" You looked up, seeing the man's face turn to his usual murderous expression, but it seemed more dark.

"W-well, he had black hair and blue eyes and looks a little bigger than you. He also had some facial hair on his jaw." You described the man the best you could. Jack didn't say anything and disappeared into the night.

2 nights later~

Sweeping the floors of your house with a headache wasn't the best idea. After finishing off, you rested yourself on one of your chairs. You felt a piece of paper under your hand and picked it up. It was folded neatly and had beautiful handwriting. You opened it up and read the short letter.

I apologise for leaving you in your time of need, but I had to get rid of the beast who tried to corrupt you.

You felt a presence in your room and turned around, spotting Jack, twirling a knife in his hand. Without a second thought, you jumped up and hugged him. Jack held his arms away from you, not knowing what to do.

"You didn't need to kill him." Your voice muffled by his chest. Silence filled the room after you spoke.

"It was entirely necessary. I refuse to let them take your beautiful colours away."

Tears been to fall out, staining his shirt. Jack lowered his arms, slowly wrapping them around your waist.

He always thought he'd never meet a kind person, until life decided to let him meet you.

Poseidon🔱-

Being married to one of the most fearsome gods has its ups and downs.

One up is that you're the only one who can meet his gaze and live the next day.

One down is that he refuses to let you show affection in public to not ruin his public image in being perfect. (It does upset you, but you understand)

He sees you as his equal, so it isn't much of a surprise when another god stupid enough tries to have his way with you and he is informed.

This god won't leave you alone, even when you declined his invitation to accompany him.

"I told you many times! I do not wish to go with you!" You yelled at the persistent god following you.

It all started when he approached you and started a normal conversation. Then, he started getting a little too touchy with you, brushing his hand against your bare skin, his hands lingering on your shoulders and hovering over your chest for too long. That was enough for you to storm out and head back to your husband, the god you truly love.

"Come on, beautiful! I just want to know you better." The god exclaimed, grabbing your wrist. He pulled you closer to him, smirking victoriously when he saw your frightened face.

"I don't think she feels the same way." A familiar voice chimed in. The god froze in his spot, giving you the chance to wiggle out of his arms and step away from him. You felt relieved to see Heracles, his usual smile not present on his face and replaced with a menacing glare. The god trembled in his shoes and just took off to who knows, too afraid to even try to speak to the towering demigod.

"Fucking coward." You thought, watching the god disappear around a corner. You felt the demigod's hand on your shoulder.

"You should go back to Uncle. I bet he's missing you." Heracles' face changed to a more cheerful one, his smile exposing his pearly whites. You giggled at his sudden change and nodded.

"I should. Thank you for saving me!"

"No problem!"

With that, you took off to see your husband. Before entering, you took the time to stand up straight, take a deep breath and walked in. You faced your husband, slowly making your way to your throne next to his. Sea Blue eyes observed your form, noticing your slightly messy hair and increased speed of your breathing.

He knew these were your signs of discomfort.

"Who is responsible?" His chilling voice filled the silence. You felt exposed upon hearing his question and hesitated on answering. But you gave up.

"Just another god." You finally answered, your hands gripping the armrests nervously. You knew lying to your husband would be impossible.

"Come here." He demanded. You quickly complied, standing in front of him, unsure of his next demand.

"I said, come here." He demanded again, his eyes staring right in your own orbs. You swallow slowly, stepping closer to him. This was strange, he never demanded, let alone asked for anything like this. With hesitation, you wrapped your arms around Poseidon's waist. When he didn't push you away, you lowered yourself down to sit on his lap.

Crying was out of the question if it was for anything else, but after what happened, you couldn't help it.

Your quietly sobbed, tightening the hug. Surprisingly, Poseidon did nothing but sit there, listening to your sobs.

Poseidon will have to wait until he can deal with the living filth that decided to get his dirty hands on his wife...

#i feel bad that i wrote this #record of ragnarok #record of ragnarok x reader #jack the ripper x reader #poseidon x reader #ror jack the ripper #ror poseidon #ror jack the ripper x reader #ror poseidon x reader #ror x reader #snv x reader

[puripurin]

[50, 100, 150, 250 and 350 follower special] [Yan! Omega x Male Reader x Yan! Bunny Hybrid]

— You coughed as you suddenly breathed in only to realize two large purple eyes were staring at you. They blinked two times before they were pulled away harshly.

"Move it you whore. Just because we made an agreement to share him doesn't mean I'll just let you infect him with your stripper mindset." The person with bunny ears degraded the man with a harsh tone. However, the crude remarks only made him burst into laughter.

"How about you stop coming at me when you look like some of my coworkers with that skin-tight body suit?" He mocked the bunny hybrid, who put his middle finger in his face.

"At least I don't go around shoving my dick into other people other than (Y/n). Sometimes I can't believe I have to work with a bitch like you!" The bunny hybrid scowled at the other person. You raised your eyebrow at the two's arguments.

"Right... so what the fuck is going on?" You stopped their glaring at one another by making them shift their focus on you. Almost immediately, they came super close to you. The bunny hybrid slapped his hand on the other person's mouth before speaking up.

"The name's Clear Blackwell! I'm non-binary, so use he/ they pronouns." They winked and blew a kiss before swiftly pulling their hand away and glaring at the man who bit his hand.

"I'm Cecil, and the reason you're here is that you need to be taught a lesson on why you shouldn't break the rules." He kissed you on the nose before moving back a bit to cross his arms with a glare on his face.

"What were the rules?" You questioned, not recalling being given any rules. "No talking to anyone outside of work colleagues for work-related things, friends, family or people in the service industry. No watching porn. No seeking dates with anyone and so on and so forth. We tried our best to make it lenient, but you broke Every. Single. Rule." Cecil shook his head in disappointment. Oh, they were probably the ones you kept receiving in the mailbox of your apartment complex that they wrote with blood. Obviously, you didn't follow it and threw it away. You were going to say something but Clear started to speak.

"Sigh, this is one of the few times I have to agree with this whore. You have been out and about prancing around, flaunting yourself to anyone who wants to see it. Ugh... do you know how many times I had to call up my bodyguards to kill all of those cunts who dared to indulge themselves in your desires?" Clear's eyes twitched as they seethed in anger and frustration. You looked at them with a blank stare before realizing what they meant.

"YOU KILLED MY DATES!?!?" You shrieked in horror. It was no wonder why not a single one of your dates messaged you back for a second date. You tried moving away from them, but Clear slammed his hands on the chair handles to stop you from moving.

"And don't play as if you're scared. I don't like it when someone that belongs to me pretends to be all innocent whilst whoring themselves out." Clear inhaled and exhaled to calm themself down and moved away from you. Cecil patted Clear on the back in comfort before moving towards you.

"Your punishment is going to be rough. Although we wanted our first time having sex with you to be gentle, unfortunately, you couldn't keep yourself in check, so it has come down to this." Cecil sighs and takes off his collar before putting it on you. He stops at a point before pulling it so tight you start to choke.

"Now let's see if you're going to disobey the rules after this." He relaxed the tightness of the collar before pulling you into a rough kiss.

"I- I'm sho sorry f- for breaking the rulesss!" You sobbed from the pain. Almost everywhere on your body was hot with pain. Your mouth and throat were in pain even though Cecil and Clear had innocent-looking faces, their sizes were no joke. Clear kissed your swollen and bleeding lips in contentment.

"F-fuck... Clear, do you think he's learnt his lesson?" Cecil moaned as he slammed back into you, making you shudder and moan from the roughness. His face was flushed as he watched both of you make out.

"A-ah haa... Yeah... He looks so docile now, with his lips all messed up and his body covered in lovebites. Shit, this makes me want to mess him up even more... but I think he's starting to reach his limits." Clear rubs his thumb on your cheek, which nearly makes you close your eyes if you weren't getting fucked by Cecil. Cecil nods before thrusting back into you a few more times before he came inside.

"Damn... You're better than any of my clients." He kissed your cheek before rolling his eyes and kissing Clear on their lips after they motioned for a kiss. "Right, time to clean up. I'll get the towels and water." Cecil got up and brought back some towels and a few bottles of water.

Cecil cleaned up both you and Clear so fast but was pretty gentle about it before cleaning himself up. You fell asleep from exhaustion and snuggled up into a pillow at first, but Clear switched out the pillow for you to hug them instead. Clear watched as Cecil wiped off his body before speaking up.

"You're so much nicer when you aren't spouting a bunch of bullshit, you know?"

"How about you shut the fuck up before I fuck that brattiness out of you."

Yall thought you were gonna get a full-length smut? Guess what, you got bamboozled. Sorry if their personalities switch up like crazy, yall have no ideas how hard it is to write this shit down before valentine's day so you have time to write a val. special.

Anyways, for those of you who don't know, Cecil and Clear are the very first ocs I wrote about to publish on here and I appreciate all of the people who scrolled through my blog to read everything like thirsty dogs. Thank you.

Also i squizshed every follower milestone to one poast is because realistically, i aint gon an write all of that but I might reblog later to write out the full smut. Ah, almost forgot, if Clear's intro is bad here IM SORRY CUS LIKE IDK HOW YOU DO THIS WITH CONFISENCE OMG IF YALL ASK ME TO CHANGE IT ILL CHANGE IT CUS ITS BADDD 😭😭😭😭 Also Cecil not saying his last name intentional.

Once again, without the jokes or spelling errors, I'm actually grateful that yall actually comment, like and follow my writing. So I might go back on my old quotev ACC to rewrite and finish the story that I posted before. Any questions that you all might have, I'll answer in the comments. Also yes, I will write pt2 for cute! Monster's father.

(noto prooftred)

#yandere #yandere x reader #male yandere #yandere omega x reader #yandere bunny #yandere x you #male yandere x reader #yandere oc #50 followers special #100 followers special #150 followers special #250 followers special #350 followers special

[allysunny]

Can you do a Miguel x spoil pregnant wife. Ever since he found out about the pregnancy he's been overprotective and making sure his wife is spoiled and happy 😁

Catering to You ! Miguel x Pregnant Fem!Reader

Words: 3.0k

Warnings: Fluff! Tooth-rotting sweetness, truly! But in the end there's a bit of NSFW (it has a warning before!) Spanish translations are at the end, as always!

A/N: Hello!! I'm honestly so in love with this idea because we all know Miguel would be the most amazing husband, and would break his back doing everything he could to spoil his pregnant wife. I loved writing this!

Also, a small warning before you read, I got a little carried away and wrote a small NSFW section at the end. I know I said I wouldn't write it, and I also know that you did not request it, so I'm going to add that after a warning, and you're free to not read that part! It does not ruin the flow of the fic, nor add anything else, it's just that I personally felt like writing it, and you don't need to read it if you don't want to!!!

But for those who do read that - please be kind! It's my first every writing anything smut related, so please don't judge too harshly!

No because we all know this man would be soooo protective!

When you told him you were pregnant, he was over the moon. Went the whole nine yards, got down on his knees, kissed your stomach, lifted you off your feet and spun you around in the air, professed his undying love for you over and over again until you were both crying, and you could not tell where his tears began and your ended.

And from that moment on, you never lifted a finger ever again.

The End!

I’m joking – but seriously, he would be adamant in not letting you lift a finger.

No more chores for you.

“Miguel, I’m pregnant, not disabled!” You’d try to reason with him, but he’d just mock your pout and kiss your forehead.

“Sorry, mi amor. But I can’t allow it.” Then, he’d be peppering your face with kisses until you had no choice but to relent.

One time, he caught you cleaning the floors and he wasn’t happy.

“How many times do I have to tell you, chiquita, you don’t have to do anything. Just sit there and relax your pretty self, ¿si? Can’t have you making any efforts, our baby needs to rest.” He would say, picking you up and setting you down on your couch.

Don’t worry, after a few weeks of pleading and telling him you’d be careful, he would give in. I mean, how could he not, when you were looking so gorgeous in front of him, glowing, even? He would do anything to make you happy, and if doing a couple of easy enough chores around the house keeps a smile on your face, he’d be damned if he didn’t agree.

Once your pregnant belly started to show, he was in cloud nine.

You want to tell me that he gets to look at you – everyone gets to look at you and immediately know that you belonged to him? That the life growing inside of you was his child? It made him feral.

Everywhere you guys went, he’d be there, proudly showing you off. Smiling gratefully as old women on the street complimented your looks, giving his own two cents on why your beauty is timeless, and how you seem to get more gorgeous with each day that passes.

When you start worrying about your weight, he makes sure to remind you that he is crazy about you, and that you are stunning. He’ll run his hands over the skin of your thighs, fingertips silently promising what words cannot express, while his lips are pressed against your neck, whispering praises in your name.

“How could you even think that?” He would ask, pressing kiss after kiss after kiss. “You’re so gorgeous, mi amor. You’re carrying our child inside of you, that is… coño, that is miraculous. Have you thought about it? You and I created a child. Your body is nursing a life. That is beautiful.” And then he’d be kissing you and you would forget why you were upset in the first place.

Miguel would be the most attentive husband, for sure.

The moment he saw you uncomfortable, or in pain, he’d be all over you, asking if there was anything he could do to help soothe your pain. You know when husbands hold onto their wife’s bellies to carry their weight and help them relax? Miguel would do that; he would just stop anything he was doing to walk over to you and carry the weight of your belly.

When your feet were swollen and hurt, he’d guide you to the couch, place your pretty legs over his lap and massage your feet to provide some relief. He’d even go as far as applying some oils and creams, to make the experience extra nice.

“My princesa deserves the best,” Would be his reasoning.

And don’t get me started on your cravings.

You’d been fidgeting on the couch for a few minutes now. Looking at the tv, immersed in your silly show, but visibly uncomfortable. You’d sigh and hum to yourself, casting weary glances at Miguel. These silly pregnancy cravings would be the death of you, but even though Miguel had always been a very doting husband, you didn’t want to bother him any further.

However, nothing could go unnoticed by this man. He had been observing you for a while, eyeing you curiously. What was on your mind?

He could let this silly game go on for a while longer, but the urge to aid you was way stronger; he couldn’t help himself, he had to make sure all was okay.

“Is everything alright, cariño?” In a heartbeat, he was sitting next to you on the couch, rubbing soothing circles on your stomach.

“Yeah, mhm,” You’d try to lie, but who were you trying to fool? Miguel knew you like the back of his hand, he knew when something was amiss. You couldn’t lie to him, not like this.

“Are you sure? You look awfully uncomfortable. Come on, tell me. ¿Qué pasa?” With soft caresses and a velvet-like voice, Miguel knew exactly how to coax an answer out of you.

You looked away for a few moments, slightly embarrassed. Miguel wouldn’t shame you, absolutely not. And he wouldn’t get upset – that’s out of the question. Ever since the beginning of your pregnancy, he’s been the poster child of “helpful”. So when you mumble that you need his help, he nods dutifully and places a soft finger on your chin, forcing you to meet his gaze.

“Hey, it’s alright. You know I’m here for you. What’s wrong?” He would ask, kindness and devotion spilling from his eyes. You saw all of the love this man had for your small family right in this little moment.

“I… I’m…”

“¿Si?”

“I… I’m really craving pickles and strawberry jam!” You blurted out, relief washing over you. It felt so nice to say you. You really wanted pickles and strawberry jam – no. You needed pickles and strawberry jam. You were positive you were going to die if you didn’t get your hands on both things right this moment.

Miguel stared at you comically, stifling a chuckle.

“Pickles and strawberry jam?” He repeated, hand leaving your chin to rest on your stomach again.

“Shit – Miggy, I will love you forever; but please get me some pickles and strawberry jam! I would kill for a sandwich of pickles and jam, I will kill for a sandwich of pickles and jam!” You kept babbling about this odd combination, tears threatening to spill from your eyes. “Please, please, please, I’m begging you, my love.”

And he couldn’t say no to you. Not when you were looking so pretty, bottom lip jutting out in the most adorable pout, eyes wide and hands on top of his. Miguel kissed your forehead, lips still forming a teasing smile.

“I’ll be right back.”

In around 20 minutes, you were happily sitting on your couch with a tray in front of you. Jars of pickles (that your husband lovingly opened for you after you begged him) and of strawberry jam (that your husband also opened, because you just looked so adorable when you pouted) were on top of it, slices of bread stacked on top of a plate as you happily created what to Miguel was the most monstrous sandwich he’d ever seen.

But you looked so content, that could brush aside the fact this meal looked like an abomination.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you Miggy! This is delicious!” You chirped, fingers covered in jam and mouth full.

It wasn’t the only time Miguel had to help soothe your weird taste in food, no doubt caused by those pesky pregnancy hormones.

“Miggy, would you bring me that nice tomato soup you make and the gummy bears?”

“Honey, I’m really craving some spaghetti right now – but not with the tomato sauce, will you please bring me the chocolate topping?”

“Do we have any sardines? I wanna dip them in whipped cream so badly…”

“Oh darling, I would just die for a few nachos with cream cheese. Will you get them for me? Please?”

Upon hearing these strange requests, Miguel would just laugh and happily oblige. He understood your body was going through a million things at the moment, and the least he could do was try to make this pregnancy easier on you. Even if it meant gathering the most eccentric of ingredients to cook what in his humble opinion could be considered ghastly.

But once again, it made you smile. You looked so happy, and you were glowing, and there was nothing Miguel wouldn’t do for you.

Speaking of hormones, we need to address your mood swings.

Miguel considers himself a rather stable person. He’s able to maintain a professional front at HQ, and keep his emotions out of his job, and stay calm – most of the times.

Which is why seeing you go through a flurry of different emotions in the span of a few hours threw him off guard the first time it happened.

One day, while you happily sat on your balcony while reading a book, you spotted a bluebird nest, which fascinated you. You watched them contentedly, the mother bird feeding her children, chirping, and nuzzling against their feathers.

It was a lovely sight.

And then, Miguel, who by then had been doing the dishes, was startled by the sound of your sobs. He rushed to the balcony to find you hiding your face in your hands, wailing loudly – and because of what, he had no idea.

“Cariño, what’s wrong?” He tried prying your hands away, but to no avail. You kept hiding from the world.

In between choked sobs, you managed to speak a few broken words.

“T-The bird! He, he c-can’t fly!” You cried even louder, pressing squeezing your face tightly against his chest.

“¿Perdón?” He was dumbfounded. The bird? What bird? And what did you mean, he couldn’t fly? “Darling, I can’t understand what you mean. Will you please look at me?”

It’s okay. He’s patient.

Slowly, you look up towards him, and the sheer confusion mixed with patience and devotion just made you bawl even louder. Now Miguel was getting worried. What had gotten into you?

“Take your time, honey. But please, do tell me what is wrong. How can I help?”

You sniffled a few times, wiping your tears on the sleeve of your shirt.

“T-The bird!”  You pointed to the nest and Miguel followed your finger. That’s when he spotted the little family of birds that graced your balcony. “H-He can’t fly! The ba-baby bird is s-struggling to fly!”

Okay, so.

Is Miguel an understanding person? Towards you, always.

Does he love you unconditionally and would never make fun of you in a way that would hurt your feelings? Never. That’s out of the question.

Is he amused by the situation unfolding in front of him? Very much.

In fact, it takes every bone in his body not to hunch over himself laughing.

It doesn’t work out entirely.

Miguel hugs you against him, chuckling tenderly.

“Oh, mi amor… It’s only natural. It’s a part of nature, that little bird will eventually learn how to fly.” He says in a gentle voice, catching your hand in his and caressing it.

“B-But he can’t fly now!” You wept, shaking your head. In your emotional state, the sight of a baby bluebird struggling to lift its wings and fly was heartbreaking. How could mother nature be so cruel?

“But he will learn. His mother will teach him, and he will learn, and one day, he’s going to be the most graceful bird, flying in the skies of Nueva York.” When he finished talking, you looked up at him, eyes wide with wonder. How beautifully they sparkled in the afternoon sun.

“He will?”

“Sí, cariño. He will.” Miguel dipped down to catch your lips in a tender kiss. You kissed him just as delicately, trailing your hand up to his jaw. Your fingerprints left a pathway of sparkles and magic in their wake, making Miguel wish he would never let go.

These emotional outbursts happened at the most random times.

One day, you spotted a heart-shaped stone on the pavement and teared up. That moment, you turned to your husband and hugged him tightly, proclaiming your love for him, and appreciating all he did for you. In return, Miguel kissed you on the tip of your nose, softly, as if you’d break were he to apply more pression and vowed to love you eternally.

Sometimes, you’d burst out laughing at the silliest things.

While watching a movie, the lead character uttered the word “butt”.

For a few 30 minutes, you’d laughed and laughed and laughed, swearing you’d never heard anything as funny as the word “butt” being spoken by the actor on the screen.

When you got angry, you got angry.

Someone littered on the street? Miguel would have to hold you back from following the person and lecturing their brains out. You’d always been quite feisty, but this pregnancy brought out the fearlessness in you even more.

And let’s not forget that time when a woman tried to flirt with your husband at the supermarket, while you had gone to fetch some of your most recent craving (ketchup and watermelon). The audacity! The woman giggled and twirled her hair, while Miguel tried to politely reject her advances.

When the woman reached out to touch his arm (an action that made Miguel frown and take a step back), you figured that was the last straw. You knew Miguel to be faithful – he’d never dare to cheat on you, not even in his dreams. Your love was the kind of love seen in movies, in fairytales – everlasting and true.

Before your husband could say a word, you stepped right in front of you.

“Do you want anything?” 

You didn’t care about coming off as rude, all you cared about was putting this cheeky woman in her place.

“Yes, I was just – I was speaking with this man right here. Is there a problem?” She asked, crossing her arms.

“Considering this man right here is married to me,” You lifted your left hand, giving the woman a glance of your wedding ring. “And definitely not interested, I would say that, yes, there is a problem. So if you could just turn around and leave him alone, since he’s clearly not interested, that would be very much appreciated.”

The woman gawked at you, mouth agape. She looked like a fish!, you later commented with your husband. She even tried opening and closing her mouth a few times, but to no avail. She was truly speechless.

So, you held onto your husband’s arm (who by now was shamelessly snickering) and left.

Miguel could clearly see you were fuming! You kept going on and on about how shameless the woman was, how you could definitely take her on a fight if you weren’t pregnant, how he was too handsome and shouldn’t be allowed to leave the house because men and women everywhere drooled at the sight of him –

It was endearing, to say the least. Sure, he liked to protect you and make sure everyone knew you were irrevocably his, but he would be lying if he said his gorgeous wife being overprotective of him wasn’t a sight that made his heart skip (and his pants tighten. As soon as you two got home, he was all over you).

Your anger could be triggered by anything – a broken plate, someone chewing too loud, people running on the street, etc.

You were like a ticking bomb!

But to Miguel, all of that made your pregnancy much more special.

It made his chest swell to know he was the one you went to when you craved something, when you were feeling sad, or when your anger boiled. It made him incredibly happy to know he was the one you trusted, and that he was able to share these precious moments with you.

Overall, Miguel would be the bestest, most amazing, most caring, most fantastic husband ever. He would dote on you 25/8, always making sure you felt comfortable and happy. And he would be oh so proud and happy to be by your side, so thankful the world granted him a chance to have a family, a real family, to love and cherish forever. He would fantasize about your future child with you, when it was late at night and the world was sleeping and promise you both the world.

Because let’s be honest, Miguel would do anything – and I mean anything for his family.

NSFW Section Ahead - Read at your own risk!

This man would become even more obsessed with you and your body.

You were rounder, plumper, thicker, and while sometimes it made you self-conscious at times, to him, it just meant he had more of you to love. You looked so… So his. Every time he looked at you, he’d be driven by this primal urge to have you.

The mere sight of you made him drool, no matter where you were or what you were doing. Making dinner? He was hugging you from behind, hands creeping underneath your shirt to caress your swollen breasts.

Watching tv? He was by your side, grabbing handfuls of your thighs and kissing your breath away.

When you attended early parenthood classes, he couldn’t help but stare at you throughout most of the lesson, picturing how pretty you would look on top of him, a moaning and writhing mess.

He would have you reclined, propped up on multiple pillows and pregnancy cushions in order not to strain your back and cause any pain or discomfort for you or the baby, legs spread as he eagerly lapped at your folds. Your hands would be on his hair, tugging, pushing and pulling and you mumbled incoherent sentences.

“Miggy, ‘s too much…” You’d babble mindlessly, sweat sticking to your forehead. He’d just rewarded you your… fourth? Fifth? Orgasm of the night, and you were sure he wasn’t intent on stopping.

“Shh, cariño, don’t worry,” Would be his response, muffled by the obscene sounds he made while he soothed your aching heat with his fingers. “Just one more, ¿si? One more f’me bonita, I know you can take it, please, you’re so good f’me… Is that okay? Will you let me?” And then he would look at you with those lust-blown eyes…

How could you deny him, when he treated you so well?

Spanish Translations

Chiquita - It's an endearment term, like "cutie", little one, little lady, etc ¿Si? - Yes? Mi amor - My love Coño - Shit, or fuck Cariño - Dear, sweetheart, it's an endearment term as well ¿Qué pasa? - What's wrong? ¿Perdón? - Excuse me?

A/N: I hope you liked it! Again, I'm really sorry for adding the NSFW part when you did not request it. I hope you don't mind that I did it - it just felt very natural to show this side of Miguel with a pregnant reader. I'm sure that he would be very intent on showing his love and appreciation physically as well as verbally! <3

Thank you for the amazing request! Have a nice day! :)

#miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara x y/n #miguel o'hara x you #miguel o'hara scenarios #miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara fanfiction #spiderman 2099 #spiderman 2099 x you #spiderman 2099 x reader #atsv x reader #atsv x you #astv x y/n #spiderverse fanfiction #across the spiderverse fanfiction #miguel spiderman #across the spiderverse #miguel ohara #miguel atsv

[fedyaxz]

“Shall you dance with me, my insufferable lady?”

Ft. Dazai, pm! fem! Reader

Request: Dazai with 2. I can just hear him saying that phraseeeee

Prompt: a dance in the ballroom with your enemy

A/n: Wanna buy me a Pilot Acro 1000 pen??? It's my first time writing smut so sorry for any wrongs that I wrote.

Tw! kinda enemies to lovers kinda trope, adult themes, teasing, clothed play, fingering, edging

"What?!" You shouted, slamming the mission files you once held on the desk while seething in anger.

"You heard me y/n-chan, the detective agency and the port mafia decided to have an alliance because of our mutual enemy organization. That leads to your mission-" Mori, your boss, said it nonchalantly, unfazed by your outburst as he took a sip of his tea.

"And in that mission I have to go to the enemy's fancy masquerade with an agency member? Yet for some reasons you decided to have Dazai Osamu of all people, as my partner?" You tried to calm down but you almost felt like pulling your hair out.

"Well.. yes, I understand that it's upsetting to you especially since you had... a past, with Dazai, but this is for the sake of the mafia. All you have to do is associate yourself with them if needed, get the files then leave, quite simple." He said in an almost upbeat tone.

Biting your lower lip and tapping your feet on the floor, you thought for a few moments, yet all you could do is agree.

That's how you ended up leaning on the balcony railing, waiting for the event to officially start and for your target to show up. You were wearing quite the eye-catching dress, a cream colored off-shoulder slit dress, with sparkling pearls and beads covering the skirt of it.

You observed the sparkling champagne on your glass as you swirled it, then, letting out a long and exasperated sigh, you wondered where the hell is your supposed partner at. After hearing the start of the music, you wore your silver coated mask and gulped down the champagne. You went past the balcony entrance and headed to the ballroom, where the lively celebration took place. After putting back your glass at the platter of a waiter, you scanned the crowded room to find your target. When you found him, you tried to head to where he was, and then disguised yourself by trying to take another glass of champagne, but a hand suddenly snatched yours away and pulled you close by the waist. You felt your body collide with a man's chest, along with the tight grip on your waist to keep you close. Just as you were about to look at the face of the guy who pulled you, you could only stiffen and frown at the sound of the familiar voice.

"My, my, you already seem to be enjoying the masquerade party, bella~ you didn't even wait for your partner afterall" Dazai cooed, he was wearing a fancy tuxedo along with a black mask.

The nickname almost made you want to puke, but you tried to keep that to yourself, however the frown on your face makes it obvious.

"Oh I'm so sorry that you're late, I couldn't bear to wait a year just for you to arrive" with your voice laced with sarcasm, he chuckled, and pulled you closer again, earning a gasp from you, as personal space was technically nonexistent between the two of you. He tilted his head down to your side so that he could whisper in your ear, his hot breath hit your ear and it sent shivers down your spine.

"In all honesty, you look beautiful darling" he whispered in a seductive and flirtatious tone that made you huff in frustration.

"Let's just get this mission over with so I don't have to deal with you and your stupid antics.." you whispered back, noticing the slight change of music, cluing the start of the first dance.

"Still impatient hmm? Fair enough, but before that-" He teased, but before you could reply, he pulled away and slightly courtsied before offering you to take his gloved hand.

"Shall you dance with me, my insufferable lady?" He gave you a mischievous grin, one that makes you want to wipe it off his face.

"I'll take up that offer, my obnoxious sir" You gave him an annoyed grin in return, placing your hand at top his gloved one.

Just as your hand landed on his, he quickly pulled you towards him and held you by your waist, your left hand rested on his right shoulder, and your right hand was interlocked with his left, raised on his shoulder position. You and him swayed by the rhythm, exchanging a few words.

"You look uglier since I last saw you" A small smirk was evident on my lips as we continued to follow each other's movements in complete sync.

"Well you look... disappointing, I thought you would gain at least a few inches, turns out I was wrong" He shrugged, loosened his tight hold on your waist, and repositioned his hand that was interlocking with yours, noticing it was time for the exchange partners.

You huffed in annoyance before stepping on his foot and then spun once after being caught by someone's partner who continued your part of the dance. You and the man exchanged a few words and introduced himself as Akaky. As the music was on the last ridge, you spun back to Dazai and he catched you on his chest, he was finally serious now.

"I'll distract the target, you get the files, we could meet at the room near the end of the left hallway upstairs" he said and you could only manage a nod as the music ended and the two of you courtsied before parting.

You headed upstairs, and you found a large wooden door at the end of the right hallway. Upon entering it with caution, you saw not a single guard but a messy room. Miscellaneous papers everywhere, a broken window, discarded books, shards of glass everywhere, a dead body on the chair near a discarded gun, blood, and a slightly tilted painting. You narrowed your eyes while you stepped inside the room, it was too suspicious as if the room was made to look this way. Looking around once more, you noticed a small detail on the file to your right, it seemed like a simple letter written in English but when read, all the capital letters in each sentence formed a word; when in a paragraph, it formed a clear yet simple sentence, it was probably planted by those who turned their backs on the organization. You then take the letter in your hand and fold it small enough so that you can hide it inside your bra. Looking around again, you couldn't help but notice the small red light from the pen that was neatly sitting on the pencil holder on the bookshelf in the corner of the room. You headed there, and only after grabbing the pen did you notice that it was a small camera. You dropped it, then stepped on it, and having to make sure it was destroyed; you crushed it. Then, you walked outside the room and then to the end of the left hallway.

As you arrived, you hurriedly looked back and forth at the two doors, one is where you and Dazai are supposed to meet. Before you could decide which one to enter, the right door bursts open and you were pulled into the room. The door slams shut along with you, and you could see Dazai's figure towering over you, his left hand pinning your hands above your head while his right one pinned your left thigh with a mischievous grin adorning his face. He leaned down, his hot breath continuosly hits your ear as he breathes. He then whispered, his voice was hoarse and raspy.

"Y/n..." he slips his hand between your dress, his eyes were full of lust... Fuck- you felt yourself being aroused, you can't even remember why you hated him that much at such moments like this.

"Hah... I knew you were a manwhore but I never expected you to be someone who'd beg his enemy for sex" you mocked, your expression as smug as ever.

His hand went upward, and his fingers were brushing up your inner thighs. He leaned on to you more, his head was completely resting on your shoulders down, and you could feel his lips on your neck forming a smirk. Then, you gasped when you felt his fingers brushing on your soaked panties.

"Yet you're so wet, maybe even eager for me to fuck you" he teased your clit through the wet fabric and licked your neck before he sucked near your collarbone earning both a gasp and a quiet whimper from you afterwards. He raised his eyebrows at this before chuckling after getting the reaction that he wanted, he continued to tease you through the soaked fabric, knowing that your core is aching and is in need of friction. You were too turned on right now, if a few minutes go by, you were so sure that you would be a whining and begging mess, begging to be fucked, so you decided to swallow your pride.

"f- fuck.. Dazai please" you huffed out, wanting to move your body down against his fingers but he was preventing you in doing so.

"please what, hmm?" he hummed and licked your earlobe.

"Please-" before you could continue, he bit your ear harshly and tossed your panties to the side. He lowered himself more onto you and said something almost inaudible.

"Use your words properly darling" he sucked on the flesh near your collarbone, leaving marks, while his fingers teased on your clit, twisting and making ghostly touches to the sensitive bud. He began to gather your slick on his middle finger and aligned it on your entrance.

"fuck-! Please- agh-!" you were once again interrupted as you felt his finger entering your cunt, leaving you whining, he didn't move for a while.

"continue~" he cooed in the most teasing tone.

"p-please... Fuck me.. agh~!" You moaned outloud when you felt his tongue going from your collarbone up to your jawline then to your earlobe, lapping circles near the back of your ear. As he did this, he inserted two of his digits and went at a rigorous and unholy pace leaving you moaning as his fingers hit the right spots.

"you're the one who begged me, so you'll be getting your reward now but your punishment comes later sweetheart~" he lets go of your hands pinned above your head and you landed them on his shoulders. His other hand went to your clit and rubbed on it quickly.

You were moaning and whining right now feeling your release come closer. He was fingering you with his fingers at an overwhelmingly fast pace, your cunt is clenching on it and your legs were trembling, precum slowly dripping down to the floor. His hand was soaked and you were clawing at his shoulders, throwing your head back and unholy sounds leaving your lips along with his groans of satisfaction as he sucked along your neck, collarbone, and shoulders. You rolled your eyes to the back of your head in pleasure before closing them, but then he completely stopped, pulling his fingers out of you, and stopped nibbling on your neck.

"What... Why'd you stop?" you almost whined, you fluttered your eyes open and panted at the feeling of your release washing away, then you felt him smirk through the skin of your neck.

"We still have a mission to finish!" he smiled mischievously yet cheerfully, parting from your neck to stand straight.

You furrowed your eyes in annoyance, and began to realise what he meant.

He brought the fingers that fingered you to his lips, then to his tongue, tasting your arousal and humming in satisfaction. Before you could protest, he took the same hand away from his lips then near your cleavage, he then leaned to whisper.

"I wonder what Mori-san will feel when he finds out that his loyal executive is distracted from a mission because she's being fucked by her partner from what she calls ‘a stupid treaty’" he said in a mocking tone, even taunting as he took the letter from your bra, placing it in-between his index finger and his middle finger. He parted away from you and was leaning enough to see you on eye-level, putting the neatly folded letter on the inside pocket of his tuxedo with the same smirk he always has.

Now you remembered why you hated him so much.

#fedyaz. works #fedyaz. event #fedyaz. req #bsd x reader #bsd smut #bungou stray dogs x reader #bungou stray dogs #dazai x reader #dazai osamu #bsd fanfic #smut #bungo stray dogs #bungo stray dogs x reader #bungou sd #bsd dazai #x reader

[bingbongsupremacy]

Closure Pt. 2

Pairing: Steve Harrington x plus size!reader

Warnings: swearing, anger, idk what else

Series Summary: You never knew Steve could be so shallow. When he leaves you to date Nancy Wheeler, you're left with a pain you thought he'd never leave with you. Maybe you should've stayed friends.

Part Summary: He wrote a letter. You don't need him. Right?

*Not Proof Read* Stranger Things Masterlist

Based off of Taylor Swift Song Closure. This was a request. I tried to make everything as general as possible. Pls let me know if missed something ty.

Pt. 1 Pt. 2 Pt. 3

*****

No one was supposed to know we were dating. Steve said he didn’t want his teammates to bug me. He didn’t want people to overreact when they found out about us and say mean shit. At the time, I agreed. I mean, Steve’s the king of Hawkins high. I wouldn’t be the first girl he’s dated who’s had rumors spread about them. 

Hiding us was harder than we thought. A month or so after we got together Tommy found out and told the whole team. Gradually the whole school found out. Gossip spreads like wildfire, especially in a town like Hawkins. 

During the weeks after we broke up, I started to think about our secret relationship.

He wasn’t trying to protect me. He was trying to protect his reputation. Steve might not show it but deep down he’s just like everyone else. He’s got insecurities too. He obsesses over anything negative that’s said about him, analyzing everything that others think is imperfect about him until he finds a way to change it.

That’s something I noticed sophomore year when we started to get a little closer.

He was kind to me, but he wasn’t perfect. I don’t know for sure but I think he still messed with underclassmen, bullying them for praise from Tommy and Carol. He wanted to be liked by everyone, especially those two assholes.

He was always going to pick them over me. 

“ Honey, this came in for you today. “ My mom breaks me out of my thoughts. 

I look up from my stack of paperwork. “ What? From who? “ My brows furrow in confusion. Who would send mail to my parents’ house? I haven’t lived here in years. 

“ It’s from Steve. “ My moms eyes scan over the stark white envelope. 

My heart sinks. 

What the fuck does he want? 

I haven’t seen or talked to him since graduation 7 years ago. What could he want with me? Last I heard he got a job at Family Video and Nancy broke up with him. 

He knows I’m here. He has to. Fucking Hawkins. When one person knows everyone knows. Mrs. Henderson must’ve told someone when I ran into her at the gas station. 

“ What ever happened to you and Steve? Do you both still talk? “ My mom asks curiously while handing over my mail. 

Oh right. I never told her. 

“ We fell out of touch. You know, life. " I shrug, hoping that's enough for her.

" Oh, that's so sad sweetie. I'm sorry. " She sends me a small sympathetic smile. " That's always hard when you lose touch with someone you love. " She gently pats my shoulder.

Love.

Steve didn't love me.

I send her a small smile, hoping to drop the topic. " It happens, ma. "

" Well, I'll you get to it. " She dismisses herself, leaving me to the letter in my hands.

I trace the sharp corners of the envelope. Should I open it? Do I want to?

I wonder what it says.

What could he have to say to me after all of these years? It couldn't be something worth my time. Not after the shit that happened in high school. Right?

But what if it is?

Fuck it. I'm curious.

I pull open the envelope and let the torn paper fall into my lap. A neatly folded letter greens me, the bright white stationary paper matching the envelope.

This is it. Here we go.

I pull open the letter. Dark blue pen lines starkly contrast the white paper. Steve's familiar handwriting fills a good portion of the page. At the bottom his squiggly signature lies, bold and exactly the same as I remember.

Y/N,

I hope this letter finds you. I heard you're back in town. I've been meaning to do this for a long time. I've debated writing to you for years. I didn't know if I had anything good enough to send to you.

I was an asshole to you. You didn't deserve how I broke up with you. I feel horrible about how I treated you. About how I let other people change my opinion and control my actions. I should've stood stronger with what I thought.

That's something I always loved about you. You didn't let other people sway your opinions. I'm sure you still don't. You thought for yourself.

You are so much braver than I am. You didn't compromise yourself for others.

I've thought about what happened for years. About how you must have felt.

I hope you're well. I hope you've been able to move on and you've continued to be yourself. I know I don't deserve to say that, I just wish you the best.

I wanted to explain to you why I did what I did. I owe it to you. I was selfish. I got caught up in the high school popularity shit. I know it's stupid. I wanted to be Hawkins High's main guy. I wanted the Prom King title. I wanted the attention.

I really did like you. You made me feel safe and understood. You were always patient and kind. You urged me to be me, even when I felt like caving under pressure. You liked me for me, not for who I was trying to be. You deserved better than me.

People started to talk. You know. You heard the rumors.

At first, I thought I could handle it. I thought it wouldn't bug me. I thought I could push past it all. I cracked. Tommy and Carol jumped on the wagon and it pushed me over the edge. I couldn't bare the thought of losing the respect I'd worked so hard to get. I couldn't handle the teasing I'd get from the guys after games or the looks Tommy'd send my way when he saw us together.

It was wrong. I didn't think about you. About how you must've felt and how you were handling everything that was going on. It was Senior Year. I should've held on. We would've been out of this shit hole in a few months anyway, I don't know why I didn't just ignore it all. That's one of my biggest regrets.

I've been in therapy for a few years now. I've worked past all that surface-level shallow shit. I really see just how much I hurt you, and for that I'm so sorry.

I don't expect you to forgive me. I just wanted you to know that you're the first girl I ever loved and I am so grateful for you. Our relationship sent me on a path to help myself, and for that I will always love you.

Thank you.

-Steve Harrington

P.S. The week before we broke up I was going to give this to you. I never did.

I glance down at the envelope in my lap and open it. At the bottom lays a shiny silver necklace. A small gem, my birthstone, lays in the center. It glimmers in the light. It's beautiful.

I turn the gem over and spot a small engraving on the back.

SH +Y/N

For a moment I'm torn.

Should I write him back? Should we talk?

Part of me does miss him. I miss his laugh. His playful teasing. The way he looked at me.

No.

He hurt me. A lot.

He can't just send a letter and make it better. Why didn't he talk to me in person if this really weighed on him as much as he says it did? Why didn't he call me?

I don't need him. I'm fine. I've been fine without him for years. I'm not going to let him back into my life because he feels bad about his actions and insecurities.

I left Hawkins for a reason. I needed to get away from Steve. I needed him out of my life.

I'm not going to let him back in for his sake.

I don't need him.

I stand up, taking the papers and necklace in my hand. I walk over to the trashcan near my dresser. Without a second thought, I drop everything into the can.

The necklace makes a small clunking sound as it hits the bottom of my empty can.

The rustling of papers quiets and so does my pounding heart.

I'm fine on my own.

(Do we like this ending? Or should I try to make another part? )

Taglist: @sublimepenguinpeach-blog @queen-apple24

#fanfic #fanfiction #x reader #stranger things x reader #x you #x female reader #xreader #x chubby reader #x plus size reader #stranger things x plus size reader #steve harrington x plus size reader #supernatural x plus size readers #plussize!reader #plus size reader #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fanfic

[harrysmimi]

The Missing Co-writer

Synopsis: Harry doesn't feel to hide anymore

CW: Loads of fluff and sliver of a cute little drunkrry.

Series Masterlist | More of my work

Guess what?!

YN got an offer to write along with one of the most genius and know artist of her generation. Harry couldn't be more proud of his fiance!

Well, she took up on the offer just because how much she loved writing music with her Harry. He won Album of the year, for the album they both wrote together. Kinda. But there many songs he wrote with her which his fans love so much. That's what he wants, his fans to enjoy what he makes.

When Jeffery told YN about this offer she contemplated it like every life decision she has to make. Harry on the other hand was just so stubborn on getting her to agree on this because one, she loved to do it the first time around, two, she's got a fucking degree in music, and three, she get paid for it, which she so deserves. She didn't get paid it the first time around, well, she didn't wanted to.

She was there with him at the Grammy's, though she insisted on staying away from the cameras. Harry respected her decision to do so.

They had a great night afterwards at the after party. He introduced YN to all of his closest friends in the industry, the ones he knows would respect his privacy and not talk about this publicly.

But today, he missed her like hell!

He was at the Brit awards. Nominated for four of the categories. But his love was away to work on this new project she seemed so excited for.

He doesn't want to hold her back so, when he told her he was having a great time preparing for the award show... he lied. Whilst she wouldn't be able to make it back home in time, he doesn't want her to be lost and feel guilty for anything. He's sure she'll be watching him on the TV anyway. At the end, he gets to have her all to himself and celebrate all over again for achivement he got for the work they did together.

He asked Gemma to go with him, lile he did last time and she did agree. They were having a good time but he still missed his YN there. All three times he mentioned people who helped him write this album so special to his heart, he contemplated on mentioning her name. Not because he doesn't feel like he should or anything of the stupid reason, just because he wants to keep her protected so badly!

YN already got enough hate, even though people don't know her name, who she is, what she does, what she is like in person. No one deserves that.

Yes, he did kissed Lewis Capaldi drunkenly but he knows YN will be laughing more when they're reunited by in three days.

With a drink in his hand and his phone in the other, he made a treck to the bathroom. He wanted to call her and talk to her. He needed to.

One ring...

Two ring...

Three...

"Hello Hazza!" Her happy voice chirped through the call.

"Hi, baby." Harry smiled with his phone held upto his ear. He could hear the award show playing in the background from her side.

"I am so proud of you, Harry. Three put of four, and you got to kiss Lewis!" She gasped in pure joy. "Not gonna lie, Niall is going to be real mad at you and it did made a tiny bit jealous."

That earned a giggle from him, "I'm sorry about that. I miss you so much, I wish you were here with me baby." His voice wavered as his eyes got teary. "We did this together. For the first time, this is happening to me and couldn't be more proud of us. I wanted to call you up and say how much I love you. I fucking love you so much, YN. Without you this wouldn't have been possible. Thank you for being my muse and my rock throughout these years. I'm gonna need this till my heart stops pumping inside me chest. I know how right of s decision I made by asking you to marry me. I want you to know how I appreciate you for everything you do, even though I don't mention you tonight in any of my speeches. I just want to protect you."

"I know you do love me Harry," YN sighed on the other side. He was sure she's crying too by now, "I know you appreciate me, and you exactly know why. They say 'don't meet your heros', but I'm so fucking glad I did! I wish I was there with you too. You don't have to mention me any of your speeches to tell me how you about us. I'd have it just between you and I."

"I just don't want you to feel left out, my love. Because you're not." Harry sniffled. "Also, I don't want to hide anymore. I want to be able to hold you close and not worry about being photographed, and, and want to kiss you wherever we are. Want to brag about how amazing my love is! I truly do. But I want to protect you, you already get enough slack for choosing to stay by my side."

"I know but we can't control it, can we now?" He could hear her sniffle on the other side, "I want you to do what you want to. Not going to hold you back, we can get through anything and everything together, right?"

"Mhmm." He nodded to himself. "I love you so much."

"I love you so much!" She reciprocated, "now tell me the truth, you're crying because you're drunk right?"

"Hey!" He whined just to hear her soft giggles from the other side, "you're a meanie!"

"No, I'm not!" She teased him, "stay safe Hazza, I'll be home day after tomorrow."

"Mhmm, I'd stay longer and talk to you hut Jeffery is calling me now." He shared. "Maybe I'll skip the party later."

"No, I want you go. Please Harry?" She requested, "I don't want to skip on anything because pf me. You already don't go out when you're home."

"Okay." He sounded. "I love you!"

"I love you more." She chuckled. It was like almost the tenth time he's saying that to her.

"This is not a compitition but," he slurred, "I love you more!"

"Okay, you win."

"See it wasn't that hard to agree, was it?"

"Hmm, I think you would be in trouble as Jeffery is texting me to ask you to get off the call they're about to announce Album of The Year." She shared.

"Fuck! I should go." He sighed.

"Mhmm, I'll see you soon."

"See you baby, be safe okay?"

"You too, Harry." He could hear her smile through the phone, "and no, I wasn't going to admit, it's a fact I love you more. Bye!" And the call went dead before he could argue.

......................................................................

"And the winner is..." Stanley Tucci opened the envelope to announce the winner, "Harry Styles."

Harry was ecstatic. Hugging Gemma and fist bumping everyone on his way to the stage.

"There is literally no one I love more in this world than Stanley Tucci. Thank you very much!" Harry chuckled as he looked at his award and pauses for a moment, "umm... This uhh... This night has been really special to me and I will never forget. Thank you so much for the welcome home. I appreciate so much there is no place like home. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm so so proud to be an British Artist out there in the world, I'm so proud to be here tonight celebrating British Artists, British Music. Thank you, thank you, I'm going to hand it to Tom and Tyler. Thank you so much for this. I'm so grateful, thank you!"

Harry glanced at his friends who are also his co-writer on the album. But one of them was missing and it was bugging him so much. He took in a deep breath.

"I want to thank my missus, who, who uhh... has been a great support. She wrote this album with us too. I couldn't be more in love with or grateful to a person than I am to you. Thank you, thank you so much for being my muse and my rock through all these years. And... I love you!" He flashed a sheepish smile and blew a little kiss to the crowd before he walked down the stage.

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"Harry you did not!" YN exclaimed the first thing after she entered through the door of their flat, dropping her bags on the floor.

"Yes I— owh!" He grabbed onto her tight as she launched on him with a bear hug. "Yes I did baby!"

"You won all four of them!" She celebrated, "I am so fucking happy for you," she placed a smoothering kiss on his mouth, "you deserve every bit of happiness and success out there. I'm so, so, so, so proud of you!"

"Thank you, darling." He chuckled at her excitement as he hugged her again, "I thought you were going to kill me for saying I love you to you on TV!" He pulled away to get another deserving kiss.

In her own words; he deserved every happiness in this world!

"I would be mad if you didn't." She rolled her eyes.

"Did you..." he sighed, "just rolled your eyes at me, baby?"

"Oh come on, I am so proud of you Harry!" She clung onto him like a Koala bear again.

No, she's just that short in front of him.

"I missed you!" He picked her up and waddled his way to the sofas so they can sit and talk.

"I missed you!" She reciprocated. "When did you get home after the after-party?"

"At five in the morning the next day." He smiled sheepishly as he sat both of them down, YN straddling gis lap.

"Look at you!" She playfully punched his arm. "No but seriously Harry, I do think you hold back to go out and have fun with your friends like you used to. You don't have to stay back just because I have the most boring personality ever!"

"Who said you have a boring personality?" He scoffed, "I'd rather stay home with you and teach Milo new trick, make some new recipe and make a disaster of out kitchen or just watch TV, or, wait for it... this one is my favourite: have sex." That earned a laugh from her, "Than go out and drink, torture my kidneys and have a hangover for next three days."

"Okay." She nodded.

"You did not install twitter on your phone again, right?" He asked.

"Nope." She assured him. Because she didn't.

"Good because ee don't even want to go there." He took in a breathe of relief. "We still need to plan more for our wedding though, don't we?"

"Mhmm!" She nodded. "You sure you want to go for The Savoy than your villa in Italy, or better Anne's backyard garden that she offered for us to use?"

"What's wrong with the hotel?"

"Haz, it's very expensive!"

"So is going to be the villa." Was his only argument.

"Well, no, you own it. And it's less expense. You can even make that money back, by putting it on for rent. For maybe a month or so, I'm sure." She suggested.

"What's wrong?" He could just read through her, "you know you can share it with me, baby. Is something bugging you.

"I don't know," she sighed, "I want to be an equal part on this. I'm saving up for when we get our new place. And everything adding up gets very expensive. On my side at least."

"Mm." He sounded and took his time to think.

Look, he does want to be a part this whole planning thing. The only thing he doesn't want disrupted is their wedding. The hotel provides more privacy, he can have his team sign and agreement with them. His mum's backyard garden and the Italian villa can be invaded. In fact his pictures were taken ages ago with a drown in his private property.

"We'll split it." He answered, "I don't want our special day be ruined by people invading our privacy. The villa isn't that... How do I put this? Safe enough for our privacy. I don't want to force you nor do I want to make you feel less. Just chip however much you can or we'll figure something else, yeah?"

"Hmm, I'll think about it." She nodded.

Milo jumped up on the sofa spooking his mother and making his dad laugh, meowing for attention. Harry has been a amazing cat dad since day one!

"Hello my love!" YN cooed and picked the little feline up. He started purring immediately.

"He's very fucking partial!" Harry gasped looking at the kitty. "He never comes upto me like this."

That just made YN laugh.

......................................................................

N O T E :

Pls lemme know how you liked this one.

And if you have any requests for THIS particular couple, I'm taking in requests.

......................................................................

Tag list:

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#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #harry styles x reader #harry styles x you #x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles writing #harry styles imagine #harry smut #harry styles fic #harry styles blurb #harry styles concept #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles imagines #harry styles fanfic #fan fiction #husbandrry #husband!harry #fiancerry #fiance!harry #boyfriendrry #boyfriend!harry #fluff #angst #smut

[linawritestwst]

𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎!𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚡 𝚝𝚠𝚜𝚝'𝚜 𝚋𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚐𝚜 (𝚐𝚗!𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛)

I'M FINALLY DONE. I'M FINALLY DONE WITH THESE YANDERE READER HEADCANONS.

okay, so, i should probably explain how these headcanons work and how i chose characters for them.

each character gets a yandere!reader with a specific personality trait and there will be different yandere types too. you can read more about yandere types online, i personally used information from the dere wiki.

about the title.. i agree that most twst characters can be called red flags (btw i mean it in an affectionate way.. with some characters. some of them are red flags in a derogatory way to me sdhdkjsdks) since almost all characters are based on disney villains, however, i decided to go with the ones i personally consider to be a little bit less sane than others <3 also i just used those characters who i wanted to see in a relationship with a yandere!reader, so don't come at me, okay sdhjsksksk i know that i should have included some other characters too, like now i'm thinking that i probably should have added cater, azul and a few other characters too but. i'm tired, okay. if people will be interested in seeing a part 2, sure, i might write one, but for now, just take this.

characters: riddle rosehearts (listen, i know that he's not as bad as other characters, but hey. yandere!reader x riddle makes me 💞💓💗💖💕) , jade leech, floyd leech, jamil viper, rook hunt, malleus draconia, lilia vanrouge (again, he's probably not that bad, but it's the vibe, okay) rollo flamme.

warnings: possible ooc, general yandere themes, themes of obsession, mentions of manipulation, murder and death, implications of suicide. if you're not comfortable with yandere/horror content (i think it has some angst too?), i suggest you skip these. stay safe, love y'all.

also i'm sorry if this has typos or anything like that it's kinda late and i wrote this instead of doing my hw

(divider link)

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character: riddle rosehearts

yandere type: training type

personality trait: cheerful

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♡ you remember meeting riddle for the first time like it was yesterday. of course you would remember it well, you knew that he was the one right when you saw him. riddle wasn't like most nrc students. he was responsible, hardworking, he followed the rules instead of breaking them. he definitely was your type. he was so cute too! it's so easy to make him blush and sweat and stutter, his reactions are always so fun and entertaining!..

♡ but there's this one small thing that annoys you a little. why do all other students say that riddle needs to chill and that there's no point in following all those rules? can't they see how amazing and talented he is? of course you're more loyal than all those traitors, you would never go against your queen's orders. in fact, you actually think that riddle should be even more strict. you remember hearing about his unique magic for the first time and being so excited to see it, "off with your head" means that he can easily cut anyone's head off, right?.. oh, so he just stops them from using magic.. man, and here you hoped that you will finally see those rulebreakers' heads on the floor.

♡ most people find it weird how even though you're always so cheerful and you love to have fun, you still think that riddle is right and you continue to support him. well, maybe your idea of fun is simply watching your classmates cry because they forgot to study for today's test and now it's too late to do anything! <3 actually, you're a bit scared that someone will try to change riddle's mind and make him become more relaxed and forgiving of those who break the queen's rules. you can't allow that to happen! you must make sure that riddle stays the same.. actually, what if you tried to help him become even more perfect than he already is? riddle will never forget about anything if he has someone like you by his side. he will study even more because you think that he's not working hard enough. he will try harder to impress you because you're the only person in this school who actually gets him.

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character: jade leech

yandere type: obsession type

personality trait: shy

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♡ jade is one of the few people in this school who actually understands you. he never judges you, he never forces you to socialize, of course, he does say that it would be nice for you to talk to others more, but he doesn't think that you being an introvert is a bad thing. he doesn't think you're weird, he listens to you when you talk to him about your interests and his face expression never changes. he always has a smile on his face no matter what you say, he never looks disappointed or confused or scared, he genuinely likes spending time with you and you know it.. or maybe that's just what he wants you to think.

♡ but even if he actually doesn't have feelings for you, you definitely are in love with him. anyone would fall in love with him if they were treated the same way. for someone as shy and quiet as you, meeting jade was the best thing that could ever happen to you. if it wasn't for him, you would be so.. lonely. actually, you just stopped caring about making more friends after meeting jade. jade is the only friend you need. you don't have to talk to anyone else. they will just laugh at you or call you weird and you're too tired from dealing with people like that. you think about jade so often, his own brother finds it concerning. you couldn't care less about what floyd thinks though.

♡ .. but what if jade actually finds it creepy too? no, no, that thought scares you so much, you can't stand it! jade loves you, right? he wants to be more than friends, right?.. but what if he doesn't even think of you as a friend? what if he just pretends to be nice, what if it's just him being polite? it's so scary to think about and you can feel your heart breaking, but.. what if it's true? you have to make sure that he loves you back. you have to talk to him about it. yes, you're shy, yes, you're quiet, yes, it's hard for you to talk about your feelings, but you have to know the truth. and if it turns out that jade is actually a huge liar.. haha.. at least one of you will die, that's for sure.

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character: floyd leech

yandere type: self-sacrifice

personality trait: cold

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♡ most people find it hard to talk to you. you're known for almost never showing your emotions and always looking like you want to kill someone even though you don't even look angry or anything like that, there's just something about your eyes and the way you look at people. so yeah, most people just ignore you or even run away every time they see you. it's not like you're mad at them, really. you don't mind spending most of your time alone. but it still.. hurts a little. haha.. so you actually can feel emotions after all. so when floyd suddenly started talking to you more and even gave you a cute nickname, you were surprised (though it was hard to tell from your face expression) but also.. maybe even happy?

♡ floyd doesn't exactly have the best reputation either because of his.. uh.. interesting personality, so of course you two would get along so easily. honestly, you even start to feel like you're.. it's so weird to hear yourself say it, but it feels like you're actually in love with floyd. he's the only one who can make you feel something and react to things, he's the only one who can make you smile or cry or feel fear. and he gets excited when he finally sees your face expression change too. however.. his mood swings do scare you a little bit. sometimes, when you're not showing any emotions and his tricks aren't working, he suddenly says that he's bored and just leaves you. huh.. a-are you not interesting enough for him?

♡ you knew it. of course, you knew that someone like you isn't good enough for floyd. he's always so full of energy, he needs someone who can keep up with him and you're not like that at all. but you need his attention. you just want him to look at you one more time. you really hope he will stop ignoring you if you just.. start acting differently. what if you start acting more like riddle who he loves to annoy so much? what if you start acting more like kalim who's just as energetic as floyd? you don't care what other people think of you, you just want floyd back. you're so scared of disappointing him again, you'll be anything he wants you to be.

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character: jamil viper

yandere type: protective

personality trait: soft

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♡ you admire jamil so much. you have no idea how someone can be as perfect as him. he's so patient, so hardworking, so good at everything he does.. and he also has to deal with kalim all the time. you talk about jamil so often that some people start to think that you have a crush on him. whenever they make jokes about that, you blush and deny everything, but you know very well that you really are deeply in love with him. you really want him to love you just as much as you love him. but how are you gonna make him notice you? well.. maybe you should help him in some way?

♡ but how exactly can you help him? you doubt that you can help him with cooking or his vice dorm leader duties.. ah, it must be hard for him to be kalim's vice dorm leader. maybe you can tell kalim to be a little bit more responsible? you know, so that jamil won't be overworked. you try to have a conversation with kalim about it and he promises that he won't push jamil too hard and he will try to be a better dorm leader. you apologize in case you have said something rude, but he claims that it's fine and that you're actually right. he really should pay more attention to jamil's well-being. he thanks you for caring about jamil so much and you say that it's not a big deal while trying to hide just how red your face currently is.

♡ .. kalim is a good guy. he really is. but he's not good at keeping his promises. no matter how much he tries, he still forgets things and jamil has to do everything for him. and even if kalim tries to do something without anyone's help, jamil still ends up doing it for him because he doesn't trust kalim and he doesn't want him to accidentally ruin anything. it hurts seeing jamil work so much. despite your best efforts, his situation never changes. well.. you didn't want to do this, you really didn't. but if there's no other way to solve this problem, maybe you should.. you know.. remove the person who's making all of this happen? ah, and if any other scarabia students get in your way or try to make jamil's life miserable as well.. it's okay, you can take care of them too. it's all for his sake.

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character: rook hunt

yandere type: monopoly + removal

personality trait: popular i know it's not really a personality trait but still

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♡ you're loved and admired by many nrc students. they have many different reasons to love you: your beauty, your intelligence, your sense of humor, etc. and you enjoy being this popular, even though on the outside you look like a gentle and even kinda shy person. however, even though you have such a good reputation and you're loved by so many people.. you're still not satisfied with it. why? well, the thing is.. no matter how many nrc students love you and say you're the most beautiful person in twisted wonderland, you just want one specific person to call you that. but he's never gonna do it. because he thinks all people are beautiful in their own way and he never stops complimenting them.

♡ rook is an interesting person. you have to agree that he can be a little.. weird sometimes, but for some reason, his behavior and personality intrigues you and you can't help but find him fascinating. and of course, he's one of your many admirers. he's not immune to your charms and he certainly finds you beautiful. however.. it's not like he thinks you're the most beautiful person here. he changes his mind like every few seconds, you swear, if you could put him in the same room with you, vil and neige, he would probably explode or something. but you want more than that. you want him to call you the most beautiful person he has ever seen. i guess you could say you want him to call you the fairest one of all, haha.

♡ so how can you make this happen? how can you make rook look only at you and nobody else? this is gonna be hard. you can't exactly get rid of just one person or even two people, because rook finds everybody beautiful. but uh.. maybe you can just remove the strongest rivals first? and if that's not gonna make him pay more attention to you, you'll have to get rid of more people then. and more. and more. you will make sure rook has his eyes only on you in the end because there will be nobody else to look at. too bad, you don't know that rook thinks that when someone is covered in blood and their heart had already stopped beating, that person is still beautiful in some scary, twisted way. so even if you do kill all those people, his thoughts will still be about them.

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character: malleus draconia

yandere type: loneliness induction

personality trait: manipulative yes i know most of them are manipulative shhh

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♡ oh, poor malleus. everyone finds him so scary because of his intimidating aura, it's impossible for him to make friends or even simply talk to people without making them want to run away. he's so strong, so powerful, of course people would be scared of him. well.. it's their fault for being so weak then. no, it's just not possible for them to become stronger. even if they do, they will never be as amazing as malleus. you don't think that malleus not having any friends is a bad thing, really. those other students don't deserve to even breathe the same air as him. he's just better than them and that's why they don't want to talk to him. they can't accept the fact that they're weaker than him.

♡ it's okay though. you're more than happy to be malleus's only friend. yes, he doesn't need anyone else but you. you've told him that many, many times before. at first he wasn't sure about it, but now.. he doesn't even talk to other diasomnia students that much, including lilia, silver and sebek. actually, sebek acting like his usual self annoys him now. he'd much rather hear you saying that you're ready to do anything for him. sure, you will say that. it's not like you actually mean it though. you agree that malleus is better than others and that you're the only one who's allowed to talk to him, but you do have your limits. it's not like you're okay with dying for him. you won't let him die for you either.

♡ you just enjoy him being obsessed with you a little too much to die for him. maybe malleus could make more friends if it wasn't for you. maybe he could find someone to be in a more healthy relationship with if it wasn't for you. but the fact that a strong mage and a prince of briar valley depends on you so much that he refuses to talk to anyone else makes you too happy to let him form bonds with other students. you repeatedly tell him that other people don't deserve him and that he doesn't have to spend time with them if he doesn't want to. it's okay if you're his only friend. it's okay if you're the only person who cares about him. you will give him more love than all those people combined.

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character: lilia vanrouge

yandere type: dependent

personality trait: innocent

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♡ you know that most students find lilia a bit strange, but you think that he's one of the most reliable and trustworthy people here. sure, he loves to pull pranks and mess with people, but you actually do think he's funny. you always laugh at his jokes and even though you get scared after he suddenly appears right in front of you out of nowhere or you see him hanging upside down, you still enjoy his company. in fact, you enjoy it so much that it's a bit.. hard to imagine your life without him. it'd be so lonely without lilia by your side.

♡ lilia is always there when you need someone's help and he's always there to support you and cheer you up when you're feeling down. no matter what other people say you know that this man is one of the kindest people you've ever met. he often says that you should be more careful since it's not like he can always come to your aid, even though he wants to be your hero so much. from his tone it sounds like he's joking, but he actually really is worried about you. you often look like a lost child who has no idea what to do and who will trust anyone no matter how suspicious they look. sometimes he jokes about you acting like this to get more attention from him. little does he know that this actually might be true.

♡ you need lilia to watch over you. you need lilia to come to you when you're sad and lonely and tell you that everything is going to be okay. most of the time you're not pretending, you really are this pure and innocent, you still have no idea how you can act like this while attending a school full of villains. but sometimes you do pretend to be a little bit more naive than you really are. you just like it when lilia acts protective and you're so, so afraid of him leaving you one day because he thinks that you're gonna be fine on your own. if he thinks so, then he's wrong. you will do anything to make lilia stay. you will do anything to make him believe that it's impossible for you to do anything without his help. haha.. maybe you should start getting into more dangerous situations on purpose. maybe if he sees how you almost die, he will understand that he just can't leave you. he's not allowed to leave you.

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character: rollo flamme

yandere type: worship

personality trait: flirty

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♡ it's hard for other people to say if you actually do have a crush on rollo or you're just messing around. you don't act like this with others though, so maybe you actually do have feelings for him?.. but again, it's hard for both rollo and those people to take you seriously. also, other nbc students just don't understand how a person like you ended up falling for someone like rollo. like.. he's probably not your type, right? you're so outgoing, talkative and energetic, you're not like him at all. actually, shouldn't you find him annoying? you two are just so different.. well, in your case, opposites attract.

♡ you don't hate rollo. actually, it's hard for you to say that you have a crush on him either. what you feel for him is much stronger. it's like.. he's so different from all the other people. he's basically flawless to you. even when you find out how much he hates magic, you still agree with him. if you are a magic user, you will gladly die for him to show just how much you respect him and how far you're willing to go for him. if you are not a magic user, you will be more than okay with killing as many magic users as he wants you to kill. hm? he's a magic user as well? ah.. well, he's just different from them. he's just better. also, he would never use magic in the same way as all those other mages.

♡ it takes a lot of time for other people and even rollo himself to realize just how deep your obsession with him is. you always play it off as a joke and if rollo asks about it, you smile and wink at him while saying that you just love him so much, your feelings for him often make you say the weirdest things. it's so fun to see him react to your words too. haha, if he can't handle you simply saying that he's cute, then maybe you really should keep your obsession with him a secret for now.

#twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twst x reader #twisted wonderland headcanons #twst headcanons #twisted wonderland imagines #twst imagines #riddle rosehearts #riddle rosehearts x reader #jade leech #jade leech x reader #floyd leech #floyd leech x reader #jamil viper #jamil viper x reader #rook hunt #rook hunt x reader #malleus draconia #malleus draconia x reader #lilia vanrouge #lilia vanrouge x reader #rollo flamm #rollo flamm x reader #rollo flamme #rollo flamme x reader

[h0nology]

A Long Walk

Let's take a long walk around the park after dark, find a spot for us to spark

warnings: not proofread. wrote this at 12am, half asleep but its been on my mind for too long. fluff, kissing

You exit out your office, hurrying down the steps, eager to get home and start your long weekend.

Thump!

Your briefcase hits the ground as your body collides with another. Without even looking at the person in front of you, you reach for your briefcase but they beat you to it, picking it up and handing it to you.

“In a rush to get home, huh?”

When you looked up at the man, you weren't expecting to be met by such a beautiful face and familiar too but you couldn’t quite put your finger on where you’ve seen it before.

“I need every second of this weekend.” You let out a soft laugh, still mesmerized by the man in front of you.

He looked at you for a second, his eyes scanning over your face as a smile crept up on his. "Ah, I see," he chuckled. "Is this your office?"

You look back at the beautiful building that you are lucky to call your office. It’s been a long time coming, but you're grateful that your writing career has brought you here.

“Yes it is, actually.”

He clicks his tongue, looking up at the building before shoving his hands in his jacket pockets as a cool breeze passes. "Hey, uh, would you like to go on a walk with me?"

“A walk?”

Wasn’t really in your weekend plans but you couldn’t seem to say no to the handsome man in front of you.

"I'm Pedro, by the way. Sorry, I should've started with that." He says, pulling his hand out of his pocket to shake yours.

You gladly shook his hand, telling him your name in return. "Yes, Pedro, I'd like to go on a walk with you.” You replied with a smile.

He smiles back, surprised that you had actually said yes as you two began to walk side by side.

“Do you always go on walks with strangers or am I special?”

“There’s a first for everything.” You shrug, looking up at him.

"True," He agrees. "So, big fancy office. What is it that you do?"

“I’m a writer.” You tell him

“Oh really? What do you write?”

This was your favorite question, you loved talking about your writing.

"Anything my heart desires, really. My range is as vast as romance to sci-fi.” You reply.

“Is that what you’re working on right now?”

"Well, I wouldn't say working on...writer's block has been a pain in the ass.” You admit.

“Writers block…” He chuckles, “That’s a new one.”

“Enough about me, though.” You wave it off, “What is it that you do?”

Pedro was honestly in shock that you didn’t know who he was, but also in awe. He had finally found someone who he could click with, without it feeling forced or uncomfortable. He wanted to ask you ‘You really don’t know who I am?’ but then he’d be the jerk.

“Well, I act.” He tells you, “I’m an actor.”

You were expecting a photographer or a bank teller, anything but that. You admit it's a bit sad how out of touch you are with the internet. You don't really follow the latest shows and movies because you're usually nose deep in a book or writing your own.

“Do you find that hard to believe?” Pedro asks after you don’t respond.

“No! No, not at all.” You laugh, “What are you in?”

“Have you heard of Narcos?”

You wish you could say yes. You didn’t want to downplay his accomplishments of what he has acted in but you really have never heard of it.

“I’m lame, I’m sorry.” You shake your head, chuckling a bit.

“You’re far from lame, trust me.” He says, “Plus, it’s good to know this could be something genuine.”

“This?”

“Us.” He clarifies.

“So there’s an us now?” You ask, looking at him, “Get a girl a drink or something first.”

You just happened to be walking up on a smoothie shop, you swear you hadn’t seen it until Pedro smirked at you, doing a weird and overly dramatic gesture towards the sign. You laugh, walking in as he held the door open for you. The two of you entered the small and crowded space, placing your order and waiting for the blended goodness to come out. You took a seat as Pedro stood and waited for the smoothies, mindlessly you took out your notebook, jotting some thoughts down that had came to your mind as you studied the room around you.

“Inspiration flowing?” Pedro’s voice snapped you out the trance you were in.

“Yeah, that couple there reminds me of my characters.” You point your pen at the couple sitting down, the girls head resting on her boyfriend’s shoulder as he typed on his computer.

You hear Pedro chuckled before speaking, “Cmon, I want to show you something.”

You finished up your jotting, closing your notebook before standing up and following him out the shop, letting him lead the way to wherever he wanted to take you. As the sun began to set, casting a warm glow over the sky, Pedro eventually hooked his arm with yours. The sky was painted in hues of pink, orange, and gold, and you couldn’t stop the thoughts for your book from coming in.

You two stopped in front of a pond, the sun reflecting on it beautifully. There was a bridge in the distance, the sun slowly but surely setting behind it. The gentle breeze whispered through the trees as you two stood there. You had finally turned towards him, looking up at him with his beautiful brown eyes.

“So why’d you want to show me this?”

“I wanted to show you something as beautiful as you.”

He's full of surprises. You didn't expect that at all, trying to hide the smile creeping onto your face. Your eyes dart between his eyes and lips, as his do the same, before he leans in and kisses you.

Your lips met tenderly, like two delicate petals brushing against each other. Time seemed to stand still as you savored the moment. It was a gentle exchange, filled with warmth and affection.

“Maybe you can put that in your book.”

#pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal fic #pedro x reader #pedro pascal imagine #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fluff

[ro-is-struggling]

Can I pretty please request 6 with sirius black and perhaps slytherin! Reader?

Hi beautiful💜 Thank you so much for participating in the celebration and I'm sorry it took me so long to post your request!

This is so long for no reason I’m sorry!! I got soooo carried away I didn’t realize I wrote a fucking novel until it was to late lol But I really enjoyed wrtiring this one even tho it took forever and it was a pain in the ass to edit lol, I had a lot of fun so I hope you like it too

Dating 101 || Sirius Black x Slytherin!Reader

Summary: You and Sirius are not the best of friends, but you end up going to him in desperate need of help to get the attention of the guy you've liked for years but don't seem to be able to talk to. He agrees to help you and for the next few weeks you spend time together, getting to know each other better as he teaches you everything he knows about the dating world. The more time you spend together, the more you realize that Sirius is not the arrogant jerk you thought he was, which leads to confused feelings and doubts about who is the one who truly owns your heart.

Warnings: slow burn, rivals to lovers, attempt at humor, reader being awkward, fluff, a little angst kinda

English is not my first language 

Word count: 16.700

This fic is part of my 600 followers celeration

You couldn't believe what you were about to do, your brain screaming at you to stop. You felt sick at the thought of turning to Sirius for help, but you truly had no other choice. You had avoided this as much as you could, but your situation couldn't go on like this, not if you wanted to get your crush to look at you at some point. You weren't a big fan of Sirius —you found that he could be annoying and arrogant at times—, but you couldn't deny that he knew all about the dating world. He was confident and was able to get the attention of anyone he wanted just by giving them a smile. You couldn't understand how he did it —how could anyone be so charming?—, but you couldn't argue with the hard evidence. Sirius was a master at the art of dating and you needed his help. 

You felt a bit silly going to him for help with something like this. You weren't necessarily friends, more like frenemies. You usually argued and competed for points for your respective houses-Sirius for Gryffindor, you for Slytherin-you were both very good students and found your fights stimulating, but you also knew how to work together when necessary. You didn't hate each other, it was just that your personalities clashed easily and you both had a predilection for annoying the other to the point of madness. 

"I need your help with something, Black." You announced when you found him at the Gryffindor table in the Great Dining Hall. He was with his friends, laughing as they plotted who knows what, but you didn't care. You needed to talk to him and you needed to do it now. "Can we talk... in private?" You added as you noticed James, Peter and Remus' curious glances at you.

Sirius looked at you with a raised eyebrow, noticing a hint of discomfort in your action. You were fidgeting, your fingers lightly tapping the edges of the book you held in your hands as you moved your feet constantly, shifting your body weight from one to the other every couple of seconds. Something was bothering you and for some reason you had gone to him of all people. Sirius didn't need to ask you any more questions to follow you into the hallway, too intrigued by what you had to say.

“What’s up, Y/LN?” He asked you when he saw the doubt in your expression, opening and closing your mouth a couple of times without making a sound. He had to admit that your behavior kept poking his curiosity to the point that he was willing to say yes to anything you asked as long as you told him something.

"I need your help," you mumbled as you searched for the right words to explain your situation. Your brain was screaming at you to shut your mouth, sure that Sirius would do nothing but make fun of you, but you had no other options left so that was a risk you would have to take.

"You said that already," he pointed out. "What do you need my help for?"

"I need you to help me get a guy's attention. I know you're really good at this stuff and I thought maybe you could help me out." You spoke quickly, the words running over each other and making the sentence almost unintelligible. It took Sirius a few seconds to understand what you had said, but when he did a cocky smile formed on his face.

“Really?” You regretted asking for his help as soon as you heard the amused tone in his voice. He was definitely enjoying this, it wasn't every day that you were so vulnerable in front of him. He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy listening to you compliment his abilities in the love department. For the first time you were admitting that he was better than you at something without putting up a fight.

"Forget it." You turned to walk away convinced that you had made a mistake in trusting someone like Sirius with your problem. You barely made it two steps before you felt his hand close around your arm to stop you.

"Nonono wait! I wanna help." He was quick to say before you got too far away. "What's your problem?" You remained silent for a moment, watching his face to make sure he wasn't messing with you. You weren't in the mood to put up with his teasing and this topic was too sensitive for you. If he wasn't willing to genuinely give you his help then you would have to leave.

However, you found nothing in his expression that made you suspect that he had bad intentions, so you told him your situation. You told him how much you liked this Oliver guy and how incredibly stupid you became whenever he was around. You had a crush on him for the past two years and even though you were from the same house and shared almost every class, you had never been able to exchange more than two words with him. And it was always embarrassing. All he had to do was look in your direction and you completely lost your cognitive abilities, becoming a nervous mess who couldn't utter more than two words without stuttering. 

After all this time you had almost gotten used to making a fool of yourself in front of Oliver, it was a constant part of your day to day life so you had stopped worrying about it the way you used to. You held out hope that you could get better with time, gather the confidence and courage to face your feelings and have a normal conversation with him at least once. However, all your hopes were shattered after the embarrassing moment you experienced this morning.

The Potions class had dragged on a bit so by the time you were finally able to leave the classroom everyone was running late for their next classes. Everybody rushed through the halls and in the confusion of people Oliver bumped into you, causing your books to fall to the floor. Like the gentleman he was, he bent down with you to pick them up and your fingers brushed as he handed them back to you, causing the skin on your hand to tingle. He smiled at you and apologized for hitting you, but your brain, overwhelmed by the contact and proximity, wouldn't allow you to do anything but mumble incoherently. When you noticed the confusion on his face you knew it was time to run, so you grabbed your books and ran down the hallway, bumping into a couple of students on the way.

“Wow! You suck!” Sirius laughed at your misery. He had a hard time imagining you as someone so shy and awkward given that with him you were Miss I-Know-It-All. Sirius always saw you as a confident and self-assured girl, ready to take the world by storm if it got in the way of your goals.

"I know!" you admitted with a tone of frustration, hiding your face in your hands. You didn't see the point in lying to Sirius, your pride was already crushed from the moment you decided to go to him. "That's why I need your help!"

"Okay, I'll help you, but what's in it for me?" The way he was looking at you, with a raised eyebrow and an amused smile on his face, made you suspicious of his intentions. What was he getting at? " What's in it for me if I help you, something that, let me remind you, I have absolutely no need to do?"

"My eternal gratitude?"

"Oh, it has to be something better than that! You're asking for a lot here, do you have any idea of how much work it's gonna take me to fix your awkwardness?" You knew he was joking for the most part and you were aware that there was a lot of truth behind his words —you were pretty much a lost case—, but it still hurt a little to hear him say that. You weren't used to taking his words without putting up a fight, but you knew that wouldn't get you anywhere. It was time to swallow your pride and listen to Sirius no matter how ridiculous and annoying it sounded.

"Then what do you want?" You asked him, letting out a frustrated sigh, crossing your arms in front of your chest in a defiant stance. You had no time for his games and you were pretty much willing to do anything for his help. "Name your price."

Sirius took a moment to think, but there was something in his expression that suggested to you that he already knew exactly what he wanted from you. 

"Fine I'll do it, but only if you help me with my Herbology assignment." He stated after a few seconds of silence. You looked at him in surprise, doubting for a moment if you had heard correctly. For some reason you were expecting something more terrible, like him using you to make a prank against your own house or having you as a servant for a week, you know, something that felt more like a punishment than anything else.

"Really? That's it?" It was a reflex caused by surprise that you couldn't help but blurt out. You were more than happy with his terms, helping him in Herbology was something you could do with ease.

"No, now that I think about it I also want you to declare to everyone that I'm better than you in everything, but we can work on that." 

And there was the Sirius you knew. You shook your head in disapproval, but couldn't contain the giggle that escaped your lips. He was an idiot, but a funny idiot. 

"Fine! We have a deal?" You asked, holding out your hand for him to shake. He looked at you for a moment before taking your hand, closing his fingers over it in a firm grip.

"We have a deal."

Sirius refused to tell you what he had planned for his first lesson  —his words, not yours. No matter how hard you pressed him for a clue, he kept his mouth shut. He told you it was best that you didn't know more than the day and time he wanted to meet with you to discuss your situation, so you had to spend the week between the stress of homework and exams and the nerves Sirius aroused in you with all the secrecy. 

But finally, after so much suffering and uncertainty, Saturday came. You usually took advantage of the weekend to do your homework or spend time with your friends, but not this time. From the moment you woke up you spent the day counting down the hours until you could meet Sirius. You weren't even surprised that he took his role comically seriously, walking around you while talking as if he was a teacher and you were his only student. He even made exaggerated gestures, mixing several of your teachers into one personality. He only needed a board to write nonsense on and the character would be complete. You didn't mind that he found a way to joke in the middle of it all, you figured that was better than literally anything else he could come up with.

"Today's lesson is about confidence." Sirius announced firmly, looking down at you as if you were an innocent little girl and he was an experienced adult who had all the answers to your questions. And in a way he was, so you closed your mouth and listened to what he had to say. "If you want to ask this guy out then first you have to be able to be able to talk to him. And for that you have to be confident in yourself and your abilities. That's really the most important part of all. Confidence can get you far in life."

You knew very well that what he said was true, but it was much easier said than done. You were a confident girl in general, sure of your ideas and unafraid to communicate them. In any other area of life you had no problem making yourself heard, but when it came to love your brain stopped working. It was the one thing your brain couldn't master, the one thing that didn't seem to make sense and therefore was impossible to study. The world and everything you knew about it stopped making sense when Oliver got close to you. Your brain would fry when he smiled, overwhelmed by the perfection of his face, and suddenly forget how to function properly, making your strong and special personality get lost in a bunch of incoherent babbling.

“That’s easier said than done,” you complained, letting out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but everytime Oliver looks at me I get all stupid and suddenly I forget how to speak.”

“You’re insecure because you lack experience in the matter, that’s completely normal.” You frowned at the confidence in Sirius' voice, but after contemplating his words for a few seconds you realized he was right. How he had been able to figure it out so quickly, you didn't know.

“That… actually makes sense. What do you think I should do?”

“Easy! You need to practice.” He said as if it were obvious, dropping down next to you.

“Practice?”

“Yep, right here, right now. Show me what you’ve got.”

“S-show you what I’ve got?” you repeated in a whisper, unsure how to proceed. You didn't have any lines if that's what he meant. You didn't usually walk around school thinking about which boy's attention you wanted to attract that day, so you didn't have a list of stupid, cheesy icebreaker phrases like you knew he had.

"Just pretend that I'm him. You have me sitting next to you, what's your line?" Sirius' eyes were glued to yours, looking at you expectantly. It made you nervous, so naturally, you made nothing but a fool of yourself when you opened your mouth.

"Hey there... you..." you hesitantly mumble, cringing at yourself. You wanted to slap yourself for being so pathetic. What was wrong with you? You were so much better than this, why was it impossible for you to sound like a normal person when it came to a guy? "I'm sorry, this isn't working. I'm not usually the one that initiates the conversations. Also when I look at you I just see you, so this is dumb." 

You hid your face in your hands to avoid meeting Sirius' mocking gaze. You knew he was probably getting a kick out of your suffering and stupidity, although you were thankful he didn't make it so obvious. You wanted to run out of there, hide under your sheets and never be noticed again by any other human being. There was no hope for you, you were convinced of it. You were too pathetic and you would die alone because of it.

"Fine, let's try a different approach." Sirius sounded too optimistic for someone who had seen you make a fool of yourself like that. "You see that guy over there," he said, forcing you to take your hands away from your face so you could see the boy he was pointing at. When you nodded, he continued. "I want you to get over there and flirt with him."

You let out a long laugh that died as soon as you noticed the seriousness on Sirius' face. "Wait, seriously?" He nodded with a smile and you felt your stomach start to twist with nerves. 

"Look, talking to Oliver scares you, right? The only way to get over it is to face it right here, right now. So I want you to go there and talk to that guy."

"And say what?" You panicked, your voice a couple of notes higher than normal. You didn't even know the guy Sirius wanted you to flirt with, which guaranteed not only that things would go horribly wrong but also that you would be humiliated in front of a complete stranger. Great! That was exactly what you needed at that moment. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I can barely talk to you. what am I supposed to say to this guy?”

“I don’t know, use a dumb line like…” Sirius took a few seconds to think, though you wished he had never opened his mouth again. "Hey, I could tell from across the room we might be into each other, now that I'm here I know it, your move." The exaggeratedly feminine voice he made as he recited the worst line you'd ever heard in your life did nothing to ease your urge to hit him. There was no way you were going to say that to a complete stranger. No, you refused.

"I'm sorry, have you met me? I couldn't get through three words of that."

"Fine! Walk over there and say hey there."

"Hey there?" You tried to protest, but he cut you off, pushing you to get up.

"C'mon, up, up!" you resisted his pushes, but Sirius was much stronger than you and eventually won you over. 

You took several deep breaths before you decided to take the first step towards that mysterious boy who was so calmly reading a book sitting on a bench in the hallway overlooking the courtyard. You walked as slowly as possible without looking weird, turning every two seconds to look at Sirius hoping he would take pity on you and let you go back to your place. However, he just smiled at you, giving you the thumbs up in a gesture of encouragement and making you hate him just a little bit.

You sat on the unoccupied end of the bench, making yourself as small as possible to try to go unnoticed. It didn't make much sense since you were supposed to talk to him, but first you needed a moment to calm your nerves. 

C'mon, you can do this!' the voice of bravery in your mind tried to encourage you. 'It's just a guy! The sooner you talk to him, the sooner you can get this over with.'

You tried to summon your inner Sirius and, letting out a sigh, you turned to look at the boy who was still concentrating on the book in his hands. "Hey there!" Your voice sounded smaller and more pathetic than you meant it to, but it managed to get the boy's attention.

"Hi," he said, slightly confused. A few seconds of awkward silence ensued as your brain struggled to function, thinking of the best way to continue the conversation. 

"What are you reading there?" Without saying anything, the boy closed the book in his hands to show you the cover, giving you time to read the title. It was an old book from the library on the history of the magical world. "Ah, I see. Homework or pleasure?" You didn't know why you were so interested in the book he was reading, it didn't even matter for what you were supposed to be doing, but at least it was a topic of conversation. It was either that or a deep uncomfortable silence until one of you got tired and left.

"I'm doing some research for an essay," he explained as if it were obvious. What teenager would spend a weekend reading a history book for pleasure?

“Oh, about what? Cause I’m really good at History and I-”

“I’m sorry but I’m kinda busy,” he interrupted you before you could continue with your ramblings that were going nowhere. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Oh no, sorry!" you were quick to apologize, feeling the blood from all over your body pooling in your cheeks. Embarrassed, you turned your gaze away from the boy looking for anything else to focus on so you wouldn't have to face your humiliation. Your eyes met Sirius, who gave you a smile. On his lips you read words of encouragement, so you took another deep breath and returned your attention to the boy sitting next to you. "Actually... I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out with me sometime?"

An awkward silence formed and lasted a few seconds. The boy's eyes locked on you, but you couldn't hold his gaze as you waited for an answer. Your eyes searched Sirius once again for comfort and that's when you heard the laughter.

"That was good! Did Sirius put you up to this?" the boy laughed, humiliating you a little more with each chuckle. Of course he thought it was a joke!

"You got me!" you blurted out with a fake laugh, throwing your hands up in the air in defeat. "He dared me to come over and talk to you. I'm sorry to have bothered you."

The boy said something else, but you didn't hear him since you were already running back to Sirius. You felt humiliated and dejected. Not only had you made a fool of yourself, but it had all been for nothing. That experience hadn't taught you anything you didn't already know —that you were awkward and weird and that you would die alone because of your lack of flirting skills.

"See, that wasn't so bad!" Sirius encouraged you as you sat back down next to him. "You got him to laugh!"

"That was humiliating and I hate you."

"Well too bad because now I want you to talk to fifteen guys."

"What? No, forget it!" Sirius was crazy if he thought you were willing to do that again. You'd been humiliated enough for one day, you wanted to go to sleep now.

"Oh my sweet, innocent little bug." Sirius said in an almost condescending tone, putting his arm around your shoulders and pulling you close to him. You scrunched up your nose at the strange nickname he had chosen for you, trying to decide if you hated it or thought it was funny. "Confidence takes work. You can't just talk to one guy and expect everything to magically change. You need to work for it, take a few hits, learn that a negative response it's not the end of the world and it doesn't define who you are or your value as a person."

"It's easy for you to say! All you have to do is smile and every girl in school throw themselves at you."

"That's because I already put in the work, silly." He bumped your nose with his finger and you rolled your eyes, pushing him to break free from his embrace. Suddenly you weren't in the mood for his bullshit. "So now I want you to do the same. Go get them!"

Letting out a grunt, you got up and set off down the corridors of Hogwarts in search of boys who were isolated enough to give you some privacy while you made a fool of yourself —the last thing you wanted was to be the laughing stock of the whole school. And as you walked along you couldn't help but think that maybe asking Sirius for help hadn't been as great an idea as you had initially thought.

“How exactly do you kill two mandrakes in a row?” Was your answer when Sirius told you the reason why he needed your help in Herbology. As part of the practical exam for the OWLs, Sirius had to tend a mandrake plant until it was fully ripe and then present it to the professor. It was not an easy task —mandrakes, like humans, were complicated beings—, but not impossible either. Sirius was a very skilled wizard and you believed that someone like him would have no problem with such a task. But apparently you were wrong, because according to what he had told you it was the second time the plant withered and died before it developed squeaky roots similar to a very ugly human baby.

"I don't know! That's why I'm asking for your help." He shrugged, opening the greenhouse door and stepping aside to let you pass. You found his response suspicious, it was hard to believe that someone like Sirius couldn't take care of a simple mandrake, but you didn't say anything about it. Instead, you let him lead you over to where his pot rested. "What am I doing wrong?"

“Well, have you been watering it enough?” was your first question when you noticed that the soil in the pot looked a little dry. You motioned for him to hand you the watering can and you took it upon yourself to hydrate the poor plant. "You need to check on it regularly. Mandrakes are very similar to us, they need love and attention to grow strong and healthy."

"I'm not going to treat this thing like it's my baby or something." Sirius complained, leaning back on the table as he watched you analyzing the state of the plant. He had to admit that the light reflected off the greenhouse in a unique way, giving you a different aura. You were glowing in a special way that Saturday morning and he couldn't help but wonder what was causing it.

"You'll have to do it if you want to pass the exam." Your voice snapped him out of his thoughts, bringing him back to reality. "But don't worry, I'll help you. We'll co-parent this thing." You both shared a laugh at how ridiculous that sounded, but Sirius would be lying if he said that the idea of spending more time with you disgusted him. He didn't quite know what was happening to him, but lately he didn't find you as annoying and insufferable as usual. Maybe it was because you weren't looking to argue with him every five minutes, or the fact that he had gotten to know a different side of you, but he found himself enjoying the time you spent together. It was fun to joke with you without starting a war.

You spent the next hour talking about mandrakes and you gave Sirius a couple of tips on how to keep it alive. You ended up setting up a schedule for him, marking the times when he had to visit to water it and when to move it to get the exact amount of sunlight it needed to grow strong. If he followed your advice, the mandrake would reach its squeaky baby stage in a couple of weeks. You promised to help him dig it up and repot it as it grew, but assured him that the daily care would fall to him so you could make sure he was learning something —after all, you didn't want to help him pass his OWL Herbology exam by cheating.

You parted ways when lunchtime arrived, each of you going to the table of your respective houses to eat with your friends. However, Sirius approached you again a couple of hours later while you were waiting with the other students to go on the Hogsmeade trip.

"Ready for your next lesson?" he said as he put his arm around your shoulders. It took you by surprise since in all the time you had shared in the morning he hadn't mentioned anything about having your next lesson.

"Already?" you asked, remembering that it had only been a week since your disastrous first lesson. Well, it hadn't been so bad after all. Sure, you had spent the afternoon humiliating yourself, talking nonsense to the first guy who crossed your path, but in the end you had managed to get a positive response from one. The small victory had made you feel good, but you still needed some more time to recover. 

"Well, you were really helpful this morning so I wanted to do something in return."

"Is it going to take long? Cause I wanted to go out with the girls."

"Just give me an hour, then you're free to go." You looked at him with hesitation in your eyes, the ghost of their last encounter haunting you. If his next lesson was going to be as terrible as the first you weren't sure you were ready, you needed time to prepare your mind for the humiliation. "C'mon, you're going to like this one." Sirius insisted with a smile and you ended up giving in to his charms. 

This time you kept your questions to yourself about what you'd do to yourself, knowing that Sirius wasn't going to give you a clue. You walked around Hogsmeade by his side, making casual small talk and laughing at his jokes as if you were lifelong best friends. However when you arrived at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop you couldn't help but ask him what were you doing there.

"The second lesson is going to be about the date itself and how to create the proper atmosphere." Sirius explained as he led you to one of the overly decorated tables. "If you want the date to end with you guys making out, you have to think ahead." You wrinkled your nose at his choice of words, but didn't mention anything about it.

"What do you in your infinite wisdom advise me to do?" you joked as you settled back in your seat. You stayed silent for a moment as you were served your tea, before returning to your conversation.

"Close proximity is very important if you want to create an intimate moment." Sirius declared as he took a sip of his tea. "No one is making out if they're three feet apart, so no matter where you have the date, you have to make sure you're close to each other." You listened to him speak attentively, trying hard to retain the information he was giving you as if you were studying for an exam.

“Being close, got it.” You repeated nodding your head, making a mental list of his advice that you hoped you wouldn't forget by the time you returned to school.

"If you come here for your date, you have to make sure you don't sit across from each other. Instead, move your chair a little closer to his, like this." Sirius slid his chair until it was almost next to yours so you were nestled against one side of the round table full of corny decorations. You could feel the warmth his body radiated caressing your skin. It made you nervous, though you didn't quite know why. You supposed it was because you weren't used to being so close to a guy —especially him— in a place that looked so romantic.

"See, this is better for flirting, accidental touching and making out." His voice had turned into a soft whisper, leaning toward you so he could speak in your ear. His breath collided against your neck with each word that left his lips, giving you goosebumps. The blood rushed to your cheeks from embarrassment, making your face feel on fire. 

When you dared to look up, your eyes met Sirius's deep gray eyes admiring your face. It was the first time you were so close to him, you could clearly note every detail of his face, every glint in his cold gray orbs. Suddenly you understood all the girls at Hogwarts who sighed lovingly every time they saw him passing through the school halls. He had a singular beauty that came completely naturally to him, effortlessly. It was hard to look away from his perfect features and captivating eyes, even though you felt small and self-conscious under his intense gaze.

Sirius' eyes trailed down your face, lingering over your lips for a fraction of a second. It was almost imperceptible, but you noticed it, just as you noticed the arrogant little smile that formed at the corner of his lips. The air caught in your throat as you felt the room grow smaller, trapping you with him, forcing you to be close to him. And when his fingers brushed the exposed skin of your knee you couldn't help but let out a shriek of surprise, jumping in your seat to get away from him.

Sirius laughed as you struggled to compose yourself, breathing deeply to calm the wild pounding of your heart, repeating in your mind that the tingling you felt in your knee was just the product of your imagination and meant nothing. "It's not funny, you jerk!" you complained, tapping him on the shoulder to shut him up.

"You say that 'cause you didn't see your face." He laughed and you rolled your eyes. He was an idiot.

"If you don't stop laughing I'll leave and I won't help you with your little Herbology project." You threatened him and that seemed to get his attention.

“Okay, okay!” Sirius exclaimed, raising his hands in the air in surrender. He moved away from you again and that allowed you to breathe easier as you regained your personal space. "So, moving on... How do you set the tone at the date? Lighting matters, okay? The darker it is, the better. It creates a more intimate atmosphere."

"Close proximity, lighting, okay." You repeated, adding more details to your mental list. "What else?"

"Body language! Is he leaning in? Is he sitting close?" Sirius moved closer to you again, exemplifying his words with his actions. Your heart rate spiked once again as you felt the warmth of his body envelop you once more. His hand brushed yours on the table, forcing your gaze back to them. You felt the strange urge to entwine your fingers with his, wondering what it would feel like to hold his hand, but you held back, trying to focus on his words to distract yourself.

"And then it's all about interaction." He continued, as if he didn't know the effect his closeness had on you. "Is he trying to impress you? Does he say complimentary things to you? If yes, chances are he's going to make his move."

"Wow, I had no idea guys like you even thought about this kind of stuff." you said in a sarcastic tone, hoping it would help ease the tension you felt in the air. 

"Well, that's because you're mean and you always think the worst of people." he joked and you laughed. He was kind of right. "But it's okay, I forgive you." Sirius put his arm around your shoulders again, pulling you against his body as you laughed and shook your head.

The tension in the air was beginning to dissipate, allowing you to have a good time together without feeling awkward and weird. You shared a couple more laughs before your date was interrupted by the voice of your best friend, who had seen you and Sirius from the store window as she walked through Hogsmeade and couldn't believe her eyes. As far as she knew you hated each other, so why were you hugging while drinking tea at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, a place frequented by couples?

You jumped on your feet at the mention of your name, struggling to think of an excuse that would justify you and Sirius being there. Despite the fact that she was your best friend, you hadn't told her about your little plan to get Oliver's attention. Not only was it humiliating to need help in order to get a date, but it was even more humiliating to have to go to the guy you argued with the most in all of Hogwarts for advice. It wasn't a decision you were proud of and you thought it was better if no one knew about it.

In the end it was Sirius who saved you, telling your friend that you were there with him to honor your part of a bet you had lost. It wasn't the first time you two had bet when arguing about something and most of the time it was the humiliation of the other that was at stake, so your friend bought the lie without asking many questions.

Before leaving Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop to follow your friend, you made sure to thank Sirius for saving you. He smiled at you, downplaying it, though you could swear there was a glint of sadness in his eyes as he looked back at you. You wanted to ask him if everything was alright, finding the sudden change in his mood strange, but before you could open your mouth you were interrupted by your friend's voice hurrying you to leave. 

In the end you could only give Sirius an apologetic smile before following your friend and disappearing out the door. But for the rest of the day you continued to think about the events of that afternoon, wondering why you felt so strange when Sirius was around and why you almost wished you could have stayed with him in the tea store for a while longer.

By the time the third lesson came around you were already having doubts about everything. Did it make any sense? Was anything Sirius was telling you really going to do you any good? Did you even want to go out with Oliver?

Wait, what?

Of course you wanted to go out with him! He had been your crush for years and you had done nothing but fantasize about talking to him, admiring him from a distance hoping that he would reciprocate your feelings. He was the only guy you had ever cared about all this time, so of course you wanted to go out with him. You didn't understand where that stupid question had come from.

And then, as if the universe was giving you an answer, you felt the weight of Sirius' arm on your shoulders. As you looked up you met his charming smile, the one that once seemed arrogant and made you roll your eyes in annoyance, but now awakened a strange but comforting warmth inside you. Could it be that he was the reason behind your confusion?

"Ready for your next lesson, dove?" He spoke with his characteristic cheerful and nonchalant tone of voice. He was so casual that you almost missed the new nickname he had decided to use with you on that beautiful Friday afternoon.

"I'm 'dove' now?" you asked, looking at him with a confused frown. It was a little strange, but you'd be lying if you said the nickname didn't awaken something in you, something you couldn't describe or put into words, but it made you feel good.

"Yes, because you're sweet and innocent like a dove." Sirius explained as if it were obvious, shrugging it off. It was clear that it wasn't a big deal to him, just a nickname he found amusing, but you on the other hand were a completely different story. You grew nervous all of a sudden and felt the heat of embarrassment on your cheeks. Never before had a boy used affectionate nicknames like that with you so you didn't really know how to react. So you didn't say anything, you just looked away and cleared your throat, pretending your heart wasn't beating at a dangerously fast pace.

"Don't you think it's a little late for a lesson?" you spoke after a few seconds of silence, watching the sun begin to set on the horizon. 

"I tend to work better at night." He winked at you and you nudged him in the ribs, though you couldn't contain a slight chuckle that escaped your lips.

"Fine, what are you going to teach me today?"

For the next few minutes you and Sirius talked about the importance of your date outfit, not so much to impress Oliver, but to make you feel comfortable and confident and thus increase your chances of success on the date. He talked about how everybody has that one piece of clothing that is special and makes them feel like the best version of themselves. For him it was his leather jacket, it was the first piece of clothing he had chosen and bought for himself to piss off his parents who only wanted to see him wear old-fashioned and uncomfortable tunics. It represented his rebellious spirit, his freedom, and so he wore it all the time. It was a reminder of who he was, of everything he had to fight against in order to express his true self, and that's why it made him feel comfortable and confident every time he wore it.

You didn't have anything remotely like that. You felt quite comfortable and liberated when you were alone in your room curled up in your bed wearing your pajamas while reading a book, but you doubted you could wear something like that on a date. You had never been very interested in fashion and accessories, you found that world too overwhelming. You didn't even think you had a favorite style, just a pile of clothes in your closet that you wore hoping they would match. 

"We have to change that!" was the answer Sirius gave you when you explained your situation. "Meet me in the third floor corridor after dinner, the one with the statue of the one-eyed witch."

"What?" you asked him with confusion. You hated his cryptic answers, why was it so hard for him to be direct and tell you what was on his mind? "What for?"

“Just trust me on this.” 

You had to admit that Sirius wasn't inspiring much trust in you at the moment. Why on earth did he want to meet you so late and why couldn't you do whatever it was he had in mind right now? Why was it so important that it was at night? And what was the deal with the third floor hallway? What was he up to?

None of your questions got an answer because before you could ask them he got up and left, leaving you alone and confused. 

You spent the next few hours debating whether it was wise to listen to Sirius or not. Wandering around the castle after dinner was forbidden and while you had broken that rule a couple of times, you never felt right when you did. It gave you too much anxiety and you didn't enjoy sneaking through the corridors looking over your shoulder every second. You weren't exactly a fan of that kind of adrenaline. 

That said, you couldn't deny that the idea of wandering around Hogwarts at night with Sirius sounded tempting. He was the king of breaking the rules, so you were sure he had his fair share of tricks to avoid getting caught. Usually you hated the impunity with which he carried himself, walking the halls of the school as if he owned it, unbothered about the consequences of his actions. But now that you knew him a little better you couldn't help but feel a little excited at the idea of being his partner in crime. 

Maybe there was some sense in his madness. Maybe he really was funny and you had spent all this time hating him for it because he annoyed you as a person. Since you had started this experiment with him you had done nothing but learn to see the world through his eyes. Every minute you spent together helped you to understand a little better his thoughts and the reasons why he did what he did. You had learned to like him, so why not give him a chance now? Maybe you would finally understand the reason behind his rebelliousness.

So, when you finished dinner you found a way to sneak up to the third floor undetected. You got there first, which gave your brain time to rethink the decision it had made as you paced back and forth nervously. However, when Sirius appeared a couple of minutes later apologizing for the delay all your doubts and fears disappeared.

"I had to make a quick stop to get some things." He explained, pointing to the crumpled piece of fabric he had hanging from one arm and the scrap of parchment he was holding in his hand.

"Are you finally going to tell me what the hell are we doing here?" You asked, crossing your arms. "If this is a prank I swear to Merlin-"

“I would never, dove.” Sirius interrupted you, awakening that strange warmth inside you once again by using the affectionate nickname. "I'm a man of my word and I intend to honor our agreement. But first I need to ask you something."

You furrowed your brow in confusion, but nodded your head without a second thought. "Sure, what is it?"

"You have to promise me that all this is going to stay between us. You can't tell anyone about what we're about to do." The secrecy seemed strange to you but it also peaked your curiosity. Why was it so important to him that no one knew what you were going to do? What did he have planned? 

There was only one way to find out.

"I promise," you assured him, waiting for him to explain what was going on.

"Great!" Sirius smiled and then pulled out his wand. He approached the statue of the one-eyed witch and touched it with the tip of his wand, uttering the word 'Dissendium'. Then an entrance to a dark tunnel opened up, a secret passageway inside the castle that you had no idea where it led to. If you weren't confused before, you definitely were now. What on earth was Sirius up to and why did it involve a secret tunnel?

"H-How did you do that?" You asked, dumbfounded. You needed to know how Sirius knew not only that there was a secret passage in the castle, but also how to open it. "How did you know?"

"I didn't spend all these years wandering around the castle for nothing." Was the answer he gave you, winking at you before entering the secret passage. "C'mon, let's go!"

Cautiously, you followed Sirius into the tunnel, pulling out your wand to light the way as the statue returned to its original position and the light at the entrance disappeared. You kept close to him as you walked, scanning your surroundings as you tried to guess where the passageway would lead you. It seemed to have no end. No matter how far you walked, you seemed no closer to getting to the other side. The lack of lighting didn't help much, it just added a creepy vibe that gave you goosebumps. Was Sirius planning to kill you?

"Where are you taking me?" you asked him after a few minutes of silence. You felt like you had been walking forever and still hadn't reached your destination.

"You'll see."

"Are you going to kill me and leave my body abandoned here?" you joked and he let out a laugh.

"Why would I want to kill you?"

You shrugged. "To avoid confronting the fact that I'm better than you at everything."

"At everything?" He repeated, looking at you with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? Because last time I checked I'm not the one desperate for dating advice."

“Shut up!” You said, hitting him on the shoulder.

“Besides, you still have to admit to everyone that I’m better than you, remember?” He reminded you of his words the day you came to him for help. At the time you didn't think he was serious, but now you weren't so sure.

"You wish." You muttered under your breath, rolling your eyes. Being friends was one thing, but indulging him by admitting that he was better than you was something you weren't willing to do.

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

“That's what I thought.”

You continued walking as you laughed and joked with each other, chatting to distract yourselves from the long time you seemed to need to get to the end of that damned tunnel. As it turned out, the secret passageway connected Hogwarts to the cellar of Honeydukes. Sirius led you through the now deserted store carefully, but not before wrapping you both in the crumpled piece of cloth he had slung over his arm. He put it over your shoulders first and when you questioned him about it he pointed towards your body which had now disappeared. 

Suddenly the success of his pranks and the gift he seemed to have for wandering around the castle without being caught made sense. He had an invisibility cloak! He was a fraud! Anyone could accomplish the extraordinary things he did if they had such a wonderful and convenient object as an invisibility cloak.

You were about to let out a sarcastic comment about it, but the air caught in your throat when you felt Sirius wrap his arms around your body, pulling you close to him. His warmth enveloped you as he stretched the cloth to cover your body as well, making sure you were both protected by the magical fabric to make sure you weren't discovered. 

Walking through the streets of Hogsmeade under the limited space provided by the cloak was uncomfortable, especially when you felt Sirius' warm breath against your ear. You had to constantly remind yourself to breathe, but not too fast because then he would notice the effect his closeness had on you. You hoped he didn't already know, although the way he wrapped his arm around your waist made you think otherwise. Damn, he was good! Just a brush of his fingers on your skin and you were already sighing like half the girls at school.

"What are we doing here?" You asked as you noticed that you had stopped at a clothing store.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sirius spoke without looking at you, pulling out his wand and muttering a simple incantation to unlock the door. "We're going to find your perfect outfit."

"Couldn't we have done that when the store was open, you know, in the daylight?" you pointed out, hurrying into the store before anyone on the street could see you. You were pretty sure what you were doing was illegal. Not only had you two snuck out of the school using a secret passageway, but you had also broken into a store and were about to rummage through the inventory of clothing without permission from its owners. 

You should be terrified, for all you knew you could be expelled from Hogwarts if you were discovered —not to mention the lecture your parents would give you at home. However, there was something about Sirius that filled you with a sense of security. For some reason in your mind nothing bad could happen to you if he was by your side.

"Yeah but we would have to wait for the next trip to Hogsmeade." He responded, justifying his actions with the excuse that the normal —and legal— way would take too long. "Besides, it's more fun this way." Sirius smiled at you and you shook your head, but you couldn't help but think he was kind of right.

"So we're going to rob these people?"

"No! We can pay for what we take, don't worry." He assured you, though it sounded too casual for your liking. You were breaking into a store and he was acting like he was going through the clothes in his closet. It made you wonder how many times he had done something similar in the past.

"Now get over here and start choosing clothes!"

Once you stopped thinking about the weirdness of the situation you started to have a little fun. Sirius helped you sort through the clothes, passing you items he wanted you to try on. Some were serious and some were just to joke around with you. You had to admit that even though you normally hated shopping, the activity became infinitely more fun if Sirius was with you. 

You lost count of the time you spent inside that store, making a mess of the clothes that had been neatly folded and arranged on hangers and shelves prior to your arrival. You tried on every style and aesthetic the store had to offer, modeling each outfit for the watchful eye of Sirius, who always found something nice to say about everything you wore.

"You suck at this!" you complained with a chuckle after he complimented the color palette of a ridiculously extravagant outfit you had put on for the sole purpose of making him laugh. "You're not helping me decide at all! Give me your real opinions."

"I am! I swear!" Sirius defended himself, raising his hands in the air. "It's just that everything looks good on you, dove."

You let out an incredulous laugh, rolling your eyes to hide the true effect his words had on you. You knew he didn't mean it, but you couldn't control the rapid beating of your heart every time he blurted out a line like that.

"I'm sure you tell that to all the girls in school."

"Never! You're the only one, dove."

Shaking your head, you disappeared into the dressing room once more. You didn't want to give him the chance to continue his meaningless flirting. You didn't quite understand why he was doing it. You knew he didn't love you —not in that way at least—, so why was it so easy for him to throw those kinds of comments around like it was nothing? Was he trying to boost your confidence? Or maybe it was because he was so used to jokingly flirting with everyone that he couldn't help but do it with you too. You honestly didn't know, it was hard to read him on that aspect.

Part of you wished he would stop because even though you knew he was just joking, you found it impossible not to feel things when he would tell you how pretty you were or call you affectionate nicknames. He was getting your hopes up for nothing, making you believe that someone like him could like someone like you. It was tiring to have to constantly remind your heart not to believe anything that came out of Sirius' mouth.

You tried to keep your doubts from ruining the nice moment you were sharing, shaking the thoughts out of your head and working on putting on your next outfit. Only, when you emerged from the dressing room to show Sirius, you found that he too was wearing an outfit he had taken from the pile of messy clothes. But it wasn't just any outfit, it was one that you had discarded after wearing it for a few minutes and ruling that it looked odd on you. And the worst part was that Sirius seemed to look better in it than you.

"What are you wearing?" you asked him, chuckling as he modeled for you.

"Am I a pretty girl?" Sirius said, looking at you through his eyelashes. He did a couple of exaggerated poses while pretending to be a high fashion model, eliciting from you one of the loudest and most genuine laughs you've ever had. But you had to admit that he did look good considering the clothes weren't the right size or cut for him.

"Yes, very pretty." You complimented him as you caught your breath, rummaging through the pile of clothes for another outfit for him. "Here, try this one."

Everything spiraled out of control then. You momentarily forgot that you were trespassing in a store late at night as you played dress up with Sirius like two little kids. It had been a long time since you had felt so free and relaxed and a part of you couldn't believe that Sirius was the one who had awakened that chill side of you. Usually he would do the opposite —annoy you and stress you out to the point of insanity—, but since you had started this little experiment together he kept surprising you. 

Now that you knew each other a little better, he made you laugh and for some reason he inspired reassurance and trust. All your fears that he would make fun of you or take advantage of the situation to humiliate you were behind you. He wasn't that kind of guy, no matter how immature and silly he usually seemed. Honestly, you loved this new relationship you had, where you still maintained a certain level of healthy rivalry combined with lots of laughter and inside jokes. Even if things with Oliver didn't turn out the way you wanted them to, you were still happy because at least he had left you with a new friendship.

What you weren't happy about, however, was fixing up the store after the mess you had made. Even with magic it took quite a while to put everything back in its place, but somehow Sirius found a way to make that tedious activity fun too.

But your jokes were interrupted when you came across something that caught your eye. As you were rearranging the clothes on one of the shelves you found a dress. It was black and had long sleeves made of the most beautiful lace you had ever seen, with detailed patterns that added a special delicacy to the piece. It was truly beautiful and you didn't know how you hadn't seen it before.

"You should try it on." Sirius' voice alerted you, snapping you out of your thoughts.

"No, it's okay. We should just go, it's getting late." You put the dress back in its place, stepping away from that rack to rearrange the last remaining pile of disarranged clothes. That dress was beautiful, almost too beautiful for someone like you. You didn't think you could pull it off, so you preferred not to go near it. You didn't want to destroy your self-esteem if it turned out that the dress looked bad on you.

By the time you got back to school it was so late that everyone in the castle was asleep. It wasn't difficult for you to navigate the halls of Hogwarts undetected since Sirius had one of the best inventions in the history of magic: a map that told him the exact location of all the students and teachers within the school grounds. He didn't want to give you many details about it other than that it was a project he had done with the help of his friends and you didn't press him for more. Now you understood why he had made you promise not to tell anyone about tonight. Apparently he had more than one magical artifact that was best kept secret.

"Thank you for this," you said when you reached the entrance to your common room. Sirius had insisted on accompanying you to make sure you arrived safely before heading to the Gryffindor tower. "I had a great time."

"Me too," he admitted with a smile. He had really enjoyed spending time with you. He found that he really liked the relaxed and fun version of you that he had met tonight and wanted to see more of you. "I hope that after this you will realize how beautiful you look when you are more relaxed. Laughter suits you, you should do it more often."

You remained silent for a few seconds, not knowing what to say. That familiar feeling of warmth ran through you at his words, your whole body buzzing with joy. A smile formed on your face, a genuine sign of how much you appreciated his kindness.

"Goodnight, Sirius." You gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning and disappearing behind the doors of the Slytherin common room.

Sirius stood in place for a few seconds, staring at the spot where you had just been seconds before as he felt a tingling on the skin of his cheek where you had kissed him. Your scent still lingered in the air entering his system through his nostrils and clouding his thoughts with images of your smile.

"Goodnight, dove." he murmured to the air, bringing his hand to his cheek.

He knew then that he was screwed.

You noticed something was wrong with Sirius the moment you saw him walk through the greenhouse doors. You were meeting to change the mandrake pot as you had promised him you would. It was a relatively simple process if you took the proper precautions and a job best done in silence —you wouldn't be able to hear each other anyway because of the earmuffs protecting you—, but even for that he was too quiet. He lacked his characteristic sparkle, that mischievous twinkle you always noticed in his eyes. His smile had been replaced by a frown and he was distracted. He seemed to be worried or upset about something that he couldn't stop thinking about. 

You tried to ignore him, unsure of what to do. You wanted to ask him what was wrong, but you didn't want to pressure him to talk if he wasn't ready or just didn't want to. Maybe he was trying to forget whatever was bothering him and your questions would only remind him of it. But eventually curiosity got the better of you and you decided it didn't hurt to ask.

"Okay, what's going on with you?" you finally spoke up, putting aside your gloves and the earmuffs you had worn to protect yourself from the mandrake's screams once the job was done. "You seem... off today."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I... I just have a lot in my mind." Sirius said, letting out a frustrated sigh. He leaned back against the counter, shoulders slumped in a pose that showcased his mood perfectly. He was staring at the floor, as if lost in thought, and you were suddenly curious as to what was so important to have him in such a state. You'd never seen Sirius so quiet or so serious before in the years you'd known each other.

"Do you want to talk about it?" you offered, giving him the option to use you as a shoulder to cry on, a friendly ear to vent to.

"It's my family, as always." He let out a bitter laugh, lifting his head so he could look you in the eye as he spoke. You could see the pain reflected in his expression and felt the urge to hug him. You knew about his family and how troubled they were. He had never fit in with them and had ended up being kicked out of his home by his own mother. It was a sad story and you had always felt sorry for him.

“I had a fight with my brother last night and I can’t seem to let it go… They're filling his head with those horrible ideas and there's nothing I can do about it. He doesn’t want to listen to me.” 

You knew exactly what he was referring to, you had seen the people Regulus was hanging out with and sadly you shared the same concerns as his brother. Many of your peers in Slytherin were being caught up in dangerous hate speech and you completely understood Sirius' frustration about it. It hadn't yet touched you as closely as it did him - none of your friends shared those kinds of ideas - but you could imagine how painful it was for him to see his brother involved in something so horrible.

"Oh Sirius, I'm sorry." You didn't quite know what to say, there were no words that could ease his sadness or concern. You could only support him at that moment, hoping that your understanding would be enough to make him feel a little better. 

Without even realizing it, your hand slid across the table to rest on Sirius'. It was a desperate attempt on your part to show him that you were there for him, something you did without thinking. Sirius's eyes lingered on your joined hands for a few seconds, staring at them as if he found it hard to believe what he was seeing. It made you feel a little self-conscious and you considered moving your hand, but before you could do so he moved his so that he could intertwine his fingers with yours. This time it was you who looked down at your hands as you felt him give you a light squeeze. It was such an innocent act, something so common, but it still awakened that special tingling inside you. It was the first time you were holding hands and it felt... good, comforting. 

When you looked up you were met with his sweet smile. Sirius didn't need to utter words for you to understand that he was thanking you for your support, it was written all over his face. You had to fight the urge to hug him, thinking it might be too close and personal. You had a strange relationship - you weren't enemies but you weren't technically friends either - so it was hard sometimes to realize when something was too much. 

Then an idea formed in your mind. Images of your special place flashed before your eyes like a movie and you decided it was an appropriate time to show Sirius that he wasn't the only one who had extensive knowledge of the Hogwarts grounds.

"C'mon, I want to show you something." You told him, pulling his hand entwined with yours to guide him out of the greenhouse.

You didn't have to go far to get to your special secret spot, just walk down the hill until you reached the edge of the lake. There was a large tree that provided plenty of shade and between its huge roots was a comfortable hole that you liked to sit in. It was the most beautiful and peaceful place you knew in the whole school. You liked to go there when you felt overwhelmed or stressed, sitting under the shade of the tree and just think for a long time, the world always seemed better after that. You were convinced that there wasn't a single problem that couldn't be solved with a meditation session in your special place.

"Welcome to my special place!" you announced with a smile when you arrived at your destination. "Come, sit here with me." You settled into your usual spot at the foot of the big tree and patted the free space next to you inviting Sirius to join you. He stared at you for a moment, but finally sat down next to you. 

"How did you find this place?" Sirius was amazed at the beauty of the scenery around him. He obviously knew this place existed, but he had never paid attention to how beautiful and peaceful it was. There were no other students laughing and running around, just him, you and nature. 

"You're not the only one with extensive knowledge about the castle, Black." 

"So, what happens here?" He forced himself to look away from the landscape to return his gaze to you only to find that you were staring off into the horizon. The sunlight reflecting off the water of the lake illuminated the whole place in a different, more magical way, especially your profile. It gave you an ethereal aura that took his breath away for a moment. 

"We sit here and we think." You replied without taking your eyes off the birds flying through the trees on the other side of the lake. "I always come here when I'm sad or stressed out. There's something about this place that makes all my problems go away."

You sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the scenery, letting the tranquility of nature bring you inner peace. Sirius tried to push the negative thoughts from his mind, concentrating on the birds singing and the sound of the water, hoping that would be enough to make the frustration and anger that was overtaking him disappear. It wasn't working out so well, but he didn't have the heart to tell you that your special magical place wasn't as powerful as you thought it was.

Well, that was until he turned his head so he could look at you. You were completely lost in thought, gazing forward with no idea of the way Sirius was looking at you. You seemed so happy, so relaxed, that he couldn't help but feel a warm feeling spreading inside him. He found comfort in you, in the special sparkle in your eyes, in the way you cared for him despite your shared history. For Sirius, the healing magic was not in where you were, but in you.

"Things are going to get better." You broke the silence, turning to look at him. His eyes were glued to yours and you discovered that the dark patch of sadness that covered his signature cheerful glow had dimmed a bit.

"How do you know?" Sirius' voice was low, almost a whisper that you were able to hear above the noises of nature thanks to the short distance separating you. 

"I have to believe that they will. We all have to." Sirius wasn't so sure about it, he didn't have your blind optimism, but for a moment as he lost himself in the depths of your eyes he found hope. Everything seemed simple as long as you kept your eyes on him. He could face anything if you were by his side to guide his path, to hold his hand and remind him that everything would be alright. He found peace in you, something that both calmed and scared him. He was much more screwed up than he originally thought.

The more time you spent staring into each other's eyes in silence, the more the tension in the air increased. Sirius was suddenly aware of how close he was to you. He could feel the warmth of your body against his side, the touch of your leg against his and the smell of your perfume that assaulted his nose every time he took a breath. He only had to extend his hand a few inches to touch you, or lean in just a little to brush his lips against yours. Those beautiful lips of yours that tempted him since the first time he had laid his eyes on you. The same ones he had fantasized about kissing many times in the past, even when all that came out of them were insults and ironic laughter dedicated to him.

Sirius leaned towards you without even realizing what he was doing, lost in thought, mesmerized by the sight of your lips. He felt your breath against his face, mingling with his, and the touch of your nose against his. And then your lips met in a kiss that took you both by surprise. He captured your upper lip between his, reaching out his hand to grab the back of your head and pull you closer to him. You surrendered to the expert movement of his lips without putting up a fight, letting him guide you as you melted into the kiss.

Multicolored fireworks exploded behind your eyes, the butterflies in your stomach going crazy as you struggled to keep up with Sirius. It wasn't your first kiss, but it was the first time you felt wave after wave of electricity coursing through your body from one. You felt like you were flying, completely lost in the intensity of the moment. It was a special kind of high you never wanted to come down from. Sirius' lips just felt right on yours, caressing you with such passion and delicacy at the same time. It left you breathless and desperate for more. So much more. 

But the kiss was cut short as quickly as it began when Sirius suddenly pulled away from you, leaving you confused and a little stupid.

"I-I'm... I'm sorry, I-" he struggled to come up with an excuse as he realized what he had done, feeling awkward and somewhat embarrassed that he had let himself get carried away by his impulses.

"Nono, it's okay, I..." you tried to intervene as well, fighting the fog that clouded your mind to try to form a coherent sentence.

"You know what? That was practice!" Sirius blurted out without thinking, making you frown.

"Practice for what?"

"J-just f-for the next step of the plan... in case you hadn't made out with anyone in a while." Sirius didn't sound confident in what he was saying and if you were in different circumstances you might have realized that was a lame excuse he'd made up on the spot. But your mind was still a bit affected by the kiss and you couldn't think straight, so you didn't notice.

"Is that what it felt like? That I hadn't made out with anyone in a while or whatever?" You tried to sound casual so as not to let him know how much you cared about his answer. To you that had been the best kiss of your life and it hurt a little to think that it had meant nothing to him. It made sense though, Sirius had a lot of practice and a lot of girls to compare you to. He'd probably had millions of better kisses.

"Well, I'm more of a tongue guy myself." Sirius joked, trying to ease the tension in the air.

"You don't say. I think I felt it poking at my throat." You played along and you both burst out laughing. The sweet melody of Sirius' laughter traveled through the air to your ears, entering your system and filling your insides with joy. All you wanted was to hear him laugh, to make him happy so that he would forget his problems at least for a moment. Everything stopped mattering to you as you watched the characteristic happy glow return to his eyes, concentrating all your efforts on keeping him distracted for as long as possible.

"Are you giving me kissing advice, dove?" he looked at you with a raised eyebrow, as if he couldn't believe the words that had come out of your mouth. No one had ever criticized his kissing technique.

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Dove, c’mon.” Sirius said, making a funny face, and you nudged him playfully.

"You need it!" You assured him with a chuckle.

“That’s how people kiss.”

“Yeah in porn maybe.” You said rolling your eyes, exaggerating things to sound more dramatic. "You know what? I'm going to be the one giving you a lesson for once. This is how girls like to be kissed." Sirius looked at you cautiously, but let you guide him into the position you wanted, intrigued by whatever it was you had in mind. You moved too, and soon you found yourselves sitting across from each other. "Close your eyes." you instructed him and he obeyed without question. "Now lean in, slowly. Let the tension build." 

Your eyes were focused on admiring the beauty of his face as Sirius moved closer and closer to you. He was the definition of masculine beauty with the sharp angles on his cheeks and those enticing lips that called out to you. His long hair framed his face perfectly, looking so silky and soft that you couldn't contain the urge to touch it. You brushed aside a couple of rebel locks that fell over his face, delicately tucking them behind his ear before letting your hand slide down to his cheek. You felt him lean a little into your touch and had to bite your lip to avoid kissing him at that moment.

The distance that separated you was shortening with every second. You could feel his breath mingling with yours, all you had to do was lean forward and you would once again be enveloped in the warmth of his body, feeling the soft caresses of his mouth on yours. You took one last look at his lips and prepared to make contact with him. Only it wasn't your lips on his, but your tongue licking his left cheek.

"Oh no you didn't!" Sirius exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and horror, bringing his hand to his face to wipe your saliva off his cheek. You let out a laugh and he couldn't help but laugh along with you. "You are a phenomenal kisser!" He joked and you gave a small nod, accepting his compliment.

“Thank you. That’s how we like it!”

“I’m taking your word for it. You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”

“Never! Trust me, girls love to be kissed like that.” Sirius shook his head, as if he still couldn't believe what you had done, but he laughed with you. You had taken him by surprise and he had to admit that a part of him was a little disappointed at not feeling your lips on his again, but he couldn't deny that he was having fun.

"Are you feeling a little better?" You asked him when the laughter died down.

"Yeah, a little." He answered honestly. You had really managed to do in a couple of minutes something that even his best friends hadn't been able to do in hours: make him forget. You had an ability to get through to him that no one else had and it was nice to see you using it for good for once —instead of using it to get on his nerves like you used to. 

"Thank you, dove." You could tell by the tone of his voice that Sirius was genuinely grateful to you. Apparently your nonsense had managed to help him a little and that made you happy. It was nice to be able to give him back some of the positive energy he brought to your days since you had started your arrangement.

"Don't mention it." You shrugged, downplaying it. "Just know that I'm always here for you if you ever need to talk. And this place is yours too now if you ever need it." You rested your hand on his again and Sirius felt that tingling under his skin again as his insides filled with that warm feeling at your words of support.

Oh, he was completely screwed.

You couldn't get that kiss out of your mind. Ever since that day at the lake Sirius was all you could think about. You caught yourself looking at him when you thought he didn't see you, remembering that kiss, what you had felt as he held you, the warmth of his body enveloping you and the softness of his lips on yours. You wanted to feel it again, to experience again the sensation of pure ecstasy that took over you the moment your lips collided. His kiss had made you feel alive in a special way. You had never felt anything like it before, an electricity so intense that it coursed through your whole body, awakening every cell inside you with the simplest of touches. It was pure magic, something out of the most perfect romance novel, no one could blame you for wanting to feel it again.

But then you remembered how you had gotten into that situation in the first place. You had come to him for help in getting another boy's attention and that's what Sirius had done all along. All those cute little moments that awakened butterflies in your stomach every time you remembered them weren't real. You were fooling yourself, seeing things that weren't there. He wasn't spending time with you because he loved you, he wasn't interested in you —at least not in that way—, he was just holding up his end of the bargain. Sure, you had improved your relationship considerably since all this had started, but you had to keep in mind that if it wasn't for your proposal you would still be fighting every chance you got.

Sirius wasn't in love with you and you weren't in love with him. You were just confused because you weren't used to getting that kind of attention from a guy —especially not from a guy like Sirius. Your heart belonged to Oliver, it had for the past three years and that wasn't going to change because of a silly kiss that hadn't meant anything anyway. You had to focus on what was important, what you had worked so hard to get: the date with Oliver. Once you finally managed to get it your mind would be able to focus on that and then you'd realize that your feelings for Sirius were just temporary.

So that's exactly what you did. You mustered all your courage, remembering every lesson you'd learned over the past few weeks, and looked for the perfect opportunity to talk to Oliver. The moment presented itself in Potions class. By sheer luck you ended up being paired up to work on a project together and you took advantage of the opportunity to start a conversation with him.

For the first time in three years you were able to form coherent sentences in front of him, alternating between comments about the project you were working on and casual small talk. The nerves and fear that usually overcame you when he was around were gone, allowing your personality to surface. You spent the entire class chatting and laughing as if you were lifelong friends. As it turned out, Oliver was a really nice guy and really easy to talk to when you didn't overthink every single thing you were going to say to him. You thought Sirius would be proud of you if he could see you acting so relaxed and free. 

That's when you realized that he could probably see you since Gryffindor and Slytherin shared a Potions class, so you looked up to find him among the groups of students. Your eyes found him at the back of the room, sitting next to James as they worked on their potion. Your eyes met for a moment and you gave him a victorious smile, a silent way of letting him know that things between you and Oliver were going well. You thought that after all the time he had spent preparing you for this moment he would be happy to know that his efforts had paid off. You expected him to smile back or even give you a thumbs up in support, but he simply looked away and turned his attention back to the brew he was preparing with his friend. 

You frowned, puzzled by his attitude. Was he angry with you? Had you done something to upset him? He couldn't possibly be mad at you because you were talking to Oliver, could he? That was ridiculous! He was probably in a bad mood about something else that had nothing to do with you. It was most likely about his brother, maybe they were fighting again and that's why he was acting strange. You had to stop obsessing about Sirius and focus on what really mattered.

You tried to ignore your concerns about Sirius at least until the class was over, returning your attention to Oliver and the story he was telling you. You worked and laughed for the rest of the lesson, turning in a perfect potion at the end of the hour. And as you gathered your things and prepared to leave the room you realized you had to make your move. It was now or never. So you summoned all your courage and asked Oliver if he'd like to go out with you sometime.

For some reason you fully expected him to refuse. That voice inside your head that loved to overthink everything you did and imagine the most catastrophic and improbable scenarios kept telling you that it was too fast. You had only shared one successful conversation and you were already asking him out on a date. It had been a mistake and you had to take it back immediately! 

But that voice in your mind was muted when Oliver accepted your offer with a smile.

You stood in your place for a moment, watching Oliver leave the room with the rest of your classmates as your brain tried to process what had just happened. You had spent so much time imagining that moment that now it didn't feel real. A part of you thought it was an overly realistic dream that you were going to wake up from at any moment, though the illusion was shattered when your eyes met Sirius' as he left the room. It was only for a second, but it was enough to leave a bitter taste in your mouth. 

Why did his presence affect you so much?

"Ann, you're not going to believe this!" You exclaimed in excitement when you found your friend in the crowd of students walking through the halls to their respective classes. You pushed her to the side to get a little more privacy, waiting for a group of second year students to pass by to give her the big news. "I got the date!" you said, emphasizing the word 'the' so she understood what you meant. 

"With Sirius? I thought you guys were already dating." Your best friend's response took you by surprise. Why would she think you and Sirius were dating?

"What? No! Sirius and I are not dating. Why would you think that?"

"Oh." She murmured, genuinely surprised. "It's just you guys are spending so much time together lately and look so happy all the time that I just assumed you were dating and were keeping it a secret." She shrugged. "Plus there's that one time I found you two at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop."

“That didn’t mean anything. He was just helping me get a date with Oliver.”

“Oliver? You still like that guy?”

“What’s wrong with him? I thought you liked him.”

“I do! He’s a nice guy, but…” Ann trailed off, like she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. You looked at her with a raised eyebrow, crossing your arms over your chest waiting for her to say whatever was on her mind.

"But what?" You pressed her, noticing she wasn't going to speak.

"I just think Sirius it's better for you, that's all." You scrunched up your nose at her words. How could Sirius be better for you when just a couple of weeks ago you weren't able to hold a conversation without fighting like little kids? It was ridiculous, and honestly you were starting to get tired of the universe continuing to insert him in the middle of everything. Oliver was the guy you wanted, not Sirius, was that so hard to understand?

“That’s ridiculous! Plus, Sirius doesn’t even like me like that. We are just now starting to get along, I’m not even sure if he even considers me his friend.”

“You’re joking, right?” Ann looked at you as if she couldn't believe the words coming out of your mouth, something that only added to your confusion. "Have you seen the way he looks at you? That guy is head over heels for you." You let out a laugh that echoed throughout the hallway, but died down when you saw the serious expression on your friend's face. She couldn't be serious, could she? There was no way Sirius had feelings for you.

"That's a good one!" You patted her shoulder, congratulating her as if she had told the funniest joke you'd ever heard.

"I'm being serious, dummy! I've seen you two together and there's no way he doesn't have feelings for you."

"Then you're seeing things!" you exclaimed before turning around and starting to walk to your next class. You no longer wanted to hear what your friend had to say. You had gotten the date you had been dreaming of all this time, why couldn't she just be happy for you? Why did she have to make everything so complicated?

"And do you know what else I think?" She insisted, walking up behind you and raising her voice a little to make sure you heard her. "I think you have feelings for him too but you're too stubborn to admit it."

You decided to ignore her, but her words echoed in your mind for the rest of the day. Could she be right? Could you be in love with Sirius? It sounded ridiculous, something completely impossible. But then you remembered that kiss you had shared by the lake shore. You remembered the tension in the air, the softness of his lips on yours, the way he had held you close to him and the waves of electricity coursing through your body. You weren't sure if you were in love with him, but you couldn't deny that there was a spark between you that was much stronger and intriguing than your relationship with Oliver. Maybe you were too stubborn or too scared to call it for what it was, but it was evident that it was there and apparently everyone could tell. Everyone but the two of you.

You felt like your head was going to explode from so much overthinking and questioning what you were feeling. It was driving you crazy and you weren't even able to come to a conclusion. Every time you were close to finding the answers you were looking for a new voice would pop up in your mind and ruin all your progress with its comments. You were so wrapped up in denial that it was impossible for you to understand how you truly felt.

So you decided to stop worrying about it. If you had learned anything in the last few weeks, it was that everything was so much easier when you turned your brain off for a while, relaxed and let things flow. You had time to figure out your feelings and think about what to do about them. Right now all you had to do was celebrate because your plan had worked. You had gotten that date with Oliver and that was all that mattered.

In the spirit of your new decision you didn't worry about what hidden message could be behind the strange note you got from Sirius asking you to meet him at your special place. You two hadn't spoken in the last few days. The last contact you'd had with him was in Potions class when he practically ignored you. The cryptic message he had left for you inside one of your books made you curious, wondering the reasons behind his interest in meeting you at your special place. However, you tried not to think too much about it, limiting yourself to showing up at the right place and time to hear from his own mouth whatever it was he wanted instead of driving you crazy imagining the worst.

"Hey!" you greeted Sirius awkwardly, feeling a strange tension in the air that took you back to the events of the last time you had been there. He was sitting in the exact same spot as that time, waiting for you to occupy the empty space next to him. "I got your message. Why did you want to meet here?"

"Oh I just wanted to talk to you. We haven't done that in a while." He gave you a smile, but you noticed it wasn't reflected in his eyes. You wondered if maybe that was because the situation with his brother had gotten worse. Maybe that was the reason he wanted to talk to you, after all, you had promised him that you would be there for him when he needed you. 

You took a seat in the empty slot next to him, hoping that the conversation would focus on his family once again. However, the next words out of his mouth took you by surprise. 

"I saw you talking to Oliver the other day." You froze, your brain short-circuiting as you tried to think of how to respond. 

"Y-yeah, I was... I was talking to him." You responded awkwardly. Why was it so weird for you to talk about Oliver with Sirius now? You didn't seem to have a problem with it just a couple of days ago. What had changed? "It went pretty well. I got a date." You smiled, but your smile didn't show in your eyes either.

"That's great, dove! I'm really happy for you." He almost sounded sincere, but you had heard the real joy in his voice too many times in the last few weeks to recognize when he was faking it. His voice was low and quiet, as if he struggled to utter those words. Your friend's voice echoed in your mind and for a moment you wondered if she might be right.

"I have something for you." Sirius' voice snapped you out of your thoughts. He turned for a moment and it was then that you noticed the package resting on one of the large tree roots. "Let's say it's a graduation gift." He added, handing you the package.

You carefully unwrapped the gift, discovering a black piece of fabric inside. But it wasn't just any piece of fabric, when you held it in your hands you realized it was a dress. It was that dress you liked so much but hadn't had the courage to try on when Sirius took you shopping. You froze in place, your eyes traveling from the delicate piece of clothing in your hands to Sirius' face, who was looking at you expectantly.

"I saw the way you were looking at it at the store so I went back and I bought it for you. I don't know why you didn't try it on at the time, but I'm sure it'll look great on you."

You were speechless, your brain unable to put into words how much that small gesture meant to you. He had noticed. He had seen the sparkle in your eyes as you admired that dress in the store. He looked at you when you didn't notice and paid attention to every detail. That thought alone made your heart race. He cared about you, it wasn't a product of your imagination or your heart getting confused. Sirius truly cared for you.

"Sirius, I... You didn't have to..." you struggled to say, trying to find the words to describe what you felt. You didn't know why such a simple gift moved you so much. You supposed it was the principle of the thing, the thought behind it. That dress was a perfect summary of your relationship, a delicate and intricate piece of fabric that you refused to try on out of fear. And just like that dress, you too were afraid to try things out with Sirius. Both were unfamiliar territory for you so you preferred to avoid them rather than face them. 

But Sirius seemed to have a different idea.

"Of course I did! I just knew you would look beautiful in it and I need it for you to have it." Sirius sounded so convinced that for a moment you felt confident, forgetting your fears about the dress. He looked at you with such adoration that there was no way you could feel any different. He gave you all the confidence you needed. Everything was so much easier when Sirius was by your side holding your hand and saying exactly what you needed to hear. He was good for you.

“Maybe you can wear it to your date.”He couldn't hold your gaze when he said that, averting his eyes to the lake that reflected the beautiful orange colors of the sunset in its waters. The idea of wearing that dress in front of anyone but him felt wrong. That outfit was your little secret, your special gift - just like that place was.

It was then that you understood what you had to do. It was time to put denial and fear aside and face reality. You had feelings for Sirius and that wasn't going to change because you forced yourself to be with someone else. It wasn't fair to Oliver or Sirius, and it definitely wasn't fair to you. Even if things didn't turn out the way you hoped, you deserved to explore your feelings for him without fear.

"I don't know. To be honest, I don't know if I want to go out with Oliver anymore."

Sirius returned his gaze to your face, a frown drawn into his expression. "What do you mean? Wasn't that all that you wanted?"

"I used to, yes. But lately I've been thinking about this other guy... he's a real charmer, I can't seem to get him out of my head. It's a tough situation because I used to hate him, but I had the opportunity to get to know him better and I think I'm falling for him." Sirius looked at you with his eyes full of doubt for a moment, refusing to listen to what his heart thought you were saying. But then you smiled at him and he understood your hint.

"I think I know who you're talking about. Is he by any chance the most handsome guy in Gryffindor?" The characteristic cheerful twinkle returned to his eyes as well as a mischievous grin that got a chuckle out of you.

"Maybe." You played dumb. "He's also a huge dork, but I kind of love him for it." This time it was Sirius that let out a chuckle, throwing his head back as his body shook with laughter.

"Well, then you're in luck because this handsome dork is also in love with you."

You shared a meaningful look that was stronger than anything you could say to each other at that moment. And then, just like that other day at the lake, Sirius leaned toward you and pressed his lips to yours. It was a much longer kiss than the first one you shared, one that you both could enjoy in the moment given that it wasn't the product of an impulsive decision. You both wanted it, you longed for it from the moment you parted after your first kiss. 

Sirius' hands framed your face, pulling you closer to him. He needed to feel you against his body, to feel your warmth enveloping him. He had missed the feel of your lips on his, caressing his mouth so delicately. He had spent every second since that kiss cursing himself, fearing that he might never feel you so close to him again. His world had crumbled when he saw you talking to Oliver in Potions class, thinking he had pushed the girl he liked into the arms of another guy. He hated to think that anyone but him could have the chance to caress your lips. They were made just for him to kiss, no one else could touch them.

But now that he had you back in his arms all his concerns disappeared, fading away thanks to the intoxicating mixture of your perfume and the sensation of your lips on his, moving so gracefully together that he couldn't help but think that you were meant to be together.

"Since we're being honest, I have a confession to make." Sirius spoke as you broke apart, struggling to catch his breath. "I never needed help with Herbology, I just needed an excuse to spend more time with you."

"What?" you exclaimed in surprise. You didn't see that one coming. "Then whose plant was that?"

"It was Peter's. He sucks at Herbology." Sirius admitted and you let out a chuckle as you shook your head, unable to believe what you were hearing. 

But your laughter died down as a realization hit you. "Wait a minute. You liked me before all this?" Sirius just nodded, as if such a revelation wasn't important.. "So why were you being such a jerk to me?"

"It was fun, it's very easy to get on your nerves." He shrugged. "Plus, you look adorable when you're angry."

#sirius black x reader #sirius black x female reader #sirius black fluff #sirius black angst #sirius black x fem reader #sirius black #sirius black x reader fluff #sirius black x reader angst #ro's 600 followers celebration

[nalyra-dreaming]

From Reddit:

The show wasn't performing on a stellar level in S1 when Lestat was in every episode. The fact of the matter is this show had a lot going against from inception. For one, the source material isn't all that relevant today if I'm being brutally honest. That's why it took as long as it did for an adaptation to come to fruition after being scrapped and passed up on other networks. No disrespect to Anne Rice, she did set the path for all these other shows to tread, but vampire media has become a tough sell in recent years and it's popularity is no where close to where it was in even 2010. Fox's The Passage was a wonderful show that was canceled the first season. Morbius was a box office failure, The Strain-canceled, NS4A2- cancele, and Dracula (NBC) - canceled. Now throw in a show centered around a melodramatic gay vampire relationship? Very tough sell because queer shows often have their own set of struggles appealing to a wide audience (RIP Our Flag Means Death, and Good Omens was very lucky to be revived for one more season after being canceled).

I for one love the relationship aspect of the show, but it made IWTV that much more niche. The movie back in 94 was controversial because it was so niche, luckily it had the start power to make it successful but it messed up Tom's career for years. Even if every book reader did show up for this show (and they didn't) it still would have been too small of an audience. And I say this as an avid fan of Rice and a book reader.

I have watched nearly every person who has reacted to the show on YouTube who wasn't a book reader and guess who is their favorite regardless of race, age, or sexual orientation? Lestat. And guess which episode they all have liked best? Episode 5 because it was an escape from all the melodrama and actually had some action. Despite my favorite parts of the show being the Loustat romance, I can admit that most people aren't tuning into AMC, home of The Walking Dead, for that. I hate to say this, but the show would probably have performed even worse if Lestat was not made as extreme and off the wall as he was. You either love him, or love to hate him.

Unfortunately, we live in an age that quality shows such as this don't make it very far. Hence why television is so weighed down with police, medical, and firefighter dramas at the moment (yawn).

Nalyra, it sounds like the show really will be cancelled based on this. Do you agree with this comment? I know AMC owns the intellectual properties. What is stopping them from cancelling the Immortal Universe & selling those rights if it’s not making money & people aren’t watching?

Alright, Nonny, sorry I needed a moment.

cracks knuckles

Let me take that one apart :))

“The show wasn't performing on a stellar level in S1 when Lestat was in every episode. The fact of the matter is this show had a lot going against from inception. For one, the source material isn't all that relevant today if I'm being brutally honest. That's why it took as long as it did for an adaptation to come to fruition after being scrapped and passed up on other networks.”

Nope. It was passed on and from network to network because Christopher Rice wrote the script and wanted to start with “Wolfkiller”. Now, as has been detailed here by @cbrownjc (for example), that wasn’t a good idea, because it would literally give all the story away. And THAT is why it was likely passed on. Note also that when AMC finally acquired all the rights they scrapped that script immediately, and Anne and Christopher likely signed NDAs, because though they were/are Executive Producers… there is no statement, whatsoever. Which MIGHT have to do with Christopher’s rejected script. 😬

Also, I think the show has more than proven how just slight twists can make this source material immensely relevant for today. Their social commentary and color-conscious casting is top notch. Not seeing that… well. What do you want me to say to that? 😅

Fox's The Passage was a wonderful show that was canceled the first season. Morbius was a box office failure, The Strain-canceled, NS4A2- canceled, and Dracula (NBC) - canceled.

… Okay I did not watch “The Passage”, but the other ones. And apart from The Strain’s first season they were all very sub par. Like the first season of NS4A2? Intriguing!!! Second season? I wanted to bash my head against the wall!! The Strain I actually bought, and the initial setup was awesome… and then it just went downhill. Dracula… lol, yeah. I wasn’t surprised. And let’s not even talk about Morbius. (I think I was very drunk by the end of that one, lol)

Imho - it’s not the “vampire media” but the quality of said vampire media. And, let’s not forget - this is the Vampire Chronicles, the very basis for a lot of these re-inventions. It’s a very different kind of beast. And a very distinct universe, imho.

Now throw in a show centered around a melodramatic gay vampire relationship? Very tough sell because queer shows often have their own set of struggles appealing to a wide audience (RIP Our Flag Means Death, and Good Omens was very lucky to be revived for one more season after being canceled).

Yeah well, from what I heard OFMD killed of one of the very beloved characters there in very bad writing and… well. That didn’t go over well. (So I heard.) And Good Omens was never supposed to be more than three seasons afaik (after that initial ONE season).

It's not the gay or queer - it's the quality and setup, imho. It's why the rating is at friggin' 97% this time round. And why there is a whole universe being set up. There is just SO MUCH you can do with the VC.

The movie back in 94 was controversial because it was so niche, luckily it had the start power to make it successful but it messed up Tom's career for years.

WHAT. What are they talking about. Niche??? I was there, in packed theaters. WHAT??? Also Tom's career. Niche... yeah it was controversial, but not because of niche, but because it was very gay for the mainstream 90s!!!!

Even if every book reader did show up for this show (and they didn't) it still would have been too small of an audience. And I say this as an avid fan of Rice and a book reader.

🙄 To be honest (forgive me but), they sound like one of those hardcore book fans who stop after QotD because it’s “not the original trilogy” after. SMH.

I have watched nearly every person who has reacted to the show on YouTube who wasn't a book reader and guess who is their favorite regardless of race, age, or sexual orientation? Lestat. And guess which episode they all have liked best? Episode 5 because it was an escape from all the melodrama and actually had some action. Despite my favorite parts of the show being the Loustat romance, I can admit that most people aren't tuning into AMC, home of The Walking Dead, for that. I hate to say this, but the show would probably have performed even worse if Lestat was not made as extreme and off the wall as he was. You either love him, or love to hate him.

That one… is probably true, I guess. Or at least in parts, I don’t think that everyone liked ep5 best, nor wanted to escape “the melodrama”. But there is a reason why Lestat is the main character of the VC, and why he is so iconic. And Sam…. manages to conjure him, on possession-level, lol shrugs

Unfortunately, we live in an age that quality shows such as this don't make it very far.

At least they acknowledge the quality :)) … this is why it’s so good we’re on AMC. They have experience with shows like this. And they own the books.

_____

Okay. (I think it’s clear I don’t agree with this comment^^)

Nonny, the show won’t be canceled because of takes like this, or through takes like this.

You ask what is stopping AMC to cancel the IU and sell it all?

Well, for one - who would like to buy it if they fail to develop it? They would NEVER get the money back if THEY fail to monetize this. And they did pay big bucks to get all of it.

There is a whole universe in those books. And I mean, Mark Johnson only said just the other day, at the fan premiere, that they’re developing Talamasca and more. Why would they put money into an adjacent show, if they were planning on cancelling the IU?

And, trust me, this IU… is built on the VC. There is a reason why Rolin Jones is on record saying AMC wants to do 10 seasons. They are going to milk this thing, for all it’s worth.

Also - people are watching. It has its audience. I have no idea where this is coming from - from the cable ratings? The show is #1 on all streaming sites. What do you mean people aren’t watching? :)

IWTV has been adapted before, and so I do agree with the OP wrt to some people biding their time. Which is something I low-key understand, even though I do not agree, because they’re missing out big time, and ultimately only hurt themselves with it.

But … trust me - when the truly “new stuff”(*) will happen?

I bet then this show will take off.

(* Mandatory disclaimer: IWTV is brilliantly reimagined, but some people seem to be stuck in the book structure mentally, even though we are far from “only on one book”. Still, for all intents and purposes we are on IWTV for the majority of the story, and (a lot of) that HAS been told before. However… we will enter never before seen territory soon. Have actually already gotten to see a revenant?!!!

Let’s… just wait.

But I actually, sincerely doubt this show will be in any kind of danger.

#Anonymous #ask nalyra #amc iwtv #iwtv #amc interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire amc #iwtv amc #interview with the vampire #the vampire chronicles #vc #vampire chronicles #reddit

[fficway]

Distracting Dancing Donnie

Synopsis: You need a dance partner for an assignment, and your pride won't allow you to ask Donnie.

ROTTMNT Donnie x Reader insert. (No gender specified). Reader is either in high school and friends with the current turtles, or in college and friends with aged-up turtles, whichever is closer to your age/preference.

[This has all the fluff. A personal friend requested a one shot so I wrote this. I personally thought it was a little too cheesy or that I lost the characters' personalities somewhere along the line, but the friend who requested it loved it so I decided to share! I proofread it but I know there are still grammar mistakes. Also copying and pasting to Tumblr made me lose some of my typographical emphasis, so I did my best to fix it.]

In all the years you've known the turtles, you've never messed up so badly.

You've never hurt or betrayed any of them. Especially not to the extent that you've done today.

"How could you choose Señor Hueso as your dance partner over me?!" Donnie is whom you've betrayed on this historical day.

You had never let your grades slip in any of your classes, not even in the midst of pizza parties with the turtles or infiltrating The Foot with April. However in recent months you've become somewhat distracted.

Ok, more than somewhat. You had always had an affinity for the tech-wiz turtle, just an infatuation if you will. You thought it was something that would come to pass over time, just a small, childish crush. Until the years passed by and you've gotten that much closer with the turtles. Being with them through thick and thin, helping to bandage their injuries, cheering them on whether it be in a fight against mutants, or competition amongst themselves.

You've seen them laugh, you've seen them cry, you've seen them hurt, hell, you've even seen them sick with the rat flu (which you got 4 new gifts from thanks to the seventh "Must Say Yes" stage!) And what you thought to be a little crush did not fade. In fact, with every rescue Donatello had accomplished, saving you in the knick of time, every scwabble he took your side on, every invention he explained to you with that excited fire in his eyes, you found yourself incredibly distracted by your growing feelings for him.

Distracted enough that your history grade had slipped. Hence, where you are today. Your teacher was assigning a "historical dances around the world" assignment with a contest, the winner receiving extra credit, and you were given Salsa as your assigned dance. Writing a report to go with it is the easy part. Dancing it is an entirely different story. So you decided to go with who Leo describes as an expert: Señor Hueso.

"Donnie, if it were an 80's dance like Disco or The Robot, of course I'd have asked you. But my grade is on the line here and I need an expert!" You told him a half-truth. As much as you'd want to, you don't think you could ever bring yourself to ask Donnie to dance with you. You've seen him dance! You'd just get distracted again and short circuit right there on the dance floor! You want your grade to go up, not down!

"Actually Disco dancing was created in the 1960's, and whereas the Robot was popularized in the 60's as well, it's origins date back as early as the 1920's-" He was already on a roll, adding in a few dance poses as he elaborated.

"Donnie, look, I'm sorry but I'm trying to win, and Señor Hueso was nice enough to agree to help me. After some begging/convincing from Leo." You mumbled the last part to yourself.

"Scoff! You know as well as I do that you would not receive any award lower than first place with me! Failure is not in my vocabulary!" Donnie exclaimed.

"Yeah, but it's in your record" you mumbled to yourself.

"What! I don't have any failures on my record!" Donnie, who had apparently heard you, argued.

"What about the many L's you took in our shell games to moi?" Leo leaned his weight on his brother's head.

"I only recall besting you and taking your room from you." Donnie cockily brushed off Leo.

"And all the sports games we lost because of you?" Raph added from his seat on the couch.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, I don't even partake in sports ball." Donnie retorted with a couple flicks of his wrist, as if dusting off the allegation.

"And when you got us attacked by one of your many evil robots?" Mikey shouted from the skate ramp.

"That doesn't sound like me." He crossed his arms.

"And the many projects you failed to help me with?" April added showing the pictures on her phone of every one of Donnie's combustible experiments.

"That must be the work of a different, lesser genius mutant ninja turtle." Donnie crossed his arms.

You clicked the projector on where a video played of Donnie yelling "I can fix this!" repeatedly in multiple different clips where different inventions of his glitched, shut down, got destroyed, self-destructed, or turned evil.

"Hmm, does my shell armor really look that ingenious from the back?" He wondered with a hand under his chin and one eyebrow raised.

"Donnie!" April shouted.

"OK, I'll admit I may have forgotten a few data points. But I am still undefeated in my dancing! Which is why I feel betrayed that you of all people wouldn't pick me as your dance partner!" He turned back to you.

"Dee, I'm sorry but my mind is made up. I appreciate you wanting to help, but I've got too much at stake and need to take first place." You placed your hand on his shoulder as you explained.

"Et tu, Brute?" He quoted at you, hurt. He brushed off your hand as he turned and sulked stubbornly towards his lab. "Fine, but don't come crying to me when you realize that I was obviously the better choice!" He shouted back.

______________

You felt awful. You felt like you really had betrayed Donnie. It was just dancing, but you knew how much he liked to be relied on, especially outside of his technology. You felt like a kicked puppy.

"Ouch!" Especially your shin that had actually been kicked just now!

"Compañero, you need to keep up."

"Sorry Señor Hueso. I'm just a little... distracted." That word keeps correlating with Donnie and it really needs to cease.

"Well then, if you are too distracted to learn, then I suppose this lesson is over." Señor Hueso sighed as he turned to walk back into his kitchen. He had been kind enough to let you use his restaurant as a makeshift dancefloor during closed hours.

"Hold on there Bone Man!" Leo slid to put his arm around him, stopping his exit. "If teaching the dance steps isn't working, you could at least take this time to teach about the history of the dance for the written report?"

"Yes! Yes please! That would be a huge help, and I'll be sure to pay attention this time!" You gleamed with hopeful eyes, silently thanking Leo's quick thinking. You only had a week to prepare after all.

Señor Hueso sighed, "Fine, as long as you listen closely." He moved over to one of the tables so you all can sit as he began.

"The Salsa was developed by Puerto Ricans and Cubans living here in New York in the late 60s and early 70s. Different regions of Latin America and the United States have distinct salsa styles of their own such as Cuban, Puerto Rican, Colombian, and New York's very own style. I am well learned in all of these styles, but for your dance, I will be teaching you the New York style." He continued on with showing the movements distinct to each style and the differences they show even in the same moves, and you found yourself forcing yourself to take notes even though your mind is wandering to Donnie and how he may have been lighting up with that excitement he wears so well as he explains this same information. Your brain may be wandering but you had turned on a recorder before the lesson started so that you could practice the dance steps at home, and you were smart to leave it recording as Señor Hueso taught about the history of the Salsa.

"Wait, so its similar to the Tango in that it's an improv dance, but more upbeat and free spirited. So then why am I learning choreography? Wouldn't it be more authentic to follow your lead at the contest?" You asked.

"You were under the impression that I was going to be your dance partner at the contest? There seems to be a misunderstanding. I agreed to teach you for a day, not to risk being spotted in your world." He had a point, but the crushing reality hit you in the face like a brick.

"What?! A day? But I thought you were going to teach, practice, and then wear a disguise or something to be my partner for the contest? Leo said that when you combine with your brother you pass for human with skin and bone-"

"No! I would never involve my brother in any kind of plan that could get us exposed to the human world. Additionally I would not stoop so low as to ask my brother for a favor." Hueso muttered to himself, crossing his arms.

"I would!" You exclaimed, panicked. "Leo! Do something!"

"Hey, I've already gotten myself on server and dish washer duty just from asking him to teach you to dance! I say just find a different partner! What about Donnie? You already know that he wanted to be your dance partner, so convincing him will be a piece of cake!" Leo leaned on his sword casually.

"Ugh! But if I ask him now I'll never live it down!" You grumbled with your hands over your face.

"I agree, Donnie can be a sore winner" Leo mused with a deadpan expression. Being defeated by any of his siblings was annoying enough, but Donnie's cocky way of rubbing it in their faces was worse than Leo's.

Ok, so Donnie is not necessarily worse than Leo at being a sore winner, but to Leo he was.

"What about you Leo? You're here with me at the lesson! So you can learn the choreography with me!" You pleaded.

"Woah, as much as I'd love to rub it in Donnie's face that I was picked as a dance partner over him... Ok, scratch that, I'd love to rub it in Donnie's face that I was picked as a dance partner over him, I'm in!"

You fist pumped at Leo agreeing. It's ok! You can still do this! You have time, and Leo's not a bad dancer!

"While I hate being the bearer of bad news, isn't the contest on Friday? The same day that papino here is supposed to be my server for an important dinner being held here in my restaurant?" Hueso interrupted. Leo had agreed to serve at the restaurant for the entire week, and then end his service after helping Hueso serve for an important dinner reservation.

"Relax! It'll be fine! I'll just portal back and forth, help you serve your restaurant," Leo gestures to Hueso, "and help you to win your contest!" He gestures to you. 'And help to make Donnie jealous.' Leo added to himself.

You and Señor Hueso looked at each other unsure.

Eventually it was decided that since Leo had agreed to help serve at the Run of The Mill Pizza for the entire week, that you can practice his portalling back and forth during your dance practice and see if you can get the timing down.

______________

It was a disaster.

"That was a disaster!" Donnie laughed.

Leo and you had consistently topled over each other, stepping on each others feet as he popped in and out of the lair, sometimes with random dishes in hand, sometimes holding one of the restaurant's customers and spinning them instead of spinning you. Eventually you were sitting on the floor of the lair, rubbing your poor, abused feet as Donnie smugly looked down from the railing above.

"It was only our twelfth try! We still have plenty of time to improve!" You shouted up at him. You were mortified.

"Sure, if you subtract the seventeen attempts from yesterday, and the fourteen from the day before-" He started counting on his three fingers.

"Ok! But we almost had it that time! I had a fighting chance! Besides this is supposed to be an improv style dance in its origin so technically we're authentic!" You were spouting nonsense out of desperation. You knew it. And unfortunately for you, Donnie knew it. You had to look away from his smug and cocky grin he was giving you. It didn't help that he was so good looking with that look on his face. And it didn't help that he knew that too.

"Oh dear, if only there were someone proficient at dancing around that could take 'Nardo's place and help you to place first place at the contest. Oh wait, there is and you picked TWO other people over me!" Ugh, you hated when he has something over you to rub in your face like this.

"Look, Dee-"

"If you apologize now and, I don't know, beg maybe? I might agree to win that contest for you through the power of dance! You and I both know that you need the help." Donnie had his hand posed smugly by his face.

You hated when he had something to rub in your face, sure. But what you hated more was when he was a jerk about it too.

"'Beg?' 'Win it for me?' I'm not incompetent Donatello!" Ooh, you used his full name. Bad sign. "I don't need your help with this stupid dance contest. And frankly? I don't even want it!" You shouted up at him before turning away to gather your things. And here you were about to finally ask him as a last resort. Even with the risk that you'd mess it all up and somehow accidentally reveal to the turtle how badly you had fallen for him, you were desperate, and knew it was only logical to ask Donnie. But after the things he just said now, your pride wouldn't allow it.

"You only have a day before the contest! You’ll come crawling back to me! You'll see!" Donnie shouted after you as you left the lair. He sighed. He knew he messed up. He got full of himself with the notion that you'd maybe be desperate enough to finally ask him! He assumed that if he talked himself up enough and gave you the confidence of a definite win, that he could finally dance with you.

It was no secret that he loved to dance, especially when smitten with someone. Ever since he found himself wanting to ask you to dance with him every time music played in the background of a venue, after some kind of victory, or even when music played during a Jupiter Jim movie, he realised it was due to the growing feelings he had for you. He was not dense in his own feelings, he knew when he was attracted to someone. And he had fallen hard and fast for you years ago, and those feelings had not wavered.

It had hurt that when the opportunity for you to dance with someone came up you had not thought of him. What was worse, when your original partner had been a bust, you had picked his own brother over him, even after he had expressed his interest! (Ok, he expressed offense at not being chosen but in retrospect its the same thing!)

He sighed, slapping a hand over his face. He should apologize, and offer, or rather, ask you properly to dance with him for your contest instead. That's all he wanted was a chance to dance with you. Mixing two of his favorite things together is the ultimate dream. You already express a lot of interest in his tech. Letting him go into as much detail and as long a spiel as his heart desires, and even ask questions! The ultimate sign of interest in his scientific art!

He was just being greedy with wanting to dance with you too, he knew, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted you to himself. He wanted you to be as immersed in him as he is in you. He knew all of your favorite things and can even list them in alphabetical order! He knew your allergies and proofed the lair of every possible scenario that could come into contact with you, and even carried extra supplies in his first aid kits especially for you! He knew what makes you laugh, and which nicknames you enjoyed being called the most by him and each of his brothers (though he uses his nickname for you sparingly as he didn't want you to catch on to his knowledge of it).

But he did just overreact. It was probably for a reason that you didnt want to dance with him. Maybe this was a line you were drawing because you caught onto his feelings, and you were trying to distance yourself so you didnt have to hurt him with the rejection. He was spiraling now, thinking the worst when Leonardo popped back into the lair through a portal, laughing with a box of pizza in his hand.

"Hey, do we have that contest in the bag or what?" He smiled, looking around the lair but not finding you.

Donnie sighed as he yelled down to Leo that you already left.

"What? But we didnt even get to discuss how rad our preformance was today! Something must have come up." Leo wondered aloud with a shrug.

"Or, something must have driven them away. Sigh, why am I so bad at taking a hint?" Donnie complained.

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked, skating up to the second level to follow Donnie who was now going off towards his lab. He ate a slice of pizza from the box in his hand.

"Oh nothing. Just realizing that rejection tastes a lot worse than it sounds." Donnie mused aloud. He didn't want to go into detail to his brother, but he knew that if he didn't give an answer he'd never get any peace to sulk to himself.

"What, you were rejected? As a dance partner, or...?" Leo sounded hesitant and unsure but Donnie paid no mind.

"What does it matter? 'Tis but the same definition in my dictionary." Donnie confessed.

"Wait, are we talking about the same 'or?' Is this really happening?" Leo sounded excited, much to Donnie's disapproval. How insensitive to be excited at his brother's heartache.

Leo must have realized his brother's interpretation of his reaction and immediately added context. "Are you really finally admitting your feelings for Y/N? Is that what you're doing here? Did you confess earlier? I want the deets!" Leo sat across from Donnie excitedly. They had gone off track from going towards his lab and had ended up in the kitchen. Donnie needed rocky road to heal his rocky heart.

"Donnie confessed?!" Raph popped out from behind the refrigerator door and Mikey dropped the spoon he was using to stir ingredients together. He was cooking brustle sprouts. Leo put the box of pizza on the table and everyone grabbed a slice as they gathered around.

"No! I did not, exactly, confess anything as I have nothing to confess and you cannot prove otherwise because there is no proof!" Donnie was regretting his decision to go to the kitchen.

"Oh but you just said you being rejected as a dance partner and "or" were the same thing, so what is "or?" Leo smugly explained.

"Ugh! Does it matter? You're the dance partner, not me, and so I'm taking the hint and staying out of it! Now if you'll excuse me, I will be shutting myself inside my lab to work on FAB version 2.14 so that it's even more state of the art. If you need me, leave a message and I will get back to you at the next, convenient, never." Donnie left the kitchen without his ice cream or a goodbye, and the turtles looked around at each other.

"Wow, this dance partner thing really bothered him." Mikey said concerned.

"You know how soft his shell is. Especially for Y/N. We knew it would get to him, but I guess we didn't realize how badly it would hurt him." Raph said sadly.

"Relax you guys! It'll all work out!" Leo waved off their concerns with a smirk.

"Ok, what are you planning Leo?" Raph raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing!" Leo insisted, although him stretching out the word made it less convincing. "On an unrelated note, I need your help at the Run of The Mill Pizza Friday!"

"But that's when the contest is! We were going to root on Y/N at the contest!" Mikey complained.

"Oh, so I guess you don't want a rematch at who's the better waiter that I so obviously won last time." Leo taunted Mikey.

"Oh, you're so on!" Mikey jumped up at the challenge and Raph caught him by the shell.

"Leo, what's up your sleeve?" Raph held Mikey in the air who swung his arms and legs around.

"Only this measuring tape." Leo pulled out a measuring tape seemingly out of nowhere and started holding it up to different parts of Raph's torso. "Say, don't you think you'd look fantastic in the waiter's tuxedo uniform?"

Raph blushed, "Well I have always wanted to try it on."

"Alright! That's what I'm talking about!" Leo hugged his brothers. Now that they were distracted and agreed to working with him at the restaurant Friday, that would leave you no more options to turn to than Donnie when he "accidentally" won't be able to make it on Friday. Leo was a great dancer. Not as great as Donnie (though he'll never admit it aloud), and he had become a master at teleportation. He wasn't as bad as he had made you believe him to be. He knew your and Donnie's ego's and feelings for each other would prevent you both from dancing together, so he set this plan up as soon as you had asked him if he knew anyone who could Salsa dance. Señor Hueso was in on it too, in fact. He never would have asked Leo to work at his restaurant again unless absolutely necessary. But Leo had insisted that he needed to work there as a part of his master plan.

It was all going to work out accordingly. You may not win the prize considering the last minute changes, but you and Donnie would at least have a chance to dance together. And if nothing else were to come out of this, at least he wouldn't owe you a favor anymore for covering for him when he broke Donnie's mini Donnie statue.

_____________

["So none of you are coming tonight?"] You asked, texting the group chat with April and the turtles.

April had started a new intern job at a new's station and couldn't get off to come and cheer you on. You wouldn't have asked her to anyway considering this was a job she had wanted for a while. But you appreciated her fist pump emojis she sent to cheer you on instead.

Raph and Mikey had apparently been needed to help Señor Hueso and Leon at the restaurant so that it would be easier for him to pop in and dance with you while they cover his absence. It made sense so you sent your thanks. Yesterday's final practice had gone somewhat ok, you thought? Maybe having Leo not portal in would make it finally go somewhat well.

Donnie had apparently been left to babysit Mayhem, which you tried to tell yourself was a good thing. You didn't need him to distract you yet again, however you couldn't help how low in your chest it felt like your heart had fallen that even he had bailed on cheering you on. You wanted him to cheer you on. You wanted him to watch you partake in a hobby that he loved so much, to feel more apart of his world and passions. Hell, what you really wanted was to dance with him. You should have sucked up your pride days ago and just asked him. With all the practicing surely you would have had time to get over your embarrassment of dancing so closely to him. You were such an idiot to let an opportunity like this slip away because of your dumb pride!

The teacher's opening speech cut off your thinking. She was announcing the scores from the reports of the essays you all had turned in that morning, as well as saying how many points you needed to win.

You had received a perfect score on your essay! However so did a few other students! It was going to be close! There were 3 judges with the old fashioned score paddles ranging from 0-10. If any of the other students got a perfect 10/10 from even one of the judges, it would be hard to beat with you and Leon's dancing!

You texted Leo nervously, ["We've got this, right?"] But your nerves only grew when he didn't text back during the first student's dance. You kept clicking your phone on and off, checking if you had gotten any missed messages. The student who went 7th had gotten scores 10, 7, and 9! You wanted to throw up at how it made your nerves worse! You texted Leo a few more times before texting Raph, and then Mikey, asking if Leo's phone had died, and that your turn was coming up in two songs. Nothing! You were in a full panick and sent to the group chat asking if anyone had heard from Leo.

["What do you mean? Is he not there yet?" -Donnie]

Ugh, you were mortified that Donnie of course would be the only one to respond.

["No! No 1 is responding! Idk how 2 reach him!"] You texted back. You hated abbreviating texts but this was an emergency and you were almost out of time as the next student's dance ended with a score of 10, 8, and 10! The next student's number was called. Your turn was after.

You kept clicking on and off your phone again but Donnie hasn't respond now either.

["Did U reach him?"] You wished for a miracle that Leo's portal would pop up in front of you. It didn't even matter if everyone saw, you were desperate. If you danced this alone, you were sure to fail! Maybe you could ask one of the other students?

The song came to an end. The teacher was about to call your number. You clicked your phone on again and felt dread spread through you at yet again seeing no response. You felt yourself crumble on the inside in disappointment. Even if you danced it alone, you didn't even feel like dancing at this point!

You didn't move when the teacher called your number. You fiddled with your fingers around the phone that was still in your hands but the screen was no longer lit. You deserved this for letting your grades slip in the first place. But to be stood up by your own friends, who you had fought battles with? It hurt. You put your phone away and started walking up to the teacher to lie and tell her that you didn't prepare a dance, or maybe even tell her that you had stage fright or something? Either way you had to tell her that you couldn't do it.

"Number 17? Where are you?" The teacher asked on the microphone looking around the dim ballroom.

You sighed. You were mortified. "Right-"

"Here!" You were pushed forward from behind into the spotlights of the dancefloor and turned to find Donatello in snazzy clothes that covered his turtle appearance as much as possible. Behind him Mayhem's tail wagging caught your eye before you looked back at him.

"Donnie, what are you doing here?" You whispered to him looking towards the teacher as she announced that youll be performing the Salsa.

"Leo couldn't make it." Donnie looked at you apologetically. He stopped himself from saying more as the intro to the song started. He held out his hand, "Would you give me the honor of being your dance partner?"

You blushed. You didn't have time to think before the dance was supposed to start so you only nodded with a smile before placing your hand in his with your other hand in the air and a hip popped in your first dance pose.

The lyrics of the song started and Donnie matched your dancing flawlessly. He had watched you and Leo practice enough to memorize the choreography that you knew and were comfortable with. But now he couldn’t help himself to let the music get to him. This opportunity to dance with you was just too good to be true, so he let the music take over and added some improvised spins into the dance.

To his surprise, you matched him flawlessly, and even were smiling and laughing like you were enjoying yourself! He couldnt believe it! He was actually dancing with you! And you were enjoying it! You spun him a few times and you both parted to Salsa in place before coming back together for more spins.

Your cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and you could feel your face on fire! Not only did he come to your rescue yet again, but you both still got to dance together! You couldn't believe it! Better than that, he was really good! Your fears were for nothing! Granted the rhythm in which he moved his hips was definitely distracting, but it felt so natural, so fun to dance with him! You'll definitely have to apologize to him after!

You were nearing the end of the song when it donned on you that you needed to score at least two 10s and a 9 to win, and the realization that you and Donnie had gotten lost in your own world while dancing suddenly made you nervous. Did this count as Salsa sancing still? Sure it's an improvisation dance but you had decided on choreography as the safest bet to insure you did it correctly, what if this was all for naught? What if you don't win and it causes Donnie to spiral and makes the situation between you worse?

Your nerves eventually won out as Donnie spins you inwards towards him. You found yourself falling backwards as you over-rotated, and dread filled you once more.

"Leg up!" Donnie's hushed voice was in your ear as his inner elbows scooped up under your arms and caught you in a dip. Your leg was already going up a bit during your fall so you took advantage of Donnie supporting your weight to kick your leg up high, making sure to point your toes so that it looks like all of this was on purpose, before he bounced you back on your feet and you spun back around to him. You finished the last quick step as he pulled you close and you both came to an abrupt stop right on time with the music.

Everyone was clapping and cheering around you as you and Donnie panted while still holding onto one another. Your face heated and you felt dizzy, whether from the spinning or from how close Donnie was to you, you were not sure. He glanced down at your lips before quickly backing off to your side and lifting one of your hands in the air. He looked at you expectantly to lead, and you smiled as you both bowed at the judges and your teacher.

He didn't let go of your hand as the judges reached for the scoring paddles, and you gave his hand a tight squeeze to ease your nerves. Your heart was pounding from the combination of the dance, the scoring, and from the intimacy of being so close to Donnie for this long.

The judges lifted their paddles. 10, 10, and 9.5! You squealed before you and Donnie hugged each other. He didn't know if you had hugged him or vice-versa, but he wasn't complaining. Although once you both realized your position you quickly separated and scurried off the dancefloor for the last few contestants to go. But Donnie noted that you hadn't let go of his hand yet.

Once you were off to a dimly lit corner of the room at the back of the crowd you were hugging Donnie again. Mayhem hopping up onto a water cooler beside you both.

"Donnie! You! I really can't believe you did this for me! You really saved me tonight, I don't know how I can thank you!"

"I could think of a few ideas." Donnie's blush went unseen in the dim light, and you were letting him go now, his hand included, much to his disappointment.

"Listen Donnie, I really owe you an apology. I... was honestly embarrassed to ask you to be my dance partner. You're such a good dancer, and I.. didn't think I could keep up." It's a half truth. You didn't think you could keep up because you assumed you'd be tripping over yourself being that close to him. Which did technically happen but he had saved your butt, both figuratively and literally.

"No! Stop no!" He waved his arms in front of him. He was so embarassed now at hearing your reasoning, he really felt like a jerk now at how he had acted. "I am the one who is in the wrong. I felt hurt at not being chosen to be your dance partner, and took it a little.. too personally if I am being honest." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I.. overreacted, and behaved rather immaturely. Can you forgive me?"

To his pleasant surprise, you smiled at him and took his hands again. "For saving my butt tonight in all definitions of the phrase? Forgiven! Not only that, but if we win this because of you, I'll-"

"We will now be announcing the final scores!" The teacher's voice cut your conversation short. You just realized that you hadn't watched the scores for the final performances! What if someone got perfect 10s? You turned to watch nervously as your teacher introduced the judges and let them each give a little speech, postponing the results a little further.

Donnie had whispered to you a few times "You'll what? If we win, you'll what??" But you hadn't heard him. You squeezed his hand in yours absent-mindedly as your nerves got progressively more disoriented. Donnie's nerves rose at how you were still holding his hand. He was still elated at that he not only got to dance with you -the view of you laughing in joy as he spun you being a sight he would relive in his head (and in his tech as he records everything) for the rest of his life- but also due to the fact that you forgave him!

He heard who he assumed to be the teacher announce third place, who recieved 5 extra bonus points to their final grade, go to someone who had apparently performed a waltz.

Your hand squeezed his nervously as second place, the winner of 10 extra bonus points went to a student who had performed ballet. That was a fair choice, ballet was hard to learn in just a week after all and oh my gosh it was so hard for Donnie to focus when your hand fit so well in his! Was he sweating? He hoped he wasn't sweating!

"First place, winning a prize of 15 extra bonus points to the semester's final grade, goes to... number 17, who performed the Salsa!"

You hadn't heard passed your number being called before you jumped up and down.

"I won! Donnie! You-! Oh migosh, you-! Ahh come here!"

Your hands clamped over the sides of his face and pulled him towards your lips.

He didn't know how to react. He didn't have time to react, as the kiss was over in an instant, and you were already rushing back to the dancefloor to claim your certificate.

He stood there dumbfounded, feeling dizzy, smiling like a dum dum. That really just happened! You kissed him! In the same night that you danced with him! He couldn't believe it!

A portal opened up beside him with Leo popping in unnoticed by the rest of the students around. "Soooo, judging by your face and Y/N up there getting an award I assume the plan worked?"

"Plan?" Donnie snapped out of it as he rounded on his brother. "So this was apart of a plan of yours?"

Leo leaned on Donnie's shoulder, "Uh, yeah! And I'd say it was a success!"

Donnie felt himself boil at the thought of being played by Leo of all of his brothers, but as you bounced up to them he quickly thought that this is maybe the only time his brother having a hand in things turned out for the best.

"Leo! Where were you?! Actually, nevermind that! Thank you for not showing up! Donnie and I won!" You hooked your arms around Leo's neck in a hug, bouncing excitedly, and Donnie felt the boiling return.

"Yes, we did win, and you were saying something about if we won you'll...?" Donatello desperately tried to direct your attention back to his festering question. If nothing else, he wanted Leo gone and to have time with you to himself to ask you about that kiss! It was a matter of urgency!

Leo smirked, "So you won! Congrats! That calls for a celebration! Luckily everyone is back in the lair with some Run of The Mill Pizza ready for you!"

"Um, yeah ok, why don't you go ahead and tell everyone the good news while I take Y/N back after the event is over?" Donnie pushed Leo further away from you and out of your arm's reach.

"The event is over, Donnie." You laughed, "We can all head back together now!" In all honesty, you were too embarrassed at what you had just done.

You had moved without thinking earlier. You had been too engrossed in the moment and kissed Donnie without thinking about his feelings! He probably didnt like you that way! You were so thankful at seeing Leo there after recieving your reward so you didnt have to talk to Donnie about what you had just done. You weren't ready! You didn't want to tell him your feelings now! And apologizing would probably make it sound awful: "Hey, sorry I kissed you, that was an accident!" What if it hurt his pride, or he took it the wrong way? You didn't even know if he had liked it or not because you ran off before seeing his reaction. You wanted nothing more than to escape to the lair with everyone else and go back to how things were. You can tell him how you feel another time when you're ready!

"No, it isn't-" Donnie had tried to lie that the event was not over yet, but the students leaving the venue was hard to deny. Leon laughed as he opened a portal and pushed you inside it.

"See you and Mayhem there when you're ready to join us, Donnie." Leo winked at him to tease his brother before stepping through the portal after you.

Donnie didnt waste a second before opening his arms for Mayhem to teleport him to the lair after you both.

___________

You were excitedly telling everyone about the contest, exaggerating how Donnie showed up at the last minute before the music started. You stepped around the room trying to mimic some of the dance steps from earlier as you excitedly told them more about the dance and at how Donnie was a natural, and his improvised steps were amazing.

He had to admit, dancing with you? Amazing! You singing his praises to his siblings about dancing with you? Even better! He was so smug right now that Leo's one liner's weren't phasing him one bit. You were so animated while reliving the dance, it was like you were talking about your favorite TV show, and he was so in love with this animated and excited side of you. He could watch you all night.

"And then suddenly, I found myself living out my biggest fear! I had tripped and was falling to my doom!" You were so dramatic, it was adorable. He got up without anyone noticing.

"Oh no!" Raph gasped, his voice an octave higher than normal.

"Did you fall in the middle of the dance?" Mikey asked, fearfully.

You smirked, "No, Mikey, no I didn't!"

Mikey gasped.

"But how did you not fall?" Raph questioned. They were eating this up.

"I swooped in with the magic of rhythm!" Donnie slid into the scene behind you, and you took the cue to fall back as you had during your dance.

"'Leg up!' He had told me! He knew exactly how to save the day!" You posed with Donnie holding you from behind with your leg in the air like you had done before, but now you both held it as you rambled. Everyone applauded.

"And like a natural, you pulled it off perfectly!" Donnie added proudly, now bouncing you back up to your feet. You blushed at him for a moment before turning back around to finish the story to the others, leaving out the hand-holding and kiss, and proudly showing your certificate.

"Congratulations! We all know how hard you worked this week for this win! You deserve it!" April said to you from her spot on the couch. "I wish I had been there to cheer you on, but Leo made me promise to turn my phone off and let Donnie handle it."

"Dahh! April! Ix-nay on the an-play!" Leo whispered loudly across to April, his hands making an "x."

"I'm sorry, he did what?" You turned towards Leo even though your question was for April.

"Hahaha! I uh-" Leo chuckled nervously as Mikey chimed in.

"He had us turn off our phones too! And made sure we were busy far away from you in case you needed a back up partner!"

You started stalking towards Leonardo who was awkwardly getting up from the couch to sneak away.

"I knew the moment he wasn't responding to his phone that something was amiss. Getting me to agree to look after Mayhem made sense when you had texted the group chat that he was a no-show. It had only taken me a minute to get dressed and teleport to the venue, and to archive how good I looked in a quick few selfies which was why I was almost late." Donnie explained, keeping the last bit to himself.

"Leo." You started, "Surely you didn't stand me up, leaving me to have a full blown panic attack and almost quit the contest entirely, did you? You wouldn't do that to a friend, right?" Your smile could freeze hell.

"I just remembered that I have something to do, uh, anywhere but here!" Leon opened a portal, and as he stepped through you turned to the rest of the family in the lair.

"And surely all of you didn't go along with this plan knowingly? Right? You wouldn't ditch your friend in need?"

There was a pregnant pause before everyone besides you and Donnie were scrambling for the portal, with Raph shouting something about a mission they forgot about and to not wait up.

You sighed as the portal closed. "I'm happy with the outcome, but I have mixed feelings about being played like this."

Donnie walked up to you. "Yes, I concur that the event did end with the most preferable of outcomes." He said this simply, but with the awkward habit he had of scratching his head when embarrassed you flushed at the possibility that he might be bringing up the kiss. Surely not!

You both looked at each other with a blush. No way, he can't seriously mean... he has to be talking about dancing with you! That's all!

"Yeah! Dancing with you was the best thing to happen! Your help winning the contest was just icing on the cake!" You smiled at him. This was honest. Winning of course was the goal, but the best part of tonight was getting to dance with Donnie and apologizing to him.

"That reminds me. You said that if you won thanks to my help you'd do something. What, uh, might that be that you were about to say earlier?" Donnie finally got a chance to bring it up again!

You blushed again and suddenly couldn't look him in the eye. "Um, well." Could you tell him that the kiss was what you were going to do? Would he take that as a thank you? Would it seem too conceited to think he would accept it? Is it too conceited to hope he'd liked it? You can't run anymore. (Literally, April took Mayhem with her!) So the best thing you can do is ask.

"What, uh, what would you like?"

At this Donnie covered his blush by putting his hand over his face as if thinking hard. He knew what he wanted! But would it be awkward to ask for another kiss? You had kissed him earlier so maybe there was a chance that you wanted to kiss him before a rush of dopamine from winning had taken over? No, but he can't hypothesize with only one data point! This seemed like a now or never moment, yet there were too many uncertainties! Too many questions!

That's it! He knew what to ask for.

"I want you to answer me honestly." He said looking you seriously in the eyes. You swallowed. You knew what he was going to ask before he asked, and you had wished he wouldn't.

"Why did you kiss me earlier?" Donnie asked carefully. He didnt want to seem too eager, but also didnt want to sound uninterested. He was trying to play it cool. Suave. Nonchalant. Luckily all of the sweat was pouring down the back of his neck and shell so you couldn't see it.

You hesitated, then eventually sighed, looking anywhere but his eyes. "Well I, I mean the obvious answer is that I kissed you because I was excited about the win, and since the win had had been because of you..."

"But..?" Donnie pushed. Saying that its the 'obvious answer' didn't mean that it was the only answer.

"But," you continued, finally looking back to him shyly, "I kissed you because... I wanted to kiss you. I really wanted to kiss you. I've wanted to for a while now and, tonight was just an excuse to do it." You carefully watched him as he raised a hand to his head.

"I.. Um, I mean. Wow, I'm short-circuiting." Donnie had a strange half-smile on his face. He was surely going to wake up from this dream any minute now! Tonight was beyond belief! He got to dance with you, got kissed by you, and now you're telling him that you've wanted to kiss him for a while?! That means you have feelings for him, right? That has to mean you do, obviously! Those two factors correlate! He found himself giggling a little to himself at how happy he was.

You on the other hand were so embarrassed that he had managed to squeeze a confession out of you tonight after all! You didnt want to do this! You were certain that reaction of his was positive, but this was all too embarrassing and you wanted nothing more than to escape.

"Ok, I answered your question! Thanks again for your help tonight! If you need me, I'll-"

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere!" Donnie grabbed ahold of your hand as you tried to slip away. You squealed as he spun you into him, and found yourself unable to hold back giggles as he dipped you low.

"I've wanted to do this for so long." He smirked down at you before leaning down and capturing your lips with his.

#rottmnt #donatello #rise donnie #donnie x reader #donatello x reader #rottmnt donatello #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt x reader

[wingedquill]

notes on survival (a preview)

so i blacked out and wrote like 4K words of a new fic concept. I don't think I'll be posting it on ao3 until it's entirely done (really do not need another currently-updating WIP) but wanted to share the first little bit on here with y'all (CW: kidnapping, violence against children) ---

Here’s how it starts, for Steve:

He’s ten.

He’s riding his bike. It’s a bit late in the day, but not that late, not nearly his curfew. The sun is still high in the sky, and he can hear kids shrieking with laughter a few streets over. They’d invited him to play with them, but he’d turned them down cause he wanted to check on the tadpoles he’d found in the pond last weekend.

He gets to a stop sign. A car pulls up next to him: old, gray, forgettable. The windows are down, but it’s summer. It’s normal. He wouldn’t have thought twice about it.

A bang. A scream. 

“Help!” a voice shouts from the trunk. “Someone help!”

The driver looks over. Makes direct eye contact with Steve.

He knows, even as he starts pedaling, that he’s not gonna be fast enough.

***

Steve can’t really remember a time when he’d been un-messed-up. Not clearly, at least. He has the vague, stretched-summer memories of baking cookies with his mom, of somersaulting off the diving board at the public pool and getting yelled at by a lifeguard, of hiding in the woods simply because it was the best way to avoid his chores.

They’re nice memories, he thinks. Part of him wants to put them in a box and never touch them again. But they’re nice.

He’s good at pretending they’re all he’s made of.

But now he’s here. Walking through the woods. He’s not avoiding his chores but he’s also not hiding, and that’s probably the only reason why he’s not vomiting into the underbrush. Nancy’s hand is cold in his, and it’s enough of an anchor.

He’s not alone.

“Will!” he yells, his lungs burning with the force of the yell. “Will!”

He wonders if he got a search party like this.

***

They’re bumping down a road that’s more potholes than asphalt. The other boy won’t stop hyperventilating.

“I’m sorry,” he sobs. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, if I hadn’t—”

“It’s okay,” Steve says, because that’s what you’re supposed to do when someone apologizes. You’re supposed to accept it. 

He doesn’t even know what the boy is apologizing for, not really. He isn’t a kidnapper. He hadn’t tied Steve up and stuffed him in the trunk. He had only screamed for help. That’s what you’re supposed to do.

“I’m Steve,” he says. It’s important that the other boy knows his name. Vitally so. The man who took them isn’t gonna care, and he needs one person here who cares about him.

The other boy sniffles against Steve’s shirt.

“Ed,” he chokes. “I’m Ed.”

***

He’s cold. He’s tired. He’s gasping for air and his sides are on fire. 

Second verse, same as the first.

“We gotta get your shirt off,” Robin’s telling him. “We need to, Steve, your dirty, lake-gunk sweater is embedded in those wounds, I don’t want you getting a massive infection on top of rabies. That’s like, for sure definite dead.”

He drags himself out of the hunting shack and into the Upside Down. Eddie and Nancy are huddled together by a fallen tree, Nancy giving him a quick rundown of how the hivemind works. Neither of them are looking.

“I can’t,” he chokes anyway. “They’ll see–they’ll know.”

Cross your heart and hope to die.

She bites her lip. She looks like his mom had, when she’d told him he wouldn’t be seeing Ed again. Like she’s cutting off one of his limbs to save the rest of him.

“Steve, they won’t care,” she lies.

He shakes his head.

“I’ll chance the infection,” he says. “I mean it Robin.”

She closes her eyes. Scoots around to the other side of him, putting herself between him and Eddie-and-Nancy.

“I’ll dress the wounds quick,” she says. “And give you my overshirt. That okay?”

He takes a deep breath. Hunches in on himself. He’s always been a bit too good at making himself unseen. A bit better than he would like.

“Okay,” he agrees.

***

“They’re looking for us,” he whispers. 

He tucks his face into Ed’s shoulder, wishes they could hug. A hug would make this better, he thinks, if he could just get his arms around to the front. If he could just hug, and be hugged, he’d wake up. They’d both wake up.

They’d both be at home in their beds. They’d be safe. Mom would make him hot chocolate like she always does after nightmares, and he’d check to see if the robin’s eggs outside his window had hatched, and he’d be okay.

“Yeah,” Ed whispers back. “Yeah, they are.”

Around them, the car’s engine roars.

#steddie #stranger things #my writing #my fic #oh noooooo i wonder who ed could be #for those of you who remember me from my star trek days: no u don't

[heartfullofleeches]

So I’ve been in love with your sheriff reader but what if another sheriff came to town and saw how everyone loves reader and wanted that for themselves like they don’t really care about anything or the bandits they just want everyone to love them an not reader so they try an take over an og sheriff reader sees this as in a relaxing opportunity (sorry if it’s long)

Tw: reference violence, bullying

Cracked ice settles at the bottom of a glass as dark liquid fills it to brim. The sheriff's weighted head pivots to an upright angle as the drink is brought to lips posed in a crude smile; a blemish compared to the cloyingly sweet expression they wore days prior. They can barely process their surroundings; blurry shapes crowded around them and suffocating them more than the tight robes that binding them to their seat. A sharp jab from behind brings them to attention; the shrill laughter that follows corrected by a whistle.

"Now, folks. I know we agreed to a collaboration, but don't think that means you have the right to rough up our friend here more than needed."

Dryness coats the temporary sheriff's throat as they croak. "M...mayor?"

"Guilty as charged." The mayor bends to their level. They take one long sip from the glass in hand before shaking it in their direction. "Thirsty?"

The sheriff becomes painfully aware of their dehydration as the condensation from the glass wets their cracked lips. How long had they been out? Pushing the question to the back of their mind, they part their lips and allow the cool liquid to hit their tongue. It burns as swashes against their spilt cheek, but they gup it down with no other option. Their head returns to its orginal option as the mayor retracts their hand; hat dipping down their face. The mayor's calm expression wilts into annoyance.

"Ugh.. Take that shit off them already. Don't know why you haven't by now. Need to get it cleaned before Y/n gets back."

Hands grip their battered form; tearing the sheriff's hat from head and badge from coat. Still dressed otherwise- they've never felt more exposed.

"I don't understand. What's.. what's going on?"

"What's going on indeed.." The mayor stands up; a hand tangled in their hair keeping the sheriff's eye on them as they return to their desk. "From how I see it, some big city hot shot though they could weasel their way into our town and replace the one thing that keeps this place running. Our sheriff."

The sheriff swallows the blood clinging to the sides their mouth; a delicacy compared to the bitter truth that follows. Back home, they had it good, but it wasn't perfect. High paying gig, the love and respect of their community, but they still yearned for more. They longed for the homemade pies and the comforting familiarity of everyone worshiping them, while still valuing the face behind the mask. The unwavering trust. All tokens of which you had.

It was easy to get you to agree. Chased after by those you were meant to pursue; longed for unknowing by the person who wrote your checks. All they had to do was slip a few highlights of the city into your brain, and you were packed and ready to go. The mayor orginally protested your departure, but couldn't say no to their dear sheriff. You did deserved a little break after all you've been though - long as you had a few uninvited visitors making sure you were safe.

The temporary sheriff had it good for the first week. The finest room in the local motel. A different meat brought to them every other day. Someone must've been sewing near the pot during the making of one meal, but fortunately they spotted the needle before wolfing down the entire stew. Their dream life came crumbling down the day they decided to put in a payment for a recently vacated home, and everyone caught onto their plans before they'd even reached mid stage.

"I'm.... sorry."

"Sorry-" The mayor's eyes roll so far they appeared as if they'd pop right out of their skull. They lurch forward, sinking their digits into the delicate flesh of the sheriff's jaw; teeth clenched as all kindness is forgotten. "Don't you fucking lie to me, you hear? I know, you know, they know you aren't sorry. The only thing you're sorry about is that you got caught."

The sheriff whimpers as they're let go; nail markers and shame branding their skin. An arm props up on their shoulder, elbow dug right into the center of the torn muscle. The bandit leader flicks their ear as they tip your hat on their head; proudly dawning your badge without a lick of guilt.

"Eazy now. You call us the bad guys yet you're the one being mean. Here, lemme give them something to wear better than the sheriff's stuff real quick."

A round of cheers and soft snickering rings throughout the small room as a wad of spit connects with the sheriff's cheek. The bandit wipes their mouth with their sleeve

"Thought you were slick, huh?" Sack of shit like you, comparing yourself to a prize like our sheriff. You should be thanking the corrupt bastard in front of you. If they hadn't called us in, we would've strung you up by your ankles and dragged you through the streets like the filth you are. Speaking of which, what are we gonna do with this thing, boss."

The mayor ignores their mockery to allow a soft smile to form over their lips. "We have about half a week before our loved one returns so only time will tell, friends. Only time will tell."

#They get v mean here #yandere oc #yandere #yandere imagines #yandere x you #yandere x reader #yandere scenarios #yandere headcanons #yandere insert #yandere blurb #Yandere bandit #Yandere mayor #yandere drabble #yandere x y/n #yandere x darling #Yandere bandits

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Non BL Fan watches Only Friends

Hey. Yeah so I'm still on this. So when Only Friends ended, it left kinda of a bitter taste in my mouth. I liked a lot of things about it but by the end it really didn’t leave a good impression. There’s been a lot written about it, about expectations, and branded pairs, and how fandom may have played a role in this, and how the writing maybe because of that kinda took a turn midway through the show. And it kept bugging me that these opinions were also rooted in our understanding of this type of media, and everything that comes with it. Be it branded pairs, all the bls that came before or the industry as a whole. But I couldn't really have any perspective because I'm part of the problem. I'm too close. So, the only way for me to kinda get over this was to get someone far removed from this to watch it. And here is where my friend Neely comes in. They're not a bl watcher. The only bl they ever watched was Choco Milk Shake which I think we can all agree would not influence their viewing of Only Friends. They are however the only person who I talk to about bl, or the only person who has the patience to listen to me, whenever I’m feeling particularly annoyed about something or just wanna share a good moment. I immediately sent them the olive oil scene (with only a tiny bit of context) because it was so beautiful that I needed to scream with someone about it. So anyway, I asked them to watch the show. They knew a couple of things about it, because I complained to them about it at the time, but they has no reference for it so, I don’t think that I influenced the viewing that much. Also they're pretty unbiased about everything.

So last night they watched the first 4 episodes and I’d like to share their thoughts with everyone who like me might be curious. Because they're the best person ever, he wrote a whole text about it so I could share. Also we're almost at the end of the year and this might be the thing that finally closes this chapter for me. This is what they had to say after watching the first 4 episodes.

(I'll be adding my own thoughts in purple)

After 4 episodes, mostly I think it's really predictable plot wise for anyone who's watched a general TV western series, like a Netflix production, which I was maybe surprised. The ways to cause drama and plot advancement are very similar. Of cpurse this is me saying this based on the other BL I watched (Choco Milk Shake) which felt much more out of the expected canon.

Just to get this out of the way: they're all toxic and terrible people, to the extent I find it very hard to connect to any of them. Just in the exposure parts of ep1 there's all of them being horrible to Ray for being drunk – even though they also are? - and to top it up later on they're all drunk, and the woman (sorry I should know her name but it's not like they're giving her any storyline or screen time (aside from, I almost forgot, randomly spraining her ankle 😂) for me to remember) I thought that the fact that this was obvious to them from the beginning was very interesting because I maybe gave them more rope in the beginning to expand on her because I thought she was gonna get more later. she's even drunker it seems but they all fall on Ray only; they literally complain he wants another drink and judgementally go "ewww more drinks don't you think it's enough" and dig into his drinking, he leaves, and then they continue drinking? This got even darker to me when the suicide attempt is revealed, and from then it became really hard to consider them friends? Maybe Mew and Ray but the dynamics of that are anyway weird. This is something I myself struggled with all through the show, like how are these people even friends? and I understand the point illustrated by @bengiyo in this post but I still couldn’t get over that. And maybe that’s just the way I see friendships that these people looked even worse in my eyes. Like I cannot compute them treating Ray like that, even if they're done of his drinking, when they know where he's at emotionally. It also doesn't feel they ever tried to help him so I don't think they have the right to be done, just feels like they don't care.

Top, toxic from day one with this challenge attitude towards fucking the virgin; and the gross way he speaks about it with Boston. It's a big no from me to both of them. It's not even them hooking up for me, Top is just kinda sleazy, manipulative, hyper entitled, I do not take anything he says as truth because he just feels so double faced to me. Even just these episodes he's already shown so many cracks: hiding the hook up with Boston (which I'm beginning to feel was more than a hook up?), the whole random drug dealing thing, how he objectifies Mew like a virgin-trophy when talking to Boston, how he manipulates him and also his weird jealousy and control. Ok, this is where I admit I was completely wrong. I thought that way of seeing Top was very influenced by the promotional material and the way the crew and actors talked about the character. And yet, without any prior knowledge he immediately disliked him. I was not expecting that to be honest. And in this case maybe I just wanted the character to go in a different direction so I kept not seeing the pretty obvious red flags. I mean I saw them but tried really hard to look behind them. My bad. Although we could both agree that he’s gorgeous.

I don't like Mew, but I don't think it's the characters fault or how it's written. It's just the troupe of character writing, especially in gay shows, that I can't stand. It's kinda cancer vibes (astrology lol). A bit not necessarily overt but a general sense of holier than thou cause he's a virgin and "has standards". I don't think he's leading Ray on, I think he actually kinda communicates well he just wants friendship. He could be clearer but also this is TV, so we need slight unclearness for drama purposes lol, but I'm not mad about that. Miss communication is the bane of my existence but it apparently makes for compelling television. Or not.

But generally this hot fuck everyone guy falling for the kinda dorky virgin is so dull to me, this virgin is always this weird insert of purity, more often than not an insert where the writer in one way or another projects himself into, to be able to judge the rest of the community, the moral compass (read: normative in terms of society expectations, also kinda mildly Christian coded, like girl next door in the village), and I do always find it a bit queerphobic. I'm not saying there aren't queers like that and that they shouldn't be represented, but the very intense and obvious writing decisions to position him as this moral center (also visually he's always wearing whites and pastels? Virgin mew, Virgin Mary! Lol) that makes all the other characters, often queer, seem kinda dirty and mean and unprincipled. I have nothing to add here because I agree with them on most of this, and I also think that it was never a coincidence to have a virgin in the middle of this group, to serve as the barometer of right and wrong. Cause he's the pure one so he must know what's right. I disliked mew almost instantly when the show started, because I always thought he was just a terrible friend and that’s the greatest sin of all. A small note that I think it's hilariously dumb that he's been protecting his Virginity for all this time and so like "omg it's hard for me, omg I go slow, omg I have a check list" and then it's like "you drop coke I drop pants", virginity done lol. This was just funny and accurate.

I am not talking about Boston right now cause I hate him. And I also hate that they wrote the slut in such a cliche but I do think they did. I remember you saying something people attacking him too much and him being slut-shamed, but he's written as villain quite clearly. Lol I think he's leading mobile phone shop guy on, it's very player manipulation vibe to be always giving him just a bit more to keep him going and the promise of something more open, when we know he just wants to fuck, and especially fuck when he's butt hurt about Top and Mew. And the way he's treating Mew, terrible friend; and also the advances on Top are far from boundary and consent-based lol. But also Top doesn't feel very interested in getting out, he just weirdly stands there silent being licked in the neck, so I blame both on that whole thing. I have to say that I never really read the shower scene like others might have, like obviously Boston was being terrible to Mew in that moment and not respecting Top's boundaries, but I also didn't see Top as helpless in this moment.

I think the only pair that gets away with actually being cute and not toxic and manipulative is Sand and Ray, they're my faves. Yey!! I find them very endearing and with so much chemistry. They're the only characters who honestly genuinely said sorry to each other and had some accountability when they fucked up with each other.

Even tho I'd like a bit more from Sand about the whole "burden to society" comments at the start - they annoyed me so much. The others it's manipulation after manipulation for me, and it doesn't allow me to get into them so it feels like deep lack of chemistry. Top and Mew's relationship feels really really really meh to me. And I don't know why they're friends, also cause very little of them as friends gets shown after ep1. Well they have the school project that keeps them together but other than that really, why? As I explained above I really struggled with the friendship aspect of all this.

But generally, I feel like the editing and writing are very like Mew is amazing and the others are horrible, and we do just get scenes of everyone being shit and Mew not being great but being naive and cutesy with a hint of superiority. Also you're a virgin your not a thumb stone, give your boyfriend a kiss sometimes. I thought this comment was hilarious but also obviously from a non bl watcher because that didn’t register to me, because I’m so used to boyfriends being so shy around kissing in bl that it didn't even cross my mind.

I think I'm slightly meh by all of them but partly is maybe my expectations too - I knew this one specifically was a bit westernized, but I was nurturing this little idea that it would feel a bit different, that some of the ways things were explored would feel different because of the cultural differences, but I do think you could sub all of the actors for white us-americans and the script would fly, you could probably even set it in a progressive state in the us and wouldn't have to re-write much.

So, I might totally be talking out of my ass, but what I'm left thinking is: is there really no culturally specificity to queer community there? is really all queerness and promiscuity in Thailand this performance of the west? Maybe it is, because of different social rules and expectations and freedoms, I really am not knowledgeable enough, but I'm just wondering if it's that or if it's just being made to be more palatable to me. And I think that's fine as a choice for them to know target audience, but I'm left wondering how the actual scene is in Thailand, what the social pressures are there and how they navigate them, specifically at this nexus of queerness and promiscuity. I also don’t know enough about the culture in Thailand to speak about it but I do agree with the point that this show could be made in us tv and they really wouldn’t need to change much. Without knowing anything about the creators of ofts, aside from the fact that they’re queer, they said later that they would compare it to something that Ryan Murphy could produce.

_

After I read this I had a chance to video chat with them briefly , and there were a couple more things that came up that I thought were really interesting. they were asking me about the actors and how well known they were, etc. Because they thought that the characters were purposefully being shown as really flat, and just bad with no redeemable characteristics and that maybe because the fandom already knew them and already liked them, they could do that without needing to waste time making us care for them, by giving us their good sides. Which I never really considered, but as with most things, our prior knowledge might play a part in this too. I know at least for me, I'm not gonna lie, the fact that I like Khaotung definitely made me care for Ray from the start in a way that maybe I wouldn't normally have.

Anyway, they'll continue to watch it and I'll probably post more of thoughts in the future. I also started to rewatch it slowly so I'll definitely keep thinking about this. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. 💜

#only friends the series #only friends meta #rose and neely ramble #thai bl #ofts