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babybluebex · 3 years

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Hi, i was wondering if you could write something where Sebastian Stan is a dad to a little boy and the one who always reads to him before bed, but one night Seb is very tired after shooting, and reader is the one putting him to bed, but the little one refuses to go to sleep until Seb reads to him.

Sorry for my bad Engish, it's not my first languaje. Also, if you don't want to write this I totally understand. 🥰

no! i love the idea!! i tweaked it a bit to fit an idea i was already writing, so i hope you liked what i did with it :) and ur english is perfect my love

goodnight, sleep tight [sebastian stan x reader]

➽ pairing: dad!sebastian stan x fem!reader( y/n) ➽ word count: 2.2k ➽ summary: see above! ➽ warnings: mentions of postpartum depression, angst ➽ a/n: the image of seb in bucky’s costume, getting a little baby to fall asleep makes me go uwu

“Are you guys coming to set today?” Sebastian asked, pressing a kiss to my head.

“I’ll see if Andy wants to,” I mumbled with a yawn. My husband’s call time was six AM, which was so much earlier than I ever wanted to be awake, so he usually woke me up with a goodbye kiss. “I think we can manage it, though.”

“Ah, well,” Sebastian shrugged. “He’s barely a year old. I think he’ll like it.”

“But he’s also your son,” I countered.

“What does that mean?” Sebastian asked. Even in the dark of the room, I could see the happy glint in his blue eyes.

“He’s stubborn,” I said. “Won’t do anything if he doesn’t want to.”

“That’s not a ‘me’ thing,” Sebastian told me. “That’s a Romanian thing. We’re stubborn people.”

“Regardless,” I sighed. “I think he might be scared of the costume. The mask and the arm and all; it might be a bit much.”

“He’ll be able to tell it’s me,” Sebastian said. “Kids are like dogs, they can recognize people by smell. Right?”

“Maybe your smell,” I chuckled, my throat dry from the night of sleep. “Mr. Bucket-Of-KY-Jelly.”

“That was uncalled for,” Sebastian chuckled. He leaned over the bed, bracing his left hand next to me head, and I turned to fully look at him. “I smell great.”

“When you shower, you do,” I said, scrunching my nose, and Sebastian laughed deep in his chest. He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine, giving me the gentlest of kisses. Sebastian wasn’t usually a gentle creature-- his kisses usually left me with bruised and puffy lips or marks littering my neck and breasts-- but, in the morning, he was so soft and sweet.

“We’ll continue this later,” Sebastian said. His long hair fell into his face, and I tenderly pushed it behind his ear. Adjusting to the new everything that Seb required for this film was an experience; the long hair, the stubble, and the weight training was grueling for all three of us, especially little Andrei. He missed his daddy dearly, but Sebastian always made up for lost time with nightly tummy-time and stories. Andrei James Stan had loved his dad since before he was born-- the little bastard always kicked up a storm when Sebastian rubbed my belly or talked to me-- and, when he was gone filming something for a long time, Andy got a little upset and overly clingy. Call it separation anxiety or just plain missing his daddy, but Sebastian always made it up to Andy with a special Daddy/Andy night (which also gave me the opportunity to be by myself for a while).

“I hope not too much later,” I whispered, pulling him down to kiss me again. “I miss you, Seb.”

“I know, baby,” Sebastian whispered as he pressed his forehead to mine. “I miss you too. Maybe we can get a babysitter or something on Sunday.”

“Great idea,” I said. “Now, you gotta go or you’ll be late.”

“Ugh,” Sebastian groaned.

“Go!” I giggled. “My big super-soldier. You gotta show everyone what you’re made of.”

Just as I spoke, from across the room, Andy made a squealing noise in his crib. The trailer we were living in while Sebastian shot Winter Soldier was a bit small, but it worked perfectly. “Oh, really?” Sebastian said, turning his head to look at Andy. “And what do you think I’m made of, mister?”

Sebastian moved to his crib as I turned on the lamp, and I watched Sebastian, all muscles and beard and long hair, reach into the crib and pull his infant son into his arms. Andy was born premature, so he was still pretty small, and it made my heart melt. His fluffy hair was in-between a blond and a brown, sorta like how Sebastian’s hair was when he was little, and he had the most beautiful blue eyes. “Really?” Sebastian playfully grimaced, nuzzling his nose against Andy’s. “I think you’re made of yogurt and farts, young man.”

“Seb!” I snorted. “Don’t say that to him!”

“He is, though!” Sebastian laughed, Andy’s little fist tightening around a lock of his hair. “I don’t see you denying it.”

“Don’t say our son’s made of farts,” I protested, getting out of bed. “He’s made of wonderful things, like love and kindness--”

“And yogurt,” Sebastian added.

“And yogurt,” I acquiesced. Andy did eat a lot of yogurt. “Speaking of, is the little monster hungry? Is that why you’re up so early?”

Andy nodded, patting his tummy, and Sebastian gave him to me. “Have a good day today, babies,” Sebastian told me, kissing my forehead, then brushing Andy’s hair back and kissing his soft head. “Just text me when you’re coming by.”

“Sure thing.”

“This is Sebastian’s baby?”

Scarlet held Andy in a tender embrace, gazing at him with surprise. She was looking at him with a look of wonderment, like she couldn’t believe that Sebastian of all people could be capable of producing another human being. Nobody on the cast had properly met Andy yet, hence why Andy and I visiting set was such a big deal. “Looks just like him,” she added.

“Acts like him too,” I chuckled. “Stubborn as hell and eats everything in sight.”

“Damn, this really is his kid,” Scarlet laughed, and Andy thumped his head down onto her shoulder. “He’s so sweet.”

Andy smiled at Scarlet and gave a happy squeal, and Scarlet turned to face me. “Who’s that?” She asked in a gentle voice, and Andy’s smile turned to me.

“Mama!” He exclaimed, reaching for me, and Scarlet and I laughed.

“Smart as hell,” Scarlet added.

“That comes from me,” I chuckled. Andy took a fistful of my shirt and started to chew on the fabric, but I was used to it. He was teething and chewed on everything; most of my shirts were a little frayed from him.

“Mean,” said Sebastian from behind me, and I turned and gave a gasp of surprise. I hadn’t ever seen him in full costume before, and it was a shock at first. A leather vest and tight dark jeans, tactical gear everywhere, and a dark mask obscuring the bottom half of his face. And, of course, covering his left arm, a cast-like structure that looked like silver metal with a red star on his shoulder. The arm was covered in little orange dots-- I’m assuming to assist in mo-cap during editing-- and he wore a leather glove on his left hand.

“Jesus God,” I laughed. “Scared the hell outta me. You look good, babes.”

“I know,” Sebastian told me, and I knew that he was smirking at me under the mask. “You look beautiful too.”

“Not really,” I said. “I’m not even wearing makeup.”

“Still beautiful,” he said, and he reached up and tugged the mask off. He leaned down and, cradling my cheek in his gloved hand, gently kissed my lips. “And the little rascal?”

“Mm,” I hummed, breaking the kiss. “He’s sleepy. Getting cranky and all.”

“Has he eaten?”

“Just did,” I told him. “Before you ask, yes, it was yogurt. But I also gave him some of those blueberry puffy crackers.”

“Did you save any for me?” Sebastian asked, his eyebrows raising.

“In my pocket,” I replied. Sebastian and I had quickly discovered that certain baby foods were delicious, especially the fruit-flavored puffy crackers that Andy favored, and I always ended up bringing some with me wherever I went.

“I know that you’re not eating baby food,” Scarlet laughed as Sebastian reached into my pocket and extracted the plastic bag of star-shaped crackers.

“They’re good as hell,” Sebastian said, popping a handful into his mouth. “Want one?”

“I’ll pass,” Scarlet laughed.

“Ask Mackie, I’m sure he’ll tell you the same,” Sebastian said. Then, he turned his attention back to me. “I could read him a quick story to get him down, if you want.”

I shrugged. “If you really want to,” I said.

“Alright, stinker,” Sebastian said, exchanging the crackers for Andy. “Did you bring a book?”

“Shit, no,” I mumbled.

“Shit!”

“Oh, c’mon, man,” I sighed as Scarlet laughed. I frequently forgot that Andy was at the stage where he was repeating things that he heard, and usually Sebastian and I were good about not cussing, because Andy would repeat it for the rest of time. “Don’t expose me like this.”

“I can come up with a story,” Sebastian said through stifled laughter. “Let’s find a place to get comfy, huh, mister? A nice chair, maybe? I bet Uncle Chris has a really nice chair we can settle in…”

As he walked away, I felt a presence behind me. I had briefly met Chris at the First Avenger premiere a few years ago, when Sebastian and I weren’t even properly dating yet, but Sebastian and I had eloped, hence no wedding to see him at. “Hey, Evans,” I said and gave him a quick fist bump.

“Where’re they going?” Chris asked, munching at an orange.

“To steal your chair in the shade,” I said. “Andy’s getting sleepy and only sleeps when Seb reads him a story.”

“Cute,” Chris said. “Ya know, Sebastian never shuts up about the two of you.”

“Really?” I asked. “Like, what does he say?”

“Just little stories,” Chris said. “Something you said, or something Andy did. Or just the quick little ‘we had this for dinner’ or ‘we watched this movie last night’. He adores you two.”

“That’s nice,” I said softly. “I always worry if he’s getting sick of having these two lives. It must be a lot for him.”

“I can’t read minds,” Chris said. “But I don’t think he could ever get sick of you.”

I nodded slowly. “I was diagnosed with postpartum depression after Andy was born,” I started quietly. “I was so anxious that I wasn’t sleeping, I couldn’t stop crying, I… I even thought about packing a bag and leaving and not coming back. It was so fucking hard, and I thought for sure that Sebastian would ask for a divorce or something. I guess I’m still a little worried about that. But that’s… That’s really helpful, Chris. Thanks.”

I tried to contain my tears, but Chris must have seen through my crumbling facade, because he wrapped me in a tight hug. “You’re so strong, Y/N,” he whispered. “Know that I’m proud of you, and Scar, and Mackie, and all of us, but especially Sebastian. Man, he fucking loves you so much. There’s nothing that you could do that would make him hate you or want to divorce you. I don’t know much about your relationship, but I know that.”

I was glad I wasn’t wearing makeup, because I knew that it would be smeared across my cheeks by now. It was one thing to hear it from Sebastian, but from an outsider like Chris, it meant the world. “Thanks,” I whispered. “That means so fucking much.”

“And, hey, I kinda know how it goes with a baby,” Chris began. “My sisters have kids, and I’ve played babysitter plenty of times. And I’d say I’m pretty good at it. No complaints so far. So, if you ever need a babysitter to get a break for a night, I’d love to help.”

“That would be so nice,” I sighed into his shoulder. “Not to be TMI…” I paused to let him stop me, but his hand comfortingly ran up my back. “It’s been a while since it was just… Me and Seb, ya know what I mean?”

“I do,” Chris said. “You have my number.”

I nodded and detached myself from Chris, and I chuckled as I wiped my face dry. “I’m gonna go find my boys,” I said. “Thanks for that, man.”

“Anytime, Mrs. Stan,” Chris said with a smile.

It wasn’t hard to find Sebastian and Andrei. They were settled in a canvas chair under a tarp shade, with Andy’s little head resting on his shoulder. He seemed like he was already out like a light. “... So Steve is like ‘Bucky?’ and Bucky looks at his friend and he says ‘Who the hell is Bucky?’, which is not that good. Because Bucky should know who Steve is, right?”

“Are you telling him spoilers for the movie?” I asked, putting my hand on Sebastian’s shoulder.

“It’s the only story I could come up with on the spot,” Sebastian said. “But he seems to like it… Or not like it. Does it mean he thinks it’s boring if he falls asleep during it?”

“I think it means that he loves you,” I said. “And he finds comfort in you, even when you look like that.”

“Look like what?” Sebastian asked. When I didn’t answer and only gave him a playful smile, he said, “When I look like what, Y/N Stan?”

“So different than usual,” I offered with a shrug, and Sebastian rolled his eyes.

“You’ll pay for that,” he told me, patting Andy’s back gently. “What were you talking to Chris about?”

“He was just telling me some nice things,” I said simply. “About how you’re always talking about me and Andy. And he said that he’d babysit whenever we need him to.”

“Hmm,” Sebastian hummed softly. “Sounds promising. I really miss you, baby.”

“I miss you too,” I told him. “Now, my love, you have work. Be good and kill Chris for me.”

“Anything for you, my baby.”

#sebastian stan #sebstan #seabass #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan x y./n #sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan fluff #sebastian stan angst #sebastian stan x reader fluff #sebastian stan x reader angst

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bunnys-beetlejuice-blog · 3 years

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come on in, folks, i got some kind of goof ass Beetlejuice/Evil Dead crossover for you to enjoy.

He’s eighteen, and it’s Saturday, which means that he and Lydia are wandering around Manhattan, looking for trouble to get into. Lydia, eleven and ever his little shadow, is standing next to him, as they take a moment, on the busy New York street corner, to sip their boba and think about their next move. They were meant to be watching some horror movie that had looked alright from the previews, but ended up being so stupid, it wasn’t even fun, and the Deetz siblings had found themselves walking out, one hour poorer but a bucket of overly butter saturated movie popcorn richer. “I still can’t believe how bad that was,” Lydia says, again, huffing, because they’d actually paid money to see that stinker, instead of sneaking in, which is their usual habit. “Ya get one big name attached an’ everyone apparently stops givin’ a shit. Musta figured th’ droolin’ masses would eat it up,” he agrees, and he slurps up the last of his tapioca balls, and then proceeds to eat the plastic straw. “Is it too much to ask that characters actually be interesting, and, I don’t know, behave like normal human people?” Lyds bitches, as BJ takes a bite out of his cup, too. She glances up at him, dryly. “I mean, I guess maybe my standards for normality are low, but still.”

He grins at her. “Whatever could you possibly mean, sister dearest?” he puts on a posh, almost transatlantic accent, and she rolls her eyes, and sucks boba up in her straw, then shoots the pearls at him like a pea shooter. He snorts and laughs.

It’s a good day, despite the letdown at the movies. It’s nearly that time of year, just about the start of his seasonal depression, as the sun becomes shy and things go cold and gray. Still, there’s some time left with the sunshine, so he’s drinking it up, savoring it, and it feels good, to stand here with Lyds, and talk about nothing. “Alright, come on, let’s second act it,” he grins, and she perks up. “I think Wicked’s playing!” “Wicked’s always playin’.” “Well, I’m not sitting through Hamilton, it’s a Saturday. I’m not learning if I don’t have to.” “Totally fuckin’ fair. Music Man, maybe?” “Hugh Jackman’s weirdly brick shaped head freaks me out.” “There’s gotta be a show we can sneak into,” BJ frowns, scratching at the scruff of his chin, and then he catches a scent he’s never smelled before, as Lydia puzzles through their remaining options. It’s like death, sort of, but not. Like death warmed over, or death, refried. He takes his sister’s hand, and leads her away from the street corner, following the smell, nose in the air, pupils blown wide, and Lydia laughs. “Great, time to go poke a dead thing. That’s more fun than The Last Four Years, at least.” She’s seen him go like this before, and thinks she knows what to expect.

Neither of them know how to react when they follow the scent down an alleyway and see the violent fight happening in front of them.

Parked at the far end of the alleyway is a car, some 70’s make that he doesn’t know enough about such things to name, and between it, and the Deetz siblings, is an one handed man absolutely going feral on a group of three refried dead smelling zombie… things. “Deadly-vu,” he hears Lydia whisper, as they watch the man perform a scissor kick that sends a zombie head flying. It bounces like a basketball against the brick wall that makes the alleyway, rolls, and lands at the Deetz sibling’s feet. There’s a beat, as they stare at it, and it stares back, before the head on the ground opens its mouth and speaks. “DEMON!” it shrieks, and then it makes the life ending choice to roll at Lydia, teeth bared, and his boot is going through it, crushing through the skull like an overly juicy bug under his heel. He takes a second to wipe the gore from his sole onto the pavement. “Maybe Wicked could be good,” he turns and says to Lydia, who responds by ducking behind him, because the body the head formerly belonged to seems to be stumbling at them, clutching something in it’s boiled and infected and puss covered arms, and it thrusts the thing at BJ, before falling down and collapsing into dust. It’s a book. Some kind of creepy old demon book, from the look of it. He wrinkles his nose in vague disgust, and then takes a sniff. If the zombie things are refried death, this thing is a whole fucking Mexican food buffet of it, and it makes his head spin in a way he’s never felt before. He kind of likes it. He’s about to give the cursed reading material a tentative lick before a boom rings out from in front of them- the one handed man has pulled a sawed off shotgun off his back, and dispatched another corpse thing. There’s one left, and it’s circling the man, who by this point is so blood covered, he looks like he was tricked into being prom queen, or something.

“Is it just me, or do you freaks just keep gettin’ uglier?” the man quips, and the corpse lunges, a stumbling move which earns it the butt of the shotgun to the jaw, which goes flying. The zombie is shot through the gut, and drops, but is a twitching, squirming mess. BJ’s seen enough horror movies to know that thing is getting back up. The stranger has apparently, too. He takes a moment to reload the shotgun, then double taps, blowing clean through the thing’s skull. He blows at the slightly smoking barrels of his sawed off, twirls it, and holsters it, re-slipping it onto his back. It’s a pretty cool move, actually, and the siblings watch in rapt attention. It takes the three remaining people (well, two people, one demon,) in the alley a moment to actually focus on each other, and there’s silence, before the stranger speaks. “Uh,” says the man, covered in blood, and Lydia peaks out from behind BJ, and stares at him, with big eyes. “Kids,” he hears the man mutter. “Great, just what I need, a coupla kids, gettin’ in my way.. Hey, kiddies,” he says, louder, with a smile, which might be really charming when he’s not soaked in rot and blood, but the effect at the moment is not as sincere and friendly as he clearly thinks it is. “Looks like you two little heroes managed to wrangle my book away from those deadites. You wanna do your pal Ash a favor, and hand it over?” He makes a “come here” motion with his stump arm, and then seems to realize that’s not so appealing, because he tucks that appendage behind his back, worried, suddenly, about scaring them. As if a man with a missing hand is the weirdest thing they've seen in the last five minutes.

“What the fuck,” Lydia says, and BJ can’t help but agree with that sentiment. Also, he feels a vague sense of sudden responsibility for this weird old tome. It doesn’t exactly seem like the kind of thing a human should have. Maybe those zombies… deadites? Maybe they were trying to get back what was stolen from them. Though he’s not charitable enough to assume that they’re the good guys in this feud. The stranger, Ash, takes a careful step forward. “It’s alright,” he says, like he’s talking to a wild animal he’s trying to tame, and not a teen and preteen, respectively. “I’m not gonna hurtcha. Just need to get my book back.”

A sudden screeching wind roars down the alleyway, and both living humans react, ducking, as it bellows and swirls around them, kicking up dust and trash and chunks of leftover deadite. “Demon! Aid us!” BJ feels a presence in front of his face, something he can’t see, but a great, ancient something, reaching out to him, demanding, begging, pleading, for him to assist in whatever macabre goal it wants to meet. He responds by sticking his unglamoured tongue out at it. “Ewww, gross. No.”

The thing shrieks again, and makes a beeline for Lydia, which is just about the stupidest thing it could have done, because he drops his glamour fully and snarls, gives the ancient being a psychic push back, and he sends the thing that cannot be seen flying, out of the shady darkness of this alleyway, past what he assumes to be Ash’s car, and out onto the city street, into the sun. It shrieks and moans and curses him. He flips it off, as it dissipates. The vibe in the air, however, tells him it’s not “dead,” just gone.

Ash straightens up and looks at him. BJ’s already slipped his human disguise back on, so the effect is that Ash has just seen what seems to be a slightly too pale and definitely overweight human teen somehow push back an ancient evil, totally unaffected. Now it’s his turn to let out a confused, “What the fuck?”

“Come on, BJ!” Lydia grabs her big brother’s arm and pulls him away, running from the gore and the confused zombie slayer. “Wait, kids-!” Ash rounds the corner, after them, but the Deetz siblings are already gone, disappeared into thin air, flash stepping the span of blocks in the blink of an eye, and they don’t stop until Lydia, sick from the teleportation, gives his hand a squeeze. They appear on a rooftop, confusing and traumatizing some pigeons that had been roosting.

“Wait, why did we run?’ BJ asks, and Lydia looks at him like he’s a moron. “Because that guy was clearly a monster hunter! And kind of really good at it!” she says. He mulls that over, and smiles. “Worried for your big bro?” he bats his eyelashes at her, and she responds by slugging him in the gut, which he reacts the barest amount to. “Last thing I want is to explain to mom and dad how you ended up with a shotgun blast through your skull,” she says, and crosses her arms, before leaning forward, to study the book he’s still holding. “So. What is that?” He grins. “Wanna open it an’ find out?” Read the rest of the first chapter here!

#beetlejuice #beetlejuice fic #beetlejuice au #bj deetz au #ashley williams #ash williams #evil dead fanfiction #lydia deetz #emily deetz #charles deetz #my writing

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bxcketbarnes · 4 years

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Part of the Family

Pairing: Calum Hood x Reader

Words: 2000+

Author's Note: I love this picture of Cal. He's so fucking handsome I cry. So, @mysticalhood and I came up with this fluffy ass concept. Enjoy! xox

I was laying my head on Calum's lap, his fingers gliding through my hair as he was surfing through the countless movies on Netflix. I sigh contently, shifting a bit so I'm lying on my side, my hand resting on his knee. "What are you doing for the holidays?" I ask him, keeping my eyes on the screen.

"I planned to go back home for like a week," Calum answers and I turn back to face him, seeing his brown eyes already on me. "I actually wanted to ask you if you wanted to come with me."

"Are you serious?" I question him, sitting up from his lap. Calum chuckles and nods his head. "I mean… is your family going to be okay with that? I don't wanna intrude by you bringing some stranger int-"

"You're not a stranger, Y/N/N," he cuts me off and I look up at him, seeing a slight frown on his lips. I shift in my seat, my knee pressed against the outside of his thigh and he reaches over to grab my hand. "You're my best friend. Someone I confide in when I feel like I can't tell the guys or my family. You're definitely my rock. Plus, they know about you. Well, Mali does anyway."

I blush at Cal's little confession, even though my chest tightens at the words best friend since I'm pretty sure I'm in love with the dork. I shift forward, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I'm so glad we found each other," I whisper and Calum's arms wrap around my waist. "You're probably the most real friend I've ever had."

Cal chuckles and runs his hands up my back. "So?" He mumbles into my ear before pulling away from me. "Will you come home with me?"

A snort leaves my lips and he groans, tilting his head back. "Sorry, sorry," I laugh and cover my mouth with my hand, trying to hold the giggles in.

"I didn't mean it like that!" He defends and I wiggle my eyebrows at him, shifting my body again so I'm straddling his lap.

"Are you sure? I mean, technically you already took me home since I've been here for like two days," I tell him jokingly and Calum shakes his head, resting his hands on my hips.

The blue-haired man looked up at me as his head stayed pressed against the back of the couch. "You willingly stayed for two days," he counters and I giggle, biting my bottom lip.

"Well, I happen to enjoy your company… and your dog of course," I mentioned Duke and Calum rolls his eyes, a smile forming on his lips.

"You're so cute," he chuckles and moves his hands to my thighs. "Can you answer my question for real now?"

I smile softly, nodding my head. "Of course I'd love to go to Australia with you, Cal. As long as your family is okay with it," I tell him while running my hands over his buzzed hair. Calum squeezes my thighs, the smile staying on his lips.

"Of course they're okay with it. I asked them about it a couple of weeks ago. They're pretty excited," he mentions and I smile down at him.

"As they should be. Since, ya know, I'm amazing," I joke and flip my hair back.

"I hate you," Calum jokes while laughing loudly, moving me off of his lap. I giggle, sitting back down beside him as I rest my head on his shoulder.

"No, you don't," I state and Cal hums in agreement, his arm draping over my shoulder.

"You're right, I don't."

My eyes were glued to the passenger side window as Calum drove the rental car through Sydney. I was in absolute awe at the scenery in front of me since I've never been to the country of Australia. "Holy shit this view!" I screech a bit, feeling giddy in my seat and look over to Calum.

"I knew you'd love it," he gloats and I roll my eyes, slapping the back of my hand on his chest. "Agh! Y/N, I'm driving!" Calum looks over at me for a quick second, his eyes wide while he rubs his hand on his chest.

"Sorry, but you slightly deserve it."

"How?! I just knew you'd love Australia! Damn!" He laughs and I bite my lip, shrinking in my seat a bit.

"Okay, yeah, now I feel bad," I mumble and giggle slightly. "Do you want me to kiss it better?" I ask and look at the side of his face.

"You'd like that wouldn't you," he smirks and I roll my eyes.

"Don't make me hit you again," I state and move my hand to tuck my hair behind my ear. Calum flinches, giggles leaving both our lips as he apologizes.

The blue-haired boy pulls the vehicle into his parent’s driveway, my nerves on high as I rub my hands together. "Hey," Cal pipes up and I tear my gaze off of the cute house to look over at him. "Stop worrying. It's gonna be fine. They're going to love you, practically already do."

I let out a nervous laugh as he tries to calm me down a bit. He reaches his hand over to grab mine, intertwining our fingers. "Thanks, Cal," I tell him and squeeze his hand.

He returned the smile before the two of us moved to get out of the rental car. We grab our luggage from the trunk of the car and walk up to the front door. Calum knocks on the door and I can't help but wrap my hand around his arm.

The front door opens and a middle-aged woman stands on the other side. "Calum, sweetheart!" She squeals and brings him into a hug. I smile at the interaction in front of me, clasping my hands together and her eyes met mine. "Y/N, right?"

I nod my head, swallowing nervously and she grins before letting go of her son to bring me into a hug. "Oh!" I let out, shocked at how friendly she is.

"I've heard so much about you! It's nice to finally meet the person who's made my son the happiest he's been," Joy states and I couldn't help but blush, glancing towards Calum to see his cheeks dusted pink as well. "Well, come in, come in! Mali's already here."

I was laughing at something Calum's dad, David said and I double over, holding my stomach as I can hear Calum chuckling beside me. We've been at his house for almost a week and the nerves I felt at that time have definitely disintegrated. His family was so kind and caring that I practically fit in perfectly.

"Oh, my god," I laughed still, wiping the tears from my eyes. The rest of the crew were chuckling as well, their eyes set on me. "Calum I never knew you were a little stinker."

The blue-haired man shrugs his shoulders, a smile on his lips. "There are a few things from my childhood you don't know and I'd rather you not know," he mentioned, sending a playful glare to his parents before a chuckle comes from his plump lips.

David put his hands up in surrender and Joy pats his leg before getting up from the couch. "I'm gonna start dinner. Y/N, sweetheart," she calls out and I snap my head up to look at her.

"Yes, Mrs. Hood?" I answer and she waves her hand.

"Please. Call me Joy. Would you and Mali want to help me with dinner?" She asks and my eyes sparkle.

"I would love too."

Calum's POV

My brown eyes are set on Y/N as she stands beside my sister in the kitchen, laughs leaving her lips. My heart flutters in my chest and I release a sigh, sitting back in my chair.

"You love her, don't you?" My dad asks and I glance towards the older man.

"I-I think I do. It's just kind of scary to think about," I tell him and he furrows his brows before asking me why. I lick my lips, running a hand over my buzzed hair. "I just… I just don't want to get my heart broken again. I swore to myself that love was stupid and then I fell in love with the greatest girl ever imaginable."

My dad rests a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Love can be scary but it's worth it, especially with her. She's definitely a keeper."

Y/N's POV

"So," Mali starts and I glance towards her as I take a drink of my water, "how long have you been in love with Calum?"

I spit out my water by accident, her question taking me off guard as I look towards the living room to see Cal and David looking at me, each of their eyebrows raised. "S-Sorry, she told me something funny," I told them and they went back to whatever they were talking about as I face Mali. "I-I'm sorry. Your question really… surprised me."

She laughs and waves a hand, telling me it was fine. "Does that mean you are?"

"Is it that obvious?" I ask her and she shrugs her shoulders, leaning on the kitchen island.

"I mean, not really? Cal surely hasn't noticed which I'm not surprised," Mali laughs and I let out a sigh of relief.

I open my mouth to say something when Calum calls out for me. I look over my shoulder at him, seeing him motions his head towards the front door. "Come with me real quick?" He asks and I nod my head, smiling softly.

The two of us head outside and I can't help but ogle the way Cal looks as the sunset rays kissed his skin. "Can I take your picture?" I quietly ask and he looks down at me, a gentle smile on his plump lips.

"Yeah, sure, but only because I love you," he laughs and my heart skips a beat in my chest, staring into his brown eyes.

"I-I love you too."

Calum leans against the palm tree, the plastic cup in his hand as he crosses his left foot over the right. His right hand sits behind his back as he gives me a small smile. I hold up my phone and snap a couple of pictures. I giggle softly as I look over the photo, seeing how adorable he looks.

"How does it look?" He asks and moves to stand beside me. I show him the photo, his chin almost resting on my shoulder. "It looks good. Send it to me?"

I nod my head, doing it quickly as I can feel his eyes on me. I slip my phone back into my pocket and move my gaze to him. My breath hitches in my throat as we stand centimeters apart. I swallow hard, feeling his hand resting on my hip. "C-Cal," I stutter and my eyes flutter closed.

"I really want to kiss you," he mumbles as his lips brush ever so slightly against mine, "can I do that?"

“God, please,” I plead and take a hold of his Nine Inch Nails shirt. He brings his large hand to my cheek, his thumb stroking my cheekbone. His nose brushes mine and a shiver runs down my spine. Calum’s lips connect with mine and my heart goes beserk. It beats quickly against my ribcage as I move my lips against him, pressing my chest against his. His arms wrap around my waist, the palm of his hand pressing on my spine. My arms wrap around his neck and my fingers fiddle with the small hairs on his neck.

Calum pulls away from me after a good minute, heavy breaths leaving both of our lips as we rest our foreheads against one another. “Fuck,” he whispers and I can feel his breath fan against my lips. “That was… absolutely amazing.”

A giggle leaves my lips as I nod a bit, looking at him through my lashes. “It was. Kinda wish we did it sooner,” I mumble to him and he hums in agreement.

“Well, now we could do it every day?” Cal asks and I bite into my bottom lip.

“Are you asking me out?” I question him and pull away a bit, his brown eyes looking into mine as he licked his lips.

“And if I am?”

“Of course I’ll go out with you,” I grin before pulling him back closer to me by his neck, reconnecting our lips as the sun set in the distance.

Taglist: @bumblebet-20 @ashtonsunshine @h0tsos @sexgodashton @thebookamongmen @mysticalhood @myloverboyash @galcalirwin @smokeinherlungs @asht0ns-world @ashs-cheergirl @dashlilymark @shower-me-with-roses @therainydays4 @thatcheekychic @lukeskisses @latemikedevil @fayesfairylights @marshmallowtraver @trashbin2 @whatmakesmehappyy @itjustkindahappenedreally @aubergine-lips @cashtonasfuck @irwinkitten @feliznavidaddycal @talksopretty @bloodmoonashton @kindahoping4forever @pxrxmoore @maluminspace

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gotmymindsetonyou · 3 years

Text

The Best and Worst Things About Each MCU Movie

These are all just my stinky opinions. You are allowed to disagree, you are allowed to agree. Most of these are jokes anyway. I’m honestly just happy you’re reading this. Minor Spoilers Ahead!

Iron Man (2008) -

Best: This movie almost perfectly sets the tone for the entire universe that has at that point yet to have been created. Looking back, you can imagine the feeling of “Where are they going to go from here?” and I think that’s one of the most important things that this movie needed to accomplish.

Worst: What the fuck is Jeff Bridges doing? What’s his endgame here? I get he’s trying to take over Stark Industries but how’s he gonna do that from inside that giant metal suit he uses to kill people inside their cars?

Incredible Hulk (2008) -

Best: Tim Roth is in it and I think that is pretty cool.

Worst: I haven’t actually seen it, but the cgi looks god awful, what the hell.

Iron Man 2 (2010) -

Best: Sam Rockwell is so goddamn annoying in this movie and I think that’s amazing, he’s such a little stinker.

Worst: I remember basically nothing else about this movie except some guy talking about birds, idk.

Thor (2011) -

Best: It introduces Loki, probably one of the most beloved villains in the entire franchise.

Worst: This movie is so goddamn boring and it’s my least favorite and I hate it. Don’t @ me.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) -

Best: The first good chunk of this movie is actually a really compelling character study on Steve Rogers and what makes him a good man. Seeing him basically being paraded as this propaganda figure and watching him struggle with this is one of the most compelling things about him as a person. Really wish they kept this up for the entire movie.

Worst: The red skull is really boring guys. He’s red, that’s it. Give me something else to work with man.

Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) -

Best: This movie proved that you can have a superhero team up with this many people and have it fucking work. It doesn’t matter if you hate or love this movie, you cannot deny the effects it has on the genre.

Worst: It’s shot like a bad CW show. It looks so ugly.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Best: This one is actually my favorite of the bunch. Exploring the question of what makes Iron Man, the suit or the person, is shown really well here. I thoroughly dig it.

Worst: That scene where Harley flip flops about whether or not he really knows Tony makes me so irrationally angry.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Best: It’s slightly better than Thor, and I actually can feel myself start to have a good time whenever Loki’s on screen.

Worst: Once again, this movie is insanely forgettable. Christopher fucking Eccleston is in this movie and I could not tell you a single thing about this character.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) -

Best: This movie has one of the best hand-to-hand fight scenes in the entire MCU. You know the one I’m talking about. It gives me chills, I love it.

Worst: Having the government stand-in that Steve questions in the beginning of the movie actually be a front for N*zis that he can just beat up, and not an actual metaphor for the issues with the government today? You ain’t slick.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014) -

Best: This is the mcu movie basically anyone can enjoy. Anybody can watch this movie and find something to love about it. The characters, the messages about family and learning to be okay with feeling love, the jokes, hell, even the space setting. THE MUSIC. It’s the full package baby.

Worst: Chris Pratt has an unfortunate cameo in this one.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) -

Best: I have a couple of things. A) The party scene where we get to watch the Avengers talk and be friends with each other and act like people. B) I love James Spader no matter what he is doing.

Worst: Why is everyone quipping? Why is the robot quipping? Why would they massacre my boy like that?

Ant-man (2015) -

Best: I want Paul Rudd to marry me, best dad in the mcu.

Worst: The moment Edgar Wright left this project.

Captain America: Civil War (2016) -

Best: Introduces two great characters, Spider-man and Black Panther. These two get a lot of love when it comes to designing their characters in this movie and it makes me very happy.

Worst: It made the fandom very unhappy and I don’t like picking sides. It feels like watching your many parents get divorced for two hours.

Doctor Strange (2016) -

Best: The magic looks really fucking cool in this movie. Also, the ending with Dormammu is up there for one of my favorite endings of an mcu movie. Having Doctor Strange actually outsmart the villain instead of actually fighting him is endlessly more satisfying.

Worst: Could not tell you a thing else about this movie other than I heard Tilda Swinton plays a character that’s probably not supposed to be white.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) -

Best: Guys, I gotta come clean about something. I actually like this one better than Volume 1. I know, I know, a good majority of people do not feel this way, but I feel a lot more emotionally attached to the movie, and that’s mainly because of two characters: Yondu Udonta and Rocket Racoon. Rocket realizing that he’s an asshole but his found family still loves him gets me, man. I can’t help it. Helps that Ego is a great villain as well. Also the cinematography is some of the best in the mcu.

Worst: No Howard the Duck.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) -

Best: I think the best thing about this movie is just the solidness of it all. No one part stands out as the best because most everything about this movie is pretty damn good. Michael Keaton will knock your socks off, go watch it.

Worst: Donald Glover is in it to tease a Miles Morales reveal, BUT NOTHING HAS HAPPENED ABOUT IT SINCE.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017) -

Best: Taika Waititi knows how to do shit right, lemme tell ya. Taking away Thor’s hammer from the beginning was probably one of the smartest choices in the movie, and this is a movie of smart choices.

Worst: Jeff Goldblum isn’t in it more.

Black Panther (2018) -

Best: Erik Killmonger is easily the best villain in a Marvel movie, and you can quote me on that. An amazing performance from Michael B. Jordan. It’s also the first Marvel movie I saw in theatres (I know, I was very late to the game)

Worst: Everett K. Ross is CIA propaganda and the last fight scene on the train tracks looks like shit.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) -

Best: It’s really hard to sum up exactly what my thoughts are on this movie. I think one of the movie’s best qualities is the bigness of it. This movie feels huge, there’s a lot of different stuff to love here. If you like Wakanda, there’s a whole epic battle set in Wakanda. If you’re more a fan of the space stuff, we got a whole lotta space stuff. The best part of this movie is there’s probably gonna be something that everyone can enjoy packed in here.

Worst: I also think the bigness of this movie is also one of it’s larger weaknesses. Because there’s so much stuff in this movie, not all of it is fully fleshed out. Tony Stark gets a lot to do in this movie, but Steve Rogers sort of feels sidelined at parts. There’s a perfect balance that I don’t think was quite hit.

Ant-man and The Wasp (2018) -

Best: I still really love Paul Rudd in this movie, and I think his relationship with Cassie is still really cute. World’s Greatest Grandma indeed.

Worst: This movie really had its work cut out for itself, coming off the heels of Infinity War, so it sort of falls short in that respect. I don’t want to criticize it too harshly, it is what it is, nothing insanely memorable.

Captain Marvel (2019) -

Best: I still think this is a pretty good movie, despite what a lot of people think. I struggle a lot with believing that I have to prove myself to others, so having Carol finally realize that she doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone was really important to me, and probably a lot of other women.

Worst: There were parts where I wasn’t as engaged, like the scenes in the Kree empire. That made some of the movie feel off to me, it’s a bit unbalanced.

Avengers: Endgame (2019) -

Best: This movie 100% achieves what it sets out to do, and that is to be a huge cinematic event. I don’t even really see this movie as a movie, it’s more like one huge experience. My viewing had one of the most energetic crowds I’ve ever seen a movie with.

Worst: I don’t really think this movie holds up to multiple re-watches. Granted, I saw it in theatres three times. I don’t think any subsequent viewings are ever going to pack that same punch that my first viewing had, and that makes it harder to come back to. Also Steve had a totally lame ending.

Spider-man: Far From Home (2019) -

Best: After ending on such a downer note in the last movie, this felt like a weight being lifted off my chest. Jake Gyllenhaal gives an insanely energetic performance that I absolutely adore. (Also seeing it with my dad was fun, he would nudge me every time they switched locations to tell me he’d been there)(Also when I saw it with my sibling a kid ran out of the theatre during the Mysterio mind-fuck sequence, some just can’t handle that lifestyle)

Worst: Peter Parker and MJ remind me of how perpetually single I am.

#movie review #minor spoilers #mcu #marvel #marvel review

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jungshookz · 5 years

Note

hi cee !! i just thought of how cute coach!jungkook would be where he trains little kids and one day y/n drops off her little brother at practice and sees this cute new coach and is suddenly volunteering to bring snacks for the next game lol

➺ pairing: jeon jungkook x reader

➺ genre: if it isn’t obvious by now this is 110% fLUFF, y/n is an obnoxious older sister but we love her, banana milk and animal crackers for everyone!!!!

➺ wordcount: 3.5k

➺ note: hi i want coach!jungkook to hurl a soccer ball at me thanks

(gif isn’t mine!)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“alright, twerp.” you crank the brakes before punching the unlock button on the dashboard “get outta my car.”

you push your sunglasses up to the top of your head before turning to look at lucas in the back seat and raising a brow

…

why is he not moving

“…mommy always walks me to the field.”

oh dear lord

you have places to be and people to sEE

more specifically you have to pick yoongi up at his apartment because you guys are going to watch that new spiderman movie together and you typically like to get there early so that you have more time to decide what you’re going to do in terms of snacks

“well, mommy didn’t drop you off today. sissy did.”

okay quick note: maybe don’T address yourself as sissy ever again

“-big boys walk themselves to the field.” you point out before glancing over at said field “y’know, lu, the world is a big, scary soccer field that you’re going to have to face alone one day…” you sigh and shake your head playfully as you yank the keys out of the ignition

of course you’re going to walk him to the field

you just like messing with him

“-you might as well get a head start now.” you unbuckle your seatbelt before opening the door

“…maybe next year, when i turn 6.” lucas mutters and kicks his legs against the seat

you can’t help but snort at his comment before shutting the door

your parents insist that lucas was planned but let’s be real

he’s more of a… happy accident!

the boy is sixteen years younger than you

he’s 5!

you’re 21!

a sixteen year age gap is never intentIONAL

nevertheless you still love him more than you love yourself

he’s a sweet boy!!!

he actually never went through the whole terrible twos phase and for that you are grateful because you’re pretty sure 18 year old y/n would’ve willingly flung him out the window in a heartbeat

and you know for a fact that he worships you

well

alright

not reaLLy

but he’s a good little brother and you’re a good older sister and you’re just glad that the two of you get along

you just like acting like he’s a little stiNker all the time because it’s fun seeing him get worked up

>:-)

“by the way, don’t tell mom i didn’t put your car seat in my car.” you help lucas out of the car before reaching in to grab his bag for him

you were going to be a responsible older sibling and put his car seat in for him but there were so many things to click and clack and lock and pop and honEstly you just didn’t have the energy to put it in your car so you just buckled him in and made sure to drive a little less recklessly

also you didn’t see the point in installing it in your car since this is going to be the only time you’re ever going to drop him off at his soccer practice session

your mom usually drops him off because duh

she’s m o m

but she had an emergency meeting at work and your dad is on a business trip for the entire week which means that yoU have to take care of him for the afternoon

which is fine!

except you made plans with yoongi, as mentioned earlier

which means you need to get this show on the road if you’re going to get back on the road to get to the show

“okay, as long as you don’t tell mom i threw my grapes away.”

“wha- you threw your grapes away?!” you gawk at lucas as you shove your keys into your pocket “are you kidding me? you could’ve given them to me! those grapes were organic, too! they were the goOD juicy grapes!”

lucas smiles sheepishly before shrugging

goD

kids these days

throwing away their damn juicy organic non-gmo grapes

what a waste!

“what time am i supposed to come and pick you up again?”

“6:30” lucas hums in response as he swings his hand with yours

the movie is set to end at 7

…how mad would your mom be with you if you made lucas wait an extra half hour in the dark for you?

u know what

it’s a risk you’re going to have to be willing to take

you are SO brave

not all heroes wear capes

“any preferences for dinner? mom won’t be home til late so it’s just the two of us.” you glance down at him as the two of you approach the field

there are already a bunch of other kids there with their parents

usually the parents just sit on the side and watch

and you would totally stay and watch but like…

spiderman > watching a group of sweaty 5 year olds running around and tripping over themselves

“mcdonalds!” lucas grins excitedly

he likes it when you’re in charge of dinner because it actually means that he’s in charge of dinner and he aLways likes it when he gets to choose what to eat for dinner

one time he asked for spaghetti tacos and you just gave him spaghetti tacos with no complaint

it’s amazing!

you’re a pushover for him and he knoWs it

“alrighty. but i’m getting the apple slices for you instead of the fries because you threw your grapes out.”

lucas immediately deflates

u win some u lose some

“okay, bud. i’ll see you at 7!” you chirp before dropping to your knees to give lucas a goodbye hug

“6:30” lucas corrects you smartly and you resist the urge to roll your eyes

uRgh

you don’t want to miss the ending of spiderman!!!!!!! what if you miss something mAjor that links to the next spiderman movie?!

whaTEver you’ll just watch it again when it eventually gets on netflix

anyways

back to business

one huGE perk of being an older sibling is the fact that you get to embarrass your younger siblings any time and anywhere

it’s your given right!

you’ve earned it

…and this is one of those times

“oH i’m going to miss my lulu so much-“ you’re practically suffocating lucas considering how tightly you’re squeezing him and you can’t help but giggle as you squish sloppy kisses to his chubby cheek

you don’t want him to ever grow up because you lovE kissing his cheeks

they were exTra chubby when he was younger

he’s starting to lose some baby fat :’(

lucas whines and starts to shove at your chest “stop it, my friends are watching!!!”

“well they’re just jealous because they don’t have an older sister as cool as-“ you immediately cut yourself off because-

holy SHIT

who the friG is thAT

it’s almost as if time itself slows down when you’re suddenly made aware of this very beautiful human being

warm brown eyes that you can already envision yourself drowning in

a bright bunny smile tugging at the corners of his mouth

honey caramel brown hair peeking out from underneath a plain black cap

two small, silver hoops hanging from his ears

he’s wearing a plain black hoodie paired with a pair of plain black shorts but somehow he’s making it look like he just walked straIght off a paris fashion week runway

he has that boyish quality about him that’s making you weak in your knees

and to top it all off

he’s great with kids

your ovaries are quaking

he laughs and throws his head back before giving one of the boys a fist bump and getting back up on his knees

is it weird that you think his thighs are hot?

…yeah that’s a little weird

get it together

you pull away from lucas before resting back on your heels

you reach out to grasp onto his shoulders to make it seem like you’re having a serious conversation with him because let’s face it this is a very serious conversation

“lu. i’m going to ask you a question, and i want you to answer me honestly.” you look him dead in the eye

“…wha-“

“don’t make it obvious, but… is that your coach?” your eyes flicker over his shoulder and lucas whIPS around to look at where you’re looking

okay

way to make it nOt obvious

“mhm! that’s coach jungkook.”

huh

coach jungkook

that has a nice ring to it

he looks to be around your age which is vEry appealing

working man with a stable job

…you’re into it

lucas is obviously blissfully unaware of the way you’re practically drooling over his coach because the next thing you know- “hi coach!!!!!!” lucas waves wildly and starts bouncing up and down excitedly when coach jungkook glances towards your guys’ general direction

you immediately get up off the ground and reach down to dust your knees off

you should’ve worn something cuter had you known lucas’ coach was going to look like that

“hey, buddy!” jungkook leans down to ruffle lucas’ hair when he rushes over to hug his knees “you ready for a fun session?”

you feel your heart skip a beat when he looks up at you and offers you a friendly smile

o god

“hi! i’m jungkook.” he sticks his hand out for you to shake and oH sweet lord even his hands are pretty

“hi…!” you clear your throat and shake his hand briefly “i’m y/n, i’m… uh, i’m lucas’ sister. older sister.”

okay

you’re not sure why you had to throw in that last detail

you’re obviously his older sister you waLNUT

“ah, that makes sense. usually lucas comes with your guys’ mom, so i was just curious… are you going to stay and watch? there’s plenty of space to sit…” he gestures over to where the parents are and you’re about this close to texting yoongi and cancelling your guys’ plans together

spiderman

“she can’t!” lucas blurts out “-she’s watching spiderman with yoongi!”

uh oh

lucas is blowing your chances with coach jungkook right in front of ur eyES

“yoongi- riGht, yeah, i’m watching spiderman with- lu, why don’t you go and warm up with your friends, hm?” you nudge him a little and he nods before ziPPing right off to join his pals

a beat of silence goes by

“yoongi’s my friend. just my friend.” you clear your throat again before glancing at your watch

“good to know…!” jungkook trails off and purses his lips slightly

okay

this interaction is going downhill vEry fast

“i… should probably go if i’m going to get to the movies on time but thank you for the invitation to stay!” you chuckle lightly and jungkook nods in acknowledgement “i’ll see you later? when i come to pick lucas up? it was nice meeting you…?”

you are a hoT mess

you’re all over the place

why are you phrasing everything as a question?

what’s wrong with you?

you complete moron?

jungkook can’t help but watch as you jog back to your car

lucas never mentioned an older sister

a very pretty older sister, as a matter of fact

of course, lucas doesn’t really mention anything besides a) soccer, b) snacks, and c) power rangers

interesting

very interesting

“how come you’re driving me to practice again?” lucas’ brows knit together in confusion as he looks at you through the front mirror

needless to say he was very much confused when you came to pick him up from school… again

the act of you picking him up from school isn’t weird but usually you only pick him up maybe once every two months

but this is your sixth time picking him up this month

so yeah

it’s a liiiiiittle weird

“because i wanted to give mom… another day off!” you smile brightly and turn on your signal before smoothly swerving to the right and heading down the familiar path to the field

“oh.” lucas nods and slumps back down in his car seat

about five seconds go by before he speaks up again

“how come you have so many drinks and crackers back here?”

your eyes flicker up to the front mirror again and you see him leaning over to look into the huge tote bag sitting next to him

“you know, lu…” you sigh and shake your head “-as your generous, thoughtful, veRy caring older sister, i just want to make sure you have enough energy for practice which is why i took it upon myself to provide nourishment for you and your little friends!”

“…what’s a noorushmint-”

“-just out of curiosity-“ you veer right into your usual parking spot before cranking the brakes

you turn to look at lucas over your shoulder “has coach jungkook… said anything about me?”

“i- oOH banana milk!!!!!!” lucas grins excitedly and pulls one carton out of your bag

here’s the thing

as mentioned earlier this is your sixth time picking lucas up from school and driving him to practice

that means that this is your sixth time seeing jungkook

and each time, he somehow becomes more and more attractive which mEans that you progressively get more and more nervous and awkward-flirty with him each time you see him

every time he looks at you you get all weak in the knees and your palms get sweaty and you end up regurgitating some lame joke about soccer

every time he laughs at your lame jokes about soccer you feel your heart skip a beAt

and you’re obsessed with how attractive he looks when he’s focused on something

he does this thing where he pokes his tongue into his cheek and it just-

oOh it just gets to you

“hey, twerp-“ lucas glances back at you as the two of you start trekking down the grassy hill to get to the field “don’t tell your friends that you already drank a banana milk in the car otherwise they’re going think that i’m playing favourites which i guess i kinda am buT-“

“y/n!” you immediately freeze when you hear jungkook call your name and you neaRly trip over your feet in surprise “-let me help you with that!”

you swallow thickly before offering jungkook a bright smile “hey! oh, that’s so nice of you…” he takes the two tote bags from you eaSily

what the heck

you were out of breath just picking them up and he’s acting as if they’re as light as feathers

you feel your mouth go dry when you catch a glimpse of his biceps flexing

the lord is testing you toDay

“hi coach!” lucas greets enthusiastically

jungkook grins down at lucas before wiggling his brows “someone’s certainly very energetic today-“

“y/n gave me an extra banana milk and i drank it all in thirty seconds!!!!!”

well

he totally just blew your cover

“you said you wouldn’t tell!” you scold playfully and lucas giggles before dropping his bag to the floor and spRinting over to his friends

“banana milk, huh?” jungkook peeks into one of them before looking over at you

he loves banana milk!!!!!!!!

“banana milk and animal crackers.” you correct and jungkook raises a hand in defence

oh fRick

he loves animal crackers too!!!!!!

you are the girl of his dreams!!!!!!

,.,.,.but like.,,., in a super casual way

because he hasn’t known you for very long

but it’s safe to say that he’s already become veRy fond of you and your company

you’re super friendly

and you’re super funny

and you’re super pretty

it’s also super cute when you’re cheering on for lucas on the sidelines

whenever he scores a goal you jump up and down on your feet and clap suPer excitedly and basically scREAM for him

jungkook loves how supportive you are even though this is a kiddie soccer game and the stakes are so unbelievably low

and his heart melted into a warm puddle that time lucas tripped and scraped his knee and you imMEdiately rushed to his aid

you patched him up and even kissed his boo-boo!!!!!! (lucas was a little embarrassed by that) ((he wouldn’t have minded if u did that at home but u did it in front of all of his bROS and he’s like the resident Cool Guy))

it doesn’t get any cuTEr than that!!!!!!

and jungkook knows that he’s here to coach but he’s finding it vEry hard to do his job whenever you’re around

because you smell like warm vanilla and your laugh is contagious and your smile makes his stomach do flip-flops

and the fact that you brought snacks and drinks for the kids is honestly just the icing on the cakE

“wanna split a banana milk?” jungkook jumps in surprise when he feels a gentle tap on his shoulder

“wh- sorry, what was that? i was, uh, thinking about… stuff.” he clears his throat

wow

talk about s m o o t h

“i put the bag down for five seconds and the kids went wild but i managed to snag one carton without losing an arm.” you snort and poke the straw through the top “you wanna split one with me?”

he knows you’re not a mindreader but it’s taking every single one of his brain cells to try to noT think about how kissable your lips look right now

you turn slightly before holding the carton up for him to take a sip and you just have the cutest smile on your face right now and before he knows it he-

“do you wanna grab dinner sometime?” jungkook blurts out and his eyes widen in surprise when he realises that he just asked you out on a date

cuRse him and his complete lack of fiLTER

your own eyes widen in surprise and you blink owlishly

where did thAt come from

you’re not complaining or anything because yes of couRse you want to go out on a date with jungkook but heLLo where did that come from!!!!!!

“um, i-“

“oh, god. sorry! i’m sorry, that was totally- ah, jeez-“ jungkook groans quietly and reaches up to adjust his hat

“-jungkook-“

“-i’m sorry, you’re just really nice and pretty so i thought-“ he can feel his face burning hotter than the damn sun “-i just feeL like we get along really well even though we don’t really know each other buT we can always get to know each other on a date-“

“-yeah, you’re right about that-“

“-i don’t know what i’m thinking!!! i haven’t gone out on a date in a long time so maybe it’s not a-“

“-jungkook!” you slap a hand over his mouth and he stumbles backwards a little from the impact

“…myeah?” his voice is muffled and you give him a warning look so he shuts up quickly

you pull your hand away before adjusting your cardigan a little “i would… i would love to grab dinner with you sometime.”

“oh!” jungkook’s voice is slightly pitchy and he clears his throat quickly “cool. sick.” he says with a lower voice before sniffing and looking back over at the boys

it’s totally whatever

he’s cool

it’s casual

dinner is casual

he’s like… suuuuper chill about it, bro

“mm. sick, indeed.” you tease lightly before nudging his side “…you still wanna split the banana milk with me or not? because i’m going to inhale this entire thing if you don’t want any.”

(the entire time you and jungkook are taking turns taking sips of the banana milk he can’t help but feel like he’s indirectly kissing u)

((but whatever))

(((he’s like…. suuuuuuper chill about it, brO)))

help me help you make your wishes come tru (aka send me a request)

drabble masterlist // main masterlist

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lucky-bucky-boy · 4 years

Text

Mistletoe

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Peter put off introducing you to the team for a long time, but Tony insists the holiday party at the compound is the perfect way for the team to meet the only best friend they haven’t yet.

Word Count: 2385

Warnings: Christmas themed, more fluff

Tags: @lokilvrr

I do not own these characters. Do NOT repost my fics anywhere without my written permission.

"If you ask me one more time if I'm sure I want to go, I promise I will rip my hair out and you'll have to deal with looking at me bald every day," you huffed out a laugh with only a slight playful annoyance tinging the words as you spoke. Delicate application of mascara, mouth parted ever so slightly to give the steady hand needed to not mess up the extravagant glittery eyeshadow that you'd never admit took three tutorials, four tries, and over an hour to do properly.

"O-okay," Peter's anxious voice flowed through your phone perched on the edge of your vanity. "I'll be there in 15, Mr.Stark had Happy pick me up. Bye, (Y/N/N)."

One final layer of ruby red lipstick to compliment the dress that MJ had helped you select; a beautiful a-line knee length dress, intricate lace dancing across the chest and flowing down each arm, stopping just before your wrists, all in a rich christmasy red. Fixing a small golden necklace around your neck to match the gold of the friendship bracelet Peter had given you, MJ and Ned before everyone went off to college, you slipped on a pair of gold glittery flats to complete the look.

As if on queue there was a small series of knocks against your bedroom door. Grabbing the small black clutch you'd thrown a few things in, you opened the door, smiling at Peter before taking in his appearance.

Being an Avenger had done him well, a new sense of maturity vibrating in his aura. His loose curls had been groomed and shaped up, no doubt a request from Tony for this party. His shoulders more broad, a hint of stubble prickling his chin and jaw, all complemented by the sleek black tux, with a bright red tie that just happened to match your dress perfectly. Michelle's doing no doubt.

"O- uh - you look- you look beautiful," Peter stumbled over the words as he tried his damndest to not stare at any one part too long. There was a faint blush on his pale skin. "Are you ready?" He asked, "Mr.Stark isn't happy that you're my only friend he hasn't met."

A soft giggle played at your lips as you turned your lights off and shit your door, "Sure am, Parker."

"Holy shit, there's even little sodas in here - PETER YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THEY'RE TINY," a small squeal left your lips as you pulled out one of the tiny cans from the cooler in the limo, Happy sending Peter and amused look through the rear view mirror.

Peter chuckled softly, "I tried telling Mr.Stark we didn't need the limo but he insisted."

"Okay, but seriously, if Tony wasn't already married I'd be chasing after that if it meant I got things like this every day," there was an obvious joking tone to your words but it still stung Peter deep in the gut. Happy sent Peter another look when he caught that hurt puppy look on Peter's face, which he responded with by closing the partition.

You pouted at Peter, "Hey, that was mean," you scolded softly.

"He kept wiggling his eyebrows at me it was weird," Peter whined in defense, causing a string of laughter to fall from you.

"Where's the party at?" You asked, settling back into the seat next to Peter, pressing the small can of soda to your lips, the warm, dim light casting a fairytale like glow over you and Peter was damn sure Tony had changed the lights.

"It's at the compound," Peter answered, pulling his phone out to check the time, anything to keep from looking at you too long. "Mr.Stark said he wanted something more intimate this year. It's a few of his friends, everyone had a plus one, I originally wasn't going to go but he wanted to meet you and thought this would be a good time to do so."

"Ooh wait, so I also get to meet the team?" You asked, feeling the car pull into what you could only assume was the compound.

Peter nodded as Happy opened the door and Peter grabbed your clutch before getting out, holding his hand out to help you. A chorus of thank you's and nice to meet you's flowed between the group before Peter steered your attention to the pristinely white building that was brightly lit. Hundreds of thousands of little crystal lights strung on every ledge, every tree, every bush and branch available. Little white deer silhouettes lined the walkway and it truly looked like a winter wonderland thanks to the dusting of snow still stuck from that morning.

The bustling party could be heard even outside, laughter, chatter, and music vibrating the architecture. Peter opened the door for you, the sounds doubling in volume as you stepped into what felt like a scene out of a Hallmark movie. Intricate decorations and lace, ribbon, and likes strewn across the ceilings, railing and archways. A pop-up bar and serving table off to the side, the home to extravagant drinks and foods you had only ever dreamed of getting the chance to taste. The intimate lighting doubled with the warmth that the endless Christmas music sent through you made your heartbeat a little faster when you remember who you came here with.

Peter's arm wrapped around your waist, leading you towards the back of the room that sat huge round tables. At the center table sat a few of the team members; Natasha with her feet propped up on Sam's lap, Sam who was bickering with Bucky over what sounded like an argument over the best something and poor Steve stuck in the middle of his two friends squabbling.

Peter cleared his throat to get their attention, all eyes turning to him and then immediately falling in you. An anxious, almost embarrassed kind of warmth spread through you as they all analyzed you, Bucky breaking into a huge grin. "Hey Peter, is this the dame you haven't shut up about?"

Sam sighed exasperatedly, "Barnes, for the last time, we don't call girls dames anymore."

"I think it's rather endearing," Nat added, eyes never leaving you, watching as you looked up at Peter with a small look of shock on your face, lips slightly parted. Bucky had undoubtedly caught you off guard with the confession, and Peter was blushing even darker than earlier.

"Peter Benjamin Parker," you said, voice in a heightened, almost comical tone of disbelief, "Are you talking about me again? Do I need to bring out the pictures from summer camp?"

His eyes went as big as saucers, "No no no no, they asked about my friends and I told then about you that's all," his words were rushed, quick to speak in hopes of deterring your threat.

"Sure, if you call gu- ouch, why'd you hit me," Bucky grumbled towards Steve who was sending him a warning look and suddenly everyone at the table caught on. You knew nothing.

Peter watched as your mouth opened to speak but quickly cut you off when he heard Tony talking from the upstairs balcony. His gaze moved upwards, seeing a much less crowded, but still just as decorated area and he grabbed your hand, leading you to the steps. "C'mon. Let's go see Mr.Stark."

Tony was talking to a business friend, a young girl who you could only assume was his daughter hugging tightly to his leg with one arm and a feeding herself a cookie with another. Her eyes moved from the man in front of her to Peter and you and she gasped, dropping the cookie and running over to Peter, who knelt down in preparation to hug her.

She flung her small body into Peter's chest who hugged her and stood, moving to hold her on his hip. "Peter!!!!!! Why'd did you leave? Daddy's being boring. I wanna play with the bobots- Peter who's this she's pretty - and OUR DRESSES MATCH!"

She squealed, causing Peter to laugh softly.

You looked down at yourself and then over at her, taking in the details of her dress and realizing she was wearing a smaller version of your dress. You giggled softly, watching as Peter sat her down so she could twirl to show it off. You knelt down to be eye level with her, "Well, that just means we both have good tastes because we both look very pretty, don't we?" You asked her.

She nodded her head furiously. "Yes! Daddy wanted me to wear gold but I liked this one better. I'm Morgan."

"Hi, Morgan. My name is (Y/N), I'm Peter's friend. We've been friends since we you as little as you."

She gasped softly, "Does that mean you know how to prank him? He never falls for my pranks," she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted some, only causing you to laugh more.

"Of course I know how to prank him," you looked up at Peter to realize that both Tony and him were watching the two of you, the other man from earlier gone. After giving Morgan a small smile you stood, reaching out to shake Tony's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr.Stark." You beamed a bright smile at him, causing Tony to smirk softly and send Peter a look of approval.

"The pleasure is all mine, sweetheart. And please, call me Tony. I'm surprised you haven't freaked out yet, Peter's mentioned a few times that you're a big fan of - well everyone." He said, hand motioning to wave in the direction of where the team was.

You nodded, feeling Peter move back to your side and seeing Morgan find her place at Tony's leg again. "I'm a huge fan, and it is taking everything not to freak. But what kind of first impression would that be," you joked softly.

Tony chuckled, picking Morgan up. "Very true. I'll leave you two to enjoy to party. I think I need to get this stinker another cookie before mommy comes and yells at me." Morgan cheered as Tony moved to take her back downstairs, leaving Peter and you alone.

Leaning over the balcony you used the height to your advantage, observing the party and every one of its inhabitants. Watched people dance, drink too much champagne, kiss and coo at one another. It was almost surreal, the wealth, the confidence, the comfort of the bubbling atmosphere. The feeling of someone watching you pulled you from your thoughts, turning to look at Peter who was watching you intently.

"What is it?" You asked, almost amused, "something wrong with my makeup?"

Peter shook his head, hands fidgeting with the end of his jacket, eyes darting around anxiously before looking back at you. "N-no, actually. The complete opposite. I can't get over how beautiful you look tonight." He bit his lip, and when your eyebrow crooked upwards and a small smirk toyed at your lips he got worried, more anxious than before, "Not that you don't always look beautiful but you just look especially beautiful tonight."

The smile and light laugh that left your tempting lips made him feel he was baptized in cold water, drowning him and filling him with life all at once. "You overthink everything, Peter," intertwining your fingers with his, you pulled him towards the steps. "I want a drink and I want you to show me around."

A glass of champagne and too many horderves later, you found yourselves in the compounds kitchen searching for refuge from the stimulation of the party. The two of you sat on the kitchen island, reminiscing and laughing, catching up for the first time in what felt like an eternity since the start of the semester.

"So, this is pretty much where you live now? No more loud Queens streets to lull you to sleep at night?"

Peter shrugged, pulling off his suit jacket and moving to roll the cuffs of his button down shirt up. "Well, I kinda bounce between here and Aunt May's. Mr. Stark has me taking classes online so I can still work with him and not over do myse-"

A loud gasp pulled your attention to the doorway, Morgan was standing there, holding Tony's hand and pointing at the two of you. "Daddy! Look! They're under the mistletoe!"

Tony chuckled softly, "They sure are kiddo, and what does that mean?"

"They have to kiss!" She exclaimed.

Looking up you saw the bundle of green and read tied around the light fixture and couldn't help but shake your head and laugh in disbelief. "If I didn't know any better I'd believe everyone was in on something," you said and watch as Tony held his hands up in defense and backed out of the kitchen with Morgan in tow.

"Y-yeah," Peter swallowed loudly, causing you to look over at him. "We- we don't actually have to kiss if you don't want to." His voice was soft and nothing more than a mumble and he fiddled with the rolled up sleeves.

"What makes you think I don't want to kiss you, Pete?" You asked, smiling softly, a sudden wave of anxiety wiping over you. "Do you think I'd try this hard for anyone else?" You motioned to yourself.

"You could have come in sweatpants and a tank top and I still would've thought you looked amazing." Warmth spread across you, slightly embarrassed and unsure of what to say, "...Can I kiss you?" He asked.

A timid nod was enough of an answer as he moved to cup you cheeks with his hands, thumbs rubbing over the apples of your cheeks as he took a moment to admire every detail of your face. "I've loved you since we were kids," he admitted before pressing his lips to yours, slow and almost unsure.

The moment he felt your hands on his chest, tugging at his shirt to pull him closer, his actions had more confidence, lips soft and speaking a language you didn't know you knew, filling a void you didn't know you had. You pulled back a little, both of you smiling big and giddy.

"Merry Christmas to me," he mumbled.

"Merry Christmas to us." You corrected, pressing another small kiss to his lips. "And I love you too."

#peter #peter parker #peter x reader #peter parker x reader #peter fluff #peter parker fluff #peter one shot #peter parker one shot #peter imagine #peter parker imagine #spiderman #spiderman fluff #spiderman x reader #spiderman one shot #spiderman imagine #marvel #marvel fluff #marvel imagine #marvel one shot

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365days365movies · 3 years

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March 16, 2021: Legend (1985) (Part Two)

Tom Cruise is terrible in this movie. Spoiler alert.

It’s not like I can claim that Cruise is one of my favorite actors working today, since he’s been in some real stinkers. But, like...he definitely got better over the years, seriously. Dude was not amazing in Top Gun, but he was WAAAAAY better than this performance.

All I know is that the dude...the dude’s been better, that’s all I’m saying. So has Mia Sara, while we’re at it. I mean, I didn’t even realize until looking her up that she was in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off! And here, she’s...whoof, OK? Also not her best role, is all I’m saying...again.

And Tim Curry...is another story entirely, holy shit. But I’ll get to him more later. The only other thing I want to say before going on is...goddamn, this movie is good looking. I’m not one of those “practical effects are better than CGI garbage” people, but GODDAMN, these are good makeup effects! Who did them, anyway? Rob Bottin? OH SHIT THIS GUY?

The makeup artist from fucking The Thing did the effects for this movie? HOLY FUCK! Dude also did RoboCop and Total Recall, so no wonder this film looks fantastic! Dude’s a Legend, dir. Ridley Scott.

Speaking of, let’s get back to it, huh? I’ll have more to say in the Review later, for sure. First part of the Recap is right here!

Recap (2/2)

As our little band escapes from the prison, they split up, with Jack, Gump, and Oona on one team, and Screwball and Tom on the other. Meanwhile, in his private throne room, Darkness speaks with his Father this time, whoever that is. He notes that he’s so close to making this world his own...but damn, that Lily girl is HAWT.

And unlike his mother, Darkness’ Father responds, nothing that she’s attractive to Darkness because she is so pure. Darkness must woo her, and corrupt her to the darkside. And somewhere, as Darkness speaks romantic words about Lily, a Goth baby is born, and a Goth fairy gets her vanta black wings. Yeah, Goth fairies are born from Tim Curry’s voice; that’s just biology, really.

Oona finds her way to the chamber where Lily is, and peers into it as Lily peers likewise into the fireplace there. Meanwhile, Jack and Gump are still searching, only to be set upon by...I don’t know goblin-witch-things? The mythology here isn’t very clear, gonna be honest. They run off, which Screwball and Tom find their way to the chamber where the Unicorn is.

Meanwhile, Lily ain’t doin’ too hot, and she’s lured in by, to be honest, shiny things. Yeah, she’s hanging out by the fire as Darkness’ father whispers to Darkness that she must be seduced. She’s distracted by pearls and diamonds, and finds a beautiful diamond necklace, which entices her. This is where I put a “women, amirite” joke, right?

Well, at that moment, a cherub statue on the piano comes to life, as does an onyx gown, which dances in front of her. And I gotta say, the effect is enticing, both to me and to Lily. Lily can’t resist dancing with the empty gown, and then becomes one with it, and, well...it’s a nice aesthetic.

But just as this outfit is revealed...so is somebody else.

GODDAMN. That is a gorgeous fucking creature, and I TOTALLY GET IT PEOPLE. The GF is only semi-watching, and she and I agree that if the actual Devil was that hot, there would be WAY more Satanists in the world. And here’s the thing, I’d love to put a billion GIFs here...but it can’t capture this performance accurately without a video, because GODDAMN THIS IS A GOOD PERFORMANCE

And to be clear, this isn’t the best movie. It’s actually pretty goddamn bad to be honest, but it’s SAVED ENTIRELY BY TIM CURRY I ONCE AGAIN CANNOT STRESS THAT SHIT ENOUGH

youtube

But we have to cut away from the best performance in the film (I guess), and we rejoin Jack’s group, who have also watched this performance through the door. Jack almost goes in, but Gump’s like, “Nah, dude, he is WAY too hot, you don’t have a goddamn CHANCE”, and they overhear Darkness say that his weakness is daylight. Jack and co. reconvene with Screwball and Tom to enact a plan. They rescue Blunder, who was almost cooked, then they fight and kill a few ogres and steal some giant metal pans.

Meanwhile, Darkness invites Lily to sit and talk with him. And again, GODDAMN IT I GET IT. He’s literally the ultimate bad boy, AND he’s a fucking romantic? Man, I swear that I’m straight, but FUCK ME I DO UNDERSTAND. After more wooing and sweet nothing, he offers her a rose, which makes me wonder why the fuck NOBODY’S tried this move on The Bachelorette! Just rolling up in a full Darkness costume, giving his various limes? That’d work on somebody, I know it would.

Lily’s constant defiance of his will enrages him, but she does agree to marry him, IF she’s allowed to kill the Unicorn herself. And that excites Darkness so much that there is NO WAY he doesn’t need to change his pants. Gross, I know, but I swear that I just saw him climax at that suggestion, seriously. Blame Tim Curry, not me!

As the ceremony is set to begin, and as the sun rises above the forest, Jack’s group uses the plates to set up a classic mirror trick, and uses them to reflect light from the outside directly onto Darkness. As they’re enacting this plan, Darkness is all set up to sacrifice the Unicorn, with Lily’s help. Or so he thinks.

Darkness is all set to extinguish light forever, and tells Lily to make the final killing blow. She seems set to do it, and Gump tells Jack to kill her. Instead, he fires the arrow at Darkness, and Lily frees the Unicorn, which runs away. Darkness, enraged, knocks Lily out, and when Jack goes after him, he also kicks his ass quickly. Even with Gump’s assistance from above, Jack is obviously completely screwed.

It’s even worse, because Screwball passed out in trying to set up one of the plates for the reflection. But Oona comes to wake him up, and they set up the last plate just as Darkness is REALLY kicking Jack’s ass. Jack grabs the Alicorn at the last second, and uses it to stab Darkness, just as the light of day hits him. He calls out to his father for protection, but to no avail, as the light begins to destroy him.

But he points out something important: there is no light without dark, and he can never truly be defeated as a result. And then...yeah, uh, Jack just defeats him. Literally, he gets swallowed into the eternity of space somehow. Fuckin’...I dunno.

Gump tells Jack that, to revive Lily, he must fulfill his promise to...get her ring back. Um. Sure? As he does that, Gump takes the Alicorn and returns it to the dead Unicorn, bringing it back to life as the sun rises. And the Unicorns reunite at the same time that Jack and Lily reunite in love. And it’s...kinda gross? Like, goddamn, I’ve heard of happy endings, but this is RIDICULOUS.

As the denizens of the forest and the Unicorns wave goodbye to the lovers as they run away together, though, we also see Darkness one last time, laughing. I mean, yeah, no light without dark. They way they choose to edit it is a little weird, but whatever.

And that was The Last Unicorn! I mean...that was Legend! And, uh...yeah, see you in the Review, because I really only have one universally good thing to say about this movie. You know what/who it is.

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lifeofclonewars · 4 years

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Zoolffe, Stinker, Zoost, Gonet, and Glo Koon

Did someone say modern AU!Wolfpack? No? Here you go anyway. This is long than I originally anticipated. Part 4 of Pun Wars but, as always, can be read alone. AO3 link in the post below on my blog if you’d prefer to read it that way.

Summary:

Grr has renamed Curveball to Stinker

Stinker Hey!

Booster Seat You should’ve seen that coming, vod’ika

Stinker Maybe, but that doesn’t make me like it any more

In which Wolffe helps his buir watch over his brothers (including Boost) at the zoo, Sinker acts like the little brother he is, Comet gets lost, and Plo gets decked in glow sticks.

—–

Wolffe wanted to help his buir out, he really did. But his vod’ikase seemed to have doubled in mischief-making since he left for college ten months ago. Now, home for the summer after his freshman year, he could point out all the things that had changed in the months he’d been away.

Like Boost’s haircut. Were all fifteen-year-olds that moody and prone to shaving most of their hair and dying it red? Wolffe had always been grouchy— since he was a baby and likely would be till he died— so he couldn’t use himself as a base of reference. But seriously, what had Boost been thinking? It wasn’t even ginger or anything close to that. Nope, he had to go full-blown maroon.

Not that Sinker had been any better. The thirteen-year-old’s hair was silver. Upon seeing it, Wolffe had not been able to tell if it had been the result of a prank, dare, or just sheer free will. He had told Sinker it made him look like a tiny, old man. The brat had kicked his shin and told him it looked cool in retaliation. A few weeks later and he still didn’t know, and he didn’t plan on finding out.

Comet, thankfully, hadn’t changed his hair. But he was ten, so it was bound to happen in a few years. Rather, the little rascal had taken to playing more pranks, mouthing off often, tackling Sinker and Boost (and once, an off-guard Wolffe, not that he’d admit it out loud), and then acting like a total sweetheart in front of their dad. He wasn’t quite at the teenage-brat stage Sinker had begun and Boost was well into but it was on the horizon.

“Yes! We’re finally here!” Boost exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. The car made its way through the parking lot while their dad chuckled from the driver’s seat.

Boost, Wolffe, and Comet sat in the back, allowing Sinker the passenger’s seat. A year ago, the teen might have boasted about it, but now it was automatic. Comet was still too young and, well…Wolffe and Boost hadn’t felt too good about sitting in the front since—

Now wasn’t the time to think about that.

The maroon-haired teen had been the most excited about the trip to the zoo. He had pleaded and pleaded and even made a presentation he proudly gave. Buir had entertained him and sat through it, then revealed the presentation hadn’t been necessary: he had already decided on a date for them to go. Now that the day had arrived, Boost was practically vibrating in his seat from anticipation.

“Yes, it appears we are,” their dad responded. “Look at all this pandamonium.” He parked the car under a little sign with a cartoon panda displayed. Groans rang through the vehicle. The puns had begun.

“Well, at least we’ll remember where we parked,” Sinker muttered under his breath. Wolffe rolled his eyes at his little brother. Thankfully, since he sat behind said brother, Sinker couldn’t see or react to it.

The five Koons clambered out of the car and headed for the entrance. Buir led the way and Wolffe brought up the rear, making sure his brothers didn’t stray too far from each other. Soon enough, tickets were bought and shown and bags were checked and the family was in the zoo.

At the first bench, they set down their two backpacks. “Alright,” buir stated, pulling out two things of sunscreen. “Let’s get this over with.” He handed one to Wolffe and they set to work, applying it to themselves and to the little rascals. After that, baseball caps were placed on heads, and sunglasses passed out. Wolffe took the backpack buir didn’t grab, and then they set off to see the Big Cats at Boost’s request.

“Tigers, lions, and bears, oh my!” Comet said as they approached. Since he was ten, he was starting to get the hang of some of the references his aliit made that weren’t strictly cartoons. He’d been eagerly adding his own to the mix. Sinker smiled at him and gently punched his shoulder.

“Oh my, for sure, though the bears aren’t over here. Just wait ‘til the dad jokes for this start.”

Not a minute later, buir, being dragged along by Boost, who had a firm grasp on his hand, turned to his other sons and said, “Why are tigers terrible storytellers?”

Sinker sighed and indulged him. “Why?”

“Because they only have one tail!”

Boost snickered, coming to a stop in front of the tigers. Without looking at the plaque with information, he began to spit out facts about the striped cats.

Buir listened, giving Boost his full attention. While Wolffe appreciated the care his dad was showing, that left him to make sure Comet didn’t try to climb up anything either. That was another habit he’d picked up. Most kids are little monkeys when they’re younger because they found it fun and were curious; Comet just liked to make things difficult for his ori’vod.

Instead of climbing on the railing, Comet had apparently made up his mind to try to dig his feet into Wolffe’s back and try to climb up him instead. Wolffe grunted when he landed a solid jab in his side but otherwise didn’t react.

The little monkey somehow succeeded and clung to his older brother piggyback style. How he did it around the backpack was beyond Wolffe. Comet thumped his forehead against the back of Wolffe’s head.

“Hey, hey Wolffe,” he said. “I wanna go see the penguins.”

Sinker perked up at that. “I wanna see the penguins, too!” It was the most excited he had looked yet.

Boost, having finished his ramblings, overheard his brothers. He frowned. “But I’m not done here!"

"I can take Comet and Sinker by myself,” Wolffe found himself offering. Hmm.

Now buir was frowning at him. “Are you sure you want to, Wolffe?”

“I can handle it,” he reaffirmed.

“Alright. Keep your phone on and stay together! Be safe, have fun."

"Yep, we got it, buir. Bye!” Sinker was now the one to grab Wolffe’s hand and drag him along. “C'mon, you big lump nugget."

"I’ll send you all the jokes!” Boost called out as they left.

Sinker grunted as he pulled Wolffe along. “I come up to your shoulder now, this shouldn’t be this hard!"

"Comet’s still on my back,” he reminded. Comet waved from where he was. It’s not like Wolffe was being particularly cooperative with the pulling, either. Sinker didn’t seem to register that, though.

“Oh.” He dropped his grip on Wolffe’s hand, giving up. He pulled a map out of who-knows-where, double-checking they were headed in the right direction.

“Stay in sight,” Wolffe reminded. Sinker nodded and moved to Wolffe’s right but didn’t take his hand. “Sinker.” Wolffe turned his head to look at him.

Sinker turned, eyebrows scrunched together. “What?” A beat. “Oh, right! The eye…” He switched to Wolffe’s left easily.

“That’s better.”

They continued on their way, occasional comments coming from Comet. Things like, “Wow, I feel so tall. Maybe I’ll be taller than you one day, Wolffe!” and “This is farther than the map looked.“ Once, even, "That cloud looks like Boost when he’s mad,” which got a few chuckles.

Wolffe’s phone buzzed twice when they were almost to the exhibit.

Chat: The Wolfpack

Booster Seat

Why don’t leopards play hide and seek? They’re always spotted!

Curveball

Wayii!

Wolffe shook his head at the messages and put his phone back in his pocket. The small group rounded the corner, and they came across a small building, appropriately decorated with various kinds of penguins. A mixture of photographs and drawings spanned the sign reading “Lina Soh Penguin Cove” and accompanying wall.

Comet jumped off his back and would’ve made a run for the exhibit, had Wolffe not managed to snag the collar of his t-shirt and hold him back. Together, they calmly made their way in, thank you very much.

Once inside, both Sinker and Comet took off their sunglasses. Sinker placed his on the bill of his cap, while Comet took them completely off and hung them on his shirt.

“Aren’t you going to take yours off?” Comet asked.

“Nope.” Enough rude people had openly stared at him already today because of the scar. He didn’t need the added attention a visible prosthetic eye brought.

“Oh, okay.” Wolffe patted his vod'ika on the back, then shifted his hand to Comet’s shoulder to make sure he didn’t run over the people in front of them. He struggled against the grip for a moment but stopped when Wolffe’s grip tightened a smidge.

Comet stopped in front of every single exhibit for at least a few minutes. He rooted himself to the spot when they reached the one that had a few rockhopper penguins— according to the sign on the glass— waddling around. His eyes brightened, jaw dropping slightly as he tugged on Wolffe’s shirt to grab his attention.

“Those guys are like Lovelace in Happy Feet!”

Sinker chuckled next to him. “Yep. I gotta say, that was not what I expected you to say.”

The youngest scrunched his nose, eyes narrowing at his silver-haired brother. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“It means you’re unpredictable,” Wolffe deadpanned.

Sinker made a face at Wolffe and answered Comet himself. “No, it means that movie is older than you so I didn’t expect you to make a reference to it.”

“You didn’t say anything when I referenced The Wizard of Oz earlier!”

“That’s a classic! Everyone knows it! But a movie from over te—”

“One of them is walking this way,” Wolffe interrupted. If the duo kept that up, he was bound to have a headache by the end of the day. Nevermind the fact he’d volunteered himself for this.

Comet and Sinker snapped their heads to the exhibit where, as per Wolffe’s word, a rockhopper penguin was waddling closer and closer to the glass. They gasped in unison and Wolffe couldn’t help but shake his head fondly at his vod’ikase. It was like they’d never seen one before despite what they had just been arguing about.

There was a small rock formation that served as a perch for the penguins to get close to the visitors. The glass was tall enough people couldn’t just reach in and steal a penguin or for a penguin to somehow hop their way out of the exhibit without a zookeeper there. The one Wolffe had pointed out had swum the small pool of water between the rocks to waddle along the perch. Comet waved to the flightless bird when it looked his way and it tilted its head.

Comet gasped. “Did you see that? He saw me!”

Sinker peered at the sign on the glass. “This says his name is Vandor.”

“Hi, Vandor!” Comet said. His smile stretched wider, bright enough it nearly melted the ice in the room. Sinker took out his phone, taking pictures of Vandor and Comet interacting.

It took them another forty-five minutes to make their way through the rest of Penguin Cove. After his interaction with Vandor, Comet demanded they stop in front of each exhibit and read the signs to learn each and every individual penguin’s name. From there, he would find where each of them was, call out their name, and try to get them to react to him. He was remarkably successful with a good percentage of them. All the while, Sinker took pictures and videos, undoubtedly sending some to buir and Boost.

Right before the exit, Wolffe stopped his brothers and made them put their sunglasses on again. Using the lull, Sinker announced, “Buir sent me a dad joke in response to the pictures.” Wolffe gestured for him to continue. “Why don’t penguins fly? They aren’t tall enough to be pilots.”

Comet burst into giggles. “Hey, that’s a pretty good one.”

“For buir’s standards, yeah, it is,” Sinker agreed.

Wolffe held back an eye roll. “Where do you gremlins want to go next?” he asked instead.

His question prompted Sinker to pull out the map again. “Hmm. Well, I want to go to the primate house but that’s a long ways away. We should go somewhere closer first, right?”

“That would be preferable, yes.”

Comet tugged Sinker’s arm lower so he could see the map as well. “The polar bears are close.”

“I’m okay with that.”

“Great, that’s where we’re headed, then.” Wolffe took the map this time and placed it in the backpack. His phone buzzed again as he slung the bag across his shoulders.

Booster Seat

What do you call an alligator who solves mysteries? An investigator!

“I guess we know where those two are now,” Sinker commented.

The group spent a decent amount of time at the polar bears, though not as long as the penguins. From there, they saw the bears, which were just across the way from the polar bears. Sinker and Comet made a wide array of comments. From “They look meaner than any teddy bear I’ve ever seen” to “That one looks like Warthog” (which got some strange looks since Warthog was their bulldog), to even “Why are so many of them sleeping?”

After that, Comet got restless. He began to fidget more and Wolffe’s worries he’d start to climb up something he shouldn’t increased. While reapplying sunscreen, the truth finally came out: he wanted to switch groups. Wolffe had to pull up the family group chat to ask.

Chat: The Koon Cocoon

Howl are you?

Comet wants to join your group. Where are you?

Buir

We’re by the hyenas

Howl are you?

He says nevermind then

Ghosty Boi

Lol

Buir

Would you like to meet up for lunch?

Howl are you?

I think my bag has all the packed lunches, so that’d work best

Buir

Great. How about the playground by the children’s zoo? Around 12:30

Hook, Line, and—

Works for me

Howl are you?

Sounds good

They had another half an hour to kill before they had to set out towards the meeting area. Sinker insisted they went to the wolf exhibit, “‘cause you gotta see your namesake, Wolffe!” and because it was conveniently on the way to the playground. With a sigh, Wolffe relented and they made their way to it.

Once there, they noticed none of the wolves were outside; rather, they had all gone to the indoor section of their exhibits. The “Lothal Wolf Lodge,” as it was so aptly named, had a striking resemblance to the outside of the Great Wolf Lodge water parks.

“I think they should rename it the Wolffe Koon Lodge,” Sinker said as they entered.

“We don’t have the money for a donation big enough for that,” Wolffe responded.

Sinker huffed. “Well, maybe I’ll become a millionaire so I can and I’ll tell them to name it after you when I’m older. It’s a pun! It has to be done!”

“I thought you didn’t like puns,” Comet said. “You always groan when buir says them.”

“That’s because they’re dad jokes,” Sinker replied. “Puns on their own are okay. When said by dads is when they decline.”

“You make puns sometimes,” Comet pointed out. “Which might make them dad jokes in the future.”

Sinker cringed. “Let’s not think that far into the future.” He turned to the first exhibit and ignored his brothers. Wolffe chuckled lightly and followed his younger brothers through the lodge.

After Comet and Sinker debating which wolf looked most like Wolffe and which one acted most like him, they agreed they were hungry enough to head the rest of the way to the meetup. Which was fortunate; had they taken any longer, Wolffe would’ve had to herd them outside himself.

Comet climbed up onto Wolffe’s back once again, but not before Sinker was handed the backpack. It must’ve been more comfortable for him but it meant Wolffe got more pokes to his head and shoulders as Comet distracted himself as they walked. There was no reason for the poking— he was just acting on his little brother instincts, it seemed.

The playground they met at had equipment that was styled after different African animals. Slides, swings, monkey bars, and plenty of picnic benches and grass. Given the time, the area was crawling with families of all sizes and ages. Shrieks, laughs, and the gentle murmur of talking floated through the air as they approached.

Looking around, no open picnic benches were available. Something waving out of the corner of his eye caught Wolffe’s attention. He turned left towards it. There was Boost, waving both arms as obnoxiously as possible at a table he and buir had managed to secure. Sinker took off, as fast as a hunting lion, excited at the prospect of food. He tore the bag off his shoulders and opened it, digging around for his lunch box with only a breathy “Hi” to greet their dad.

Wolffe walked over and set Comet on the ground by the time Sinker and Boost had found their lunches and started eating. “Hi, buir,” he greeted.

Buir smiled. “Hello Wolffe, Comet. Glad you could make it safely.”

“Hi, buir!” Comet exclaimed. “I have so much to tell you about what we saw!” Delighted, buir beckoned Comet over and they sat together as the ad’ika began to talk his ears off.

Soon enough, everyone had eaten their lunches and shared anecdotes of their day. Boost was ecstatic the day was turning out so well; it had been his idea, after all.

Shoving his scraps into the closest trash can, Boost raced back over. “Okay, so I looked it up and the next dolphin show takes place in about twenty minutes. That gives us the perfect amount of time to walk over there and find good seats in time for it to begin. What do you guys think?”

“A dolphin show? That sounds pretty cool,” Sinker said. Comet nodded his agreement.

“It’s settled then,” buir announced, clapping his hands together. “We’re all going to the show.”

The three youngest cheered. Once the table was cleaned up and back to how it was before they used it, the aliit set off. Once again, Boost and buir led the way with Wolffe in the back and the other two between them. Already, the afternoon was set up to be intriguing, to say the least.

—

The dolphin show had actually been rather fun. Boost had wanted to sit in the splash zone and had to be reminded they didn’t have any extra clothes with them. Apparently, the prospect of walking around in wet clothes wasn’t appealing, as he then advocated for two rows above the splash zone. They did sit exactly two rows above it, close enough for some droplets to hit them but no need for ponchos or a change. Buir made one pun, letting the zookeepers make the rest (there were plenty): this show is fintastic!

After that, the Koons had gone into the section of the Chuchi Aquatics Center to see the dolphins underwater. Along with that, they were also able to see seals, orcas, and a cute little otter family that waved at Comet and Sinker. On the other hand, poor Boost couldn’t get them to wave to him.

“It’s because you stink since you never take showers. They can smell it through the glass,” Sinker teased. Of course, that led to buir and Wolffe temporarily separating the two before they could start arguing.

While the aquatics had been fascinating, Wolffe’s vod’ikase were still a tad restless, energy levels high from their lunches. As a result, they walked back over to the playground they had eaten lunch at. Upon arriving there, Comet noticed the Organa Family Children’s Zoo and detoured them towards that instead.

Buir let the pups free once inside. The children’s zoo consisted of a building with multiple activities and an outdoor, fenced in-area with a petting zoo, a small aviary, and other outdoor games. Coloring sheets, a stuffed animal hospital, mini-classes, matching games, and more spanned the inside. Hopscotch, more lessons, and even a see-saw enhanced the outdoor experience.

Boost ran for one of the lessons, Sinker for the aviary, and Comet for some sort of puzzle.

Buir took interest in the signs on a bulletin board, announcing upcoming events. A multicolored, vivid poster caught his attention. He beckoned Wolffe over and tapped on the poster. “How does this seem?”

In tree-frog green read “Glow and Behold, a Fluorescent-Themed Event for all ages!” A quick scan through told it was happening tonight, after sundown, for guests who paid extra for passes. Zookeepers would be showing off the bioluminescent critters the zoo had, have glow-in-the-dark activities, and have a few presentations and shows along the same theme.

He hummed. “I think Boost will like it. Comet will like the excuse to stay up later. Sinker might want to go just for the glow sticks.”

Buir chuckled. “Yes, that was what I was thinking. Would you like to go?”

Wolffe shrugged. “I’m fine with it either way. But if it’ll make them happy, I’m more willing to stay.”

“I guess that means we’re going to go, then. I’ll just need to purchase the tickets. Can you watch your brothers while I go do that?”

“Yeah, that won’t be too hard in here. What are we going to do about dinner?”

“I’m sure we can find a reasonable enough restaurant somewhere in this zoo.” Buir took a picture of the poster, probably as a reminder of exactly what he was buying tickets for when he got to wherever was selling them.

“Alright, be safe and quick.”

Buir grinned at him. “Always, Wolffe. Keep your brothers out of trouble.”

“That’s easier said than done.”

With a pat on the back, buir left. Wolffe found an empty seat and sat down. He took the chance to look through the notifications that had built up over the day. He’d only been looking at the chat ones so far. His brothers kept themselves occupied. Even if Boost and Sinker may have been on the upper end of the age range the children’s zoo was aimed at, they nevertheless found things to do and methods to have fun. At one point, Boost convinced the other two to join him in one of the lessons. They came back over to Wolffe afterward, spouting fun facts about pachyderms.

Before he knew it, buir had returned, tickets safely tucked into his backpack. They spent a good hour more in the children’s zoo, leaving only once Boost got antsy to see the snakes and, as Comet put it, “other slippery, slimy creatures.” There, another dad joke was told: Why are snakes difficult to fool? You can’t pull their leg! Boost jumped at the opportunity to hold a boa constructor when a zookeeper offered. Sinker stayed a safe distance away and took pictures, laughing at some of the faces he caught on camera.

Snakes, then the hoofed animals such as zebras, camels, donkeys, and antelopes. More pictures, more sunscreen, more bickering. A stop by the giraffes, okapis, cheetahs, and wildebeests. Comet was shocked to find out what warthogs really looked like, outside of their dog’s name and Pumbaa. They even caught a short program in the lemur house.

Coming out of the program, everyone was getting snappy with each other. That could mean many things but, given the time of day, simply meant one: dinner time. Sinker pulled out the map and listed off the options at buir’s request.

“I want to eat there,” Comet said, pointing to a restaurant on the map.

Boost scrunched his face up. “But that’s so far away. We should just eat here,” he pointed to a different spot. “It’s a lot closer, which means we’ll get to eat sooner.”

“Both those options suck.” Sinker yanked the map away from them. “I don’t know if you guys can read or not, but those places only have stuff we ate for dinner the past few days.”

“So?” Boost snapped. “That just means I actually liked what we ate for dinner. Just because you’re such a picky eater doesn’t mean we all have to suffer.”

“I’m not a picky eater!”

Comet snatched the map out of Sinker’s hands as the bickering continued. Wolffe reached over and grabbed it himself. He handed it to buir. “Why don’t you pick? They’re never going to decide on anything and I don’t care where.”

Buir picked somewhere that satisfied Sinker’s food choices, still had options Boost and Comet would eat, and was different from the three restaurants that had been argued over. It was small compared to other eateries they had passed throughout the day but that, if anything, established a cozy, family-friendly atmosphere. The Savanna Shack— decorated with giraffes, gazelles, cheetahs, and more— replicated a pit-stop on a safari. The waitstaff dressed up as tour guides and their waiter even had a stuffed African elephant resting across his shoulders.

Bickering calmed as bellies were filled. The snappy bickering, at least. They were brothers: bickering happened twenty-four/seven whether they registered it or not. Everyone was content with the adventures of the day.

After dinner, the crowds thinned, more and more guests leaving as the normal closing time loomed closer. Only those with tickets to the presentation stayed scattered around the exhibits. All things considered, it was a decent number of bodies; enough for clusters at every exhibit but not the overwhelming presence that it had been.

At the Australian animals, buir somehow had a bucketload of jokes to tell. If Wolffe hadn’t known his dad had prepared them all the night before, he’d have thought he’d looked them up discreetly during dinner.

“Can a wallaby jump higher than a building? Of course, buildings can’t jump!” directed towards Sinker, who groaned. “Are you enjoying the koala-ty time?” was said to Comet, who smiled and nodded. “What do you call a lazy kangaroo? A pouch potato!” to Boost, who shook his head. “Are your brothers platypushing your buttons?” to which Wolffe held back a “No, but the puns are.” Had it been Boost, he’d probably have said it, but since it was buir…best not to.

Like all good things, the peace came to an end. “I want to go to the primate house,” Sinker announced. “I said so this morning but I still haven’t been able to.”

“I don’t want to go there,” Boost retorted. “I want to see the Arctic animals.”

“The three of us already went there,” Sinker said. “You missed out, boohoo.”

“I want to see the bison and buffalo,” Comet piped up because what is an argument without the youngest butting in with their opinion.

Wolffe sighed. “Guess we’re splitting up again. Same groups?”

That appeased them. Buir nodded his confirmation; the groups split off. Wolffe, Comet, and Sinker were sent off with one more pun. “Did you hear about the awful jungle party? Somebody forgot to bring the chimps and dip.”

“Alright, adike, bison and buffalo are first.” Sinker opened his mouth to protest and Wolffe held up a hand and continued. “They’re on the way to the primates. I promise we’ll see them.”

Sinker’s lips twitched downwards for a second but he nodded once and let them continue on.

Once at the exhibit, they learned that buffalo and bison are different, despite most people using the word interchangeably. Buffalo lived in Asia and Africa, bison in North America and Europe. Huh. Guess you learn new things every day, even on summer break during college.

“They don’t do much,” Comet said as he watched a bison chew grass in front of them.

“Most of the animals we’ve seen don’t do much when the zookeepers aren’t around,” Sinker pointed out.

“That’s not true. I got the penguins and the otters to wave at me.”

“You’re a special case. That doesn’t happen to most guests.”

“The otters waved at you and Wolffe, too.”

Sinker shared an exasperated look with Wolffe. There are some battles you just can’t win.

Somehow, Comet found a way to waste a full hour at the buffalo and bison. He took his time reading each sign, asking clarification for every word he didn’t know, and even some he did know. He tried waving at the buffalo, seeing if they’d look up at him. When they didn’t, he tried the bison, who also didn’t. Slow, small steps were around the exhibit as he moved to look at the individual animals. Why he was doing so was beyond Wolffe.

Soon enough, Sinker had had enough. “Why are you taking so long! Ugh, you little brat, let’s go already!”

Comet looked half-ready to either punch, bite, or tackle his older brother. Wolffe repressed a sigh and tried to intervene. “Sorry, Comet. We have been here a while. It wouldn’t kill you to move on, would it?” The expression turned from one older brother to the other. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Wolffe’s phone started a consistent beat of buzzes. “Wait a second.”

Pulling it out, he noticed an alarm was going off. It was his daily reminder to take his brothers on a walk, something he’d been doing to let buir relax after dinner, get some of his vod’ikase’s energy out, and as an extra way to hang out with them with what time he had. The alarm was easy to turn off, but as he went to put it away, a non-buzzing notification appeared.

Comet began to sidestep his way away from Sinker and back to the bison behind him. Coincidentally, he brought himself closer to Wolffe in the process.

“Hold still another second,” Wolffe ordered. Comet stopped. “Buir’s typing.” Sinker pulled out his own phone as the notification rolled in.

Chat: The Koon Cocoon

Buir

Calling all Koons

Howl are you?

Comet’s right next to me

Hook, Line, and—

Yeah?

Ghosty Boi

Buir

Hello, Boost

Ghosty Boi

Buir

Just a reminder to reapply sunscreen and that we’ll meet up again for the fluorescence demonstration

Howl are you?

Yessir

Hook, Line, and—

Yep yep yep

Ghosty Boi

👍

Chat: The Wolfpack

Curveball

Boost, aren’t you standing right next to him?

Booster Seat

Hmm maybe

Curveball

I can’t believe you

“Do we have to?” Comet grumbled when Wolffe pulled the sunscreen from the backpack. “The sun’s gonna set in a few hours, anyway.”

“You said it yourself, it’s in a few hours,” Wolffe replied, squirting some onto his hand and grabbing Comet’s arm to rub it on. “And buir said so. You don’t want to disappoint him and end up with a sunburn, do you?”

“No,” the ten-year-old muttered, scuffing the ground with his shoe but otherwise submitting to his fate.

“I’ve put on so much of this I’m faintly sticky,” Sinker remarked, rubbing some into his own arms.

“You’re not rubbing it in enough, you should know that.” Wolffe finished with Comet and moved onto reapplying it on himself. “You still have some visible on your neck, by the way.” Sinker scowled and rubbed at his neck harshly for a second before continuing on elsewhere.

Once done, the bottle took its spot in the backpack. “Primates?” Sinker asked, looking more optimistic than he had a second ago.

“Primates.” The teen set his feet. “No running.” Sinker rolled his eyes and settled for a brisk walk instead.

They made it to the “Sheev Palpatine Primate House” in record time. The structure loomed high, dark, and mysterious, casting a long shadow on everything around it. From the outside, there was no hint of the liveliness and cheer the rest of the zoo showcased. Had it not been for the sign, it could be mistaken for a large corporation’s administrative offices, or maybe even a sinister government building. Looking at it sucked the joy out of the atmosphere and forbode guests from entering.

Wolffe quirked an eyebrow at Sinker. “You still sure about this?”

He gulped, then nodded. “Yeah. The interior’s bound to be better than the deathtrap the outside looks like, right?”

Sinker took the lead into the building, Comet not far behind him. Through the doors and up some stairs— the architects must have planned carefully for this to work; bringing the rising reminder humans are primates, too— and they were in the exhibit proper. Inside, neither took off their sunglasses, nor their hats. Rather, they stared in awe at the sight before them.

Thankfully, Sinker had guessed correctly. Greenery spanned the open exhibit from floor to ceiling; lush and healthy, food and cover. Sturdy trees stood tall and proud, vines hung lazily across them. It was a snapshot straight out of a jungle. Rocks, both fake and real, climbed the walls, providing seating and exercise for the primates. Lining the wall was a path, extended out as a bridge over the middle of the expanse and connected to another wall-hugging path on the other side before disappearing into a smaller room. Educational plaques made their appearances at even intervals along the railing protecting the walkers from falling. A small stream circled its way around the edges of the floor. Windows, nearly the length of the ceiling and far wall, lit the habitat with a soft glow kissing every branch, human, primate, and structure it touched. And that wasn’t even touching the activities and range of primates at home around the building.

Who would want such a vibrant view so obscured and hidden from public eye?

Groups peppered the path. Some were smaller, a couple and their baby or a trio of friends. Others were larger, an extended family enjoying a vacation or a small summer camp group, energized and giggling.

If Wolffe snuck a picture of starry-eyed Sinker and Comet for possible blackmail or possibly because he wanted pictures of his brothers whether he’d admit it or not, nobody caught him and nobody needed to know.

Phones took pictures up and down the path, Sinker’s included. They moved along at a slower pace than other groups; many passed them before they reached a quarter of the way through. A grin rested on Sinker’s face the whole time, delighted he got what he came for.

Chimpanzees, apes, and gorillas interacted by the stream below. Food passed between a handful of them, like an interspecies picnic. Howler monkeys and baboons roamed the trees, rocks, and floor, passing each other nonchalantly. Primates of all shapes and sizes hung in trees with their young, cradling them gently, teasing each other, relaxing. A splash sounded as one small monkey pushed the one next to it into the stream; the interaction reminded Wolffe of Boost and Sinker at the pool.

Comet and Sinker paused halfway across the bridge. Leaning over the railing, Comet seemed to be trying to look under the bridge, causing Wolffe to drag him back by the collar before he fell in.

“I know there are nets, but let’s not test them out, okay?”

A sheepish smile made its way to the youngest’s face. “Sorry.”

Another group made their way closer to them, also stopping for pictures on the bridge. Thankfully, there was still a decent amount of room left to move. Behind them, Sinker snickered. Wolffe turned, Sinker now to his left, Comet now at his back. He raised an eyebrow but Sinker merely smirked as both their phones buzzed.

Curveball

Attached: primate-house-adventures.jpeg

The picture was of a pair of orangutans seated in a tree. To the side, not in focus but visible, stood Comet and Wolffe. The former, as happy and enthusiastic as at the penguins and leaning over the side; the latter, scowling out at something. Whether it was Comet or the monkeys wasn’t clear. One thing was clear, however: Sinker had taken it moments before Wolffe had pulled the rascal back.

Booster Seat

Lol, you good there Wolffe?

Grr

I’d rather not have siblings in nets, thanks

Booster Seat

Was he trying? Sounds about right

Curveball

Sure looked like it

Grr

I’d say I don’t think so

But he’s been doing stuff like that more often recently

Booster Seat

Lol yeah, he’s definitely got Fett blood in him

Sinker had enough of the bridge, evidently, as he started to walk off and to the other side, half paying attention to where he was going, half glancing at his screen. Wolffe began to follow after, certain that Comet was right behind them.

Booster Seat

Still:

Wolffe for #1 Brooding Face

Grr

Wow, thanks

Booster Seat

You’re v welcome

Curveball

Daily reminder that Wolffe is a grump yvw

Grr

I’d say you’re wrong, but…

Booster Seat

But…

Grr

Ever since I got home…

Booster Seat

Oh?

Grr

You’ve been the main reason

Curveball

WOW

Booster Seat

😂😂

Grr

Nope, that was directed at you, too, Booger

Curveball

BOOGER jfkdafj;ads

Sometime in the midst of the chaos of the chat, Wolffe idly noticed they had made their way out of the primate house. Sinker had paused here and there and looked up, Wolffe matching his pace. Outside the house, in the back and the opposite side of where they had entered, a small garden with a winding path presented itself. Looks had been deceiving in more ways than one with this building. Large boards along the path told more information about jungles and rainforests, including how an average citizen could help with conservation.

Despite this, the chat continued to buzz, a total disregard for where the brothers walked. They wound their way through the garden and towards the nearest bench.

Booster Seat

I, unfortunately, can’t think of a good comeback to that

Curveball

You can think of all those puns but you can’t think of a comeback

Booster Seat

Those were 100% Dad I thought that was clear

Grr

Can confirm. Watched him look them up last night

Curveball

Creepy

Grr

He was in the living room, di’kut

At a bench, they stilled. Comet hadn’t whined about not knowing what was going on, which was a bit odd, but not too concerning. Maybe he’d found himself some patience. Without looking up, Wolffe reached out his right hand to clasp Comet on the shoulder—

And only hit air.

Kriff.

He spun, head swiveling, unable to find what he was looking for. Oh, oh no. This was not good. This was not good at all.

His phone got turned off and shoved down his right pants pocket. “Sinker,” he said, somehow sounding calmer than he felt. “Where’s Comet?”

Sinker’s head snapped up. “I thought he was next to you. Is he not?”

“No.”

Sinker’s eyes widened. “Wait, so you mean—”

“Yeah,” he croaked out. “Comet’s gone.”

“Uh oh.”

“Sinker.” He gulped, Wolffe’s voice hardening. “I know it’s been a year, but do I need to remind you I don’t have a right eye? And that I need you to be my eye, which includes telling me if our brother has gone missing?!” Before he knew it, Wolffe was lecturing his younger brother. Out of nowhere, his thoughts crashed down violently as the desperation of the situation fully sunk in.

This was great. Just great. Splitting up was a bad idea after all. He should’ve known better. Buir always had good reasons to be concerned, why hadn’t he listened to him this time? He was really gunning for Worst Older Brother of the Year, wasn’t he? Why did he ever think he’d be able to handle this?

He took off mid-sentence, Sinker to his left and keeping up, headed back the way they came. His head stayed consistently scanning back and forth, looking for a clue, a hat, a pair of sunglasses, a laugh, a whimper, anything that could lead them back to Comet.

Why had he thought he’d been good to watch over two rambunctious brothers? He couldn’t even avoid a car crash after driving for a few years. It’d only been one since he lost his eye and Boost gained his scars. He had felt fine when he’d suggested it but this showed that he wasn’t as adjusted as he thought. He knew he only had half of his former vision, he lived with it every day. And yet, he still dismissed it when Comet moved into his blind spot, didn’t check in like he should have. Like he was supposed to.

Nope. No. No. Now was not the time to delve into those…issues. Focus.

Find. Comet.

He didn’t pop up along the way back to the exit of the primate house. Hopefully, that meant Comet parked it where he was. Speed up. They needed to walk around the building and go through the front. A glance left. Good, Sinker was still there, frowning at his phone. His own buzzed for the nth time in the past few minutes in his pocket and he ignored it. Sinker was probably texting one of the chats, updating them on the situation. They had more pressing matters at hand.

They rounded the corner and raced into the building, throwing the door open, skipping steps as they hurried into the exhibit. Wolffe barreled his way down the path, shoving past the few people scattered along the trail who didn’t get out of his way. He might have growled at one person who gave him a stink eye but that didn’t matter. No signs of lost little brothers along the path or the bridge.

He glanced down as he hurried across the bridge. “Good, he didn’t fall into the nets,” he said, only half-registering them as coming from his own mouth. “Keep up,” he barked at Sinker, who had been falling behind, about two steps behind where he had been.

Across the bridge, into the smaller exhibit and still no glimpses. He wasn’t where Wolffe had last seen him. He wasn’t in the section right past where he had last seen him. The end of the building, the stairs. Not on the stairs. Down the stairs, don’t trip, don’t fall, shove open the door. The door slammed open from the force and he raced through the frame. He turned to his right, and—

There was Comet.

Deep breath. The poor ad’ika looked frightened out of his mind, eyes taking in the sight of his brothers. Scanning him quickly, Wolffe couldn’t detect any injuries on him. Thank Force. Sunglasses gone, hat askew and clothes rumbled, but no signs of injury. His shoulders dropped ever so slightly and he stepped over to his vod’ika, leaning down so they were at approximate eye level.

“W-Wolffe,” Comet whimpered. Oh, poor child. “Wolffe! I’m so sorry! I was still looking at the monkeys and I thought I was next to you still but it turned out to be a guy who looks like you from behind and I tried looking for you but you were already gone and by the time I was out here, I remembered I shouldn’t move if I got lost but I didn’t want to go back inside the building and so I thought here was better than anywhere else, and—”

“Shh, we’re here, you’re safe,” Wolffe whispered, cutting off the ramblings that had sped up as he said more. Tears glistened in the corners of Comet’s eyes and the weight that had lifted off Wolffe’s shoulders resettled with twice the force. He reached forward and pulled the little rascal into a gentle hug.

“I was so worried you wouldn’t find me! An’ I lost my sunglasses but I’m not sure how. That was so much worse than getting sidetracked in the grocery store.”

His arms tightened. “Shh, it’s okay. I’m sorry, vod’ika. It’s not your fault. You did what you were supposed to do, that’s a good thing. It helped us find you. I’m so sorry. It’s not your fault, it was mine. I should’ve been paying more attention and I will pay more attention from here on out. I’m sorry. Don’t worry about the sunglasses; they’re replaceable but you aren’t.”

An idea popped into his head. “Ah, you’re too big for this, but screw it.” He lifted Comet off the ground and half-set him on his hip, one arm under his legs to hold him up, the other wrapped around his back. Comet latched on, burrowing closer and clinging. His head found the nook between Wolffe’s neck and left shoulder and buried in, arms taut across his neck and shoulders, hat knocked back further.

Sinker stepped up to Wolffe’s left, feet light, and pulled the hat from the black hair. With a glance at Wolffe, he opened the backpack and shoved it inside. Zipper pulled up, he hesitated, then threw himself at the duo. Arms tightened around both backs and the teen dipped his head near Comet’s ear, mumbling his own soothing words and apologies.

The three stood there, wrapped together for a minute before Sinker pulled away when the door opened and a small family shuffled out. Eyes flickered at them, trying to be respectful but also curious. Wolffe watched them scurry down the path and make their exit. Sharing a look with his silver-haired brother, Wolffe made his way through the gardens and around the posters himself, Sinker walking as close as he dared. At the exit, they stopped. Where to go…?

Glancing around, Wolffe noticed they weren’t too far from the playground they had eaten lunch at, the children’s zoo on the opposite end of the expanse of grass. He told his plan to Comet, who nodded stiffly against his shoulder. With his right hand, he reached out for Sinker. The teen complied quietly, who also nodded when Wolffe told him the plan.

Wolffe tried to walk as evenly and gently as he could, careful not to jostle Comet too much. His grip on Sinker stayed firm as they made their way to the park.

The equipment was much less crowded than last time. Normal closing time having long since past, the other families had to have been there for the presentation and were killing time and energy. Laughter and the sounds of childhood memories in the making still rang out but nowhere near the roar it had been earlier in the day. Only a handful of picnic tables were taken; ones that were held exhausted parents, the odd older sibling, and a grandparent here and there.

Picking the closest table, Wolffe sat down. “Gotta move your leg, bud,” he whispered to the boy in his arms. Comet let Wolffe swing his leg around and readjust him so they could both sit comfortably. The backpack was wrestled off and placed on the table, contents presumably jumbled up in Wolffe’s frantic search. He leaned his back against the table and Comet curled himself tighter around his ori’vod, legs across his lap and arms tight around his chest, face buried in his side. Wolffe’s left hand came up on its own accord and started rubbing soothing circles into Comet’s back.

Sinker gingerly sat to Wolffe’s right. He folded his hands in his lap and looked out at the children running around on the equipment.

At last, Wolffe was able to drag his phone out of his pocket and turn it on. No doubt, Sinker had been messaging one or possibly both chats while they’d looked. And the likelihood of Boost, being Boost, responding and goading in at least one of them was sky-high.

There were thirty-three notifications from the Wolfpack group chat. Ka’ra gaa'tayl kaysh. Opening the chat and scrolling to where he’d left off, Wolffe saw the last message he’d sent in his haste to turn off his phone and start looking for Comet.

Grr

Besides, I was goifjdaskljakldsa

Booster Seat

Uh, Wolffe? Why’d you…do that?

???

Curveball

Uh oh

We’re in big trouble now

Booster Seat

What happened?

Curveball

Comet’s gone

Booster Seat

Jfkldasjkldaj WHAT

HOW DO YOU LOSE HIM HE’S SO CLINGY

Curveball

Don’t tell buir

Wolffe’s reactions are kinda funny tho

Booster Seat

Do tell

Curveball

Well, besides the lecturing me part. That sucks.

He’s hardcore panicking rn

Guess we’re retracing our steps oop

Booster Seat

Is he gonna ask anyone if they’ve seen him?

Curveball

His brain cells are turned off so no

Booster Seat

Kjasdfk;klas;klfadskjadsfkl

😂😂😂

Curveball

Headed back through the primates now

OMG HE LOOKS LIKE AN ACTUAL WOLF

People are literally JUMPING out of the way

Booster Seat

Buir’s looking at me funny stooooop fdkjfkasjs

I’m trying my best not to cry laugh!!!!

Curveball

“Good, he didn’t fall into the nets”

Run Wolffe Run

Wait, no, wait for me!!!

Wayii, slow down!

Booster Seat

I’m dying. I’m dead. You’ve killed me.

I’m seriously gonna get in trouble with buir soon

But don’t stop

Curveball

We’ve found him

Please don’t tell buir

Booster Seat

I promise

There were many options Wolffe had to deal with this. The one he decided on probably wasn’t the best, or the most mature, but it was his favorite. Nothing like a little brotherly affection, right?

Grr has renamed Curveball to Stinker

Stinker

Hey!

Booster Seat

You should’ve seen that coming, vod’ika

Stinker

Maybe, but that doesn’t make me like it any more

Grr

:3 Suffer

Booster Seat

w h a T did I just see

Stinker

My eyes! I’m scarred for life now

Grr

Good. Suffer.

Booster Seat

I think I liked you better when you were at college

Grr

I liked you better then, too

Stinker

Great, now that that’s settled, let’s not lose Comet again

Booster Seat

Yeah, that’s pretty important, Wolffe

Grr

I hate you both

With that, Wolffe turned off his phone and put it away before turning to Sinker with a frown, who was pocketing his own phone. “That really was unnecessary, you know. Sorry for the lecturing, but the texts? Not needed to be done that way.” His now empty hand rested on Comet’s leg.

Sinker was smart enough to look slightly guilty. “It was kinda funny, though,” he mumbled. Wolffe leveled him with a stare. “But I won’t do it again and I’ll help you more next time,” he amended.

Wolffe nodded once. “I thought so.” Sinker continued to stare at the playground. A frown etched itself onto his face and he huffed to himself. Wolffe rolled his eyes. “Go swing or whatever, I don’t care. Just stay in sight.”

The silver-haired teen ran off like a cheetah with his brother’s permission. Wolffe turned his attention back to the little brother still curled around him.

“Wolffe, ’m really sorry,” Comet muttered into his chest after a moment of quiet. Or, as quiet as it could be with kids shouting on the playground a few yards away.

“You’re okay, vod'ika.” Wolffe ran a hand through Comet’s hair, ruffling it somewhat. “As I said, you did what you were supposed to. I’ll pay better attention in the future."

Comet propped his chin up on Wolffe’s chest and gave a tiny, sad smile. "Can I go swing with Sinker?”

“Yeah. Stick close to him."

He took off, leaving Wolffe at the picnic table with the backpack and thoughts and feelings to sort through.

—

When Sinker and Comet were finally ready to venture out to the rest of the zoo, they had time left for one more exhibit before they had to meet up with Boost and buir for the fluorescence demonstration. The sun had begun to set, casting long shadows and an orange glow over everything. Light jackets, tucked into the proper backpacks before the groups had split, were thrown on as the evening chill settled in.

Comet kept squinting, even with his hat back on, as they made their way to the birds of prey, which they had compromised on. Wolffe took off his sunglasses and gave them to Comet. He could handle more stares if it meant his vod'ika was more comfortable.

This time, Wolffe made sure he had a hand in both his brothers. Sinker to his right, Comet to his left. This way, even if he couldn’t physically see one of them, he still had the reassurance they were still there. Neither protested; Comet looked like he’d have grabbed Wolffe’s hand if he hadn’t offered it first anyway.

His phone buzzed again. "Sinker?” he prompted.

With his free hand, Sinker pulled out his own phone. “Boost sent another one of buir’s jokes.” He cleared his throat and put on an exaggerated drawl. “What’s the opposite of a fancy dog? A meerkat.”

“What’s a meerkat, again?” Comet asked, pulling himself closer to Wolffe’s side.

“Timon in Lion King is one,” Wolffe answered.

The lightbulb above his head was almost visible. “Oh, yeah. We passed by them earlier, didn’t we?”

Two nods in response. “Yeah, you were more eager to see the giraffes,” Sinker said.

Comet nodded to himself. The trio lapsed into silence until they were in sight of the “Yavin Birds of Prey Aviary”.

Silence accompanied the trio at this exhibit, the antithesis of the penguin cove. Had that really been that morning? Not even twelve hours ago. Force, what a long day it became. If someone had told Wolffe a few days ago that today would consist of splitting into groups per his own suggestion, losing Comet, finding Comet, a gazillion dad jokes, and a fluorescence demonstration, he’d have laughed in their face.

“Only the owls are really awake,” Comet noted, his voice ringing in the nigh-empty room.

Wolffe gave a low hum in acknowledgment. He leaned against some railing or another, watching the other two walk about. One other couple stood by the eagles, dead on their feet and swaying towards each other. Looks like it had been a long day for everyone.

The skylights drifted from deep orange to violet to navy to black, slow and delicate, soothing over the aches of the day like a worn, favored blanket. Had they been out in the country, a dazzling array of stars would have poked through the endless black, displaying the galaxy for all. So close to the city, the small pinpricks were satellites and planes, a backdrop to the skyline filled with lighted windows and blank spaces.

It was easy to lose track of time staring at such a sight. Time was an odd, fickle thing. Stretching anxious situations longer, shortening precious moments to a blur. Freezing in place when contemplating the world, galaxy, universe. All too much yet far too little.

“How much longer?” Sinker asked, sliding up next to Wolffe, snapping him from his reverie.

As if on cue, their phones buzzed.

Booster Seat

You guys need to hurry up this is amazing

Buir is DECKED in glow sticks

Grr

Proof or it didn’t happen

Booster Seat

Attached: Plo-more-like-Glo-Koon.jpeg

Stinker

Oh, I have to save that

Grr

Same

Stinker

What an icon

Booster Seat

He says thank you Sinker

Stinker

Lol

“With that amount of glow sticks, he’ll be easy to find,” Sinker commented.

Comet stood on tiptoe, trying to get a peak. Wolffe lowered his phone and showed him the picture. His eyebrows shot towards his hairline. “Woah. I didn’t know that many could even fit on a person.”

“He’s a giant, walking glow stick,” Wolffe agreed, putting the phone up and extending his hands to his brothers. Energy renewed thrummed between them again. They had a presentation to crash. “Let’s go.”

—

How do you find a giant, walking, glow stick of a dad? By having eyes. Given that it was a fluorescent show, everything was aglow in neon greens, blues, pinks, and oranges. But all of those in close proximity and moving? Easily buir, and a sight to see. Not even the trees had that many glow sticks on them.

“I’m glad you all decided to stick around,” buir greeted them. They all let it go, teetering on the edge of exhaustion that would be whisked away when the festivities began soon.

Rather, all but Sinker. “You’re my ride home, I had to stay,” he grumbled. The lights reflected off his silver hair, tie-dying it bright and eye-catching, hats and sunglasses having been taken off at the aviary. Groans rang out.

“Somehow he made it worse,” Wolffe caught Boost griping under his breath.

“How was the end of your day?” buir asked politely. “Boost and I had a zootastic time.”

Sinker gave a half-hearted shrug but responded, “Tiring,” when Boost nudged him in the ribs.

“It was a unique experience,” Comet replied smartly.

“We survived,” Wolffe said. Buir turned to him, and he stepped closer, addressing the perplexed expression. Making sure the others couldn’t hear, he expanded. “Something happened that might make Comet a bit jumpy for the rest of the night. We took care of it. It can wait until tomorrow when we aren’t so tired.”

Buir clasped him on the back. “Good to know. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Wolffe let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. He turned back to his brothers. “What do you snots want to do first?” They all mocked offense and gave their answers, launching into a night of fun.

They quickly found out there aren’t many naturally bioluminescent creatures on land, and most of them were small and creepy crawlers. Glowworms and fireflies, and a certain kind of snail. Marine animals, on the other hand, there were aplenty. The ones the zoo did have were on display: a respectable aquarium for various fish and a glass case with the terrestrial ones. Zookeepers who had a penchant for acting put on multiple shows that were “fun and edumacational” for kids.

Worm-on-a-strings that glowed had been handed out, along with glow sticks. Every Koon had at least one glow stick bracelet on; Boost later sneak-attacked them into wearing some on their heads. Comet got a glow-in-the-dark penguin painted on his cheek.

Giant, glow stick tic tac toe. Making zoo animals out of glow sticks. Neon, bright bubbles that, when popped, left a burst of color on what it landed. One station directed how to make a firefly jar to— temporarily, they stressed— hold the bugs. Ring tosses with bracelets, glowing paints. A certain presentation involved tossing various glow sticks into the air as responses to what the kids learned.

Vivacious and vibrant in the dark, laughter and cheers filled the night as friends, families, and strangers shared a luminous evening to remember.

—

Wolffe stared at the picture frame in his hands. The frame was decorated with animals of all shapes and sizes, the small zoo logo in the left corner. Inside the frame rested a picture of the Koon brothers, covered in glow sticks and worn out but all with various sizes of smiles plastered on. His younger brothers had raced to the computer to print out the picture as soon as they stepped back inside their home. A better print-out, on photo paper and not copy paper, was to be printed in the next few days, but they had wanted Wolffe to have the picture as soon as possible.

“Now you’ll have something to take to college to remember today,” Comet had insisted. Boost and Sinker had nodded fervently in agreement.

Their last stop of the night had been at the small shop by the exit. Buir had decided to let them all get one reasonable thing as a memento, especially since their trips to the zoo were few and far between with their usually busy schedule.

Comet found a stuffed rockhopper penguin and immediately named it Vandor— it looked like penguins were setting up to be his latest obsession. Boost got a zoology book which, looking back at his actions throughout the day, made sense. Sinker wanted Wolffe to get a tiny wolf figurine but got it for himself when Wolffe told him no.

That had been the turning point. As much as Wolffe insisted he didn’t need to get anything, Sinker pressed that he did. Soon enough, Comet and Sinker had banded together with him. They scoured the shop for the perfect object. When they approached him with the frame and a picture picked out, he couldn’t say no. His vision might have blurred for a moment but they didn’t need to know that.

A knock at his bedroom door had him set the frame back down on his desk. He rose and opened the door. There stood Comet. “Aren’t you supposed to be asleep? It’s late, vod’ika.”

“I know, but I was having a hard time falling asleep. Can I sleep in here instead?”

After what they had gone through today, it was the least he could do. “Fine. No snoring.” Comet gave him a lopsided grin and slipped past him. He launched himself onto Wolffe’s bed, digging himself into the covers.

“What?” he asked cheekily when Wolffe turned to look at him.

Wolffe rolled his eyes half-heartedly. “I’ll go get ready for bed. No drooling on my pillow, either.”

Comet gave him a mock salute as he went to brush his teeth.

Twenty minutes later, Boost came in to grab something from his desk. He paused when he saw Wolffe lying on his bed, Comet draped across his left side on his stomach, arms and legs sprawled out. Wolffe was scrolling through his phone, the lights off. Boost opened his mouth to say something but Wolffe glared at him and put a finger to his lips. “He just fell asleep,” he whispered.

Boost hesitated. Instead of grabbing whatever he came for, he grabbed his pajamas and started to get ready for bed. When done, he walked over to Wolffe’s bed. “Dogpile!” he exclaimed softly, before flopping straight down onto the mattress and his older brother. Wolffe let out an “oof” at the impact but otherwise didn’t react as Boost settled in.

Ten minutes after that, Sinker slinked into the room. “Wolffe?”

Wolffe grunted and moved a hand from his face which belonged to a still awake and very annoying Boost. Sinker took that as his cue to come over. He was already in his pajamas and his eyebrows furrowed as he took in what was happening.

Boost had positioned himself on his side against Wolffe’s right side, right under Wolffe’s elbow which was bent from holding his phone up. He’d taken to bugging Wolffe by throwing his hand out and letting it rest wherever it landed and waiting to see if Wolffe would move it or not. It got old real quick.

“Uh,” Sinker looked unsure how to continue. “I was gonna ask if you knew where Comet was since he wasn’t in his bed, but it looks like you’ve got an extra blanket there.”

Boost lifted his head slightly. “It’s a dogpile now. Join us!”

“More like a wolf pile,” Sinker quipped with a smirk.

Siblings have to make things harder than necessary, of course, so Sinker climbed over all three of his brothers, lifted Comet to be even more on top of Wolffe, and squished himself into the space he made. “G’night, guys,” he mumbled. He made himself comfortable and was out like a light.

Wolffe and Boost shared a look. “You better fall asleep that fast,” Wolffe said, nudging the top of Boost’s head with his elbow.

“Only if you get off your phone.”

“Deal.”

Little did they know, as buir went to check on his boys like he did every night before heading to bed himself, he felt the need to check on the older two’s room first. The door had been opened a smidge, the lights off. He knocked gingerly and cracked the door open more.

There were his boys, all cuddled up and fast asleep, somehow all fitting on the twin bed. Warthog had wandered in at one point and was curled up against their feet. His chest filled with warmth as he observed the sight. He took a picture or two, smiling to himself. On his way out, he made sure to close the door. What a sweet sight after a draining day. It was begging to be shared in the Fett parents chat.

—

Chat: Fett Dynasty

Think Outside The Fox

Jate vaar’tur, my lovely aliit

Attached: wolfpack-snuggles.jpeg

[Multiple people are typing]

Werewolf? There Wolffe!

N O T A W O R D

[37 new messages]

Mando’a Translations

Buir: parent

Vod’ikase: Little brothers (plural)

Aliit: Family

Ori’vod: Big brother

Wayii: Good grief!

Vod’ika: Little brother (singular)

Ad’ika: Little one, son, daughter

Adike: Plural of Ad’ika (see above)

Di’kut: Idiot

Ka’ra gaa'tayl kaysh: Stars help him.

Jate vaar’tur: Good morning

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. Congrats on getting to the end!

#b writes #pun wars #plo koon #commander wolffe #boost #sinker #comet #star wars #clone wars #star wars the clone wars #star wars clone wars #sw: tcw #sw: cw #writing #modern au #lost child #WKatMAM

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