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Tag - Chapter Twenty One

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First Chapter

Chapter Twenty-One

Sensei – Part One

Hanabi – 25-26 Konohamaru – 26-27

~~~

She was really doing this, huh?

“Konohamaru was accepted as a jōnin sensei.”

“Hanabi, what a pleasure.” Iruka moved his paperwork as he welcomed her in. “What brings you?”

“This.” She set her completed application in front of him, pushing it forward. “I’d like to be a jōnin sensei.”

“Oh!” He looked delighted as he picked it up, thumbing through it. “Very interesting from you, Hanabi.”

“Is it?” she asked, honestly. He didn’t seem interested in answering.

“But I’m glad so many of my past students want to be sensei’s,” he continued, smiling up at her with those increasingly tired eyes. “I’ll discuss it with Naruto, but I’m sure there won’t be any problem.”

“Thank you, Iruka-sensei.” Hanabi bowed, leaving his office.

Boruto was due to begin in just a few months as summer drug on. Konohamaru’s entrance didn’t seem like too much of a coincidence. She wondered if he and Naruto had discussed the possibility of him becoming Boruto’s sensei.

She was a little miffed he hadn’t revealed it to her himself. It was her sister who gave her the news.

While she bided her time until she was told whether or not she’d been accepted (she knew she would be), she travelled to the Nara estates to visit with her old sensei. It was funny to see her out of her normal jōnin flak. She’d grown accustomed to a simple white tee and sweatpants, rarely in anything other than flip flops. It suited her.

“I thought Jun would’ve become a teacher,” Tora told her as she set a glass of whiskey in front of Hanabi. Hanabi picked it up and sniffed it, making a face. “How can you be a sensei if you can’t enjoy a good whiskey? Didn’t I train you better?”

“I’ll try.” Hanabi rolled her eyes, taking a sip. She fought the urge to spit it out, instead setting it down. “You don’t think I have what it takes to be a sensei, sensei?”

“Nah, I think you do,” Tora responded, waving her off, “but if it was going to be any of you three, I thought it’d be Jun, I guess. Can’t believe him and little Eiji are getting married…”

“Oh, yeah.” Hanabi laughed, leaning back on the couch. “Aren’t they perfect?”

“Honestly, no.” Tora shrugged, sipping her own whiskey. “But who am I to judge love, hmm? Not like I’ve ever found it.”

“Ah…that’s…” Hanabi shifted uncomfortably, but Tora snickered.

“Relax, little lamb. Any reason compels you to apply, anyway?” She easily redirected the conversation.

“Well, I’ve kind of done it all, haven’t I?” Hanabi tilted her head, crossing a leg over the other. “Figured it’d be nice to add sensei to the titles.”

“Doesn’t seem like that great of a reason.” Tora rolled her eyes. “You’re stuck with brats for years. And then they don’t stop coming around, even when they’re nearly 30.”

“Hey!” Hanabi leaned back, offended. “You liked us! Do like us, don’t you?”

“Aah.” Tora chuckled, setting her glass down.

“You’re going to the wedding, right? For Jun’s side.”

“True, true,” she conceded, smirking. “I guess I lucked out with you lot. But you don’t always get so lucky. You could end up with your nephew.”

“Shush.” Hanabi waved her hand now. “I’d love to have my nephew, but I think he’ll end up with Konohamaru.”

“Konohamaru?”

Hanabi paused.

Damnit. She can see right through me.

“So that’s why.”

“Sensei…” Hanabi mumbled irritably, turning away to shield her reddening cheeks.

“Like I said, who am I to judge love.”

“Love!” Hanabi laughed uncomfortably, scooting away from her sensei. “I didn’t come here to be made fun of!”

“Then you made a mistake,” she snarked.

Her sensei was always so quick witted. She usually admired it, but right now, she was irritated with it. “Anyway, why’d you even become a sensei if you think so poorly of kids?”

“I never told you, did I?” Tora pondered, pulling her whiskey back to her lips. “Not many applicants as the war heated up. Tsunade was my sister’s old sensei, and she asked me as a favor.”

“Wait.” Hanabi shook her head in disbelief. “We got a sensei out of pity??”

“Sure did. But look at you now.”

Hanabi paused, wondering if she should keep prodding. With a sigh, she pushed the glass of whiskey away from her. “Well, this has been truly enlightening, Tora-sensei.”

“I hope so,” Tora continued, picking up Hanabi’s glass to dump into hers. “Just saying. Think about it carefully. Don’t want to make a mistake because of cloudy judgement. But I was being honest. I think you would be a good sensei. If I had a kid, I’d hope you were theirs.”

“Well…” Hanabi huffed, leaning away a bit, “thank you, sensei. That’s actually really nice of you to say.”

“Slips out every once in a while.” She smirked over the glass. “Now get out of my house. I require quiet between the hours of 6 pm and 10 am.”

Hanabi got up, meeting her sensei in the middle to embrace. “Thank you.”

Naruto barked a laugh to Iruka’s confused expression.

“What’s so funny? I actually thought you’d be happy.” Iruka rubbed the back of his neck, eyeing his former student.

“Oh, no, I am. Yeah, she’d be great.” Naruto grabbed the application, scanning it briefly. “What’s funny is how she’s always following him.”

“Him?” Iruka perked an eyebrow, clearly trying to recall all of their current jōnin sensei’s. “Uhm….Niko? Or Udon. Oh, Konohamaru?”

“Bingo.” Naruto dropped the application, smirking at his former teacher.

“Wait, then maybe we should reconsider.” Iruka shook his head, reaching back out for the papers. “If she’s only doing it for…underlying reasons, I’m not so sure she should be a sensei to young shinobi.”

“Aah, no, no.” Naruto waved a placating hand. “She’d take it seriously. I know she’d be really good, actually. Just something funny to think about. Can’t wait to tell Hinata.”

“You’re sure?” Iruka raised his eyebrows, glancing at the application. Naruto nodded enthusiastically. “Well, she is your sister-in-law. If you think so.”

“Yeah, I’ll take the kids to the compound to let her know personally.” Naruto glanced at his paperwork tiredly for a moment. “Maybe in the morning. Thanks, Iruka-sensei.”

“Yes, Lord Hokage.” Iruka stood to bow, leaving the office.

Naruto picked the application back up, grinning at it.

Who better for his wife’s sister, anyway?

Later that night, he and Hinata laughed over drinks about it.

Hanabi sighed tiredly at her paperwork.

Damn paperwork.

She thought of becoming a sensei. Tora was always doing paperwork. At least it’d be different, she supposed.

She looked up upon hearing the familiar squeal of her niece. She smiled, setting down her pen and getting up. She strolled out to the middle of the compound, finding Naruto chatting with her father as Hyūga doted on the little Uzumaki’s.

Boruto looked irritated as several of them crowded around Himawari rather than him now.

“Have you been training your byakugan?”

“How far can you see now? Five meters? Ten?”

“Show us! Come, try to close this chakra point!”

“Hey, kiddo.” Hanabi approached from behind, hooking her arm around his neck to pull him into an unwilling hug. With folded arms and a sour look, he wiggled away. “How are you?”

“Eh.” He shrugged, stepping away from the overbearing Hyūga as Himawari reveled in the attention. “You?”

“Tired.” Hanabi laughed, parking herself next to him. “Are you excited about becoming a shinobi?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Another shrug. “Dad said big bro Konohamaru’s gonna be a sensei for the next genin, so I guess that’ll be me.”

“Maybe,” she conceded. “Make sure to take it seriously, Boruto. It isn’t a playground.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Hanabi!” Naruto finally looked up at her, opening his arms to embrace her. “So you wanna be a sensei?”

“What?!” Boruto gasped, looking between his father and Hanabi. Hanabi shrugged now.

“Well, I think you’d be great. Signed off on it right away.” He released her, patting her shoulder. “Thought I’d bring the kids to let you know.”

“Oh no,” Boruto breathed and Hanabi couldn’t help but smile mischievously at him, “do not make her my sensei, dad.”

“Hush, you.” Naruto jabbed his forehead with his bandaged index finger good naturedly. “That’s assuming you pass.”

“Thank you, Naruto.” Hanabi bowed and he flashed her that grin.

“It’s typical for sensei to be at the entrance ceremony. Iruka will give you all the details, but usually new sensei hang around the school to help with the graduating class.” She nodded.

So it was set. She’d be a sensei to a group of genin soon. She pondered who it would be, thinking over Tora’s words.

She really hoped she got a good set.

“My daughter is quickly outpacing me,” Hiashi commented as he approached the two, giving her a knowing look. She offered a fake smile. “Perhaps I’ll have to think about retiring before she starts eyeing the seat of the Hokage.”

“That’d be something!” Naruto laughed, nudging Hiashi’s elbow with his. Despite it all, her father was poised as ever. “I mean, if her pattern is to be trusted, anyway, since there’s a certain someone who’s got his eye on the seat, too!”

“Aah—” Hanabi stepped away, gritting her teeth. How could he say something so stupid in front of her father?! “Well, always a pleasure, Lord Seventh.” She sucked in her teeth as she spun on her heel, stomping away, feeling uncomfortably flustered.

“You didn’t tell me you were applying to be a sensei.”

“You didn’t tell me, either!”

“Because you didn’t tell me!”

“I—”

Hanabi was staring daggers straight into Konohamaru. He stepped away. “Why is it a big deal, anyway? It’s not like Anbu, where I’ll be gone, anyhow.”

“It—” Hanabi stopped.

Because I wanted to make sure I applied with you. Idiot.

“It’s not, I guess,” she conceded, rolling her eyes. “Just not sure why you wouldn’t tell me.”

“I dunno.” He shrugged, stepping towards her. “Thought it’d be fun to surprise you next time we saw each other. But you’ve been so busy…”

“Whatever, whatever.” She sighed, holding a hand up, deciding this wasn’t a fight worth having. “I’m happy for you.”

“Yeah, you, too,” he offered, setting his hands on her shoulders. “I didn’t realize you’d applied, too. Naruto didn’t mention it.”

“Well, when Hinata told me you were accepted, it reminded me to do it…so…” she lied, crinkling her nose as she avoided his eyes. “You applied just in time for Boruto’s class, huh?”

“Eh.” He dropped his hands as he shrugged. “Also for the InoShikaCho kids. Usually a Sarutobi is sensei to them.”

“Oh?” She tilted her head. Wait, what if he didn’t end up with Boruto? What if she ended up with Boruto? That was a funny thought, his panicked face. “Interesting…”

“Poor kid, gods help him if he ends up with you.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?!” She snapped, squinting at him. He grinned and she softened, like always. Without responding, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in close, dipping his face towards her to rest his forehead against hers.

“Where’ve you been, huh? Avoiding me again?”

“No,” she sighed, leaning into the hold, “I’m trying to work on things for my clan…”

“Working on things?” he questioned curiously above her, pulling back to look at her. “What kind of things?”

“Hyūga things,” she responded playfully, “not Sarutobi things.”

“Ah.” He smirked, releasing and stepping away from her to gesture outside. “Sure thing. Wanna go get food?”

“I’m kinda tired…” she said, honestly, turning away from him. She felt him wrap his arms around her from behind, nuzzling into her neck.

“Wanna nap with me?” he asked mischievously.

“Yeah, right,” she exhaled, shrugging him off, “a nap is never just a nap with you.”

“You know me too well.” He laughed as she turned back to him, then suddenly froze as if a thought struck him. “Oh wait—I just remembered Moegi and Udon are due back today!”

“Oh?” she asked, tilting her head at him. “From the Sand?”

“Yeah!” he said eagerly, and she had to admit he looked kind of adorable. Like an excited little kid, seeing his friends after summer break. “You wanna come with me to welcome them back?”

She twisted her lips, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“They’re your friends, too, Hanabi,” he offered good naturedly, reaching out for her hand. She nudged him off.

“I know, but they’re your best friends. I don’t want to be a distraction.”

“Well, you are pretty distracting…”

“Mhm.” She smiled as he leaned down to give her an innocent kiss on the lips. “Go on. I’ll see you another time.”

“Promise?”

“We’re both gonna be sensei, doofus. Of course.”

“Right.” He nodded, flashing her that boyish grin. “Well, I’ll see you soon, sensei.”

“You, too, sensei.”

She had hoped to spend the Entrance ceremony with Konohamaru, along with Moegi and Udon.

Of course, Boruto would have to swiftly shoot that idea down.

“Good gods!” Moegi gasped as a train carriage slammed right into Naruto’s carved mug.

“You have to be kidding.” Hanabi gawked with her byakugan activated. “It’s Boruto!”

“Boruto…” Konohamaru grumbled as all four stood up. “You guys evacuate the kids. I’ll go get him.”

“Little…” Hanabi huffed as he leapt away, her joining the other sensei’s in ensuring the children were properly ushered out.

Later that day, she offered to personally homeschool him for Hinata. Hinata swiftly rejected the idea, but Hanabi ensured she knew the offer would stand indefinitely.

She was just shocked, she supposed. She knew Boruto had been acting out since Naruto became Hokage, she’d been her sister’s ear for a lot of it, who didn’t want to burden Naruto with her complaints. But to crash the carriage into the Hokage mountain? Specifically, Naruto’s face? It was absurd. Her father would have personally saw her executed, she thought.

And then he painted graffiti over that same spot he had just wrecked just when the Five Kage Summit was to begin. Hanabi did not envy her sister.

She was a little jealous that Konohamaru got to have all the fun in punishing her dear nephew, though.

She tried not to joke about it, because it actually seemed to bother him deeply.

“I just don’t get how he can be so angry with his dad, you know?” Konohamaru complained to her one day over drinks. “He’s always so pissy now...”

“He didn’t grow up with our childhoods, I guess.” Hanabi shrugged as she sipped a glass of wine. “A lot of us knew what it was like to have one or both parents gone. He…is lucky to grow up with both.”

“Oh.” Konohamaru tilted his head thoughtfully. “You’re saying…he’s having a hard time dealing with his dad being gone, right?” She hummed agreement. He sighed, eyes dipping to his plate. “I mean, I guess I get that. But he’s really out of control lately.”

“Still hoping to be his sensei?”

“No, you can have him.” They laughed. “It’s only been two months. Another six of this, I might have gray hairs by the end of it.”

“Ah, you’d look distinguished,” Hanabi teased happily.

“I heard you’re going in to do a taijutsu lesson,” he continued on, raising an eyebrow. “Tomorrow? Should probably go easy on the drinks.”

She waved him away. “Hyūga have superior livers.”

“That right?” He grinned, eyes brushing over her torso briefly. “Then I’ll stop in to watch, maybe learn a thing or two.”

“You could definitely learn a thing or two.”

“Wanna make a bet?” he said, suddenly, turning in his seat to her. She raised a curious eyebrow, tilting her head up for him to continue. “I bet you’ll be hungover tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah?” She smirked, resting her glass as she turned to him as well. “What would you get, then?”

“Well, I mean, I know what I want…” His voice dropped to a devious whisper, and she rolled her eyes. He perked back up. “What would you want?”

“I want you to shave an eyebrow.”

“What?!” he sputtered, covering his right eyebrow as if on instinct. She folded an arm over her stomach as she beamed up at him.

“Can’t back out now. I think I’m gonna take it easy tonight.”

“That-that is cheating!” he snapped, looking genuinely irritated. “No way.”

“Aren’t Sarutobi’s supposed to be known for keeping their word, or something?” She waved him away before pushing her wine further up.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You are evil.”

“I think I’ll call it a night.” She pulled out her coin pouch, smirking up at his slack jaw. If she had been tipsier, she might have shamelessly placed a teasing kiss on it.

Fortunately, she was fairly clear-headed right now.

“See you tomorrow, Lord Eighth.”

Just as Hanabi began her lesson outside, she caught Konohamaru’s fuming glare as he appeared at the back of the crowd, shadowed by a large oak. He had his arms crossed and he looked so pouty—so cute. She had to resist the urge to stick her tongue out at him, instead simply offering the kindest looking smile she could muster.

When she finished up her lesson, several little Academy students swarmed her.

“Hanabi-sensei, you’re so strong!” one of them squeaked out and Hanabi was surprised.

Was she being admired?

“Oh, thank you.” Hanabi nodded. “Lots of training and you all can be just as strong.”

The students giggled as Konohamaru approached her, several of their faces reddening. Her smile faltered when she realized they were flustered at the sight of him.

Aww. They think he’s handsome.

They weren’t wrong.

“Hi, Konohamaru-sensei.” One of them shyly waved. He tilted his head at the girl, returning the wave.

“Hi, Namida.” He raised his eyebrows as the girls broke into giggles, quickly running away with hushed whispers. Hanabi looked up at him with wide eyes. He gave her a quizzical look. “Uou’ve got fans.”

“Me?” Hanabi questioned disbelievingly, her face breaking into a glowing smile. “Uh, no. You do.”

“What?” he asked, genuinely and she couldn’t believe she was in love with an idiot, thinking back to Moegi’s tease about Udon being ugly and Konohamaru being stupid. Not that Hanabi really thought he was stupid. But he was definitely cuter this way.

“You’re clueless.” She pitched her pointer finger up at his nose, tapping it affectionately as his lashes fluttered and eyes crossed on it. Something squeezed at her heart.

“You’re a cheat,” he mumbled, eyes lowering as she dropped the hand. She beamed a toothy grin up at him.

“You keep saying that, but there were no rules. Just that the winner gets what they want. And guess what? I won.” She gasped, clapping her hands together excitedly. “Ooh—can I shave it?”

“Nope.” He shook his head, stepping away from her as he crossed his arms, looking down at her disapprovingly. “I’ll shave it, but I’ll also be using transformation jutsu to mask it until it grows back.”

“Oh!” She huffed, looking offended. “Now that is cheating!”

“You wanted to get technical, didn’t you?” He smirked, poking his tongue out slightly.

“Wow, wow, wow. Wow.” She shook her head in disapproval, clicking her tongue. “That’s something close to cowardice, Konohamaru-sensei.”

“Mm-mm, that’s strategy.”

“You have to at least let me see you before you mask it.”

“Nah—”

“You have to! How else am I gonna know you held up your end of the bet?!” She glared at him, feeling somewhat irritated over this silly bet. “Sarutobi’s word and all that!”

“You put too much stock in my clan.” He gave her that lopsided grin as he casually leaned against the tree beside him. “But fine. I’ll let you see. But only you. And only when we’re in my be—"

“Quiet!”

“Big bro! Big sis—”

“SENSEI!” They both turned and yelled in unison just as Boruto skidded to a halt in front of them, staggering back from their combined voices.

“Aah!—sensei, sorry,” he offered genuinely. “Can you come here a sec?”

He bolted off without explanation, and Konohamaru gestured for her to go ahead. “After you.” She eyed him suspiciously, but still shrugged, walking after Boruto. “I do like watching you walk away—”

It was a little difficult explaining why Konohamaru was clutching his stomach when they got to Boruto and his friends.

All this talk of ghosts from Boruto was frankly, ridiculous, Konohamaru thought. Why should he be surprised that the son of Naruto was so…weird, sometimes?

After the truth was revealed, he again wondered why he should be surprised that the son of Naruto would be caught up in such a mess.

Seemed the boy had knack for talking people down, just like Naruto. He felt a little prideful. Maybe having him on his genin team would be good.

He recalled with laughter to Hanabi that he had run into Sakura’s daughter, Sarada, who revealed she wanted to be Hokage.

“Rival to a child?” she questioned, unamused. “That’s pretty low, even for you.”

“It was a joke!” He pushed her. “You’re no fun. Just get back to work, then, you stiff.”

“Me, the stiff.” She scoffed, looking back down at her paperwork. They both looked up at a knock on the door, then swiftly open. He glanced at Hanabi, who reddened. “Shino.”

“Oh.” Shino stopped, glancing between the two. “Apologies. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Just doing paperwork.” Konohamaru shrugged, dropping his papers on the table. He smirked when Hanabi scooted away from him, clearing trying to put distance between them. “What’s up?”

“Surely I’m interrupting?” Shino’s eyebrows raised and Konohamaru shook his head, pointing at a spare chair. Shino nodded and sat. “With the graduation exams coming up, I’m scouting for proctors for the practical portion. I need one more. The reason I’m telling you this is because Naruto suggested you.”

“Me?” Konohamaru grinned, leaning back. “Yeah, of course. Anything for big bro.”

He shot Hanabi a playful look as she scoffed. Shino straightened up. “Sorry, Hanabi. We didn’t consider you because I assumed you’d be busy with your clan affairs. Hinata says you’re working on some big things.”

“Big things?” Konohamaru questioned.

“You know,” Hanabi huffed, dropping her papers on the table as she looked up at her sister’s old teammate, “it’s not very professional to discuss your instructors’ personal business so freely in front of one another.”

“I apologize,” Shino offered readily, getting up from his seat. “If you could be in my office tomorrow after class, Konohamaru, I would appreciate it.”

“Sure thing.” Konohamaru saluted him off, casting his eyes back at Hanabi’s agitated expression. “Feeling a little jealous?”

“Hush,” she snapped, picking her pen back up and focusing her eyes on her paperwork.

Ah. She’s so cute when she’s flustered.

He returned to his paperwork as well, deciding it wasn’t the best time to tease.

Shino, Konohamaru, Hanabi, Moegi, and Udon all convened in the meeting room to discuss prospective teams after the genin exams wrapped up.

Hanabi ran her tongue over her teeth with mischief in her eyes as she looked up at Konohamaru, leaning over. “Look, this is the one that had a big ol’ crush on you.”

“Hanabi!” Konohamaru lurched away from her as she shoved Namida’s profile in his face. “Get out of here with that crap.”

“Ahh, Konohamaru’s always been popular with the ladies.” Udon joined the tease.

“Yeah, if you call getting pummeled into the ground by them being popular.” Moegi rolled her eyes and Udon laughed. Konohamaru reddened, glaring towards Moegi.

“Focus,” Shino snapped irritably. “These are big decisions. The reason is that it can have a great effect on a team to be effectively put together.”

“I’ve already chosen.” Hanabi gestured forward with a shrug. Shino lowered his head at her.

“It’s not up to you, Hanabi. Your opinion, however, is welcome.”

“Well, listen.” Hanabi spread out the three girl’s profiles she had taken interest in. “I’ve seen all three of them and I’ll just go ahead and model it off my experience.” She pushed Namida’s report forward. “This one is like Jun. Quiet, shy, but has good skills.” She proceeded to add Wasabi’s report. “This one is like Eiji, she’s fiery and strong, though maybe a little temperamental. Plus the cat and dog motif? C’mon. And this one.” She pushed Sumire’s forward. “Is like me.”

“How so?” Konohamaru pressed, raising an eyebrow.

“She’s an outcast, well, kind of,” she reasoned, “I know all the kids are so accepting and all that now a days, but you get what I mean. She’s levelheaded. She can protect Namida and keep Wasabi in line. She’s a leader.”

“Big words, Hanabi,” Moegi teased, “you’re basically declaring you’re the leader of your old team.”

“Well, I was, wasn’t I?” Hanabi folded her arms, blowing a strand of hair from her face. “I was the first one to promote to jōnin. Tora-sensei passed the title to me.”

“You do make very valid points, actually.” She glared at Shino’s surprised tone. “I’ll certainly keep that in mind.”

“Well, I think we all know who I’m getting.” Konohamaru leaned back after pushing the profiles away.

“Boruto?” Udon asked, honestly. Konohamaru shook his head.

“The InoShikaCho kids. They always end up with a Sarutobi, why should it be any different this time?” Konohamaru shrugged, and Moegi shook her head, swiping up the three profiles.

“No, I’m taking them.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I’ve already talked to Ino about it.” Moegi waved him away. Hanabi watched with interest.

“Moegi, you can’t—” Shino started, only to be quieted.

“You try arguing with that woman.” Moegi lowered her eyes at Shino. “She’s insisting. Besides, I don’t mind. I grew up with the Akimichi’s, I know a lot about their combined jutsu.”

Shino sighed, dragging his head towards Udon. “Anything you want to demand from me, too, Udon?”

“I’m alright with whatever.” He shrugged, thumbing through the profiles. “Just not Boruto, please.”

“Yeesh.” Konohamaru shook his head and Hanabi giggled. “He’d be heartbroken hearing you guys trash him like this.”

“To be fair,” Shino started, “Lord Seventh is interested in having you be his sensei.” Hanabi held back a mocking scoff at the words. Big surprise. “It’s just a matter of who he’s paired with. Official recommendation is Sarada and Mitsuki.”

“The transfer?” Konohamaru perked an eyebrow, picking up the boy’s profile. “Not so sure it’s a great idea to pair up Boruto and Sarada, though.”

Hanabi peered over his shoulder at the paperwork. He’d been exasperated in the past by their arguments. She held back a giggle as she thought of her little nephew cracking an egg over Sarada’s head in Hinata’s home one evening years ago.

“Guess that leaves me with these kids,” Udon piped in, gathering three profiles. “Kind of a weird mix, but I can make it work.”

“This all still needs to be approved by Iruka-sensei and Lord Seventh—”

“Great, thanks Shino-sensei!” Moegi was the first to get up. “C’mon guys. Let’s go to the izakaya.”

“Thank you~” Hanabi sung, trailing after Moegi as Konohamaru roughly patted Shino’s shoulder, Udon with a little wave.

“See ya, sensei!”

It was the first time they’d been able to hang out together for quite a while, as a chunk of time was carved out for this. They were selfishly taking advantage of it, but Hanabi figured they’d earned it by doing their own research.

Shino sighed as Udon trailed out. “Instructing will send me to an early grave…”

“Didn’t we agree to cut back on drinking?” Udon asked as Konohamaru approached.

“Eh.” Konohamaru shrugged as he passed out the drinks, then took his seat next to Hanabi in the four-person booth across Moegi and Udon. “Tomorrow’s the big day, might as well celebrate, right?”

“You always find a reason to celebrate.” Moegi snickered as she pulled the drink to her lips. He chuckled, nodding as he sidled up as close to Hanabi as she would allow him.

“Have you guys decided what kind of test you’re gonna do?” Hanabi asked curiously, wedging her arm between them to create some modicum of distance without looking at him.

Moegi grinned. “I’m gonna make them capture me. They won’t be able to, but I wanna see ‘em try.”

“I don’t do tests,” Udon chimed in, pausing to pull on his drink, “they’ve already done a bunch of tests, why do another? It’s a silly tradition if you ask me.” He lowered his eyes at Moegi when she snorted disapproval.

“Huh.” Hanabi tilted her head at him. “I think I’m gonna do like a hide and seek kind of thing with mine.”

“Hide and seek?” Konohamaru snickered, eyeing her. “What, you’ll hide, they seek? Sounds like what Moegi’s doing.”

“No, no, they hide.” Hanabi smirked, the veins around her eyes popping. “See if they can avoid my byakugan, you know?” Konohamaru leaned his head curiously. He almost wished he could go watch that, it would probably be thoroughly amusing. He was just envisioning big, bad Hanabi scaring the daylights out of a hiding Namida.

“Ah, that’s unfair.” Udon pointed out with a perked brow.

“Tora-sensei used her shadow possession jutsu on us.” Hanabi stuck up her nose. “I can use my byakugan.”

“Poor girls,” Moegi teased. “We’ll see if Shikadai or Inojin have gotten any better with their parents jutsu’s. Ino says Inojin hasn’t been training the mind transfer jutsu. He’s gonna regret that.”

“Oh yeah, there’s a bunch of different ways they could capture you, huh?” Udon questioned with a head tilt.

“Yep, so if they can’t even come close, I’m kicking their asses back to the academy.”

“Sheesh, and you pity Hanabi’s girls?” Konohamaru raised his eyebrows. “More like poor InoShikaCho kids.” He wondered how he would have handled them differently if he had gotten them like he was thought he was going to. They were a sassy bunch, so it was probably better that Moegi got them, anyway. Konohamaru didn’t have much patience for sassy kids. Boruto’s attitude already wore him thin at times, and he actually loved that kid.

Moegi shrugged. “It’s what Ebisu-sensei would have done.”

“True.” Udon nodded agreement along with Konohamaru. “Konohamaru?”

“Ah…” Konohamaru slumped over now, rubbing the back of his neck. Those damn kids… “My kids aren’t really…happy to be together. They’re already demanding to be reassigned.”

“Shit!” Udon exclaimed.

“What?!” Hanabi squinted up at him. “It’s Boruto, isn’t it?”

“I’d put equal blame on him and Sarada.” He offered with a shrug. “They want to talk to Naruto about reassigning them, so I’m gonna have Mirai do her own little test on them. Hoping it’ll knock it out of them.”

“Yeah?” Hanabi tilted her head thoughtfully. “What’s the logic there?”

“Make them work together.” He tapped the side of his head. “Make them see they can get along as a team.”

“Optimistic,” Udon snorted and Konohamaru glared at him. Of course he had to be optimistic, he’d tear his hair out if he wasn’t. His mom could offer exactly zero advice on this issue, as it was finally something he was doing she had no experience in. Too bad grandpa wasn’t around, some advice from the sensei of the Legendary Sannin would be great at a time like this.

“You’re not even doing a test,” Konohamaru pointed out with a frown.

Moegi jeered agreement, “you’re gonna have soft kids, Udon.”

“I got the weird mix!” he defended, shoving his foot towards her under the table as she hissed in pain, elbowing him back. “You guys snatched up everyone else and left me with whatever was left. Honestly, I’m having a hard time seeing how they’ll fit together.”

“Ah,” Hanabi huffed agreement, “that is true. You’ll figure it out, though.”

“He’ll try,” Konohamaru laughed, and Udon shot him a look.

“Remember, I’m the ugly one, not the stupid one.”

Hanabi giggled and Konohamaru looked down at her with a mischievous smile. She didn’t look back up, but he felt her foot wrap around his from below them. He could justify the red on his cheeks from the effects of alcohol, if asked, but he did enjoy the way she could make him feel flustered, too.

“Look at us,” Moegi declared, lifting her drink, “all jōnin-sensei’s! Who would’ve thought?”

“Yeah, it is kind of interesting we all went down this path, huh?” Udon inquired curiously, bumping his drink against hers. Konohamaru’s chest felt warm. It really was the ideal scenario for him. His two best friends and the love of his life, all doing the same thing and being able to be around each other more often. It was as close to normality with Hanabi as he could get, so he was just thankful she’d also just so happen to want to become a jōnin-instructor, too.

It helped that Hanabi fit in so naturally, unlike his previous attempts at relationships.

“Big brother Naruto and his friends got to have all the fun with the war.” Moegi shrugged. “We needed something to do, too.”

“Eesh.” Hanabi frowned, shaking her head. “Not sure I’d say it was fun…”

Konohamaru’s stomach flipped briefly as he thought of Neji, suddenly feeling guilty. Leave it to Moegi to make things awkward just as he was thinking about how nice all of this was. Moegi rolled her eyes. “Come on, none of us got to get in on the fighting—OW!”

“Moegi.” Konohamaru eyed her as she whined from the kick he gave her.

“That’s the second time I’ve been struck in ten minutes!” She puffed out her cheeks and Konohamaru rolled his eyes, unamused by her antics. “You all abuse me! Abuse, and for what!” He glanced at Hanabi who had averted her eyes, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, squeezing.

“I’m fine,” Hanabi whispered.

“Oh-shit—Moegi, you’re an asshole—” Udon blurted out, pointing an accusing finger at her, “people died!”

“Well, yeah!” Moegi paused, then flitted her eyes over Hanabi and she grimaced in realization. Konohamaru squinted at her in disapproval as she looked at him and she shook her head. “Wait, sorry, Hanabi.”

“I’m fine!” He listened to her force out that strained laugh, pulling her beer to her lips to drink from it far longer than normal. She exhaled as she sat it down. “Never mind all that. How are things with Aoi, Moegi?”

“Oh, yeah.” Udon huffed a laugh and Konohamaru smirked, deciding to keep his arm around Hanabi if she let him. He was just happy she so easily redirected the conversation. Must’ve been that Hyūga training Shikamaru talked about those years ago, able to move thing along if a politician was being too pushy or irritating. Moegi looked at Udon expectantly to continue. “You found someone crazy enough to date you.”

“Sure did.” Moegi nodded, seemingly relieved to move the subject forward. “Not like he’s not an asshole, too.”

“You always date assholes.” Konohamaru frowned, resting his chin on the palm of his hand as Hanabi shrugged off his arm. He chose to rest the free hand on her thigh, and she didn’t object.

Moegi barked a laugh. “You’re one to talk.”

Konohamaru felt Hanabi tense beside him and he scoffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Means all the girls you dated were rude and stuck up.” Moegi sipped her beer, perking an eyebrow at him as if to dare him. Konohamaru clicked his tongue, feeling Hanabi’s eyes burning into his cheek.

“She’s not wrong.” Udon nodded and Konohamaru glared at his friend. He was supposed to be on his side, it was always him versus Moegi. But then again, Udon had been taking Moegi’s side more and more lately. He felt Hanabi fidget next to him.

“How’s that?” Hanabi inquired, curiously.

Udon snickered. “Oh, that’s right. You’re never around when he’s dating someone not you.”

“Hey!” Hanabi slapped her hand on the table and Konohamaru winced. “Don’t spread rumors!”

“Yeah, Udon.” Konohamaru scowled at him. “Shut your mouth.”

“Whatever, she asked, you wanna know, right Hanabi?” Udon asked, wiggling an eyebrow. Konohamaru looked down at Hanabi who pursed her lips while nodding.

“Oh, come on,” Konohamaru groaned, falling back into his seat as he buried his face in his hands. Moegi and Udon gathered together, giggling and feeding off each other.

“Oh, lets see, there was Ume—she always looked like she had shit under her nose.”

“She did, didn’t she? Like she was above us.”

“To be fair, she probably was.” Moegi rolled her eyes. “But she didn’t have to make it so obvious that she hated us. Remember when she threw away a full plate of food you made for her?”

“Oh yeah.” Udon snickered and Konohamaru felt his entire body go fiery. He felt Hanabi shake next to him, little giggles escaping.

Assholes, both of them.

“Then there was Mika, she was always insulting Moegi.” Udon prodded her side gently. “But only we’re allowed to do that.”

“Oh gods, I hated her!” Moegi snapped, slamming a fist on the table, “hated her, hated her, hated her!”

“Calm down.” Udon laughed, grabbing her fist and Konohamaru wanted to disappear. “She told Moegi she looked like she had a diaper on her head.”

“And thus ended my headband,” Moegi growled, irritably.

“Well, good thing they’re not around, huh?” Konohamaru snipped, avoiding Hanabi’s stare.

“Eh.” Udon shrugged. “Not like you’ve never dated assholes, right, Hanabi?”

“I mean…” Now Konohamaru glanced at her, curious. “No?”

“Please,” Konohamaru scoffed, squinting down at her, “all those politicians? Every single one of them is an asshole.”

“I didn’t date them!” Hanabi objected, crossing her arms as she scooted away from him into the wall.

“Wait, Hanabi.” Moegi set her drink down, eyes going wider. “Are you saying you’ve never had a boyfriend? Or girlfriend?”

“Well, no.” Hanabi frowned, turning away and Konohamaru’s heart skipped slightly. It was something he technically knew. If anyone asked, she’d deny she’d ever been in a relationship, even if Konohamaru’s presence made that a bold-faced lie. They were absolutely dating, even if it were in secret. He only resented her a little that she wouldn’t just admit it to his own friends, but it was easy to get over since he knew.

“So Konohamaru is your first boyfriend?” Udon frowned.

Konohamaru gritted his teeth, knowing this could go nowhere good as Moegi joined in, “then you have dated an asshole. I pity you.”

“Quit it, both of you.”

“I think I’m tired.” Hanabi sighed, clearly looking for an exit. Konohamaru wanted to reach over and pinch both of his best friends’ noses shut.

“No!” Moegi whined, reaching out for her. “I’m sorry! We hear you loud and clear to shut up, okay?”

Konohamaru raised his eyebrows at Hanabi, feeling sorry his stupid friends were putting her in this position. They hadn’t formally defined their relationship. If asked by the right person, he’d immediately lay his claim on her as his girlfriend. But he knew she wasn’t comfortable doing that yet, no matter how far they’d come. He’d said it before, he’d say it again. Konohamaru was a patient man. Hadn’t always been, but when it came to her, he was. Hanabi softened back into the seat.

“Poor Hanabi.” Udon tsked, reaching out to pat her hand sympathetically as she let out a puff of amusement. “She doesn’t deserve the way we treat each other, huh?”

“Nope.” Konohamaru stuck his tongue out, patting her head as she rolled her eyes. “She’s a sweet angel and you two are demons.”

“I must agree.” Hanabi sighed, shoving away his hand. “—about not being as good at ribbing as you three are. But it is fun.”

“You think this—” Udon gestured in a circle. “—is fun?”

“Takes my mind off other things, I guess.” Hanabi shrugged, pulling her drink back up.

“Puts my mind on things I don’t want to think about.” Konohamaru hummed irritably. “It’s always work, work, work with you two.”

“Ha!” Moegi laughed. “You’re one to talk, mister gotta do it all—Anbu, summons, sealing, sage mode, sensei, Hokage, god of men!”

“Hush, you.” Konohamaru squinted at her, then turned the look at Hanabi who giggled.

“She’s right, isn’t she?” Hanabi smirked up at him, softening.

“Thought you were the nice one.” Konohamaru poked her forehead and she reached up to rub the spot.

“I gotta keep up!” Hanabi defended, smiling over her glass at him. Even if he was a bit miffed she was joining his friends in mocking him, she was just so pretty. Especially when she smiled. So he returned it. She scowled too often, anyway.

“Don’t worry.” Moegi waved her away. “Konohamaru’s terrible at insults and it’s been a long time since we were all together consistently like this. You got too used to Jun’s softness and Eiji’s undying love.”

“True.” Hanabi nodded readily.

“Spoiled,” Konohamaru tsked.

“Also true,” Hanabi agreed again, and he had to smile.

Hanabi watched her team spar with folded arms, leaning against the trunk of the tree in their training grounds.

She couldn’t wait to brag to Shino that she was right.

She jumped at a poke to her side, whirling around to find Konohamaru’s grinning face. “Getting sloppy, Hanabi.”

“I’m focusing on my girls.” She waved him away, turning back around. “And I was right. They’re perfect together. A woman’s intuition is always right.”

“I never doubted you.” He defended playfully. “Glad your team’s so great. Honestly.”

“Yeah?” She looked up curiously, smiling. “How’s yours? I heard there was just a little trouble.”

“Ah.” Konohamaru sighed, slumping a bit. “Don’t remind me. It’s fine, we got it all worked out. They’re doing well, now.”

“That’s wonderful,” she offered, sincerely. “Heard you have a mission coming up.”

“Yep, out to trailing some bandits. I’m pretty confident in them, should be a breeze.”

“Always too confident for your own good.” She looked up at him. “Take care of my nephew, Konohamaru-sensei.”

“Quit calling me that,” he joked, his fingers ghosting over her hand briefly, “Hanabi-sensei.”

“Hanabi-sensei! Are you even looking?!”

They jerked away from each other at Wasabi’s irritated yell. The three stopped to look at them. “Konohamaru-sensei!” Namida squealed, waving her arms. She looked up at Konohamaru who turned slightly pink.

“Uh, hey girls.” He rubbed the back of his neck, stepping backwards. It took everything inside of her not to loudly proclaim that he was blushing, for his sake. “Just discussing sensei stuff with your sensei here.”

“You know, I always see you around Team 7, too, Hanabi-sensei.” Sumire flashed her purple eyes over Hanabi, and suddenly, she was blushing, too.

“Well, you all know Boruto is my nephew,” she defended, turning away from them. “Just making sure Konohamaru-sensei here is training him correctly.”

“Oh, yeah.” Sumire laughed, seemingly accepting the explanation. “Well, don’t let us bother you. C’mon, let’s get back at it.”

“No, no, I was just taking off.” Konohamaru held up his hands and she glanced up at him, nodding.

Their teams finding out about them would be disastrous. Hanabi agreed, “yes, yes you were. See you around, Konohamaru.”

“Hanabi.” He bowed his head all too politely to her, the situation too close now for him to hug her. She bowed back just as he disappeared.

“Hanabi-sensei…” Wasabi eyed her suspiciously. “What’s that all about?”

“You girls are nosy,” Hanabi snapped. “Alright, laps! Laps around the village! Fifty!”

“Oh no!” Namida whined, slumping over.

“One hundred!”

“We’re going!!!”

“Let’s start with something simple.”

“Jun-sensei, we’ve already practiced on fish before.”

“You have?” Jun looked at Namida with surprise, turning to Hanabi. “Do they teach medical jutsu in the Academy now?”

“Oh, I guess.” Hanabi shrugged. “I think Iruka-sensei put it in the curriculum a few years ago.”

“That’s fantastic.” Jun smiled, turning back to the girls. “Well, excellent. Let’s do something a little more difficult. You ladies just tell me if you need me to slow down.”

“He’d be a good teacher.” Eiji sunk her teeth into an apple as she leaned on the opposite side of the doorway they were occupying.

“Yes, he would,” Hanabi agreed as she backed away to let him work. “Maybe I’ll talk to Shino about having him come in for medical lessons.”

“Funny hearing you two being called sensei.” She chuckled, then her smile dipped to a frown. “He’s been real busy, though.” Eiji turned from Hanabi’s team to stroll into the kitchen. She looked back briefly to find Wasabi’s face contorted in anger. Jun was probably the perfect one to placate the girl, if she really was anything like Eiji. She followed her into the kitchen. “Lot of shinobi coming in injured lately…you have any idea what’s up?”

“No.” Hanabi shook her head, joining her at the table, lying readily. “Just as out of the loop as you.”

Eiji eyed her suspiciously, taking a purposefully loud bite of the apple. “No need to lie to me, Hanabi. You could just say it’s classified, not gonna grill you.”

“Sorry,” she sighed, “bad habit, I guess. Boruto’s always asking for more information, the only way I can get him off my back is by pretending I don’t know.”

“Fair.” Eiji shrugged. “Just let me know if we should be getting out of dodge.”

“What?” Hanabi asked, tilting her head. “Of course not. The village is safe, don’t worry.”

“Sure.” Eiji shot the apple core into a food waste bin. “Whatever you say, Lady Hanabi-sensei.”

“Ah.” Hanabi sighed, resting her forearms on the table. “Wedding is getting close.”

“Yep!” Eiji beamed now, tone shifting. “All the last-minute stuff is underway.”

“You must be busy.”

“Actually, no.” Eiji laughed. Inuzuka are pretty good at planning events. They’re taking care of everything. All I gotta do is sit back and relax, let ‘em pamper me.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” Hanabi nodded.

“Look at me, a regular housewife!” Eiji sighed dreamily. Hanabi laughed.

“You still do police work, don’t you?”

“Haven’t really been needed.” She waved her hand. “I don’t mind it, anyway. I do get a little bored, though, so maybe you should bring those runts by more often.”

Hanabi smiled. “I could, if you want.” Eiji shrugged. “Well, I can’t wait. Jun must be relieved they’re taking care of everything if he’s been busy at the hospital.”

“Yeah,” Eiji breathed out, mannerisms quickly changing again. They peered out the doorway together when they heard cheering from the girls, Jun freely offering praise. “He’s good with your girls. It’s a nice distraction from all the wounded and dead.”

Hanabi recoiled at the grim description. “Yeesh…”

“They remind me of us.” She smirked, winking at Hanabi. “That on purpose? Let me guess, cat girl is me?”

“How—” She laughed, cutting herself off. Of course Eiji would be able to tell. “Yes, sorry. It was just too perfect. But she’s strong like you. Fastest in her class.”

“Nice.” Eiji beamed, slapping the table. “Maybe they can watch their sensei get beat up by me, huh?”

“Oh please.” Hanabi rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t want to embarrass you.”

“Hyūga,” she growled warningly, but it was in good fun. They both laughed.

“Glad you guys are having a good time in there!” They looked up as Wasabi yelled. “While we’re struggling!”

“It’s just you who’s struggling, Wasabi…” Sumire pointed out gently.

“Yep, just like you,” Hanabi whispered, getting up to rejoin the group. “Don’t make me get Lord Seventh to give you another d-rank in Ms. Ogawa’s garden.”

Wasabi opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it. Namida sighed dreamily. “I like Ms. Ogawa.”

Eiji couldn’t contain her laughter from the other room.

Konohamaru pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling his vision getting blurry into the late hours of the night in his office. A knock tore him from his report, beckoning the visitor in. Despite his fatigue, a smile naturally pulled on his lips when Hanabi slid inside, gently shutting the door behind her.

“I heard you were back,” she whispered, as if others would hear. He was pretty sure no one was still there, though. “And you didn’t come visit me.”

“Trust me,” he sighed out, turning the report over so it was hidden on the table, “I wanted to. This report is…it’s kicking my ass, Hanabi.”

“Worse than me?” she questioned, strolling over to him to sit on the opposite side of his desk. He smirked at her lazily, reaching up to rub an eye. “Can I help at all?”

“This one’s classified, unfortunately,” he mumbled, setting a hand on top of the report. “As much as I’d like to tell you.”

“I understand.” She nodded, leaning over the desk. “Maybe I can help you in…other ways?”

He paused, swallowing as he looked up at her. Why did she do this to him when he was dead tired? “What’re you proposing?”

He watched her warily as she got up and circled around the desk, casually dropping into his lap and he chuckled, willingly wrapping his arms around her hips. “Massage, maybe?”

“For me?” He grinned. He couldn’t resist her.

“Who else, idiot?”

“Ah, my favorite nickname,” he jested as she ran her hands over his shoulders, gently pressing into him. An involuntary sigh left him as he felt warm chakra depositing into his muscles, his chakra points. She didn’t often treat him to her families jutsu, so it was more than welcome. “Wish I could learn that one.”

“Mmm,” she hummed, smiling down at him as he caressed her hips, nudging her just a little closer. “Wish you could be a Hyūga?”

“Yeah, right.” He shook his head before leaning it back and letting his eyes flutter shut as she worked on him.

“You look so tired,” she whispered affectionately. “Sorry you’re here so late.”

“Part of the job, right?” he commented lazily, squeezing slightly on one of her hips. “This helps, a lot. Thank you, Hanabi.”

“Yeah.” She giggled quietly, her fingers trailing up towards the crook of his neck. “This one will hurt a tiny bit, okay?”

“You do love to hurt me,” he teased and despite having closed eyes, he knew she was rolling hers. He hissed quietly when he felt as if a muscle snapped, but it passed quickly, feeling better than before.

“Baby.”

“Dork.”

“Doofus.”

“Beautiful.”

“Ah—”

He smirked. He did love catching her off guard.

Not without struggle, he peeled his eyes open to meet hers, looking at him lovingly. He dropped the smirk into a smile. “I’m gonna fall asleep like this if you don’t stop. I gotta finish this up tonight.”

“Of course.” She nodded, moving to get off of him, but he tugged her back, taking her lips with his. She gasped, trying to push him off.

She liked to call him an idiot, but she could be pretty foolish herself. He relented slightly, pressing his forehead up against hers. “Hanabi, you’re sitting on my lap. If someone comes in here, they’ll know what’s up right away, anyway. Dummy.”

“Awful,” she snarked, pushing off him. “Enjoy your report, Kono-sensei.”

“Thanks,” he called after her playfully, before she could definitively slip out, “really, thank you!”

“Mhm.” She winked over her shoulder at him, her long hair cascaded behind her back as she pulled the door shut.

This woman.

He did feel more awake now.

Unfortunately.

Hanabi shoved the front door of her sister’s house open with force, stomping towards the kitchen.

“I’ll kill those brats!”

“H—Hanabi-sensei?”

She froze at the little voice, dropping her gaze down to meet black eyes. Sarada looked like a mouse under her furious gaze, so she instantly relaxed, shaking her head. “Oh, sorry Sarada. Yeesh, sorry you had to see me like that.” She reached out to pat her head. Sarada tilted it.

“Something with your team?” she asked, curiously. Hanabi shook her head.

“Not for you to worry about. Where—uh, where’s Boruto’s mom?” She hesitated with her words, realizing she wasn’t really sure what to call her sister in front of Boruto’s friends.

“Oh, uhm, outside with Boruto and Konohamaru-sensei. And Himawari. They’re all outside.”

“Oh, shoot,” Hanabi huffed, feeling a little bad. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“I don’t think you are,” the girl offered earnestly. Hanabi raised her eyebrows at her, tilting her head thoughtfully. “I’m sure they’d be happy to see you…if you’re not feeling too upset, I guess.”

“Ah—” Hanabi waved her away, feeling embarrassed for Sarada to have caught her in such a state.

Her little team got on her nerves sometimes, as much as she adored them. Somehow, receiving teases from mere children really set her off—well, certain teases at least.

“I was just getting some water.” Sarada offered, holding up a pitcher and several glasses stacked within one another. “We’re training pretty hard out there. Your sister’s actually a really great kunoichi.”

“Actually?” Hanabi frowned at the unintentional insult. Sarada reddened.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“No worries.” She put the girl at ease, taking the pitcher from her hands. “Come.”

She followed her out to the backyard, finding Hinata slamming Boruto into the ground.

Had she ever seen her sister take down her own kids before? It was completely amusing.

“Good one, elder sister!” Hanabi called, causing all eyes to shoot up to her.

Boruto groaned with exaggeration. “In front of big sis, mom?!”

“Hanabi.” Hinata smiled as the veins around her eyes relaxed. “What a nice surprise.”

“Yeah,” Konohamaru added teasingly, and she did her best not to instantly give him her attention. “Come on, come put baby brother in his place.”

“No, no.” Hanabi waved her hands. “It’s my day off, and this is honestly amazing. Throw him into the ground again, Hinata!”

Konohamaru laughed loudly as Himawari whined a bit. “No, mama!”

“Maybe you could spar with me, Hanabi-sensei?”

Hanabi pulled her head back to look at the girl in surprise.

“Oh, I’d love to see that,” Boruto snorted as he got up and dusted himself off. “I don’t think you really get what you’re asking for, Sarada.”

“What?!” Sarada snapped freely, glaring at the boy. “Think I’m weak or something?”

“No…” Hanabi smirked. “He just means I’m very much not weak.”

“Well, all the better, right?!” Sarada puffed out of her chest before setting the drinking glasses down. “You don’t have to, if you don’t want to. It’s your day off, after all.”

Hanabi pondered for a moment, glancing up at Konohamaru to gauge his reaction. His eyes watched her back, and she saw him shrug, approval.

“Just don’t close any chakra points,” he warned as she stepped into the grass to face Sarada.

“A kid, Konohamaru?” she asked sharply, squinting at him. “What do you take me for!”

“A scary lady, sometimes,” he offered honestly with a lazy upturn of his lips.

“Oooh,” Himawari gasped, clasping her hands together. “I’m rooting for you, big sister!”

“Which one?”

“Both!”

Hanabi laughed as she turned back to face Sarada’s determined gaze. The girl was always so controlled, she had to admire it.

She was just surprised when she found herself crashing to the ground, the world around her turning black.

This felt all too familiar. It flooded her memories with the chūnin exams. She activated the byakugan and darted her eyes around, inhaling long breaths to clear her thinking. She willed her vision further until she could make out a small chakra network barreling towards her. Swiftly, she caught it and forced it into the ground, breaking the genjutsu.

“H—how?!” Sarada gasped out as she reached out for nothing, Hanabi already back on her feet as the world around her returned to normal. “How did you—”

“Maybe us dōjutsu users should spar more often, huh?” Hanabi held out her hand for the girl, other one on her hip. After Sarada took the hand and hoisted herself up, she tapped her fingertip to the side of her head. Sarada looked up in awe.

“Yes…yes we should.”

“Ohhh!” Himawari called in amazement. “You could spar with me, big sister! See?” They looked over to see Himawari strain her eyes until they turned pearly and veiny. Hanabi beamed at her.

“Maybe when you’re older, Hima.” Sarada glanced at the girl before looking back at Hanabi. “Wow. Thank you.”

“No problem.” Hanabi waved her away, feeling a little too prideful to have the girl’s admiration.

Maybe she could get used to being a sensei. For how hesitant she was about it, feeling like a phony for becoming one just to remain close to Konohamaru, she was really happy about her decision, now.

“Take a break, you two,” Konohamaru called as he approached, fisting two waters towards them. Hanabi smiled as she took it. Sarada accepted it as well, strolling over to Boruto to sit next to him under the tree. Konohamaru turned to her, smirking. “Nice job, sensei. Not too tough, but just enough so she knew who was boss.”

She giggled as she brought the water to her lips. “Finesse.”

“Indeed.”

Konohamaru rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he stood next to the lake near the village, on his way home from a solo mission. He wondered if his team was following the training regimen he had set up for them before he left. He knew Sarada would probably be keeping them in line, even if Mitsuki too readily agreed to Boruto’s antics. He pulled his canteen to his lips to take a deep drink before re-lidding it.

It was a familiar lake. One that he’d sat at with Hanabi so many years ago.

Gods, it was nearly ten years ago, now.

They’d been through so much at this point.

He chuckled as he thought of that silly turn of phrase about destiny he was never sure had any truth to it. He wasn’t sure how they always ended up together, all he knew was he was grateful for it. Kept her around, even when she resisted it.

Sometimes he wondered if he was too pushy. If there was one thing his mother taught him, it was to fight for what you want. Now he wondered if it was really his grandfather who taught her that, or his father.

He never realized how much he would want in his adult years, almost feeling greedy. He wanted to be Hokage of course. But now he wanted to see his team be successful. He wanted the Hyūga clan to change. He wanted Hanabi.

If he had to choose, it would certainly be a difficult decision. So he didn’t entertain the thought of choosing. He’d have it all if it were up to him.

He mindlessly walked at a leisurely pace back to the village, actually having some extra time for once.

Then he picked up his pace as his mind wandered to Hanabi.

Extra time meant time with Hanabi.

He should’ve been using it to train his team, or make sure his report was extra detailed and void of error. But he let himself be selfish, sometimes. She truly made him a selfish individual.

Imagine his surprise when he opened his door to find her asleep on his bed.

She’d never done that before. She must’ve known he was due back in the morning.

Hanabi, Hanabi, Hanabi.

What you do to me.

Hastily, he stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed with her, grinning when he could feel her bare skin. She was undressed, too. She stirred groggily as he pulled her into him, embracing her warmth, even as she shivered at his cold touch. He couldn’t help but take her in, consume her essence. It had been a few weeks since they’d been able to be intimate, and it was far too long. She lazily wrapped her arms around his forearm, slurring a sleepy greeting as he began laying kisses over her shoulder.

“Sleeping in my bed, now?”

“Don’t make me regret it…”

“I could make you glad for it, instead?”

“Doofus…”

Her quiet, mumbled tease was music to him as she conformed to his body, allowing him to do whatever he wanted. He shoved down that invasive thought about what it would be like to be able to do this every night, her warming his bed. That wasn’t important right now.

This was.

He let it be silent as his hands wandered over her front, back flush against his chest. He smiled as she pushed her nose into the pillow away from him, sleepy little moans slipping out that made his chest swell. He nudged his other arm under her waist while cupping her breast, softly pinching her nipple as it slid between his fingers, eliciting that tiny whimper he craved to hear daily. He continued laying kisses across her back as she subconsciously pushed against him, grinding her bottom against his fully hardened erection.

What a nice reward for getting home early, he thought.

He moved his free hand down her side until he reached her thigh, pulling it up to hook her calf over his, spreading her. He dipped his fingers shamelessly between, gathering the accumulated gloss as he tended to the hardened nub there. Her panting became more haggard as he worked, pressing her mouth into the pillow now to suppress moans.

There was a time and place for loud, rough sex that he did enjoy. But right now, he was content to caress her gently and make love to her. She seemed so tired, but his judgement was cloudy and she was responding in all the ways that told him to keep going. He slid his finger between her lips and he saw her fists ball up with the sheets of his bed. She shoved her face further into the pillow, needy little sounds escaping the confines of the material.

Not wanting to waste any more time, he withdrew his hand to tug his boxers down, then reached under her knee to pull her back further. She finally gave him a little help by stilling her leg, letting him line himself up with her entrance before slowly pushing in. Once he was inside her enough to ensure he wouldn’t fall out, he bent his arm around her waist to grab her bunching hand, forehead resting against the back of her neck as she let out beautiful, quiet moans.

As he pushed the rest of himself in her, his breath faded against her skin, causing her to shiver. The movement made him twitch and tighten his grip on her hands. Slowly, he moved out of her, then pushed back in, gradually getting into a rhythm. If there was a state of ecstasy he could engage in, it was being with Hanabi, becoming one with her. It was something he could never have imagined, but was too magnificent to give up.

“Oh Kono…” she sighed, burying her face in the pillow. She repeated the phrase over and over with each thrust and it threatened to push him off the deep end. But he hated taking from her without giving first, so he released her hand and slid it down her stomach until he found her clit once more, rubbing deep circles into it. Her body spasmed against the touch, so he used his other arm underneath her to hold her body to his in a tight embrace. Her whines became a touch louder.

“Let go,” he whispered against her neck, unintentionally burying his forehead into the crook of it, “cum for me, honey.”

“K-Kono—” she gasped quietly, his words gently moving her over the edge and he felt that sensual fluttering around himself that told him she was there. He retracted the hand and encased hers with it again, still pumping in and out of her to reach his own climax. His added hand helped keep her from moving too much as she rode out the orgasm—she was a bit shaky and if he wasn’t careful, he’d slip out. He had no intention of leaving her entrance, not as close as he was.

He felt that hot coil in his abdomen begin to unravel as he felt her nails dig into his palms, clutching onto him. She rewarded him with beautifully lustful words.

“Cum for me, Kono.” They were barely a whisper into the pillow but he couldn’t miss it. If he had gently lowered her off the edge, she threw him, and he felt his orgasm grip him.

Damn, he missed her.

Sometimes he wondered if he could justify bringing her along on some of his solo missions—just because he missed this too damn much.

As he released, he clutched her body to his, not allowing her to move too much because he wanted to stay inside her for a little longer. He knew his hold was too harsh, too possessive, but she was his. And he was hers. Nothing could stop him from clutching onto her as if his life depended on it.

When he felt her movements slow until they completely halted, he chuckled, breathing a deep sigh and taking in her scent. He nudged his nose against the crook of her neck, regretting that he had to interrupt her peace. “Can’t fall asleep yet, Hanabi.”

“Don’t be cruel…” she mumbled, body slumping away from him. He gave her one last kiss on the shoulder before crawling out of bed. She whined as he hooked his arms under hers and dragged her up, carrying her like some drunk fool to the bathroom. He almost wondered if maybe she was drunk because she seemed so exhausted, but found no hints of alcohol on her, so shoved the thought back. “Ehhh, this is so gross for you to do,” she whined as he took her to the bathroom.

He laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t stay.” He turned to leave her, shutting the door behind him.

As much as it grossed him out as a kid, he was thankful that his mother was so candid with him about these things now that he was an adult.

He pulled his boxers back on, catching her at the door just in time to pick her up by the arms and legs, carrying her back to the bed to lay her down. She finally gave a little giggle as he climbed in next to her, laying his arm across her stomach.

“Sleepy girl.”

“Very…” She yawned, turning on her side to face him with her eyes closed. “So, so exhausted…”

“I thought I was tired, just getting back from a mission,” he teased, scooting in to kiss the tip of her nose. She crinkled it and it made his belly warm. “Any particular reason you’re so tired? Not letting another guy tire you out, I hope.”

“Stop that,” she huffed, though she kept her eyes closed. “Clan stuff.”

“Always clan stuff.”

“I stood in front of the council for hours…” She yawned again, widely, and he tilted his head forward in interest. Would she finally reveal some details? “Hours and hours arguing to officially end the curse seal…”

“Really…?”

“Mhm…stupid old men made me stand as a sign of respect…” That thought did not sit well with him. “Who knew standing would make me so tired…”

“I don’t think it was the standing,” he responded with a sigh, tucking his other arm under her waist to pull her closer, “it was probably emotionally draining, Hanabi. Mentally, too.”

“Hmm…” she hummed, nuzzling her nose into his sternum, “you’re probably right…”

“I’m proud of you.”

He felt her breathing stop momentarily before it picked back up again. “Thank you…”

“Of course,” he whispered, laying a chaste kiss on the top of her head. “Get some rest, Hanabi.”

The next morning, she awoke to find his hands wandering over her body. She moved her head back to take him in. He was still asleep, but his hands had a mind of their own. She smiled at the cute way his jaw hung open and cheek pushed against her chest. She reached down to gently close it before brushing her fingertips against his jaw, tickling him awake. She admired the way his eyes fluttered open to reveal glassy blue orbs. Those blue orbs that were always her comfort. His little smile as he blinked away sleep only made her gooier.

“Mornin’,” he mumbled, reaching up to hold her hand with his.

These were the moments she selfishly lived for. The moments that told her it was worth it to put all the work into her clan that she did. The moments she would get to have forever, if she could just keep pushing forward. “Good morning.”

He let out a tired yawn and she reeled away from him, giggling as she covered her nose. He noticed the action and quickly covered his mouth. “Shit, sorry.”

“You should be.”

“Hey, yours doesn’t smell like roses either, okay?”

“How could you say such a thing?”

“It’s too early for this.”

She let a laugh go as he buried his face into her chest. She sighed with a little disappointment as she gently pulled him away. “I have to meet my team at 8.”

He groaned needily, tightening his grip around her. She giggled. “Can’t you be a little late? Those girls are always keeping you from me.”

“We’re sensei, Konohamaru.” She tsked, tapping the top of his head. “You are keeping me away from them.”

“Hmmm,” he grumbled irritably, hugging her closer. She let him.

#naruto #konohana #konohamaru x hanabi #konohamaru sarutobi #hanabi hyuuga #hyuuga hanabi #sarutobi konohamaru #hanakono #naruto fanfic #naruto fanfiction #konohana fanfic #my fic #Tag #hanabi hyuga #hyuga hanabi #smut #fic update #naruto smut

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luminnara · 3 years

Text

alpha!erasermic x pregnant!reader | ABO fluff

Request: Hiya! i’m wondering if you can do an alpha! erasermic x pregnant! omega! reader? maybe when both alphas leave their lunch at home and she goes to bring it to them. the reader and both alphas collectively have custody of hitoshi and eri, and the reader is heavily pregnant. preferably a female reader please, and none of class 1-a have met her. this is my first time requesting stuff so i hope i did okay! 😅

You did wonderfully! I love writing cute fluffy stuff like this, and it’s my first time writing any kind of erasermic thing even though I love them so much, so hopefully I did okay! Idk where exactly this sits timeline-wise, don’t worry about it, it’s omegaverse and I can do what I want lol. I took this prompt and sort of RAN with it, too

*also Mirio has his quirk back in this because it’s fun, and the reader has kind of a dodgy past because i wanted to add a little SPICE*

Warnings: a/b/o, pregnancy, the implications of Aizawa’s scarf and all of its uses

You sighed, resting a hand on your swollen belly. “Those two...”

You had only just gotten Eri out of bed, and, upon heading into the kitchen to fix her some breakfast, you saw two lovingly-prepared bento boxes sitting on the counter. Shota and Hizashi must have forgotten them in their hurry to get to UA earlier that morning, and while you knew they could very easily grab something to eat in the cafeteria, you hated the thought of these meals going to waste.

Besides, your inner omega was a bit miffed that they hadn’t taken your home cooked food to work with them. Was Lunch Rush’s food so much better than yours that your alphas would rather eat at school? You refused to believe that, even if his quirk was cooking. There was no way that he could make your alphas a meal that could compare to the kind you always cooked for them, and maybe it was the pregnancy hormones making you extra bristly about it, but you were determined to march right on over to UA and bring them their proper lunches.

Even if you were heavily, heavily pregnant. They’d probably have something to say about you leaving the house and waddling around Musutafu with only Eri as company, but you were tough enough to fend for yourself. And besides, it was only a quick train ride to the station outside the school, and if you did get yourself into any kind of trouble, the city was chock full of pro heroes and their sidekicks, many of whom you were on a first name basis with.

“Eri!” you called, grabbing a bag to carry the boxes in. “Are you dressed yet? We’re going to visit UA!”

You could heard a thump, followed by the sound of little feet thudding as she ran to meet you. When she appeared in the doorway, her eyes were wide with excitement, her long hair falling around her shoulders messily. “Yes!”

“Go brush your hair and then we’ll go,” you laughed, ushering her towards the bathroom.

“Why are we going?” the little girl called.

“Hizashi and Shota left their lunches,” you explained. “We’re bringing them so that the food doesn’t go to waste.”

“Can we visit Deku and Togata?”

You paused to think. You hadn’t actually met any of Shota and Hizashi’s students before, your alphas always preferring that you stay home and away from the sometimes dangerous school they taught at. Well, you knew Hitoshi, of course, and since he had yet to move into the dorms on campus, he still lived at home with the rest of the family. At least he had remembered to grab his lunch. Would your adopted son be embarrassed to see you appearing at his school? Hitoshi always carried himself in a very collected manner, and the thought of being able to show up and pinch his cheeks and coo at him made you laugh.

And you knew that everyone in Class 1-A would be over the moon to see Eri. The little girl that had been rescued from Overhaul was popular amongst the young heroes-in-training, from what you’d heard, and if you were going to go all the way to UA, you’d be damned if you didn’t let her see her friends there.

“Of course we can,” you said with a smile as she came running back in, her hair significantly less tangled. “Ready?”

“Ready!” she beamed up at you.

“Do me a favor and carry this?” you offered her the tote you’d tucked the bento boxes into and she took it from you eagerly, bouncing towards the door.

You grabbed your purse, made sure your keys were inside, and followed her out, taking her free hand. Together, the two of you made your way to the nearest train station, a few neighbors waving hello as you passed. There were no villains to be seen or head of, and the pros you saw out on patrol all looked happy and relaxed. They all knew who you were, some of the betas and omegas approaching to chat about your pregnancy and ask how things were going. The alphas hung back, calling greetings or offering waves, none of them wanting to get too close to a pregnant, mated omega and risk the wrath of your alphas if their scents happened to cling to you.

The journey went smoothly, Eri sticking close to your side the entire way. You were both excited to be going to visit UA--Eri, because she would get to see Deku and Mirio, and you because you hadn’t been to the school in years--and as you stepped off the train and the gates finally came into view, you let out a happy laugh.

“Ready?” you asked Eri, leading her towards the entrance.

“Mhm!” she nodded eagerly, pulling you forward. “Let’s go! Let’s go let’s go let’s go--”

“Hang on, hang on,” you waddled after her as quickly as you could, fishing around in your purse. When you finally found what you were looking for, you pulled out an ID card, holding it up towards the sensor atop the UA Barrier gate. “You have your card?”

“Yep!” Eri said, grabbing the card hanging from the lanyard around her neck and mimicking you.

“Special ID accepted,” a robotic voice chimed. “Welcome to UA High, (y/n) and Eri.”

The gate opened and you led Eri through it, the big school looming just past it. The special ID cards you both had were a result of Shota insisting that you be able to get to UA if you ever needed to. With the upgraded security measures, and so many of the students living in the dorms, it wasn’t easy getting onto the campus without either a student or guest card. You probably technically weren’t even supposed to have one, but no one was going to argue with Aizawa and Yamada when it came to ensuring their omega would be able to get to them in case of emergency.

This wasn’t exactly an emergency, but it was still an important mission, so you had absolutely no qualms about using your special ID privileges today. You just hoped nobody else would be mad about it.

“Hey, is that Eri I see?” a voice called.

You turned to see a blond haired, blue eyed boy jogging towards you and recognized him as Togata. He was dressed in a PE uniform, and as he stopped in front of you, you could see that he was panting.

Eri immediately set the bag down and rushed toward him, running into his open arms. “Lemillion!”

Mirio laughed as he scooped her into a hug. “What are you doing here? Aizawa didn’t mention anything about a visit!”

“Aizawa forgot his lunch today,” you said, nodding towards the bag Eri had dropped. “So we thought we’d bring it and visit.”

Mirio straightened up a bit when he realized you were there. You had to be absolutely covered in your alphas’ scents, and even if they never told any of the students about you, there was no way that Mirio hadn’t figured it out by now. Besides...your bond marks were very big and very visible, one on each side of your neck just below your scent glands. There was no way Mirio didn’t know what that all added up to.

You had never officially met him, but you’d heard plenty about all of UA’s Big Three, and after he and Deku saved Eri from the Shie Hassaikai, you’d heard even more about him. He was selfless, going so far as to sacrifice his own quirk to keep Eri safe and get her away from Overhaul, and for that, you’d always feel a little indebted to him. He’d luckily been able to get it back, but Aizawa had told you that there had been a long period in which nobody was sure it could even be returned to him.

“Oh, s-sorry!” he bowed to you. “I don’t think we’ve ever been properly introduced! I’m Togata Mirio, I was there at the Shie Hassaikai raid--”

“I’ve heard plenty about you,” you laughed as he straightened up again. “I’m (y/n). I’m the stay at home omega that keeps Shota and Hizashi from starving all the time.”

Mirio’s laugh was probably one of the most raucously happy sounds you had ever heard. “We’re all grateful for that! As for me, personally, I’m really glad Eri has such a great mom now, too. And you’ve got more on the way!”

“Sure do,” you groaned, a hand on your lower back as you tried to lean and stretch it out some. “Due date’s in just a couple weeks. Can’t wait to get ‘em outta here.”

“Well, at least you already know how to do the parenting part!” Mirio was still all smiles as Eri grabbed for his hand and he took it, picking up the tote bag as well. “Come on, it’s my free period so I’ll take you to 1-A’s classroom.”

“Thank you, Togata,” you said, hand on your belly as you followed him into the school.

“It’s no problem!” he beamed at you over his shoulder as he led the way. “It’s almost lunch, too. Perfect timing!”

“Is it really?” you glanced up at a clock on the wall, and sure enough, it was nearly noon. “Wow. Guess we took longer than I thought. But...ugh, I didn’t bring any food for myself or Eri...”

“That’s no problem! Lunch Rush always has tons of options in the Grand Mess Hall.” at your slight glare, Mirio added, “...But I’m sure even his best cooking is no substitute for a homemade meal!”

“That’s right,” you growled, waddling along down the hall.

When the three of you reached the 1-A door, Mirio used his permeation quirk to stick his head straight through it rather than knocking, and judging by the resounding scream of surprise that nearly shattered the windows, he had scared Hizashi half to death.

Mirio pulled back and opened the door, revealing a room full of groaning students, all clutching their ears. Hizashi was the only one who seemed unbothered by the sheer volume of the scream he had let out, clutching his chest instead.

“Why can’t you knock like a normal person, dumbass?” a blond boy snarled.

“Bakugou! You shouldn’t swear in front of esteemed upperclassmen!” a black-haired boy with glasses said.

“It’s not just me you’re swearing in front of!” Mirio said, still smiling, like always. With a nod of his head, he tugged Eri into the room.

Everyone lit up, and you even caught Bakugou’s harsh expression softening some at the sight of her.

“Eri!” a freckly, green haired boy exclaimed, jumping up from his seat.

“Deku!” the little girl yelled happily, letting go of Mirio’s hand to run towards him.

You watched as he knelt down to greet her, the rest of the class all getting up, or at the very least leaning over in their seats to say hello. All except Hitoshi, who looked up, made eye contact with you, started to roll his eyes, and then sighed.

Oh, you were so going to embarrass him today.

Hizashi was still trying to catch his breath, but now, with the students all distracted by Eri, he finally had a chance to notice you. You could see his nostrils flare as he recognized your scent, his head whipping around to spot you standing there in the door.

“BABE!” he rushed toward you, pulling you into a hug.

“Hi, Hizashi,” you laughed into his shoulder, clinging to his jacket as he rubbed his scent gland over your hair.

He immediately pulled back, holding you at arm’s length as he looked you over. “What’re you doing here? Everything okay?”

“I’m fine,” you chuckled. When he glanced down at your swollen belly, you added, “we’re fine.”

He let out a relieved breath. “Okay. Okay, good. Had me worried there for a sec.”

“They came to bring you lunch!” Mirio said, holding up the bag he had carried in for you. “I ran into her and Eri outside while I was out for my daily jog.”

“Togata here was very helpful,” you said. “He even carried that bag for us.”

“Gotta help everyone who needs it, whenever I can!” the teenager gave you a thumbs up.

“Thanks, Mirio.” Hizashi said, putting an arm around your shoulders and pulling you up against his side. “Means a lot to me that my family stays safe.”

“Family?”

You turned to see all of Class 1-A staring at you.

Hizashi cleared his throat, the sound practically echoing. “Everybody, this is my mate.”

The room suddenly erupted.

“Who is she?”

“Is she a pro?”

“Can’t believe anybody would put up with him...”

“Bakugou, quiet! Don’t be rude!”

“But, wait...” Deku said, still kneeling with Eri. “I thought Eri’s been living with Mr. Aizawa..?”

The students all glanced to each other before their eyes swiveled to you and Hizashi.

“Oh, Hizashi,” you teased. “You never told them?”

“I, uh...” a slight pink tinged his cheeks as he blushed.

Luckily, before he had the chance to stumble over his words any longer, he was saved by the appearance of a very tired, very disgruntled, Eraserhead.

“What the hell is going on and why the hell are you screaming in my classroom?” he growled from the doorway.

Hizashi turned the two of you to face him, and you saw the anger immediately drain from Aizawa’s face.

“...What are you doing here?” he asked, his bloodshot eyes full of concern. “Everything okay?”

“Hi, Papa!” Eri chimed from her spot next to Deku.

“...Hello, Eri. Why are you also here?”

“You both forgot your lunches,” you said, practically scolding them. “I worked hard on those!”

“So you came all the way here just to bring us lunch? You realize we have an entire cafeteria here, right?”

“Don’t even think about it,” you growled.

“You shouldn’t be walking across Musutafu without at least Hitoshi with you. It’s too dangerous.”

At the mention of his name, everyone’s heads swiveled to look at Shinso. He sighed, slumping back in his chair and dragging a hand down his face.

“You know, if you wouldn’t forget the lunches that I so lovingly put all that hard work into, I wouldn’t even have to go all the way across Musutafu to bring them to you.” you said haughtily, nose up in the air as you stared your alpha down. “And besides...you know better than anyone that I can take care of myself, and Eri, no matter how pregnant I am.”

Aizawa sighed. He knew there was no arguing with you when you got in a mood like this, and besides...you were already there.

And you were right.

Before he could even come up with something to say, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for lunch, and soon, you were walking down the hall between your two alphas, Eri riding on Deku’s shoulders as Class 1-A flooded out along with you.

You ended up sitting in the mess hall with the students, sandwiched between Hizashi and Shota. Shota didn’t seem entirely pleased with it, mentioning several times that he’d much rather be in the teachers’ lounge where it was quieter, but Eri was far too happy to be with Class 1-A for him to actually tear her away from them. She was across from you, sitting next to Deku and a brown haired girl you learned was named Ochako. Mirio had left to go find his own friends, the other two members of The Big Three, and you could see him just a few tables over, laughing loudly with a blue haired girl with a boy with pointy ears looked like he was trying to will himself out of existence next to them.

“It’s so exciting that Mr. Aizawa has a whole family!” Ochako said.

“And with Present Mic, too,” Tsu, the frog girl, said from her spot next to her.

“How long have you been together?” the pink girl, Mina, asked.

“Don’t ask so many personal questions! We should respect their privacy.” Iida said, in true class rep fashion.

When Shota only offered a grunt in reply, too focused on his lunch to actually talk with his homeroom class, and with Hizashi already stuffing his face, you took it upon yourself to chat.

“Oh, I don’t mind the questions!” you said with a good natured laugh. “I met Hizashi and Shota when we all went to school together. Then we lost touch, because I...well, I sort of...chose a different life path than they did.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Hizashi slurped up his soba.

“Here.” you looked up to see Hitoshi had brought you and Eri each a tray of food, setting them down in front of the two of you.

“You’re so good to your mother,” you cooed, reaching up to grab his cheek.

He dodged you expertly, ducking out of the way and going to sit with Bakugou and his friends on Deku’s other side. You narrowed your eyes at him, making sure he knew that he couldn’t run forever, and as Denki watched the exchange, he spoke up.

“...Wait. You didn’t become a pro hero?” he asked.

“I took the hero course here at UA.” you explained, grabbing your chopsticks. “I ended up dropping out before graduation. This is actually my first time back since then.”

“So...” Deku seemed nervous. “Were you, uh...”

“A villain?” you asked.

When he nodded quickly, you laughed and offered a nod of your own.

“Yeah, I suppose I was. My quirk used to be wild, and hard to control...I got so frustrated when I wasn’t making any progress with it that I decided to just leave school. I was mad at everyone, and I fell in with people who felt the same way. One thing leads to another, and next thing you know, I’m running from the loudest, most obnoxious pro hero in the city.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Hizashi, who was doing his best not to choke on his lunch.

“And he never caught me,” you said adoringly, leaning against his shoulder.

“I never caught you on my own,” he corrected.

“Made my ears bleed a few times, I think.”

“Yes, and I don’t regret that.” he pressed a cute, fluttery little kiss against the tip of your nose. “You were absolutely going to kill me.”

“Not absolutely!” you protested.

“I had to rescue him.” Aizawa spoke up, his voice gruff and tired, like always. “Had to cancel your quirk and keep you tied down until the others could get to us.”

You smirked at your first memory of his scarf and what it could do, and as you did so, he realized that he had just admitted to tying you up with it in front of his idiot students.

“And that’s when I fell in looooove,” you grabbed his arm, batting your lashes at him obnoxiously.

“Not another word.” he growled.

The students were all staring at you with wide eyes. All except Hitoshi, who was rolling his.

“I guess you could say I was reformed,” you said, grabbing some noodles. “Then one thing led to another, and...here we are.” You patted your belly.

“That’s so romantic,” Mina sighed, leaning her chin on her hand.

“What’s your quirk?” Ochako asked.

“I could show you!” you said eagerly, moving to stand.

“Absolutely not.” Shota held onto your arm and forced you to sit down again. “You are due in two weeks. No nonsense until after the pups are born.”

It was your turn to roll your eyes now.

“Fine,” you mumbled with a sigh. “I never get to have fun anymore.”

“But pups are so exciting!” the invisible girl, Hagakure, said.

“Yeah!” Mina agreed.

Then, the rest of the girls bombarded you with questions.

“How many are you having?”

“What day are they coming?!”

“Can we meet them?”

“Mr. Aizawa, please can you bring them in to the dorms??”

“--But Mr. Aizawa, this is the safest place in Japan. There’s no way anything bad would happen to them--”

“--And besides, (y/n) has a super strong quirk, right? She said so!”

“Come on, just let us see the brats when they’re old enough to travel.”

The sound of Bakugou’s voice had everyone staring at the blond boy.

“...What?” he bristled. “It’s not like I care, I just want the girls to shut up.”

“Uh huh. Sure, Bakugou.” Kirishima snorted.

“...maybe.” Aizawa relented, eager to shut them all up.

That was enough for the girls, and they immediately began talking chattering about the cutest baby clothes, the best toys, and then the differences between their own upbringings. You enjoyed listening to them throughout the rest of lunch, and by the time the hour had ended, you were sad to be leaving.

“Hang on, hang on,” Hizashi said as you took Eri’s hand to leave. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Home,” you furrowed your brow. “Why?”

“We told you,” Shota said, standing with his hands in his pockets. “We don’t want you wandering around the city.”

“And I told you, I’m fine--”

“Just stay here for the rest of the day.”

“...What?”

“We’ll all go home together later.” Hizashi smiled. “You and Eri can hang out in the lounge. I bet Midnight would love to pester you about the bump, too.”

You smiled, walking towards your alphas. “Alright. Alright, yeah. That sounds nice.”

As Class 1-A lingered at the end of the hall, watching for as long as they could get away with, Denki elbowed Hitoshi in the side.

“Dude, your mom is--”

“Don’t you dare say hot.” Shinso growled.

“Actually, I was gonna say badass, but that too--”

The purple haired boy glared at him. “Shut up, Denki.”

“What? It’s a compliment!”

#erasermic #alpha!erasermic #alpha aizawa #alpha hizashi #aizawa fluff #erasermic x reader #abo #omegaverse #bnha imagines #bnha x reader #shoto aizawa #aizawa x hizashi #hizashi yamada #present mic #present mic x reader #hizashi yamada x reader #aizawa x reader #shota aizawa x reader

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draftingteacups · 2 years

Note

If one of NRC boys got into a potion that shrunk them down into a child, kinda like in 'Trainer to Beast Tamer Pokemon Trainer! x Twisted Wonderland fic' for filler chapters, how would Soni look after them? Personally I think Little Leona would be napping a lot on Nimbus.

Oooo 👀 I know that fic!

This took a while to write out, so I hope you enjoy Anon! Minor spoilers are in some portions of this ask, so please be aware of that as you read in some parts!

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Soni would look after them as best as she could, although she definitely enlists the help of her Pokémon during this. Soni is good at dealing with kids, mostly because of field trips, promotional classes, and such. Most kids would be amazed to be visited by the Champion of their region, y'know?

For Little Riddle, it's definitely a different experience than what he's experienced at home, especially with the monsters in the dorm. I imagine him being really curious but ultimately likes Pokémon for how much wonder they inspire in him.

Soni would show him the cool desserts made with Alcremie, although he might be a little hesitant to eat the sweets because he's not sure if he can eat them due to his mom's rules.

Soni would tell him that it's the best thing that she'd ever eaten when she was little and that as Dorm Head of Ramshackle, kids should be able to enjoy things like this once in a while; Little Riddle takes that offer and enjoys his Strawberry Tart with Alcremie Cream decorated in strawberries 🥺💖

She gets him outside and lets him hang out in the Berry garden and if he gets a little messy and dirty in the process while playing with the Pokémon, Soni doesn't get angry at him like Little Riddle expects. All she does is clean him up and show him the cool stuff about Pokémon being very calm about the whole thing as to not frighten him.

When he asks why, Soni says that all kids should be able to have fun in their own little ways and that at 10, she became a Pokémon Trainer. There's a part of me that thinks about Little Riddle would actually want to become a Pokémon Trainer from Soni's own story, if only to have the chance to explore the world without the crushing weight of the rules that he often feels.

Soni says that she'll help him if he ever wanted to do that sort of thing. even if it meant having to fight his mom for it.

Oh yeah, little Leona would be using Nimbus as a pillow all the time. If it can move for him, all the better! Not to mention, she doesn't mind and they just hang out whenever Nimbus isn't with Soni, even after Leona goes back to normal.

Leona is a grumpy little one who doesn't want to move, but when he senses their lunch being made, he wolfs it all down before taking a nap on Nimbus again. Soni is at a bit of a loss with him, but that ultimately changes once she trains up her Pokemon in the back of Ramshackle.

Little Leona would find the flashiness of battles similar to the ones of Magishift and would want to learn immediately. Soni gets to see him pick up all the information that she spews out relatively easily, which only heightens his own intellect.

When Little Leona thinks that he wouldn't be able to defeat her and gets sulky about it, Soni says that no Champion is ever unstoppable nor do they hold onto their throne forever. Eventually, they fly over the clouds, and Leona experiences the world in a different perspective on the back of a Pokemon than one on a broom.

Lemme just say Little Azul would be scared AF at first.

He's hiding out in his octopus pot and just trying not to cry as much because he has no idea of where he is and it's hella scary. Eventually, Soni coaxes him out with the promise of heading to the nearest water source, which is where he can interact with the Water type Pokemon.

Swanna is a little miffed by the same Octopus man being small and tiny, so Swanna decides to terrorize Octavinelle in its annoyance.

Azul would find Soni's Pokemon to be a little intimidating, especially the floating sword that seems to glare at him a lot. He clings to her many times over for safety and relaxes once he eats his favorite food that they made together. Eventually, Azul asks why Soni is helping him because of his low self-esteem and the whole package with his backstory.

Soni understands how terrible it is to be the odd one out and how it feels like the only way to make them feel better is to make those same people go through the same pain. She tells him a little bit about how everything about her often got her bullied as a child, even her own name wasn't free from this, but she fought back and got labeled as a troublemaker.

Azul wonders how she didn't cry at it and Soni definitely did cry whenever it got too much, but crying was never something to be ashamed of. Being shamed for it is a terrible thing when it's so natural to have feelings; some people feel it more than others. Azul cries at this and makes a whole lot of ink that day. Soni hugs this Octomer to comfort him and never has she been more thankful to have a mostly black clothing wardrobe.

Little Jamil and Kalim are a pair who are both cautious but highly intrigued by her Pokemon. Kalim loves the pretty white bird and wants to pet it, but Soni tells him to be cautious about it and goes with him to pet Swanna.

Jamil, on the other hand, is less open to petting the bird that seems to glare at him for some reason.

Jamil wants to help out Soni with chores as to not feel as restless as he does, but Soni says that he should focus on being a kid than a servant, which makes him lash out at her as she seems to have her own servants in her Pokemon.

Soni says that her Pokemon are free to leave if that is what they wish and that they willingly stay with her. Never did she chain them to her because their freedom is the one thing that she will never take away from them. Jamil still doesn't like that and he gets sulky about it. Kalim shows Jamil the cool friends that he made among her Pokemon and Jamil just freaks out at the giant bugs that she owns.

Little Jamil learns to like her non-Bug Pokemon and finds the idea of being a Pokemon Trainer to be extremely appealing. He does take a special interest in Nimbus as it is a fluffy bird and eventually falls asleep in the fluff. Kalim joins him and Soni finds them both in the floof.

Little Vil is an interesting one as he is immediately taken by the beauty of Mila and is equally enthralled by the Pokemon Contests that Soni tells him about. Learning these things opens up a world of possibilities to the young man in the form of performances. He instantly dives into the videos that Soni has recorded for Contests and wants to make his own version of it.

Vil wonders why Soni chose to be a Battler than someone in Contests and Soni simply suited being a Battler more than a Coordinator.

Little Vil enjoys the simple delicious desserts that taste so different from what he's ever had before on the fact that they were Berries from Soni's farm, so he would have never had them if he had never come here.

Little Vil gets to meet Happiny (if Happiny's still a Happiny at this point) and the little one shows him how looks can truly be deceiving if it can lift him up in one arm while being so small. Little Vil has a fondness for the Pokemon after that, calling Happiny cute and carrying the little one because Happiny was a little slow.

Little Idia is shy at first, but like Little Vil, he gets into the idea of owning Pokemon and finding that aspect of it similar to a game that he just plunges into it.

Idia likes to make strategies with it all, enjoying the card game that Soni told him with the premise of teaching children about Pokemon and the Type Advantages. He finds her Rotophone and her technology the most interesting thing to observe because a sentient piece of equipment that is also a Pokemon- sign him up!

Little Malleus is very shocked by the person who's taking care of him, mostly because they look human but have a trace of something fae in them. The fact that they aren't afraid of him at all- that's the main point of his curiosity.

Little Malleus gets to experience meeting her Pokemon once more, just in total awe of these powerful creatures. Her Dragon types seem to come and greet him and he wonders how these Dragons listen so easily to her command.

Little Malleus enjoys the ice cream that Soni gets out for him, along with the strange Berries that top it. When he asks why she has it, it's because he always comes around and so she just buys it for him. He tries to pay her back but says that he's her friend.

Little Malleus is stunned and looks shockingly young with that expression on his face. Soni does her best to regale him with stories of the legendary Pokemon of her world as that entertained his older form, which does so handily in this smaller version of her friend. Little Malleus finds the Creation Trio of Sinnoh especially enthralling.

They walk through the dorm and enjoy their time together, sometimes coming across her Pokemon that work on the fields or just enjoying themselves in the sunlight. Little Malleus can't help but think to himself how wonderful a friend Soni must be.

Little Malleus also wonders if he could be a Pokemon Trainer himself and Soni says that anyone can. He just needs to ask.

At the end of it all, all of them returned to normal feeling infinitely lighter than before.

(They all remember the time spent at Ramshackle Dorm. They all wish that they had met her when they were truly younger. Better late than never, they supposed.)

#twisted wonderland #pokemon #twisted wonderland x pokemon #pokemon au #ask #soni monet #riddle rosehearts #leona kingscholar #azul ashengrotto #kalim al asim #jamil viper #vil schoenheit #idia shroud #malleus draconia #they be kids

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useyernamesteven · 3 years

Text

(Needed some goofy fluff to distract myself from the angst im writing so buckle up, its long. Based on that one post I cannot find so if anyone can help a homie out, much appreciated)

Raya/Namaari Accidental Marriage Proposal

Its not a far stretch to assume that the different tribes have different practices and rituals. And given the 500 year gap in communication its also easy enough to assume that the tribes don't know about each others differing customs.

For example: marriage proposals. In Tail its as cut-and-dry as asking. Talon people propose with rings and jade coin. When you propose in Spine you chop down a tree to show your commitment and strength.

The Fang propose with blades. Fang people love their knives, daggers, spears, and other pointy weapons, so if you want to ask someone to marry you, you do it with a blade.

I like to imagine it'd be because offering a blade to someone- who isn't family -is the equivalent of trusting your life to that person. I like to think the Fang value not only a person's strength and honour, but their ability to care and protect their people. So giving a blade to your chosen love is like saying, "I'm giving you this weapon because I trust you with my heart, literally and metaphorically".

But again, 500 year old divide means others have no clue what giving a knife to someone from Fang entails...

So maybe its been a few months or so after the Druun have been vanquished. Raya is still re-learning how to be a 'princess' while playing liaison between the tribes, with Sisu as her partner in crime. She likes it because she still gets to travel and she gets to see her new friends from the other tribes: Boun's business is booming, Noi has started talking, and Tong has become the new Chief of Spine.

Then there's Namaari.

Six years of playing cat-and-mouse together (or rather angry kitten and homeless puppy) can be hard to overcome. At first it was a struggle. And incredibly awkward. Namaari, too guilt ridden over what she'd done, and Raya, still angry and socially stunted, could barely hold a conversation together.

Eventually Raya, fed up with the weird awkward talk, dragged Namaari to Fang's training grounds and challenged her to a sparring match. And only when it was over, the both of them exhausted and laying on the ground, did they start talking, actually talking. About what happened with the gem, with Sisu, what they can't let go of, not yet, but what they hope they can move past one day.

It made things after easier because it was familiar ground for them, but it also opened up new paths too. Now in the months since they saved the world and having spent that time working together, Raya would like to consider Namaari a close friend.

Which is probably why she's so surprised when Namaari off-handedly mentions her birthday is next week. Namaari, who's less than thrilled about her mother's plans for a big celebration, doesn't even notice how much Raya's caught off guard. Namaari doesn't really care for her birthday, much less when her mother makes a big deal about it, but she still brushes her hair behind her ear when she asks Raya if she's going to attend.

Raya recovers, nudging Namaari saying that she's obviously going, and boasting about the amazing gift she's going to bring.

Which then leads to her dragging Sisu to Talon in search of the perfect gift (Sisu being the only 'person' she knows who can help being that she's a master gift giver... Sisu's words, not Raya's, but still). They run around Talon for ages, with Sisu practically buying everything in sight (with the Heart Palace Credit of course) but Raya can't find a single thing she thinks Namaari would actually like.

And then she spots a Fang vendor selling blades.

The woman is nice and she asks Raya if she's looking for something in particular. Raya says she wants to get a dagger for 'someone special' from Fang (not wanting to rack up the price if the woman knew who it was for, but also completely unaware to what she's just implied).

The vendor seems a little surprised but she easily walks Raya through picking out the perfect dagger for her 'someone special'. Raya ends up buying a pretty, yet functional dagger with a dragon engraved in the blade and an ornate box to keep it in. As Raya's leaving the woman gives her a pat on the shoulder and says, "All the best for the both of you and I'm sure she'll say yes," which Raya can't really make sense of so she shrugs and leaves to go find Sisu and her mountain of trinkets.

So now its the party, and when Namaari said Virana was making a big deal about it, she really meant it. People from all the tribes are attending and Sisu's brought her brothers and sisters and there's music and food and fireworks...

And Namaari stands beside her mother in a beautiful dress that makes Raya's heart thud erratically (it's totally platonic). Her and her Ba walk up to them and start making small talk before her Ba and Virana break off to chat with other dignitaries, leaving Raya and Namaari together.

Raya likes how Namaari relaxes around her when its just them, despite the room full of people. They talk and banter and tease and laugh, but more than anything Raya just likes being with Namaari. And when Namaari mentions how much she hates formal wear, how dresses don't suit her, Raya makes it a game to see how many times she can mention how beautiful Namaari looks while they're talking, just because it makes Namaari flush and do the hair thing she does when she's shy. No other heart-related reason.

Its not until much later when Raya suddenly remembers the gift she brought and she runs off to fetch it. When she returns she hands Namaari the sleek box with a smile and a sheepish "Happy Birthday dep'la".

And Namaari's blushing and smiling as she takes the box, telling Raya she didn't have to as she opens the box-

And immediately slams it shut. Her face turns bright red and she whorls on Raya with wide eyes and a panicked, hissed "whatareyoudoing?!" And poor Raya's totally thrown, so sure she'd picked out the perfect gift. "You don't like it?" But Namaari shoves the box back into her hands, with another frenzied whisper "thatsnotit!"

Well now Raya's a little miffed because "You didn't even look at it" and before Namaari can stop her she's pulling the dagger from the box and offering it back to Namaari.

Meanwhile the room goes incredibly quiet as everyone from Fang suddenly notices what's happening between the princesses. Virana nearly spits out her drink. Everyone else carries on like normal, but a few people watch their new Fang friends with curious looks, completely out of the loop.

So now Raya's essentially down on one knee without realizing it, Namaari's about to have a heart attack, everyone from Fang is on the edge of their seat, and the dragons are having a rousing drinking contest with people from Spine.

So the party is going great.

Raya (oblivious to the world save for Namaari) is giving Namaari her strongest puppy dog eyes because she'd spent so long looking for the perfect gift dep'la, and "You're pretty special Namaari, special to me, and you deserve it."

Namaari, as red faced as she is, softens at Raya's admission, smiling a little to herself before she takes the dagger from Raya with a soft "it's lovely dep'la".

And suddenly the room's loud again as people from Fang start clapping and whistling. Everyone else is lost but soon they join in as well, despite having no clue as to what they're cheering for. Namaari's back to being flustered and she grabs Raya's hand and hauls her toward Virana and Benja. Raya, finally taking in the room around them, is confused as to why people are congratulating her and Namaari.

Virana has recovered by the time the two approach and if no one knew better it might've also appeared she was trying hard not to smile. Namaari hisses something to her mother Raya doesn't hear, and she shoots her Ba a questioning look. Benja looks a little pensive but he's got a quirk in his lips that Raya knows means mischief.

Virana gently pats her daughter's shoulder before turning to address the room, excusing the four of them. They turn to leave but not before Virana calls out to the crowd, "And it goes without saying you're all invited to the wedding as well," and then ushers her horrified daughter, her baffled betrothed, and Benja out the door.

Instantly Namaari's in hysterics, asking her mother why she'd say that when Raya obviously didn't know what she was doing. Virana, quite obviously playing ignorance, asks why Namaari accepted the blade if she knew what she was doing. And poor Namaari can only gape, red faced and no come back.

Raya has finally caught on to what she's done and yeah, okay now it all makes sense. The vendor, Namaari's (gay) panic, the congratulations... she just proposed to Namaari. She just proposed to Namaari. In front of most of Kumandra. Oh toi!

Benja, still smirking to himself, ruffles Raya's hair before turning to Namaari and Virana and saying, "To be fair... Namaari did propose first."

Marriage proposals in Heart are an exchange of necklaces. So when Namaari had given Raya the Sisu pendant back when they were kids, they'd essentially gotten engaged and since Raya kept it, they've technically been engaged for the past six years.

(Too) Long story short, Raya and Namaari get engaged, get married, fall in love, and live sapphically ever after.

End.

(Okay, I'm done. Back to angst.)

#raya and the last dragon #ratld #rayaari #rayamaari #raya and namaari #oof i lost steam halfway through this #sorry its so terrible #i just didnt really feel like actually writing it out

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heyiwrotesomethings · 3 years

Text

Dungeon Crawl

Abigail (Stardew) x She/Her Reader

A/N: For real though, I suck at navigating the Skull Cavern. I play on my ipad while I lay in bed and I cannot tell you how many times I’ve died in that hell hole because my stupid boobs were blocking the view of my health meter. Anyway, enjoy some spelunking with rock eating gf. Word Count: 4,259

“I can’t believe you’re actually letting me come with you, this is awesome!” Abigail grinned, watching out the window as grass and trees slowly morphed into a dry, sandy wasteland.

“Yeah,” (Y/n) rubbed the back of her neck before nervously checking her backpack for the essentials that would make the expedition run smoothly as possible, “Just stay close to me, alright? The Calico Desert isn’t like the mines back home.”

“Yeah, you keep telling me that,” Abi turned away from the window to roll her eyes at (Y/n), “have a little faith in me, will you? I’ve been training for this.”

“I know, it’s just—“

“(Y/n), I’ve got it. Seriously. I’m not some helpless baby.” Abigail huffed.

“Hey!”

(Y/n) and Abigail turned to face the front of the bus, Pam was looking at them through the rear view mirror.

“Are you two gonna get out or not?”

“Sorry Pam!” (Y/n) and Abi answered in unison, quickly making their way to the front of the bus.

“Yeah yeah, hey (Y/n), I’d like to go home before one in the morning tonight so try to stay on task, will ya?” Pam asked, making herself comfortable in her seat.

“I’ll try to make it short this time, I promise!” (Y/n) waved before hopping out of the bus to jog after Abigail who was already heading to the Skull Cavern entrance.

“Abi, wait up!”

“How about you keep up?” Abigail snickered, picking up her pace.

“We have to get you a galaxy sword remember? It’ll only take a second and it’s really cool.” (Y/n) said, slightly out of breath as she ran after her adventure-loving girlfriend.

“Oh yeah!” Abigail kept running, but changed her trajectory to head for the tall pillars in the shifting sands.

“Stop running! We’re in the desert, we need to conserve our energy!” (Y/n) called after her before pausing to rest in the baking sun, resting her hands on her knees she whispered to herself, panting slightly “Ah, forget it.”

(Y/n) took her time walking the rest of the way despite Abi’s yells to move faster. When she finally stood before Abi standing with her hands outstretched, (Y/n) smiled and sighed affectionately. She swung her backpack off and dug into one of the flaps until she felt the smooth stone she was searching for. She pulled out the prismatic shard and put it in Abi’s eagerly waiting hands.

“Now just stand in the middle of the pillars. That should work.” (Y/n) instructed.

“Got it.” Abi nodded, heading into the middle of the pillar ruins with the stone in hand. In a flash of light, the stone was gone. It was replaced with a shiny, purple sword. “This is so fucking cool,” Abi appraised the weapon, giving it a few practice swings.

“Sure is,” (Y/n) smiled, taking a step back from Abi’s sword swinging radius. “Ready to go in the cavern?”

“I sure am! Can’t wait to fight some new monsters.” Abi said, swinging the sword as she walked.

“Just remember, we’re here to mine iridium and any gems we come across. Only fight when necessary.”

“You worry too much, (Y/n). How bad can it be?”

“Bad, Abi. It could be very, very bad. So promise you’ll stay where I can see you.”

“Okay, okay,” Abi pouted, “Are we going in now or what? Half the day is practically gone already.”

“Alright,” (Y/n) steeled herself as she heard the key click in the lock of the skull door before her, “here we go...”

Almost immediately the were ambushed by serpents, but they were easily taken out within a few swings. (Y/n) turned to ask Abigail how she was doing but she wasn’t immediately visible.

“Abi?!” (Y/n) called out, cursing when she didn’t immediately hear a reply. She jogged through the cavern level, putting a hand on her chest, relieved when she saw Abi chipping away at some rocks. Still, she was a bit miffed at her for running off on her own.

“Abi! I told you to stay with me.” (Y/n) admonished, coming to stand beside her.

“What? I didn’t even go that far. Besides, look! Amethyst!” Abi’s eyes gleamed as she presented the purple stone to (Y/n).

(Y/n) decided to let it go for now, only because Abi looked so cute, nibbling at her favorite gem. She could see some aquamarine and topaz nearby so she told Abigail to start looking for the ladder so they could go down together when (Y/n) was done mining the gems. The farmer turned miner had barely cracked open the last gem filled rock before Abi declared she was going to scout ahead down a hole she found, shooting fear into (Y/n)’s heart.

“Damn it.” (Y/n) cursed, gathering the gems and throwing them in her bag before scurrying over and jumping into the hole she had seen a flash of purple disappear into. She screamed, dropping a hefty thirteen floors. Ouch.

Her legs tingled painfully, but (Y/n) quickly pushed past the pain and stood, looking around the new floor.

“Wow, these slimes are huge!” Abigail whistled, slicing at the gelatinous purple blobs.

(Y/n) rolled her eyes in annoyance, quickly joining her girlfriend in the battle. More serpents had sensed their presence so (Y/n) turned to keep them occupied while Abigail fought off the smaller slimes that had split off from the larger ones. When they finally fought all the monsters off, (Y/n) sat on a rock and shuffled around in her bag for some much needed nourishment.

“Abi, have something to eat. That fall was rough.” (Y/n) said, offering the sack.

“Nah, I’m good. I ate some amethyst, remember?” Abigail replied already turning to start bashing rocks, but (Y/n) swiped her by the wrist before she could keep moving.

“Abi, please eat something that has actual nutritional value.” (Y/n) implored. “Look, I even packed blackberry cobbler.”

“Ugh, you’re sounding like my mom right now,” Abi kicked at the dirt, “I’m fine!”

“Right now you’re fine. But that can change in an instant down here. That’s why we take precautions!” (Y/n) stressed, holding out a container of cobbler, “Take a few bites at least, please. For me?”

Abigail stared down at where (Y/n) sat with her lips pursed in frustration, but she sighed and soon relented, sitting beside (Y/n).

“Fine, a few quick bites, worry wart. Ahh,” Abi opened her mouth expectantly, making (Y/n) laugh despite herself.

(Y/n) complied to the request, cutting off a bite and stabbing it with a fork before offering it up to Abi. After a couple more bites Abi motioned that she was done and gave (Y/n) a quick, blackberry stained kiss.

“Thanks for the treat. You always make the best cobblers.” Abigail smiled sincerely.

“Aww, I’m glad you like them!” (Y/n) smiled back, the kiss and the kind words left her feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. But just as fast as the feeling came, it was dashed just as quickly when Abi immediately stood back up and began breaking rocks as quickly as she could.

(Y/n) pouted, ate the other half of the cobbler, then stood to join Abi just in time to find a ladder down.

“Jackpot!” (Y/n) cheered, the most excited she had been about the expedition all day. A whole cluster of iridium filled rocks. Hopefully they would yield a decent amount of ore. “Abi help me with these please. Be careful though, might have some crabs under them.”

“You got it.”

(Y/n) was relieved Abigail had agreed so easily. Especially when she could see three big slimes not too far from where they stood. They mined the iridium ore rock after rock, until all the shiny rubble was demolished. (Y/n) was prepared to ignore the slimes and just start smashing rocks in order to find the next floor, but Abigail immediately started hacking away at them.

She had split them all at the same time, resulting in about twelve smaller slimes surrounding her. (Y/n) rushed forward, assisting Abigail in killing the little purple blobs.

“We don’t have to fight every creature we come across you know.” (Y/n) reminded, walking a bit sluggishly from all the gunk that covered her boots.

“But these things can carry iridium sometimes, right? Why wouldn’t we fight them?” Abigail asked, already breaking more rocks.

“We’ll be here for six more hours at least. We need to conserve our energy.”

“You packed way more supplies than necessary for two people. We’ll be fine, you worry too much,” Abi struck a rock, revealing another hole, “Ah, nice!”

“Abi, wait! Aw man, my ankles still hurt from the last fall...” (Y/n) sulked, before dropping down.

Only four floors this time, but the space was overrun by mummies. (Y/n) found Abi putting them down one after the other, but some had already started to revive, following after Abi, completely unaware that they were still a threat.

(Y/n) began cutting them back down, throwing a bomb down before running after Abi and pulling her away seconds after she downed another mummy.

“What are you doing?” Abi asked, almost tugging against the pull.

“I set a bomb! Run!”

Abigail didn’t need to be told twice. An exhilarated grin split her lips and suddenly she was the one pulling (Y/n) out of the blast zone. Upon hearing the deafening boom and the crackle of rubble raining back down to the rugged earth, Abigail turned to see the damage, eyes alight.

“That’s so cool! Can I try next time?”

“Oh I don’t know...”

“Come on (Y/n), please?” Abigail asked, pulling (Y/n) closer and batting her eyelashes at her.

“Mm, okay. Just, be careful.” (Y/n) relented, handing a bomb to Abi.

“Sick.” Abi smiled, tossing the bomb between her hands.

“I said be careful.” (Y/n) warned, watching nervously.

“Calm down, it’s not like I’ll drop...” the next toss Abi made between her hands had the bomb skimming past the tips of her fingers. She fumbled with the explosive but couldn’t catch it in the end, smacking it against the rocky terrain.

“Shit, run!” (Y/n) yelled pushing Abigail away from the fizzing bomb.

They were still within the blast radius and with one last shove, (Y/n) managed to get Abi out of range. Unfortunately, she herself took some of the hit. Making matters worse, the earth below her opened up, swallowing (Y/n) down into further darkness.

“(Y/n)!” Abigail yelled, kneeling in front of the hole. “Don’t worry, I’m coming!”

Abigail delayed no further, leaping into the hole and falling only about eight floors this time. Still she felt a twinge in her feet at the impact.

“Woah,” Abi breathed out heavily as she gained her bearings. The ground was green and mossy, vines hung from the walls, but most notable were the giant reptilian beasts. “Are those all Pepper Rex? The one on (Y/n)’s farm is so small and unimposing though... (Y/n)!”

On the other side of the cavern, (Y/n) was fighting off serpents and iridium bats, while also trying to dodge the flames spewing out of the prehistoric creatures’ mouths. She looked exhausted, but she kept fighting, taking quite a few hits in the process. Abigail sprinted forward, slicing at one of the serpents diving at (Y/n)’s back.

(Y/n) turned to look behind her and Abi leveled a confident grin at her before swiveling on her heel to stand back to back with her. Abi swung her sword outward, cutting up any winged creature that swooped by. (Y/n) tried to do the same, though she was tired, hitting whatever came her way with a strained grunt and clangs of her sword beating against the cavern wall whenever a serpent or bat dodged an attack.

There were only a few flying creatures left, dive-bombing their heads. They needed to finish them off quickly because the dinosaurs were circling dangerously closer, the heat of their flames nipping at the couple’s skin as the were forced further into a corner.

Abigail let out a triumphant yell as the last bat was felled, iridium falling to the ground. She glanced back at (Y/n), finding her leaning forward heavily on her knees. It was clear to her that they needed to leave, now.

“Hang on, (Y/n). I’ll get us out of here.” Abigail approached, looping one of (Y/n)’s arms over her shoulders and hoisted her up.

“Just be careful... You’re parents will kill me if you get hurt.” (Y/n) groaned, trying to keep herself lucid.

Abigail scanned the room, searching for a path through the flames. Once she found an opening, she pulled (Y/n) forward, trying to block wayward blasts of fire with her sword as she continued to forge ahead towards the main staircase. It would be a long climb back up, but she’d take that over being roasted alive any day.

They had almost made it when a particularly strong flame lashed out at them, forcing roars of pain from (Y/n) as she took the brunt of the hit for Abigail.

“No!” Abigail grunted, picking up the pace. (Y/n) basically become dead wait in her arms as she dragged her to the ladder. (Y/n) couldn’t get up herself, not in this state. Abigail set her down and frantically searched (Y/n)’s bag for medicine as the lumbering beasts made steady progress in their direction.

Abigail found the medicine and with shaky hands, helped (Y/n) take some.

“I know you’re in a really bad way right now, but we got to get you back home, (Y/n). Do you think you can hang on my back?”

“I. can. try.” (Y/n) panted.

Abigail bent over and hoisted (Y/n) further up her back when she felt the weight settle, careful not to upset the burns too much she began forcing her way back up the ladder, leaving the terror of Pepper Rexs’ to hiss and pace below, lapping the invulnerable ladder with flames.

Abigail had never been more happy to see the sky. She staggered, plopping (Y/n) a little too harshly into the sand below her feet and then joined her. Uncaring of the little grains that were sure to stick in her clothes and hair. The sun, though now hanging low in the sky, had left the sand pleasantly warm, and it felt good on Abigail’s aching muscles, but not so much on the sporadic burns she had accumulated. She turned to look at (Y/n), assessing the damage. She was definitely roughed up to say the least.

“Are you okay, Abi?”

“Am I okay? Have you seen yourself?!” Abigail hovered over her girlfriend, a brittle laugh tumbled past her lips.

“I’ve had worse... actually, that was one of the better experiences I’ve had in the cavern.”

“What!” Abigail screeched, pulling at her own hair, “what could be worse than this?”

“Well, there have been a few occasions where I may have fallen unconscious and woken up at Harvey’s in less than ideal shape, unable to recall how I got there...”

“(Y/n)!” Abigail spluttered, “Why would you ever go in there? Why did you let me talk you into taking me here if this is what happens to you?”

“I can’t say no to you when you look at me with that face, you know the one. All cute and pouty. Also, iridium ore. We got a nice haul before everything went sideways.”

“We only got twenty-three!” Abigail shook her head.

“Yeah,” (Y/n) giggled tiredly, “a good haul.”

“You’re insane. That, or a masochist. And people say I’m weird for eating rocks.”

“You are weird for eating rocks, but Yoba, I wouldn’t want you any other way.”

“Okay, we need to get you into the bus and have Pam get you to Harvey’s straight away. You’re loopy.”

“This sand tastes rough.”

Abigail dragged (Y/n) back to the bus, disturbing Pam from her nap. Pam took one look at (Y/n) and rolled her eyes completely unfazed.

“Load her up. I’ll get us back to town as fast as I can.” Pam groused.

Abigail took (Y/n) to the back of the bus so she could lay out on the long bench with her head on Abigail’s lap. It made it easier to monitor the farmer on their way back and Abigail rustled through the backpack to find some more blackberry cobbler, sharing bites between herself and (Y/n) as they slowly built back their strength.

It was around ten o’clock at night when they returned. Pam helped Abigail carry (Y/n) to the clinic though she complained the whole time, muttering something about how a ticket worth five hundred gold was not enough money to have to deal with this. Pam left the girls outside of Harvey’s before making her way to the Inn for a drink before bed.

Abigail pounded on the clinic door, hoping her parents wouldn’t hear it somehow and come out to see what was going on. Luckily, the only person that seemed to hear the harsh banging was the doctor.

Harvey peeled the door back, looking rather tired already. When he saw the states of his visitors he appeared even more exhausted.

“Skull Cavern?” He asked.

“Skull Cavern.” Abigail affirmed.

“Alright,” Harvey sighed, “come in.”

After getting all patched up, Abigail guided (Y/n) out of the clinic, thanking Harvey for all the help along the way. (Y/n) made to head back towards her farm but Abigail pulled her towards the general store instead.

“Just stay with me tonight. My house is literally right here and you’ll probably pass out before you even made it out of town.” Abigail persuaded.

“What about your parents?” (Y/n) whispered, watching Abigail unlock the front door.

“They’ll just have to deal with it. I say we’ve been together long enough that they shouldn’t freak out about something as trivial as a sleepover. If they didn’t know we were dating, they wouldn’t even bat an eye over it. Just a couple of gals being pals.” Abigail grumbled opening the door slowly before whispering, “Let’s try to keep quiet anyway though. Just to keep the peace.”

“Okay...”

Abigail and (Y/n) tiptoed through the rows of shelves, making it to the living quarters portion of the building without incident. Abigail thought they were home free, but when she cracked the door to her bedroom open, the hinges moaned and creaked loudly.

“Abigail?”

“Shit, get in.” Abigail hissed at (Y/n), pushing her into her room before calling back to her mom, “Yeah, mom?”

Abigail cursed, hearing the flit boards creek and the light in her parents’ room turn on.

Caroline emerged from the doorway and turned on the hall light as well, causing Abigail to rub her eyes from the sudden brightness.

“Hi sweetie,” Caroline smiled, “did you have a good time with (Y/n) today?”

“Yeah.” Abigail answered, trying to sound nonchalant.

“You got home a little later then you said you would. You’re father tried to wait up for you, but he fell asleep.”

“The movie ran a little longer than we thought it would. Sorry I kept you waiting.”

“Don’t worry about it honey, your father will get over it.” Caroline assured, “How was the movie? Your father and I don’t feel like making the trip all the way to Zuzu City, but we were thinking about going to see it when it’s in town next week.”

“It was okay, mom.” Abigail shrugged, “I think you guys would like it. If you don’t mind I’m really tired so...”

“Of course, dear. Sleep well.”

“Good night, mom.” Abigail turned to enter her room when Caroline spoke up again.

“Good night, (Y/n).” Caroline crossed her arms, waiting for a response.

“...Good night, Caroline.” (Y/n) called meekly from out of sight, making Caroline smile, satisfied that her suspicions were correct.

“Behave yourselves, alright? I could hear a pin drop from the store front.”

“Mom!” Abigail said, aghast by what her mother was insinuating. “It’s just a sleepover.”

“It most certainly will be, or Ms. (Y/n) will find herself walking back home in the middle of the night,” Caroline threw her voice, talking behind Abigail rather than to her, “You’re welcome to stay for breakfast as long as there is no funny business.”

“Mom!” Abigail repeated again, more indignant than the last.

“...Thank you. That sounds lovely.”

“Alright, good night girls.” Caroline kissed the top of Abigail’s head, then shuffled back into her bedroom, turning the lights off behind her and leaving her door open just a hair.

Abigail shook her head before retreating into her room, making sure the sound of her door closing was audible in hopes of spiting her mother in some way. She saw (Y/n) already sitting on her bed with some borrowed pajamas on, looking embarrassed but also wide-eyed. Like she had heard something that had surprised her, something she hadn’t expected.

“Sorry, you know how my parents are.” Abigail grumbled looking through her pajamas to see what she would sleep in for the night.

“You... I’ll wait for you to change.”

Abigail rose a brow at (Y/n) but easily returned to her task, throwing her dirty clothes into her hamper before flopping down on the bed beside (Y/n), causing the springs of the mattress to creak loudly.

The sound made both the girls wince, and although they had done nothing wrong, the anxiously looked to the door, listening for anything that wasn’t just the house settling. Once they seemed to be in the clear, (Y/n) pulled Abi close so she could whisper urgently in her ear.

“You told your parents we went to Zuzu City to see a movie?”

“Yeah,” Abigail answered smoothly as if it wasn’t a big deal, “like they’d ever agree to me going out to the desert.”

“You told me they were cool with it! That’s why I let you come in the first place. I should have known!” (Y/n) whispered harshly, struggling to keep her voice low. “What if you had been in my boots, as hurt as I am? Your parents would have never let me see you again if I dragged you here like you had to do for me.”

“That’s not their choice to make. I’m tired of them telling me what I can and can’t do. Sometimes it’s better to just tell them what they want to hear, and see? Everything worked out. I do the same thing when I go to gigs with Sam and Seb at run down bars in the shady parts of the city.”

“Are you going to make a habit of lying to me too?” (Y/n) frowned.

“(Y/n), no.” Abigail frowned in return, cupping (Y/n)’s cheek. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied to you about my parents. I just, I really wanted to go out on an adventure with you. I wanted to show you how much I had grown since being a trembling little baby cowering away from the bats in the mines. The last thing I meant to do was hurt you. I’m sorry.”

(Y/n)’s eyes scanned over Abigail’s before she closed them and nodded slowly, “Okay, I forgive you. But please, don’t lie to me ever again.”

“I won’t. Promise.” Abigail nodded, resting her forehead against(Y/n)’s.

“And work on being more truthful to your parents. Start small of you must.”

“Ugh, fine. Don’t blame me if they won’t ever let me leave the house. I’ll wave at you longingly from the balcony when you pass through town.” Abigail muttered dramatically, making (Y/n) giggle and pull Abigail down to lay in the bed with her.

“I’ll be sure to work on my throwing arm so I can still give you pumpkins.” (Y/n) smiled, shifting the duvet out from under them so they could snuggle in.

“Aren’t you sweet,” Abigail wiggled closer, “perhaps that old ouija board was right.”

“How come you’re allowed to talk about the ouija board, but I’m supposedly pretend like it never happened?”

“Because it’s my embarrassing story so only I have the authority to bring up.”

“Is that how that works now?”

“Yes.”

“Hm.” (Y/n) shrugged.

They were quiet for awhile then, breathing evenly. (Y/n) had almost thought Abigail had beaten her to sleep when she suddenly spoke again.

“I’m also really, really sorry about the bomb and, well, everything that happened immediately after.” Abigail said, absently rubbing the sleeve of the shirt (Y/n) was wearing between her fingers.

“It’s alright,” (Y/n) yawned, “it was an accident after all. Try not to dwell on it. I’ve blown myself up on accident plenty of times before hand.”

Abigail smushed (Y/n)’s face between her hands, making her lips protrude like a fish, “Don’t say I’m turning into my parents when I say this, but I forbid you from going into the Skull Cavern ever again. Stick to the mines.”

“But, iridium.” (Y/n) protested, though her face was still being squished.

“You have that weird cat statue and those purple sea cucumbers. You’ll get by.” Abigail replied, leaving no room for argument, making (Y/n) whine. She kissed the pouty lips, sliding her hands off to rest one on her pillow and the other on (Y/n)’s collar bone. “Now we have to get some sleep. We’ll need all the energy we can get to deal with my parents in the morning now that sneaking you out of the house isn’t an option.”

“I am really tired,” (Y/n) yawned again, “you better fill me in on what movie we supposedly went to though. I’m sure that will be a whole discussion.”

“Oh yeah, I should do that, shouldn’t I?”

Abigail and (Y/n) settled into more comfortable positions, a few more kisses were shared before they finally drifted off in each other’s arms to the sounds of David the guinea pig rustling in his enclosure.

#stardew valley x reader #stardew valley oneshots #sv abigail #stardew valley abigail #abigail x reader #sv abigail x reader

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wrenhyperfixates · 3 years

Text

Loki Series Thoughts—Glorious Purpose

Ok, I’m always nervous about posting my thoughts, but here we go. Spoilers ahead of course!!! (Disclaimer: Any gifs or images are not mine.)

Let’s start out with the episode’s name: Glorious Purpose. I know some people were a bit miffed about the emphasis put on the line, but I actually thought it worked well. It’s not so much that Loki actually believes in this “purpose,” but rather he is clinging to what he’s been told his purpose is. And by the end of the episode, he’s finally working through some of the things he’s been hurt by, abandoning what he’s been forced into and ready to be who he wants. Granted, it’s still going to take some time for him to come to grips with all that has happened, but I’m excited to see the journey.

The TVA. They undeniably suck. Whether or not it will be addressed directly, they are the (or one of the) antagonists in the show. What they are doing is, frankly, tyrannical. Three “time keepers” have taken it upon themselves to force countless versions of time and people into one single stream. And you know what? They can’t control that timeline. Not like they want to. As much as Loki’s line about “the weak” applies to himself, it applies to the TVA, too. It’s a facade of control that they cling to; if they truly had the right, the ability, to control time, everyone would follow their path. There would be no variants. Now, I could write a whole separate analysis on the MCU’s explanation of time travel. It’s convoluted and in a large way doesn’t make sense.

I’d like to talk about Loki’s characterization. I am, in a word, relieved. From the trailers, Tom seemed to be over-acting, something rather strange for someone so good at conveying deep emotions through nuanced actions. Now I believe any exaggerated lines from the trailers are just Loki trying to separate himself from who he’s been told he is, and trying to reinvent himself. I don’t think that’s a bad thing either; they’re not rewriting Loki, he’s just growing in a new way. And though this way is “new” I think it will be similar to what we’ve seen before. From what we’ve seen so far, there is good continuity, and they are addressing things about Loki that should be addressed in canon.

Loki projects. Most notably in the Avengers, but also a bit in Thor 1 and The Dark World, a lot of Loki’s lines can be applied to himself, though he is talking generally or towards another group. What comes to mind is actually something he touches upon again in the series. The illusion of freedom. And though it is not said that line in particular is him thinking of himself, it can be inferred based on his admission that the line in the gifs above apply to him. Also that little gesture when he says “weak” breaks me. He’s hurting so much.

Loki is not a villain. He may think he’s one because everyone else is telling him that, yet we’re already seeing it brought up that it’s not true. I can only hope that we’ll see Loki state this himself later in the series. He was largely forced to do what he did. It is not his fault, so how can he be a villain?

Loki cares. Tom’s acting is just *chef’s kiss* Seeing his mother’s death hurts so much. I love that his first response is denial. Loki is thrown into something he’s never known about before, being shown things that, to his knowledge, have never happened. But then when he’s had a few seconds to wander around the TVA on his own terms, he’s more come to grips with all that’s going on. So, when he’s by himself and see’s Frigga lying there, dead, it gets to him. Then seeing Odin still call him his son, he feels the slightest glimmer of hope, but also regret; he already knows in the back of his mind that he’s not actually going to get that. Loki’s living from second to second, trying to hold on. He probably thinks this ends with his death. (I do have issues with that Odin scene in context of Ragnarok but that’s more a tangential aside, so I’ll gloss over it for now.) Then seeing Thor and himself acting like brothers again is heartwarming. So just when he’s feeling uplifted, Thanos comes into the picture. He realizes how much control the titan still had over his life; he never really escaped. And in the end, Thanos made good on his promise. And that is terrifying! And he laughs at it. It’s a sad sort of laugh, one that’s slightly crazed. Loki feels that no matter what he does, it ends in pain. By the end of seeing all that, he is a man broken. Rather, more broken than he already was.

Loki is struggling. That’s nothing profound; it’s obvious. But where it really stands out to me is actually in a part I originally thought to be out of character. I am referring to “What if I was a robot and I didn’t know it.” Upon closer inspection, I realize it’s actually that his perception of himself has been so thrown that he really isn’t sure about his own chemical makeup anymore. Odin and Frigga keeping from him that he’s a frost giant made him so unsure of himself, he thought he might not even be a living being.

Nervous tics. Was I the only one noticing his leg bouncing when he talked to Mobius? And what about that scene when he’s sitting on the steps? He begins to pick at his hands. Note, that’s something he did in T1 after finding out he was a frost giant and while confessing to the Warriors Four about how he was the one who told the guard of their trip to Jotunheim. Just a little detail I really appreciated. (If anyone has gifs of any of these things, feel free to share :)

Mobius. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit undecided. I’m hesitant to say he’s evil. After all, we haven’t seen that much of him yet. However, I will say he is unscrupulous and manipulative. His questions weren’t to help Loki work through his trauma. Mobius was trying to goad him into helping, and likely was trying to gauge how much this Loki is like the variant he’s tracking. When Loki makes any admission of his feelings, it’s something he already knew, not a conclusion Mobius helped him reach. Mobius mocks him a bit and pushes his buttons because he sees Loki as a means to an end, and wants to know how easily he can get him to work with him. And what strikes me is how similar Mobius’s deal is to Thor’s deal in TDW. Thor doesn’t offer Loki freedom, he offers revenge. Mobius’s deal is just another variation of this. He can’t offer “salvation” but he can offer something “better”. Working for the TVA really isn’t better, though. So what does he mean? Well, I think he means a chance for Loki to prove he’s a hero. I hope as the show progresses it’s addressed that Loki doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone. That’s what he’s been doing his whole life, but I want Loki to see for himself that he doesn’t have to.

Miss Minutes. Propaganda. Plain and simple, it’s propaganda. Besides the way it praises the “time keepers” as amazing saviors, necessary to keep the world in order, it’s essentially saying “don’t think for yourself.” The whole point of the video is “the time keepers are great. The TVA is flawless. Trust us to decide everything. You have no autonomy in the world we want, so surrender your free will. Submit to the system we’ve decided is perfect and everything will be just fine.” Of course, by “just fine” they mean the variant will be pruned and the timeline will keep going as the time keepers see fit. The animation style was great though! It really fit.

The infinity stones. I think their inclusion makes sense. If you remember from Endgame, the stones being in the right place in the right time keeps the timeline from branching, and thus prevents the multiverse from being created. Likely, the time keepers used the stones to make their “sacred timeline.” Naturally, any variant time stones would cause a problem. That’s why they have so many extras. But think about how pointless so much of what happened seems. Nat, Gamora, Vision, Tony, everyone who was snapped, everyone who was left. So, literally the entire universe was flipped upside down for paperweights. It really puts Thanos’s pursuit of the stones into perspective, doesn’t it?

The cloaked figure. I think there’s some misdirection going on here in one way or another. Mobius says he’s chasing a Loki variant, then immediately it cuts to a scene with the cloaked figure. Our minds are likely to assume that is the variant then. But they don’t actually say it’s Loki, so I’m inclined to believe it’s not. Though, I don’t have enough information to say who I do think it is, I could make a couple of educated guesses and say Mephisto (he certainly interacted with Loki in the comics, plus there’s the stained glass window) or Sylvie. Well, whoever Sophia Di Martino’s character is. I know she was previously listed as Sylvie on sources such as IMDb, but that has since disappeared. But why would you have a “young Sylvie” (Cailey Fleming) without an older version? There is speculation Di Martino’s character will be Lady Loki, but I hope this won’t happen. If they make Lady Loki her own character, I doubt we’ll see Variant Loki get to be fluid. Even if it’s confirmed on the record, it’d be nice to see actually happen beyond a piece of paper. And with twist villains being such a prominent force in modern media, I’m interested to see who our cloaked friend really is.

Time travel. Like I said earlier, this is a lot. But I can’t talk about the episode and not mention this aspect in at least a little more depth. I don’t like how the MCU deals with time travel. I think it’s an unnecessarily complicated mix of a number of different, already complicated theories. However, I think Loki will ultimately escape from the TVA and create a multiverse too difficult to prune (and maybe he’ll actually get to burn the place down too!) This will then tie directly into Doctor Strange 2. Do you guys know what that’s called? The Multiverse of Madness. Actually, in the Miss Minutes propaganda, they almost exactly say “will throw the multiverse into madness.” Will we get to (finally!) see a certain raven-haired god meeting Dr. Strange? And maybe even the Scarlet Witch herself? Well, I’m not sure, but right now I think it’s looking pretty good!

And some random things that didn’t really anywhere else:

Peggy is in the background?! My thought here is that Steve wasn’t supposed to stay with her. This made not only a Variant Steve, but also a Variant Peggy. We may not see Steve, but I bet he’s been taken care of too!! And who knows? Maybe there will be a cameo later. Otherwise, it might be something that was cut from the show, or just a fun easter egg of sorts.

The score was so good! It sets the mood perfectly.

Loki is a good fighter. Even if he’s overpowered, he finds a way.

Some of the humor didn’t land, but that might just be a personal thing.

So now my final thoughts. It’s their strongest pilot yet. So much emotion crammed into less than an hour. A lot of exposition, too, yet it didn’t feel tedious (Endgame I’m looking at you). And then we get to delve into Loki’s psyche, something that really appeals to me! Overall, 9/10. I hope the rest of the series is as good!

Did I miss anything? Was there something you were hoping I’d mention and didn’t? Or do you have something to add or (politely!) disagree with? I’d love to hear it all! Remember, fandom is a safe space to talk about, analyze, and debate about things you enjoy. My ask box is always open with anon on. Reblogs and comments are great too. Thanks!

Me after watching the episode:

#the loki show #the loki show spoilers #the loki series #loki series #loki analysis #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #loki friggason #the loki series spoilers #I know there’s nothing particularly profound here but here you go #*throws thoughts into the void*

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salandition · 4 years

Note

Its,,,,, so basic but Maybe Leon and Reader are training out near Circhester and get caught in a snowstorm? They find an old cabin amongst the trees and tHeReS OnLy OnE BED and they have to keep warm,,,, (Love your writing btw)

A/N: yes, the classic trope. I will gladly take a bite out of it :) Also this one kind of really dragged on, so it’s a bit long lol took me way too long to finish. if any of you recognize the title, ur a real one

Chilly Down (Good Times, Bad Food)

Leon x Reader

--- --- ---

You feel like you should have expected something like this to happen. Despite what a great guy Leon is and how fun it is to hang out with him, he was sort of a magnet for trouble. He had an ability to draw in unfortunate events wherever he went it seemed.

So you’re not completely surprised when you and Leon are hit with an unexpected snowstorm while training together outside of Circhester. Are you a bit miffed about it? Yes. But surprised? No, not really.

“Training with the Champion is great and all,” you yell over the storm, one arm in front of your face to uselessly protect you from the snow, and your other hand is holding tightly onto Leon’s. Grabbing hold of him was almost more important than making it out of the storm- if you lost sight of Leon during this, you might never see him ever again. He’d find some way to end up on an undiscovered continent, you just know it. “But I think I’ll pass on your invitations after this!” You finally finish, continuing to trudge through the snow with him.

“You know, usually I’d argue, but I think that’s fair,” Leon laughs, and then immediately shuts his mouth as a rush of cold air hits him and tries to travel down his throat. He hacks a few times- a few ice crystals probably hit his uvula or something- and then you feel a harsh tug on your hand. “Look!”

Leon points toward a dim but very much real yellow glow in the distance. Immediately, the two of you head for it- desperate for any shelter you could be given. Part of you was doubtful, wondering if it was just some luminescent Pokémon or a random streetlight. Though even a streetlight would be better than nothing- that would mean you were back on the route’s path and could find your way back to Circhester if you were lucky.

But it wasn’t a random streetlight. Thank whatever Gods that may exist- the light was coming from a big, sturdy wooden cabin, a sign being viciously blown by the wind read that it was even a hotel. What are the odds?

“This is literally the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Leon yells as you both make a run for the cabin.

“I believe it!”

You almost fall with the amount of force that you and Leon enter the cabin with- both frantic to get out of the biting cold. You actually do fall, tumbling into a roll on the ground and snow scattering everywhere as Leon fumbles for the door and slams it shut before you bring too much of the storm inside.

Heavily breathing, you don’t even notice the lady behind the counter before she coughs.

Leon looks up with a beaming grin, laughing as he huffs and puffs, leaning against the door. “Hell of a storm, innit?”

Not the smartest thing to say, but the lady gives out an amused snort anyway.

“I’m assuming the two of you will be purchasing a room?” She tilts her head with a gleam in her eye. Something tells you that business isn’t going so well if she’s working in a hotel in the middle of nowhere and she’s still charging when you’re both obviously stranded- but hey, that’s life. You look up to Leon as you stay on the floor, hands on your chest as you continue to try and catch your breath.

“Let me see,” you huff and wheeze, “those Champion benefits,” another huff, “big guy.”

It’s not that funny but Leon laughs so hard that he starts to slide down the door, knees buckling beneath him, and you think that’s really funny so you start laughing too, rolling on the floor. The lady watches all the while, and if you notice a flying Rotom recording you while you and Leon lose your minds over nothing, you don’t say anything about it.

Once Leon manages to shuffle over and pay the woman at the desk after your post-adrenaline delirium, she gladly shows you over to your room. You’re suddenly feeling exhausted after trudging through a snowstorm, so you don’t pay much attention to what she says as she leads you there- but it’s not like you need to. Leon does most of the talking as he keeps you steady with an arm around your shoulder.

You don’t notice the look the woman gives you, nor do you notice the look Leon gives back. All you feel is the comforting rub of his hand on your arm, and it’s nice.

“Enjoy your stay, you two,” is the only thing you pick up from her before the door is shut and you’re left alone in your newly-purchased hotel room.

There’s an important detail here, and that detail is the fact that there’s only one bed, and you’ve never shared a bed with Leon before. Sure, you’re friends, but you’ve never been the cuddling-type of friends. This detail is completely missed by both of you as luck would have it because as soon as you and Leon manage to remove your clothes, you’re out like a pair of lights the second your backs hit the mattress.

No, the problem and important detail doesn’t really announce itself in your mind until morning comes. Well- afternoon, actually, if you managed to look at a clock.

When you awake- at first, it’s not strange. It’s not strange until you recognize the hand around your waist, hair in your face, and legs entwined with yours- which is definitely not something that’s a usual occurrence for you. Recognizing all of these details, your eyes snap open, and you begin to take in the situation as it is.

Leon and you both stripped down to your underwear, definitely cuddling, and definitely in the only bed available in the room as far as you can see. And from what you can tell with how the walls shake and the windows vibrate, the storm is still going strong.

Right.

“Leon,” your voice is hoarse from sleep as you smack your lips, your hand lifting up to shake Leon’s arm that’s wrapped tightly around your waist. “Leon, you daft idiot, wake up,”

“Mmmgh,”

“I’ll… I’ll steal all your Pokémon, and run off to another country. Wake up, Leon.” The threat is creative, but lacking any real malice behind it as you continue to shake Leon’s body. A few more rough shakes and he finally blinks his eyes open.

“Where… where am I?” He mumbles almost incoherently as he blinks a few more times, lifting himself up on his elbows as he takes in his surroundings. A bit of drool falls from the corner of his mouth.

It’s kind of cute, but also kind of gross, and Leon is still kind of on top of you in nothing but his underwear. You begin to wonder if he’s ever going to notice- but finally, his expression seems to come to life as his mind wakes up and he looks up and down your body again.

“...Right. Yeah, my bad.” Grunting, Leon finally rolls off you and to the other side of the bed. You want to laugh at the pinkness of his ears and cheeks if you weren’t vividly aware you probably looked exactly the same, so you bite your tongue for now. Apparently, the both of you have agreed to ignore your partial nudity for now as Leon holds his head in his hands, keeping his gaze off you as he asks, “why on Galar am I so tired?”

“Maybe we were supposed to die,” you snicker, sitting up yourself and bringing up the covers as you do, trying to stay somewhat-modest. “And now our brains are realizing we’re actually alive and it doesn’t know what to do.”

Despite himself, Leon giggles. “Yeah, maybe.”

The window shakes from more pressure of the storm outside. It gets your attention for sure, and you realize that you should probably check your phone to see when this storm would even end. Very, very slowly, you shuffle out of bed, analyzing the floor and looking at how scattered your clothes are. It takes your tired mind a minute to find your bag, but when you do, it’s not good news.

Of course there’s no service.

“Ugh,” you groan again. “This sucks.”

“Put on some clothes,” Leon says from the bed and you roll your eyes.

“They’re drenched, mate, and so are yours,”

Leon’s head snaps up from his hands at that. “Really?” You’ve got no reason to lie about that but he scatters toward his clothes anyway, feeling the damp and dirty texture of them with his own hands, as if that would change their outcome. You’re definitely not checking out his butt as he bends over to pick them up, because that would be silly and childish.

Very nice view, though.

Leon sighs. “Of course. Don’t suppose this hotel has a store of any sort?”

“Good one,” you laugh. “Probably not, but I’ll check the bathroom for robes-“

“Oh, let me do it,”

“Why?”

“I’ve really got to pee, mate,”

“Right on, then,” you point him toward the direction of the bathroom and Leon immediately makes himself sparse. You can only laugh as you watch him go, and while you wait, you gather all of your wet clothes and start to hang them all around the room so they might dry while you wait out the storm.

“Good news,” Leon comes out of the bathroom and you look over your shoulder, seeing him hold up two white, fluffy robes. He tosses one your way and you catch it easily, wrapping yourself up quickly and Leon follows suit. “So, roomie,” Leon raises a brow at you, hands on his hips, “what do we do now?”

You wave your phone that’s in your hand. “We got no service, so we should probably check in with that lady who was at the desk if she knows anything about the weather reports.” Your eyes move to look at the bed. “And maybe you should talk her into changing us to a room with two beds.” For both of your sakes.

“Right,” Leon nods. “Let’s go, then.”

More bad news, though. The lady didn’t know anything about the weather other than the fact that these storms usually lasted a day or two, so, in her own words, ‘if you’re lucky, you won’t be here much longer, but I can’t assure that. Also, you’re charged per night, per room.’

And all the rooms in this shotty little hotel only had one bed, so the idea of getting privacy at night was a lost cause. You weren’t the biggest fan of wasting your money or Leon’s on two rooms, anyway, especially since the owner seemed to be somewhat rude. So that’s nice.

‘At least she had food’, Leon had told you positively, and you suppose he was right. She had a rather weak list of a menu, but ‘at least there was a menu’ so you wouldn’t have to eat whatever berries you had in your bag. The two of you seemed to dance around the fact that you were going to most likely be sleeping partly nude again tonight, except this time you’ll both be a lot more awake and conscious of it. You distracted yourself with the mediocre food that tasted mildly burnt or undercooked, no in-between, and playing with what Pokémon could fit in your small hotel room instead until both of your eyes were drooping and you couldn’t delay the inevitable any longer.

“So.” You stand on one side of the bed, Leon on the other. Both of you stare at each other with your hands on your hips.

“So,” Leon nods.

“Should we… make rules?” Looking down at the bed and up at Leon, you know that technically you guys could try to stay on your side of the bed and probably not touch each other all night.

But you were keenly aware that this man is a cuddler and you had a subconscious habit to scoot over to the warmest thing while you slept, so it seemed like physical interaction was going to happen one way or the other.

“I think that’s a bit pretentious,” he scratches his chin and shrugs. His nonchalance is downplayed by the heat on his cheeks and the sweat on his temple. “It’s fine if we… Cuddle. Right?”

You suppose so. “I guess,” you purse your lips. “Typically friends cuddle with clothes on, though. And these robes are too awkward to sleep in.”

“I mean, we did it before.”

That’s true, but again, both of you were a bit delirious. But you can’t really argue with that, and you’re getting tired of dancing, so you nod and sigh. With a burst of courage, you square your shoulders, narrowing your eyes. Leon looks at you strangely before he squawks, his hands flying to cover his face when you remove your robe, the material falling and pooling around your feet.

“Some warning!” He chokes and coughs. You laugh through your embarrassment, quickly getting on the bed and under the covers.

“Come on. We could be sitting here all night. Lose the robe,” you cheer him on and Leon glares at you through the spaces of his fingers. “Lose the robe! Lose the robe!”

“Stop!” He laughs and you giggle along, but it slowly ebbs and abruptly comes to a halt when Leon does, in fact, lose the robe. It’s too much to ask for him to not notice how you stare, so of course he does- humming proudly as he snuggles under the covers. “Speechless?” Leon smiles.

“Don’t push it, I saw you ogling me the first time,”

He coughs when you smirk.

“Fine. Come here and cuddle me if you’re so smart.”

“Fine, I will!”

“Do it.”

“I’m gonna.”

The two of you lay under the covers, Leon’s arms open and beckoning, and you- frozen, not moving an inch. It’s not until he gives you a cocky look and starts to wiggle forward that you finally bite your lip and shove down your ego, rolling over to his side. It should be awkward, and it is, but only because the two of you somehow manage to fit together perfectly and that’s a bit odd. Your head resting against his collarbone, his arms wrapped snugly around your body, your legs entwined in a comfortable and fitting manner. It all happens almost instantaneously as if you’d both done this for years, as if it was a habit.

“Not that bad, right?” Leon murmurs in your ear and hums when your fingers trail little patterns across the skin of his waist and back. You mostly just did it to ease your nerves, not realizing how intimate the action was, but you figure it’s fine if Leon seems to like it. His hands explore your hair and the nape of your neck, the feeling making you curl further against him with a sigh.

“Not bad,” you whisper. “Still odd.”

He hums but doesn’t prod the conversation along any further.

Several odd minutes pass, your breathing slowing as your body relaxes against Leon’s. Right as you find yourself on that warm, lulling cusp of falling asleep, there’s a brushing feeling against the top of your head. Leon’s body shuffles and lowers on the mattress and you’re about to whine a complaint about him moving around so much- but you’re silenced by the feeling of lips against your forehead.

The hand that was previously teasing the skin of your neck trailed up and lightly grazed your cheek as Leon’s lips moved across your forehead to your brow. The actions are relaxing, yes, but your body tenses regardless because friends don’t do this.

“Leon,” your whisper is like a shout compared to the dark silence in the room. Leon freezes up instantly at the sound of it and when you open your eyes, his head is angled in a way with his lips still pressed against your temple so you can’t see his expression. “...What are you doing?” You lick your lips nervously.

“...I thought you were sleeping.” Is all he has to say. You can’t say anything in reply to that because it’s fairly obvious to the both of you that no, you weren’t sleeping. “Um.” The air that leaves his mouth is hot against your skin.

From where your head rests, snug against his chest, you can almost feel the thundering pace of his heart more than you hear it. You idly wonder if it’s possible for hearts to beat in sync with one another.

“Leon,” you say again when he doesn’t offer any explanation. He sucks in a shaky breath, his arm propping up from under him as he finally comes into your field of view; his eyes downcast and refusing to meet yours as he scoots away from you and lays his head back on his pillow. His hand lowers from your cheek down to your waist, touching your skin and then jolting back and insecurely moving against his chest, instead.

“Sorry,” he whispers, “that was a bit creepy.”

You remember the feeling of his heartbeat, and you don’t think that’s creepy at all.

You reach your hand forward, tenderly cupping Leon’s jaw as he had done to you. Finally, he looks at you- his golden irises shining like glowflies in the darkness. The moment held between you now is a stark contrast to the harsh snowstorm outside- if you strain your ear, you’d be able to hear the whistling of the wind and the creaking of the trees.

For now, all you can hear is your heart in your ears and the voice in your head saying kiss him, kiss him, kiss him.

You’re aware that friends don’t do this. They don’t look at each other like this and they don’t press their lips against each other so softly- meekly. Lovingly. Maybe if you’re experimenting, maybe if you’re a different type of friend. But you and Leon aren’t like that, you’ve never been like that.

So if things are different now, that’s something that’s a treasured secret between you, him, and the snow.

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river-bottom-nightmare · 3 years

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Nightwing 83 Review

guess who isn't weeks late this time. my opinion of the series is going up a little bit. it's still not great, but i'm not actively put off by it anymore the way i was after 81. not going to tag as spoilers, but be warned that they are under the cut

i’m sure you all are well aware of this but now, but dear god i love bruno redondo’s art. like, an unhealthy amount. the pink and blue is getting to be a theme with either him or just this run, but i am definitely enjoying it. the movement in this cover is clearly obvious, but well done. you recoznize right off the bat that the cover was drawn to drag your eyes down the page until you get to the bottom, but you enjoy the whole ride there.

also, redondo’s way of drawing a character in stages of action so we can see just how much they’re doing in a split second of movement is quickly becoming something i like to see drawn with dick, and any other character that has that sort of ease of movement and body sense, like cass or sin or maybe a super.

and he’s in action the entire time! there’s shot drawn just to show off a shirtless comic book character, the way nightwing is so often subjected to. he’s shirtless because he’s changing his clothes, and that’s all we see, no more and no less. very practical, very well done. i like it.

he looks so cute right here oh my god. the little squint, the hair curls. it’s adorable.

but also like. unless melinda has specifically outfitted the door spyhole so that the person on the other side can’t see dick looking through it (and in all honesty she might have) then everyone on the other side can see dick looking through that door.

bringing your attention back to the “i can’t see melinda’s fbi file oh no!! it’s redacted!! whatever can we do!!” stupidity. redacted files are child’s play for oracle, and definitely doable for both dick and bruce. so that’s bullshit.

now, melinda apparently grew up with the maroni family, then took down part of the family from the inside. the maroni family is a large and notable presence in gotham, one that bruce pays a respectable amount of attention to. he definitely would have grown suspicious when two members of the maroni family were taken down, and with some investigation, he would have discovered melinda’s plan. and it should go without saying that the majority of things you see batman doing? dick can do it too.

it’s not so much that i don’t like how clever the villains/antiheroes are getting. i don’t like how dc heroes are increasingly written as less intelligent. they seem to be relying on pure fighting skills or luck, which may be the case for a couple heroes, but has never been the case for most of dc’s big name heroes, the bat family included. it’s irritating to me to see this sort of stuff pop up as a major plot point when i know that, if dick or bruce had been written with the amount of skill and power that they canonically possess, this entire mess would have been sorted out years ago.

unrelated but dick and melinda have the same hair

this may just be me, but i was always under the impression that dick doesn’t really have a “double life???”

yes, he’s talented enough to create enough differences between robin/nightwing and dick grayson’s mannerisms, way of movement, voices, and speech patterns so that it’s very difficult to put the two together.

but nightwing has never been separate from dick grayson, not the way bruce and batman is. he’s always leaned more towards clark in that aspect: his hero persona is an exaggerated, stately, larger-than-life version of who he really is. there’s no second persona, no real “dick grayson identity” and “nightwing identity.” they’re the same person with the same goals, ideas, and skills. one just pretends to abide by the law, and one gives up pretense of that.

oh good thank god. if he’d trusted her right off the bat (hehe. bat.) i would have slapped him upside the head. at least he’s still got instincts.

gosh the colouring on this is cool. the red has enough purple and pink tones to it that it doesn’t abruptly ruin the tone of the artwork. but it’s definitely glaring enough to take the reader outside of this personal moment they had slipped into between dick and melinda, to put them back in the present where they’re reminded that oh yea there are people hunting dick down.

the next panel keeps this up too, in a less severe way. melinda’s bodyguard shows up (i forgot her name sorry :[ ) and subtly places us in the middle of an action scene rather than a private, personal scene.

laughing so fucking hard have our little vigilantes grown so accustomed to breaking into places that it doesn’t even register as a crime anymore??? tim coming in through the fire escape to pick bernard up for their date and being very much confused as to why bernard is freaking out.

i really like melinda’s shirt and now despite all the work i have to do and the fucking conference i have to host on monday i want to spend hours scrolling through clothing shops online trying to find this shirt. the mock neck/neckline is so cool i want it

so roland just assumes that a very dangerous vigilante who is highly talented in combat and a very dangerous bodyguard who is also highly talented in combat had a fight that ended with this very dangerous bodyguard being tied up and she looks completely fine? roland just assumes that her having no visible wounds or bruises means that they got into a fight and she lost that easily? uh. aight then

dick what are you doing. legitimately what the fuck are you doing. why are you posing oh my god. you are injured and tired and in absolutely no position to go hand to hand with one of main enemies. jesus christ run away or head to lower ground or something. don’t just stand around letting the floodlights show exactly where you are.

i don’t understand what he’s trying to do here??? blockbuster fully bought the story that dick fought them both, won, tried to get info out of them and failed, then hightailed it out of there. he didn’t have to draw roland out for a fight.

but it does look cool. the way the light just highlights his silhouette and the blue parts of his costume does look badass. he does get style points in my book for this.

w h a t d i d i f u c k i n g t e l l y o u , d i c k ?

very classic superhero line and it does sound like something dick would say in a fit of righteous rage but also it makes me laugh so hard because all vigilantes think they’re so powerful that the law doesn’t apply to them. dick vigilantism is illegal. you’re acting above the law and pretending it doesn’t apply to you. hypocritical much?

it happens so often in superhero movies, tv shows, comics, whatever and it makes me giggle every damn time.

pretty decent comeback but before i start seeing people writing blockbuster as a thug i’m going to remind you that he made a deal with a demon for genius level intellect. if this turns into another bane situation i’m going to be a little miffed. he’s a smart man, which makes him a dangerous and infinitely more interesting enemy for nightwing.

this is so horribly in character i want to scream. (or. at least. it lines up with one of the versions of nightwing i have in my head.) he’s running right towards the bullets, miraculously doesn’t get shot, while making a sort-of pun. i hate this so much. i love him.

this is cool. this art is really really cool.

he leaped from a building right towards a helicopter that’s actively shooting at him, but none of the bullets are touching him. none of the corruption of the city can touch him no matter how hard it tries, because he’s too good to be corrupted. Comic Book Logic Can Be Good Sometimes Actually.

batman’s belt what??? swiss army knife who?? sorry, i only know nightwing’s bright blue escrima.

this is one of my favourite things about heroes with exceptional abilities, even more so if the hero is human. the things they can do are so far beyond the realm of normal human abilities that it’s equal parts terrifying and awe-inspiring every time they act.

he just used modified grappling wires to hook to the door of a moving helicopter, swung around the helicopter safely without hitting the blades, gained exactly the right momentum to swing upward again right through the opening of helicopter, then fought and tied up the men before they had any idea what was happening. that’s near impossible to do.

it’s stuff like this where i just sort of sigh in contentment. no matter how many times they leave out dick’s detective skills or conveniently forget that he’s actually a master planner and team leader and make him out to be this forgetful dude who makes everything up on the fly because of his “circus roots,” at least they won’t ever take away dick’s sheer physical ability honed to perfection.

the art, too! in a few panels, dick’s drawn a little lightened or blurred. he’s moving so quickly and fighting so efficiently that he can barely be seen by the enemy. he’s got perfect form all the way through.

and THIS!

there was a helicopter that had five men shooting at him with what looks like machine guns. most people would be dead. some would run away, and be nimble enough to survive without fatal hits. there are very few people, even in fucking comic books, who can look at that hopeless situation and turn it around so quickly and thoroughly that he benefits from it instead.

i just. love nightwing.

it was funny the first time as a comic reader aware of the meme. it’s really not anymore. why the hell would you, in universe, be wearing a shirt that has a picture of your boyfriend being hit in the face by his father.

okay that was funny.

look at lil bitewing, so concerned for her human!!! love her sm.

also a question as to the timeline of things. is nightwing happening before or after urban legends?

i was so distracted by dick wearing a robe and briefs and nothing else that i didn’t register the second part until later. he slept for two days?? babs, baby, he recently had a very traumatic brain injury. why do you sound so nonchalant?

@TIM X COFFEE SHIPPERS GET FUCCCCKKKKEEDDDDD

ngl i totally forgot about that dude oops

this comic is giving so many reaction pictures. you know how you always use the worst possible picture of your friend for your friend’s contact picture? i’m just getting so many of these.

leslie!!! the titans!!! lucius!!! dick going to go see old friends!!!! the titans!!! this part made me so irrationally happy it really did. gar being the one to just. offer dick solutions with open arms. this was the best

i wish i could just copy and paste this entire scene, but that would take up way too much space, so i’m just going to talk about it instead.

you gave me my name, nightwing, and you gave me some of the best advice i’ve received in my life: beautiful little throwback to nightwing’s origin. you’d be surprised at the amount of people who don’t know where the name came from, or who don’t know how much clark means to dick. and the fact that dick still looks up to clark as a hero, recognizes that clark isn’t always perfect and yet continues to hold him in such high esteem, and still looks back on advice that clark gave him fondly just warmed my heart so much.

for a man who has fearlessly stood up to darkseid, bruce will do a lot to avoid a conversation: “grrr. i’m the BATMAN. i’m so DARK and MYSTERIOUS. nobody knows the true me. no one ever will. i will be LONELY for the rest of my CURSED LIFE. such is the price of a hero. ignore my farmer himbo husband in the background”

but i don’t think there’s anything heroic about being a billionaire: another nod to how much dick follows clark’s example rather than bruce. yes, this was a very poignant and important criticism, and i think it’s wonderful that this was published in a pretty popular comic book. but the thing is, there is a way to be a heroic billionaire, but only in fictional universes. the way bruce, ollie, t’challa only ever use their wealth to help people. they donate massive amounts of money to charities that they themselves create so they know exactly how the money is being used. they hire people who aren’t likely to get jobs anywhere else and pay them much more than what a base living wage is. they use their power to help push progressive laws and social change. they are helping.

dick doesn’t fully see it that way. he spent more than half his childhood the son of a billionaire, but still believes that one could be more heroic when one doesn’t have obscene amounts of wealth. whose example do you think he followed to come to that conclusion?

superman looked up to alfred pennyworth?: i mean yea alfred may have been a wildly irresponsible guardian and one hell of an enabler but goddamn if he didn’t love his kid.

you don’t need my input. you’ve thought it all through: ooooooh this line made me grin. for so long, dick’s treated clark as a mentor and a guiding figure. he’s still seen as a kid, an up and coming, snot-nosed titan with dreams of a better world. clark still thinks of him as a kid, despite watching him grow up. but this little line was something i think dick needed sorely to hear. he doesn’t need anyone’s guiding hand on his shoulder, he doesn’t need to ask for permission. he doesn’t need clark to support him the way he did when he was a teenager. he’s all grown up now, and he doesn’t need clark’s help. i imagine it was a bit of a surprise for dick to hear that.

honestly, i couldn’t think of a better role model: ohhh but it doesn’t stop there. clark just straight up turns the tables on dick. imagine you’re dick, and you’ve looked up to this one hero your entire life, and then one day he turns to you and says that he thinks you’re so kind and smart and worthy of a person that he wants you to mentor his son!? goes to show just how much clark trusts dick.

i swear to god dick probably cries every time he hears clark compliment him because bruce is so rare and sparing with his praise that clark giving him the slightest hint of approval is just a dopamine rush.

also, now deathstroke and superman have both asked nightwing to mentor their kids. the juxtaposition is fuckin hysterical. imagine either of their reactions when they realize what kind of company they’re with

lets talk colours for a second, because i absolutely adore how classic colour tropes have been subverted in this comic, and in this general run really.

warm tones have usually (usually, not always) been associated with light and comfort and friendship and,,,,,well,,,warmth. whereas cool tones are usually used to unsettle, or make a scene seem colder and put the reader on edge. this varies if a comic only uses cool tones, or only uses warm tones, but if a comic uses both, this is generally well-used.

that isn’t the case in this run.

dark red, orange, and other warm tones have been used to symbolize danger, action, attacks. hot pink isn’t usually included in this colour group, but it’s definitely part of it in this case. in contrast, scenes that have cool colours give us the impression of slipping into a comfortable, calm scene with babs, tim, the titans, and other allies. even the beginning scene with superman has this blue, but then it transitions into something more golden coloured. dawn broke over dick, as his new idea came to light, and that was reflected in the art (and the sunrise setting.)

have there ever been times when dick’s longed for the comfort of his mask because he didn’t feel confident as dick grayson? i can’t think of any. i may be wrong, but this struck me as pretty ooc.

am i just??? gay and reading this all wrong??

cause i was under the impression that when someone says they are grateful for your friendship you don’t immediately kiss them.

or is this like. normal straight mating rituals.

i mean he’s smiling afterward but still babs aren’t you supposed to at least make sure it’s okay first? you guys broke up a while back after you said something along the lines of “i want to be coworkers with you and nothing more because i don’t trust you or feel comfortable around you as a civilian anymore.” like lmao after you say something like that to someone i would assume that you don’t have the permission to just kiss them whenever you want.

show of hands who else got real sad when they realized dick was talking about himself in this.

sure, he could be referencing the things he’s seen blockbuster pull, and the children on the streets. but “i’ve seen money used for enforcement,” sounds a little too close to dick’s entire life being destroyed by one man threatening the circus to pay protection money for me to completely ignore. and “i’ve seen the poorest and most vulnerable blamed and punished rather than assisted” becomes a lot worse when you remember dick was thrown in juvie for a couple months until bruce was able to obtain legal guardianship, and in there, not a authority figure believed him when he told them his parents were murdered.

he’s lived this before.

a. mother. fucking. typo.

fucking why

i mean i’ve stated my distaste for the batfamily groupchat before but like. this is reaching new levels of ridiculousness. jason sounds like he was written by a fanfic writer. tim sounds like he was written by a fanfic writer. steph sounds like she was written by someone who doesn’t know the first thing about steph and wanted to include her for “family points!!!!!” damian’s supposed to be completely off the grid, and everyone’s searching for him. i do love the way cass texts tho.

well god fuck now i’m crying

dick got a phone call, a sorry, and a thank you out of bruce. i feel so much secondhand happiness for him, if that’s a thing. we’ll just ignore the way bruce looks ugly af and focus on the good parts okay?

and again with the colour symbolism here!

i’m either going to love this or hate this. who knows, we’ll see.

something something hearts something something pink is an evil colour something something. i need to know more about this guy but there’s definitely symbolism there.

is it just me or does this dude look like the backstabbing traitorous absolutely motherfucking piece of shit villain that killed tadashi hamada in big hero 6?

taggggg list: @woahjaybird @birdy-bat-writes @anothertimdrakestan @subtleappreciation @screennamealreadyused @bikoncon @pricetagofficial @catxsnow @maplumebleue-blog-blog @sundownridge @thatsthewhump @xatanna-troy @red-hood-redemption @capricorn-stark @batshit-birds @comics-observer @buticaaba

#river thinks too hard #nightwing #dick grayson #nightwing 83 #dc #nightwing review #nightwing meta #dick grayson review #dick grayson meta #nightwing 83 review #nightwing 83 meta #dc review #dc meta

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