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themonotonysyndrome · 3 years

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Emerald Onlooker

Part 2 of the Successors to the Future is here! I, uh, didn’t expect a lot of people liking it, but since I’m still pretty excited about this AU, I want to write as much as I can.

Thank you again @tri3tri for inspiring us with your Second Wive AU and many, many wonderful Yandere!Malleus content. A little summary about this AU: Yandere!Malleus married and took MC against her will. He turns her into a Queen and they had 2 daughters. However, Yandere!Malleus is pushed to take on a second wife (a Fae woman, Gekkon) to give him a son, a male heir. During the wedding ceremony, MC took the opportunity and escape to NRC with her daughters in tow and Crowley finally did them a solid and send the three of them to MC’s world.

Successors to the Future, summary: Without a court of condescending Faes and Malleus’ oppressive affection, MC and her daughters live happily in the other world. When she left Twisted Wonderland, MC didn’t realise that she was pregnant and thus, she gave birth to a son who grew up as carefree as a bird and just as kind. However, now that her eldest daughter had just turned sixteen and discover her Unique Magic, she was returned to Twisted Wonderland as a first-year student in Diasomnia. Since it’s only a matter of time before Malleus and his court discover her presence at NRC, MC and her children did their best to prepare her for that inevitable day.

This oneshot is a continuation of that.

FD/N = First daughter’s name/Renata Draconia (half-human, half dark Fae Princess. Malleus & MC’s eldest child)

SD/N = Second daughter’s name/Sherrie or Cherry Draconia (half-human, half-dark Fae Princess. Malleus & MC’s middle child)

S/S = Son’s name/Lucien Draconia (half-human, half-dark Fae Prince and the heir to the throne. Malleus & MC’s youngest child).

MC/S = MC’s surname

Sherrie enjoy going about her daily lives on her lowest brain capacity most of the time. There’s nothing like just... switching off your brain and ignore all the boring things around you.

The only thing that gets the gears and cogs in her brain spinning is when she plays video games like Portal or coming up with schemes to get her eldest sister out of trouble.

When she jokes about only having 2 braincells and that both are constantly on holidays at the same time unless Renata did something stupid, Renata howl with laughter while Lucien just rolled his eyes at his cackling sisters.

But now that Renata is playing student in Night Raven College, Sherrie is surprised to find herself looking forward to not only help her oldest sister dodged their father’s steps, but also pulling the proverbial rug underneath the Thorn Kingdom.

Especially Lilia Vanrouge.

It’s addicting. The unholy glee running within you when your cute puppets finally realised who’s been tugging on their strings all along.

Humans are easy and oblivious enough for her to practise on. Despite how monotonous school can be, the environment was a good place for Sherrie to learn and play. Everyone has a chip on their shoulder; everyone wants to stand out among the rest.

So it’s really not that hard to learn who’s the right person to blackmail, who’s desperate enough to do anything to make their crush look at them and how to make the key figures dance on the palm of her hands.

This year’s prom night was certainly a memory she won’t ever forget.

And now? Now Sherrie can’t wait to play with the so-called ‘superior’ species - their father’s ancient court and loyal retainers - once she and her sister could establish contact.

They’ve been working hard on this little project. Everyone in her little family is. Renata is off being a good little student and let the gossips travel on its own, their little brother is doing his best to assured their mother that all would be well and Sherrie?

Sherrie is busy setting up the stage for the climax once Renata usher all the important players to where she wanted them.

(Mama likes to call her a ‘smart cookie’, always rubbed her head affectionately and said, “You’re a brilliant girl, Cherry. You’re just lazy. I know you can achive anything you want with the proper motivation, just like Floyd-senpai.”.)

(Their Mama can never know just how far her daughter had use the same skill that she praise to manipulate others.)

In the middle of the evening - just shy after midnight - Sherrie heard a water drip somewhere in her bedroom.

Drip... drip... drip...

She pushes her chair away from her gaming laptop, game paused and just listen. Her eyes scan the dimly lit bedroom.

Drip... drip...

“This better not be the start of a horror movie.”

It’s coming from... somewhere near her vanity table. Sherrie ignores the clutter of make-ups, perfumes and figurines on the table and waited eagerly. Her leg couldn’t stop bouncing when the surface ripple like water’s surface once.

The ripple clears and instead of staring at her reflection, her oldest sister stares right back at her.

“It works!” Renata said incredulously. “I can’t believe the headmaster’s half-assed runes actually works!”

“The fuck? What happened?” Sherrie reply, a bit taken back. Behind her sister, Sherrie could see a bed, study table and walls and other furnishing that eerily looks similar to the ones back at the castle.

Renata waved her hand in a dismissive manner. “I had to literally bullied a grown ass man to help me contact you. It took me a week of camping in the library to figured out how, but we managed to come up with runes that allow us to create a link to every mirror in the house.” She explains in an exasperated tone. “I’ll teach you the drawing tomorrow. All you guys need to do is just draw them on any mirror and it’ll send me a signal to find a mirror of my own.”

“That kinda sounds like a phone call. Like, an interdimensional phone call!”

“I know right! I already put a compact mirror in my purse so I can call you anytime!” Renata said with a smug grin. She’s clearly proud of her clever little trick. Even with the help of the headmaster.

Sherrie never doubted that her sister couldn’t find a way to contact them. She’s a prodigy when it comes to magic.

She might be young, but she could still remember how their tutors gave out praises as if they were candies when it comes to her older sister and her affinity for magic.

It’s just too bad that their compliments are worthless when they always ended with, “If only the Princess is a full born Fae...”

“Ok, so, contact established. Now are you still in Phase 1?” Sherrie said, bringing their conversation back to important matters. She made sure to properly and slowly explain their game plan a week before the Ebony Carriage took Renata to Night Raven College. The words are clearly written, highlighted colourfully and important steps are accompanied by cartoon stickers.

Despite being a prodigy at magic, her sister woefully has short attention span when it comes to playing the long game. Her attention spans burn hot and fast, just like her anger. It also burns out just as quick as it came.

Renata rolled her eyes, unimpressed. “Yes, yes. I’m still in Phase 1. It’s hard to make friends when everyone is wary of you. Do you know they hung up portraits of past Dorm Leaders and their Vice Dorm Leaders in each dorm? It’s so annoying when everyone stares at me and at father’s portrait whenever I walk into Disomnia!”

Sherrie hums and made a quick dash to grab her tablet. The one where she wrote down her plans. She swipes the screen to the list of names that their mother had given them.

“They’re just NPCs, don’t worry about them. What you need to focus on are the students with the surnames that Mama gave us.” Here, Sherrie is tapping on the screen of her tablet to the mirror. “Have you met any of them or did you fucked up the plan already?”

“Calm your tits, I’ve been following your instructions.” Renata assured her, not the least riled up. “We’re only in the first semester; I only managed to match the names and faces of my dorm mates so far. It’s gonna take me at least a month of snooping around before I could find them.” Renata paused and her eyes suddenly lit up as if she just remembered something. “Oh, but I’ve been farming intel of the Thorn Kingdom using the Lucky Leanan spell every day after curfew. It took some trial and error but I successfully managed to find the castle again!”

Sherrie recalls that one of Renata spells - Lucky Leanan - creates a small fairy made out of pure magic that would do sneak attacks by shooting lightning bolts while Renata fights. It’s small enough to flit behind an opponent’s line of sight and take them off guard.

Small enough to sneak into the castle without anyone none the wiser.

So Sherrie nodded. “That’s a good move. You’re safely far away from the castle and you can remotely dispel Leanan if it gets dicey.”

“Yup! Look at my one braincell go!” Renata cheered. “If I keep this up and give it plenty of water and sunlight, maybe it’ll grow!”

Sherrie burst out laughing alongside her sister. Her joke took her off guard. Hopefully their laughter didn’t wake up their mother and Lucien.

Sherrie hiccups and wipe the tears from the corner of her eye. It feels nice to talk to her sister again.

She misses her disaster of sister already.

“Anyway, I need to hit the bed soon.” Renata said, breaking her train of thought. “I’ll do my best to gather as much info as I can about the ongoings inside the castle for you. Are there any heads up you want me to look for?”

Sherrie smiles brightly and reply, “Of course! If you could, be a dear and get everything about father’s... other wife. Everything - right down to the most boring shits.”

“On it.”

That first-year Diasomnia student has been the talk around campus for weeks now.

Not only is she the only girl in Night Raven College, word on the streets quickly spreads that she’s look too similar to one of the previous Dorm Leader of Diasomnia to not be related.

Staring at her while she’s busy taking a selfie of the Great Seven statues, he agrees that the similarities are too uncanny.

Now, why would he sends his own Princess to a villain school without any retainer?

That, and why under a different surname?

Something’s not right.

Renata MC/S brought with her an interesting mystery to Night Raven College. A mystery that caught his interest at the first whiff of her scent. And oh Great Seven, her delectable scent. The first time his nose caught that mouthwatering smell, it had his tail swishing in eager and his head spinning.

It’s the scent of his favourite flower - blood lily - with a hint of something... otherworldly. He still can’t quite put words into it.

He wants to unravel her. Understand what makes her tick.

Uncover what she’s hiding.

Four days later in History class, Professor Trein gave him - and Renata - their golden ticket.

“Kingscholar, MC/S - you two will be partners for this assignment. I expect you two have no objection.”

“It’s fine...”

“I don’t have a problem with the arrangement, professor.”

The professor nodded and class is dimiss. Students began making their way out of the room. Except for him... and her.

Renata steps in front of his desk when they finally have the class all to themselves. He takes a good, long look at her.

She’s certainly beautiful; a real heartbreaker. But there’s something interesting within her bright green eyes. Something volatile. He wonders what could it really be.

“Hi there. So you’re Bakari Kingscholar, hmm? Hope we can ace this assignment without any problem.” Renata said with a small smile. Is she trying to be friendly? Because it just looks condescending as hell.

But that just makes this a lot more fun.

“Same here. Girl or not, I won’t let it slide if you prove to be a dead weight.”

His warning clearly took her off guard with the how her smile froze. It was only for a moment though, before she let out a laugh. As if he just told a funny joke.

“Kitty-cat is flexing his claws, huh?” Renata had the audacity to grin. The other Savanaclaw students would’ve lowered their heads at his tone. “Don’t worry. Do your part and I promise I won’t light your tail on fire.”

Oh, his old man needs to know about this girl.

You have no idea how much fun it is to write about Malleus and MC’s children! Especially the Princessess. Unfortunately, they’re more like Malleus than they or MC even realise it. Anyway, my main reference for SD/N is none other than... TADA! Fyodor Dostoevsky from BSD!

It’s just that Sherrie is a lot more lazy and rather keep to herself and stay at home. She only goes out of her to way to mess with people because of Renata and her tendecies to get into trouble.

I’m still thinking on the draft for part 3 so we’ll see how that goes. Also, I was struggling wether to name Leona’s son or not. I think that honoured should go to @tri3tri!

#twisted wonderland #fanfic #twst mc #Draconia Family series #tri3tri #Second Wive AU #twst kids #drama is gonna kick off real soon #yandere!malleus

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marvels-writings · 4 years

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Better than Paperwork

Maria Hill Masterlist

Requested by Anon: Hi was wondering if you could write something where r is an avenger (fought in net York) that also works at stark Industries as part of medical/security. When Maria goes and works there they run into each other more often. Obviously recognize eachother from the battle of New York. They both often stay late, do paperwork together, or something like that. kinda friend/acquaintance to lovers (After winter soldier but before ultron)

Word Count: 2,143 (Long and fluffy)

A/N: My wrist is getting better, so thank you guys for your concerns! I was planning to rest today but inspiration struck and tortured my wrist but here you go.

Bright sunlight filtered through the windows in the open-space office, music played from the speakers in the corner of the room. The rustling of paperwork the only noise you made while sorting through the different papers associating Stark Industries with SHIELD. The sleeves of your button-up rolled up. Your blazer rested on the chair, phone tucked away in the front pocket of your black trousers.

Footsteps at the door broke your concentration. You looked up to see the CEO of Stark Industries walking in with a blue-eyed brunette at her side.

“And this is the office for the security personnel.” Pepper gestured to the open-plan office in front of her.

The brunette at her side nodded, taking in the office in front of her. You glanced between both of them, clearing your throat and setting down your paperwork. The woman was Maria Hill, but you didn’t understand why the deputy director of SHIELD was doing at Stark Industries.

“I’m Y/n y/l/n,” You introduced, smiling and offering your hand to the brunette, who seemed to recognize you.

During the Battle of New York, you had been one of the leads in security. But you’d gotten out of SHIELD after the Chitauri attack and joined Stark Industries instead. During your time with Maria, the brunette had developed a small crush on you, but she never told you.

Since SHIELD crashed, many of their employees were either on the run or trying to find jobs elsewhere.

The brunette smiled and took your hand, shaking it and continuing to look around the room.

“Y/n is the manager of security, she works with Happy,” Pepper gestured to you. A ring of her phone broke the silence, she picked it up and politely excused herself, telling you to show Maria around.

“So how did you end up here?” You asked, gesturing around you, slinging your blazer over your shoulder while you walked around the office to show her around.

“It was either this or an interrogation room for a month then prison,” Maria explained, watching you intently.

“This is better than that then,” You joked, gesturing around you before starting the tour.

The Stark Tower was enormous. The bottom floor was solely for Tony to work in, so you didn’t show her there. But you showed her the rest of it, including the parts of the tower where some of the employees stayed. Most of it occupied by the medical team and the engineering team, Pepper, Happy, you had the main suites.

Maria’s bedroom was across from yours. It seemed she was sharing one of the suites as she was working alongside you and Pepper to manage different parts of Stark Industries. After showing the bedrooms, you went back to the open-plan office where you worked.

“That’s about it,” You stated, smiling at her and sitting down on the chair behind your work and resting your feet on the table. Maria raised an eyebrow but ignored it, getting both of you a cup of coffee.

For the rest of the day, Maria asked you questions about Stark Industries. The former deputy was used to being in charge of what happened around her. This was her first time in years that she wasn’t in control.

You were the only person she knew and trusted. But her reason for trusting you wasn’t just because she knew you. It was because you treated her like she was a normal person, you didn’t have a cold, hard attitude towards her like everyone else. Instead, you were warm, easy to talk to, and trusted towards her. You were different but in a welcome way.

After moving in, she got to work almost instantly, you invited her to work in the main office instead of hers. To your surprise, Maria accepted, you arranged for another table to be put near yours. Music played from your speaker in the corner of the room, the smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air.

Many other employees were working in the same area, some on the couches, working on tablets, others using the desks and laptops, some just wandering in and out. A few of them wore headphones than listening to the house music you’d played. You had explained earlier that there was a system of who got to play the music in the office.

There was already a cup of coffee on her desk. Maria sipped it and started working. She wore her usual tight dress, but with lower heels to walk. You wore a dark turquoise blazer, a white button-up, and matching trousers paired with low heels. It seemed that blazers and button-ups were part of your daily outfit. The outfit looked stylish and suited you better than the SHIELD uniform.

Hours passed, barely anyone unless it was to ask for another cup of coffee or to change the song. A few people were chatting on the couches, but they left soon. By the time it was lunch, you told Maria you were going to order from a nearby sushi place. After placing your order, you handed Maria your phone to order and continued working.

“I can pay, pick whatever you want,” You gestured to your phone, absorbed in your laptop. Maria began to protest, but she thought about bothering you. She ordered herself a simple lunch and went back to her work as she waited for the food to arrive.

The knocking on the door to the office caused you to walk over to the door, take your food, and set it on one of the free tables. Employees smelled the food, and decided to order something or use the kitchen in the office to cook something.

“How are you liking it so far?” You asked, sitting across from Maria on one of the dining tables while eating.

“This is a standard question,” Maria muttered, opening her takeout box. You laughed and played with your food a little.

“True, let me rephrase,” You said, gesturing around you with the chopsticks. “Is this better than interrogation and prison?”

Maria snorted, almost choking on her food before answering. Unable to control your laughter at her reaction, you continued to tease her for the rest of the meal. The brunette pretended not to enjoy your relentless teasing, but she loved the way you were treating her.

The next week, Maria spent trying to get used to the way Stark Industries worked. She had been assigned many different projects, some concerning how the Avengers worked, others about the security of Stark HQ. But all of them took more time than she would have liked, she spent most of her time in the open-plan office rather than the office Pepper had given her.

Soon, her office was reassigned to someone who would use it, causing the brunette to spend almost all of her time around you. A month passed, Maria grew closer to you while you worked, getting to know you through your talks over meals or by spending time together on the weekends.

After spending so much time around you, her crush resurfaced. Maria found herself making excuses to stay around you. She reminded you to eat, took you to movies when you were upset. Over time, you opened up to Maria, which only caused her to fall for you.

The rest of the employees were used to having you around, and they welcomed her easily when you told them about her. Maria warmed up to the rest of them easily, but you were the only person she was comfortable around.

Comfortable enough to spend long nights with you just enjoying your presence while you worked. You often stayed late in the office, finishing things up, hardly anyone stayed that late. But Maria started to take on more projects so she had an excuse to stay around you.

It seemed to be working, this was almost the fifth night in a row she had stayed past working hours with you. For once, you’d gotten done before her, you lounged on the couches while editing a playlist while Maria worked near her desk. Dinner had been eaten hours ago, glancing at the clock, Maria saw it was well past 9.

“You done yet?” You asked from the couches.

“Not yet,” Maria answered from where she was working, continuing to tap away on her laptop.

Groaning, you got up from the couches and pulled a chair to sit next to Maria, your thigh brushing hers. Maria had taken charge of putting a project of yours into motion since you had made it, it was complex. It had taken her hours to understand it, let alone try to write instructions for it.

“Come on, you can do this tomorrow,” You whined, resting your forearm on the table, putting your head on your fist.

“Just a few more minutes,” The brunette muttered, absorbed in her work.

You sighed and amused yourself by playing on your phone when you noticed her shivering next to you. Removing your blazer from the chair behind you, you rested it on Maria’s shoulders. Maria began to protest, but she was cold, and your blazer smelt amazing. Tugging it closer around herself, she thanked you and resumed her work.

Bored and tired, you rested your head on her shoulder while she worked. You’d become close to her in the past week, the brunette being the only person who you could talk to about your life at SHIELD without fear of being judged.

Maria had been providing a sense of security into your life, staying with you when you needed to work late, taking you to eat when you forgot to eat, watching movies with you when you were upset. Weekends were probably your favorite, mainly because neither of you had work. Most of your time was spent away from the tower and roaming around the city. You showed Maria around some of your favorite places, knowing she had little or no time for sightseeing.

You hadn’t built up your courage to tell her how you felt yet. But you planned to

Soon.

Even though the brunette had suggested for you to leave and go to sleep, you refused. You were exhausted, the entire week had been draining, concerning many different projects and people. The exhaustion showed on your face, through your tired eyes underlined by dark circles and the way your posture slouched.

“You should go to bed,” Maria nudged your head using her shoulder, pulling you out of your half-asleep state.

“It’s fine,” You yawned, getting up and making both of you a cup of coffee.

Maria licked her lips, refusing to admit that she missed your warmth next to her. But you returned almost as quickly as you had come, two steaming cups of coffee in your hand. You set one down next to Maria, it was brewed just the way she liked it. The brunette thanked you and took a sip while you rested your head on her shoulder, sipping your mug.

About half an hour went by, her cup of coffee was long cold. You were wide awake as you watched her work, but you were immeasurably bored. Now, Maria was finalizing the paperwork, but it was going to take her another two hours.

“Let’s go, you can finish this tomorrow,” You said, nudging her arm.

“Just a few more minutes,” Maria repeated, you rolled your eyes and chuckled.

“You said that half an hour ago,” You whined, resting your chin on top of her shoulder, your breath tickling the shell of her ear.

“Besides, there are better things you can do besides work.” You said, intending to say sleep but Maria’s mind went in a different direction. The brunette raised an eyebrow and turned to face you, her face dangerously close to yours.

“Better than paperwork?” Maria joked. You laughed, a lopsided grin on your face as you looked up at the brunette.

Maybe it was the soft light reflecting in your eyes, maybe it was the exhaustion or the six cups of coffee. But Maria didn’t know what gave her the courage to finally kiss you.

Your eyes widened, but you didn’t pull away, your hand slid up her neck, pulling her closer to you. Maria turned her body towards you, lips moving over yours as she rested one hand on your waist. The aftertaste of coffee lingered in your mouth, your lips tasted like the chapstick you always used. Breaths mingled as you moved your nose to the other side, never leaving her lips.

Maria only pulled away when she was out of breath, panting and keeping her face close to yours. You leaned your forehead against hers, breath fanning over her face. Smirking lazily, you pulled away so you could look at her.

“Better than paperwork,” You remarked breathlessly.

The brunette laughed, pulling you in for another kiss, paperwork long forgotten.

A/N: Let me know what you think!

Tag List: @capcarolsdanver, @versdan, @lesbian-girls-wayhaught, @lovebotlarson, @dhengkt, @hstoria, @natasha-danvers, @veryfunnyal, @xxxtwilightaxelxxx , @ophelias-heart , @never-didbefore , @justarandomhumanhere, @the-most-unicorn-of-them-all , @thatssocamryn , @lesbian-x-blackwidow , @marvelbbyx , @wlw-imaginesss , @hcartbyheart , @summergeezburr , @imnotasuperhero , let me know if you’d like to be in any of my tag lists!

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wiener-soldiers · 4 years

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operation omega - naked (iii)

summary: years after the avengers dismantle HYDRA, the group remerges more dangerous than ever. their modus operandi? infiltrating foreign governments, stealing and reproducing their weapons, and selling them to terrorist groups. when the us government approaches the avengers for help on a secret operation with a secret asset, they are reluctant to agree. it isn’t until their quinjet almost gets shot down in the middle of nowhere when the understand that omega means business.

pairing: bucky barnes x SEAL!reader

words: 2.5k

warnings: mild sexual tension, they’re kinda all naked

a/n: this is still exposition haha. also i barely edited this

taglist: add yourself here!

OPERATION OMEGA MASTERLIST

Omega, Bucky quickly learned, was nothing like the Avengers.

They weren’t independent, rather they were the collective asset of the allied nations.

They weren’t public figures, rather nearly no one knew they existed except for the people who can directly order them to go on missions.

They didn’t really have private lives; they were stationed at their base for months on end and were only allowed back home for a few weeks at a time.

And most noticeably, they weren’t superheroes, but they were badasses.

Omega had ex-Navy SEALs, Green Berets, Delta Force, CIA, and Air Force. Everyone on the Avengers, including the enhanced, were pretty intimidated by the lineup.

Bucky also noticed how they were all much more like a family. Not like the Avengers-dysfunctional-type family, but one that actually cares. He notices that despite prepping for missions, they still have happy hour on Friday night, movie night on Saturday night, and they actually enjoy training with one another.

One minor thing Bucky also noticed is how little clothes they all wear.

He honestly shouldn’t be that surprised. Though being in army camps seemed like a lifetime ago, something about the atmosphere screamed the lack of necessity for shirts.

And honestly, who wouldn’t want to show off how fit they all were?

The first instance he realized this fact was when he was in the medical wing to get his physical. Captain Y/N insisted that all the Avengers go in for a physical exam done by their in-house doctor, Dr. Marge Dean—who also happened to be an ex-Green Beret and CIA operative—just in case there were health issues that needed to be fixed before they went in the field.

Bucky’s appointment with Dr. Dean was scheduled for noon, but he got there five minutes before. Knocking softly on the door, a soft female voice said, “It’s open” before he pushed his way inside.

Dr. Marge Dean wasn’t alone in the room. Sergeant Dominick Stone, ex-Air Force pilot, was also there. He sat on the exam table across from Dr. Marge with his right hand heavily wrapped. The duo looked up at him and offered him a smile. He tries to ignore the fact that Dr. Marge was wearing nothing but short track shorts and a sports bra and Dominick was wearing nothing but boxers. If they’re comfortable with each other, then it can’t be that bad, Bucky tells himself.

“Afternoon. Doc, Sergeant,” Bucky nods at both of them, returning a smile.

“Please, James. Call me Marge,” Marge tells him softly as she finishes wrapping Dominick’s hand. “My abuella’s a doctor. I grew up with everyone calling her Doc, I guess I just haven’t gotten used to people calling people me that yet either,” she giggles softly.

Bucky smiles at her, “Marge it is.”

“I would shake your hand,” Dominick says as he hops off the exam table and waves his bandaged hand in the air, “but it’s a little hard right now.”

Bucky chuckles, “Don’t worry about it, Sarge. What happened?”

Dominick sighs and Marge chuckles as she cleans her equipment, prepping for Bucky’s physical exam. “It’s stupid,” the Sergeant sighs.

“Oh come on,” Marge starts, “I think it’s funny, Sarge.”

Dominick sighs, “I was sharpening my knife and I accidentally cut my hand really deeply.”

“A combat knife?” Bucky asks curiously.

Dominick sighs, “A kitchen knife.”

Marge bursts into another fit of giggle before patting the exam table, signalling to Bucky that she’s ready to start his exam. “Dom’s Ma is from Ghana. The first time we went home for our break, his Ma gave him the family fried rice recipe. He makes it for us every week,” Marge starts as she starts Bucky’s physical. He surprised at how calm she acts around his metal arm; whether it’s a telltale sign of a good doctor or a good person, Bucky doesn’t really care—the simple action allow Bucky to trust her.

“I was sharpening the kitchen knives because no one in this damn place will do it—”

“You said you found it relaxing, so we let you do it!”

“And I was distracted for a second and my hand slipped,” Dominick rolled his eyes and gestures to his hand again. “It’s not big deal. No stitches needed; I’ll be good in no time.”

Marge finishes monitoring Bucky’s breathing and moves on to taking his blood pressure. “All those extra bandages are just to make him feel better,” she jokes.

Bucky takes a deep breath, allowing his walls to come down a bit. “Well, Sarge, I’d love to try it sometime,” Bucky says with a smile that reaches his eyes. “Ya know, after your hand has healed an all,” he adds an on, jokingly.

Sergeant Dominick grins, “I go by Dom.”

“Fair enough. I go by Bucky.”

The second instance he realized the unspoken, no-clothes policy was later that week. That morning marked the second week that the Avengers were working with Omega. Slowly, they were fitting in with their new partners. Despite looking crazily similar, Bucky’s hunch that Steve and Jack may want to one-up each other was proven false. Steve and Jack bonded surprisingly fast from their shared interests in history, art, and their war experiences. Wanda got along really well with Dr. Marge as soon as the two girls realized they both had a passion for cooking and baking. Natasha got along with Second Lieutenant Abigail Lee, the resident engineer and ex-Green Beret weapons specialist, as soon as Natasha found out that Abigail loved stand-up specials as much as she did. Clint and Sam got along really well Sergeant John McBueller after drunkenly one night, John taught the two how to salsa the same way his mother taught him how to when he was younger. Tony gets along with the ever-so-clumsy Sergeant Dom because Dom is secretly a nerd about everything about the Iron Man suit and Tony thinks Dom is like a younger version of Rhodey.

The unlikely group of friends found themselves in the kitchen that morning. The ex-military individuals were still used to a waking up early so their training sessions normally takes place before breakfast, whereas the Avengers training sessions normally took place later at night, as the team is full of insomniacs.

Bucky, Steve, Tony, Clint, and Sam sat in the kitchen that morning. Tony was tinkering with a new gadget Bucky couldn’t even begin to comprehend, Steve was hunched over a tablet analyzing reports, Clint was looking over flight logistics, and Sam was switching his attention between sipping his coffee and making breakfast for everyone.

Bucky’s attention was concentrated at the laptop in front of him where he was analyzing old Avengers briefs for HYDRA missions. A fit of chatter take his attention away from the laptop. Salsa-dancing John McBueller and Dr. Marge walked into the kitchen, easy chatter flowing between them. His eyes widened at their wardrobe, John was wearing nothing but grey sweatpants and Marge only sported a sports bra with her leggings, sweat dripping off the both of them.

In comparison, every Avenger was very clothed.

“Morning guys,” John called out, following Marge into the kitchen. Marge busied herself by making a protein shake for her and John, not noticing the stares both her and John were getting.

“Morning…” the Avengers mumbled.

“John you want banana in your shake?” Marge asked, not giving a care in the world.

“Hmm, yeah sure. Also, can you add peanut butter too?” John responses, easily as care-free.

“Are you guys always like this?” Tony asks, baffled at how casual they are.

“What?” Marge and John ask at the same time. Bucky chuckles at his expression.

“This…naked,” Tony says bluntly.

Another loud chuckle is heard down the hall and Dom and Abigail enter the kitchen next. The corner of Bucky’s mouth quirks upwards as soon as Tony’s eyes widen even more. Abigail was wearing nothing but a swimsuit and a flannel to cover up, her hair still wet from the laps she swam in the lake that morning. Unlike John, Dom was wearing a shirt, but his dripping wet swim trunks and open flannel—with nothing on underneath, to add—made his attire barely passible.

“Jesus, is your dress code basically nothing?” Tony remarks. He wasn’t surprised that every member of the Omega team was absolutely shredded. He was used to it in fact, as it usually isn’t surprising for Steve or Bucky or Sam to walk around shirtless. He was just surprised about the bluntness the Omega team had.

“Morning,” Bucky hears a final mumble. The group in the kitchen turns towards the sleepy voice; it was Y/N with Jack trailing into the kitchen behind her. Though he was used to seeing his new teammates so naked, his eyes widened at the sight of her. She wore nothing but pajama shorts and a lacy bralette. Jack shuffled in behind her, wearing nothing but boxers. Jack gently put a green flannel around her shoulders and Y/N mumbled a thanks.

“Sorry we woke up late and missed training. Pulled an all-nighter analyzing more intel and I didn’t realize I missed training,” Y/N mumbles.

“Jesus Christ, you guys are shameless. I dig it,” Tony says, mostly to himself.

Bucky can’t help but feel his cheeks heat up at the sight of Y/N. He normally was fine around naked girls. He was nowhere near the level of confident as he was when he was younger, but we was rarely flustered at the sight of one. He really tried not to stare, but the view of Y/N in nothing but comfy clothes wrapped around a flannel, laughing softly at something someone said over a cup of coffee was something that made Bucky’s stomach flip.

Oh, fuck. She’s so beautiful, Bucky thinks.

Bucky hears a soft chuckle behind him. He tilts his view backwards and sees Wanda (he isn’t exactly sure when she woke up and made her way to the kitchen) smirking at him. His eyes widen, Stop reading my mind, asshole.

Wanda’s smirk only widens.

Early the next morning, Bucky woke in a cold sweat. The hairs on the back of his neck stood as he looked around the unfamiliar surroundings before he slowly realized that we was in the Omega bunker, not his room at the Avengers’ tower.

Fucking nightmare, he sighs. His metal arms cramps, a symptom of the Phantom Limb Syndrome that he feels every now and then, especially after he has a nightmare. Bucky sighs and glances at the time: 5:11 AM.

He decided that sleep is so far behind him at this point, so Bucky rolls out of bed, pulls on a pair of workout shorts, and trudges out of the room.

As soon as he walks out into the hallway, the goosebumps on his bare bake perk up. Still, Bucky continues trudging towards the kitchen. He starts a pot of coffee and digs around the fridge for some food.

“Bucky?” someone calls out to him, startling him. He tries to lift his head out of the fridge, but he accidentally hits his head.

“Fuck,” he hisses, grabbing the back of his head.

“Shit!” the voice calls behind him and he feels to warm hands wrap around his neck. “Are you okay?”

Bucky turns around and face Y/N, who’s hands are still on his neck. Bucky can’t help but notice that she’s wearing nothing but a sports bra and sweatpants. He gulps and trains his eyes on her face.

“Yeah, I’m fine. No biggie,” he says weakly.

Y/N smiles softly, letting her hands fall. “What’re you doing up?” she asks softly, side-stepping around him to grab a banana from the counter.

Bucky exhales softly, hoping his breath isn’t shaky. “Nightmare,” he states bluntly, too tired to lie.

Her eyebrow raises, “Oh?”

“It was about, uh…how I lost my arm,” he says quietly, not meeting her eyes. “The dreams, I’m used to. It’s the pain from Phantom Limb Syndrome that usually wakes me up.”

“Biofeedback,” Y/N says simply.

“I’m sorry?”

“Talk to Tony about adding biofeedback and haptics to your metal arm so you can feel touch in that arm again,” Y/N responds, stepping closer to him. She reaches out for Bucky’s metal palm and drags a finger down it. Bucky doesn’t flinch; he knows what the feeling is supposed to feel like but it pains him that he can’t feel it. “I read an article talking about how biofeedback helped some patients overcome their Phantom Limb Syndrome…” she trails off, hoping she didn’t make it awkward.

“Thank you,” Bucky says sincerely, searching her eyes for any sign of discomfort.

Y/N doesn’t say anything, but the comforting look in her tired eyes say it all, you’re welcome.

Bucky continues to make his coffee and a breakfast omelette while Y/N sits at the island silently, eating her banana and observing him. It was 5:30 AM already, meaning she should have been out the door and starting her run. Instead, she watches how his back muscles contract as he cuts vegetable combined with the soft mechanical whir of his metal arm to create a mesmerizing scene.

Bucky speaks up, snapping her out of her trance, “What about you? What’re you doing up?”

“I normally go on a run right now,” she told him, casting her gaze towards his face. She notices how his unkempt hair dangles in front of his eyes and how she do desperately got the urge to push the hair out of his face to stare into his eyes.

“Don’t let me stop you then,” Bucky jests.

Y/N smiles at him, “Didn’t feel like it today. I like going on runs because it’s calming. Sitting here and watching you cook, it’s also…calming.”

Bucky had nothing to say to that, surprised by her honestly. Y/N is equally as surprised and hopes she didn’t make it weird. Apparently, she hasn’t because moments later, Bucky slides a serving of omelette for her as well.

“Thank you,” Y/N mumbles before digging in.

“Don’t mention it,” Bucky replies with kind eyes.

They eat in silence. Not an uncomfortable one, but a perfectly, intentionally quiet one—like if one of them spoke, it would ruin the calming and intimate emotion draped over the kitchen.

They both finish their meals and clean up the dishes. As Bucky is about to round the corner and head back into his room, Y/N calls out, “I would love to run with you, if you want.”

Bucky pauses mid-step and glances back at her, waiting for her to continue.

“There’s this trail that I made when we first moved here. It leads to a beautiful rock formation and a waterfall. I run there every morning,” Y/N gushed out. Bucky fully turned to look at her this time. “You’re welcome to join, if you want.”

Bucky smiles at her.

Bucky got a long really well with Captain Y/N Y/L/N after their quiet morning breakfast and confessions. Waking up to run with her is what make Bucky excited to wake up every morning.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fic #sebastian stan imagine #bucky barnes fanfiction #sebastian stan #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan fic #sebastian stan fanfiction #operation omega

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designer-dad · 5 years

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Peak Design Everyday Backpack 30L - The Review

So we’ve arrived. The culmination of years of fine-tuning and honing in what I look for in a bag. Years of tastes growing, becoming uber-specific and demanding. And 6 months of searching for a very good bag that won’t (totally) break the bank. Something that a frugal person can still say is worth every penny.

Behold, my EDC choice: The Peak Design Everyday Backpack in 30L, Charcoal.

Peak Design first caught my eye when they developed the Everyday Messenger Bag. I was thoroughly taken by how a bag could be so simple, yet powerful. It didn’t require very specific pockets for every possible item. What it had was a thoughtful and novel approach to organization that, while based on camera gear, worked exceedingly well for EDC. With thoughtful and useful pockets, the ability to expand, and those awesome gear dividers, I knew they had a winner. But I was already getting past the stage of messengers and looking at backpacks. if only they did a backpack...

... And then they did. And what a backpack. It was very hard as a designer not to fall down the rabbit hole of videos on the features and uses of this bag. There really isn’t a whole lot you’d wanna do with this (as an EDC/typical travel bag) that you can’t do. True, it’s not submersible, and I don’t think it would do well with a hydration bladder, so it won’t really work as a hiking pack. But aside from that, this thing really can do it all. Drone carry? Check. Tripod? Check. Yoga mat? Check. Lots of giant water bottles? Check. Laptop and tablet? Check. Camera gear for days? Check. Room to grow? Check. Slinging a days worth of purchases from the Mahane Yehudah Market in Jerusalem? Check.

There’s no shortage of reviews and videos breaking down this bag, so I won’t get into all the nitty gritty of what makes it awesome. It’s pretty much unanimous that it is. So I’ll go through why it checks my particular boxes, and then run through how I think it could get even better.

1) Masterful Organization Major pros here, a few cons. Overall, Peak addresses my biggest issue with backpacks, which was really the main sell for me. They employed a way for me to subdivide the giant big pocket into smaller chunks that are easy to reconfigure in both immediate ways (simply flipping a flap one way or another) or more semi-permanent ways (removing/adding a divider, or simply moving one). This is epic. This scratches my organization itch SO SATISFACTORILY. 2 side water bottle pockets (more on that below), handy soft-lined kinda hidden zipper pocket at the top of the laptop compartment, interior hidden passport pocket, and 2 side panels of smaller organization which expand to hold FREAKING ANYTHING. Seriously, I’ve never not been able to fit something in there, even things that obviously should not fit. And it’s got hidden loops and tethers all over the place for carrying literally any kind of weird thing strapped to the outside as well. It covers all the bases, some better than others, but certainly covers them all. I can store big stuff, little stuff, weird stuff, and more, and know it will all have a place, no matter the size or shape or fragility. Other than documents. More on that later. And it’ll grow to add more. YES.

2) DSLR/Camera Carry This is what Peak Design focuses on, and this is what they do exceedingly well. Taking cues from many other DSLR carry inserts, their origami style dividers have flaps that allow you to move a portion of these semi-rigid dividers to the side to make way for larger camera grips, or lay long lenses across. But that’s an understatement. These movable flaps give an excellent combination of structure, flexibility, protection, and modularity to allow for nearly any kind of setup you’d like. They pretty damn well near nailed this aspect of bags.

3) Travel Buddy/EDC Buddy Yeah, it’s more or less a joy to use this bag for travel and EDC. It flexes nimbly between what I use everyday and the particular items I carry for travel. It grows to carry my extra gear for travel (prayer paraphernalia, books, cable pack, snacks), yet shrinks back to a reasonable size when all I’ve got is my lunch and collection of way-too-many EDC knives.

And no matter the kind of trip, it can tackle it. Overnight stay to get away from the kids? Done. 3 day work trip to North Carolina? No problem. 3 day winter break with the kids in Louisville? Got it. Week with the boys in Scotland? Yup. 10 days with the wife in Israel, along with day-pack use? Check. 2.5 day Design Show in Milan? Sure.

It’s a great airport companion, as the quick release strap adjusters and swing-to-the-side move make backpack carry almost as easy to access as messenger carry, and always stymies TSA just enough that they tend to give up on it quick and leave me alone. And I love being the only guy on the Metra in Chicago with this bag. Other than that one time I sat next to another dude with the same bag, and proceeded to make a new friend.

4) Backpack Carry Now almost any backpack could theoretically satisfy this requirement, but Peak does it in a pretty special way. The straps are fairly comfortable, very ergonomically sculpted, and have a giant swiveling rivet at the top that allow it to fit my 6′2″ 230 pound frame, as well as my 5″4′ 120 pound wife, all without issue. It has a somewhat ventilated back panel, to ease comfort a little (but still doesn’t quite measure up to a serious hiking pack like an Osprey), though it will still yield a pretty sweaty back with prolonged wear. But for a bag that’s rigid, holds its shape well, stand on its own when you put it down, protects your gear, and has a water-resistant coating, it’s a pretty dang comfortable bag.

5) Water Bottle Carry YES. This bag does this better than almost any I’ve seen. The side pockets are deep, fit even GIANT bottles, and somehow tuck flat back against the bag when not in use. It looks fitted empty, with my slim travel umbrella, or a 750ml bottle in it. And it has a pocket on BOTH sides.

6) Laptop Carry Do you carry a giant 17″ CAD Mobile Workstation? Then you’re out of luck. Anything else, and you’re covered. It fits my 15″ Mobile Workstation just fine, and that’s massive. The 20L would fit a 15″ standard laptop as well. It’s got a soft protected pocket with top access, keeping it separate from the main compartment, and it expands to the inside of the bag when occupied, so the bag does not physically grow when you add a laptop. I find it nice that the bag always maintains the same profile. I don’t have to readjust on the train to avoid hitting people if all of a sudden my bag is really full. It also has a tablet sleeve, but I find it hard to keep one in there if I’m toting my beast laptop. Admittedly, this is a problem for very few people.

7) Svelte but Spacious As I said above, I love the fact that the profile of this bag pretty much never changes. Yes, it gets slightly taller when it’s crammed, but front to back, side to side, it’s always the same, semi-rigid structure. It’ll always fit under the seat in front of me on the plane. I won’t accidentally hit people with it because I forgot I added a pair of shoes. Yet it looks sleek, and not gargantuan, even though it can hold up to a generous 30L. It’s more like 22L when not fully expanded. Granted, it looks on the larger side when my wife is carrying it, but on a, uh, fully grown male such as myself, it looks just fine. Not too large for EDC.

8) Generally Awesome Designers like toys. We love novelty. Cool features. Little pleasant surprises. This bag is full of them, and they continue to provide joy on a daily basis. This is how products should be. From the unique magnetic latch and bar system, to the hidden magnets for the water bottle and hidden pockets (everyone loves magnets), various hidden tethers, stretchy expandable pockets, lovely detailed hardware, plethora of carry handles that don’t look like luggage handles, this bag just delights over and over. Even with it’s few frustrations.

Ok, so now I want to share my wishlist for the next Everyday Backpack. Nothing is perfect, and this bag is no exception. So here are the VERY FEW issues I have with this bag, after about 2 years of use for both EDC carry and frequent travel, both domestic and international.

1) I wish there was a small, quick access pocket. Not big, not deep, but a pocket on the outside of the bag that I can stick the boarding pass, earbuds, train ticket, spare change, passport, or whatever single random small thing I need to stick somewhere that's not in my pants pocket, but can quickly take it right back out without undoing 2 zippers or a flap. Like the Timbuk2 Napoleon pocket.

Maybe along the seam between the side and back panels. A little 6 inch zipper. I like the pocket in the laptop pocket, but can't access that with the quick sling to the side move. I would like to get at that pocket using that move.

2) I wish there was a dedicated spot to clip a carabiner onto the shoulder strap. Gotta keep my keys somewhere quick. They include a tether for keys in the water bottle pocket (that uses the same clip as their strap system, oooOOOooo), and I like the tether, but it's not the fast access of a carabiner. This is a couple ways I've been doing it, but it took a while to figure out these solutions. I could use a couple loops on the strap to do it.

3) I wish I had a good document storage solution. I have a hulking laptop, so that pocket won't work if my laptop is in there. I need another thin vertical sleeve. I’ve seen a YouTube video with a workaround for that, but it’s inelegant, and renders a divider and a lot of space much less useful.

4) I wish I had better writing implement organization. Maybe 5 dedicated pen slots. I know I'm not most people, but as a Designer, I have a handful I need with me. Sharpie, pen, pencil, Xacto, felt tip, pocket scale. They scratch against each other in a shared pocket, and the material is too thick for the clips to clip onto for most of them, so they tend to slide too far down to reach quickly. I also don’t like that it’s not quick to pull out a pen. It’s swinging the bag to the front, opening a zipper, opening a flap, opening another zipper, pulling out the pen, then reverse. Nah.

5) Sweat. So. Much. Sweat. I’ve worn this for hikes, all day shopping in markets, at trade shows, in giant airports, and the back sweat is measurable in inches. Not as bad if there’s a coat and it’s cold, but if this is on the shirt on my back, I will be wetter than I care to be in normal attire.

6) While I like the little pocket at the top of the zippered laptop compartment, it grows into the main pocket, and right at the top. This pocket is the natural place for sunglasses, keys, etc, but as it grows, it greatly interferes with access into the main compartment, and can also crush stuff in that little pocket.

7) I’d love to see other kind of dividers or organization options that can attach to that velcro-ey interior of the bag. I wanna get their tech bag that fits nicely, but would love to have some more specific options available to mix and match with.

There's a part of me that hopes they never put these into play, because I don't wanna drop another $280 on a bag. But if they do, I happily will.

#edc #everyday carry #backpack #bag #messenger #camera #dslr #gear #travel #luggage #review #design #peak design #peak #industrial design #product design #product review

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surveys-at-your-service · 4 years

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Survey #241

“where once a heart was beating, nothing but embers glow. our love, it serves as kindling to stoke this flame’s inferno.”

Would you care if your partner did drugs etc? If it was legal here and just for medical purposes, I'd be fine with just weed. Otherwise, I treat the idea the same way as I would a tobacco smoker: no. Has anyone lost their virginity to you? I guess in a gay context? For two females, when is it really... "lost?" Idk. Do you live near a beach? Like... two hours away. Have you ever skipped school just because you were tired? Ha ha, yeah... Do you enjoy going through the car wash? I do, actually. I'm still a little kid when it comes to the rainbow soap, ha ha. Have you done anything embarrassing lately? Oh, I'm sure. How many bracelets do you have on your wrists right now? One. Would you consider painting your bedroom purple? Noooo, it wouldn't be cute y'all. Do you actually wear every shirt in your drawer? Ha, no... mainly because there's a handful of them that I'm working to shrink back into. Then there's others I'm self-conscious of because of color and having hyperhidrosis out the ass. Just wearing black disguises sweat the best. Would you ever get a tattoo on your collar bone? I have one already, but I'm getting it covered at some point. I didn't put much thought into it and has no meaning to me now. I plan on getting the other collarbone tatted too, of course. Are you pregnant right now? Bitch fuck no. Do you still dress up for Halloween? Ugh, no, but only because I can't afford even things to put together my own costume. Not having anywhere to go only further discourages dressing up period. Who was the last male you talked to? My dad. Do you hate cuddling? Hell no, if I like you anyway. Do you have any bruises right now? No. Why did you take the last pill you took? They're my morning prescription meds. My last pill was for anxiety. Could you handle having kids? FUCK no. Nervous breakdowns would happen twice a week, I promise. What outfit makes you feel the most attractive? Attractive? In anything? What a concept. What do you think of people who always wear make-up? You do you, boo. What’s a smell that absolutely makes you gag? Gag, probably vomit. Or feces of some animals. Is there a smell that gives you headaches? GASOLINE. And fresh-cut grass. What do you do while you’re on campus but not in class? Sit in the library doing schoolwork or whatever on my laptop. Do you know anyone who has Autism/Asperger’s syndrome? Yes. Has anyone of the same sex ever hit on you? Yeah. Are you open to a same-sex relationship and why or why not? Yeah; been in one already and I'm still open to dating another girl. What do you think of people who litter and do you? I openly fucking despise you. So obviously not. How much time do you spend online daily? If I'm not in school, I can like... guarantee you I'm on the computer doing at least something. Not always the same site, but I'm somewhere. I absolutely hate how reliant I am on the Internet. Do you wear sunglasses regularly? I never do. I need prescription sunglasses. Who was the last person you called? My mom. Do you own a tablet of any kind? No. Do you tend to put things off until the last minute? OH YES INDEED. What are your parents’ natural hair colors? What is yours? Mom's is brown, and I cannot believe Dad was born with blond hair. HOW does that turn black. I was born dirty blonde. Are you afraid of getting shots? Nah, just the injection is kinda painful with how it burns. Do you hate it when people smoke around you? I very much so hate it. Have you ever wanted to vlog? Noooo, I'm too awkward for that. Always have been. What’s the last piercing you got? Tongue. Do you have a best friend? Ye. What’s your internet homepage? Google. Do you have a shower stall or a bath tub? A tub. When was the last time you saw someone attractive? In person? Idk. What do you hear right now? "I Am Hell" by Machine Head. This time last year, can you remember who you liked? Same person I like now. Did you speak with your father today? No. Are you currently frustrated with someone? No. Name one of your hobbies? Watch YouTube is high up there and like... the only thing I have motivation to do lately. I really hate it. I want my writing will to come back. What is your biggest worry in life right now? My lack of a job. Do you like hot or cold showers? Hot. Are you happy with your relationship status? I don't have a particular feeling about it. What colors would you like to have at your wedding? Depends on the season and the opinion of my spouse, too. How easy was it to get over the person you last dated? It didn't take too long, though it was really because the event left me believing we were, without question, getting back together once we are independent enough to live on our own/mutually move out. It's still possible we may, should life just play out where it works out, but it also was much easier to accept because we're still completely best friends. Have you ever lived with a girlfriend/boyfriend? Not on paper, but pretty much. How old were you when you first smoked weed? But I never have. What is one thing that you’ve done that a lot of people said you couldn’t? Idk; I don't have a lot of unsupportive people in my life. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? Mom. What was the last reason you cried? I listened to a song that deeply triggered my PTSD. Have you ever hated a song, and then later on found that you liked it? Yup, however that works. Did you have a good childhood? It was mostly normal, I guess? Do you play games on your PC? Just World of Warcraft right now. I started Alien: Isolation and Resident Evil 6 FOREVER ago, I just haven't had the motivation to finish either. Do you have a formspring? It's familiar, but I'm actually not sure what that even is. Do you know anyone that is racist? Welcome to the South. Do you have an active sex life? No. Are you defensive about anything? Yes. Have you ever driven 80+ mph? No. Have you ever changed a lightbulb? Yes. Have you ever gotten a bullseye in darts/archery? Darts, possibly. Never done archery. Do you have a Wii? Yeah. Do you own any animals that absolutely hate you? No. What brand is the computer you’re currently on? Acer. Are there any piercings you want but you’re too afraid it will hurt? The pain factor doesn't keep me away from piercings, so no. Do you think ear gauging is gross? When it gets to a certain width, to me anyway, it's pretty ew. I don't judge at all about someone having them, but it can get to a point where it just isn't appealing imo. Are you afraid of anyone in your family? Who and why? No. What’s the last scary movie you saw? Ummmm idk. It's been a long-ass time. I'm sure something in theaters, but I really don't know. Why aren’t you friends with your last ex? We are friends. When did you last spend the night at a friend’s house? A year ago when I was at Sara's. Did you ever watch 2Girls1Cup? Fuck no, I've never even looked into what exactly it is, but I know enough to know I don't wanna fucking see it. Do you have anxiety or depression? *shrugs* Why not both? Have you ever lived in a mobile home? No. Have you ever had your bedroom in a basement? Never even had a basement to begin with lol. Friend asks you to hide drugs, booze etc for them, do you do it? lol no. Animal you like to watch but sort of creeps you out: Big spiders. I particularly like writing spiders/orb weavers though, and watching big spiders eat is just fascinating. Have you entered the Lays create a flavor contest? Oh man how long ago was that??? No. Bagels or English muffins? Bagels gotta win it for me. Who is a family member you look forward to seeing on a holiday? On Christmas especially, I love seeing my niece and nephew because they're just so excited. Brings me back to what it felt like as a little kid. Are Easter baskets only for kids? No. My sisters and I each had super cute baskets that Mom would fill until like... two years ago. Now that it's just me living with her, she'll just usually buy me a candy bar or something. Do you do anything to recognize St Patrick’s Day? No. Do you think nutcracker figurines are creepy or cool? No opinion. Speaking of nuts, do you like them? For the most part, no. There are instances however where I can enjoy like little pieces of them with other kinds of food, ex. chocolate. What do you do when you are nervous? Dead giveaway: I'm kneading/playing with my hands. I pace naturally, but I do so more frequently when I am nervous. I'll have a harder time making eye contact, too. Does your family have an SUV or pick up truck? No. Which of your parents do you laugh more with? Dad. Have you ever been to an open casket wake or funeral? Wake, yes. Who mows the lawn at your house? Some guy Mom knows through the dance studio. Where do you keep your phone at night? Usually to the right of my pillow, a bit far away, and up more towards the headboard. My bed's a queen-size and it's just me, so I have room where I won't hit it. If it has to charge though, then it's on the table beside my bed. Do you feel comfortable asking your parents or grandparents for money? No in almost every case. I'm only somewhat comfortable if it's Mom and I'm asking for like a snack from the gas station or something like that. What’s the last thing you lost? My phone, I think. If you could have your own car or an apartment, which would you choose? An apartment would be entirely useless as I am in no way competent enough to live alone yet, and a car wouldn't have much use seeing as I only have my permit and STILL pretty much never drive. It'd be more useful than an apartment, though. Last time you hid, and why: Uhhhhh. I have zero clue. How do you like your eggs? I'll only ever take them scrambled with cheese. Favorite Mexican food? Quesadillas. Upcoming event you are dreading? I'm happily enjoying it right now, but in another way, I'm dreading school break ending just because I am INCREDIBLY nervous about the effects of it on my legs with the whole muscle atrophy thing. I'm scared of regressing. Do you have a favorite pen? What kind? No. Do you do more surveys during the day or night? The day. Just shampoo, or shampoo + conditioner? Just shampoo. Conditioner adds oil to your hair, and trust me, my hair does NOT need any extra oil. Scariest driver you’ve ridden with: Dad the day he had to pick Nicole and me up from school and we had a 30-minute drive home. Basically, we got home in maybe 15 or less. He was in a fucking awful mood, speeding like hell, running red lights, passing illegally... I was entirely convinced we were going to die that day. Still one of the scariest of my life. Do you think you’re smarter than the average person? If so, why? It depends on the subject matter; in areas such as English, wisdom, stuff kinda like that, honestly yeah. In areas like common damn sense and mathematics, fuck no. What was the last topic you did thorough research on? Why? Paganism. I recently found that Neo-Paganism is the closest description for my spiritual beliefs; it covers such a broad spectrum, and it emphasizes the divinity of nature, free will (so long you are not inflicting harm upon another), the equality of man and woman (plus the beauty of humanity), and one of the concepts of the "ultimate being" includes not an actual deity, but just like this... source of energy and power. I don't even know if I believe it to be conscious, it's just like... the source, and it lies within nature. I'm still doing more and more research into it as I'm thoroughly intrigued, and I continue to feel more at home with its inclusiveness to an array of interpretations. What was the last thing to upset you? So beyond just an annoyance? Probably when this random fucking Facebook post of a father sharing just how proud he was of his son for killing wolves together and sharing purely evil photographs of them playing with/posing the bloody dead bodies (which included making them "snarl" at the camera, and mind you, their mouths were full of blood) popped up on my feed for no goddamn reason. Safe to say, I left a comment and got into a fight with a backwards son of a fuck who thought it was totally kosher to kill these "vermin" and used personal attacks versus logic to try in vain to prove his point, when all he did was accomplish me seeing him as the vermin. Where did you go to the last time you left your house? My sister's house. Do you wear something on your left hand/wrist/arm without fail? Friendship ring with Sara as well as the bracelet she gave me. What is an article of clothing you would never ever wear? Stealing the last answer of jumpsuits. Will you go outside today? Probably not. Are you doing everything you can to make yourself happy? Not everything. I know I could do more. What is a phrase or a saying you try to live by? I don't think I have a set one that I always look to. I refer more to ideas, such as to be unrelenting in your goals. What is something you lie to yourself about? I don't know. I'm not good at that. What has been the best job you’ve ever had? lol What is a holiday, that is NOT celebrated in your country, that you would like to celebrate? Day of the Dead. I know some do celebrate it here, but it's more of a holiday in Mexico. Which nation’s culture (excl. your own) do you find the most interesting? Germany's, from what I remember. We learned quite a bit about them while I took it as a language. They are very serious about honesty and manners. What is something you judge about other people? How you treat others, certain aspects of ones personality (ex., arrogance), and as the previous person stated, to a certain degree anyway, moral/political/religious beliefs. What is something you do not want to discuss? I get really uncomfortable talking about sex, and though no one in my "real" life knows about it (except perhaps Mom due to an outburst during the breakup), I don't like even looking back on the Joel situation. There are also some political things I just don't want to talk about. Do you enjoy solving problems? No, shit's stressful. Are you a kinesthetic, an auditory or a visual learner? Kinesthetic, 100%. Are you an introvert, an extrovert or an ambivert? I'm a pretty strong introvert, though not as much as I once was. I can get lonely kinda quickly now, but I still NEED my alone time. Are you socially anxious or awkward? OH BOY AM I!!!!!!! Do you actually think it’s gross to talk about body functions? NO!!!!!!! This needs needs needs to be normalized because it's stuff we all endure, so we should be comfortable talking about these things, asking questions, etc. Have you ever sent a love letter? Yeah. When you look up at the sky do you ever NOT see a plane or vapor trail? Yeah. Welcome to the country. Do you wear any shoes with holes because you can’t give them up? No. When you go out to breakfast, what do you order? Pretty much always pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. What’s the best compliment you’ve gotten from a boss/teacher? That when she came back to teaching, I was the exact kind of student she hoped for. What’s a weird or interesting nickname you gave someone? lmao the first one that came to mind was Connie's "Einnoc." Is there a phrase or mantra you repeat when you are frightened? No. What are you most envious of? Successful photographers lmao. Do you have a friend with a habit that worries you? Yes. Would you rather have coffee, cocoa, tea, or soda? UGH soda. That's my weaknesses. You could take sweets from me, but I'm pretty reliant on soft drinks. When you walk into your best friend’s room, what do you smell? I don't remember, actually... I haven't been there enough. Have you ever purposely broken something that belonged to a sibling? Wow, no. Have you ever worked at the same place as your best friend? No. Do you like to visit famous people’s homes? I've never done that, and I find it disrespectful anyway. Give celebs their privacy, goddamn. Do you take days off from shaving when you can get away with it? The only thing I shave are my armpits, and considering I don't shower everyday, yes. Every time I do take one however, I always shave. Is there anything hanging on your bathroom walls? No. If your SO agreed, would you want an open relationship? No. Have you ever slept with three people in the same bed? When? Why? At some point, yeah, but not in a romantic context. It was with friends or family when we had limited space. Does your family regularly eat sit down meals together? Pretty much never. Who would you like to slow dance with? To what song? SOBS "The Only Exception" by Paramore w/ Sara continues to sob What’s your favorite pet name someone calls you? None that I have now. If you could talk to one species of animal what would it be? Good question. I guess cats, as I have one and would love to know what he thinks. What’s the largest animal you’ve ever seen in person? An elephant, strolling RIGHT by the fence at the zoo. Have you ever used the change counting machine at a store or mall? Ohhh, I remember those! Yes. Would you give mouth to mouth to your dog to save its life? We have a dog I honestly can't stand, and this is gonna get me mentally punched, but I don't know. NO, not BECAUSE I don't like him, but I don't love him enough to deal with those germs. I don't think I could stomach doing it. If you came with a warning label, what would it say? "Is going to be uncomfortable if you say one word to her but craves friendship anyway." Have you ever tried to learn a language on your own? No. Have you ever had a pet destroy something valuable or important? The thing that upset me the most was when Teddy tore up the corner of one of my art pieces I'm most proud of. I cried. It was weird considering he never really tore up stuff... but alright then. What’s the best burger EVER? UGH I'm weak for Wendy's Baconators. Did you ever show up late for an important event? Probably at some point?

#survey #quiz #questions #random #bored

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shipmistress9 · 5 years

Text

Undine 8

Fandom: HTTYD

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Hicret/Hicretstrid

Modern AU. Kinda-Mermaid AU.

FF-net AO3

. o O o .

AN: This story received a sudden surge of attention lately, and I hope I can keep up with the expectations. :)

. o O o .

Hiccup had to say that he quite enjoyed the sight of his sleeping boyfriend as he lay naked between the rumpled sheets. He'd been so tense lately, obsessed with researches for an additional chapter. Hiccup wondered what had prompted this since, in principle, Eret had been done with the rough outline of his book. But Eret had only reacted with an absent-minded grunt when Hiccup had asked him once, so he’d left it at that. He knew by now that Eret would gladly talk about it – when he had the mind for it.

That was one of the things that worked so wonderfully between them, after all. They could talk about everything, but they also both recognised and respected when the other needed more time to first sort through their own thoughts.

Either way, today Hiccup still planned to get Eret out of this almost gloomy mood. He crawled onto the big bed and woke his boyfriend with light caresses and a teasing mouth on his neck and shoulders. Eret reacted with a low grunt and then with pleased hums, leaning into Hiccup’s touches.

“Morning,” Hiccup murmured after a few minutes, grinning against warm skin. “Time to get up.”

“Nooo, not yet,” Eret mumbled sleepily, and turned to pull Hiccup into a kiss and an embrace that would easily lead to more. “Although, something definitely up already.”

But Hiccup retreated, laughing, and shook his head. “No, no, none of that now. Come on, I have plans for today.”

Eret pouted, but eventually got up and followed Hiccup into the kitchen, glancing curiously at the food his boyfriend was packing into a bag right now. “What’s all this for?” he asked, gratefully accepting the mug of coffee Hiccup had already prepared for him.

“We’re going out today,” Hiccup declared as he stowed away the last bit of the snacks he’d prepared. “Remember the ruins you once mentioned? I asked Mrs Ingerman where exactly they are, and that’s where we’re going today. A field trip for you to investigate those ruins and for me to take pictures for inspiration or to draw right there. We can stay there all day,” he added, nodding toward the picnic blanket.

At that, Eret’s expression turned into a wide grin. He placed his mug back onto the counter and approached Hiccup with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “We can stay outside all day, eh?” he mumbled into his ear, his broad hands gliding down Hiccup’s sides and wrapping around his hips, making him shudder. “And I bet that picnic is all you’ve planned. Just a nice day in the sun.”

He bent to nibble at Hiccup’s neck, and he wasn’t able to keep in a needy moan, pushing his hips forward against Eret’s. But Eret retreated, chuckling.

“No, no, none of that now,” he repeated Hiccup’s words from before, grinning. “Better save that for later.”

Hiccup groaned, but also couldn’t help a renewed shudder running through his entire body. Eret knew him too well. Later meant that Eret had seen right through him, and Hiccup was reminded of how lucky he was that his boyfriend didn’t mind his outdoor kink at all.

. o O o .

The ruins were just as interesting as Hiccup had suspected. They were the remains of a moated castle, standing at the end of a small and calm cove. The outer walls still reached into the sea, and there also was a small tower, standing freely amidst the water. On solid ground, many other parts of the former building were also still standing with patches of green in between, partially former gardens and partially places mother nature had reconquered over the centuries. There was one place in particular, a sunny patch of grass near a small beach within the castle’s walls, that immediately drew their attention.

Without a word, Eret spread out the blanket and stretched out on it. “Yeah, I think I can stand staying here,” he sighed, turning his face toward the sun. “Too bad we didn’t bring our swimming kit. It’s certainly warm enough and the water looks so inviting!”

“Well… I did pack towels. It’s not like there’s anybody around to see us,” Hiccup replied as he placed the bag with Eret’s laptop, his own tablet, and their camera on the ground next to the food.

Eret snorted, but didn’t even open an eye to give Hiccup the smirk he knew he would get under different circumstances. “Of course you did.”

The first hours of their day out passed just as lightly as planned. They roamed the old castle’s ground, climbing on walls and discovering hidden spots at the most unexpected places. Eret took notes and pictures of all the things they found, cataloguing everything for later researches, while Hiccup took more pictures of the general scenes for background inspiration. Every now and then, they took breaks to eat some of the snacks, self-made bread, cheese, fruits, and Hiccup’s famous banana bread. Around noon, they dozed off, the warm sunshine on their skin, and when Hiccup woke, it was to a warm body cuddling up to him, a large hand slipping beneath his tunic-style shirt.

“Are you awake yet?” Eret muttered from behind him, his hand leaving a trail of sparks on his skin that made heat pool in his lower belly.

Instead of an answer, Hiccup pushed back against where he could feel Eret already half hard against his ass. What followed was an intense playfight of groping and tugging clothes off, of pushing each other down, and of laughter and kisses. In the end, Hiccup won, though probably only because Eret let him. They both knew what being outside did to Hiccup during sex, and Eret was always eager to take this wild, almost feral side of his boyfriend.

“Fuck, Eret!” Hiccup groaned a good amount of lube and preparation later as he pushed into welcoming heat. His vision and mind were already blurry, his hands on Eret’s hips to steady them both.

Beneath him, Eret gave a needy grunt as his prostate was hit, already so sensitive after Hiccup stimulating it with his fingers. He was on all fours, the best way to take Hiccup in this primal state in his opinion, but even though they’d barely started, his arms were already shaking.

It didn’t take long before Hiccup lost himself to their surroundings. He couldn’t say what it was, but there was just something about having sex outside; about the fresh air, the wind on sweaty skin, the scent of grass and flowers, of the sea and the earth, the sounds of rustling leaves – it all mixed into the usual experience and turned sex into something more. Soon, he lost his ability to think and only felt, the heat, the pleasure, how it all grew in intensity until his body felt on fire.

“Oh, Gods!” he grunted through gritted teeth as he felt his orgasm building, everything insight him growing tight. Eret replied with an unarticulated noise somewhere between a whine, a groan, and a shout, and it gave Hiccup the last push. He came with a primal howl, buried deeply inside Eret’s twitching and clenching body.

When he came to his senses again, he was enveloped in Eret’s embrace, looking up into a lazy and satisfied smile.

“Hi there. Back to human brains?” he asked teasingly, making Hiccup chuckle weakly and burrow deeper into his embrace.

“Mmh, not quite, but I’m getting there,” Hiccup mumbled back. “But how are you? I’m sorry, I lost myself again, and–”

“Oh, don’t be daft,” Eret interrupted him, laughing, and cut him off with a kiss. “There’s nothing quite like getting fucked by that animalistic side of you, and you know how much I enjoy that. No need to apologise for anything.”

Hiccup hummed, but still threw a quick glance below and was relieved to find Eret soft and satisfied. Yes, outdoor sex always was an intense experience, for them both, but he still always worried about how utterly unobservant he would become.

For a while, they only kept cuddling in silence until Eret broke it. “Thank you for this day out,” he sighed. “I really needed that.”

Hiccup only nodded, waited for him to continue.

“I’ve… I’ve been too obsessed with this thing lately. Remind me to stick to my original opinion and trust in my instincts in the future.”

“I will. What were all your researches about anyway?”

Eret let out a weak laugh, sounding almost embarrassed. “It was… well, it was about the Undine.”

With a low grunt, Hiccup retreated to look at Eret, checking whether he was serious. With how vehemently he’d turned down this specific topic over and over, this was probably what Hiccup had expected the least.

“Yeah, I know what you want to say, H. ‘Wasn’t it you who always told me it’s nothing but a weird fairy tale, not even worth thinking about it twice?’ It’s just... How we sometimes lose entire hours without remembering them.” He gave a helpless shrug. “It’s strange. I don’t have an explanation for that, so I thought… well, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to look what this local legend even was about.”

“And what did you find?” Hiccup asked, half worried and half amused.

Eret just snorted though. “Nothing. Nothing that makes sense, at least,” he grunted. “There’s the story Mrs Ingerman told us, about that boy who died, and I’ve heard the same story from others in the village too. One elderly man even claimed that one of his ancestors had seen her. A beautiful woman wandering through the village in the middle of the night. That’s apparently what started all the other stories, because a stranger in the middle of the night obviously can only be an evil spirit.” He snorted and shook his head. “And since then, the Undine gets the blame for every accident and every misfortune, be it a stillborn child or just someone losing their keys. There isn’t even an explanation for who or what she is, where she comes from, or what she wants. It makes no sense. Usually, such legends have a more… more decorated core, you know? Something more substantial. More details and background, another source than just ‘a woman was seen as she walked through the night’. It’s so flimsy compared to other legends I’ve heard.”

Hiccup nodded. He understood what Eret meant, had heard about enough other legends to see the difference. “So, then you don’t believe in the Undine anymore?”

Again, Eret snorted and rolled his eyes at his boyfriend. “I wouldn’t say that I ever believed in her. You should know me better than that by now.”

Hiccup hummed in agreement. Eret was too practical and too grounded to believe in the supernatural. Yes, he researched the old legends and treated them with respect when he talked about them in his book, but that didn’t mean that he believed in them. “What changed your mind then? To look into it in the first place, I mean?”

Eret gave a little shrug. “I guess I was hoping to find some answers. I mean, there is something out there. There has to be some explanation as to why we lose track of entire hours all of a sudden. It’s not just you, after all, not just one person, but two. And something like that never happened to us before. I thought it might be some… some hallucinogenic gas leaking from the earth, or something. Or an intense magnetic field that plays tricks on our minds. Just anything. But even if it was something like that… that doesn’t explain why it would affect us so strongly.”

“Maybe the general population here is more used to it by now?” Hiccup offered as a possible explanation. Personally, he was fine with accepting it all to be the doing of a sentient water spirit, but he knew that Eret felt differently and Hiccup enjoyed throwing ideas around with him.

But Eret shook his head. “That would be a possible explanation,” he admitted. “If it wasn’t for the fact that tourists generally stay entirely unaffected by this, by the Undine. No, not even that makes sense. I should have just left it be, because none of it makes sense!”

In a way, Hiccup would have liked to keep talking about this topic. It was the first time Eret didn’t just ward it off as complete nonsense, after all. But he respected his boyfriend’s wish for a change of topic. “Maybe you’re just overworked and after today everything will be clearer again. Anyway, how about we go swimming before the sun gets down? Because having brought those towels for no reason would be a shame.”

It didn’t take any more convincing after that. With the days getting longer and warmer, they’d both been eager to go for a swim in the ocean, and this secluded place was just perfect; no too strong waves or hidden currents, with only calm clear water, the tower, and interesting rock formations. For nearly an hour, they stayed in the cool water, swimming around the rocks, diving along the old castle walls, and picking up a couple of pretty shells. Hiccup nearly died of laughter during a water fight that left them both panting and grinning, and that ended with a passionate kiss which left them even more breathless. Hiccup greatly enjoyed the taste of salty water on Eret as he went down on him, with Eret’s hands clawing into the damp beach as he came since they’d not even made it back to their blanket.

All in all, it was a great day. And when Eret said so too as they snuggled under their blanket that night, Hiccup couldn’t help the satisfied grin. This was it, the life they had been looking for. Not free of work, but free of obligations and expectations, free to divide their time as they chose, and free to be with each other in whatever way they wished. And it made him happy.

. o O o .

When her humans had left their construction shortly after dawn, she’d followed them along the coast and to the other, much older construction. This one was even older than she was, from the time of her predecessor or even earlier still. There had always been one like her in these waters, after all.

The creature couldn’t help but smile as she watched them all day long. Even though she had to keep a little more distance in the calmer waters, she still saw how happy they were, and that made her happy in return. Their behaviour didn’t make much sense to her, sometimes wild like a storm and then calm like a breeze only a few moments later. She paid close attention as she watched them that day, trying to understand and to learn. And even though she understood barely anything of what they did, she couldn’t smother the wish to join them.

She wanted to climb those walls too, an exercise so different from swimming that she could barely wrap her head around it. She wanted to taste the food they obviously enjoyed so much, not being used to eating herself aside from what the light and the water provided her with. She wanted to feel the sun on her skin, even as the memory of said skin forming around her still made her shudder. She wanted to know how it felt to touch and be touched. She knew how a rock felt when she leaned on it, but another living being would certainly feel differently – and also different from when a fish accidentally swam through her.

When they eventually entered her world beneath the ocean’s surface, she couldn’t make herself stay away from them, though. She was careful not to poke her head over the calm surface and also made sure to stay behind rocks so they wouldn’t spot her vague face floating around. But still, she stayed close, swimming around them in circles and enjoying their presence.

That night, she watched their small construction with an entirely new feeling. Being so close to them had given her a thrill. It had been exciting and wonderful, and she’d deeply missed their warm trail when they eventually ventured back onto solid ground. However, she felt as if part of the warmth she’d witnessed all day was still there, in and around her, making her mind tremble with joy. And she hoped that, with the warmer season coming, she would get the chance to do something like this more often.

She didn’t fool herself though. Today, the memory of tight skin trapping her might have been enough to keep her in the water – but it was only a matter of time before her curiosity got the better of her.

. o O o .

Uh-oh... I wonder how that will turn out...

#Undine #fanfiction #Hicret #Hicretstrid #Mermaid AU #Modern AU #OT3 #Hiccup Haddock #Eret son of Eret #Astrid Hofferson #httyd

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tumultuoustuna · 6 years

Note

how about klance and 37 for fics writing

Gonna get this out here before s6 drops, in case anything like this doesn’t go down and I feel like I have to rewrite anything. Thanks for the request anon, this one got angsty.

At any other given time, in any other given situation, Keith loved peace and quiet. The Blade was quiet almost 24/7. But, in the Castle’s case, when it was quiet, normally it meant something was wrong. Whether it be because the wiring or paneling was failing or the air system shut off. Keith felt so guilty for it this time. All because of a certain Red Paladin.

“Can you just shut up for five minutes?”

Keith honestly couldn’t believe how vicious and agitated he had sounded. Normally he could control his own venom, especially towards Lance, who’d been a pillar of strength in Shiro’s absence. The venom had probably built up, after weeks of being stuck in a base near two fucking black holes, barely talking with anybody, save for Kolivan and a random Blade here and there. Neither were good company to talk with. So being in the presence of so much commotion again didn’t help Keith’s… anything. It was painful, grating against his senses like nails on a chalkboard.

More painful now though, was watching the cold, blue light of the medical scanner run over Lance, slowly and precisely. The Red Paladin was frowning, looking at the Altean in front of him for an answer.

“How bad is it?” Hunk asked tentatively. His hands were clenched in anticipation.

Coran looked back at the Yellow Paladin, hesitance in the very fibers of his mustache. “Well, the tissue has healed beautifully around his vocal cords, but the vocal cords themselves are…” He trailed off.

“They’re what?” Pidge persisted.

“I believe the term is lacerated,” Coran sighed. “Yes, they’ve been lacerated.”

“Not like, beyond repair though, right?”

“I’m not really sure. It seems human and Altean vocal structures are quite similar, save for a few key differences; so I can look into how to repair them,” the older Altean replied with as much reassurance as he could muster. He was playing and pinching as his ‘stache again, which meant he was in a slightly better mood.

Lance gingerly touched his neck, the new skin still sensitive. The scar was… massive, honestly. It stretched across the left side of Lance’s neck and collarbone. His eyes weren’t focused on Coran anymore, favoring the floor now.

“Do you need any help?” Pidge asked. She already had her laptop out.

“Of course, Pidge,” Coran smiled.

Lance’s head wiped up from the floor to Pidge’s face before he opened his mouth to speak. Only a strangled squeak managed its way out. He quickly shut his mouth and screwed it in anger. It kinda reminded Keith of an angry kitten. Which, now that he thought about that, was weird.

“I’m sorry my boy, I wouldn’t try that. It’ll only make the damage worse,” Coran explained. Lance’s expression went from anger to exasperated and annoyed as he crossed his arms.

“The least we can do now is find ways help you,” Pidge stated. The look on her face was set with determination. Hunk nodded.

“Yeah. Honestly, I’ve always wanted to a nurse. At least in theory; it sounded cool when I was a kid.”

Lance snickered before pointed at Pidge’s laptop and making a typing gesture. Pidge handed it over and Lance wrote something out that made Pidge laugh and Hunk roll his eyes.

Throughout the entire conversation, Keith hadn’t said anything. He hadn’t even moved from his place in the doorway. His voice was caught in the back of his throat, his tongue stuck in its place. He decided then it was best to leave.

The room was too quiet.

The weight on his chest did not lift.

—- —- —-

Back in his room, the events of last week ran through Keith’s head. The trip to the planet Burran, the sneak attack from Galra still loyal to Zarkon’s war mentality, to now. The Blade and Team Voltron were all on one ship for once; it was supposed to be a relaxing time. Save for Hunk accidentally lighting Slav on fire.

Keith’s knees were pulled up to his chin, body matching how small he felt. His words kept ringing through his head, over and over again: Can you shut up, shut up…

“Can you just shut up for five minutes?”

Lance flinched at Keith’s tone, but it didn’t stop him from replying, “What’s got your panties in a twist?”

The discussion between Shiro, Allura, Kolivan, and Lotor via hologram ceased. Pidge looked to Shiro and Allura in concern before focusing back on the two Red Paladins.

Keith glared back at Lance. He could hear Kolivan’s warning, but the words were disregarded. “You’ve been talking nonstop since this meeting started, about the stupidest things! Focus!”

“I have been talking about the mission, thank you very much,” Lance sneered. He crossed his arms, matching Keith’s stance.

“Guys-” Hunk tried. Neither gave him a chance to mediate.

“Yeah, ‘hot aliens’ totally have to do with the mission,” Keith emphasized with air quotes.

“I mentioned that as a joke, you numskull.”

“Oh dear,” Allura sighed. “Paladins, please-”

“It sure didn’t sound like it! All you do is focus on the attention you get afterward!”

Lance’s face contorted in anger, eyes icy. “My focus is on Voltron, but I can think of multiple things at once, Kogane.”

“Lance, Keith, that’s enough,” Shiro started, voice stern. Both of them actively ignored the Black Paladin.

“What’s your beef with me mentioning the aftermath anyway? It’s not like you stay long enough to care.”

The others saw the flare of anger in Keith’s eyes long before it was there. Unfortunately for Lance, he did not. So he continued.

“You’ll go right back to the Blade, avoiding us like you do. Giving us the cold shoulder. And why, because you don’t wanna be an actual Paladin anymore?”

Five steps forward and the Red Paladin was decked in the face. Hunk pulled Lance back quickly before he could retaliate while the Princess and Shiro held back a raging Keith.

Keith writhed in their hold. “You think I don’t care!?” he seethed.

“Sure seems like it,” Keith whispered to himself in the present. He knew he was voicing Lance’s thoughts at this point.

He flopped back on his bed (somehow it was still his bed). After that little stint, Kolivan had put Keith on the other side of the room with another Blade (“Keith, that was unwise.” “I’m aware.”). The Burranian people welcomed them all with open arms, the planet’s officials willing to make an alliance.

The Paladins and Blade jumped into action when the surprise attack came. The Lions weren’t needed, thankfully, but it left the Paladins vulnerable. The only good thing other than preventing a planet-wide takeover was that Keith managed to behead the Galran responsible for taking Lance out of commission. It was surprisingly satisfying.

That was a week ago. Burran had sent its regards, and Kolivan had told Keith to take time off. “You need to mend some bonds,” he had said.

“Hard to do when someone’s in a healing pod,” Keith had sighed to himself. Mending the bond was going to take more than a simple apology, too. He’d been away for months now; he had to learn how to interact with everyone again. Even Shiro. And normally the easiest thing to do would be to talk to Shiro.

But before he could really talk to anyone, Keith wanted out of his armor. It needed to air out and he needed a shower. He stripped and then stepped under the stream and sighed happily; the Blade never had heated water. He was never taking warm showers for granted again.

Unfortunately, all of his clothes were back at the Mamora base. He could probably ask Coran for a spare outfit, but he couldn’t do that sans pants and shirt. He put on the night clothes that had been resting undisturbed in his drawer when he first tried them on. They were still too big. How fucking tall had Alfor been?

As he cuffed the sleeves and pant legs, a sharp knock came from his door.

“Who is it?” Keith answered.

Another two knocks sounded before the doors slid open. There stood an exasperated-looking young, Cuban man. One arm was akimbo, the other holding tablet, and his toe was tapping rapidly.

“Y-yes?” Keith asked cautiously.

Lance’s brows furrowed as he looked down at the keyboard and violently stabbing each key before he pressed enter. “Okay what’s going on you’ve been avoiding me I know it.” No punctuation whatsoever.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re fucking avoiding me Kogane don’t deny it.” Lance looked at Keith again as his typing hand went back on his hip. Still no punctuation.

Keith didn’t reply. He opened his mouth, yes, but nothing came out. Lance was absolutely right, so it’s not like he could (or would) deny it. He shrugged though. “I mean… yeah.”

Lance’s brow raised in surprise. Was he expecting some sort of fight? He started typing again. “What’s up then?” The concern, although not in the robotic voice of the synthesizer, was obvious in Lance’s expression.

Now Keith was frowning. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I’m worried Keith.” Pause. More typing. “When you avoid one of us you avoid all of us.” Another pause and a look from Lance. “Emphasis on all.”

You got me there, Keith thought. “Listen, it’s really nothing. If we’re on good terms again, it doesn’t matter right now.”

“Wait what?”

“I’ve…” Now or never, Kogane. “I’ve been avoiding you ‘cause I felt really guilty about what happened last week, and… about what I said.”

Lance squinted. “About what?”

Keith was in disbelief. “I decked you in the face, Lance! I was so overwhelmed by all the talking and I wanted you to just shut up, and you didn’t, and then you go and say I didn’t care! And my first instinct was to punch you in your perfect face!”

Lance blinked, surprisingly not commenting on Keith’s wording at the end. “You think I’m still mad at you,” ‘he’ stated.

“Yes!”

“What? You’re scared I won’t forgive you? You should still be mad at me after what I said!”

“I’m really not!”

Both stared at each other, wide-eyed and baffled.

“Oh,” Lance managed to breathe out.

Keith nodded after a second, ashamed it took him this long to admit it.

Lance blinked, looking back down at the tablet. “Well, I’m not.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not mad at all.” Pause. “The opposite really.” Lance’s fingers twitched over the keys as he thought, then dived right back in. And there was actual punctuation this time. “After I got out, you avoided me all week. Refused to even look at me. I thought you were furious with me.”

Keith blinked, slowly. “Oh,” he finally said. “I’m… I’m sorry then. For doing that to you.”

Lance shrugged. “No problem. I have an idea on how to make up for lost time and stupidity though.”

“Do you?”

“How does talking aimlessly for a good hour sound?”

Keith could feel his emotions bubbling up as he smiled in relief. He grabbed Lance’s wrist and tugged him into his room and his arms for a bone-crushing hug. God, it had been so long since he’d been able to talk with anyone, hell yes he’d say yes. Lance chuckled softly and returned the hug, the tablet on the floor and forgotten for a moment.

And, as promised, for a good part of the next twoish hours, the two boys talked.Lance told the story of planet Niitex, where some alien guy with the body of a god but the personality of a rotten potato tried to court and marry him in the span of a week, and then about the time Osra 78 when Lance hit it off with a girl with six, pastel-colored eyes, long white hair, and a voice that sounded like bubbles. Unfortunately, as soon as she saw Hunk, Lance was no match. Keith agreed that that was probably fair. “He is the most loveable,” he shrugged.Keith meanwhile recalled the one mission he was on where he had to fight an alien with eight arms and skill to bend metal at their will after thining Keith was trying to hit on his significant other (he wasn’t, he was just scoping out information). It had been an unpleasant time. Kolivan had had to drag Keith outta there after the alien had been sedated by his s/o’s reasoning to not kill Keith (“I’m pretty sure she/they said something along the lines of ‘we don’t wanna piss off the bigger one,’ in reference to Kolivan.” “Logical.”).

Lance then asked Keith how life had been at the Blade headquarters, reasoning it couldn’t be so bad as long as the food wasn’t as tasteless as food goo.

“I mean, the Blade has goo, but whoever prepares it is obviously much more skilled than Coran,” Keith explained. “It varies from sweet and sour to savory. It was never as good as Hunk’s cooking though.”

“Yeah, if I’m ever away for a while for some reason, I’d ask Hunk if he could make, like, fifty meals for me to take,” Lance replied.

“I wish I’d done that.”

“Well, now that you’re back, you can eat as much as Hunk can make,” Lance snickered.

Keith frowned and looked down at his sheets. “I… don’t really know if I’m going to stay for long. Kolivan just gave me some time to calm down and to mend bonds. His words, not mine.”

“Well,” Lance started, resting his chin in his free hand. “You could just stay. Not only to spend time with us; you have your mom now, right?”

“Krolia is… a different case for me.”

“Not really. Still need to bond with her just like you need to bond with us.” Lance turned to face more towards Keith, his back now against the headboard/wall of the bed. “We’re all your family. And you haven’t been here in a while. I think… that’s why things were so strained as soon as you got on here, yeah?”

Keith scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Exactly. So, here’s a plan: you and Krolia both stay here. We all bond and you become a Paladin again. Preferably Black’s Paladin, please.”

“Why Black’s? Isn’t Shiro doing fine?” Keith smiled.

“Everything’s gone to shit since you left,” Lance huffed. “But, does that sound like a plan?”

“I don’t know about becoming a Paladin again, but I think I can at least arrange Kolivan to let me take a more extended-” Keith hesitated and screwed his mouth as he thought of the right word. “-eh, vacation?”

Lance sputtered out a silent laugh. “Sure, vacation. That turns into a staycation.”

Keith sighed. “Yeah, sure.”

Lance typed one more thing before setting his tablet down again and then pressing enter. “We all good?” His tablet monotoned as he opened his arms in welcome. Keith’s shoulders dropped in relief, and a sigh escaping his lungs. He scootched towards the former Blue Paladin, mirroring him and leaning into the hug. Lance then too sighed, shakily, like he was unsure if Keith would actually accept his offer.

The two didn’t move for a good while, rather just embracing each other’s presence. Their breathing eventually aligned, matching with their relaxed positions. Lance leaned back a tad, back hitting the wall so that he wasn’t holding all of Keith’s weight anymore. Keith nuzzled further into Lance’s neck. This was comfortable for him, familiar. Actual human contact. Maybe this plan to stay would actually work.

As if to read his mind, as if sensing his slight doubt, Lance tightened his hold on Keith, and managed out a raspy whisper. Only two words. But both were filled with untold emotion.

“Please stay.”

Keith exhaled shakily, tears starting to form and a silent sob threatening to escape. He tightened his grip on Lance’s shirt.

“I will,” he whispered back.

The silence was finally gone.

#laith #klance #vld #voltron #voltron legendary defender #voltron fanfic #vld fanfic #written #fanfiction #i'll have more tags in ao3 #boy this one was cathartic #course i had a lotta trouble w/ the actual fluff #what is w/ me #tuna writes

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divinebird · 7 years

Text

and many more

pairing: sheith (shiro/keith) wc: 3,900 note: happy birthday to me and happy birthday to shiro. i love him! with all my heart! and i wanted him to be happy! so i wrote this. also because i wanted keith to hold his hand. summary: Shiro's birthday: in space.

{ AO3 }

They manage to get a digital Earth calendar working, displaying it on a wall in the dining room so everyone can see. It’s only February, nearing the end of the month, and Shiro plans to age another year quietly (and, he supposes, with Keith).

That is, until, the others find out.

“Hey Shiro,” Pidge asks one day. “When is your birthday?”

“I don’t have one.” Shiro says.

Keith, without looking up from the tablet he’s using, also answers. “His birthday is on the 29th. He’s a leap year baby.”

Shiro looks at him, betrayed. Keith meets his gaze and flips him off.

“Oh! Then we have time to plan!” Pidge exclaims and when he looks back to her he sees that she looks delighted at the thought. “I have to go tell the others!” She then sets her laptop aside and rushes out the door.

“You don’t have one, huh?”

“Don’t make fun of me,” Shiro replies, walking over and sitting down next to him. “It’s the first thing that came to mind.”

“They would have found out eventually,” Keith says with an amused smile. “Aren't you the one who's always saying we should trust each other with these things? Because we’re a team?”

“I don’t see you telling them when your birthday is.” He grumbles, huffing when Keith simply laughs. Shiro leans against him until Keith moves the tablet out of the way and then he shifts until he’s lying down, his head on Keith’s lap. “I just don’t want them to make a big deal out of it...”

Fingers brush against his cheek before they start running through his forelock, gentle and soothing. He closes his eyes as he relaxes even further, letting out a content sigh.

“It’s not a big deal to them, Shiro. You’re their friend, of course they want to make your birthday special. I did the same, remember? I wanted to make it the best day for you, because you deserve it. They probably feel the same.”

Shiro doesn't reply, only nodding once to show that he understands. Keith hums, as if satisfied with that. He never really liked celebrating his birthday the older he got but he thinks it might be nice, surrounded by the people he cares about most.

They fall into a comfortable silence, Shiro nearly dozing off because of Keith’s actions. He leans into his touch when Keith brushes a thumb across his eyebrows, smiling at the small laugh Keith lets out.

“Can I still spend some time with you?” Shiro asks, opening his eyes. “Before or after whatever they're planning, I mean.”

Keith gazes down at him, eyes warm and smile soft. “Of course.”

☆

Everyone seems busy the days after that, showing up for training and food before disappearing once again. Shiro would normally be concerned but he knows they must be working on something for his party (Pidge had said it would be) so he left them alone.

It’s not strange to see Pidge, Hunk, and Lance working on something together—Coran joining in on occasion as well.

The day before his birthday he wakes up alone and stares up at the ceiling, wondering why Keith didn’t wake him up. He gets out of bed, pulling on his clothes and leaving the room to search for him.

Shiro finds Keith on the Bridge chatting with Allura, voices hushed and heads bent close together. Allura suddenly lights up and nods along to something Keith is saying, raising one of her hands up high. He watches a smile blossom on Keith’s face, looking relieved as he nods as well.

He leaves them be and wanders back to his room, deciding to try and get some extra rest in; fingers of his human hand dragging along the wall as he walks. After he’s sitting back on his bed, ready to lay down, the door opens again and there stands Keith.

Keith smiles at him. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” Shiro replies, smiling back at him.

He walks into the room and when he’s close enough Shiro wraps his arms around his middle, pulling him down on the bed with him as he falls back. Keith laughs, adjusting until he’s resting on top of Shiro.

“You good?” Keith asks with a hint of worry in his eyes. When Shiro nods it disappears, relief taking its place. He then shifts some more, head on Shiro’s chest. “Wanna stay like this until lunch?”

“Shouldn’t we change back into pajamas, then?”

“We’ll just be ready for later this way.”

Running his fingers through Keith’s hair, Shiro nods. “Makes sense.” He continues playing with Keith’s hair, growing warmer when he feels Keith nuzzle against him. “You seem tired.”

“Kinda am, been doing a lot recently.” He murmurs and Shiro catches the faint quirk of his lip. “Something about a party for our very important leader’s birthday.”

“Wonder who that could be,” Shiro says thoughtfully, tightening his hold around Keith. “I’m sure they’ll enjoy it, especially if they get a kiss from someone special.”

He gets a small ha in response to that and nearly pouts. “Really? No kiss? I’m devastated. I can’t go on. Looks like I’ll be gone before my birthday, what a shame.”

“Tragic.” Keith deadpans, but he still leans up to press a kiss to Shiro’s cheek. “There we go, you got your kiss. Tomorrow you can have some more, deal?”

“Will I still get some now?”

“Would you look at that,” Keith says, putting his head back down. “I’m suddenly really tired again. Guess I’ll have to go back to sleep, using you as my pillow.”

“Keith!”

He gets laughed at, of course, but he does get another kiss on his cheek and then one on his lips right after so it doesn’t really matter in the end.

☆

“No peeking!”

“You tied a shirt around my eyes,” Shiro says, amused. “How am I going to peek?”

“You’d find away.”

Pidge and Lance are the ones who are pulling him down the halls, both of them being his eyes for the time being. He feels himself smiling, excitement unfurling in his chest. They force him to stop suddenly, the three of them nearly falling over from the sudden change, and he feels doors open in front of him.

“Take one step forward,” Pidge directs in a soft voice and he does exactly that, stilling when they let go of him. “Now, take off your blindfold.”

He unties the shirt, blinking until everything comes into focus.

There’s a large banner hanging from the ceiling, a colorful ‘Happy Birthday!’ written on it. His team, his friends, are standing underneath it with large smiles on their faces—Keith is the only one seated, his own smile smaller than theirs. He steps closer, chuckling when they circle around him in a group hug.

“Thanks everyone.” He says warmly. “This means a lot.”

“No problem,” Lance replies as they all break away from Shiro, face bright. “We wanted to do this for you, Shiro. Even if your birthday technically doesn’t exist this year, I think you should be allowed to have a party.”

“I even baked you a cake!” Hunk exclaims with enthusiasm, giving Shiro another hug as he passes by. “I’m going to go get it now! Wait here!” He rushes off before Shiro can say anything so he simply shrugs, walking over to where Keith is sitting and taking a seat beside him.

A hand brushes against his metal one, no hesitation in the touch, and links their pinkies together. He glances over at Keith, who only offers a small quirk of his lips. Shiro intertwines their fingers, enjoying the way Keith’s eyes light up at the action. He gives his hand a squeeze, feeling something in his chest settle when Keith does the same.

“Alright Shiro, here it is!”

Hunk enters the room holding a tray, slowly making his way over to the table Shiro’s at and placing it in front of him. The cake is a dark purple, frosting a lighter shade of purple writing out Happy Birthday Shiro across it. There are even small designs around the letters and when he leans in closer he realizes it’s actually the team with their lions, as well as Allura and Coran.

“I was limited, of course, but I did the best I could.”

“I love it.” He says, glancing up at Hunk who beams in response. “Thank you so much.”

The others come closer, standing on the other side of the table with the same looks of anticipation.

“Are we ready to sing?” Allura asks, looking both curious and excited. “Pidge taught me the words, I hope I get them right.”

“If we can’t,” Coran adds, the same expression on his face. “Then we’ll improvise. As long as we carry the tune then I’d say we’re in the clear!”

They start only seconds after and Shiro can’t stop smiling. A small laugh escapes at how both Allura and Coran stumble over the words, an intense look of concentration on their faces. Lance seems to be trying his best to sing the loudest while Pidge goes slower than the rest. Hunk and Keith are the only ones who manage to keep their voice steady.

Shiro laughs again when they all clap for him, feeling lighter than he’s ever felt. Hunk holds out a knife but Shiro shakes his head, not wanting to let go of Keith’s hand.

“You’ll probably cut it better than I can.” He says when Hunk hesitates. “Just make sure I get the piece with Black and I.”

Hunk offers a salute, knife still in hand. “Can do.”

He gets his slice of cake a moment later and he finds himself smiling again at the image of his small face right next to Black, drawn in frosting. He’s about to break a piece off when Lance sits down in a seat across from him, capturing his attention.

“There were no candles but you can still make a wish,” Lance tells him, a teasing glint to his eyes. “Sucks that there wasn’t anything like them in the castle, it would have been great to see your face.”

“Why?”

“I would have put six, since you’re a leap year baby.”

Shiro sighs.

Lance’s laughter is loud and carefree, grin lingering. “I’m kidding, I wouldn’t do that. Probably.” He takes a plate of cake from Hunk and Shiro watches his expression grow softer as he looks down at it; his piece has himself and Blue on it. “Anyways, happy birthday. I know out in space in an alien castle isn’t the ideal place to celebrate but I hope it’s been good for you.”

He scans the room, noting how untroubled and cheery everyone looks. His gaze stops at Keith, who’s talking to Hunk with a tiny smile on his face while still holding his hand. Shiro finds that he’s smiling again as he thinks of the family he’s made out here and how close they’ve all gotten. “Yeah,” He says, looking at Lance. “I’d say it is, so far.”

Pidge pulls Lance and Hunk away immediately after that, the three of them sitting with Allura and Coran only a few seats away from them. He looks down at his piece of cake, a bit wary to try it. It’s made out of alien ingredients so who knows what it might taste like.

“Come on, birthday boy. You have to eat your own cake.” Keith is watching him with an amused look on his face, his own slice missing a corner.

“How does it taste?” Shiro asks curiously.

“Find out for yourself.”

He hesitates for only a couple of seconds before shrugging and breaking off a small piece from his own, popping it into his mouth. The flavor hits instantly, tangy that leaves behind a lingering sweetness, and he blinks in surprise. “Huh,” he says as he uses his fork to get a bigger piece. “Tastes good.”

“Your definition of good is very different from mine,” Keith tells him. He is still eating the cake, though, and when Shiro raises an eyebrow in question he shrugs. “I don’t want Hunk to think it’s bad. It is good, I can tell, I’m just not a fan of the flavor.” He pauses as he takes another bite, nose wrinkling only a bit. “Better than what I’ve had on Earth, at least.”

“Reminds me of lemon cake,” Shiro says with a shrug, finishing the rest of it. Loud laughter causes him to look over at the rest, watching as they all hover over something. He gets once glance at it, cube shaped and dark colored, before his view is blocked. “Wonder what they’re doing.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

He looks at Keith, suspicious. “Is it something for me?”

Keith smiles at him innocently. “Like I said, don’t worry about it.” He also finishes off the rest of his cake, eating slower than Shiro did before pushing his chair away from the table.

Shiro looks up at him when he stands, trying not to show how confused he is. “Are you going somewhere?” He pauses. “Are we going somewhere?”

“I want to show you something.” The look he gets from Keith is almost shy, cheeks dusted with a hint of pink as he stands there. “Right now would be a good time to see it.”

That sounds like the best idea, only because he’ll get to spent some time with Keith and only Keith just like he wanted. Instead of answering he stands up and smiles when Keith directs one of his own at Shiro. They start walking towards the doors, Shiro following Keith.

“Come back soon,” Pidge calls out as they leave. “The party still isn’t over, we’ve got one last thing to do.” She turns back to the table, where he gets only a small glimpse of the object (which has somehow started to glow) before the doors shut.

They start walking down the hall, Keith leading the way. When he glances over he catches the smug expression on his face, which disappears when their eyes meet. “It’s a gift, right? What did they get me?”

“Don’t be impatient, Shirogane.” Keith chides lightly as they turn left, the hallway having only one door at the end of it. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

He doesn’t pout but he’s close to doing it.

They stop in front of the door and Shiro watches as Keith takes a deep breath before he opens it. He walks in first, Shiro right behind him. The room they enter is bigger than the ones he’s seen in the castle so far, with large windows that easily show off the stars.

Keith brings him over to the small steps that are a few feet away from the windows, pulling him down as he sits.

“We did this for your birthday before Kerberos, remember? We sat underneath the stars on top of the Garrison roof.” Keith says quietly, and Shiro feels his weight against his side. “This time, we’re right next to them.”

“I remember.” says Shiro, just as quietly. “Sometimes, when we weren’t busy with out work, I’d look up at the stars and hope that you were doing the same back on Earth. It made things a little less lonelier.”

“You had the Holts.”

“I did, yeah, but they weren’t you.”

“You missed me.” Keith’s tone is light, almost teasing, but Shiro can hear the question underneath.

Shiro shifts until he’s facing Keith, waiting for him to do the same. They’re still holding hands, so he gives it a light squeeze and meets his gaze. “Of course,” he murmurs, leaning in and brushing their noses together. “I missed you on Kerberos and I missed you when the—” he swallows, taking a deep breath. “—when the Galra had me.”

The small hitch of Keith’s breath causes him to lean back, lips twitching at the surprise he sees on his face. It’s the same reaction Keith always has whenever Shiro expresses his love, like he can’t believe someone could ever say it to him. He remembers, before, when it took so long to convince Keith that he actually meant it and he’s glad there’s no longer any disbelief in his eyes; the surprise melting away to the same adoration he feels.

He leans in again, kissing the corner of his mouth. “Thank you for this,” he murmurs, eyes flicking to the windows. “Now we can keep coming here, look at the stars like we used to.”

“We don’t know these constellations.” Keith replies, and Shiro feels a small brush of lips against his own.

“We can learn them.” Shiro promises, letting go of Keith’s hand to place it on his cheek. This kiss is softer, his attempt at conveying how much he loves Keith through actions rather than words. The message seems to be understood, because he feels a smile against his lips. He finds himself smiling too as the kiss turns from one to multiple.

Eventually they break apart, Keith pressing their foreheads together. He can hear the smile in his voice when he speaks, words full of nothing but fondness. “Happy Birthday, Shiro.”

They continue to sit close together for a long while, the unfamiliar stars shining brightly outside the windows. The feel of Keith’s lips against his own, still tasting like the citrus flavored cake they had, makes it all perfect.

☆

The moment they step through the doors a flash goes off, causing Shiro to blink away the spots in his vision. Pidge stands in front of him, grinning down at the cube in her hands.

“It works!” She crows, doing little hops in place. “This is your gift!” She presses a button on the side and a picture is displayed holographically, Shiro and Keith wide eyed with surprise. “A camera! It can only display one image at a time but you can choose which one it can be.”

Shiro takes it from her and looks down at it with a smile. “Thank you, Pidge.” He says, pulling her in for a hug. She hugs him back eagerly and he laughs when she attempts to squeeze him. “A group picture would be nice to look at.”

“Then we’ll take one,” she says with a nod as she steps back. “Come over to the couch, Allura and Coran have something to show us.” There’s a knowing smile on her face and he has to stop himself from asking about it.

Keith leans against him the moment they sit down and Shiro wraps an arm around his shoulders. Hunk and Lance sit down on the floor while Pidge sits on the other end of the couch, curling up on her side. Allura and Coran are fiddling with someone on the wall until Allura claps and rushes to take a seat as well, Coran following her only seconds after.

“It’ll be on in just a tick,” he tells everyone. Shiro doesn’t even have to wonder what is happening because a screen comes down from the ceiling, an image flickering to life on it.

“We’re watching a movie?”

“Yes!” Allura answers excitedly. “We’re going to show you one of the Altean movies that were around when I was young, all of the children loved it! The others chose a movie from Earth to watch afterwards as well, so hopefully you’ll enjoy this night together.”

He’s already grinning. “I definitely will.”

The lights dim as the movie starts, pulling his attention away from her. He glances at everyone, taking in their curious and eager looks, before settling back against the couch—the same feelings blossoming within him.

Shiro and his friends, his family, watch the movies together; the best way to end his birthday.

☆

“So that’s Star Wars, huh.” Keith says when they’re back in his room, their backs pressed against the wall where the bed is. “Now I understand why so many people still love it, despite the fact that it’s really old.”

“Am I witnessing the birth of a Star Wars fan?” Shiro teases, laughing when Keith elbows him. “What surprised me was the Altean movie. It was really funny but I’m still not sure what the plot was.”

“Isn’t that the point of most movies?”

“Guess so.”

They fall into a comfortable silence, Keith playing with his fingers and Shiro watching him. His birthday is pretty much over at this point and, when he thinks about the party and how happy everyone was for him, it might have been his favorite one.

Shiro sniffs.

“Are you crying?” Keith asks, concern in his voice. He feels hands cup his cheeks, thumbs rubbing the tears away as they start to leak out. “Happy tears?”

“Yeah,” he answers, voice low. “I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, suddenly, with the reminder that everyone…” He trails off, sniffing again.

“Loves you?” Keith finishes for him, a soft smile on his face that he manages to see through his blurry vision. “It’s true, they do love you.” A pause. “I love you.”

He feels himself tremble but his lips still curl upwards, leaning forward to press his lips to Keith. “Love you back.” He breathes out before lying down on the bed. Keith does the same thing only seconds later and he shifts so they can face each other. Keith smooths his hair back, touch gentle and calm.

“Do you need anything else?”

“Just you.”

Keith says nothing more, occasionally kissing his forehead. He hears something clatter to the side of them and lifts his head curiously. The camera that Pidge made rests in Keith’s hands, displaying the photo the group had taken after the movie—all seven of them smiling without a care in the world. Keith presses a button and a different one is displayed, the one of Shiro and Keith when they walked into the room.

“We should take a better one,” Keith says softly, sitting up in bed. “Because you’ll end up wanting a picture of us to look at every day.”

“I had one at the Garrison,” Shiro says, also sitting up. He wipes at his eyes, hoping they don’t look too awful. “It’s only fair if I have one out here too.”

Shiro watches Keith fiddle with the cube for only a few short seconds before he presses another button. It floats, moving away from them and staying in the air a few feet away from them.

He feels Keith cheek against his own and puts on a smile as the bot counts down in a sequence of beeps. There’s the pressure of a hand on his other cheek, forcing him to face Keith rather than the camera. Keith’s eyes light, a hint of a smile on his face as he leans in and kisses him. Shiro doesn’t hesitate, kissing him back and smiling as he does it.

The flash goes off, camera falling onto the bed, but he doesn’t part from Keith.

This is where I want to be. Shiro thinks to himself as Keith straddles his lap. Hands slip beneath his shirt, spreading heat through his body with every brush of his fingers. This is where I want to stay.

☆

“What did you wish for?

“Hmm?”

“When Lance said you could still make a wish, what did you wish for?”

“I didn’t even bother making one.”

“Why not?”

“We’re all alive right now and you’re still right beside me. What more can I ask for?”

#sheith #;writes #happy birthday shiro i love you a lot

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